Persepera
The 20th of Elaphebolion
The Year 4631 in the Era of Mortals
The village was back up and running surprisingly quickly. Arche and the others slowly swept across the dead beastmar, stabbing each corpse to make sure it was dead. Arche could have done the job easily by using his Examine skill, but it would have been difficult to explain and Lord Cypress had more or less warned him not to tell anyone about it. When they had determined a beastmar was dead, its body was dragged away from camp for disposal. Others had joined them for the effort, mostly the village guards, and they had soon gathered the corpses a fair distance away from the village proper.
Night was falling quickly. One guard stepped forward with a lit torch, arm cocked to throw it onto the pile, when Arche stopped the man’s hand.
“We should burn them tomorrow. It’s getting dark and a pile this big will signal everything for miles.”
The man frowned but stepped back.
“Initiative is a trait that many applaud, young man, but I detest it among my ranks. It makes people disobedient. If orders are going to be doled out to my people, they had best well come from me.”
Arche turned to find Callias, still dressed immaculately. He thought the ‘young man’ comment was especially odd, as Callias himself looked to be relatively young, probably in his early to mid-twenties, but he let it go.
“It’s a bad move. The Sylv is home to powerful monsters. The beastmar are not the worst to call this place home. If you light this up, it may attract attention we’re not ready for.”
“Learn your place,” Callias spat. “If we don’t burn the bodies, then the smell of their decomposition will no doubt attract scavengers who will strew them about the entire valley. I won’t risk the safety of my people by wasting guards on the bodies of the enemy. If you are so insistent that we wait until morning then you can be the one to stay here.”
Arche stuck the Tridory into the ground and crossed his arms. Callias sneered a smile at him, clearly applauding himself. He turned to walk away, but Arche called out to him, loud enough for everyone around to hear.
“When do you plan to go after the captured?”
“What did you say?” Callias whirled on him.
“The beastmar captured some of your villagers. Alive. Surely you have a plan to rescue them, don’t you?”
An uncomfortable murmur passed through the small crowd. Callias glanced around, then waved one hand dismissively.
“If the beastmar have them, then they are already dead. I won’t waste more lives trying to bring them back.”
“If the beastmar were going to kill them, why go to the trouble of capturing so many alive? They need help. Who else is going to give it to them?”
Callias’s expression darkened.
“If I say they’re dead, then they’re dead. You would do well not to question me, boy.”
“Would that your own people show you the same respect you show them.”
Callias stiffened, his eyes blazing with hot fury.
“I don’t know who you think you are, but I will not take criticism from some common leper.”
“I’m not a—”
“Enough, you bore me. I won’t be paying you for what you did today, no matter what you argue. I know the only thing you adventurers care for is money. We have no contract. If you’re still alive or still here come morning, speak to the steward. He might be able to make some use of you, impossible as that may seem. If you’re not, then you had best leave my village, and quickly. Accidents happen in the frontier, you know.”
Without waiting for a response, Callias walked away, some of his retinue going with him. Arche rolled his eyes and turned to Vik.
“Can you find me a shovel? If I’m going to be up, I might as well get started on a burial pit. That is, unless we want to just leave a barbecue out in the middle of the valley.”
Vik waited until Callias was out of earshot before replying.
“Pompous prick. Do not worry, my new friend. You won’t spend the night alone.”
“Why does everyone follow him? Money is good, but certainly it’s not as useful out here.”
Elpida answered, speaking for the first time since Arche had known her.
“Most of the people here are indebted to him. His family has its fortune from moneylending and most here are tradesfolk who have fallen on hard times. Artisans, crafters, traders. A few farmers here and there whose crops didn’t have enough yield. This land is rich in resources and he intends to capitalize. Once he establishes the village, he expects to turn a fortune. The people here can’t afford to refuse him.”
“You three?”
“Gambling debts.” Vik shrugged. “The pay here is good enough.”
“He paid my release fee from the fighting pits, so I work for him to pay it back,” Gigator said.
Elpida looked to the side and didn’t answer. Vik and Gigator seemed to take that in stride, so Arche didn’t push. The answers seemed plausible enough, but there was an itch in his stomach. They weren’t giving him the whole story. Still, he was still a stranger to them, and he supposed it had been a rather personal question. Vik produced a shovel from his inventory and handed it to Arche.
“We’ll be back later with some food. Don’t worry, I’ll tell your friends where you are.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
Arche was left by himself in the dark. Alone with a massive pile of slain beastmar. He wrinkled his nose at the smell and started digging. As he did, he began sorting through his notifications.
You have learned a Skill.
Spear Throwing — Level 1
A spear is useful for its reach. With a little technique, it can reach further than expected.
Each level in this skill improves your ability to throw spears and spear-like objects.
Every 5 levels in this skill improves your Strength and Dexterity by 1.
This is a subskill of Spearmanship.
+3% Accuracy of Thrown Spears (+3%)
+2% Range of Thrown Spears (+2%)
Arche paused, rereading the description of the new skill. He focused on the word ‘subskill’ and another notification appeared.
Subskill
A subskill is a specialization that exists within another skill.
A subskill cannot be leveled past the host skill’s level, but experience earned for the subskill is also earned for the host skill.
Arche resumed digging with a smile.
You have learned a Skill.
Swimming — Level 1
Water, or similar substances, cover the majority of Tartarus. Swimming is not the recommended form of travel, however.
Each level in this skill improves your ability to not drown when submerged. Every 5 levels in this skill improves your Strength and Endurance by 1.
+2% Speed of Swimming (+2%)
-0.5% Stamina Drain while Swimming (-0.5%)
Arche paused again.
“Are these notifications getting snarky with me?”
Divine Body has increased to Level 2.
You have learned a Skill:
Leadership — Level 2
Some are natural leaders, others are made. What matters is the quality, not the origin.
Each level in this skill will improve your chances of getting others to follow you. Every 5 levels in this skill improves your Wisdom and Charisma by 1.
+1% Persuasion Chance (+2%)
+1% Reputation Gains (+2%)
-0.5% Reputation Losses (-1%)
You have discovered a feature of the Tridory:
Return
You can summon the Tridory to you at a rate of 1 Mana per meter.
Bond further with the Tridory to discover other features.
Arche stopped digging for a third time. His hole was only a foot deep but he was completely distracted by the last notification. He looked to where the Tridory still stuck out of the ground and hesitantly extended a hand. He remembered wishing the spear would come back to him in battle and the surprise he’d felt when it worked, but it had felt like a fluke. Some battle shock obscuring the truth of things.
He willed the spear to come to him and, to his surprise, it bent toward his hand and shot out of the ground. He caught it by the grip easily, as though the Tridory was being pulled to his hand by that point specifically. His Mana dropped two points, an almost imperceptible amount that would be replenished in less than nine seconds with his current Wisdom score.
Was there a limitation to how far he could summon the spear or was the limit his own Mana pool? He had no way to reliably test that theory without risking revealing the feature to everyone in the village. He was certain that if Callias Buteo discovered that he had a magic spear, the pompous ass would do everything in his power to confiscate it. He supposed he could go off by himself to some remote part of the valley, but that would be just as likely to get him killed as it would to give him answers. Arche sunk the Tridory back into the ground and rubbed at his palm. He needed a way of carrying it around that didn’t require him to hold it all the time.
Spearmanship has increased to Level 11.
+2% Damage with Spears (+22%)
You have reached the rank of Novice in Spearmanship.
You gain 100 experience.
Swordsmanship has increased to Level 14.
+2% Damage with Swords (+28%)
Acrobatics has increased to Level 8.
+3% Control of Movement (+24%)
+1% Jump Height (+8%)
Light Armor has increased to Level 4.
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+2% Defense with Light Armor (+8%)
You have learned a Skill.
Digging — Level 1
Diggy diggy—wait, you’re not a dwarf!
Each level in this skill improves your ability to dig holes.
Every 5 levels in this skill improves your Strength and Endurance by 1.
This is a subskill of Menial Labor.
+3% Digging Speed (+3%)
+1% Soil Manipulation (+1%)
-0.5% Stamina Drain while Digging (-0.5%)
You have learned a Skill:
Menial Labor — Level 1
Work harder, not smarter.
Each level in this skill improves your ability to do a wide variety of physical tasks.
+1% Efficiency at Menial Tasks (+1%)
+1% Speed at Menial Tasks (+1%)
-0.5% Stamina Drain during Menial Tasks (-0.5%)
The hole was as deep as Arche’s waist when he took a break. He sat with his feet dangling over the edge. The idea that ‘digging’ was a skill made him snort, but it made as much sense as anything in Tartarus. Arche wondered what a Master at digging would look like and chuckled at the thought of a person swimming through the ground like water.
Night fell fully on the valley, though one almost couldn’t tell. The small, green moon in the sky was full and the larger blue moon was missing only a crescent. They bathed the entire valley in cyan light. Arche stared up at the sky for a long time, wondering what was out there, among the stars. It felt so open and unguarded after all his time in the forest. Constellations flickered, meteors flashed across the sky, and through it all the two moons shone down like the multicolored eyes of some celestial being. The world was a bigger place than he could imagine and the sky only served to highlight how little of it he’d actually seen. After he’d drunk his fill of the sky and considerably widened the hole, he took a break. It was as good a time as any to assign his new attribute points.
Arche
Level: 14
Experience to Next Level: 238 (83%)
Race: Human
Age: 27
Height: 185 centimeters
Weight: 82 kilograms
Profession: N/A
Trade: N/A
Traits: Slayer of the Mighty
Companions: Lyssanderyli
Adventuring Party: Helwan Panysk
You have 15 undistributed attribute points
Health: 445 / 445
100%
Stamina: 271 / 325
83%
Mana: 170 / 170
100%
Strength: 22
Dexterity: 18
Agility: 17
Fortitude: 23 (18)
Endurance: 21 (16)
Intelligence: 17
Wisdom: 14
Willpower: 14
Perception: 16
Charisma: 14
Comeliness: 1
Luck: 11
Fifteen points to assign, and twelve places to assign them. The choice never seemed to get any easier. Still, he was happy to have the chance to improve himself. Despite the fact he still didn’t know any spells, the prospect of being able to use his Divine Body skill more was tempting. Now that he had more of an idea of what it could do, all he wanted to do was experiment more. With that thought in mind, he invested two points into Intelligence and Wisdom each.
The next part was difficult for him but he gritted his teeth and did it anyway, investing a full four points into Charisma. Seven points left, it was time to shore up his physical stats. The Tridory still felt unwieldy in his grip and if his foot race with Lyssa had proved anything, it was how much slower he was compared to competent fighters. He placed two points into Dexterity, two into Agility, and the final three into Strength.
Health: 460 / 460
100%
Stamina: 283 / 325
87%
Mana: 190 / 190
100%
Strength: 25
Dexterity: 20
Agility: 19
Fortitude: 23 (18)
Endurance: 21 (16)
Intelligence: 19
Wisdom: 16
Willpower: 14
Perception: 16
Charisma: 18
Comeliness: 1
Luck: 11
The investiture into Charisma would help him make allies, or so he hoped. Considering how badly his last two interactions with Callias had gone, he would need all the allies he could get. Now that the housekeeping was done, it was time to reattack the gardening.
An hour and four levels in both Digging and Menial Labor later, he was interrupted by Lyssa.
“What are you doing?”
Arche stopped and looked up out of the hole he’d dug. It was now up to his chest, though not much wider or longer than his shoulders. He had removed his armor and his shirt, hoping to avoid sullying them with sweat and dirt.
“I’m digging a mass grave. For them to place the beastmar bodies into.”
“I can see that. Why are you doing it?”
Arche clambered out of the hole and saw that she was covered in dried blood. Red blood, to his relief. She looked as though she had been more than hands-deep in a couple of the people in the triage.
“Two reasons,” he said. “The first is that I don’t think it would be wise to leave a giant pile of burned bodies out in the open like an all-you-can-eat buffet for any nearby monsters.”
Lyssa blinked and shook her head, clearly not understanding the simile. Arche pressed on anyway.
“The second being that I would want the same effort done for me.”
“They wouldn’t do the same for you. They would eat you.”
“Then that gives me the moral high ground, don’t you think?”
“Barely four weeks old and now you’re spouting philosophy at me.”
“I blame you. You named me after a philosophical abstract, didn’t you?”
“It’s foolish.”
“I disagree.”
Lyssa snorted and produced a platter of food from her inventory.
“I brought you some food. Your new friend, Vik, told me where to find you. I wanted to apologize for leaving you. We should have stayed together. I saw the beastmar coming and no warning had been raised. My instincts acted before my mind. If something had happened to you or Helwan, I would have been completely distracted.”
Arche held up a hand to stop her.
“Don’t apologize. You were absolutely right to do what you did. You saved lives, gave those people enough time to prepare for the attack. It would have been a slaughter if you’d waited for us.”
“Still, you could have been killed. We both could have been. All for my recklessness.”
“You know, I think a certain wood elf once told me that the journey is often dangerous and that I should be prepared for that danger and not walk through the woods like some human woman.”
Lyssa let out an actual chuckle.
“That was a horrible paraphrase.”
“Am I wrong?”
Arche poured water over his hands, rubbing the dirt from beneath his fingernails before he ate. There wasn’t much, a few thin slices of meat, a handful of olives, and a salad of pepper slices, but there was also a small flagon of mead that they took turns sipping from. What was left wanting from dinner they supplemented with their own supplies, wolf meat and sweet wine that conjured a memory from the weeks before.
The memory seemed almost hollow now that he was surrounded by so much death. He stared at the pile of beastmar. Black blood congealed throughout the mass; wounds gaped like a broken taboo. Dozens of beastmar were piled high not twenty strides away and Arche was sitting and eating and laughing. The realization of it made his stomach turn.
“Is this what life is like?”
Lyssa tilted her head, brow furrowed in confusion.
“Battle after battle, conflict after conflict, with everything else happening in the breaths between fights?” Arche gestured to the pile of beastmar corpses. “Is that our fate? Are we going to end up like them one of these days? Wasted flesh and wasted life?”
Lyssa didn’t say anything for a long minute.
“Long ago, before my people secluded themselves to the forest, there was a society of elves who dedicated themselves to making war. They lived for battle, constantly training and constantly starting conflict. They came to be feared throughout Tartarus for their brutality and their skill, but they did not last long. Throughout their many conflicts, their numbers dwindled. Elves are long-lived but not easily replaced. In less than a hundred years, they went from three hundred elves to only three.”
She paused to take a swig of wine, then handed him the flagon.
“When it was only the three of them left, they turned their blades on each other. Two of them were struck down, their blood joining the fallen, but the last survived with grievous wounds. Before he succumbed to his injuries, he left writings for those who would come after.”
“What did he write?”
“Seek peace and fight to defend it. Raise your weapon only for what you believe in.” Lyssa paused, her throat flexing and unflexing as though the words were stuck. “Spill not the blood of your kin, for it is the ruin of us all.”
Arche stared at the bodies of the slain.
“Battle can be your life,” Lyssa said. “Or it can be part of it. Ultimately, it is your choice what kind of life you will lead and what the meaning of it is. Death is part of life, there is no escaping it, but a life is not defined by its end, it is defined by its measure.”
It wasn’t the reassurance he had hoped for, but her words helped lessen the empty feeling that had settled inside his chest. He began to feel a little more himself, whoever that might be.
“I would not have expected a Huntress to be wise in philosophy.”
“My life has been defined by the death of those around me. I have had time to consider these things.”
“You’re wrong there.” Arche wiped his hands on the grass. “If my life is a product of what I dedicate it to, then so is yours. Many of these people would be dead, if not for you. I would be dead, several times over. That accounts for something.”
Lyssa fixed her eyes on the moons. It was her turn to be silent and think.
“By the way, I learned a few new things.” He did his best to keep his voice calm and disinterested.
“Oh? Like what?” Lyssa took another swig of wine.
Arche gave a mysterious smile and held his hand out to the side. The Tridory launched itself toward him from several paces away and he caught it without looking. Lyssa spat wine in a fine mist, turning Arche’s smile into a full grin.
“What the fuck?”
“Hey! You’re learning!”
“How did you do that?”
“By complete accident, the first time. I finally had time to go through all my notifications out here and found out that one of the features of the spear is something called ‘Return’ which allows me to summon it for a small Mana cost.”
“That’s incredible. I don’t know of any weapons that have an ability like this.”
“I guess I’m just that special.”
“Who else knows about this?”
“No one, I think. I used it once in the battle, but I don’t think anyone saw and it wasn’t half as slick. I figure the only people who might have seen were the three I was fighting alongside. Vik, Elpida, and Gigator, but they’ve been friendly so far and no one’s said anything.”
Lyssa nodded. Her gaze turned back to the sea of tents sequestered near the river. Now that night was upon them, many had strung up candles or lanterns outside their tents, giving the whole community a soft, golden glow reminiscent of fireflies.
“This place is different than I had hoped. It’s full of people. People I do not understand.”
Arche looked sideways at her and realized she probably hadn’t met many people outside of her village before him.
“How are you holding up? We haven’t really talked in a minute.”
Lyssa shrugged.
“I don’t know. I’ve known this was coming for years, but it still doesn’t feel real. Dawnwood is all I’ve ever known; now I can never return. This village seemed like the best choice, but I don’t know that I can join a community that would subjugate itself to a man like that.”
“What if we showed them a different way?”
Lyssa frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been talking to Vik and his gang. By the sound of it, most people here are only following Callias because he’s paying them or holding them in some kind of debt. If we can wipe away that debt, maybe we can undercut his whole operation, force him to step down and establish a better way of life for the people here. Right now, it seems like he calls all the shots and is only acting in his own self-interests.”
“How would we get the money to pay for such things?”
“The treasure from the dwarven ruins. I never got rid of my share and Helwan still has his. If the three of us pool it together, I’m sure it’s worth more than whatever that prick has with him. If we can free enough people from their debt, we might be able to sway the people against him.”
“Who would they follow? You?”
Arche paused. The idea of running his own village was tempting, but the sheer responsibility of it all was too much to fathom. His own goals would be constantly overshadowed by administrative issues and the needs of the people.
“I don’t know. I don’t think I’d be a very good leader. I’m just saying, if we don’t like the way things are, we could try to change it. Maybe you could lead.”
“Doubtful. My father and my”—she took a steadying breath—“brother were both gifted leaders. But me? I wouldn’t know where to begin. What if we just made things worse?”
“One, I don’t believe that. I’m not really sure how old you are, but if your dad is even half as good as you say he is, you must have learned something from him over the years, even if you don’t know it. Two, how could things be worse than a leader who’s so adverse to listening to advice that he’d rather let all of his people get ambushed and eaten by monsters?”
“You make some good points, I’ll give you that, Greenstick.”
“I’m not even saying that we become the leaders of the village. Maybe they have someone else lined up who’d be perfect for the job. I’m only saying that if we can bring a better life to these people, we should probably try. Just think about it.”
“I will. That’s all I can promise for now.”
Persuasion has increased to Level 2.
+1% Persuasion Chance (+2%)
You have received a Quest:
Rise and Fall
Lord Callias Buteo has proved himself a poor leader, relying on fear and finance to gain the loyalty of his townspeople. Replace him and set forth a new age of opportunity.
Objectives
· Remove Callias Buteo from power
· Establish a form of government for the village
· Have a member of your party lead the village (Optional)
Rewards
· 10,000 Experience
· Increased Relation with the village of Buton
· Leadership of a village (Optional)
“I can’t believe he named the village after himself,” Arche muttered. “And the worst part of his name, too.”
“If I agree and if we succeed, that’s the first thing to change.”
“Deal.” Arche dismissed the notification. “In the meantime, we should avoid taking any of Callias’s money. Help the people, refuse the pay. We can last on our own supplies or do our own hunting if it comes to it.”
“Trying to win another moral victory?”
“Not exactly. I’m trying to show him that we can’t be bought. That not everyone cares about his stupid money as much as he does.”
Arche finished the last of his meal and stood. He picked up the shovel and jumped back into the hole. It wasn’t going to dig itself, after all.