Meeting new colleagues was always stressful. It was worse when they were armed, said work was monster hunting, one already hated you, and another was passively seducing you. It was unbelievably awkward when they had just watched you yell at a wild animal that was now talking in your head.
Hunters are danger, the voice of a snarling beast silently spoke to Daniel. He couldn’t block it out, now on the receiving end of a deal that could not be broken. At least he could reply in kind.
They’re going to be hunting with us. Well, it’s kind of the other way around, he thought to the beast and then asked, Can you hear all the thoughts I’m having?
Do not think? Do not like this.
Well just handle it for now please, I have to talk them into thinking I’m not crazy. Oh hell, I have a murder cat in my head. I’m already there.
I am murder cat? The concept of a name was foreign to Ringcat. Expressing anything above instinct, and then communicating that to another creature, was foreign to Ringcat. It was a very confusing time to be Ringcat.
Stupid feature, Daniel thought pointedly to himself, not entirely sure if he was safe doing so. I thought it would just let me ride Ringcat into battle or something cool like that. He shifted his thoughts towards Ringcat as a test after there was no challenge from the beast. I’ve kind of been calling you Ringcat but if you want a better name we can workshop it. Just follow my lead for now and we can talk, er, think about this later?
Fine. Daniel felt a presence in his mind leave him and sighed in relief as that confirmed the telepathy wasn’t always on. Ringcat was done thinking to him for now.
“Are you alright Guy?” Thomas asked as he joined the group. His voice had that inflection people used when they specifically weren’t trying to mention the long-toothed elephant on the hill. “We were waiting for you.”
“Do you have that thing under control or not?” an avianoid in the group that he recognized as female by the voice asked bruskly, overriding the Cleric. “Most powers don’t need you to yell at a creature to get them to behave.”
And now two people hate me, Daniel thought. Gadriel’s silent glare confirmed the count. Maybe now that my charisma doesn’t suck I can try and fix things with him. I still feel like it’s all a misunderstanding he’s too stubborn to explain. “He’s fine, don’t worry.”
“He?” The avianoid gaped, turning to Lograve. It was an odd expression for someone with a beak. “Oh Crest, you're bringing a Spiritualist with us!?”
Both Daniel and Lograve winced as more hostile glances were directed towards Daniel. For Lograve’s part, it was the realization he’d forgotten to mention something crucial. Only the other avianoid in the group, Thomas, and oddly Kob didn’t look affronted.
“I don’t know what that is. I’m-“
Hunter pack! Danger! Ringcat blared an alarm in his mind, the presence pouncing on his mind.
It’s fine, don’t do anything to provoke them! “I’m-“ he tried again, struggling to keep up both conversations.
“Our tenth member here is no Spiritualist, no more than I am a flying duck, haha,” Lograve cut in, attempting to salvage the situation. The humor was forced and the quality showed it. “Daniel is just fond of his companion. Your views don’t extend to all monsters, right Daniel?” It was a question with only one answer.
“Yeah,” Daniel nodded. It wasn’t far from the truth depending on what ‘views’ Lograve meant. Some in the group relaxed. Gadriel and the female avianoid didn’t. He identified them just to be sure they weren’t planning to-
Light?
You can see that?
Yes. What is?
Explain later, Daniel thought, then put himself on private mode to scream internally.
“Well, if that concern is addressed we should start moving,” Lograve said with a hint of sternness. “And if there is any confusion on that point, bring it to me and not Mr. Brant here. Kob is nominally lead given they are the highest level, but they have ceded operational command to myself.”
“Agree,” Kob nodded their massive head.
“Just so we’re clear,” the female avianoid seethed, “If this man is a Spiritualist, I will do what is necessary to defend myself.”
“I’m not!” Daniel protested. “I’m here to train like everyone else. Sorry we got off on the wrong foot. Or, eh, talon. I guess foot would still be appropriate? I should stop talking.” That seemed to soften the avianoid’s glare, but only because she thought he was an idiot. That was better than hatred and he’d take it.
The ten began moving through the grasslands of the Thormundz. Of their number were six humans, two avianoids, and two gestalt. The ringcat that followed Daniel was omitted from this list as it had not yet passed the probationary period for sentience. It went where it willed, which just so happened to coincide with Daniel’s path. The pack beast Tlara had summoned was barely considered as a thing and best listed among the group’s possessions.
Roost’s Peak was a four-day journey away, and most of those days would be spent walking. Fighting was not a foregone conclusion yet hope remained the roads were still clear. That wouldn’t be the case forever. The survivors of the village should intersect with them at the halfway mark, assuming they left as scheduled. Long distance communication magic existed, but Lograve had explained to Daniel that it was a niche ability only reliably acquired at higher levels or in the rare Fate class. None were left in the Thormundz that had such a power and any items that could produce a similar effect had been spent uselessly trying to call for aid.
Lograve was at the back of the group and had dragged Daniel out of immediate earshot of the others. “Sorry, I should have mentioned that before now. It honestly slipped my mind.”
Daniel grunted as he shifted the sturdy weight of his pack. Both he and Ringcat had been loaded with rations and supplies when the group set off. The female avianoid had summoned a creature similar to a rhino with a giant sparking purple spine for a horn and three huge legs to serve as a pack animal. Daniel also had weapons now. Real weapons, not the discarded branch of a dome tree. Two daggers, a short sword, and a crossbow slung over Ringcat's side. Armor that felt like a very stiff jacket wrapped his torso making the summer’s heat a threat without reliable hydration. While they made him feel more comfortable taking on monsters, it didn't balance out having made instant enemies of two in the group. “What’s a Spiritualist?” he whispered back, hoping to at least resolve one of the blunders.
“Something like a hornet trapped in a jar. Mad and dangerous if let out, and even worse if you let them build a nest.” Lograve paused for effect. “A core belief of the Octyrrum is that sentient creatures have souls, while monsters are spawn of the Crest and are only evil incarnate. There are also the normal animals, but none of them try tearing your throat out with arm-length teeth.”
“Is this like the belief that there aren’t other worlds?”
“Well, yes,” Lograve conceded. “But this is one I give more credit to. There are thousands of people with the Beastmaster class, if not more, and you'd think someone would have noticed odd monsters. Spiritualists, on the other hand, believe there is an intrinsic quality to all monsters that is akin to a soul but different. A spirit, and thus their name. Most people know someone injured or killed by a monster so it is not a popular opinion, made worse by the radical Spiritualists that will attack people trying to hunt, though they are far less common. A giveaway that you’re talking to a Spiritualist is that they’ll refer to monsters as if they have a gender, whereas biologically that is not the case.”
“Oh. Fantasy animal rights group then.” Daniel thought for a moment. “So how do monsters, you know.”
“When a monster grows powerful enough by consuming others, it can spawn another of its kind by itself without needing to pair up.” Lograve grimaced at the thought. “It should be said that while some monsters have the habit of forming loose groups to protect developing young, only one is required to reproduce. They can also spawn from the Crest to any part of the world, so it is impossible to completely cull the monster population in a region.”
“Weird, but ok.” He still feels like a he though, Daniel thought privately. And I’m still not checking to be sure. “Then Ringcat shouldn’t be able to talk to me?”
Lograve took in a breath as if he had to open a jar someone had stuffed live hornets into. “Strange question. No, it should be less conversant than a bucket.”
In Daniel’s experience, trusting Lograve had worked out so far, and he needed to spread the weirdness out a little. “He, uh, does talk to me.”
Lograve stopped, stung. “What!?”
“You’re drawing attention.”
“Oh let me tell you about drawing attention,” he started, then sighed and modestly lowered his volume. “What happened exactly?”
“It was right before I met you. I improved my charisma, there was this power evolution, and suddenly the murder cat was talking to me.”
“What!?” The others had stopped now too. “We’ll catch up, go on!” he called out. “Broken strap!” After the rest of the group had passed on, the Beastmaster shaking her head, he whispered conspiratorially, “Think they bought it?”
“No,” Daniel said with a mournful tone. “So about that power, when it evolved I couldn’t see the original one. I guess that confirms I’m a Totem Warrior too? Or at least I have some of that class' powers somehow.”
“Do you even know what power evolution is?" Lograve didn’t wait for Daniel to answer. "It is very rare! You might as well have told me you… came… from…” he trailed off. “You are a very strange man, Daniel.”
“So what exactly is power evolution?”
“It’s when you intrinsically reject a power your class gives you and remake it to better accommodate your inclinations. It's less an upgrade and more changing something to better fit your desires. But,” he raised a finger. “Anyone with a class usually accepts the powers that come with it. Major life changes can alter someone’s preferences enough that they clash with some aspect of their class, though an evolution can only occur if the power wasn’t awakened before the change occurred. It's very hard to grasp a power enough to reject it before you reach the point of intrinsically understanding it.”
“How do you know all of this? Actually?” Daniel gave Lograve a suspicious glance. “You’ve had an answer for almost everything I’ve asked.”
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“I’m a teacher, it’s only natural. And studying can grant advancement potential to Arcanists,” he added dismissively. “Probably Artificers too. But it’s impossible for your ringcat to talk to you. Biologically, if nothing else.”
“Yeah, that’s my bad. It’s more like a telepathy thing.”
Feh, telepathy, like you could do that, Lograve thought towards Ringcat, forming a Telepathic Link with the ringcat for the Crest of it even though nothing would happen.
What? Who? Daniel watched Lograve’s tanned skin turn impossibly white as Ringcat replied. It even got the scar tissue.
…
The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Daniel felt like a new kid in school that the teacher had singled out as untouchable. The comparison wasn’t too far off. The hike had been hard but his endurance was lessening the strain on his body. That didn’t mean he enjoyed it. From the village, he’d been supplied decent shoes and a pack that didn’t quite cut into his back, but ten hours of walking would leave anyone with some form of sores. Figures, Daniel thought as he looked around him. I get shot into a fantasy world and I end up camping. I guess I should have gone for the cyberpunk one instead.
Three fires were lit in a small forest and various social circles formed around them. High society flocked to Kob who neither minded nor participated in their company. This included Gadriel, Evalyn, and an earth gestalt that incorporated throwing weapons into their mass. Lograve could have been included in this number as defacto leader but he was elsewhere.
The two avianoids had formed the core of the second fire with Tak providing the literal spark. He’d dogged after Evalyn all day, but when camp came high society circled their wagons and shunned him. A heavily armored human and Tlara’s spark rhino completed the four.
The last fire had been lit by Thomas and shared by Lograve, Daniel, and Ringcat.
“It’s not good that we’re so fractured,” Lograve commented. “I’m hoping the first battle will sort that out.”
“I could go apologize to Gadriel again,” Daniel offered, hoping Lograve would say no.
“Nah Guy, don’t do that. You’ll just look like you’re trying to suck up to the Spireborn,” Thomas interjected with an odd turn of phrase. “You’ve got to earn his respect.”
“He’s right. Show you can handle yourself and people will believe you’re not just riding my coattails.” Lograve ruffled his robes for emphasis. “Get some rest. We’ll be farther out from Hagain and more likely to run into trouble.”
“Well, night Guy,” Thomas said, turning away from the fire and settling into a bed roll. It was summer, but the nights were chilly. The fires had been set to burn out on their own without intervention or risk of spreading and would provide warmth enough to make for comfortable sleep.
Daniel settled into his pack and Ringcat padded to his side.
Tall hunter knows. The voice came as the cat settled next to him.
He’s a friend. That hadn’t stopped Lograve from briefly panicking when Ringcat wouldn’t stop being sentient. Whatever happened to the beast allowed him to communicate telepathically to anyone who could touch his mind, and Lograve had a power that did just that. Ringcat couldn’t begin the conversation like with Daniel, but he could respond like any other thinking creature contacted by the Arcanist.
You said explain. A low rumble vibrated Daniel that wasn’t entirely unpleasant.
Right. Daniel closed his eyes. What do you want to know?
Name?
You have an idea?
No. Yours?
Oh. It was very weird introducing yourself to the murder cat you’d already been traveling with. Daniel did it anyway. Daniel Brant. Just, uh, just Daniel is fine though.
Light? Daniel identified Thomas, who now had the sleeping effect on his tag. Yes, that.
It’s a power I have. It lets me, and you somehow, know if people are good or not. Green is good.
Green is good, Ringcat repeated. Power?
It’s like your claws, but different. Sorry, that doesn’t make any sense. Do you know what magic is?
No.
Daniel opened his eyes again, looking between Thomas and the creature beside him. He dismissed the identify effect. Try doing it yourself. Maybe if you can see the light you have access to my powers?
How?
I don’t know. The identify creature power didn’t have a chant, arcane hand signs, or even require pointing. Daniel just wanted it to happen and it did. Wait, let me try something else. I’m curious if it’s just this power or all of them.
While Daniel had been banking on Regeneration’s mana burn effect to heal the sores the day’s walking had brought, he felt he could spend some mana on Moment of Clarity in the name of science. His perspective of time froze and he was about to reach out to Ringcat when the beast did it for him. What? Can’t move! By the sound of Ringcat's voice, the absolute panic the power caused would have had the murder cat jump out of his fur if he could.
Oh sorry! Shoot, should have warned you. Daniel didn’t dismiss the effect, not wanting to waste more mana on the startup cost. It's another power. We can’t move but we can think. To each other too apparently, even though time’s stopped.
Can’t… breathe… The words were drawn out like Ringcat was dying, and Daniel couldn’t help but find it a little comical.
Do you need to? That thought hadn’t occurred to Daniel the last two times he’d used the power. Time is frozen so we shouldn’t. Again, sorry, but I want to test something out. He willed his Identify Creature feature to function on his resident test subject Thomas, and the Cleric was ringed with light again. Time resumed its normal course.
Do not like. Ringcat didn’t rampage but did audibly growl. Thomas stirred, but the sleeping effect remained on him.
I can’t do it too often, but imagine being able to sense every enemy in a fight and plan a move while they’re frozen. Doesn’t that sound useful?
No. Up until now the voice in his head had been straightforward, guarded, and feral. The response was still feral, but now evasiveness tinged it.
You don’t have to admit it, Daniel laughed internally. Thomas the night light was turned off again. Now you try. Not the time stop thing, just the light. I can’t explain it, but try willing him to be tracked? That sounds closer to something you would normally do.
There was a pause that stretched long enough that Daniel was willing to abandon the attempt and call it a night, until his phone buzzed.
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Alert: A Creature you have a Bond: Friendship with is attempting to access Feature: Identify Creature. You may allow or deny access to this feature. Only one of your Powers may be shared at a time.
----------------------------------------
Benefits? You didn’t tell me about any benefits. Daniel pressed the allow button that accompanied the alert, though he felt the permission could also be mental. Thomas lit up again without him having to do anything.
Strange, Ringcat thought pensively.
Hey, that was great! Your senses are probably sharper than mine too. Woah! Daniel softly whistled as wildlife suddenly lit up around him. He'd never have imagined how much life was around the seemingly empty countryside. Gray animal shapes filled the darkness of the campfire’s edge. Daniel saw squirrels, nesting birds, something called a spark mole digging through the earth, and creatures he had no earthly reference for. The red outlines of monsters were present as well, but far enough away that their auras almost blended into the background.
Gray? Red? Ringcat was rotating his head like a radar dish.
This is amazing! You can sense really far out. A kilometer, maybe more? Having all of this tagged is kind of distracting though. Daniel’s vision was filled with the shapes in the distance, but he refrained from removing the light from any. He was about to go to sleep and Ringcat could have his fun. Red is dangerous, things that want to hurt you. Gray is something that isn’t your friend or an enemy.
Prey.
Not necessarily! Daniel objected, noting most of the team members had a gray aura. Still, I could see you hunting a lot of this stuff.
I will. Ringcat stood on his four powerful legs.
Now? Aren’t you tired?
Will hunt. Feed. Return. Rest. Ready for tomorrow.
For a level 0, your endurance is impressive. That didn’t draw a response. Ringcat’s green outline began to stalk through the underbrush. Watching the jungle cat at work by way of aura vision kept Daniel awake for another thirty minutes through intrigue alone before the toil of the day finally brought sleep.
…
The late night antics made Daniel the last to rise. Ringcat, true to his word, was at his side when dawn came. “You do sleep with that thing Guy,” Thomas greeted with a grin.
“Don’t knock it til you try it. It’s like having a fuzzy blanket.” Daniel let the gentle ribbing go, still glad to have a friend on the team. The travel pains from yesterday were also gone. His Regeneration worked even if he spent a fair amount of mana on Moment of Clarity. “I guess she doesn’t do that,” he nodded to the Beastmaster he now knew was named Tlara. Ringcat had identified the entire team for him last night. Even though she should have resisted the name revealing effect due to her level, someone must have mentioned her name in passing and that was all it took. Wish I had that on Earth.
“Yeah, the tit without tits just had it lay down away from everyone else.”
“Try not to antagonize the lady with the murder rhino,” Daniel laughed, glad they were out of earshot. There was a charm to Thomas that made Daniel wonder what his charisma was. It couldn’t be too different from Daniel’s as they were both level one, but Thomas got along much better with everyone but his patients. I guess attribute score isn’t everything.
“You’re ahead of me there. You’re a nice enough guy but you have a strange attitude towards monsters.”
“Ringcat’s just special.” He brushed his hand against the beast’s neck. Ringcat tolerated this.
Thomas went to pat him as well but was met with a growl. “That’s one way to say it. Oh, Lograve wanted me to pass along our training team assignment. We’re far enough away from the village that they want a plan ahead of time.”
“What do you mean? We all aren’t fighting together?”
“No.” Thomas shook his head. “Not unless something really bad finds us. Or vice versa. Otherwise, we’ll split into groups of 5 so it won’t be hard to keep track of everyone. It’ll be me, you, Lograve, the gawper, and Tak. He’s…”
“I know.”
“Perceptive, aren’t you guy? I don’t think he introduced himself to you.”
“I have my ways,” Daniel responded mysteriously, keeping a brave face to hide his wariness of the Hero.
The ten continued north, departing the small forest and coming to a wide expanse of unbroken grassland. Besides the road, the grass grew tall to flowering in places. Daniel would have feared what could be lurking in the fields of grass if he didn’t have Ringcat. To limit distractions, Daniel had asked the beast not to tag anything that could be considered prey while they were moving, but to alert him to any threats.
Murder cat radar! Nice, Daniel thought as he saw a red outline in the distance move away and out of sight. Hey Ringcat, we still need an actual name for you. Any thoughts?
I am me, came the grave response.
I’m not going to call you ‘me’. People would think I’m even crazier than they do already. What about Daniel Jr.?
Joke? Ringcat asked.
Yeah, that would be weird too. Well, let’s just keep thinking. Something like Murdercat or Murderclaw would be too on the nose, but it’s better than ‘me’.
Tak had approached Daniel while he was in silent conversation. A question was asked, though he didn’t register it until it was repeated. “You are an air Totem Warrior?”
“No,” Daniel sighed, tired of the old joke but in good spirits. “Well, probably not. I’m an Artificer. Wait, air Totem Warrior?”
“Hmm,” the wirey bird sighed with a beaked grimace. “First Tlara and now you. I have been so off lately.”
“I don’t know about her, but a lot of people have been confusing me with one lately. It’s fine.” Daniel noticed a large feline paw hanging from Tak’s waist that looked oddly similar to a ringcat’s. “You’re one?”
“Yes. Level two.” Tak beamed with pride. “I had a question for you, human.”
“Daniel.” He offered a hand and the two shook. “I’ll answer if you answer one of mine after.”
“Fair trade. The Bard, Evalyn.” Tak enunciated each syllable of the name. “For humans, what approach would you recommend? My charisma is not the best and I have not had much success so far.”
Nervous sweat joined that from exertion. “I’m, uh, not the best to ask.”
“I am only looking for pleasure, if you had a similar goal.” Tak said that like it was reassuring. “We do not need to compete.”
“You’ve probably been with more humans than I have Tak.”
“I have not been with any.”
“Then it’s a tie.” Tak blinked at him. “Look, you’ve got this whole primal look going on pretty well,” Daniel assured. “And from what I’ve heard Bards will jump on anything that moves. Maybe you’re just making it too easy on her?”
“A predator needs to hunt its prey.” Tak nodded thoughtfully, and strangely Ringcat did too. “I will make a fresh attempt tonight.”
A like mind. Ringcat purred in Daniel’s head.
Yeah, you seem like you'd like him. A little too unabashed for me but he’s friendly so I’ll take it. “Well, good luck! I did have a question too.”
“Ah. We did have a deal.”
“Air Totem Warrior? Are there different kinds?”
“Yes. You seem like one. Similar Focus at least. Totem Warriors can choose different elements. I chose earth because earth Totem Warriors are stronger than most. Evalyn will discover this tonight.”
“Right.” Daniel let the awkward conversation end there, mostly content with how it had gone.
A few minutes later, there was a shout in Daniel’s head. Pack! Massive! Ringcat alerted Daniel as a sea of gray filled the air ahead of them as individuals crossed into Ringcat’s detection range. Most had names.
It’s ok, we were expecting them. Keep close and it’ll be fine.
“Everything alright?” Tak asked, still walking close by.
“The survivors of Roost’s Peak are close.”