Surreptitiously, I searched the faces of my fellow players while I cast the spell on their cards. On the wily Likam, who had won considerably more than he lost, I burned through five Mana to reveal his entire hand. The old hand was the biggest threat. Throwing caution to the wind, and simply excited that my underhanded tactics had worked, I went through the rest of my Mana, revealing more of the other players’ cards.
Suddenly, the odds of the game were turned on their head. Now I was the master of the cards—the decider of fate, for this round at least. Keeping the other cards that the other players required and discarding only the ‘useless’ cards, I was able to win the round. I won with the Herald of the Twin Swords and a single card of the Hunger. A perfect combination. A few eyebrows were raised, and the guards commented bitterly that I had probably used up all of my good fortune for this one game. Luck was not something to be rationed out by the powers that be, it was made. Smiling slyly to myself, I was rewarded for my masterful use of magic with an increase to one of my more mysterious attributes, and a small bump in experience.
You have gained 1 Luck.
With my winnings, I was able to exchange my simple pouches for a durable satchel from one of the merchants on the train. My new bag was made of waxed and boiled leather plates stitched together, and closed with a simple clasp. The treated material would protect the contents of the satchel from the elements, and at the same time allow for easy access. I placed my growing collection of potions within, along with my coin purse, some assorted pieces of jerky, and travel biscuits.
My inspired use of Identify drove me to focus on the spell in a bid to increase its power. The next day, I cast the spell on everything in sight when I could, starting with my own equipment. My current inventory consisted of;
Heavy Iron Mace-Flail
Durability 239/245
Iron Parrying Dagger
Durability 119/125
Iron Throwing Knife
Durability 87/90
Iron Throwing Knife
Durability 89/90
Iron Throwing Knife
Durability 81/90
Wooden Kite Shield [Iron]
Durability 163/190
Steel Bevor
Durability 349/350
Steel Sallet
Durability 323/350
Steel Brigandine [Leather]
Durability 324/370
Linen Gambeson [Iron]
Durability 98/115
Linen Robes
Durability 46/80
Iron Greaves
Durability 147/175
Iron Chainmail Leggings
Durability 134/170
Old Leather Gloves
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Durability 76/95
Tough Leather Bag
110/110
Low-Grade Mana Potion [Glass]
10/10
Mid-Grade Health Potion [Silver]
50/50
Mid-Grade Mana Potion [Silver]
50/50
Mid-Grade Stamina Potion [Silver]
50/50
Limited Panacea [Glass]
10/10
Bronze Adventurer’s Guild Badge
70/70
I came to the assumption that potion durability referred to the flask as opposed to the actual liquid. In addition, when a piece of armor or item consisted of two different types of material, the spell displayed the secondary material in brackets. My gear was getting a little worn, especially my brown robes, and this was reflected in their lowered durability value. I would have to see, at some point, if I could get my equipment repaired by someone in the caravan.
Also, much to my disappointment, I failed to level up the spell, and was only given a small increase to my experience point total. I felt I was missing something, but what was it?
It was on the second day of determined practice that I received a flash of inspiration. We had stopped for the day. Larynda and Kidu were halfway through another session of strenuous practice, and the clack-clack of wood striking wood or the occasional cry of pain was a little distracting for me. Towards the tail end of their session, I saw an exhausted Larynda, near her limit, attack the wild man in a series of blows, trying to overpower him through reckless determination. It was a fool’s gambit.
“This is folly, girl. Know yourself. Know your strengths. You could never overpower, spear to spear, a man strong in the arm like me. Use your speed and the strength of your mind! Hah!” guffawed the big man, a smidgen of pride entering his voice and causing Larynda to renew her assault.
Something about Kidu’s words spoke to me. Know your strengths. Could it be? I wondered as I whispered an old and worn platitude to myself. I decided to cast Identify on myself.
Threads of magic wove their way through me, searching and questing for the nature of my being. The fabric of my soul was laid bare, but just before I reached an epiphany, any understanding was swept away by a tidal wave of black slithering things. The limited energy of the spell was diverted and distracted, and the sensation was lost. For a few brief moments, my own name, my true name—that I had thought lost to me—had come close to being revealed. However, more important than all of this, I had a breakthrough.
You have learned Identify (lvl.3)
You have gained 1 Wisdom.
Finally, some progress! All thoughts of my old name were lost in a surge of satisfaction. I had to restrain myself from jumping for joy, as such an action would no doubt mark me for a loon. ‘Calm’, I told myself as I began to cast Identify on both Kidu and Larynda.
Kidu Kreshin - Hunter [Human lvl. 13]
Health 315/318
Stamina 21/28
Mana 8/8
Larynda - Chaos Mage [Human/Elf lvl. 5]
Health 31/35
Stamina 21/23
Mana 11/19
Kidu, as always, was a monster, and from the spell I could see that he had grown a little more powerful, both in mind and body. Our ward Larynda, too, had also made some progress, with small gains in Health and Stamina.
No! That was not the point at all. The spell revealed nothing new. No greater depth of information, like Strength or Skill, was shown to me. I ground my teeth as I watched their contest, irritated by the wasted effort. Then, suddenly, as I was about to smash my fist against the innocent wood of the wagon, it happened.
Larynda ran at Kidu again, his mocking causing her to launch another combination of reckless blows that left her completely open. Kidu casually deflected or avoided each of the strikes, reminding her of sloppy footwork as he tripped her up, teaching with pain what patience could not. The small girl’s Health dropped by one point, and I could see that she had also lost two points of Stamina.
I could see it! Sweet merciful gods, I could still see it. My Identify spell could now keep track of the Status of combatants. Wanting to test the bounds of my spell I cast the spell again on my leather gloves, an inanimate object.
Old Leather Gloves
Durability 76/95
The information disappeared moments later, which was yet another disappointment. Flummoxed, I could only grunt in frustration as I watched Kidu continue in his spartan instructions. A few minutes later, the pair’s status disappeared from my mind’s view, the magic finally expiring. The information from identified objects would disappear nearly instantly while living things, humans at the very least, would display their information for considerably longer. I comforted myself that I had at least made some progress, and that the utility of the spell had certainly increased.
The evening meal was some sort of deep-fried root vegetable, cut into small chunks and wrapped in unleavened bread. It was cooked to be slightly crunchy and was quite pleasant, though a part of me decided it could have done with a bit more salt. Some ketchup would not have gone amiss, either. After we finished, I decided to tell the tale of ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’, which drew some false consternation from Kidu when Larynda commented that the giant of a man would probably be too big for any of the beds. The girl loved the story and took the time to poke a little more friendly fun at the large man’s expense.
Once our stomachs had settled, we checked our gear and prepared to join the guards for our turn at the watch. The sky at night, though painted with a myriad of lights, held not a single constellation familiar to me. Hopefully, my watch would pass with no issue under such an alien sky.