- 77.5 -
The drake stood up as best it could. It was missing a front leg. The giant spider melon munched down on its prize. It shuddered, noticing the scattered goblin corpses for the first time.
It rooted itself to the ground, sending out its vines. They crawled over the fallen corpses around the camp. The vines wrapped around everything they touched turning a 80 meter radius into a melon patch of leaves. They grew in seconds and were taller than a man. Occasionally there would be a tall vine reaching up and waving around slowly, looking for something to grab. Each bundle of vines rolled back to the giant fruit carrying a corpse.
Damien’s second shield prevented the vines from grabbing any of their people and they were surrounded by the melon patch for 30 meters on each side.
We need to get out of here. Immediately.
The Drake charged forwards through the vines and pounced on the larger monster. It clawed and bit, fighting for its life, but the drake could not get past the spider melon’s armor like exoskeleton.
Damien dropped his shield and the mercenaries started hacking their way out of the melon patch.
Drew swooped down to help slash through the tall reaching vines. After slashing through three of them his Bane ability activated.
If these vines are connected to that big melon then maybe I can whittle away its health!
The mercenaries were doing their best to hack their way through the leaves and vines but they were going so slowly. And the grasping vines pop out unexpectedly.
It took two mercenaries working together to hack the grasping vines away after they got wrapped up.
We need to clear a path and get away from their fight.
“Quit moving so I can cut you!” Drew shouted cutting through another vine. His Bane ability hit is maxed out stack of 5.
These vines are alive. Will they grow new monsters? Has Laurent ever fought one of these giant melons?
The two giant monsters wrestled on the other side of the camp and the Drake managed to tear out something important. Pink fluids erupted out of the giant Spider Melon.
A group of goblins chose that moment to rush out of a collapsed hut. They moved quickly towards the nearest edge of trees, following the path made by the group of mercenaries. Their leader was a goblin bandit.
The sentient goblin easily stood head and shoulders above the feral goblins. His sharper eyes scanned the area with wicked intelligence. He had on so much patchwork armor that it gave him nearly as much weight as an adult Ressian. He carried a large sword that could be a cleaver in a fantasy kitchen.
How can he wear that much armor? Pretty sure I’d be crushed if I wore all that.
The heavy goblin bandit spotted the mercenaries clearing a path and snarled.
“Attack!” He yelled in common and kicked and slapped the feral Goblins in his group until they charged the mercenaries.
Damien used a different wand to shatter the ground and create difficult terrain to slow down the goblins. His spell had little effect where the vines held the ground together.
A few feral goblins tried to rush through the vines to get to the mercenaries and they were quickly entangled and dragged away.
The two giant monsters traded blows in the background, they stumbled through the camp tearing up the ground. The ground shook hard enough to knock goblins and men alike to the ground whenever the beasts stumbled.
“Form up!” The captain shouted. Two of the men readied their shields for the goblin charge and the captain continued to hack at the vines.
Drew fired off his Chain Lightning wand into the vines but it did not seem to have any effect.
If I switch to the fire wand this whole area could go up in flames. Maybe even the whole forest.
“Rally for battle, brothers!” Maggie shouted as she and the two other mercenaries started hacking their way through the vines to clear a path to meet up with their allies.
The red drake was thrown again. It landed near the center of the camp. By the time it had picked itself up, the giant spider melon had popped several bundles into its mouth and visibly healed the gaping wounds in its exoskeleton.
Oh not fair! Healing is my trick! I’ve been keeping my bane stacked at 5 but it is not enough. Maybe I should have brought some talismans? Could I even get close enough to use them?
The drake stood up and swayed on its feet. It was battered and bleeding. Vines grasped at its feet but it stomped and slashed at them until they were mulch.
The goblins crashed into the shield wall. The men went to work cutting them down with sword and spear. But with their numbers, and small size, the goblins found gaps to climb under and around the shields. Damien stopped slicing vines to fire off Stone Bolts into the goblins as they slipped past.
The drake was struggling with the vines and was losing the race to tear them off faster then they could grow.
It’s losing blood at a rapid pace. And that’s feeding the vines too. Maybe I should set the thing on fire… can we escape a burning forest?
The heavy goblin bandit joined the battle, bashing aside a shield with its shoulder and then slashing a man across the chest.
“Shield wall!” The captain yelled and the mercenaries dropped their spears to double up their grips on their shields.
His hits are too heavy the mercenaries are being forced to stay on the defensive.
Drew fired his Chain Lighting wand into the group of feral goblins. It was effective in their tight group and many of them dropped to the ground convulsing. The Mercenaries had a enough breathing room to force the heavy goblin leader back.
If the Drake loses then we will not be able to escape the giant melon’s vines.
The battle between the goblins and mercenaries was shifting, with the goblins standing back up to crowd around the mercenaries, scoring more and more hits on the men behind their shields.
The big melon has nearly healed its exoskeleton, the goblin corpses from the skirmish are turning into healing snacks.
“Damien I am going to do something stupid. Plan A is not working again.“
“Wait Drew!” Damien said, but he was too busy casting Stone Bolts to say more.
“What’s he talking about?” The captain shouted as he speared a goblin in the face.
“Last time he said that, he caused a massive explosion.” Damien said between shots. “He blew up a whole enchanted tower.”
The enchanter stole a look at the Skurr as it downed onto the drake.
“We need to leave or dig a deep hole.” Damien said.
“We are trying to leave.” The captain shouted.
Drew flew directly to the red drake, it was tired from blood loss and the vines were starting to reach up its legs all the way to its back.
“Easy fella,” Drew said. “I just got to touch you to heal you and stop the bleeding.”
Hopefully it’s smart enough to recognize I am an ally.
He pressed his claws into the Drake and it flinched. It’s big eye swiveled around to look at him.
Why do I feel like a mosquito?
He activated his healing abilities and the timers for three bleed effects hit his screen.
“I’m going to stop your bleeding.” He said. “Don’t worry I was an EMT in my previous life.”
Drew used his Mending Kit and Mage Hand to sew the severed arteries closed, and focused his healing spells on the bleed effects. With the direct help of the Mending Kit it only took two minutes to resolve the first debuff.
Debuff removed: Bleed - Severe. Exp 1250.
Oh yeah, sutures really drop the mana cost of healing!
Skill upgrade: [Basic Heal] - level 4
Well monster doctor seems like a viable way to get exp!
Drew looked over and the mercenaries were falling back slowly. The giant spider melon had finished its available snacks and was nearly completely healed.
Crap. I let my Bane debuff wear off.
“I’m going to close up your wounds with fire so they don’t start to bleed again.” He pulled out his firebolt wand and quickly blasted the drake twice.
Debuff removed: Bleed - Drastic. Exp 2180.
Debuff removed: Bleed - Drastic. Exp 2175.
Some of the debris it was lying on caught fire. The drake jumped up and scattered smoldering wood and canvas as it growled low in its throat.
“Hey, sorry about the fire alright? But that’s it, you are good to go.” Drew put the wand away and raised his wings defensively.
The drake shrugged him off like a pest.
Drew circled around the camp before heading back towards the mercenaries' defensive line. He took a couple detours to slice through grasping vines on his way to restock his Bane debuff.
“Damien! Have you got any Talismans?” Drew shouted.
The enchanter reached into his bag and tossed two mana drain talismans to Drew.
Alright now to get close enough to the monster to throw these without getting killed. Easier said than done.
Drew flew over the giant spider melon and dove directly down on top of it. Grasping vines reached up from the monsters back and tried to catch him as he made his frantic dive.
Use the force Luke!
He threw out both of his mana drain talismans at the giant melon’s roots where they planted firmly and activated.
With it rooted in place, that should slow down its regeneration as long as it doesn’t trample them.
He fired off two more charges from his Fire Bolt wand into the giant melon’s back and then high tailed it back to the Mercenaries.
The drake looked at the retreating Skurr and then at the giant melon. It growled deep in its throat and charged back into the fight.
The fire spread along the vines to the shattered debris from the camp. Something in the rubble was highly flammable and exploded creating a widespread fire. The vines tried to retreat from the fire but they dried up then started to burn slowly.
Drew arrived in time to see a handful of feral goblins break through and pile onto a mercenary. In a few moments he was bit on the neck by one goblin and twice in the thigh.
The man screamed, blood foaming from his mouth. Drew swooped down and landed on a goblin with his claws and knife. Drew and the captain stabbed the goblins and threw them over the shield wall into the fray.
In the confusion, some vines grabbed the bloody mercenary around the torso, drawn by the blood.
“Watch out!” Drew swooped in and sliced off one of the vines but another three grew back.
One vine tried to wrap around Drew’s claw and the wounded mercenary tore the vine in half with his bare hands and pushed Drew away.
“Go. I’ll hold the vines back.” He said. “Tell my wife I-“The vines swept his legs out from under him and dragged him off screaming into the leaves.
The man could be heard shouting as he fought, hidden beneath the foliage.
“Come and get some! I eat melon for breakfast!”
Drew fired off two Fire Bolts in the man’s general direction. The fire spread slowly through the leaves and the grasping vines waved wildly.
Dammit! I can’t even see where he’s at with all these leaves and vines!
“Retreat!” The captain called, he was favoring his left arm and slicing goblins and vines with a sword in his right.
The fire was spreading slowly across the battlefield, burning up the vines that did not withdraw in time.
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The giant spider melon staggered and the drake got in several good strikes knocking it down.
The spider melon desperately sent out more vines looking for corpses.
Drew used the last charge of his Fire Bolt wand to start more vines burning and began to recharge it.
MP: 15%
He drank a mana potion and returned to help the mercenaries clear the path through the vines with his knife.
Fire bolts won’t work over here. It’d be testing my luck. I mean look how the fire is spreading over there, it’s too dangerous this close to our guys.
Drew swapped his wand out for his knife, he swooped in to hack at the flailing vines alongside the captain. From his vantage point he could see the other group of mercenaries working their way through the leaves towards them.
We have to mow down a path wide enough for Jeff to keep his shield up.
The goblin leader burst past the Jeff’s shield and into the back line.
He swung his heavy sword and caught the captain’s armor, the goblin whirled backwards for another strike and the backswing struck Damien in the leg sending him to the ground.
Crap that hit looks like it broke his leg.
Drew flew over and activated his healing abilities to see two broken bone debuffs.
“Well Damien, it’s broken. We are going to have to heal it while we run.” Drew said.
“I got him, can you zap those goblins?” Jeff said as he threw Damien’s arm over his shoulder.
The giant melon was starving for mana. It called back some of the vines and severed the rest, preparing to uproot itself and fight. The red drake limped over and jumped to deal a killing blow.
“Captain! The way is clear!” Maggie shouted as she charged through the last few feet of shriveling vines.
The other half of the mercenaries reached the battle and ran forwards to bolster their forces. Presenting their shield wall and driving back the remaining goblins with their spears.
As the injured mercenaries fell back Drew unloaded the last three charges of his Chain Lightning into the goblins.
Maggie led the new forces in a charge that overpowered the goblins before they could recover from the lightning attack. Drew got a stack of notifications but closed them.
“Fall back men! We have a clear way out!” The captain shouted. “Full retreat!”
The monstrous melon slipped aside as the drake pounced and wrapped it with vines. It covered the drake completely after a few moments. It finally squeezed and snapped the drakes neck.
Drew was helpless to watch his temporary ally die.
The melon drained the red drake and the shriveled vines under the retreating mercenaries came back alive, completely wrapping the retreating mercenaries up with vines to their knees, unable to move.
“Why is it still fighting?” Drew asked through the pain. He was being crushed by a vine and was having a hard time keeping his beak out of the dust.
“It needs our corpses to regenerate.” The captain said, he was trying to slide his good arm down to reach his knife.
The giant melon dropped the corpse of the drake and took a lumbering step forwards.
The vines tightened down on the mercenaries and Drew used the only charge he had restored on his Fire Bolt wand to set the vines on fire between them and the giant monster.
“Damien! Your shield would be great right about now!” The captain shouted.
“It won’t work. The vines are inside the area of the spell. It won’t keep the big one out if they are already in here.” He said. “And then we would not be able to move.”
“Escape is not an option anyways. We cannot lead this monster back to the village.” The captain said. “Drew! If you have a spell to blow this bastard up then use it.”
Shit shit shit! What do we do?
Drew used Mage Hand to open up a mana potion. He chugged it bringing his MP back up to full. He started charging his Fire Bolt wand again.
If I can scare it off with some more fire then we may stand a chance.
The giant spider melon squelched its way across the battlefield. It was still leaking pink juices from multiple wounds but they were healing slowly. The vines around the group tightened their grip and got thicker.
Crap! I won’t have time to charge the wand. At this rate it will reach us and suck us dry.
Drew swapped his wand for his knife and tried cutting through the vines holding him down. He lopped off one and his Bane debuff stacked on. The remaining vines resisted and tightened up on him more.
Ha! Can’t tighten up on my magic hand! I’ll cut my way out and then cut out Damien. He will have an enchantment that we can use. He has to!
A man appeared on top of the giant monster. He slammed a jagged dagger down into its face and green lines spread across its face. He leaped free and dropped lit torches on the vines as he ran around the giant monster.
Who is that?
The torches burned extremely hot and spread oil around the area they were dropped. The vines caught on fire quickly and the giant melon belched up putrid green fluid.
Great entrance! This guy has a bit of the superhero flair!
The vines around everyone started to go slack and wither. Drew hopped up to start slashing the nearest mercenary free.
It’s working! Did he poison it?
Another man erupted from a bundle of vines. He was yelling and ripping vines off of his neck.
“Scarlet! You lucky bastard!” The captain shouted. “Men! If you can walk, get your ass back in formation!”
The Mercenaries broke free of the vines and regrouped. They hacked their way over to the giant spider melon in under a minute.
Drew slashed at any new grasping vines that wriggled their way free of the nets and his Bane debuff maxed out again.
Skill Upgrade: [Assassins Bane IV] - Trait: 30% chance for damage dealt to corporeal targets to inflict one point of [Bane] on your target for 25 seconds. Each point of [Bane] absorbs 2% of the target's HP each second, restoring your HP by 2.
I have to admit that it’s a very useful skill for saving lives. But I hate that the death faction guy was right. I need to be even more careful now when I fight.
The fight had completely left the beast. It oozed and groaned on the ground.
It’s still bigger than a house, how strong of a poison could he have used?
With his broken leg, Damien could not go place any talismans himself, instead he tossed them to Drew who flew them into position. In a few minutes the mana drain talismans completely surrounded the giant monster.
The mercenaries started whittling away at its health with their spears until the giant melon groaned, gurgled, and finally died.
Combat Results: Greater Giant Spider Melon: exp 4,085.
Where did that forest ninja go? He saved our lives.
Drew flew over to Damien to start healing his broken bones.
“I never asked, how did you get us free?” Damien asked.
“Not even close. I was completely out of options. A guy showed up out of nowhere and stabbed it. I think he poisoned it?” Drew said.
Debuff removed: broken bone. 225 exp.
“A powerful poison would do it. Who was it? One of the battle brothers?” Damien asked.
“It was one of the Johns.” The captain whispered. “The fourth John.”
“What? Seriously?” Drew asked.
“Yes, keep it down. I’ve never seen him. The Johns told me that he ranges ahead of the wagon train and kills anything that might get past the wards. He is an expert in stealth and in assassination.” The captain said.
“How is that possible?” Damien whispered. “No man could survive alone in the wild like that.”
“I swore they were joking but it would explain why we have had such a safe trip so far.” The captain said thoughtfully. “They said he has a strong wind affinity. If he’s been nearby this whole time. Always ranging ahead for large dangerous monsters and leading them away. Or killing them.”
The other mercenaries started to treat their wounds with bandages, and two proceeded to inspect the battlefield for surviving goblins and finish them off.
Drew flew over beside the drake and stared up at it.
Even dead, this thing feels powerful. We wouldn’t have been able to kill either of these monsters on our own. Could the super John have killed them on his own?
The drake’s shriveled form was mangled and bent, but many of its scales and teeth and claws still had a dim red glow.
“Fantastic beasts aren’t they?” Damien asked. He reached out and tugged a red scale out of the drake’s hide.
“Even in death, their scales hold metal and fire aspect mana.” He said. “Alchemists and blacksmiths use scales like these in their high level masterpieces.”
“He knew I helped him. I healed him and then he could have eaten me but he didn’t. He fought and died for us instead.” Drew said.
“She. She did let you live at least until the battle was over.” Damien said. “If the drake had won we may still have had to fight her. Or really it would have been this mysterious fourth John finishing her off.”
“You really think so? How can you be so certain?” Drew asked.
”Well if you look closely you can see the crests across the drake’s breast, clearly this is a female-”
“Not what I meant. How can you be sure we would have had to fight? The drake could have won and let us leave?”
“It’s possible you are correct. Your gesture saved the drake and she was able to return to the fight.” Damian said.
Maggie eyed the massive melon monster and pulled out a knife to try harvesting parts. After straining for a minute she was able to pry off a section of its exoskeleton and reveal its gory insides. She stepped back from the noxious poisoned goop.
“And this crazy strong John, he couldn’t head these two off, eh?” She asked trying to crank the poisoned gore from her knife.
“Always easier to let one end the other and pick up the survivor.” A familiar voice whispered faintly on the breeze.
- 78 -
The mercenaries finished harvesting the drake’s scales, teeth and fangs as dusk settled in. It took three mercenaries to strip the drake’s carcasses in time.
“The meat of the drake is drained and useless. The melon monster is inedible due to the poison that killed it.” The captain said.
“Parts of its exoskeleton are useful for armor and shields. But it’s getting dark and they are hard to remove.” He said.
“If we really want them then we can come back tomorrow.” Maggie suggested. “Their natural regeneration will keep them fresh.”
“We survived today, we need to consider the risks of coming back out here for some loot.” He said.
Drew was able to heal each of the mercenaries, one after the other with several breaks. He finally leveled up his Basic Healing ability to level 5. He also leveled up his Mend skill repairing their armor and weapons.
I keep leveling up my Assassins Bane skill and it’s going to turn me into the kind of demon that everyone thinks I am. Maybe that’s why the Johns hide their brother? Is he a called a demon too?
Damien helped the mercenaries sift through the rubble to identify anything worth looting from the goblins. At one point he turned over a slat of wood. It was broken and burnt, but on the other side someone had drawn crude images of busty elven women. He quickly put the slat back face down on the ground.
Drew stared at the poisoned remains of the giant spider melon.
It’s still oozing, how powerful is this poison?
“Maggie, how can this poison still be effecting the crab-“ Drew hopped back as some of the hard exoskeleton shrunk back and repaired itself.
“Whoa! Hey! It’s not dead!” Drew shouted and swung his knife defensively in front of himself.
”Oh it’s dead alright.” Maggie said. “The ambient mana levels are high enough that the self-repairing ability of the beast’s shell is still in effect.
She pulled a short axe from her bag to hack off a piece of shell the size of a dinner plate and hand it to Drew.
The rough edges of the shell smoothed out.
Amazing, it heals itself!
Drew channeled some mana into it and the plate squared up and it started to form a simple hexagon.
”If you keep feeding it mana it could stay active long enough that you could have a blacksmith make a shield or armor out of it.” Maggie said. “We don’t have the right storage boxes to transfer much. It is too hard to keep fresh if it’s stored in mundane bags.”
“Could I have a few more pieces? I can carry some more and keep feeding them mana.” Drew said.
“Sure thing, but you will have to mend the axe. These shells are hard as hell and dull a cheap axe like this quickly.”
She hacked off three more large pieces and her short axe was visibly blunted from the effort. Drew stored 6 of them in his ring.
”Damn waste really, this would make a great alloy for self repairing armor. By the time I come back with better tools most of it will be dead or gone.”
The mercenaries built makeshift sleds full of loot from the drake and the goblin camp.
The walk back was tense, with the near death experience still settling in on the group. Slowly, men started laughing and joking, the simple fact that they survived despite the absurd odds.
Drew’s thoughts wandered back to the short alliance with the drake.
“Hey, you guys meet any monsters that can talk? Or am I like the only one?” Drew asked the mercenaries to his left.
“Well we met those Skizzards.” Monroe said. “Scarlet, you’ve been down south have you heard of any other monsters that could talk?”
Scarlet looked back from where he was marching in the formation. Maggie caught his look and stepped forwards into his spot in the formation so he could fall back and chat.
“Well yes and no.” Scarlet said. “Twas out on the ‘igh seas that I ‘erd the beautiful song of t’ sea women.” He said in a singsong voice.
Maggie smacked him with the butt of her spear and he started speaking normally.
“Well no. But I’ve heard plenty of stories of evil monsters that can get in your head with words and get you to drop your guard.”
“So they are all evil then?” Drew asked.
No wonder people have strong reactions when I talk. If I’m the only good talking monster they’ve ever even heard of? Tough reputation to live with.
“Pretty much all of them eat people, so yeah.” Scarlet said.
“No there’s the Grimwalds in the north. They talk and don’t eat Ressians.” Jeff said. “Although they do eat Dwarves, so that might not be the best example.”
Drew flew off ahead to forage for things. He made a point to stay within eyesight of the group and behind the forward scouts.
If I can learn to talk, couldn’t other monsters learn to as well?
He sliced through a cluster of mishrooms with his knife. Then swiped away the combat notifications.
I spent points on understanding common when I created my new life. How long would it have taken me to learn without that? Or my increased intelligence?
All 4 mishrooms fit into a single slot of his gathering ring now.
I chose to be born smarter than any Skurr in Rottervale. They can already communicate with quests.
Drew pecked at some stones that caught his eye and used one to smash open the other. There were veins of copper inside. He busted it into smaller pieces and dropped the 4 largest chunks into his storage ring.
I think I remember hearing that Skurr were smart even though they can’t talk. Does that mean they could learn to talk on their own in a lifetime?
He flew back to the group of mercenaries.
They are a close group, able to depend on one another. They have clearly defined roles and are mostly equals. I guess life or death situations do that to people.
Drew flew past the front of the group and circled back to get a look at everyone’s faces.
The mercenaries are all smiling and talking amongst themselves, weapons at the ready, but confident they can tackle anything together. Damien seems lost in thought taking notes in the margins of his book again while he walks.
I wouldn’t have survived that fight alone. Or any of my last fights.
If I hadn’t met Damien I’d still be dancing for scraps at the guild hall.
I might have found my way to the farm with Laurent and his family.
So far I have Damien, who else can I find along the way to join my hero’s party?
He flew up into the sky to check how far away the Miller’s farm was and dropped back down to update the captain. That done, he fell back to keep pace with Damien.
“So, what is the plan once we are in Valoria?” Drew asked.
“That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking about.” Damien said.
“We will check in with my that friend of mine I mentioned. She is an alchemist and expert on magical plants and beasts.”
“Talking monsters are remarkable. I believe we can get you a meeting with a scholar. There is a test of sorts.”
“What kind of test?” Drew asked.
I wonder how much a complex medical test could tell them about my blessings.
“You would speak with scholars. Then they would invite you to an interview with their council.” Damien said.
Another interview? Those have not gone that well for me recently.
“In fact, there are accounts of high level feral goblins learning to speak common. It’s often the case when a goblin king appears that they can speak common. Scholars are not sure why there is a strong correlation. It’s hard to get the goblin kings to discuss theories and philosophy.”
“I know a few scholars. And my friend knows a couple more. We should be able to arrange for you to speak with them while we are in Valoria.” Damien offered. “They would be able to tell you more about anomalous monsters.”
“Yeah? Thank you. I think that would be good.”
Maybe I can get tips on the racial upgrade points. Or find out more about the Hero?
The farm came into sight and Jeff came back from scouting ahead.
“The Millers were happy for the good news. As far as they are concerned the quest is complete.” Jeff said. “We are free to camp there in the open or in the barn if we have any wounded.” He said.
“Ha! A nice gesture, but with our aerial healer we are in fighting shape already!” Maggie said loudly, and the mercenaries cheered in agreement.
“Alright you lot, let’s get set up in their yard right there and get fed and get to bed. We wake up with the sun tomorrow.” The captain said. “Monroe, pick another brother and you two take first and second watch. I’ll take third watch.”
Damien set up a bedroll beside the barn. He pulled out a rope with medallions at regular lengths and laid it around himself in a continuous circle.
He softened up his pack as a pillow and inserted a mana crystal into one of the medallions on the rope. In an instant, he had completely disappeared from sight. The only evidence he was there was the empty rectangular circle of rope.
Neat trick, I can’t see or hear him at all.
Maggie and the captain were at a camp table going over a ledger. They had some travel rations and Drew flew over and asked if he could join them.
“Certainly Drew, have some tack. It’s not fresh, and it’s not palatable, but it fills your belly.” The captain said.
“You planning on picking up any other quests in Aldermere before we head out?” Drew asked.
“No.” The captain said. “This was the only one the locals couldn’t handle.”
“We can leave the rest to the militia and any young folk the city has.” Maggie said.
Not so sure about the town’s young folk. Maybe I have time to show them the meditation techniques the guild teaches in Rottervale?
“Aldermere doesn’t have a guild, who trains the kids to fight monsters?” Drew asked.
“They may have a couple of the parents volunteer to do it. Show them how to use slings and the like.” Maggie said.
“So kinda like a school then?” Drew asked.
“Not even close. More informal, certainly a town this small couldn’t afford a certified teacher.” The captain said.
“Who assigns the quests then? If not the guild?” Drew asked.
“Well the business owners likely can afford them. And there are area quests that pop up naturally.” Maggie replied thoughtfully. “Never much thought about it.”
“What the interest for? Looking to pick up some more quests in town?” Maggie asked.
Drew shook his head ‘no’ while he chewed on the tack.
“You and Damien are traveling to Valoria, what happens there?” She asked.
“We are meeting with an Alchemist he knows. I’m trying to chase down a lead on this quest I have.”
“Well if you want to take on any giant monsters or blow up a tower let us know. We are more than happy to team up again.” Maggie said.
“Who told you about that? Wait it must have been the old coot.” Drew said. “Are you all sticking around Valoria then?”
“We are going to stay with the Johns. Might take a few side quests, while we wait for them to collect some customers.” The captain said. “Can take them a week or it can take them a month to find their next route.”
“Or they run out of ale money.” Maggie said with a chuckle. “The Johns usually do a short tour of the bars performing their songs. They won’t let me look at their accounting but I am betting that they drink away more money than they make with each performance.”
“Either way, Drew, having an ally in the air is an unusual advantage and I don’t look forward to losing your support when we part ways.” The captain said.
Your relationship with the mercenary group Battle Brothers increased to Great.
“I’m more than happy to party up with you guys around Valoria.” Drew said. “Let’s call that plan A.”
- Interlude -
Agusta flexed her fingers and then rolled her shoulders.
“Damn all this paperwork.” Agusta swept everything on the desk in front of her into her folio and stood up. She flinched as her back creaked.
“Burl has hardly been any help at all.” She said as she flexed her back stretching to her full height for the first time in what felt like a week.
She had been busy getting paperwork set up for the agreement with earth. She had also ended up doing all the work for the racial upgrade that Elara wanted.
Agusta has spent a week trying to get Burl to forget about his rats race and get him on board with the new Skurr initiative.
She walked out of her office and down the hall to the elevator. With the push of a button the doors opened and she stepped inside.
“No wonder he hasn’t gotten anywhere on his own. He’s slow and lazy.” She said and grit her teeth.
The doors opened and she stepped out onto a much dimmer hallway. The lower level deities, the ones without the speaker’s favor, were relegated to the lower floors.
“And he’s given up on being productive since the request for sentient rats was put on hold for over a decade.”
She stepped up to an office door and opened it without knocking.
Burl was asleep at his desk, a mug of ale in his hand, and a small barrel on a stand behind him.
“I told you to have this done by the time I came back!” She shouted as she slapped the sleeping man awake.
“I was talking to the mage faction for over a week! I did paperwork for them.” She said.
She emphasized her words with more slaps. Careful to not strike him hard enough to start combat.
The man groggily covered his face with his arms in a feeble attempt to lessen her blows.
“Wait wait! I need some more time.” Burl said.
“And now my earthling has to learn enchanting and alchemy as part of the deal. Do you know how tedious that’s going to be?”
He toppled out of his chair and into the mess of papers, scrolls, and trash that decorated his office.
“You are right where I left you. Sleeping in trash. Did you move an inch?”
“What’s the point?” He asked.
Agusta visibly calmed herself and a faint shimmer appeared across her shoulders.
“The point is I won’t kill you and eat your spark.” Agusta said.
Agusta set the trash in the room on fire and the Deity on the ground doused himself in water and stood up amongst the flames.
“Now from the ashes new life can grow.” He quoted solemnly.
Agusta flared her flames brightly but a knock at the door caused her to turn.
“I’m, excuse me. Agusta? A moment please.” Borealis said.
“What?” She shouted. “What is it now? Can’t you see I’m busy?” She shouted.
“Oh, yes. Actually I’m looking for Drew. You are his representative and he’s gone missing from his starting town.” Borealis said and cowered at the sight of the inferno in the room. “Thought you would like to know?”
“This seems important,” Burl said hesitantly. “You may want to come back tomorrow. Or next century!”
“Quiet Burl! I didn’t ask you.” She said.
She turned to face Borealis and the heat in her eyes did not diminish. He flinched back again and nearly ran off down the hallway to avoid her presence. She could eat him just as easily as she could the minor deity behind her.
“What are you talking about?” She said.
“Well in fact, I don’t get his log updates or anything. Just the ones in the records hall and there’s a three week backlog for records requests.”
“If you won’t make more sense then stop talking.” She said.
Agusta pulled up Drew’s logs with a few clicks on her tablet. There were several pending notifications that she had muted while she was preoccupied with her paperwork.
“Shit. What does he think he’s doing?” She said, she dragged her hand down her face and growled.
“I went back to Rottervale but he had been exiled from the flock. Apparently he started some sort of war with the adventurers guild?” He said.
“How did he get banished? When did he get captured?” She was nearly pulling out her hair while reading the notifications.
Burl was creeping over to his barrel of ale when Borealis met his eyes. They shared a worried look as Agusta stomped her foot leaving a crater in the floor.
“Why is that little shit killing Elder Skizzards and Giant Spider Mellons?” She shouted.
She grabbed a chair and threw it, trash and papers all burst into flame around her. The ale tipped over and burst spreading the flames further.
Agusta swiped away the window she was in and checked Drew’s status sheet.
Name: Drew
Level: 3
Race: Skurr (Adult)
Title: Hero
Stat Points: 4
Race Skill Point: 8
Health: 50
H-Regen: .16/sec
Mana: 23
M-Regen: .009 / sec
Stamina: 30S-Regen: .19/sec
Physical Attributes"
Strength: 15
Constitution: 22
Agility: 13
Perception: 13
Arcane Attributes
Intelligence: 18
Willpower: 15
Charisma : 11
Wisdom: 18
Blessings:
1. [Assassins Bane III]
2. [Healers Blessing I]
3. [Consume Undead I]
4. [Scholar II]
5. [Tinker I]
Skills:
1. [Basic Heal] lvl 4
2. [Peck II] lvl 2
3. [Sense Quest] lvl 1
4. [Flight II] lvl 1
5. [Gliding II] lvl 7
6. [Mana Recovery] lvl 5
7. [Stamina Recovery] lvl 2
8. [Light Armor I] lvl 2
9. [Mana Channeling] lvl 2
10. [Mage Hand] lvl 1
11. [Speak Common] lvl 5
12. [Enchanting] lvl 7
13. [Carving] lvl 4
14. [Mana Reinforcement] lvl 1
15. [Slash (Claws) II] lvl 1
16. [Forage] lvl 1
17. [Cooking] lvl 2
18. [Mend] lvl 1
19. [Circulating Mana] lvl 3
Items:
[Bird Necklace] - Luck +1
[Skurr Breastpiece] - Piercing and slashing damage - 2
[Skurr Mantle - Fine] - Agility +2
[Coin Purse I - Soulbound]
[Gathering Ring I - Soulbound] - Holds 6 x 2 items.
[Skurr Vambraces - Fine (Set of Two)] - Strength +1, Charisma +2, Piercing and slashing damage - 2
[Skurr Circlet - Fine] - Constitution +1, Agility +1, M. Regen +1%.
[Blacktooth Family Ring] - Blacktooth standing Friendly
Agusta palmed her face looking at Drews stats.
An alarm sounded in the hall and several imps came bustling in to put out the fire.
“Current location Ressallia? Is he outside of the cities in the wilds?” Agusta shouted.
“He had gone south. Last I could tell. Far south. I’d guess as far as the capital of Ressallia.” Borealis said. “Especially if he is flying the whole way.”
“That's impossible.” Agusta said.
“Well technically the airspeed velocity of an unburdened Skurr is-“
Agusta cut him off with a beam of fire that sliced through Burl’s desk.
“I know he’s got heroics on the brain but if he’s gone lone wolf he will get himself killed.” She said.
Around her the imps were cleaning up the charred office. She grabbed the keg of ale and tossed it to the imps as well.
“I can’t go down there and find him right now. I’m behind schedule already because of this racial upgrade nonsense.” She turned to Burl. “You and I are going to have a very productive day today. Aren’t we?”
Burl nodded in agreement, he began to whimper.
“Wisp.” Agusta said as she reached into her purse.
“Borealis. Ma’am.” He replied.
“Take this token, wisp. It gives you access to Drew’s status sheet and logs in real time.” She said and handed him a large coin with the nature faction’s symbol on it and Drew’s image on the other side.
“Find him.” She said. The severity of her gaze would haunt Borealis for the next century.
“When you find him report back to me.” She said.
The wisp went to rush away but the deity called out to him.
“Oh and wisp? Make sure he stays in a city away from danger from now on.” She said. “You are now personally responsible for his location.”
She turned back on the trembling deity at his desk.
“Now, where were we? Oh yes. You were revising your application for a sentient race. You are dropping this sentient rat idea and revising everything to include Skurr.”