As they waited for the crows to return, Joe decided to see how much he had changed in the last hour. When he looked over his character sheet, he could feel a wide smile breaking out across his face.

Name: Joseph (Joe) Morris

Race: Changeling

Level: 5

Experience: 1,802 / 1,980

SKILLS (Slots / Filled)

STRENGTH SKILLS: (0 / 1)

VIGOR SKILLS: (4 / 4)

· [Efferous Endurance] (U) rank 5

· [Deaden Flesh] (U) rank 0

DEXTERITY SKILLS: (2 / 2)

· [Simple Weapon Aptitude] (C) rank 7

· [Swift Strike] (C) rank 5

PERCEPTION SKILLS: (3 / 3)

· [Assess Wounds] (C) rank 6

· [Coin Catcher] (C) rank 2

· [Identify] (C) rank 10

SPIRIT SKILLS: (5 / 5)

· [Dispel Rot] (C) rank 0

· [Healing Touch] (C) rank 12

· [Heartfire] (C) rank 5

· [Purge] (U) rank 0

RESOURCES

· Health: 85 / 85

· Stamina: 273 / 273

· Mana: 218 / 218

ATTRIBUTES

· Strength: 1

· Vigor: 4

· Dexterity: 2

· Perception: 3

· Spirit: 5

Available Attribute Points Unspent: 2

CLASSES

· Primary Class: Healer

· Secondary Class: None

· Secondary Class: None

TRAITS

· [Anyone] (Racial)

· [No one] (Racial)

· [Iron Mind] (Hereditary)

· [Beastmaster] (Achievement)

· [Durable] (Achievement)

· [Hobbler] (Achievement)

· [Punching-Bag] (Achievement)

· [Signature Skill] (Achievement)

· [Survivalist] (Achievement)

· [Tactician] (Achievement)

· [Thick Skinned] (Achievement)

· [Vivacity] (Achievement)

· [The Seal of Passing] (Prophetic)

“What’s got you grinning like a loon?” Kaid asked.

“I can believe how much I’ve gained today. And yesterday.” Joe added. “ I mean, I have thirteen traits already. And almost as many new spells.”

“Well, don’t get too used to that first part, Joe,” Kaid replied. “You get most of your traits early on. ‘First this’ and ‘First that’ sort-a-stuff. Once you knock those out, then you only get traits for unusual situations or big accomplishments.”

“I would expect that you will very shortly have far more skills than traits,” Lady Growlbee predicted. “That is typically for most people. Only those who hyper-specialize have less skills than traits.”

“We should spar again,” the small knife-fighter suggested. “Your heal is a damn good way to survive a fight but outlasting enemies has got to be a terrible way to win a fight. Let’s work on your blocking and attacks after we get back to Crowfield.”

“That would be great,” Joe agreed. As he was about to say more, a curving dagger fell from the sky, sticking point first into the dark oaken table, just a few inches from Joe’s hand. “What?” He squawked.

As Joe squawked in surprise, Kaid joyfully cried, “Milo!” The tiny man launched himself onto the table and snatched up the wavy blade. More items fell around them. The gnome snagged another falling dagger, calling out it by name as well, “Vera! Oh, thank the gods.”

“You could just thank me,” the witch corrected with a smug tone of voice.

Joe looked up to see the cloud of ravens returning. They seemed far less substantial than when they first flew overhead. They were fading feathery ghosts that would drop an item before completely unraveling into smoke.

The table was pelted with coins, mostly gold and silver. It looked like several of Kaid’s knives had been recovered. Numerous pink seed pods rattled onto the wood as well. Lady Growlbee looked very pleased by these.

There were four more items. One was a quarterstaff, but not the one Joe had lost. This one was charred but still sturdy-sounding as it clunked onto and then off the table. Orange veins snaked around the shaft, giving off the impression of embers burning within the weapon.

The next two items were jewelry. The first was a silver ring with a small shield signet on it. The other was a heavy purple bracelet. As soon as Joe saw it, he knew it was connected to the Beguilburr. It was shaped like the plant’s twisting roots and shaded in the same violet and magenta colors as the tree.

The last object dropped by the dissipating flock was a purple, pulsing fruit. While it reminded Joe of a dragonfruit in size, shape, and color, it was clearly something far more valuable.

“Even though the battle to earn this bounty was entirely your doing, none of it would have reached you without my aid. Therefore, I would like to make a request. The spirit core of the Beguilburr would be of great benefit to me in my incantations and growth. Joe, as the vanquisher of the elite monster, you clearly are entitled to first pick. I am merely stating my preference.”

[Heart of the Beguilburr] (Item: Spirit Relic - Uncommon): This monster core is infused with major {Wood} and {Mind} affinities. It can be used to empower sympathetic enchantments, items, and personal affinities. {Fey}

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“I’m a bit confused,” Joe uttered. “Why does an item infused with {Wood} and {Mind} affinities have a final affinity of {Fey}?”

“Because those two are root affinities. Together, they combine to make the {Fey} affinity,” the regal witch replied.

“What is a root affinity?” he asked. Joe watched as Kaid was about to blurt out the answer, but a small look from the witch reined him in. The gnome dipped his small head for her to field Joe’s question.

“There are twenty root affinities. They consist of fundamentals such as the four elements or esoteric concepts like {Soul} and {Time}. Every other affinity is a composite affinity, a combination of two of the twenty roots.”

She stopped and tapped her long blue nails against the table in a single rolling pattern: index to pinky. “I believe I might have an affinities primer in here that I can give you.” She pulled the writing desk closer and began to rummage around inside. “If I recall, it is a rather simple one, but it will do to get you started.”

Joe found it coincidental that she would have just the thing they were speaking of in such a small box, but it soon became apparent that there was more to the desk than met the eye. The case was only a few inches deep, but Joe watched as Granny’s arm reached into the box past her elbow. The desk was bigger on the inside.

‘Cool. A TARDIS writing case,” Joe mused to himself.

What eventually emerged was a small slim book, about the size of an index card, maybe two inches by three inches. It was bound in green leather and only held maybe fifty pages in total. She handed it over, stating, “That one once belonged to Hetta, my second daughter, when she was a child. I quite like that it will see use once again instead of languishing in the depths of this old box.”

Joe opened and flipped past the first cover page to the table of contents. There, he found five groups of four.

The first category was entitled Elemental, which was made up of the expected {Air}, {Earth}, {Fire}, and {Water}.

The next group was called Energetics, which listed {Force], [Light], {Lightning], and {Sound} as its affinities.

The Enigmatic category contained the strange collection of {Chaos}, {Cold}, {Mind}, and {Shadow}.

These were followed by the Esoteric group: {Order}, {Soul}, {Space}, and {Time}.

Lastly were the Existentials, comprised of {Beast}, {Death}, {Life}, and {Wood}.

In his head, Joe pictured a table. Twenty by twenty would be four hundred combinations, except that they were roughly halved since {Air] and {Earth} were the same as {Earth] and {Air}. That combination caused Joe to wonder if {Dust} mages were a common class type.

Adding in the root affinities, Joe effortlessly had the formula: twenty squared divided by two plus twenty divided by two. This came out to two-ten, the same number Hawking had given him yesterday.

After the table of contents, there was a chart with ten aptitude strengths listed from None to Perfect. In the back of the book was an index listing each of the two-hundred-plus magic types. Leafing through the book, he saw there were small descriptions of each affinity. He looked up the one to which he had just gained a bonus.

Calculation: Mind/Order - This affinity focuses on understanding the nature of objects, beings, or situations. It is the basis of many identification abilities. It is also highly useful for strategic and tactical enhancement skills. Its opposite affinity is Confusion, and it often conflicts with Luck-based skills.

“If you inject a little mana into the codex, you can resort the affinities to form various groupings or to alphabetical,” the witch confided.

“Thanks,” Joe replied, continuing to flip through the small ledger. “Are you sure you want to part with a family heirloom?”

“Quite sure. It is not an heirloom by any means. It merely has a tad of sentimentality attached to it. Not enough to prevent the happiness of seeing passed along to a new student,” the woman answered. “Now, what about the rest of these items.”

Joe looked up from the green folio to see that Kaid had split the coins into three piles alongside the remaining objects: the two pieces of jewelry, the seed pods, and the burning staff. Joe continued to identify the pieces. The most striking of them all was the heavy, twisted purple bracelet.

[Band of Beguilement] (Item: Wrist - Rare): By overwhelming a target’s mental resistance, you can force it to obey your commands. The target will not obey an obviously self-destructive order, but it can be compelled to perform actions that conflict with its own self-interests. Cooldown: Long | Range: Medium. {Domination}

‘Bleah!’ Joe thought. ‘That’s one sinister-sounding item.’

Out loud, he stated, “I don’t think I want the mind-controlling bracelet. Domination sounds awful.”

“You mean the Band of the Beguilburr? Here I was thinking that you were the one best suited for it,” Gerabella argued. “I have plenty of enchanting skills, as you have well seen. Believe me, had I wished to, I could have been far more enthralling than the power contained in that beguiling bangle. If you step back and look around your inherent revulsion for such an ability, you would see that sometimes controlling an adversary can be far more humane than fighting them.”

“Yeah, and my Spirit is as bad as your Strength,” Kaid interjected. “I might be able to get those beetles to obey me, but I doubt much else. You really should take it, Joe. It's the highest rarity here, and you did most of the work. You deserve it. Besides, you really need something to stop monsters from hitting you. With that guy, you could tell them to knock it off, and they’d have to obey you.”

While Kaid had a very good argument, Joe was still not sold. He quickly looked at the seed pods. After realizing they were just common reagents, similar to the saddleleaf, he moved on to the silver ring.

[Ring of Sheltered Will] (Item: Finger - Uncommon) This band provides you with moderate resistance against Domination effects. {Resolution}

With [Iron Mind] being better in every way, the ring should go to Kaid, who clearly could use it. Unless …

“Can you stack resistances?” Joe asked.

“Meaning, can you combine two medial resistances to get either major or maximum resistance?” Granny asked. “Almost never without an epic-level or better item. Typically, you just receive only the higher resistance.”

“Ok. Thanks,” he acknowledged before identifying the last item, the molten-looking staff.

[Smoldering Staff] (Item: Weapon - Common) This weapon adds minor fire damage to your attacks. {Fire}

‘Simple enough,’ Joe conceded.

“So,” Kaid started. “There is thirty-two gold in various coin types. I’ll take one less and the ring. There are eighteen seeds, which my [Appraisement] skill values at around ten more gold altogether.”

“I would be quite happy with the seed pods and the heart only. You two split the coins,” the witch offered. “I can use both in my rituals. Having them on hand is worth far more to me than a bit of extra gold.”

“Ok, that makes it even easier,” the small man affirmed. In a few deft gestures, he recut the piles from three to two and slid half towards Joe along with the purple band and the staff. “Here you take these, Joe.”

While he was still not a fan of the evil bracelet, he had to admit it seemed like the most logical division.

Looking across the table at the pile of loot, the diminutive ruffian, and the mercurial witch, Joe was struck again by a sense of amazement. The day before yesterday, he had been bedbound, in inscrutable pain, and dying. Today, he had battled his way through goblins, giant insects, and an evil boss plant. Sure, those victories had been messy, painful, and almost ended up in a blazing catastrophe. Even so, he had survived and grown.

Reaching out to scoop the coins into his money pouch, Joe felt himself grinning from ear to ear.