“Why do I have to take these?” Amy asked, smacking her lips at the taste. Mark forced a smile on his face, bending down. “They will make you feel better. Look, I’m taking some too.”
He pretended to eat one, making a face. “Daddy ate them, so now you do too.”
She snatched them out of his fist, wrapping both her hands around her cup and drinking. She shot him a look of pride, threatening to break his mask. “Very good, little one. Come on, we can have cake as a reward.”
“We’re eating a lot of cake.” She half asked, grabbing a spoon. Then she grabbed her plate closer, out of his reach. “No take back!”
“Only for the bravest of little girls.” Mark said, his voice wavering. “Do. Do you remember when we had Cloe?”
Amy shook her head. “She was our cat, she d- she left us when you were very young.”
“Alright.”
He didn’t continue, couldn't continue, so he tapped her plate as a distraction. She dove in, not seeing him take a shuddering breath.
----------------------------------------
He woke with someone going through his things, as little as he had, and sat with a groan. Envy looked his way, put a finger to her lips, and continued as if they hadn't just made eye contact. “Now, I know this seems somewhat redundant, but I have to ask. Are you stealing a shitty pot and a key knife? Because I’m pretty sure Greed can make you better stuff with very little issue.”
Sloth ambled in, throwing a pebble at Envy. The woman huffed, didn’t answer his question, and left as the woman pointed to the door. Sloth looked at him, shrugging helplessly. “It’s not about the things.”
“Envious. Right.” Mark rubbed sleep from his eye, standing. “Is that going to be a problem?”
“Hasn’t actually stolen anything, not that I know of.”
Mark picked up the cup, moving to dunk it into his water pot. It came back dry. ‘Right, used what little I had left for dinner. Stupid to not replenish it when I was within eyesight of the damned stream.’
Sloth hadn’t left, sitting carefully on his only chair. Mark snorted despite himself. “If it can take my weight it can take yours. Any particular reason for your company? Not that I don’t appreciate it, of course.”
“Pride wants to have a meeting. To discuss you joining the group and explain our goal and what not.”
He stretched his back, a satisfying pop echoing in the small space. “And you wanted to talk to me first.”
“I’m good at reading people.” Sloth began, her voice low without seeming unnatural. “By training more than innate ability, but good at it all the same. You lied about your level. Couldn't tell if it was higher or lower, but now that we’ve talked you don’t strike me as the type to embellish.”
“And what type do I strike you as?” Mark tore a chunk of meat into smaller pieces. He’d gotten used to the taste suspiciously quickly, chewing slowly.
“Blue collar. Straightforward, intelligent. You read, but prefer to be seen as stupider than you are. You work hard, got used to the filth and grime that comes with your job, and you’re a father. A young one, too. You're in your late twenties?”
He stilled, setting the piece of meat on the table carefully. “All that from a few conversations? I’m impressed. I’ll turn 29 in July.”
“I don’t mean to pry, I truly don’t. What I’m trying to say is that you take this seriously. Which makes me think a higher level is more likely than lower. Probably higher than Pride, by the way you’ve been acting. He’ll react badly when he finds out.”
“This is all very informative.” Mark bit, taking a breath to cool his tone. “Pride won’t take it well that I lied. Insulted him, even, though in my mind I took a reasonable precaution. Truly, who could have seen that coming?”
Sloth leaned back, her face the picture of calm. ‘Probably dealt with plenty of angry patients. Soldiers, she said?’
“I know. Which is why I’m telling you his perspective on events. They treat it like a game, gifted time they didn’t expect to get. They killed themselves, yes, but it was drugs or disease that drove them to it.”
“And why do you care, Sloth? Aren’t they adults, capable of making their own decisions?”
“Because they’ll drag us with them.” She almost hissed. “And if I’m going to die again it won’t be because of them.”
Silence fell, thick and uncomfortable. Mark didn’t care, looking on as she calmed. “All I’m asking for is a reasonable voice at the table, not another battle junkie. Meeting is in twenty.”
She left without another word, Mark breathing deeply until the fury settled in his stomach. It took most of the twenty minutes, stepping outside when he didn’t feel like punching something anymore. ‘I need to hunt. Eat.’
The group had already assembled when he got there, sitting around a low fire. Mark didn’t ask where they got the wood from, not really caring, and joined them. Pride nodded, a gesture he returned.
Then the man pulled out a whole boar leg from nowhere, already cooked, and set it over the fire. “Does your pocket dimension stop time?”
The question slipped out before he could stop himself, part of him imagining being able to keep a freshly killed star boar in there and have regeneration whenever he wanted. It was Wrath that answered, staring at his blood covered hands. “No, we tested. We should fight.”
It would have taken him off guard, just as Sloth’s sudden intensity would have earlier, if Lust hadn't warned him. “No thank you. I’ve just fought monsters, I’m sure you’d beat me handily.”
“All the more reason to practise.” Pride commented, setting back now that the meat was warming over the fire. “And while it doesn’t stop time, it is a sterile environment. Cook something, store it, and it keeps for a long while.”
He caught Lust shooting him a glance, a look on her face he couldn't decipher, and he looked at Wrath. “Perhaps later.”
The woman scoffed, Sloth nodding her head. He found none of her earlier vigour, appearing to have just woken up. “Then that’s settled. Shall we discuss?”
“Don’t see much to discuss.” Greed said, holding his hands close to the fire to ward off the chill. “We keep looking for a way out of these damned mountains, get some answers.”
“It’s nice to ask.” Sloth emphasised.
Pride nodded. “I agree. Gluttony, I officially extend you an invitation to our party, with all the rights and duties that entails.”
‘Rights and duties?’
“Rights and duties?” Mark asked, looking around. Greed was rolling his eyes, Envy staring intensely at Pride but averting her eyes when she saw him looking. “I’d like to read the terms and conditions before agreeing.”
Wrath snorted, scowling at him a moment later. Pride smiled grandly. “Quite simple, really. You agree that as long as you’re part of this party you abide by group decisions cast by vote. You defend the members of this party against attack, as long as doing so doesn’t risk your own life beyond reason. In return we have your back, you get to call for a vote, and you get to vote in general discussions.”
“Loot distribution?”
Envy was the one that spoke up, sounding like she was quoting. “You get it, you keep it. If someone gets something you want, or feel like you need, bargain for it.”
Mark looked around, half the group bored and the other looking at him with weighing eyes. “I reserve the right to leave at any time, for any reason, taking all my belongings with me.”
Pride grinned. “Of course. Welcome to the team, Gluttony. You’ve already figured most of this out, but a quick refresher wouldn't be amiss. Greed can make you most standard things, converting one item to another. He can take organic material, but can’t make it, so don’t hesitate to bring food back to camp. Enchanted items are worth vastly more than normal ones, and Greed does so love them. Sloth can heal, although she is limited by her mana and will fall asleep when having used most or all of it. Mind telling what you bring to the table, or what services others can bargain for?”
“I’m a hunter, able to follow simple tracks. Crafter too, although with Greed here I don’t think that’ll come up. I fight with my fists.”
The man nodded, not seeming surprised. “Good. Another fighter is welcome. I suggest we take the morning for ourselves, returning here when the sun is highest. We can discuss our general plan then, and see if Gluttony has any insights or suggestions.”
Mark stood, returning to his cave and putting on his gambeson. His pouch with cured meats and knife were next, briefly contemplating if he should bargain for a sheath, before grabbing his waterskin too. That was still filled with water, at least.
He shook his head, leaving north where he’d once found a good number of star boars. Their numbers had thinned since the portal had shrunk, although they hadn’t gone entirely. He relaxed some as he spotted a pair of tracks, whipping around when a stone clacked against another.
Lust looked back at him, her posture relaxed and her face even. “Hunting?”
Mark nodded, waving to the tracks. She tapped her knife, a silent question.
She fell in step beside him when he didn’t protest, her feet finding soft ground by some instinct. He ignored it, refusing to feel self conscious about making four times the noise she was, and they stalked the tracks for a good half hour.
“Sparring with Wrath won’t end well.”
“So you’ve said.” He replied. “And the warning was, and is, appreciated. Mind explaining why?”
Lust shrugged, her shoulders moving fluidly. “Either you win, and she hounds you until she can beat you, or you lose, and she thinks you are weak. Either way, she won’t leave you alone.”
“Then how do she and Pride get along?” He asked, motioning left. She followed as he turned, taking a few quick steps so she was walking at his side.
“He beat her so badly she accepted that he is stronger. Pride is dangerous.”
“I can see that. How does Envy fit in?”
She shot him a look, half disbelieve and half scowl. “She’s in love with him. An obsessive with low self esteem, so very dangerous love, but as long as he keeps her on the edge she’ll do whatever he wants.”
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Mark raised an eyebrow, holding up a hand. “That’s fucked. Is she strong?”
“She’s adaptable.” Lust corrected. “A shapeshifter, though as far as I’ve seen she has to stay humanoid. She can adapt her skin to resist blunt damage, her bones to resist breaking. Her lungs to hold half an hour of oxygen, you get the picture.”
“I get the feeling you don’t like her much. Or any of them, for that matter.”
No answer came, Mark content to let it lie and focus on the hunt. The boar came into view when they crossed a dried up river, Lust drawing her knife with steady hands.
Mark ate, bounding forwards and jumping to the side when it charged. For all their strength and regeneration they attacked predictably, his cestus stunning the thing and causing it to collapse. He turned to finish it off, but Lust was already there.
Wide strides carried her over to the fallen boar, her knife flashing as it buried deep in the skull. Bone parted with no noticeable resistance, his status pining.
For killing a Star Boar you have been granted two experience. Half experience rewarded.
General Skills were not used during combat. No experience rewarded.
“Half experience?”
Lust cleaned her knife with a piece of cloth, sliding it back in her sheath. “Experience is shared between those that directly contributed to the kill. It’s why Greed is only level three, and Sloth four. And it’s not that I don't like them.”
He stored that away, looking at her and slicing off a piece of meat. She didn’t bat an eye as he ate it. “Pride was the one that started collecting people, finding Wrath and beating her. Then Envy, and by the time Sloth and Greed joined the party he was pretty much in charge. We vote because his two groupies do as he wants, with Greed voting for whatever makes him the most profit. When I joined his position was still secure, three to two with Greed easy to predict. A stalemate at worst.”
“But now I’m here, and suddenly he can actually lose a vote.”
She nodded, looking at his blood covered hands. “You get power from eating.”
He shrugged. “Makes me feel good, too. Not chewing on raw bacon because of the taste. What does that have to do with liking them?”
Lust sat, crossing her legs and tapping her knee. “Because my only two available allies are weak. In a straight fight, I mean, but that matters when dealing with Pride and Wrath.”
Mark swallowed, tearing the tusks free and hanging them from his belt with some rope. “So you don’t like them because they can’t help you, and showing interest will mark them as weakness in the eyes of Pride.”
“Do you think I’m pretty?” She asked, not answering. He looked back at her, raising an eyebrow.
“A more dangerous question has yet to be asked.” Lust waved her hands, a get on with it gesture. “The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, but that’s not as big of a compliment as it sounds.”
“No, it isn’t. Because you don’t care, do you?”
“I left dating behind a while ago, when A- I left it behind a while ago. Helps that people like you have been ignoring me for most of my life, you build up a tolerance.”
Lust scoffed, standing . “It builds apathy, not tolerance. Come, a monster is near.”
He stood and followed, silence descending as they walked. Mark didn’t mind, low contentment in his stomach as he switched out his cured meats with a new batch. Lust led them unerringly over the mountains, her long strides seeming near effortless. He ate some, to keep his stamina up, until they finally found whatever she was looking for.
“What in the name of god is that?” He asked, halting. A hulking monster of stone stood over the corpse of a boar, large fists tearing it apart. It didn’t seem to be eating, just ripping it into small pieces and strewing them around. Lust looked back at him.
“A stone elemental. Slow but strong, not as durable as they look. Don’t get hit and you’ll be fine.”
She attacked without waiting for his reply, cursing as he hurried to follow. The thing had noticed them, abandoning the boar to focus on new prey. It waited, seeming content to let them come, and Mark noticed the silence.
No roaring or stomping, to ward them away or intimidate. It stood as still as its namesake would imply, patient.
That changed when Lust closed in, the elemental snapping its head to her and reaching out. She cut a long slice along one of its arms, ducking out of the way. It twisted to follow her, which allowed him to catch up and punch it in the back of the knee.
It stumbled, another two punches making it collapse entirely. Hunting steered him to its chest, two heavy blows raining down before he had to jump back. The elemental swiped at him, losing interest as he ducked out of the way.
Lust had drawn another deep cut through its upper leg, the things entire focus on her. Mark narrowed his eyes, cautiously repeating the same strategy as before. It stumbled again, this time falling on its stomach, and he hit it’s back.
His punches reverberated deep, the skin on his knuckles splitting and healing as he kept hitting. Lust had put her knife through its head, forced to abandon it as it grabbed at her again.
Something snapped, he could feel it as his fist connected, and the elemental shattered into small chunks.
For killing a Stone Elemental you have been granted five experience. Half experience rewarded.
General Skills were not used during combat. No experience rewarded.
‘Its base components.’ He thought, spotting the thumb sized gem among the rubble. ‘And I guess that’s the thing that broke.’
“Would have been better to keep the heart whole.” Lust said, freeing her knife with some effort. “Take it. I’d barter it to Greed for a backpack and tools.”
Mark picked it up, seeing it had nearly broken in half. He finished the job, handing her the slightly bigger piece. “A team effort. Keeping its focus like that is why I was able to kill it.”
Lust took it with narrowed eyes, pocketing it and turning. “There’s another, if you feel up for it.”
“A moment, actually.”
He picked up one of the smaller rocks, popping it in his mouth. The stone crumbled as if made from clay, swallowing after a few bites. His waterskin cleared out the dust, strapping it back to his belt.
Stone Elemental consumed. Skin, bone and flesh have been improved with Moderate Toughness Boost.
Moderate Toughness Boost will be active for three minutes.
Mark shivered as his skin rippled, rough grey replacing pink. He ran a finger over it, feeling the texture and grinning. “You done playing?”
He looked, an impatient Lust tapping her leg. He nodded, still smiling. “All done.”
A handful of stones went into his pouch, selecting two to be cured and jogging to catch up to her.
They got back to camp when the sun was past its peak, finding everyone else already there. Sloth hadn't moved, as far as he could see, and Greed was looking at them with a satisfied grin.
Pride concerned him more, his face morphing into a patient smile when he looked. He hadn’t caught the expression before that. “Sorry for being late, the hunt took longer than expected.”
“Sure put you in a better mood.” Wrath said. “Good. Maybe we’ll have that fight sooner rather than later.”
He sat without comment, putting the stone fist next to him. Lust had cut it off during their second fight, and an idea had come to mind. ‘This first, though.’
“Now that we’re all here, let’s begin.” Pride began, shooting him a mock stern look. “So far our objective has been to find a way out of these mountains, getting stronger in the meanwhile. We don’t know what’s waiting for us down there, if anything at all, so being prepared for everything is the way to go. Gluttony, I assume you’ve been working to get properly geared?”
Mark nodded, patting his pouch. “Two broken stone elemental hearts, should let me get started.”
The last part was directed to Greed, who nodded. Pride clapped his hands. “Good. Everyone else has already agreed informally, but for formalities sake we’ll have a vote. All in favour of finding a way down the mountains, getting as strong as we can in the interim?”
Everyone raised their hand, Lust and Sloth lagging a second or so behind, and Pride smiled. “Excellent. Everyone get your things, we leave in half an hour. Gluttony, can we talk?”
“Need to do some crafting, we can talk in my cave.” Mark said, turning to walk. Pride caught up, slight annoyance in his eyes. “What do you want to talk about?”
He ducked under his door, the man following as he settled on the chair. The stone fist went on the table, his sturdiest branch next to it. He’d been saving it for an axe, but this would do. “About Lust. You two hunted together?”
Mark nodded, grabbing his rope and looking over the pieces as Pride sat on his bed. ‘Not exactly perfect, but with some chipping it will do.’
“I don’t like gossip, but be careful. Lust is rather unsociable, not a bad thing!” He hurried to add, Mark looking at him. “But she is. She can distract monsters, I don’t know how, but her class seems to be about temptation and influence. I won’t tell you how to live your life, of course, but keep an eye out.”
Mark nodded easily as he snapped the rock against the stone fist, pieces flying off. It broke easily, an edge appearing with a few more hits. “So I’ve noticed. Is Wrath going to be a problem? She seems very eager to fight.”
“To spar.” Pride corrected, smiling tightly. “And it might be. I’d suggest getting it out of the way, win or lose. Sloth can heal you up in no time, if that’s your worry, and I’ll make sure she doesn’t go too far.”
‘And give you a good look at what I can do.’ He finished mentally. Out loud, he said. “Perhaps.”
Another chunk of stone shattered away, pinging against Pride’s chestplate. The man stood, a tad too abruptly. “I’ll let you work. Thirty minutes, then we leave.”
He turned his focus on the stone as the man left, putting it out of his mind. It shaped over the next few minutes, his crafting skill guiding his hands. The branch was split some five inches down the top, forcing the stone inside. Rope bound the top parts of the branch, sticking out in two different angles, back together.
It tightened with some force, tying it off with a strong knot.
Axe of Stone crafted. Superior materials used, Axe of Stone has been given the quality Durable.
Durable. This tool will shrug off wear and tear, increasing its lifespan.
For utilising General Skills to their utmost you have been granted experience.
Crafting has increased to level five. Crafting has reached max level.
Name: Mark Dallton Class: Gluttony Level: 10 (103/200) Class skills (3):
Adaptable - Physical changes when eating, boosts def skills?
Durance - Buff timer times two.
Strong Stomach - Eat anything.
Consume - Anything eaten feeds well.
Cure - Five meats max, forty eight hours instead of three.
Uncaring killer - Better fighting with weapons, boosts attack skills?
General skills (1):
Bought skills:
Pain Tolerance: level 5 (maxed)
Dodge: level 5 (maxed)
Hunting: level 5 (maxed)
Throwing: level 5 (maxed)
Footwork: level 5 (maxed)
Pugilist: level 5 (maxed)
Will of Stone: level 5 (maxed)
Crafting: level 5 (maxed)
Useful skills:
Spear fighting +
Club fighting +
Knife fighting +
Sword fighting +
Body of Stone +
Quick reaction +
Soul of Stone +
Useless skills:
Rock fighting +
Bone fighting +
Foraging +
Farming +
Skinning +
Campfire Cooking +
Stonemasonry +
Woodworking +
Tailor +
Tool Crafting +
Weapon Crafting +
Feature: Kill and eat, eat and survive.
Mark looked it over, the two new crafting skills having been put in the useless category without his say so. ‘Eh, they can stay where they are.’
‘So, body of stone, soul of stone, or quick reaction. Choices, people, choices.’