Mel seriously considered bailing on the group. It was mostly a knee-jerk reaction. Nobody was there to help her when she needed it. Why should she be there for others?
I’ve survived just fine on my own! This is a competition, not a hand-holding event.
These people sure didn’t get the memo.
A familiar voice, like a memory, spoke into her mind, “I know you’re a badass, Mira, but if it comes time for you to do this all again? Promise me you’ll try to live a happier life. For me. For Noth. For all of Brightsong.”
“I’ll…try Hal,” she heard herself say.
Mel shook the voices from her head. Mira wasn’t her name…and yet she was sure that man had been talking to her.
It would be nice not to be entirely alone… And getting those potions would be incredibly useful.
Mel didn’t have to complete the quest.
Sure, every single one she finished supposedly earned more Deeds, and earning more Deeds enhanced how many runes of experience she gained. [Wayward Traveler] stated as much.
Every bit mattered. A single attribute Grade higher could mean the difference between dodging an attack that would end her life and being just another body in the ground.
Despite how conflicted she was feeling, Mel went over to Travis’ prone form.
The first thing she noticed was that the quest was right.
He looked bad. Blood was everywhere.
Back before ranks and superhuman powers were a thing, this dude would’ve already been dead.
“Please help him,” Sabrina begged.
Mel sighed and knelt by the groaning body. She wasn’t even sure he was aware of his surroundings. Mel’s gut told her that he was a liability and she should leave him. If she wanted to be merciful, she should end his suffering with one clean strike.
That probably won’t go over too well with the others, Mel thought to herself. She didn’t want to cause any more pain, but she didn’t see any way that she could help him. This was beyond the medicine she knew.
His chest was torn open, though for a wonder his organs weren’t spilling out all over the grass. A dark, tacky pool of blood seeped slowly across the slight incline of the hill.
That [Wound Recovery] blessing wasn’t going to be helping him. If having your chest ripped open wasn’t considered a severe or mortal injury, nothing was.
“I have a campsite not far from here but…” She sighed and shook her head. Moving him in his condition would be needlessly cruel. Not to mention it would likely kill him.
Mel didn’t have the best sense of direction, but a rough estimate put them about a mile away from her camp. Assuming it was still there.
The glade seemed open enough, with clear sight lines to the trees. The rocky hillside was too sheer to climb effectively, so it made for a good windbreak and camping site.
“Anything,” Sabrina told Mel. “We’ll do anything you say. Just tell us what to do. Travis is our friend.”
“Are any of you Acolytes?” Mel asked without much hope. If one of them was, there had to be a reason why they hadn’t done anything.
Sabrina motioned to the older woman. “Maddie is, but…I don’t think she knows how to help him.”
So much for that. Mel didn’t know the first thing about healing magic.
“All right.” She turned to Sabrina and dropped her voice. “I’m going to level with you. If that was me, I would ask you to give me a swift end. But, judging by your horrified expression, you don’t want that. Fine. Just know that his odds are slim at best just to survive the next hour, much less make it to morning. I make no promises.”
“Nobody will fault you,” Sabrina said, nodding encouragingly, with tears in her blue eyes. “What can we do?”
Mel rattled off a list of tasks for everybody to divvy up and see to. They needed water, a campfire, something to boil the water in, and any cloth or bandages they had.
Even with modern medicine and a crash cart at her disposal, Mel didn’t see how she could save the man she knelt beside. Despite her assessment, she would give her all. Not just for the quest, but because she felt like she had made a promise.
Even though I didn’t!
She worked throughout the night, replacing bandages, feeding the semi-conscious man some of her precious [Roasted Death Morels], and slaying any beasts that were drawn to the scent of wounded prey.
It was slow-going, but hour by hour the man seemed to recover a semblance of his strength. By the time morning broke, Travis was able to sit upright and speak in short sentences.
Mel was actually starting to believe he might pull through.
Then he took a turn. There was no warning. He just said he didn’t feel so good, and suddenly he was convulsing with his eyes rolled up into the back of his head.
Tired as she was, Mel was by his side in a flash. She rolled him over into the recovery position until the tremors stopped. The stillness that followed was unnatural, and Mel wasn’t the least surprised to find no pulse when she touched the side of his neck.
Quest Failed: How to Save a Life
She looked up at the others and shook her head. Any attempt at CPR would likely cause more damage than he could withstand. If she could have seen his afflictions, she might have been able to help him, but she wasn’t a miracle worker. Some things just don’t turn out right.
Maddie’s red-rimmed eyes widened in horror. She screamed and ranted, saying more than a few hurtful things that Mel let roll off her back.
The woman was clearly distraught. Maddie probably felt responsible. She picked that healer class and yet couldn’t do a thing to stop Travis from dying. Mel backed away and gave the woman time with her son.
Sabrina came over to join her, putting a hand on Mel’s back. “She doesn’t mean it.”
Mel nodded. “I know.”
“She’s just…I think she feels like she should have been able to do more.”
“I know.”
“She’s an Acolyte, a healer, but she doesn’t know any spells or how to get any. She’s about as useful at healing as the rest of us…and well, you were able to do more than anybody else. I think she thought you might save him.”
Stolen story; please report.
“Yeah. I did too.”
Sabrina bowed her head and joined Maddie, putting a comforting hand on her sobbing shoulders and kneeling next to her to give the woman a shoulder to cry on.
There wasn’t anything more Mel could do. Travis’ condition had turned so fast. He had been speaking one moment, and gone the next.
A voice from the past whispered to her, “It happens sometimes, Mel. Don’t beat yourself up. You did all you could. There are more people you could help, but you can’t help them if you don’t take care of yourself first.”
Mel rubbed her temples. “I must be sleep deprived,” she mumbled to herself. “Hearing voices isn’t a good sign.”
She sat herself down by the rustic campfire the others had made. Bernard turned out to be the best at making a fire, though it still took him half an hour, even with Mel’s tools.
It had been so bad that she nearly used her instant campfire scroll. Luckily, she didn’t have to. The instant scroll was meant to be a last resort, and whatever killed Travis hadn’t been hypothermia.
Pulling out her [Soul Kiln], Mel fiddled with the stone cube while the others grieved for their friend. She felt out of place, more alone than ever. It felt wrong to be here, but the way most of them kept looking over their shoulder at her told her she couldn’t slip away without notice.
Maddie was the only one who was totally focused on her late son. The others routinely looked up as if double-checking to see if Mel was still there.
I guess I wouldn’t want to lose a capable ally either, Mel thought to herself.
They were lucky they had winded up in this new reality together. They were friends, rather than strangers.
Mel wasn’t sure who she would have expected to find. She wasn’t even sure she would recognize a friend from her past if they showed up out of the blue.
I just need a good night’s sleep, she convinced herself. That was all it was. A night of rest and all would be right in the world.
She looked over her shoulder at the prone body. Mostly.
Since she didn’t have much else to do, Mel took out one item after the other and placed it in the [Soul Kiln]. She needed something to occupy her mind to stay awake and alert.
No matter how tired she was, Mel didn’t think it was right to take a nap. Not with five other people whose motives were murky at best to her so close. Even if they weren’t a threat, they would need to set up a watch.
Not the sort of thing to bring up at the moment.
One item after the other was put in, the lid shut, and a thread of mana infused into the gorgeous golden relief.
Time and time again, nothing happened.
She had nearly given up when a glimmer of magic swirled around the kiln. Out of a desire to be thorough more than anything, Mel summoned her twinblade and tried to set it on top of the open kiln.
Instead of resting on top since it was several times larger than the kiln, it shrunk until it was about the size of a paper towel tube. It just barely fit inside.
As soon as Mel took her hand away, the kiln’s lid snapped shut.
Would you like to bind a [Combat Art] to your [Exile Twinblade]?
Available Combat Arts:
[Quickstep]
New Quest: Exile’s First Art
Learned Combat Arts may be bound and unbound freely to any weapon with the [Soul Kiln]. Successfully bind your first Combat Art to begin familiarizing yourself with the nature of the [Soul Kiln].
Objective: Bind any Combat Art to a weapon or armor (0/1).
Reward: (10) [Copper Rune Coins]
There wasn’t anything else to choose besides [Quickstep], so she selected that. It would probably be the easiest choice she ever made here.
You have bound Combat Art [Quickstep] to your [Exile Twinblade].
Mel opened the lid excitedly, taking her twinblade out to examine it. As she lifted it away from the kiln, it returned to its normal size. The parameters of the weapon were the same, but now it had a new section for its new combat art.
[Quickstep]
(Combat Art, Weapon)
(Mundane)
Cost: Very Low Stamina.
Popular among Assassins and Thieves, this defensive combat art increases speed temporarily to avoid damage and provide an opportunity for a counterattack.
Imprint(Mundane): Increases speed temporarily, allowing you to dodge incoming attacks. Usable on all melee armaments.
Quest Complete: Exile’s First Art
Objective: Bind any Combat Art to a weapon or armor (1/1).
Reward: (10) [Copper Rune Coins]
“Sweet!” Mel said, a little louder and more excited than intended. She mentally kicked herself for not doing this earlier. [Quickstep] was one of the things her class had given her. It was clearly intended to be used early.
It would have given her an edge against those Bloodtide members. Though, Mel didn’t have access to the [Soul Kiln] until after that.
Several heads turned at her outburst, their faces ranging from curiosity to outright disgust. Mel bit her lip and forced a chagrined smile. “My b.” Unable to contain her enthusiasm, however, she pointed to the kiln. “But I just figured out how to use this thing!”
That wiped away any dour expressions, replacing them with interest. Shane, in his rusted chainmail, clomped over to the fire and squatted beside the crackling flames. “How? We all got one of those boxes, but nobody knows how to use one.”
Mel motioned. “You remember the combat art your class started with?”
“Yeah, can’t use it though. Tried a bunch.”
Mel held up a finger. “Ah, but you can. Take out your kiln and place your weapon inside it.”
Shane shot her a doubtful look. “My hammer is way too big for that,” he said, patting the war hammer he had hanging from a makeshift holster on his hip.
As badly as Mel wanted to ask why he wasn’t dismissing his weapon, she decided to keep on task. “Just trust me.”
It was clear from his face that he didn’t, but eventually he caved and awkwardly slid his war hammer free of its crude looped holster. “All right, but I’m telling you it’s not going–” The last words died on his lips as the hammer shrunk until it looked like a toy.
The tiny weapon rolled from his fingertips and into the kiln.
Shane’s eyes glazed over.
I wonder if I look like that when I’m reading Shardscript? Mel thought, right before another quest popped up.
New Quest: Teacher, Teacher
It’s become apparent that these people can learn a great deal from you. Teach them the basics you have already mastered. In the days of old, the true masters were those who learned while teaching others.
Objective: Teach (5) people how to use the [Soul Kiln] (1/5).
Reward: [Ember (Common)]
Additional Objective: Teach survival basics to (5) people (0/5).
Reward: (1) [Small Health Potion]
“Woah, what the hell is an ember?” Mel mumbled to herself.
Whatever it was, she needed it.