- 20 -
Drew was surrounded by the bustling activity of his siblings, who eagerly pecked at the small live bugs their mother brought them.
They squabbled and fought over the juiciest morsels, their sharp beaks clashing as they asserted their dominance.
Drew, however, struggled to snatch up his own food, his uncoordinated attempts were slow and he had not been getting a fair share.
Not sure if I can keep missing bugs like this. Atleast they are better than the barf we’ve been eating so far. If I could catch one.
Drew watched his siblings effortlessly snatch up their meal as he checked his progress.
I still need 45 more experience to level up to level 5. I’ve completed this Hunger Quest 5 times already. They seem to possess an innate understanding of their instincts.
Drew was over thinking things that whole day. He had been relying more on his ability to “check out” while eating and eventually had to give up on it to catch a bug.
Combat Results: Skeeble (red) lvl 1 - 3 exp.
Quest: Hunger: Progress (8/17)
What! These are delicious? Just like gushers!
With his first bite he got some info on the tasty snack.
Skeebles - Very common pests in Ressellia. They come in a variety of colors and they have six legs and armored wing-cases. Each has its own juicy filling depending on the fruit it eats.
Adult Skurr continued bringing live bugs back to the nest and his new found motivation was demanding his full attention to hunt them down before his siblings could grab them.
It’s not just that they are bigger than me, they are able to peck and scratch each other without serious risk. If I peck back my Assassins Bane trait could activate and likely kill them.
[Assassins Bane I] - Trait: 10% chance for damage dealt to corporeal targets to inflict one point of [Bane] on your target for 5 seconds. Each point of [Bane] reduces the target's HP by 1 point each second, restoring your HP by 1%.
After losing several Skeebles to his larger and faster siblings Drew got fed up and pecked back.
His sibling seemed shocked. It reared back and tripped over itself. When it scrambled to its feet and gave an indignant peep. As if to say: “how dare you peck me!”
Meanwhile Drew managed to catch his second bug.
By the end of the day, Drew gained a point in agility, a point in wisdom, and a point in willpower that helped him out maneuver his siblings and stomach live bugs much easier.
He was able to work his way through two more hunger quests and was on track to level up to level 4 by the end of the next day.
With his new abilities he could let what he considered his crow instincts handle the targeting and swallowing of the bugs while he toddled after the next one and avoided the scratches and pecks of his siblings.
After a viscous peck from one of his siblings, just as Drew was about to snatch up a Skeetle, his instincts took over and he pecked his sister.
[Bane]: (0:05)
HP: 89%
Oh shit!
His sibling shrieked and scrambled to the opposite side of the nest.
No no no! You better not die!
[Bane]: (0:02)
HP: 92%
If her HP is the same as mine, then one peck does about 22% damage. that’s 2 points of damage. So if she loses 5 points to my bane ability then she should have 3 points left still. Right?
The timer on Bane ran out and the crow chick shuddered, then collapsed.
Shit! Is she dead? What if she wasn’t at full health? Or did my peck crit? Is that a thing here? If there are other game mechanics then crits could be a thing too.
Drew hesitated to get close, he wobbled in place as the seconds ticked by, then his sibling took two solid deep breaths in her sleep.
She's alive! That was too close! This ability is way too dangerous for a little crow like me to have.
- 21 -
As the days progressed he got the hang of sharing the nest with his siblings. They all grew and the nest got more crowded. Drew had to be very careful not to attack his siblings since his Assassins Bane ability could activate.
His siblings competed fiercely with one another, not only for food but also for shiny objects their parents dropped into the nest.
New Quest: All that Glitters: Progress (2/10)
They squabbled over trinkets, their eyes fixated on the glittering prizes. Drew, on the other hand, hesitated to engage them; there were several trinkets in the nest and his quest required him to have 10 at once. But without being able to peck back, he could not claim many of the trinkets for himself.
These bird quests aren’t getting me anywhere. And I’m not able to access my blessings from the other factions until Rank 1. How can I complete these quests in a different way? Doing it the bird way isn’t working.
By the end of the day, his bare wings were marked from pecks from his siblings. He had been using his wings as shields but they were too fragile and sore from repeated attacks. They did not break since he still had plenty of HP left and the chicks all slept regularly to heal naturally.
This is dumb, I have a healing skill but no mana to use it. And it costs way too much exp to buy a point of Mana. That’s insane.
I guess one positive side effect of getting pummeled so much was that my health regeneration stat increased to 0.15/second.
He watched his siblings closely, studying their movements and behaviors. He observed how they positioned themselves, how they angled their beaks, and how they timed their strikes. From his perch atop his 2 trinkets, he waited for his chance.
“Aha!” Drew shot out and snatched a chipped coin from under his sibling while it was squabbling with its neighbor.
He was able to tuck it underneath himself alongside his length of a bracelet, and a hand from a small metal statue.
There are still seven more trinkets. If I focus on the smaller ones first, then I can keep them all to myself.
No other opportunities to claim a trinket came until that evening when his siblings all fell asleep. Drew forced himself to stay awake. And he even cooed softly lulling his siblings to sleep.
Shh. big guy. No need to worry about little Drew.
He slipped his claw under the sleeping chick and withdrew a twisted piece of wire.
Charisma +1
New Quest: All that Glitters: Progress (9/10)
Wait, did I miscount? I should have ten.
Drew looked back to his pile of trinkets he’d squirreled away. He had been burying them into the nesting materials where his siblings couldn’t get them. One section of the nest had been dug up and his chipped coin was in the hands of a small mouse.
The mouse was immediately strange to Drew. He couldn’t tell if it was wearing a mushroom cap for a hat, or had one growing out of its head.
It could easily be mistaken for a furry mushroom if it sat just right and stayed completely still.
“Hey! Back off mouse!” Drew squawked at the mouse and swatted it with the twisted piece of wire.
[Bane]: (0:05)
The mouse dropped the coin and retaliated with a swipe of its claw scoring Drew’s wing and body.
[Bane]:(0:03)
HP: 88%
The fight woke up his siblings, their eyes targeted the intruder immediately.
Drew hopped back, avoiding a bite from the mouse, and swatted it with the wire again before his siblings piled on. They each landed pecks and scratches on the mouse.
[Bane]:(0:01)
HP: 90%
[Bane]:(0:04)
HP: 92%
Drew stashed his wire, and lunged for the chipped coin while his siblings crowded in on the mouse.
Quest Complete: All that Glitters: Reward 25 exp!
Perception +1
Combat Results: Brown Mishroom - level 5: Reward: 10 exp
Strength +1
Drew looked over to see that his siblings were each chowing down. They had dealt the fatal blow to the mouse and were now eating it.
Hey guys! I helped kill it too, don’t eat it all!
Drew squeezed his way in to grab a bite of the Mishroom. He read through the notification to ignore the eating process.
Mishroom - Fungal mice that are fast, and grow in cool damp dark places. They are excellent diggers and can survive well in damp earth and in downed trees. Mature Mishrooms can release paralyzing spores from their caps as a defense. When cooked, they have earthy and sweet flavor.
Mmmm, these taste like Portobello's. Finally something other than bug meat!
Quest: Hunger: Progress (18/19)
- 22 -
Drew woke up before his siblings and took look at his trove of trinkets. He had a new quest too.
New Quest: Puzzling: Through careful observation and trial and error there is insight to be found everywhere. (Progress 1%)
Is there something about these trinkets that is interesting? I know I used the wire to smack that Mishroom, what else can I do with what is here?
The pile included a broken off copper hand from a small toy, some wire, a chipped coin, various bits of metal, a 3” length of bracelet with stone and crystal beads, a shirt button with symbols carved into it.
Puzzling: (11%)
What happened? I didn’t do anything.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Drew clacked his beak in frustration. He pulled together the bracelet and button and tried twisting the wire with his beak to create a clasp. But his claws were too clumsy to make any progress. After a couple breaks over the next hour Drew’s effort paid off.
Willpower +1
Looking at the bracelet again, Drew could see that there was room to push the wire through the button and into the beads at the ends.
Puzzling: (51%)
With renewed confidence, he was eventually able to get the wire into the beads, and got a new achievement.
New Item: [Repaired Bracelet - Crude]: A simple beaded bracelet too small for an adult to wear. Effect: unknown Value: unknown.
Alright! Even without thumbs I can still do something!
Equip [Repaired Bracelet - Crude]: Yes/No? Not available due to incompatible physiology.
Well that sucks. How am I supposed to wear this? It even says it’s too small for adults, what's the difference between a small bracelet for humans and a necklace for a bird anyways?
Puzzling: (91%)New Item: [Lucky Bird Necklace - Crude]: A simple beaded necklace just the right size for a fashionable bird. Luck +1 Value: unknown.
Wait Luck is a thing?
Drew checked his status screen but could t find any information about luck.
Is it a hidden stat? Can’t hurt to be more lucky I guess.
Equip [Lucky Bird Necklace - Crude]: Yes, No? Drew Selected yes and the necklace appeared around his neck.
Quest Complete: Puzzling: Reward 25 exp.
Level Upgrade Available: Level 5 Skurr (Chick) - (55/53 exp)
“Booyeah!” Drew cawed and selected the level upgrade and waited for something to happen. His siblings started to wake up and screech for breakfast.
When nothing else happened he pulled up his character sheet.
Rank Upgrade: Level 1 Skurr (Juvenile) - (2/100)
Well that’s just perfect. Guess one point of luck isn’t enough to catch a break.
- 23 -
It was three days later that Drew reached Level 1 as a Juvenile.
Combat Results: Large Skeetle: Reward: 10 exp!
Quest Complete: Hunger: Reward 16 exp
Quest Complete: Hunger: Reward 17 exp
Quest Complete: Puzzling: Reward 25 exp.
Wisdom +1
New Item: [Button Buckler - Crude] - Value: unknown
Quest Complete: Hunger: Reward 18 exp
Quest Complete: Hunger: Reward 19 exp
Rank Upgrade Available: Level 1 Skurr (Juvenile) - (107/100)
He selected his Rank Upgrade and several things happened at once.
Rank Upgrade: Skurr (Juvenile) - Complete!
All stats + 1
All Attributes + 2
New Blessing: [Scholar] -Trait: Proficiency at learning languages increased by 5%.
New Blessing: [Tinker] - Trait: Increased proficiency with basic crafting tools, all crafting with basic quality tools has a 10% chance to produce better quality work.
New Title: [Hero] - Title: All quest givers are friendlier towards you. 5% bonus to exp gain from completing quests.
Stat Points Available: 11
Holy crap that’s a lot of text.
Drew could feel his body going through several changes as his body grew to match his new stats and attributes.
His lucky necklace and button buckler were momentarily tighter as he grew larger, then they quietly adjusted to fit. He looked down at his siblings for the first time.
I am a full head taller now. And while they still look like naked chicken nuggets, I’m sporting some mottled gray and black plumage. Not quite the fearsome dark knight of Rottervale yet.
He was too big for the bottom of the nest so he hopped up onto the edge where the adult Skurr usually sat.
Wow would you look at that? The nest has a great view of the town!
Drew took in the area around the nest. He could see across the red roof tiles, down to the market place below, as well as up and over the roof into the courtyard of their building. The nest was situated at the top of the roof beside a pergola.
“Why hello Drew! You are a real Gallow Bird now. Looking much more sleek with your juvenile plumage.” Borealis faded into existence nearby.
The wisp floated within another corner of the pergola.
“You can see the whole area from up here. And there is lots to see. This is where you are going to level up and start building your skills. Hop on over here when you are ready to look at your quests. And flap your wings as much as you can, you want to unlock the Flight skill as soon as possible and start leveling it.”
Drew tottered over to the edge of the roof, flapping his wings cautiously.
Wow it really throws off my balance when I flap my wings. I guess that kinda makes sense.
New Quest: Puzzling: Flight: The most coveted form of transportation. With some practice you will move beyond falling with style and learn to soar.
He took off at a brisk pace along the gutter using his wings for boosts of speed. He stopped at a spot where the gutter had cracked and fallen out. He looked straight down to the ground three stories below.
Oh dang! That’s actually really high up. Drew squawked and backpedaled away from the edge checking his stamina.
Stamina: 68%
Drew sprinted up the slope of the roof flapping his wings like a maniac. He hopped up into the pergola and gained a little more height from a well timed flap of his wings.
Stamina: 36%
“Well done Drew, let's take a look at your skills and find you a quest.” He said.
Message: Boorealis woudl like to share your Character screen. Approve Yes/ No?
“So do I create my own quests? Or how will that work with my Hero title?” Drew asked as he mentally selected yes.
“I’m not exactly sure. A hero can find quests naturally, as if drawn to them with a 7th sense.” Borealis said. “I’d be very interested to find out how things work out for you.”
Borealis pulled up a screen showing Drew’s details.
“Okay this looks good, all your blessings are in effect. Can you pull up your Quest list?”
Drew pulled up his active Quests list.
Active Quest: Hunger: (3/25)
Active Quest: Puzzling: Flight (33%)
“Anything look new? As a Gallow Bird you should have access to all of the quests in the puzzling quest chain. It’s how your race usually gets their quest prompts.”
Borealis tapped a couple times on a screen Drew couldn’t see and then watched him expectantly.
Drew cocked his head at the wisp, feeling more than a little like a lab rat, then turned to look at it with his other eye.
“I’m not seeing anything. Are you sure you-”
New Area Quest: Gutted Gutters: The academy’s gutters haven’t been cleaned in a while, find and clear out the blockages. (0/12)
New Hero Skill: [Sense Quest] - You inherently know the direction of a quest hook.
Nice! I found the quest. And got a new skill. Drew flapped his wings in excitement.
“Okay great, looks like the Sense Quest skill is from your Hero title, that will be really handy. Especially since nobody else will be able to hear you until you can learn to speak Common.”
Borealis pulled up something on its screen to double check.
“Actually spend a couple of your points on your stamina, and a couple more on your wisdom. The wisdom will help you learn to speak common, and the stamina will immediately help you practice flying.”
Drew spent his stat points raising his stamina to 12 and his wisdom to 9. Leaving 4 available points to spend.
I better hold onto these last 4 points for an emergency.
“And also see if you can find the adventurers guild, they have some training sessions you will want to sit in on. Once kids learn their letters they move on to developing their physical and arcane stats.”
Seems a little early to be starting kids on combat if they are still learning to read and write.
Drew nodded and hopped down from the pergola to start looking for the blockages in the drains. He flapped his wings to help with the landing but still landed awkwardly and scrambled to stay on his feet. He over corrected and ended up on his back.
Puzzling: Flight: (43%)
“OK. Good luck! I’ll be watching to see how you do. This really is an interesting experiment.” Borealis faded from view.
Stamina: 5%
Yeah I’m exhausted.
- 24 -
It took the rest of the afternoon, but Drew cleared several blockages from the gutters and found some Skeetles and a twisted sheet of metal that was too heavy to drag back to the nest.
Drew stopped to rest and pulled up his list to check his progress.
Combat Results: Large Skeetle: Reward: 25 exp!
Combat Results: Small Skeetle: Reward: 10 exp!
Combat Results: Small Skeetle: Reward: 10 exp!
HP +1
Active Quest: Hunger - (12/27)
Puzzling: Flight - (87%)
Gutted Gutters - (6/12)
There weren’t any other blocked gutters in sight so he went up and over the roof to look at the other side.
He spotted other Skurr nesting in the area as well as a few flying out and back to the roof and trees in the area. An older Skurr looked him over when he got too close to its nest, then dismissed him.
New Quest: Puzzling: Explore: Get familiar with the city. Find ten points of interest. (0/10)
Is it triggered by my curiosity? Can I just create the quests, or do the quests exist already?
He spotted a man leaning out of a window below him.
Seems like a vanilla human type. He has the look of a professor that teaches brewing and drinks his own curriculum.
The man looked up at Drew for a moment, and looked confused for a second. The man swiped away something on a screen he’d been looking at. He called out to Drew.
“Hey little bird, you hungry?”
He reached out of view and grabbed a loaf of bread, from which he tore off a chunk and tossed it up onto the roof.
“Miia’s grace. Look at me now, throwing bread to the birds, as if there weren’t enough of them crapping on the paths already.”
Shaking his head the man closed the window.
Drew ran over and took huge bites of the bread before a pack of adult Skurr crowded around him and took the rest for themselves.
Quest Complete: Hunger: Reward 25 exp
New Quest: Hunger - (3/28)
“That’s delicious! Hey bread man! Come on back out here!” Drew cawed, but the man didn’t return.
The adult Skurr cawed at him. So Drew hopped away to give them space.
These jerks, taking bread from a baby like me. First place I’m flying to is going to be a bakery. Then we will see who has the last laugh.
Drew cleared the blockages on this side of the roof. The Skurr watched him do his best to hop and flap his wings without falling off the roof.
Then it finally happened.
Quest Complete: Gutted Gutters: reward 50 exp.
Quest Complete: Puzzling: Flight: reward [Flight] skill.
Stamina +1
New Skill: [Flight] - Its like running through the air. Requires functional wings. Costs 1 stamina per second of active flight.
Yes! He we go baby! Next stop, a bakery! Drew ran off the roof flapping his wings as fast as he could.
Stamina 75%
New Quest: Puzzling: Gliding: Flying is exhausting, Gliding is going to be critical to staying aloft. (1%)
Stamina 56%
Oh shit! Oh Shit! I’m falling way too fast. Which way is the ground? AHHHH!
Drew tried to let his instincts take over but the instincts couldn’t make heads or tails of the situation.
He tumbled through the air while he tried to steady himself with his wings and tail feathers. The breeze finally filled his wings.
Stamina 38%
Puzzling: Gliding (11%)
He had stopped his wild tumble through the air and coasted along where the wind was blowing. The ground of the courtyard below him was clear except for a cart full of crates.
Okay this isn’t so bad. I’m still falling rapidly. But I’ll be able to make a running landing. I hope. Once I land I’ll be able to recover and then work on flying back up to the roof.
Stamina 30%
Puzzling: Gliding (35%)
Drew landed badly on the cart parked in the courtyard.
HP: 85%
Debuff: Minor Broken Bone (wing) (1/1)
Ouch! Crap, got to work on my landings. Doesn’t feel like a minor broken wing.
Now that I have a couple points of Mana how do I activate my healing skills?
[Minor Healing]: HP +5
[Healers Blessing]: Minor Broken Bone (wing) - failed.
MP: 1%
Drew stopped the spells before his mana zeroed out.
Got to take it easy with the mana expenditures, it runs out fast and I don’t want to know what happens if I zero it out.
Drew waited until his 2 mana points refilled and tried again.
[Minor Healing]: HP +5
[Healers Blessing]: Minor Broken Bone (wing) - failed.
MP: 1%
Geeze, it failed again. At least my health is back up above 90%.
It took three more attempts over the next hour before Drew’s wing was healed.
Debuff Removed: Minor Broken Bone (wing) reward 15 exp.
Mana +1
Alright! And I got a third point of Mana! That’s the way to do it.
Gotta keep spending my mana to earn more mana!
Drew did a little dance to celebrate.
My HP is back at 100 percent and that debuff on my wing is gone. Not my new favorite way to get exp but I’ll take it.
He stretched out his wings to get a feel for the wind, but there wasn’t much more than a breeze blowing around the courtyard.
Drew looked around to get his bearings. He could see the roof three stories up and the pergola where his nest was.
There were several Skurr cawing loudly and circling about above him.
Laugh it up guys! I’ll be flying laps around you all soon.
Drew extended the middle talon on his claw and made a rude gesture at the jerks flying above him. But the birds kept laughing at him.
- 25 -
There were some houses across the street. A steady stream of people walked past the entrance to the courtyard but none paid him any attention.
He saw a mix of men and women dressed in fine clothes. Many of them held baskets with fresh produce.
They could fit in on the set of a history channel movie about early colonial America.
Several different groups of people walked by with weapons or shields in hand. Always with one member of their group carting a large backpack. The finely dressed people have them plenty of space to pass.
It’s like the renaissance fair, if the people also had to do an obstacle course. These people are equal parts beautiful, well equipped, and athletic.
There were a few benches and a fountain in the courtyard so Drew rested on top of the cart until his stamina was recovered. Then flew down to the closest bench. Something moved nearby and he jumped.
A few Skurr were rooting around in the fountain. They flew away when they saw him looking their way.
Not the friendly type?
Drew flew across the courtyard over to the fountain for a closer look.
The fountain was a statue of a beautiful woman with pointed ears and a Gallow Bird on her shoulder. She was crouched down on one knee holding two gilded plates up above her head on outstretched arms. People had thrown rings and coins into the two plates in her hands.
You couldn’t tell for certain. The artist either depicted her begging for money or giving it away depending on how you looked at her.
The water flowed out from her plates steadily but Drew couldn’t see any piping for the water.
Apparently people still throw coins into fountains in magical worlds. I guess luck is real here, I do have a lucky bracelet but I can't see my luck stat on my sheet.
Drew stopped himself from reaching for a coin in the fountain.
I probably shouldn’t take these. Can I even swim?
He looked closer at the fountain and there were strange symbols carved in the base where the water flowed out.
New Quest: Puzzling: Strange Symbols: This isn’t the first time you’ve seen these symbols. What could they mean?
Nice! Love a new quest, I'm glad it's not a swimming quest. So these symbols are important then? Cool.
Drew looked around and weighed his options.
I don’t think I’m flying back up there anytime soon. I bet I can find some more quests if I go around the building. Might even find another way up? Or maybe some Mishrooms.
But no new quests popped up as he walked across the courtyard. He spent an hour gliding, and flying short distances unable to get much altitude in the shelter of the courtyard.
This is not the way to learn to fly, I should be up in the sky. It’s way too slow if I’m stuck here on the ground.
He checked his flight skill progress and focused on the upgrade cost.
Upgrade Skill: [Flight] (27% lvl 2) - cost 110/94 exp. Upgrade: Yes/No
He selected yes and his Flight skill went up to level 2.