Charomera

The 9th of Elaphebolion

The Year 4631 in the Era of Mortals

The transition from the Dawnwood to the Sylv was a marked one. While the Dawnwood carried about it a lighthearted feel and was full of bright greens and oranges and softly glowing trees, the Sylv was a much darker wood. The trees were larger, on average, and the canopy grew thick and oppressive, like an arboreal ceiling through which sunlight had to fight to get through. As such, the underbrush was mostly non-existent and thin where it managed to grow. Dark leaves in various states of decay littered the forest floor. Shapes and colors ran together in the shade, making Arche feel he was lost and being watched.

Two days after they had left the Dawnwood, Arche came across his first monster. They heard it long before they saw it. Large, crashing booms shook the trees above them. Lyssa shoved him to the ground at the base of a huge tree and crouched over him, signaling him to be quiet. A creature came into view, so large that it surely must have been a giant. It towered over them, its head halfway to the canopy above and every step shook the trees around it. It was humanoid, but barely. Huge, gangly arms nearly scraped the ground, and a gut that writhed and pulsed hung over the creature’s unmentionables, marking it very clearly as male.

Whatever it had eaten was still alive, pushing against the inside of the creature’s stomach in a desperate bid to escape. The thought made Arche gag. The creature carried a large club in the form of a young, uprooted tree that carved deep furrows in the forest floor behind it as it moved. Lyssa shook as she crouched over Arche, using her cloak to conceal them both. They stayed that way, near the base of the tree, until they could no longer hear the footsteps in the distance.

“What the fuck was that?” Arche took deep breaths, trying to calm his pounding heart.

“A kýklōps. An old one, too, by the look of him, but not one of the Kýklōpes. We’re lucky he didn’t catch our scent, or we would not have survived. I haven’t seen one this close to the border of Dawnwood. Not in a long time.” Lyssa fell quiet.

“You think this might have something to do with your quest?” Arche asked.

“It may. It’s difficult to tell. We should continue quickly, before it decides to come back.”

They set off, now traveling at a soft jog to create distance between them and the kýklōps. As they ran, Arche noticed a flashing notification at the edge of his vision.

You have learned a Skill.

Stealth — Level 6

Nobody notices the shadow on the wall until it’s too late.

Each level in this skill will improve your ability to go unseen.

Every 5 levels in this skill improves your Dexterity by 1.

+2% Chance to Hide (+12%)

+2% Sneak Attack Chance (+12%)

+1% Sneak Attack Damage (+6%)

+1 Dexterity

Arche had the sudden impulse to pump his fist, but he managed to contain his enthusiasm to a grin. Lyssa had been making fun of his attempts to creep around the forest for days. It was also a non-combat skill, which was even better, but it made him wonder how many skills there really were. He was also surprised he had started out so high. Only his archery had started higher and that was due to Lyssa’s instruction. It must have been related to the level of danger he had successfully hidden from, though how that was calculated, there was no telling.

After a half hour of jogging through the rough terrain of the forest, Arche’s Stamina bar had dropped below one-quarter and he asked, between gasps, for them to slow down. They walked along as he regained both Stamina and his breath.

“How much further is this ‘sinister thing’ your Lord has sent us to go find?”

“If the directions I’ve been given are accurate, we should come across it an hour before twilight.”

“How can you tell what time it is in this gloom?”

“We elves are not as limited as humans in the dark. For us, the light filtering through these trees is more than enough to see by. Even in absolute darkness, we can see a fair distance.”

Arche grunted. “Lucky.”

“Let’s keep moving. That is, if your tiny human legs can keep up.”

“I’m taller than you.”

“And slower.”

“Shut up.”

They alternated between a fast walk and a slow jog to conserve their Stamina. Arche had made at least three internal promises to start a running regimen to train his Endurance by the time Lyssa called for them to stop again.

“What is it?”

Lyssa crouched and his mind immediately conjured images of more kýklōpes.

“Something’s on the wind. Something foul. I think we’ve found what we’re looking for, be cautious.”

Arche drew his bow and slowly nocked an arrow to the string. He crouched low, putting his side against a tree.

“Do you recognize it?”

Lyssa tilted her head back, breathing deeply. After a moment she wrinkled her nose and crouched lower.

“Undead,” she hissed.

Arche blinked. “Like, skeletons and ghosts and whatnot?”

“Possibly, though I’ve not heard of a ‘whatnot.’ The stench of death is strong.”

“What’s the play?”

“What?”

Arche grit his teeth. “What’s our next move?”

“Let’s have a look first.”

They snuck forward through the tree line, taking great care to be quiet. After about a hundred paces they found the cause of the disturbance. A massive hole in the ground, over twenty paces in diameter. Several bodies were arrayed around the hole, all humanoid. They looked undisturbed by wildlife and were laid out as though the group had simply gone to sleep. That wish was disillusioned by the fact that blood soaked their clothes and all bore horrible wounds that had long since bled dry. Some looked half-eaten.

“Are those…people?” Arche asked.

“Not anymore. This aura…I suspect necromancy.”

The smell of death and rot was heavy in the air and he had to hold his nose to keep from gagging on it.

“What’s that?”

“Death magic. A wicked practice. There may be mages behind this, or this area may be steeped in enough death magic for reanimation to occur of its own accord. We cannot leave it like this.”

“What do you suggest we do?”

“Aim for the head. Failing that, aim to cripple. These corpses are likely slow, but there are different variants of the undead. It’ll be hard to know what we’re dealing with until they move. In a pinch, fire works, but it’ll draw out every other monster in the region.”

Arche peered out at the bodies lying around the hole.

“There has to be a dozen of them.”

“Then aim well. Are you ready?”

Arche adjusted his grip and nodded. He had never felt less ready for something in his short life. He looked out upon the sprawling corpses, sizing them up, and tried to keep his knees from shaking.

“You’re the better shot. I’ll go for the ones that stand up, working from the right to left. You focus on the ones still on the ground, I doubt I can hit those.”

Lyssa nodded. “If we get swarmed, we fall back. Chances are high that we can move faster than they can. Follow my lead and don’t get separated. There may be other hunters in this forest, though their stench will have run most off.”

Arche took a breath, feeling the sweat bead on his brow.

“Ready on your mark.”

Lyssa nodded, stood, and loosed an arrow in a steady motion. Her first arrow tore through the head of the first corpse. It was quickly followed by two more before the rest stirred. Arche aimed carefully at one that had stood and released the drawstring. His aim was short, catching the bloated corpse of a rotting human in the mouth, but it apparently severed something as the body collapsed in a heap. The flash of a notification appeared at the edge of his vision, which he ignored. Frankly, he was just thankful that the notifications didn’t pop up and obscure his vision when he was busy. He loosed another two arrows as the zombies lumbered toward them.

Lyssa shot arrow after arrow into the group at a rate much faster than anything Arche could manage. Still, six zombies were shambling toward them, not fifteen paces away.

“Lyssa,” Arche growled out a warning, firing an arrow into the forehead of an approaching zombie.

Lyssa nocked, drew, and released once more, then turned to run. Arche turned with her and the two dashed into the forest. The sound of the zombies pursuing grew louder. Arche fell into a sprint, slinging his bow over his shoulder and drawing his sword from his belt, not an easy feat in the low light of the forest. Lyssa kept a hold of her bow, somehow managing to nock more arrows and fire them, spinning as she ran. Arche glanced over his shoulder. One of the zombies looked different from the others. While the others had shambled toward them upright, albeit more quickly than their gangly gaits would suggest, this one was scrabbling over the ground on all fours and was considerably faster.

“Crawler!” he hissed, jumping over a small, fallen tree.

“I can’t get a clear shot on it.”

“It’s gaining on us. Stand and fight?”

A large oak ahead threatened to split them if they tried to go around.

“There!” Lyssa cried out.

She reached the oak first, threw her back against it, then shot another arrow. Arche could hear the crawling zombie get closer, crashing through the limited undergrowth.

“Down!”

Arche hit the ground even faster than he had in their sparring matches, his momentum sending him forward into a roll. The fast zombie had lunged for him, throwing itself into the air and sailing over him as he hit the ground. Arche popped back up to his feet and jumped, his momentum twisted him into a flip as the zombie turned back toward him. His blood was on fire from the adrenaline as he reached out with his sword. The sharp blade cut deep into the zombie’s flesh, but the bones were strong and it wasn’t a fatal blow. Arche landed on the other side, now on the creature’s flank, as the last upright zombie emerged.

Arche approached the crawler, sword raised to finish the fight, but it reared and kicked out at him with both legs. Arche cried out and fell backwards as long toenails tore into him, carving furrows against his vambraces and into the unarmored portion of his arm. At the bottom of his vision, his Health plummeted.

Arche brought his sword around, ducking as the creature kicked again. He caught one of the zombie’s arms at the elbow, severing it. The undead creature fell to the ground awkwardly, no longer able to evenly support its weight. Capitalizing on the moment, Arche lunged forward and stuck the tip of his sword into the back of the zombie’s neck and out the top of its head, severing the spinal cord and piercing the brain in one powerful strike.

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He turned to see that Lyssa had dispatched the last zombie with her swords. She flicked her blades to the side, black blood flying off the metal to land amidst the dead leaves. Arche took a few deep breaths and stared at the corpses, hoping they would stay dead this time. The sword slipped from his hand as he felt a wash of hot pain shoot through his left arm. He clutched at it with his right, looking down at three deep gashes that ran along his forearm. He knelt, not trusting himself to stand. Pain washed over him, then golden light. It flashed several times, more than before. When it faded, his arm was healed, the cuts closed with only thin, silver scars to show they’d ever been there. That didn’t save him from Lyssa’s chastisement, however.

“You were lucky. I’ve seen similar attacks take off limbs,” she said as she inspected Arche’s newly healed arm, twisting it around beneath her grip.

“I’m going to have nightmares for weeks but at least we clawed our way out of that one.”

Lyssa narrowed her eyes. “Was that a joke?”

“Too soon?”

“I don’t see much to laugh at, here.”

Arche nodded. “Yeah. I think I use humor to cover how fucking horrifying this is. I need to sit down.”

“Why don’t you check your notifications. I’ll bet you have a level up waiting. Four, by the look of it.

“Great idea,” Arche grunted as he lowered himself next to the oak. “I’m just going to sit down by this tree and do that. Make sure I don’t get eaten, would you?”

Lyssa kept her bow at the ready as Arche unfocused his eyes and called forth his notifications with a mental command.

Would you like to consolidate post-battle messages?

This will reduce the amount of specific information shown.

Yes

No

Arche immediately chose ‘yes’, not wanting to wade through a dozen prompts about the battle.

You have slain four Zombies.

You have slain a Level 8 Imbued Zombie.

You gain 460 experience.

Slayer of the Mighty activated!

You gain 1,300 bonus experience.

Lyssanderyli has slain 7 Zombies.

You gain 492 experience.

You have reached Level 7.

As a Human, you gain 5 attribute points to distribute each level.

You currently have 20 undistributed attribute points.

You have learned a Skill.

Acrobatics — Level 1

Now you can run and jump like a majestic leopard. Go forth in style.

Each level in this skill will improve your manipulation of your body in space.

Every 5 levels in this skill improves your Dexterity & Agility by 1.

+3% Control of movement (+3%)

+1% Jump height (+1%)

Archery has increased to Level 11.

+2% Damage with Ranged Weapons (+22%)

+2% Accuracy with Ranged Weapons (+22%)

+1% Range with Ranged Weapons (+11%)

Swordsmanship has increased to Level 9.

+2% Damage with Swords (+18%)

You have learned a Skill.

Light Armor — Level 1

Light armor is the primary choice for mages, hunters, and thieves. It allows for high mobility and offers little interference to magic. What it lacks in its ability to turn a blade, it more than makes up for by allowing you to dodge it entirely.

Each level in this skill increases your capabilities with Light Armor.

+2% Defense of Light Armor (+2%)

“What level are you now?”

“Seven.”

“And just shy of two weeks old. You are progressing at an accelerated rate. Truly remarkable.”

“Not fast enough,” Arche muttered, kicking the corpse of the zombie that had clawed him. “Wait, two weeks? It hasn’t even been ten days, yet.”

“Yes.” Lyssa cocked her head to one side. “How long do you think a week is?”

“Seven days.”

“No. Five.”

“What?”

“Hadespera, Hermera, Nyxspera, Charomera, Persepera. Five days.”

“What the fuck? What happened to Monday, Tuesday, and all that?”

“I don’t know those words.”

“My brain can’t handle this right now. Hold on.”

There were more notifications blinking in his vision, but Arche ignored them. His head throbbed. A drink, he needed a drink. His inventory held three full waterskins so he removed one and put it to his lips. It was cold life and gave him something to focus on. Lyssa stood nearby, brow furrowed but not angry.

“You handled yourself well out there, Greenstick. You kept your head. The acrobatics were a bit much, but it worked out in the end. You have to be careful with undead, though. The wounds they inflict can carry all sorts of diseases, magical and mundane alike.”

Arche nodded, knowing that she was speaking out of concern and not out of rebuke, but he couldn’t help feeling like he’d made a fool of himself. Whatever he felt, it had paid off in droves. He was now level seven and had twenty attribute points to spend.

“Hang on a sec, I’m going to spend some points.”

Arche unfocused his eyes and pulled up his profile.

Arche

Level: 7

Experience to Next Level: 168 (76%)

Race: Human

Age: 27

Height: 184 centimeters

Weight: 79 kilograms

Profession: N/A

Trade: N/A

Traits: Slayer of the Mighty

Companions: Lyssanderyli

Adventuring Party: N/A

You have 20 undistributed attribute points

Health: 270 / 270

100%

Stamina: 195 / 195

100%

Mana: 120 / 120

100%

Strength: 15

Dexterity: 14

Agility: 11

Fortitude: 13

Endurance: 13

Intelligence: 12

Wisdom: 11

Willpower: 12

Perception: 12

Charisma: 10

Comeliness: 1

Luck: 10

Arche put two points into Fortitude and another two into Endurance. Three points went into Strength, Dexterity, and Agility each. He placed two more points into Intelligence and Wisdom. Stroking the ridges on his chin, he decided to place another point each in Willpower and Perception. The final point he dropped into Charisma, then examined the final product.

Health: 315 / 315

100%

Stamina: 225 / 225

100%

Mana: 140 / 140

100%

Strength: 18

Dexterity: 17

Agility: 14

Fortitude: 15

Endurance: 15

Intelligence: 14

Wisdom: 13

Willpower: 13

Perception: 13

Charisma: 11

Comeliness: 1

Luck: 10

Arche flexed, feeling himself grow heavier, more solid. A wave of slight itchiness spread across his whole body, as though he were covered in thousands of crawling insects. Then the feeling was gone, just as suddenly as it had come. Arche shivered, unsettled. He felt stronger, more confident in his motions. It was difficult to tell in the lighting, but he was sure his arms were a bit more muscular as well. He stretched his fingers out, reveling in how precise the movement felt. Lyssa cocked her head to one side, a teasing glint in her eye.

“I hope you didn’t spend all your points on physicality.”

“Yep, sank every single one into Comeliness, just to impress you.”

Lyssa snorted, paused, then cleared her throat.

“You…you didn’t actually, did you?”

“No. It’s a pointless stat for me.”

“What do you mean?”

Arche waved a hand in front of his face.

“Kind of hard to make your outside match a mental picture when you don’t even know what you look like.”

Lyssa’s face twisted violently before she wrestled her features into impassivity, but that brief moment of naked horror made Arche’s heart drop into his feet.

“You don’t know?”

Sweat blossomed on his brow. He rubbed at it, feeling hard ridges beneath his fingers.

“Oh fuck, what is it?”

“No, it’s nothing. I should not have said.”

“Damn it, Lyssa, don’t do this to me. What’s wrong with me?”

She looked away, refusing to meet his eyes.

“It’s not a bad face. You have a square jaw, dark brown hair, and dark eyes. Your cheekbones are low, which is normal, I think, for a human. Elven faces are more slender; high cheekbones, sharp angles. Yours is less so.”

“What aren’t you telling me?”

Lyssa grimaced.

“You have scars, Arche. A lot of scars.”

“What kind of scars?”

“It’s difficult to describe. It looks like torture. You must have been under a blade for far longer than any person deserves. The damage, it’s…extensive. I’ve never seen scars like that. You’re covered in them. So many that it’s a wonder you’re alive. I’m truly sorry, Arche. I thought you knew.”

Arche swallowed and put his back against a tree, leaning his weight against it. A hard lump had worked its way into his throat and refused to go down. He reached up and touched his face, brushing it with his fingertips. There were no beard bristles, despite the fact he hadn’t ever shaved. Leveling had wiped away the grime of traveling, leaving his skin fresh. Now that he knew what to feel for, though, his fingers scraped over small lines of scars. The ridges he’d felt every time he’d touched his face. They crossed patterns over his cheeks and forehead, across his eyes and down his neck. Some were recessed, like tiny valleys in his skin. Others were keloid, raised blocks of hard skin that stopped his wandering fingertips and caught the edges of his nails.

One of his eyes blurred. He shook his head, letting his hand fall to the side. He took a deep breath, hating himself for the shakiness that came when he let it out. Someone had done this to him. Maybe whoever had was also responsible for the loss of his memories. He would find them and get his answers.

Then, he would make them pay.

“Are you all right?” Lyssa’s voice was tender, none of its usual playfulness or jesting.

“No.” His voice was thick. “I’m not.”

“Is there something I can do?”

Arche’s fist tightened around the wood of the tree.

“Find me something to kill.”