Hermera
The 17th of Mounichion
The Year 4631 in the Era of Mortals
Dawn came and went and the sun reached its midmorning height before Arche stirred. Wakefulness crawled to him, pleasantly spurred by the memory of the previous night. Arche ran his tongue across his lips, savoring the lingering taste there. It had been an almost perfect night, all things considered, with the only disappointment being his lonely bed.
Tess had made her retreat not long after their kiss, citing some nonsense about needing sleep. Arche, barely able to think by that point, had been forced to determine if it was a farewell or an invitation. He landed on the former, recognizing that she seemed almost as tired as he was. It was likely for the best. For as long as he still had the Exhaustion debuff, there was too great a risk he would say something to ruin it and they’d be back where they started or worse. So he had walked her to her room and, in full view of the empty downstairs area, kissed her goodnight. Once safely back in his own quarters, he had stripped away his clothes and passed out on the bed, settling into the first restful sleep in longer than he could remember.
A knock on the door startled him and he realized, once again, he was naked. Once clothes were found and equipped, Arche opened the door, finding Tess holding a plate of food—bread with a wedge of butter, a small bowl of salted olives, and finely sliced grilled fish—and a jug of sweet wine.
“I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to wake up.” She smiled at him.
“I had three tiers of Exhaustion to sleep off,” Arche said, moving aside to let her enter.
Tess’s eyes flashed with sudden worry.
“Titan’s Blood, Arche! Why didn’t you say anything?”
She set the plate of food down on the bed and gestured for him to sit with her.
“I didn’t want to ruin the moment. Besides, I got it down to tier two, now. Would you believe that’s the first good night’s sleep I’ve had in…well, weeks, at least.”
“Hmm, I believe it. What do you have planned for today?”
“I told Lyssa I’d go to the healers to get my neck checked out. After that, I don’t know. I haven’t really had a day off, yet.”
“I’m sure you’ll get into all sorts of mischief.”
“Most definitely. What about you?”
Tess took a bite of bread, her flaxen hair falling just past her shoulders as she leaned over the plate.
“I’ve got some commercial business to take care of. A lot of dwarven treasure to catalogue, too. Yeah, I think I’m going to be absolutely swamped today.”
“Maybe you can sneak off around dinner time.”
“Yes, you promised me a nice one, as I recall.”
“And I intend to deliver. If not here, then definitely once we make it to Ship’s Shape. Any idea on when we’ll leave?”
“I reckon we’ll be ready in about a week’s time. Longer than we originally planned for, but there’s a lot to make ready before we go. In the meantime, I’m going to be working with Theodorous on potential bandages for our hemorrhaging economy.”
“Yikes, have fun with that.”
“Doubtful.”
Tess stood, stretched, and moved to the window looking out over the village. Arche watched the sun light up her skin, making her eyes sparkle.
“Wow, I’m definitely batting out of my league.”
She shot him a curious glance.
“It means you’re very beautiful and I’m lucky to have your attention.”
Tess’s cheeks colored and she grinned.
“I have to admit, your candor is refreshing. You always say what’s on your mind, don’t you?”
“Not exactly,” he winked at her. “What I’m thinking right now, for instance, would probably get me slapped.”
“Then I suppose it’s for the best that only one of us knows how to read minds. In the meantime, I think I’ll confuse yours for a change.”
In two steps, she crossed the distance between them, grabbed a fistful of his shirt, and pulled him up into a kiss. Then she pushed him down onto the bed and, with a tantalizing wink, slipped out the door, leaving him alone. Arche rubbed his eyes.
“I’m dreaming. I’ve got to be dreaming, right?” He paused. “No, not enough blood.”
He pushed himself out of bed and pulled his cloak on. He kept his armor in his inventory, though. He would need to get it cleaned and repaired before using it again, which he now had time to do.
Arche stifled a yawn and cracked his neck, then headed out the door and down the stairs. Lyssa was already hard at work, sitting at her desk, deep in conversation with Elpida. Arche waved to both of them but didn’t stop. In a moment, he was out the door and into the village.
Tents flooded the ground before him. Each stood about eight strides from its neighbors, large enough for a few people to walk through comfortably. Directly extending from the town hall, the pathway was easily three times that distance. Horses and carts could have passed by without needing to make room, not that Myriatos had either. To the north, workers were busy constructing the insula, near which many of the crafters had opened up their shops. None had permanent stores yet, but several had blankets decorated with goods set beneath fabric sunshades affixed to wooden poles. They called out their wares as people bustled around, viewing different items and haggling.
Arche looked to the south where Gigator had cordoned off an area for guard training. The sauros watched a dozen recruits practice with shields. A rack of wooden weaponry stood nearby and guards sparred with spears and swords. The sight of it was tempting, as Arche could use some combat practice, but he had a promise to keep and the large tent set up next to the training grounds was his true destination.
The healers had chosen this location as it was near the guards, where injuries were most likely to occur, and away from the trading area, where patients could be treated without the constant noise of commerce. As he entered the tent, he was met by a diminutive woman, barely as tall as his hip, who gave him a broad smile.
“Arche! Fancy seeing you here. Is everything all right?”
Arche grinned back at her. “Odelia, it’s good to see you. I had an encounter that didn’t go well, I was hoping you could check me out.”
Odelia’s smile turned disapproving.
“I will endeavor not to judge, so long as you endeavor to take greater care in your choice of partners.”
Arche blinked.
“What? Oh, god, no! No, no, no. No, I got bit by a vampire. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to turn into one.”
“Oh!” The halfling woman turned bright red. “I’m sorry, Arche. Come, sit, I’ll get you sorted out.”
Arche sat obediently as Odelia examined the scars around his neck. Her hands glowed with soft light as she muttered words of power, one spell after another. Finally, she called another healer over and had them cast another series of spells. Then they stepped away, muttering conspiratorially before Odelia returned.
“There’s good news and bad news.”
“Aw, fuck.”
“Please refrain from using such…suggestive language here.” Odelia’s voice was firm even as her cheeks colored.
“Sorry, Odelia. Please, go on.”
“Thank you. The good news is that you do not have vampirism. You are at no risk of turning into a vampire, as far as we can tell. The bad news is that you do have a lingering effect on you. It’s sanguimancy, or blood magic as you may know it by, and there is no one here who can remove it.”
“Well, what’s it doing?”
“I’m not completely certain. It appears to be some type of tracking magic, but it could be doing other things as well. You said you were bitten by a vampire; it’s quite possible this is a natural magical ability that they possess in order to find past prey, but I’ll admit I am not an expert when it comes to undead or undead-adjacent.”
“So you’re telling me that she can find me anywhere? For how long?”
“I don’t know. Sanguimancy is well outside my field of expertise. It’s a rare branch of magic and hardly reputable. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone knowledgeable in it, and I doubt any are in Myriatos. You would need to go to Ship’s Shape to have a chance of finding somebody with the information you seek. That isn’t the only thing you should be worried about, however.”
“Oh?” Arche did his best to keep his voice calm even as his heartrate spiked.
“Your body is out of equilibrium. You’re Exhausted. Tier two, by the look of it. Pretty close to the cusp of tier three. That’s unacceptable. You need rest.”
“Ah, that,” Arche’s heart started to quiet a little bit. “Yeah, I haven’t exactly been sleeping well.”
“Well, why didn’t you come see us sooner?”
Arche blinked.
“I’ve…been gone?” He hadn’t intended it to come out as a question, but the halfling woman shook her head and moved to a small wooden cabinet.
Odelia placed a hand against it, then paused. A moment later, she withdrew a small plant with thin green stalks and tiny white buds.
“This is valerian root. Before you go to bed tonight, I want you to steep this in your tea.”
“I don’t drink tea.”
“Then start. And use this. It will help you sleep. Not too much, just a few grams will do. Don’t throw the whole thing in.”
Arche frowned down at the root.
“What’s wrong?”
“I…how much is a gram?”
Odelia looked at him for a long moment, then let out a suppressed sigh, before indicating a section of the plant stalk that was the width of one of her tiny fingers.
“Use this much to start. If necessary, you can have a little more. If you decide to eat it directly, use a little less. Understand?”
“Thank you, Odelia. How much do I owe you?”
The halfling cocked her head to one side.
“What do you mean?”
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“For the examination. How much do you charge?”
“We don’t charge for care, Arche. Lyssa has set aside a portion of the village funds for us.”
“Huh. That’s…different from what I was expecting. So you’re paid by the village itself?”
“In short, yes. Lyssa and Theodorous spoke with us weeks ago about the arrangement. They pay us salary to take care of the wounded or ill, as well as an additional fund to help us pay for materials that we require. Not all maladies have a magical fix and sometimes there is no beating a natural cure.”
“I’ll be honest, I was expecting to have to pay some kind of fee.”
“Even if we did charge, considering what you’ve done for the village, Arche, I’d give you care for free. I still remember what you did down in the Vivitorium. Even when Abraxios and I could go no further, you were ready to stand alone against the beastmar. For that, you will always have our friendship.”
“And you have mine, Odelia. It was good to see you. Tell Abraxios hello for me, would you?”
“Of course, Arche. Have a wonderful day and stay away from any more vampires.”
Arche stepped out of the tent and scratched at his neck. The idea that Aima could track him down wherever he went was unsettling, to say the least. If their last fight had taught him anything, it was that he had a lot more to learn before they crossed paths again. He needed a way to counter her speed. Barring any magical artifacts that could help him, he was forced to trust in good, old-fashioned, hard training.
It was time to do something he had put off for far too long.
Arche jogged over to the recruits, where Gigator was drilling their footwork by having them line up in two rows, then having one side advance while the other retreated. The giant lizardman forced them to pick up the speed until they were tripping over themselves, then had them reset and start again, emphasizing the importance of forming and keeping a solid line.
“Hey, Giga!”
“Basil, continue this.” Gigator turned to face him, his reptilian features drawn down in disapproval. “Arche, my people do not abbreviate names. Call me Gigator.”
“Oh, sorry, Gigator. I didn’t know.”
“What do you need?”
“Training.” Arche grimaced. “Specifically, spear training. I haven’t actually had any.”
Gigator scratched his scaly chin with one claw.
“You have jumped, often literally, into multiple battles using a spear that you don’t actually know how to use?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Hah!” Gigator threw his head back and let out a hissing laugh that set Arche’s teeth on edge. “Maybe the rumors are true and you can’t be killed. All right, come. I will train you.”
The sauros put one arm around Arche’s shoulders and guided him toward a dirt-laden section designed for sparring. Once there, Gigator grabbed a wooden spear with a blunt tip off the weapon stand and tossed it to Arche, picking a second one for himself. Arche’s new spear was shorter than him by about a hand’s width, whereas Gigator’s spear was a full head-and-shoulders taller than the massive lizardman, making it twice Arche’s size.
“So, how does this work? Are you going to teach me some drills?”
“Later. First, I want to see you fight.”
“You’ve seen me fight before.”
“In battle against the beastmar, I recall. That was a month ago. I want to see how you fight now.”
Arche hefted the spear in both hands, his right gripping the middle of the haft, his left settled toward the end. This spear did not have a sauroter, so its weight was further forward than Arche was used to, settling around his right hand. He held it parallel to the ground, tip pointing toward Gigator at chest-height.
“This is a short spear.” Gigator indicated Arche’s weapon. “A simple weapon, good for control. It can be wielded in one hand or two, with a shield or without. Different environments require different weaponry, so it would be wise to take what you need in your inventory. This spear is good in tight confines, on stairways or in low caves.”
Arche didn’t respond. He felt a flutter in his chest, the thrill in the air before a fight. There was a distinct lack of fear that was exhilarating. Seeing no response, Gigator continued.
“Ready yourself and let’s begin.”
The sauros posted the tip of his spear at Arche’s eyeline. As the shorter combatant with a shorter weapon, Arche was immediately at a disadvantage. He would have to get in close to score any hits, but it would be incredibly difficult to do so without first being stabbed. He circled the lizardman, looking for any openings in his guard. There were none.
Arche tapped his spear against Gigator’s, gauging the lizardman’s reaction. Gigator shifted his feet but otherwise didn’t move. Arche swung his shoulders to the side, trying to push Gigator’s spear-tip off-center so he could run inside the lizardman’s guard. The problem was that Gigator’s spear never stayed where Arche wanted it to. As his spear swept sideways, Gigator’s dipped beneath it, then extended upward and outward, tagging Arche on the chest just beneath his collarbone.
“Hrgh!” The blow drove the wind out of his chest.
Arche stumbled back and recentered himself. Gigator went on the offensive, stepping forward with confidence as he thrust outward several times in rapid succession. Arche struggled to block the questing spearhead. Gigator could withdraw the tip of his spear and then send it hurtling in another direction, making it damned difficult for Arche to do anything offensively. He was forced to dodge as much as he blocked in order to avoid more painful blows.
Arche tried to change the momentum by stepping into Gigator’s strikes, trying to get inside his reach and to a point where he could return with some strikes of his own. Gigator reacted by backing away, keeping Arche past the tip of his spear. Arche growled with frustration. Nothing he did worked and he was tired of getting pushed around. As Gigator came in for another attack, Arche let go with one hand and grabbed Gigator’s spear, trying to pull the sauros to him. Gigator was much larger than Arche, but despite that, he’d still somehow underestimated the sauros’s strength. As Arche pulled, Gigator took one step forward and twisted his hips. The spear slammed into the side of Arche’s head and knocked him to the ground.
Arche’s face flushed with anger. He’d fought bigger, faced down worse, so why was this so fucking hard? Gigator had already reset, his polearm leveled at Arche’s face. Arche was reminded of the first time he’d done sword practice with Lyssa. Similarly, he had suffered several humiliating defeats during that sparring session, but that was before he’d learned how to fight. He’d gone up against scores of enemies since then and he had always prevailed. Almost always, at least. He just needed to figure out how to defeat this enemy. He had to take out Gigator’s reach, that was the deciding factor. As long as the sauros remained out of Arche’s reach, there was nothing he could do. Arche could try throwing his spear but, in all likelihood, the sauros would dodge or deflect, quickly recover, and Arche would be without a weapon. Gigator’s thrusts were too quick for Arche to trap the weapon. He had to find another way.
He pushed himself up and recentered. Blood pounded in his ears and he struggled to not activate Divine Body. It had been his crutch to defeat enemies more powerful than himself since he’d first used it, but he had to learn how to fight without relying on it. Aima had proven that Divine Body alone was not enough to protect him against dangerous opponents.
There was no easy path to power; he would have to put in the work.
Gigator shifted his weight, long spear rising toward Arche’s face. Arche moved his own spear into the path, deflecting to one side. As Gigator pulled his spear back, Arche twisted his, catching the shoulder of Gigator’s spear on his own. He pulled hard to the side and stepped forward, trapping Gigator’s spear beneath his boot. Arche separated his spear and brought it up, ready to thrust it home and land a touch on Gigator, only to find the sauros had other plans. The lizardman turned and whipped his tail into Arche’s face, sending him sprawling.
Arche hit the ground, rolled, and came up with spear at the ready, a dribble of blood streaking from a split lip. He was about to jump back into action when the lizardman held up a fist, signaling the fight was over. Arche straightened and walked over to shake the sauros’s hand.
“You’re an atypical fighter,” Gigator said. “And you have interesting tactics.”
“Nothing I did worked.” Arche tried and failed to keep the frustration out of his voice.
“On the contrary, several things you did worked well. I simply put you at too severe of a disadvantage.”
Arche ran a hand through his hair and blew his cheeks out, trying to let go of the irritation that had built throughout the fight.
“The difference in spears was especially annoying.”
“I wanted to see how you would respond and you did admirably. When it comes to spear-work, distance is king. Distance keeps you alive and your enemy dead. If you can master distance, you will be very dangerous indeed.”
Arche nodded.
“Like how you kept me from getting close enough to strike at you.”
“Exactly. You had the shorter weapon, so all I needed to do was maintain distance and victory was mine. To that end, you did very well in trying to close the distance to the point that you would have had the advantage. On a different person, your last tactic would likely have worked, but I have special gifts when it comes to such.”
Gigator’s reptilian tail swayed back and forth before coming to rest against the ground once again.
“All right.” Arche swallowed; his pride didn’t make the next part easy but it was the entire reason he’d done this in the first place. “How can I do better?”
“When you originally set yourself, you had your spear tip too low. You want it up here.”
Gigator had Arche move into his fighting position, then raised the tip of Arche’s spear until it was about level with Arche’s eyes.
“From this point, you are protected both low and high. Next, when you block, do not worry about moving your opponent’s weapon so far away from you. A miss is a miss, no matter how near. The effort you impart into blocking so far to one side is effort that must be countered before you can reset yourself, and it is especially devastating if you miss.”
Arche winced, remembering how Gigator’s spear had ducked beneath his own, only to shoot back up and catch him in the chest.
“Yeah, that’s probably one of the biggest things for me to work on.”
“Your movements are strong and sure, and, as I said before, you fight creatively, but you have no foundation. What rank is your spearmanship?”
“I’m a Novice Spearman.”
“Hmm, then you’ll have gained some knowledge of the basics, but not enough to be comfortable. You’ll need to practice some drills.”
“Wait, what do you mean ‘gained some knowledge?’ Are you telling me the skills give me information?”
Gigator shifted his head side-to-side, as if considering how best to respond.
“Yes and no. I’ve heard you were deficit in some common knowledge, so I will try to explain. Skills are more of an indication of knowledge and ability. Having a high level in a skill will mean that you have a certain level of knowledge and practical application. Learning theory, for example, can increase skill, just as practice can. Skill, and especially rank, increases also come with a degree of intrinsic understanding, however. You say you have not been properly trained in spearmanship and yet you still fell into a basic stance, still knew the mechanics of a simple thrust and recovery. These are not weapon maneuvers, but they are basics which every spear fighter knows and which every spear fighter learns at some point along their journey.”
Arche squinted at the length of wood in his hands.
“So knowledge drives skills and skills give some knowledge?”
“To an extent, yes. Knowledge alone isn’t enough to keep improving skills, you must also train. You must put knowledge into practice, apply it. Once you have proven your ability to do that, your skills will rise.”
“So if I think about the best way to do a particular activity, then try to implement that, I’ll get more skill experience?”
Gigator nodded. “Yes, that is the current working theory, last I heard.”
“So, what about other techniques? Surely there are different methods of doing the basics.”
“Yes. Sometimes a particular style can become a subskill. If I were to work with you over time, for example, you may learn a subskill of spearmanship known as Saurian Polearms, which is the technique of how my people tend to use these weapons. Or, depending on certain requirements, some skills may be locked because you lack the physical characteristics to learn them. Your friend, Abraxios, for example. His ability to fly is a skill, but neither you nor I can learn it because we do not have wings.”
“I think I see. If we can’t physically do something, we can’t learn a skill that would let us.”
“Generally, yes, but there are legends of people who have learned how to do incredible, if not impossible, things through the acquisition or discovery of rare skills.”
“Oh yeah? Like what?”
“Glow like a fireplace.”
Gigator let out a loud, wet laugh and Arche felt sudden heat in his cheeks.
“All right, all right, I get it. How about we get back to the spear training, yeah?”
For five hours, Gigator drilled him in footwork and hand positioning. It had started out with just the short spear but they quickly changed to a longer spear called a dory and, finally, an even longer spear called a xyston. Just when he thought he’d reached the end of it, Gigator threw a shield at him and had him practice with both spear and shield. After another three hours, one for each type of spear, Gigator had him spar with some of the other guard recruits. By the time night fell, Arche was starving, aching, and thoroughly exhausted.
Training had its benefits, however.
Spearmanship has increased to Level 19.
+2% Damage with Spears (+38%)
Shields has increased to Level 11.
+2% Defense with Shields (+22%)
+1% Damage with Shields (+11%)
You have reached the rank of Novice in Shields.
You gain 100 experience.
You are Exhausted — Tier 3.
-70% Vitals Regeneration
+25% Chance to make mistakes
+70% Stamina Drain of Physical Attacks
-30% Agility
-30% Perception
Back to tier three. Lyssa was going to kill him.
Arche put a hand against his brow, feeling the salty grit of dried sweat beneath his fingertips. He needed sleep. Well, bath first, then sleep. His stomach gurgled, protesting his decision. Food, bath, then sleep. His training had started well before lunchtime and plowed straight through it.
With the valerian root in his inventory promising some reprieve to his night terrors, Arche dragged his feet toward the dinner tables. With luck, he’d have a relaxing evening.