Joe found there was actually one thing he liked about Kaid; he was surprisingly easy to carry. With his damaged backpack sliding off his shoulder and a weariness even [Efferous Endurance] wasn’t dispelling, lugging the thief back to the raft could have been a real pain. As it was, the gnome only weighed about as much as a medium-sized dog. Joe draped the small man over his shoulder and used his weight to hold the backpack strap in place. It turned out, Kaid was more helpful unconscious than when he was awake.
During the quiet trek back across the plains, Joe took the time to review the gains he had made during his battle with the Beguilburr. He had several windows hanging out at the edge of his vision. Swinging them into his eyesight, he opened one after another.
Your skill [Efferous Endurance] has increased to rank 10.
Your skill [Parry] has increased to rank 12.
Your skill [Staff Expertise] has increased to rank 8.
Your skill [Assess Creatures] has increased to rank 11.
Your skill [Healing Touch] has increased to rank 16.
He had seen notifications for his levels slide by without opening them. Joe was surprised that the burst of energy had not happened immediately as he gained the levels. The moment he opened the window for the increase to level four, he received the flare of exhilaration for both of his new levels. It appeared as though Hawking would not allow you to hold extra level-ups to refill resources at a later date. If you took one, you got all of them.
You have reached level 4 in your Healer Class. You have gained 1 unassigned attribute point and the following trait and skill.
[Awakened] +2 to Spirit. You have gained 1 uncommon spirit-based skill.
[Purge]: Remove minor afflictions from a target in close range. Minor afflictions include conditions such as Blinded, Cowed, Dazed, Deafened, Frightened, Shaken, or Sickened.
You have reached level 5 in your Healer Class. You have gained 1 unassigned attribute point.
When the burst of leveling subsided, Joe had the strangest feeling. He felt as if somehow he was more solid than he had been just a moment ago. The sensation was different from an increase in attributes. It was something more fundamental. He packed that thought away for later and, shook out his free hand to release the remaining tingling shivers left over from his post-leveling rush. Pulling up the next window, he unlocked an achievement.
Achievement: You have defeated your first elite enemy. You have gained 1 unassigned attribute point. Your conduct has awarded you the following choice of Traits:
[Pyromaniac]: Nothing evens the playing field like an uncontrolled inferno. +10% to fire-based skills
[Overachiever]: Big risks. Big rewards. +10% to overcome resistances when fighting enemies with levels higher than your own.
Joe missed a step and almost dropped Kaid, distracted as he was by the offered bonuses. “Are you screwing with me, Hawking?!”
A popup window snapped into place in an almost defensive manner.
Your query is too ambiguous to answer. Please clarify.
“What is with these Achievements? I can’t use either of them. I don’t have any fire-based skills or any skills that go up against resistances … at least I don’t think I do. Why give me options I can’t use?”
Your actions during your most recent encounter suggested those rewards.
“Also, I got the [Purge] skill now. That is something that would have been far more helpful twenty minutes ago. Giving me a cleansing spell right after I really needed it is kind of a kick in the crotch.”
At the time, you had yet to warrant an additional skill. Your most recent actions dictated the reward for your level increase. Do you feel this skill is not fitting for your class and player history?
“It is, but after nearly dying to an elite monster and having to deal with Kaid on top of it, I was kind of hoping for something better. Especially for the achievements.”
Would you prefer not to be offered any rewards for achievements?
“Wow. There is a ‘dad’ answer if I ever heard one,” he scoffed. Joe wondered again just what Hawking was. If he was a god, then he was one with an awfully snarky attitude at times. The way he worded his blurbs of text often made Joe think of a computer program, but Hawking interacted in a way no computer he ever heard of could. AIs were able to make some pretty amazing responses lately but they could not plan ahead the way Hawking seemed to. Maybe he was some cosmic alien being with a Vulcan-like vernacular. Regardless, it felt pretty pointless trying to argue with him.
“Fine. I’ll take Overachiever. I’ve had way too many bad experiences getting burned by stupid stuff in the past. Once, I got hit in the back of the head with a roman candle. Oh, and the road flare. That was the worst. Pretty sure the last thing I should be doing is seeking out more flaming disasters here in this world.”
Realizing the irony of that last statement, Joe looked back over his shoulder and saw a flaming disaster. An advancing wall of flames was swiftly crawling across the plain. The wood was burning as well, but not nearly as quickly as the long grasses. Joe felt a knot form in his stomach. He had done this and he had no idea how bad it could get.
“Hey Hawking, do you have any control over the weather? Any chance of making it rain? Hard?”
Direct manipulation of the weather is not within my purview.
“Is there a rain god I can call on or dance to?”
My function is to acclimate you to the system Illuminaria operates under. If you wish you learn specific lore, you must research it.
“I have to say, buddy, you are really not being all that helpful at the moment.” Joe assumed that would be the end of the conversation, much like how his half-hearted guilt trip had been ignored. He was surprised when Hawking relented.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
Locally, the most common deity associated with the weather is known as Ghayle. She has been known to respond to prayer in situations like this. Dancing is not typically one of her forms of worship.
“Wow! Thanks.” Here was a perfect example of why Joe was not sure about Hawking. Would an AI reverse its decision because of a grumpy user objection? He filed that thought away for later and focused on the idea of praying. “So how do I do it? Pray, I mean. Just ask the heavens? I have never done this before.”
Prayer is a mostly subjective act. Some orders have codified rituals they have found to effectively contact their deities but they are not necessary. Do what you think is appropriate and you may be heard.
“That’s pretty vague but no complaints. You already bent a rule for me once today, so I’m grateful.”
Joe decided to jog a bit before trying prayer. Firstly, he wanted some more distance from the following blaze. He also needed some time to order his thoughts. He had played clerics before and could easily whip up some flowery benediction. The problem was if gods were real here, would they take offense at him acting out a prayer instead of actually believing in the words he was saying? The last thing he wanted was to piss Ghayle off and have her fan the wildfire right at him.
Joe kept running things like ‘Oh mighty Ghayle’ and ‘Beloved mother of rain’ through his head but the thought of saying them out loud made him feel like a complete cheesball. If he was going to do this, there was only one way he was going to state his prayer. Joe sincerely wanted the fire he had started to be quenched. So he would just ask with all the sincerity he truly felt.
Joe stopped and laid the still-unconscious Kaid on the ground beside him. He debated kneeling and clenching his hands but that felt like an appropriation of Earth religions. Joe let his arms hang at his side and looked up into the sky.
“Ghayle, please. Please bring rain so this fire, um … to put out the fire I started. Thank you.”
Joe cringed at how terrible a prayer that was. The only good thing he could say for it was, it was one-hundred percent heartfelt and truthful. Maybe it would be enough.
Just as he was about to turn and jog back toward the raft, something caught his eye. A line of grass was shaking and bending in an elongated twisting pattern, aimed right at them. Whatever it was had to be incredibly long. The line of curving stalks had to be over thirty feet in length and it seemed to be following Joe’s trail. Joe scooped Kaid back up and took off running toward the Brandy Mere. When he felt himself starting to tire, he hit himself with [Efferous Endurance]. The spell boosted his stamina and left him feeling like he could run for miles. ‘Man, I could easily get addicted to this skill.’
Not knowing if the thing was still chasing them was driving Joe insane. He quickly spun around and looked. Whatever it was, was still back there and it was closing on them. Even as light as Kaid was, his weight made moving quickly difficult. Joe tossed one of his now many free points into strength and it felt like Kaid almost disappeared from his shoulder. He grabbed hold of the thief tightly and sprinted away until he saw a tall lone scraggly bush breaking up out of the weeds ahead. He angled for it. Running a few feet past the brush, he stopped and jump backward, then dashed behind the shrub, hoping his pursuer would just charge on by.
A second later, looking through the low branches, Joe caught a brief glimpse of a blunt snout and a slitted eye before a barrel-thick serpentine body undulated past the bush he and Kaid were hiding behind.
Prairie Anaconda: Level 32: Beast: Lurker: Dexterity: ?/?
Your skill [Assess Creatures] has increased to rank 12.
‘Holy crap!’ Joe stood utterly still as he watched the huge scaly form continue to slide by. Its dark blue and black body stayed as tall as his knees for at least a quarter of a minute before tapering down to a pointed whipping tail. Joe assumed that the beast too was headed for the safety of the water. That thought gave him pause. The idea of sharing that shallow pond with the massive snake did not ease Joe’s nerves at all. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it. The flames would likely reach this way soon and the only safety to be found would be on the water. The other thing that thought hammered home was Joe really wanted to make sure he found the raft again. The pond was shallow enough that they probably could have made it back to the Granny’s islands without it, but he really did not want to be swimming with a massive thirtieth-level anaconda.
Joe waited another fifteen seconds before following the serpent. As much as he hoped he did not end up running into the giant beast, he worried more about the speed with which the flames were moving behind them. Jogging, Joe reached the bank of the water a few minutes later. Looking back at the brushfire, he saw he had a little bit of time before the flames would be on top of them. The air was already feeling hotter and it tasted of smoke. Joe turned his gaze the other way looking for signs of the snake. There was a long line of ripples marring the smooth surface of the water, heading toward where the herons were fishing. “Sorry birdies.’ Lastly, he scanned the shore looking for his raft, which thankfully was right where they had left it.
As quickly as he could, he placed Kaid on the logs and eased the vessel out onto the water. Climbing aboard, Joe pushed the pole against the bottom of the mere, driving them toward the three islands in the middle of the lake. Joe let out a deep sigh. He had done it. It had not been a pretty solution but he had overcome a terrifying threat and saved Kaid. He had the quest items for Granny in his pack, which meant he could save Sarsa. As a bonus, his endeavors had made him stronger and fitter than he could ever recall being. His illness was gone. In that moment, all of the tension he had been carrying fell away. Sure, there was a tree-lengthed anaconda swimming around in the water with him, but just then, he didn’t care. He just let himself revel for a second in his win.
Which was cut short by his small cantankerous comrade. A splash of water woke the irascible thief. Spinning to his feet, without not tipping the raft in the slightest, Kaid reached for blades. Finding his primary sheaths empty, he moved to the next location and then the next. Finally, he drew a pair of fairly common-looking knives off his lower back, which he stared at dumbfoundedly. “Wha …? Where are the Sick Sisters? And Milo? Vera? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY BEST BLADES?”
“I didn’t do anything with them except pull them out of me. They are wherever you dropped them.”
“And you didn’t pick them up?”
“I was a bit busy Kaid. Between you trying to kill me, the plant trying to possess me, the beetles trying to eat me and the fire trying to fry us, it has been a very nerve-wracking afternoon.”
“We have to go back!”
“Into that,” Joe asked, pointing to the fires burning behind them. The flames had spread right up to where the shore grew swampy.
“You fish-kissing turd! It took me years to find my favorite blades and you just left them to be burnt up. There were more enchantments in the Sick Sisters alone than most people will ever own. Milo could stab through doors and hit ghosts. Vera, … Vera. I had to fight my way through six men to get her. She was my favorite.” Glaring at him, his face beet-red, Kaid looked ready to explode.
“I’m really sorry, Kaid. I wish I had thought to look for them but I wasn’t in the best frame of mind. You nearly killed me. More than once. You were possessed by a Beguilburr. By the time I got you free of it … wait a minute, screw this!” Joe barked back, raising his voice. “I saved your life, you ungrateful little wretch. So I forgot your daggers. What I didn’t forget was YOU! I could have easily died back there but I stayed and rescued you! You stuck one of those daggers you love so much straight into my chest and started carving out my insides with it. And I still pulled you out of there! I am not going to feel bad because I didn’t think to search through the flames for your kill toys.”
“You should have. I saved your life from the goblins and that didn’t cost you your best stuff.”
“You used me as bait so you could kill the goblins with ease. Had you told me about the ambush when you first noticed it, I might not have needed as much saving.” Kaid scoffed but Joe didn’t care. “Get over it, you ungrateful ass. I’m a low-level support class, that was fighting both you and an elite monster. What do you expect?”
“So you admit it. You lost the Sisters, Vera, and Milo 'cause you’re lame.”
“Screw you, Kaid. I am so done with you. After we get back to Crowfield, stay the hell away from me.”
“Suits me just fine.”