Ryan stared at the assorted pieces in front of him. He'd laid them all out on a convenient tree stump that served as a workbench. First, there was the sinew from the Dire Panther's hams. beside it were the two femurs and a yew branch he'd found, as well as a custom made leather grip. Inside his mind danced a schematic for something he'd heard of, but never dreamed of making; a bone recurve bow. Next to the materials sat a wedge, a nicer handaxe, an awl, some bone needles, some leather binding, and his trusty flint knives. According to the recipe, this was everything he needed to craft a bow. Now to do it.
He'd returned from the panther carcass a few days ago, and went back for the deer. After making an tanning a few items with the leather and brains, he'd settled down to spend his skill point. Looking ahead to future battles and recognizing his patron's intent for him to be a survivor above all else, he decided to invest in bowcraft. He'd unlocked the woodwork skill building frames, traps, and his huts, and it was an option he could spend his skill point on (along with coopery, carpentry, wheelwrighting, and a few others). He'd since made two selfbows out of a stand of young "yew" tree to practice, and fulfilled the requirements for Bowcraft Lvl. 2. That's when the schematic for a recurve appeared in his library. Looking around at his ingredients, he realized he had the required regents to craft a bone recurve.
He knew that at some point he'd have to leave this forest. It was a given that he would not be able to win the game if he stayed here. He could probably survive until the end, but the region simply did not have the resources for him to turn into the gear he needed to grow as a champion. There was also the question of how long he could keep surviving in the forest. It seemed to be late summer, but it was still relatively cool. He felt that would mean the area had a harsh winter. As much as he loved his shack and camp, he was unsure he'd be able to survive for very long in an extreme blizzard or whiteout. At the very least, he'd emerge to the spring emaciated and frostbitten. He'd made up his mind, while he was busy advancing his skills, to begin the process of leaving the forest and finding a town. Which meant that he needed to be prepared when he walked out. If he nearly died after encountering a Level 4 Dire Panther, what would happen when he encountered something worse, and was too far from his camp to double back for safety? He'd die, simple as that. So, the bow was a neccessary step towards walking out of these woods alive.
Sighing nervously, Ryan began crafting the bow. He followed the diagrams as the schematic floated in his mind's eye. Each step was clearly delineated for him to follow, and he did his best to follow them to the letter. Of course, his fingers would slip, or his tool wouldn't be sharp enough, and he'd make some small mistakes. But he'd go back and fix them to the best of his abilities before advancing again. While he worked, he could feel the bow forming in his hand. Unlike the selfbows, which revealed themselves from a single piece of wood, the recurve bow seemed to grow in his hand as he formed and laminated it. He continued working, and while doing so began to hum a small song. Heedless of his own humming, his hands sped on faster and faster, and the bow formed surely and quickly, seeming to pulse with a life of its own. Finally, Ryan was finished, and he sealed the laminate bow in the special frame he'd built for it. It would dry for the next few days in his meat shed, and cure into the final springy form that he'd given it. Exhausted, he carried it there before returning to his own shack and collapsing at the bed.
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Korenthis was not happy with Luris. On the other hand, Makkedon and Bevgile were thrilled.
It all began when Luris played her monster card the last turn. She summoned a Wendigo to the Forest of Silence, where her hero was based. She'd placed it far away enough that it wouldn't attack her hero outright, but instead would come and stalk him, eventually forcing him from his encampment. That was the plan anyway. But, like all creatures on the game board, the Wendigo had a mind of its own. Instead of following a clearly inviting path that would lead it to a nice cave, and eventually to cross paths with her Champion, it'd been distracted by the King's Road. Which was a problem, because at that moment a caravan was happily rolling down it. A caravan that had asked, and recieved, the blessing of Korenthis, God of Caravans.
"You stupid CUNT!" He roared, "How could you be so blind as to place a sentient hunter like a Wendigo by the fucking road? The only fucking road in the fucking forest!"
"Korenthis, I'm sorry! I didn't..."
Bevgile and Makkedon snicker loudly at the blunder of Luris. Korenthis cared little for winning or losing, she just legitimately liked caravans. Her champions were always Caraveneers, Traders, Merchants, Muleteers, or Cameleers. For the most part, she stayed out of the end game and used her Champion as piece to foster trade and caravans along its routes. Eventually, the Champion would die, typically on route, or be killed by another Champion. She'd won once or twice with that strategy and seemed to stick to it. However, affect a blessed caravan and she would come after you with a vengence. So Luri was well, and truly, screwing the pooch on this one.
"YOU DIDN'T WHAT?! PAY ATTENTION TO MY LAST TURN AND REALIZE I'D BLESSED A CARAVAN TO GAIN A FAITH POINT?!"
"....well....yeah?"
At this point, Loki decided to intervene, "Ladies, ladies! We need to continue our game here. It is the good Bevgile's turn, after all!"
Korenthis simmered down at the admonishment, shooting daggers at Luris with her eyes. Luris, on the other hand, looked sheepish and sunk lower into her chair. Bevgile smirked as he recieved his Champion's update and played a boon card. Not as powerful as the masterful one played by Makkedon last turn, but enough to push his champion to level 5 and intiate a class up next turn.
He'd honestly been surprised at Makkedon's last turn. Not many gods carried the Crusade Card in their decks anymore. Not only was it hard old, it was hard to get. In order to earn a Crusade Card, your champion needs to die at the hands of a declared enemy faith. Bevgile couldn't remember if Makkedon had ever orchestrated that, but he must have in his last few games, when they'd played seperate. It was a hell of boon anyway, automatically granting a hero the neccessary XP to reach a class up and unlocking the path for the Crusader class advancement later in the game. The negative, of course, being that Makkedon essentially declared war on all other gods. But he'd built a Champion with a focus on strength and fighting and it was still the early game so there was a chance it would pay off. Especially if the crusade was allowed to pick up steam. He'd have to pivot to take out Makkedon after he was done with Luris's champion, that was for sure.
While Bevgile plots in the corner, Loki turns to Luris. "Luris, it is your turn. Since your last turn, your hero has earned 156 XP by gaining various crafting skills. He's spent his skill point on Bowcraft, and is currently building a recurve bow from the bones of the Dire Panther. Would you like a full recap or have you reviewed his stats?"
"I've reviewed his stats, thank you, Loki."
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"Very well, additionally your Wendigo attacked a caravan on the road. It was able to slay three elves and has consumed their flesh, growing stronger. It is now a Level 2 Wendigo and continues to stalk the King's Road. It has earned the Perk Blessing Breaker, due to defeating a caravan that was blessed by Korenthis. As such, it has gained a 10% immunity to damage delt by the followers of Korenthis. How would you like to proceed?"
Luris wipes her brow. She's quite upset about the Wendigo's actions on the King's Road and nervous that it will continue to effect free trade in the area. If someone other than Ryan kills it, it would be a waste of Faith Points. She's unsure of how to force the beast to encounter Ryan and leave the road. But she has an idea, and enough faith points, to work a solution. If everything goes to plan, of course.
"Loki, I'd like to play 'Aspect Blessing' on Ryan's Bone Recurve. Then I'll drain my Faith Pool by playing 'Dream Vision'."
Loki, ever amused behind his game board, smiles. "Alright Luris, and what would you like the dream vision to convey?"
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Ryan spent the three days it took for the bow to dry working on his traps. Advancing to Trapping Lvl. 4 would be difficult. He needed to build and capture one medium monster in his traps. Since the Dire Panther technically counted as a medium monster, that would be a significant challenge. Of course, he had the bonus of being able to enchant the trap as well. But to trap a medium monster, you needed to find one. So he began scouting around for sign and tracks of something that would go bump in the night, right into his Tiger Pit Trap.
It was slow going, and getting hot, so he decided to cool off in the stream. There was a nice deep pool formed by an eddy after a light rapid. He'd tried fishing there before, but couldn't get anything to bite. Which meant it was probably safe to swim. To be honest, he didn't really care. He was so hot that a quick dunk would suffice. He carefully removed his boarskin cloak, bucksin pants and bracers, as well as his pantherskin tunic. He laid his weapons neatly on top of the pile with his buckskin rucksack and dove into the pool, naked as a jaybird.
It was a very refreshing swim, and he lay face down in the water, enjoying a brief moment of relaxation. The past 72 days were filled with constant tension, and he just realized how much he missed relaxing. The water was nice and cool against his skin as he floated peacefully for a few moments. Relaxation over, he opened his eyes to swim back to shore. Which, of course, is when he saw the giant turtle.
It was easily 6 feet across and stared up at him curiously. It looked a lot like a snapping turtle from home, except for the gigantic size. It even riggled it's tongue at him like a snapper would, but instead of looking like a worm this one looked like a silvery fish. "Ah, so that's why there's no fish in this pool," though Ryan. Then he slowly, and surely, paddled away from the turtle. He figured that if he swam frantically he might trigger some sort of prey drive in the thing and end up a turtle snack, which was not his plans. Once he arrived safely on shore, he suited back up and headed home, devising a means of capturing the turtle the whole way.
That had been a day ago, and he'd still not developed a good enough trap to do the trick, even though he consulted his library. But he put those thoughts aside as he stalked into his meat shed and gingerly withdrew the bow from its frame. It gleamed in the light, a whiteness he'd not expected. It was very light for its size and seemed resilient, though he was afraid that it would be too brittle. His fear of shattering the bow with an arrow would soon be tested, as he stung it with the ligament of the Dire Panther and headed to his impromptu archery range.
Nervously, he withdrew an arrow from his quiver. He nocked it on the bow and drew it up to eye level, the arrow resting on the bone arrow rest he'd built specially into the handle. 30 yards away his target stood, a cluster of red berries that was roughly the size of the Dire Panther's vitals attached to the tree by wooden stakes. Taking a deep breath, he pulled the bow's string to full draw and held it there as long as he could. Ten seconds passed excuciatingly slowly and his arm tired quickly. The arrowhead began to dance in figure eights over the target and he relaxed his grip, allowing the bow to fall to his side. Then, taking aim, he quickly drew the bow and snapped off a shot at the mark.
The arrow flew straight and true at a much faster speed and flatter trajectory than he'd expected. It thunked into the hardwood tree, buried to the hilt. Ryan breathed a sigh of relief. The bow held! And it was magnificent. The way the arrow had flow, the accuracy of it....the power. It was intoxicating. He finally had a weapon that was respectable! He pumped his fist to celecrate, howling his triumph in the sky. At that moment, a notification appeared in his field of view.
Feat!
You've created an item imbued with the spirit of a Monster. +30 XP
Bone Recurve Bow (Fair) becomes Pantherbone Recurve (Good)
Holding the Pantherbone Recurve Grants +1 AGI
Arrows fired from Pantherbone Recurve have +1% Penetration and incur +1% Bleed Damage
Beware the Dire Panther, lest he stalk you by the dark of the moon.
In his hands, the Bone Recurve turned a midnight black to match the fur of the Dire Panther he'd slain, and a wild feeling eminated from it. Ryan looked at it with surprise before jumping and yelling again. Today was a good day.
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Spoiler: Ryan's Character Sheet
Ryan Callahan Champion of Luris Class N/A Title Champion of Luris Race Human HP/MP 200 (+.2) / 40 (+.1) XP 633 SP 0 Level 3 STR 16 AGI 19 (+1) END 20 CHAR 14 WIS 8 INT 10 Skills Trapping (Lvl. 3), Tanning (Lvl. 4), Enchant Trap (Lvl. 1), Gathering (Lvl. 1), Leatherwork (Lvl. 2), Assasination (Lvl. 1), Melee Combat(Knife) (Lvl.1), Woodworking (Lvl. 1), Bowcraft (Lvl. 2) Items Tusk Dagger (2) (Fair), Demonic Boar Skin Cloak (Fair), Flint Arrows (6) (Fair), Leather Quiver (Poor), Stone Hand Axe (Fair), Buckskin Pack (Fair), Woven Cord (Fair), Stone Skinning Knife (Fair), Buckskin Pants (Fair), Buckskin Bracers (Fair), Dire Panther Fur Tunic (Fair), Pantherbone Recurve (Good)
Spoiler: Pan McTavish's Skill Sheet
Name Pandermallion Ornaitha McTavish Class Caravaneer Title N/A Race Elf (Wood) HP/MP 130 (+.4) / 90 (+5) (+.2/s) XP 955 SP 0 Level 5 STR 9 AGI 15 END 13 CHAR 20 WIS 18 (+1) INT 7 Skills Getaway (Lvl. 1), Lighten the Load (Lvl. 1), Animal Friendship (Lvl. 3), Logistics (Lvl. 1), Bookkeeping (Lvl. 2), Accounting (Lvl. 1), Melee Comabt (Whip) (Lvl. 1), Metalworking (Lvl. 1), Farrier (Lvl. 2) Items Common Whip (Fair), Monocle of Appraisal (Good), Sturdy Leather Boots (Fair), Caravaneer's Jacket (Fair), Tartan o' Clan McTavish (Good), False Mustache (Poor)