They walked through the desert day and night. Stopping for a couple of hours every night so that Trillia could take a nap. So far, they hadn't run into any other creatures.
General Skill: [Sustained Travel] Level 0 obtained!
Sustained Travel:
You're used to marching and traveling for long periods of time with minimal rest. This skill lowers the amount of sustenance you need by 5% per level (Minimum 5%). At level 20, this skill automatically evolves and becomes a trait that completely negates your need for sustenance. You can still benefit from eating, sleeping, drinking, etc. But it is no longer required.
Trillia relayed the skill gain to Stas.
"Good. That's one of the better skills for its purpose. Especially with how your life is going to progress in the coming years. I think you'll find it quite handy."
Trillia was happy to have it. Even though she wasn't the one doing the marching, she was still exhausted constantly from having nearly no sleep. Maybe that had been his purpose? Force a skill to surface?
She shrugged to herself as they continued making their way across the desert.
-=- Three Days Later -=-
Her eyes slowly opened to Stas shaking her shoulder gently. Looking up at him, then around to see how long she had been sleeping.
"There is a monster nearby. I think it'd be a good first candidate for your monster taming."
Trillia nodded as she stood and dusted herself off. Yawning and stretching before reaching down and rolling up the bedroll.
"I've never used the skill before. It may not work well."
Stas motioned for her to follow him. Walking through the desert was difficult for her. There were places where she sunk halfway up her shins in the sand and had to crawl her way out.
It was this exact reason that when they were actually marching across the desert, Stas would just carry her with telekinesis. She finally managed to crawl up next to him. Stas was peeking over a sand dune, so she did the same.
Stas motioned to his own eyes, and Trillia activated [Mana Sight]
[Wolf - Desert Skoll - 33] Illusion Mana Manipulation
Notable Traits:
Mirage Body
Trillia nodded to Stas, slowly crawling further forward, reaching out tentatively with her mind. It was a massive wolf, standing a half foot taller than Trillia. For the most part, it looked like the dungeon wolves, four legs, a tail, two eyes, and a typical snout. Where it differed were two tendrils that started at the joints of each of its legs and swept down into the desert. Fanning out slightly and gently dragging along the surface of the sand.
Trillia paused as she looked at the spot the wolf appeared. Looking at the sand around it and realizing that there were no paw prints. She began to twist and turn her head around the area, trying to find the source of this mirage.
As she began to crawl further forward toward the mirage, a sharp pain shot through her left side. The desert Skoll had slammed into her at a full run and bit into her abdomen. She screamed as she flopped and rolled across the ground, spraying blood onto the sand as she went. Shakily, she pushed herself up, throwing the full weight of her mind at the creature.
She also fumbled at the [Monster Taming] skill, trying to figure out exactly how to utilize it. She had tried to learn about it during the trip, but it was a skill that required a target. She didn't really want to use it on a crab or something of that nature and accidentally bind something to her.
Having a target in sight, the skill flowed through her. It took a surprisingly small amount of mana to activate. The desert skoll froze in place and stared at her.
Remembering what she had been taught, she lifted the crossbow on her arm and charged a full volley.
Aiming it next to the wolf, she let the arrows fly. It immediately crouched and barred its fangs at her. She lowered her arm, reaching into a pouch at her side and producing a small chunk of smoked meat. Ripping off a piece while holding the rest awkwardly between her left arm and her body, she tossed it to the wolf. All the while channeling [Monster Taming] and sending suggestions of peace to the creature.
It slowly plodded forward, keeping its eyes locked on her left arm. Trillia felt a bit woozy, but the bleeding had been slowed and stopped by her regenerative powers.
The creature nibbled at the edge of the smoked meat. Its ears immediately came up, and it seemed to relax immensely. Trillia pushed the [Monster Taming] skill again. This time when the creature froze, it looked directly up and at her. The two stared for a moment before a notification rang in her head.
Desert Skoll Level 33 has accepted your pact!
Monster Pact Bonds available (2/3)
This is the first time you have formed a pact with a monster. Would you like an explanation?
Trillia nodded as she sat down and began to bandage her side. The wolf before her had already chowed down on the meat thrown to it and came plodding over to her.
You have formed a Pact-Bond with a monster. As long as your highest level is not double that of the monster's highest level, you will receive 50% of the experience it earns. The monster will receive 50% of the experience you earn. (This does not lower the amount of experience you gain, it is a bonus to each of you.) Furthermore, you always have an innate knowledge of the health and overall status of any bound creatures. You know their exact location in the same realm. If you are ever in different realms, you know which realm your bound creatures are in.
As with all pact-bonds, the weaker creature gives the stronger creature a stat boost from its highest stat. In the case of the [Desert Skoll], its highest stat is agility. As such, it will give you a boost to your agility, equal to half of its own maximum agility. In turn, any stat you have that is higher than its base stat will result in it getting a flat 50% boost to its stats.
'Show me an example, please.' Trillia spoke to Dawn in her mind. The wording left her a little confused.
If the Desert Skoll has a 100 in Wisdom and a 100 in Vitality. Because your Wisdom and Vitality are higher, it will get a 50% boost in the form of a stacking buff. Resulting in its Wisdom and Vitality becoming 150.
Trillia nodded. That's what she thought it meant but was happy to have it confirmed. The Skoll sat next to her, laying its head in her lap. She idly ran her right hand over its head after letting it gobble down the rest of the smoked meat.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
[Red River Resonance] has detected a tamed canine nearby!
Would you like to bind [Desert Skoll] to [Red River Resonance]?
"Yes!" Trillia shouted excitedly. The Skoll looked up at her quizzically as a light began to shine upon it and the whistle around her neck. After a few minutes, more notifications rang through her mind.
[Desert Skoll] has been bound to the artifact [Red River Resonance].
You must break the pact-bond with [Desert Skoll] and slay the monster yourself to bind a new monster to this artifact.
Trillia grimaced a bit at that. The bond gave her some sort of protective instincts with the wolf, and the thought of killing it didn't sit well with her at all. She looked down at the creature and smiled. Reaching out with her mind, the wolf immediately latched on and accepted this time.
Unfortunately, her [Minor Telepathy] didn't let her share complex thoughts. She sent her name while physically motioning to herself. Before extending a hand to the creature.
After a moment, it responded.
'Ialu'
Trillia smiled and gave the creature a hug. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ialu."
[Desert Skoll] has changed to [Ialu] in records of the [Monster Taming] skill as well as the artifact [Red River Resonance].
As Stas approached, Ialu positioned itself between Trillia and the goblin. Barring its teeth. The tendrils on its legs began to swiftly brush across the sand, and Trillia could see both her and the wolf take on a semi-translucent appearance. Though it did nothing to fool Stas.
Trillia quickly reached out with her telepathy and gave it messages of friend and family. Stas must have contacted it himself as Ialu quickly calmed down. Sitting once more next to Trillia.
"Huh. I don't think I've seen or fought one of these before. That's a rather powerful illusory ability for a low-level creature." Stas lowered himself to be eye to eye with the wolf, extending a hand first to its snout, letting it sniff his hand. After a moment and seeing the wolf lower its head slightly, Stas rubbed the top of its head.
"Ialu... I think the civilization that we are going to shares a similar language. E-Ah-Lu." Stas tilted his head, idly scratching Ialu's head while thinking. "I think it means field of dreams. Or something similar to that. The civilization in question is one of the older ones on Alirast. They take great pride in knowledge and history. They are also deeply religious people. I think Ialu will earn you a great deal of favor with them."
Trillia smiled, and as she began to push herself up to a standing position, Ialu came over and nuzzled its head under her arms and lifted her onto her feet. Lying on its stomach next to her and looking over at its back, then at her. Trillia's grin grew wider, slowly and carefully crawling onto its back.
Ialu stood on all four and looked at Stas. The goblin shrugged, and once more, they set off in the same direction they had been traveling. Stas glanced back to see Ialu easily keeping pace with him. As the goblin chuckled, Trillia gave him an odd look.
"Ialu is making it appear as if I'm alone. The two of you are appearing a few dozen feet away. What a clever creature. I'll have to ask around in the city if anyone has a better explanation for why the tendrils on its legs let it cast such powerful illusion magic."
Trillia looked down at Ialu before she lay against her back and wrapped her arms around the wolf as best she could. "Good girl, thank you for keeping me safe."
Even though Trillia knew that Stas wouldn't let her die. Stas needed something from her, and she had faith that the goblin would ensure her safety until she could deliver. Stas spoke up as they continued.
"From now on, any conversations we have will be entirely through telepathy. It's a good skill you have. Growing it to a stronger level will be a huge boon going forward. It will also let Ialu practice, perhaps even pick up telepathy itself. You should also think about only taming creatures from the canine classification."
Trillia looked up at him. "Why is that? The artifact can only bind to one. Are there bonuses for specializing?"
Stas nodded. "Exactly that. Not only just for you. If Ialu stays by your side long enough and you tame more and more canines. Specialty classes may open up that Ialu can take. You can also get other traits for specializing so hard."
Trillia thought back to Tim and his Pack Leader trait. It must be something akin to that.
-=- Two Days Later -=-
It didn't take long. Trillia had gained a single level in her [Minor Telepathy] skill. Taming Ialu had given her four levels in [Monster Taming] but most impressive was Ialu gaining [Minor Telepathy] as well. It seemed to struggle with concepts, but Trillia had faith she'd learn in time. Ialu had also proven to be an invaluable companion in the desert.
Stas had tested her knowledge a few times, and she had hidden them from several bad sand storms. She had also tried to hide them from a small band of undead humans. Stas had made brutally short work of them, informing Trillia that the combination of rapier and crossbow bolts was a bad choice against creatures that were little more than a skeletal structure.
-=- One Week Later -=-
Trillia's lips felt like the sand under them. Stas had some minor spells for creating water, but it wasn't enough to fill her and Ialu. So the two were both looking worse for wear. Ialu had tried to lead them away, probably towards water, several times. Stas forced them to keep going.
Now, Trillia knew why.
A half day's march before them stood a city, unlike anything Trillia had seen before. Massive buildings made of sandstone littered the landscape. Large walls separated the stone buildings from a city of tents and lean-tos. Dozens of strange creatures dotted the sea of people. Humans, orcs, elves. Other creatures that Trillia had never even heard of before.
There past the walls, a huge tower stood. Trillia could see into the tower, even from here. The entire thing was made of glass. Trillia and Ialu had stopped to stare at the place. Ialu sent them both warnings of danger through telepathy. It didn't seem to have a great opinion of humanoids. Plus, with Ialu's golden fur and brilliant blue eyes, she'd stand out quite a bit.
Stas sighed and looked up into the air before nodding. "We've finally made it. Let's start our approach. I doubt we'll make it far."
They began to walk forward, perhaps a thousand feet into their approach, a bolt of lightning struck the ground before them. Turning most of the sand to glass. When the flash died down, a young orc boy stood there. Red robes with golden embroidery flowed off of wide and strong shoulders. The boy stood at about five feet. Quite small for an orc.
Beautiful emerald eyes stared at them. His skin was a soft blue, and golden locks of hair fell and framed his face. Trillia had to admit he was quite handsome. She immediately activated [Mana Sight].
WARNING! You have attempted to scan a Deity!
You must have a deific ranking equal to or greater than a Deity to scan it!
[Deity]
Trillia froze in place. Stas was already kneeling. Trillia and Ialu didn't kneel and could only stare. The orc boy walked forward with a confidence that reminded Trillia of her mother. Reaching up and petting Ialu's snout. When he spoke, the language seemed to be a thousand languages all at once. But the orcish tongue seemed to stand out just a little more and made him perfectly understandable.
"Who's a good girl? I'll bet it's you, isn't it? Are you hungry?" the young orc boy reached into a space between spaces like Stas did and produced a raw hunk of meat. With the tap of his foot, the sand beneath their feet turned into smooth sandstone. He placed the meat next to Ialu's head and pulled out a large bowl of water that never seemed to empty, regardless of how greedily Ialu drank from it.
As the boy looked up from Ialu to Trillia, she felt a wave of calmness wash over her. As if everything was going to be alright. As if every question would be answered.
"Hello, Lady Demonsbane. My name is Arlyss Ocrey Darktone. Thank you for making the trek to come and meet me. My people are worried due to Lord Banamaðr. They are not accustomed to having a mortal so powerful near their city."
The boy looked away from her and at Stas. "I do hope you'll understand their hesitance to let you in the city, Lord Banamaðr."
Stas didn't look up but spoke softly in the tongue of goblins. "I understand that I am not welcome in polite society, Lord Darktone. I have come to deliver young Trillia. I can leave if that is what it takes to grant her an audience."
The boy smiled, and more warmth and calmness washed over them. As he walked over to Stas, Trillia noted that he left no footprints in the sand either. The boy kneeled in front of Stas and lowered his head so that their eyes met. "I never said you were not welcome. I said my people are hesitant to throw open their gates. Now that I have seen into your mind and know that you do not wish them harm. I am sure they will be happy to welcome a mind so curious into their midst. Though I will ask you not to be bothered by the poking and prodding of some of the more scientific minds."
Trillia had never seen Stas so tense in the time she'd seen him. Stas still spoke softly but didn't dare avert his gaze. "I am of a similar mind to their own. I would be honored to be welcomed into your home. May I ask a small favor of you?"
Arlyss still wore his smile. Having his face resting against the sand to look into Stas' eyes, seemingly unbothered by the current setup. "I will stop using your official title. I didn't know it sat so poorly with you. Come, let us get you all inside and out of the sun. "
As Arlyss stood, so too did Stas. With the wave of a hand, a rift opened in the air before them. He motioned for them to go first. Stas gave Trillia one final look before walking in. Ialu and Trillia followed.