Flaring many of the skills he and Kenda had just discussed, Joe drove off their weariness, enhanced his legs, and activated [Spirit of the Pack] to help them both climb the last of the distance. As they stepped onto level ground, a tiny pinch bit his ribs, and a new party request appeared.
Yuk has invited you to join his party with [Parasitic Connection]. Accept / Decline?
Joe accepted the link, feeling a welcome presence join his thoughts. Yuk didn’t say anything as Joe and Kenda were still talking, but they could each tell both of them felt better with the re-established connection.
As they reached the base camp, they were met with a strange mood from those gathered. Everyone from those who had stayed behind to those who had come to Joe’s rescue turned, almost as one, to stare at the approaching guilders. It was clear the quandary on all their minds was the towering warrior standing apart from everyone else, glaring down at the still-smoking crater that filled the center of the valley below.
The gathered teams' expressions were a mix of exuberant astonishment and a wary concern for the brooding giant. As soon as he and Kenda, and a less obvious Yuk, approached the group, all eyes turned expectantly toward Joe before flicking back to Margen. It was clear the big man was lost in thought, but the collective had silently voted that it was Joe’s duty to see if there was anything anyone could do for the once-lost Living Legend.
Joe sighed deeply, about to back away, but a push from Kendell sent him towards where the mighty warrior stood. Feeling sure he was not the right person for this, Joe almost turned back. Then he caught sight of the man’s face and recognized that lost look. Sighing, Joe closed the gap between them.
“Hey,” he uttered banally, standing at the massive warrior's side and scrutinizing the ruined valley below them. “You look way better than the last time I saw you. Morty fix you up?”
“Hrrrm,” was the only response for a few very long seconds until the founder spoke again. “It has dawned on me what my stubbornness has brought. Two and a half centuries have passed. Everyone I knew is gone. The world I knew must be vastly changed. My place in this new time is beyond my understanding.”
“Funnily enough, that is the one thing I think I can completely identify with, sir. Sorry. Not sir. Margen,” Joe stammered. He pushed on, talking through his awkwardness. “A month ago, everything changed for me, too. You know, I was born on a completely different world. There, I watched everyone I cared for waste away and die. I was slowly dying, too. I thought I was going to follow after them. Yet somehow, I found myself here; on a brand new world, with a brand new second chance.”
Margen’s head lifted from his glower at the blast site and turned to Joe. His brows hung heavily above his eyes, conveying the depths of his emotions yet still acknowledging the newcomer at his side.
“You are kind of like that now, Margen. Instead of being lifted through the planes or whatever I went through to get here, you’ve been lifted through time.” Turning to face the big man directly, Joe spoke earnestly to the lost legend. “You know what? I love my new life. I’m pretty damn sure you could find a way to love yours too. You just have to be open to accepting what you have over what you .. don’t anymore.”
“Hmmm. I noticed you almost said ‘lost’ but changed your wording. Clever. That makes it a very difficult argument to argue with, young man,” the elder warrior conceded.
Joe shrugged and waited, sure Margen had more to say. The general just needed a minute to reorder his thinking from the funk he had been sinking into.
“When the One Above us first sent a newcomer to us, rumor told of a lunatic, unable to cope with the world we live in. I am glad to see not all of those brought by the Keeper of Fate are so foolish.”
“Well, to be honest, when I first got here, I made a complete mess of things from one minute of carelessness. It took almost dying right off the bat to make me realize the rules had totally changed.”
“Just as they likely have for me as well. Thank you, Joe. Not just for your words now but for your deeds below. Were it not for you, who knew how much longer I would have had to endure my exile in that dank cave.”
“Well, I can’t take all the credit for it …”
“Yes, of course. These fine folk were instrumental, but it was you …”
Joe held up a finger. “Ehh. I think it's time we came clean about something.”
“Don’t you dare!”
“Sorry, Bud. But if I have to endure the limelight, then it's time you got up on stage here with me.”
“No. Really, Joe. We can’t … That’s Margen! We’re not ready.”
“Time for big boy pants, Dude.”
“So, remember how we said Yuk was our familiar …,” Joe began out loud to the bemused waiting warrior.
“Jooooooooe!” wailed the mortified bundle of bashful bugs.
----------------------------------------
With a huff, Joe flung off the light blanket and threw himself out of bed. Feeling guilty, he stopped still and listened for any change in Kenda’s breathing. Maybe the only plus side about the last two nights of Joe being unable to sleep was that Kendell was now too tired to be awoken once again in the middle of the night. The beautiful young woman snored lightly, undisturbed by Joe’s forceful departure from their bed.
Stalking to the wide, unshuttered window, Joe leaned on the cool stone of the sill and gazed down to the moonlit harbor, the air full of the fragrance of the abaaka blossoms growing up the walls. The peacefulness of the seascape vista did little to settle his internal agitation. The growling, restless tension inside him remained, practically demanding action from him.
It’s not like Joe had been lazing about these last three days. His life had been completely overturned by a whirlwind of commitments, gatherings, and celebrations.
The return trip from Glen Cumha after Taylyn’s explosion had been easy enough. Vexor had opened a gate directly back into the main hall of the guildhouse. In less than an hour, Margen had been returned to Fort Coral and whisked to the temple of Mairrhee. The base camp was dismantled. A new waypoint was established by the talented gate specialist which would allow the guild to return to the site easily. That afternoon was wrapped up by a training session with Myllo and Kenda to optimize everyone’s gains.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Joe ended up taking [Shifter] which turned out to be a solid pick right off the bat. Besides automatically gaining 5 or 6 points in a handful of skills, [Night Eye’s and [Tracker] advanced enough to form a synergy. They combined to become the uncommon skill [Night Hunter].
[Night Hunter] (Perception) (U) Your senses are vastly improved. Your eyesight's acuity allows you to see in near darkness. Your sense of smell is enhanced, granting you the ability to track, target, and locate objects and creatures by scent alone. Your hearing is precise enough that you can target and track creatures by sound alone. You can sense obscured and invisible creatures.
While the upgrade did not refund him any attribute points, it made it easier to level the skill and added hearing to the other two improved senses. This was as mixed a blessing as [Tracker] had been. Joe could now hear everything around himself so much more clearly, distractingly so. Getting his nose under control had been a bit of a battle, but he was getting a handle on it. Doing the same for his ears shouldn’t be any harder.
Even so, super-hearing had been awful during all the awards ceremonies, council meetings, and celebrations. It felt like everyone was shouting at him.
For the last two days, Joe had been paraded around to the ranking citizens of Fort Coral. Apparently, rescuing one of the city’s founders needed to be glorified ad nauseam. Joe understood why the rescue was a big deal, he just hated that he needed to be at all of these events. Margen could only attend a few due to his health and Yuk was not even a consideration. Septimus Silver, the head of the guild, declared that a humanoid mass of insects was not the face the guild wished to present during this momentous event.
Yuk was ecstatic to be omitted. He got to spend more time with his hero. Once Margen had been treated enough to regain some mana, he cast a skill known as [Noble Heart] on his fragmented fan. The spell would not work on anyone with an evil heart. Cleared of any suspicion, Yuk was free to spend as much time as Margen was willing to give him. Which turned out to be quite a bit. The warrior’s odd, raggedy rescuer had two hundred years of news for the lost legend.
While he was happy for his friend, Joe was really not thrilled that it meant all the hoopla landed on his shoulders.
The only consolation for Joe was that they had made sure Kendell was at his side for all of these galas. This meant he got to find out just how jaw-droppingly gorgeous his girlfriend looked in ballgowns. She dressed in her best battle gear during the council meeting, but for the ball later that evening, she had come to meet him in a green silk dress that blew Joe’s mind. He had to wrestle the now ever-present wildness into submission so as not to drag her immediately into his bedroom at the Abaaka House.
Even picturing her now riled up the restless, wild spirit that was keeping him awake. Ever since they had left Glen Cumha, the feral feeling inside him was no longer something that came and went. It was now a constant presence; pushing at him to get outside, to run, to hunt, to revel in the power they possessed. The wildness would not abide him being still, and it loathed being indoors.
Joe felt like he was constantly consuming energy drinks by the case. ‘Monster’ was all too fitting.
He grabbed his trousers and a light shirt off the end of the bed and used his ring to auto-don them. Vaulting out the window, Joe dropped down a story to the street below. He landed with a cat-like grace on his bare feet thanks to [Hunter’s Pursuit] and his newly enhanced Dexterity.
Joe had been given a bunch of options for his level 20 skill. He had been shown two new choices for each class this time instead of just one.
Healer had offered him [Shared Vitality], an ability to form a collective health pool with his allies, which he had seriously considered. The other proposed spell was one that would summon a unicorn companion, which he did not. Joe was happy enough with getting to know Finn. He had done more than enough training to know that it was best to establish one bond fully before adding another to the mix.
Fell Bane Druid had two options, with one reminiscent of Fell Bane Hunter and the other straight druidic. The second option would allow Joe to use his spells on plants. Kenda expressed her feeling that if he took this ability, it would likely lead him down the path toward flora-manipulation and more plant-based spells.
While that was all well and good, the ziggurat had pointed out that Joe still was behind the curve in terms of his attack damage. If they had not had Margen’s bullseye strikes backing them up, he and Yuk would have been overrun more than once. The Fell Bane Hunter option was a damage boost to light and thrown weapons called [Aspect of the Ape]. When he saw it, he asked Kendell, who confirmed that the abilities offered by the One Above were often derived from the events one experienced. The skill made Joe think of the badboon battles he and Earcellwen had fought together.
[Aspect of the Ape] (Dexterity) (U): You can enhance your light-weapon melee and thrown weapon attacks with a magical energy type chosen at the time of taking this skill. Currently your most effective option at this time is Force. Your attack damage increases by 15% plus 2% for each skill rank you have with this skill.
While Joe knew this was the least exciting option of the four, it was the one that he needed most.
What he found that was even better than being able to hit harder was the improved grace that came with two more points to Dex. He felt just more all-around coordinated. In his post-battle training session, he found he could slip around Kenda’s attacks without having to flare [Melee Defense], and he could escape Tezeno’s grapples without needing to use [Morphic Form]. Even here on the shore, trying to placate the restless wild spirit, Joe skipped stones across the shoreline and found he could hit the slick film of retreating water numerous times before a wave swamped his projectile.
Joe jogged along the beach and back, hoping to tire himself out enough to sleep. When that didn’t work, he tried sprinting the span. Reaching the far end of the harbor, he bound up onto the rocky cliffs that lead up to the Swift Water district. His claws and skills allowed him to scale even the sections slippery with algae easily.
He pulled himself over the lip before jogging through the humble huts of this neighborhood. Before too long, he found himself in front of Rosaline’s Ring, the same tavern he had ended up at after the fight with the manticore, Tusked Tarz. Joe did not want to try and ‘medicate’ himself to sleep and the wildness did not want to leave the night air for a crowded, smelly room.
A few seconds later, he loped past the tiny temple of Myrrhcee. The whole ‘church’ was nothing more than Mercy Suku’s humble dwelling and a small courtyard with a shrine to the goddess of mercy. Still, it was well-loved by the people of Swift Water. It was surrounded by colorful gardens, painted with bright flowery murals, and adorned with baskets of simple food brought by the community for anyone who needed it. Joe’s favorite part was the food stayed just as it was from the moment it was delivered to the tiny temple; warm dishes warm, cool drinks cool, and everything stayed fresh. The goddess kept every offering in perfect condition until it was taken by someone in need.
Joe almost turned into the little garden atrium, but the lights were out, and the wildness finally was happy just running. It was easier to keep pushing on physically than it would be to try and settle his wild side for a visit with the saint of Myrrhcee.
He ran on, reaching the farthest point of the cliffs. His toes hooked over the edge, Joe looked down and watched the waves breaking over the jagged rocks below. The riptides, rocky ground, and steep banks were why Swift Water was far less prosperous than the harbor area or resource-rich hills on the west side of town. It could not easily draw its bounty from the sea as the rough coast was unable to support docks and fishing boats.
Joe found himself timing the crashing rolls of the ocean, absently debating whether he could dive between the stony points and through the undertow until he recognized that the wildness actually wanted to try it.
He shook his head vigorously to clear that craziness and addressed himself. ““Okay! We need to set some boundaries. You’re driving me crazy.”
“A common sentiment announced by those who are speaking to themselves, hmm, Joe,” a calm, sibilant voice suggested at his back. Joe spun around to find Mercy Suku gently walking towards him. Her tan robes fluttered in the gentle sea breeze. “Your troubles are loud on this quiet night, young healer. Might I be of help?”