The sweat runs down Heath’s back, a wet spot visible on his tunic. He huffs as a drop of sweat races down his nose, hanging on the tip before dropping to the grass below.
Taking a deep breath, he rejusts the heavy pack on his back and begins to move forward again, when a voice calls out to him.
“Stop!”, Ingrid yells, “ Take a break.”
With a sigh of relief, Heath lowers the pack being careful not to just drop it. The last time he did his mother had made him run till his Stamina bottomed out.
Heath drops to the ground next to his pack and begins to open it.
“Before you do that what is your Stamina and Mana at?”
He nods obediently, too tired to argue with his mother.
Name: Heath
Health:
110/110
H.Reg: 2.2(2.41)/ph
MP:
53/90
M.Reg: 1.7(1.91)/ph
Stamina:
30/100
S.Reg:
2(2.21)/ph
Stats
Base
Spirit Bonus
Str
20
Con
20(22)
+2
Dex
21
Agl
23
Will
32
Int
18
Wsd
17
Per
13
Cha
13
Lck
20
Spirits Contracted
Hearth Spirit (Fire): Name -Fi-ya
Rank: F Level:2
Spirit Abilities
Hearth Spirit: 21% increase resistance to fire and cold damage.
21% increase to recovery rate while resting.
Magics Available :
Hearth(Novice) - Take the comforts of home with you wherever you may go.
Fire(Novice) - Wield the primordial element of fire.
Spells:
* Fire Bolt (Fire) - Caster shoots a bolt of flames up to 10 yards. (1-6) Fire Damage.
Cost: 5 MP
* Hearth’s Aura (Hearth) - Caster creates a stationary pink flame that casts light in a 10ft radius. All those touched by the light gain the following effects:
* 12%(Cha) increase to recovery.
* 12%(Cha) Reduced damage from negative health effects.
Cost: 40 MP
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Duration: Minutes Equal to Willpower of caster.(28 min.)
*Stackable
He saw that all of his stats had increased but stays focused on his Stamina and MP.
“Mana is at 53, and Stamina is at thirty.”
Ingrid nods and grunts, “ Good. What do you do first?”
Pulling the pack into his lap, Heath begins rummaging through the contents looking for the right pouches and vials.
Finding what he was looking for, Heath pulls out a small patch.
“I chew on raw viel root, to get my mp regen up. I then cast Hearth’s Aura, with the root already working on my mana regen it should aleve the majority of the pain from mana drain. While that works I need to mix spirit wart tree sap and lily toad extract with the binding agent and water. Shake until the aura is done, drink it and then I should be able to keep going for a few hours.”
Ingrid smiles at her son and tells him, “ Very good Heath, proceed.”
He gets to work without a word, opening the pouch he takes out a purple root with smaller red off shoot, snapping off a piece he throws it into his mouth chewing with his back molars, grimacing at the alternating bitter and sweet taste of the root.
Swallowing the mixture of spit and root juice, he says as quietly as he can, “Hearth’s Aura.”
The pink flame bursts into existence over Heath, along with a splitting headache, but Heath can feel the root working alongside the aura’s effects and his spirit abilities bonus.
Taking a second to work past the pain, he digs in the bag again, bringing out a vial of green slim, two small jars with cloth coverings, and an empty glass bottle. Pulling the cork from the vial Heath pours a drop of the content into the empty bottle, after he corks the vial and removes the covering of the jars, using the vial he dips it into one of the jars and pulls out a rope of red thick sap and drips it into the bottle. When the sap touches the slime it begins to hit and bubble, quickle Heath shakes the binding agent into the bottle. As the binding agent, which was corn starch and sugar, hit the volatile mixture, it began to grow hotter, the sugar in the binding agent caramelizing from the heat. Before the mixture could grow too hard, he adds water filling it up to the neck of the bottle. Placing his thumb over the mouth, he began to shake it gently.
As Heath sat there under Ingrid’s watch, others noticed the young man’s efforts.
Karl, who was busy working on the new wall that had been commissioned by the mayor and a few of the weather members of the town.
Karl smiles at the sight, after Ingrid had come to tell Heath the truth, she had been happier than he had seen her in years, and was actually training their son… their son, he was their son, no one else's.
Heath and Karl had talked more about Karl not being Heath’s birth father, and Heath had told him, he didn’t care about it, that Karl had raised him and he only knew him as his Pa,and he didn’t want to chase a ghost when he had a great Pa already.
Just thinking about it warmed his heart.
Smiling he got back to work fusing the thick wooden pillars together that would make up the wall, later they would have someone come and enchant them, but for now it would have to do.
Besides Karl, the Wild Jacks watched their newest member from a distance.
“She sure is putting the kid through it.”, Olaf states, taking a bite from a roast chicken leg.
“From what I gather his ma, used to be a trekker of sorts, if not officially, and is only now imparting hard earned wisdom.”, Sebastian says, taking a bite from an apple tart.
The Wild Jacks were having a picnic, it was a ritual they did before starting any mission. Tomorrow, after reinforcement guards from down south arrived, The Jacks and five other teams would be leaving to search the area for an undiscovered dungeon, should one or more not return the Jacks wanted to one last nice memory together.
Staking a sip of spiced tea Sven drolly says, “ From what you gather? Don’t pretend you were eavesdropping.”
Clucking his chest as if wounded, Sebastian gasps, “ Eavesdrop? Me? Never!”
“Yes, you.”, Leanna smiles at their scout, she may have been their rogue, but the halfling was far more sneaky by nature.
Sure,Leanna could blend in with the shadows and move like the wind but, the scout was constantly over hearing important information.
Did he always share a hundred percent of the information, no.
But, she trusted him and that was why he asked her to allow a kid, not even fourteen to join their team, she agreed.
Sure he made his case, that the kid's aura ability would be useful and he wanted someone to help with the camp duties, but even if he hadn’t she would have agreed.
The Jacks ate and talked, watching their newest member as his aura cut out. Tomorrow, they left for adventure and they hoped he’d be ready.
Heath’s aura cuts out, he stopped shaking the bottle, the contents now a brown frothing liquid.
Drinking the potion in its entirety, Heath blanches.
Then he pulls a large jar out, pulling the cork out, he grabs a pure alcohol soaked rag and begins cleaning off the slime vial, then wrings it out into the now sticky empty glass bottle. Quickly adding water he shakes it before pouring it out. Placing the rag back into its jar and replacing the cork, he packs up the rest of his supplies. Stands dragging on the pack back on.
“Without looking at your status screen, how much longer can you keep going?”, Ingrid asks to check the sky.
Heath does the same, “ I am almost at full after the potion and rest, I won’t be able to use the aura again today without using a mana potion, the sun is at its highest. If I keep at the same pace, I can go for another two hours, before needing to break. I could go three, but I would be out of Stamina completely.”
“Why would that be bad?”
“If I did, I would be unable to respond to any sudden attacks or events.”
“Good, now jog.”
Heath sighs and takes off at a steady trot. He keeps up the pace for two hours, stopping at his father's wood shop, where Ingrid has him assemble a tent and campsite and then reassemble it.
Then she allows him to go back to the inn to take a much needed rest and bath.
Heath relaxes in the water of the tub, arms stretched out over brass rim. Fi-ya floats above the water, relining in the air.
“Tomorrow, Fi-ya we set out on our first mission as trekkers. Isn’t it amazing?”
The spirit suddenly gets glum and shrugs.
Water splashes onto the tile floor as Heath sits up, “ What’s wrong? Gonna miss Nadia?”
The spirit nods.
Heath nods silently.
Then looks up with a fire in his eyes and says, “I will too, but we will get to find and help stop the dungeon that almost killed her. When we get done, she’ll be safer from then on.”
The small orange Hearth spirit squints its eyes and raises a single fist in determination.
“That’s the spirit!”
….”Spirit..Ha..because you’re a you know and I said… Ha.”
Fi-ya stares at Heath blankly and then flies at him. Sticks its tongue out and blews, embers speckly on the boy's face.
“AHH!”
Heath dunks under the water surface to ease the burning.
Fi-ya smiles to itself.
Just like old times.
After his bath, Heath enjoys one last meal with his family, in their newly completed house. The only furniture was a simple table, they would sleep in the inn that night, but for tonight they would eat in their home.
Tomorrow, Heath would leave his family, he’d be back of course, probably before he turned fourteen even, but it would be the beginning of his life as a trekker.