Jack reached the edge of town where stone roads turned to forest and brought up his action bar once again. The cooldown for his Tracker skill had quickly run down, and with Torick having a head-start, he was going to need it.

He activated it and caught sight of the brief trail of Torick’s footsteps where they led into the forest.

Jack set off at a swift jog, keeping his bow at the ready and his blade sheathed at his waist. It didn’t take long for him to catch up with the gnome.

‘Look,' Torick called back, i'f you are going to keep deriding me while I pursue my quest, just make your way back to Silverward. I do not need your help. I can survive perfectly well for the time being with my daggers.'

‘I know, I know,’ Jack conceded. ‘Fine, go ahead – but at least let me come with you. I’m sure you’re a kick-ass mage when you’ve got a staff on your side, but until that time you’re going to need a helping hand.’

Jack did want to deride him for acting like something of a jackass thus far, but the only thing it would solve was giving himself a sense of short-lived satisfaction.

Torick had behaved like a moron, but telling him that would only further drive a wedge between the two of them. Jack didn’t have much in the way of abilities right now beyond Diplomat’s Joker and Tracker, and neither were all that useful in the present situation. He would acquire more abilities as rewards for his increased levels, but in the meantime he would have to use his words.

‘So can I tag along or not?’ He continued.

Torick looked him up and down.

‘I suppose I don’t have much of a choice in the matter if you’ve decided to follow me this far,’ Torick said stubbornly.

If he continued to act like a douchebag once he had gotten this staff of his, then it was a different ballgame.

But that was assuming the tower was what Torick thought it was, or that it even held a staff.

Jack walked at Torick’s side through the forest, not saying a whole lot along the way as they glanced about among the shrubs for signs of danger.

‘It appears we are in luck with the wildlife,’ Torick said. ‘There are plenty of animals that we can use for sustenance.’

‘Sure are,’ Jack nodded, ‘but we’re going to need something other than meat if we’re going to survive – vegetables and potatoes, namely.’

‘A farm is certainly something we must think about. In the meantime, the wilds will should offer plenty of sustenance in the way of leaves and roots. I shall keep an eye out for them.’

‘Was farming and mixing a part of your magical work? Is that how you know this stuff?’

‘I never had grand chambers. I never even had chambers – like I said, I used to live alone in the forest. Most will not have me near them because of the uncontrollable nature of my magic. I was no stranger to foraging. Still, this world is not entirely different from mine – it has elk… And valuable plants and herbs, too. Look here.’

Torick nodded over to a nearby patch of thin purple stalks protruding from the ground close to a huge tree’s exposed roots. He and Jack crossed to the roots, and while Torick brought his blade to the base of the stalks, Jack brushed the leaves at their tips between his fingers.

Item: Tenderstalk

Type: Edible plant

Description: A hardy, nutritious vegetable capable of growing under tough conditions.

‘This will do nicely,’ Torick spoke, cutting through the base of the stalks close to the ground with his dagger.

‘This coming from the guy who said he didn’t have any useful skills,’ Jack commented with a smile. ‘Looks like you underestimate yourself.’

‘Zania is a hermit,’ Torick shrugged. ‘She will know how to do just this. I need something for myself, Jack. I must prove myself.’

Jack kept watch while Torick cut through the tenderstalks and stuffed them into his satchel.

Among the breeze of the trees running through the canopy overhead and the sounds of insects chirping in the brush, Jack barely registered the presence of something else – not until it was with them.

It stood five-feet-tall, and was markedly similar to the one that Jack, Aeshara and Zania had encountered the day before - scaly, reptilian-headed with red scales, clad in a combination of tightly-bound and loose rags with a lumbering satchel swinging upon its back and a set of rusty weapons hooked to its belt, and a dead rabbit clutched in its hand.

Another kobold.

‘Uhh…' Jack whispered, 'Torick?’

‘What is it?’ He replied, glancing up from the tree roots. ‘Oh…’

The kobold didn’t even notice them until halfway across the clearing, when it suddenly sniffed the air violently.

Its head turned like a dog, as if solely guided by its sense of smell, and with that turn, its eyes set on them both.

They stared silently at the kobold. The kobold stared silently at them.

But not for long.

‘NARRR!!!’

The kobold dropped the rabbit and broke into a dash towards them.

Torick readied his daggers and Jack reached for his bow, refusing to let the kobold's charge worry him as he readied an arrow.

Focusing on his attacker would do nothing until the the projectile was ready to fire.

He drew the arrow back as the kobold came within six yards, aimed with a steady hand and launched the arrow.

‘AKK!’

The arrow struck the kobold straight in the shoulder.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Kobold loses 11HP.

Jack ignored the alert that flashed briefly into the air.

The kobold spun to the side with the force of the arrow. In a desperate move it threw its axe straight at Jack.

The axe struck him in the shoulder, sending a sudden jolt of pain through him. Fortunately it was the handle rather than blade that struck, but the force was still harsh.

Jack loses 5HP.

‘Hold steady, Jack!’ Torick shouted.

Torick raced fearlessly to the kobold and slashed at the side of its gut brutally, unleashing a pained howl and throwing it off-balance with disorientation.

Kobold loses 12HP.

The pain caused by the strike of the axe didn’t make Jack afraid – if anything, it irritated him.

Jack tossed his bow aside, drew his dagger and crossed swiftly to the kobold. Before his foe even had a chance to regain itself, Jack planted a hand briefly onto the kobold’s head, drew back his dagger and jabbed his blade straight into his enemy’s throat, digging it as far as the handle.

The kobold’s eyes went wide as he twisted the dagger with gritted teeth.

Kobold loses 14HP.

Kobold loses 17HP.

Kobold loses 23HP.

The damage was so drastic that the counter briefly surpassed the kobold's remaining HP before the system caught up with itself and the alerts vanished.

The kobold let out a death rattle and went limp. Jack yanked the blade free and his foe collapsed to the floor, vanquished.

‘Thanks,’ he panted, nodding to Torick.

‘You had the first shot and the last,’ Torick breathed. ‘It should be me thanking you.’

‘But you still saved me. I think that earns you the loot.’

‘The loot?’

‘Whatever this fiend has its on its person.’

Jack took a knee and searched the kobold’s remains. The rusty weapons at its belt weren’t much use and neither was the dead rabbit lying 30 feet away, but there was still the satchel.

The moment Jack tapped the satchel, a new window appeared.

Container:

1x Hammer

8x Bronze Coin

4x Mushrooms

2x Unformed Wax

The Container category likely applied to every satchel or bag that could contain multiple items – if Jack tapped them, the interface would appear, meaning he wouldn’t have to root through them.

He pulled the bag open and read off the list, pretending to examine it from the surface rather than rifling through.

‘Think we need any of it?’ He asked his companion, showing Torick the contents.

‘Take everything but the mushrooms,’ Torick nodded. ‘Who knows what kind of feral disease any edible items may have having been in that satchel for so long?’

Jack did as Torick suggested and placed the items in his own satchel.

‘I wonder if he has any friends,’ Jack said. ‘We can’t stick around to find out…’

The same cackling noise that the dead kobold had made before meeting his maker suddenly rang out in the nearby forest.

One – then another, and another. It was coming from every side of the forest, save for the way ahead.

‘Come on,’ Jack said, climbing to his feet and swiftly gathering himself and his possessions, ‘we’ve got to get the tower.’

‘But what about your shoulder?’

‘Forget about it, it doesn’t hurt too bad. Let’s just hope Aeshara’s magic can help me out when we get back.’

Jack pushed to his feet and set off running with Torick. By the time they reached the other side of the clearing, the sounds of the kobolds’ battlecries were close in fast.

‘Do you remember which way it is?’ Jack asked frantically.

‘Just ahead!’

Torick moved with surprising deftness, his small legs pressing onwards as his feet hammered against the dried forest ground.

No more than 30 yards behind, the hammering footsteps of the kobold squad was on them. Arrows suddenly began to hurtle by, disappearing blindly into the shrubbery, missing them both by huge gaps.

‘A blessing that kobolds are such terrible shots, hm?’

‘I can’t argue there!’

Jack and Torick suddenly burst into another clearing. Directly ahead the tower awaited, its heavy oak door barring the way inside.

Kobolds on all sides - and the tower was the only point of safety.

They exchanged a swift look just before they reached the door, nodded to each other and went for the handle.

To Jack’s surprise, it gave.

‘Go!’

Torick darted through the gap and Jack followed. He pushed the door closed just as an arrow and another throwing axe slammed into the surface, closing it behind him.

For a domineering moment, all was dark in the tower’s lowest recesses.

Then suddenly, as if flicking a light switch, a series of purple flames ignited.

The floor of the tower’s entrance level was scattered with rags and bones, some of which were loose and had evidently been rifled through by animals.

Others were much newer and much more whole. Based on the rags upon the kobold they had already defeated, it was easy to tell that these were the same.

The only question was what had killed them.

Among the scattered bones, a single set of stairs led up to the next floor, shrouded in darkness, rising into the unknown and unseen reaches of the tower.

Quest completed: A Helping Hand

Objective: Keep Torick alive in his quest to reach the tower

Reward(s):

- Jack received a skill point.

- Jack gained 1 Trust Point with companion [Torick].

As Torick inspected the first-floor area, Jack pulled up his own stats and inspected them.

HP: 95/100

Stamina: 12

Strength: 5

Intellect: 14

Charisma: 12

Magic: 1

All he cared about right now was getting through the tower alive, and his immediate choice of allocation for the skill point had to match that.

‘Any idea what you think we might encounter in our quest to the top?’ He asked Torick.

‘Something magical in nature, no doubt. We will need our wits, our courage and our strength to best it.’

Without knowing what awaited up there, there was no way to come up with a definite decision about where to allocate the skill point.

Skill points were only supposed to be awarded by the System for levelling up – clearly it had incentivized him to keep Torick alive on his quest by rewarding him with one.

After taking the axe-handle to the shoulder, upping his HP by 10 was tempting, but that wasn’t necessarily a weakness right now.

He couldn’t use magic – at least not yet, so even though the score was low, there was no reason to allocate it there.

Strength was his real weakness, and in this dangerous situation, it seemed the logical move.

He allocated the point, immediately feeling his satchel and his weapons become a little lighter.

Almost immediately, another window appeared.

Quest: A Mage’s Purpose

Objective: Help Torick reach the top of the tower.

Reward: Receive the perk [Dialog Prompt]

Jack tapped the Dialog Prompt Perk.

Perk: Dialog Prompt

Class: Mediator

Type: Active

Description: The Mediator is provided with dialog suggestions to assist him in achieving his goals via spoken discourse.

Cooldown: 5 minutes

Tip: Trust points contribute towards new dialog suggestions. The more trust points you have with a companion, the more convincing, useful and tailored the dialog suggestions will be.

The system was actually going to reward him with a perk that provided him with a dialog suggestion tree that was personally tailored to whoever he was dealing with.

That would seriously come in handy - just so long as he didn’t die inside this tower.