"I still can't believe those stories are real," said Alistar as we delved into the dark forest.
"Focus," I replied.
"Really, can you believe that? The stories they told us when we were little are true? What else is true then? The fire-spitting Dragons? The Moon people? The Specters? For Sun's sake, is the Abyss real after all?" He continued undeterred.
"Star! I need to focus here!" I tried to communicate as much discomfort as humanly possible even though I could only whisper.
We were traveling through the dead of the night, and Jane was mourning her Eagle-rock; her name was Tilly, she was the oldest of her flock and the mother of her remaining pet, Tally.
The night was really dark, and I was bolstering my Perception as much as possible, hoarding a massive amount of Skill points while doing so. However, if I released my concentration, I would lose focus on the image of my improved senses.
What my senses were doing was relatively simple and straightforward; they were expanding as long as I retained control of them.
I could see farther in the distance by willing it. However, it required a lot of Focus. Sadly like it worked with other Augments, my new Bow added Focus to my stats only when I used it.
As I had understood it, the process of increasing Focus was tied to the bow sight mounted on the sight window, right below the knife-shaped upper limb bolt.
When aiming through it, the bolt would increase my Focus, which directly affected the power of the magic if it was indeed a magic projectile. And my blow-arrows could be considered ammunition of that type.
We were at two hours from the camp and would barely make it in time for dawn if we kept going at the current pace.
I found something else exciting; if I wished, I could have the whispers tell me of my progress.
Soul fractions for next Hunter level: 4843/25000
Soul fractions for next Tamer level: 235/21000
Skill points for Trace Major Perk Promotion: 322/2000
Skill points for Trace Minor Perk Promotion: 256/1000
Skill points for Trace Passive Perk Promotion: 283/500
It was something that really came in handy.
Although it did not directly say when I Tracked and Traced something alive, the Passive Perk from my Return to Life Skill allowed me to gain minor knowledge about my Prey and fed me the same amount of Soul fractions I received while I Traced; however, I received them only if I hunted down my target.
It was a good help in leveling up my Sub-Class, and now I understood where part of the knowledge came from. However, it left me to wonder about my Major Trace Perk.
In what would it be Promoted? How would it tie with my other Perks?
It made me shiver with anticipation and helped me forget the fact that we had all been so close to dying that we had been able to almost taste our own blood.
Jane was still shocked, but at least, as she managed to say, it wasn't the first time she came upon one. However, their sight would make one's skin crawl and make one desire death instead of its vision.
She did not describe it to us because she didn't want to talk about it, mainly because she held her tears back. Tilly had been with her for a long time.
Suddenly I felt cold in the distance. It was weird; it came from my… sight.
I formed a fist in the air at the height of my shoulder. My companions stopped and prepared for a fight.
"I think we're closer than we thought."
"How can you tell," asked M.J.
"I can feel ice-cold in the distance. I believe it's a Shade talisman."
"You can feel ice cold in the distance?" She repeated.
"It's a new Skill."
She shook her head, "We need to be cautious then; they might as well have extended their territory without us knowing, exactly like the Gnolls have been doing."
I nodded, and we proceeded forward. The sooner I evolved this Perk, the better it was. This Passive could turn into something handy.
I moved step after step toward my destination; I kept Tracing everything that paved in front of me, even though at some point I had stopped gaining experience from the simple things, I kept doing it because the night was dark. The more knowledge I had of the territory, the better it was.
Not even two hundred meters after I felt the spike of coldness, I heard something from the whispers.
> Shade Talisman
>
> Durability: 73%
>
> Shade-Density: 5
>
>
>
> Strengths: Excellent if used in a high number
>
> Weaknesses: Weak when used singularly
>
>
>
> This Shade Talisman has been tied to a wire trap. When triggered, it will cause a resonant Flow Talisman to burn in flames.
>
>
The talisman had been lying on the ground, partially covered by leaves. It was a little piece of thin wood; a small Stone was encased in the middle of it. It was placed so that it could not be removed without consequences. The talisman had also been inscribed with Sigils. I had no idea how to interpret it, but it was one of the languages of mages.
It was a weak form of magic, albeit a handy one. To make something like that meant that the slave traders, whether bought those talismans or had a magician who was also a Scribe among their ranks. The second hypothesis I would very much prefer to be unfounded.
"May it freeze in the Abyss!" I turned back to the others.
"It's of a different type! Was this one there when you first got here?" I proceeded to explain the talisman to Jane.
She shook her head. "I guess I did not notice them. And that's probably why they managed to track me back to my house."
In the end, she was not a Hunter, nor a Pathfinder; she did not have the tool for such a discovery.
"I guess we must be happy they did not send another team after you while we were away."
"I would have slaughtered them," she answered, crazed.
"I do sincerely believe you," replied Alistar.
I bet you do! I found myself thinking, who would go against her when she looked like that.
The woman was a massive thing that threw punches that could shatter shields; I was not one who would enjoy fighting her.
"The problem remains, though. How long do you believe is the range of these things?"
"We need to check. And I might have just the way to do it," answered Jane.
She soon took out something from her satchel. It was a little sphere looking like an emptied Crystal, with a small blue fire burning inside it.
"Crystal Fire, of course!"
It was the ideal tool for the job. Crystal fire was used as a means to make wood catch fire even in the most challenging environment. As long as there was a source of Flow, it would burn.
What I knew of Crystal Fire wasn't much, but I knew the baseline.
It was an alchemical recipe; still, the knowledge on how to build it was not as hard to find as many other tools. It did not burn as hot as a real fire; it was more a source of light than anything else.
Although Crystal Fire was easy to conserve, it did consume Flow to keep; I did not know how much of it, but it did. In fact, she kept it close to another Crystal, even while in her hand.
"Get close to it; when you see the light start flickering, that should roughly be the range at which we can pass without triggering the talisman."
As I headed back to test it, I heard Alistar ask Jane, "How did you get that, and how did you know. Aren't you a Brawler and Tamer? You are no chemist."
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"Crystal Fire was invented by Elves, young Kob."
"Well, Kobolds invented war, so I guess we're even!"
I couldn't help but laugh at his randomness.
Still, it was one of the Elves’ main sources of light. And its use consumed Flow more than it did wood. So that they kept forever warm, both at day and night, without burning as much wood; it was said the Elves forests were always verdant.
However, I had never been anywhere close to them, for the Elves against which Sundoor was fighting had come from over the waters and conquered a region or two of our continent. Their new territory could be found much past the northern region and probably an entire region beyond that.
Anyway, in an environment bathed in Shade, Crystal Fire would not take hold, so even if feeding on the nearby Crystal's Flow, the flame inside of the transparent ball of Crystal remained steady, never growing, but never dimming as well.
The first sign of change was at roughly fifteen meters from the talisman.
The fire flickered.
I smiled and kept trying out various measures to gauge the true distance we had to keep, not to trigger it.
"It's fourteen and a half meters; let's just make it fifteen to stay safe."
"Good, then, let's press on."
However, even though we kept going forward, it was night, full of night.
"Hide."
My Perception had, once more, picked something coming from behind us.
It was weird. I did not see the talisman's cold this time, but I felt on my skin what I could hear in the distance. It was one of the wildest things that ever happened to me.
I felt paws walk all over my hearing range as if my hearing extended to my sense of touch.
Nevertheless, paws could only mean Dire-wolves, hoping they were as simple as that.
Alistar and Jane hid behind two different trees while I took my chances to climb one and nock a brown fletched arrow, one of the regular ones.
The wolves soon caught my vision.
There were six of them, and I took my chance with them with Tracking and Tracing. Although they too could feel they had been Tracked, they could not tell my location; it did not work that way.
I started with the smallest one.
> Dire-wolf, Level 19
>
> Health: 99%
>
> Stamina: 82%
>
>
>
> Agility: Intermediate-Moderate
>
> Constitution: Intermediate
>
> Strength: Intermediate-Moderate
>
> Focus: Intermediate
>
> Perception: Moderate-High
>
> Willpower: Very High
>
>
>
> Strength: Fangs, Agility
>
> Weaknesses: Fur is easy to burn, Wolfsbane
>
>
>
> A Dire-wolf's fur can adapt to many environments. Even when dead, Dire-wolf's fur retains its ability to keep warm on cold summer nights while it heats-up the coldest of winter nights. A Dire-wolf evolves at level 25, becoming much more troublesome to deal with.
>
> Stone weight: 0.1grams
You've earned 5 Skill points. Skill points for Trace Major Perk Promotion: 327/2000
You've earned 3 Skill points. Skill points for Trace Minor Perk Promotion: 259/1000
The Dire-wolf in question had a smoke-colored fur like the others, and it was big, roughly twice the size Ronda had been; however, the one leading them was something else. It looked as big as a cow.
> Alpha Dire-wolf, Level 28
>
> Health: 100%
>
> Stamina: 78%
>
>
>
> Agility: Intermediate-Moderate
>
> Constitution: Moderate-High
>
> Strength: Moderate
>
> Focus: Intermediate-High
>
> Perception: Moderate-High
>
> Willpower: Very High-Extremely High
>
>
>
> Strength: Fangs, Agility, Constitution, Strength,
>
> Weaknesses: Fur is easy to burn, Wolfsbane
>
>
>
> An Alpha Dire-wolf is the evolved form of a Dire-wolf; it retains the same characteristics. However, an Alpha can take on an entire pack of Dire-wolves and come out unscathed. Never underestimate the sheer might of these common creatures.
>
> Stone weight: 0.175grams
I had never seen an Alpha Dire-wolf before, and it was clear from the points I gained from Tracing it.
You've earned 18 Skill points. Skill points for Trace Major Perk Promotion: 345/2000
You've earned 5 Skill points. Skill points for Trace Minor Perk Promotion: 266/1000
I bothered to Trace the others as well; now they all looked left and right, agitated for whatever it was that was pinning them down.
I was no fool, though. Although they looked scared, they would not stop hunting us. We had to hunt them down ourselves first.
Killing the Alpha first was the smartest move. It would mess up their stance and, if we were lucky, send them back where they came from.
I was about to release my arrow when my weak points sight indicated no red spots.
I changed my mind, but not about the hunt, just about the arrow. I had the feeling a regular arrow would not suffice, so I placed it back down, making sure to not produce any sound, and took out a Piercing arrow.
It was the right tool for the job, and it showed when red spots appeared on the monster's body.
The ideal place to aim at was always the throat, but not from where I stood. So I aimed between the shoulder blades.
The monster moved out of the way just as I released, at the last moment, but it was sheer luck that let it move. Thankfully the Trick Shot coming soon after hit it through the ribs. Digging deep inside of its trunk, enough so that I knew it had gone through at least a lung.
The monster collapsed on the ground in search of a breath that escaped it.
The other Dire-wolves started to panic. They did not dare emit any sounds; they were likely trained in that. After all, they were not the apex in the forest. Probably nobody was; they could not afford to attract attention to themselves.
I started shooting arrow after arrow endowed with my Skill at the remaining pack, but in the end, two managed to escape.
When we joined back to where the wolves had fallen, we noticed that the Alpha was still alive, although emitting his last few breaths. A pool of foamy blood had formed under it.
If only I could tame such a creature. The benefits in battle would be… monstrous. Shade creatures were indeed much more adept at hunting. But it was not something I could easily do; it would probably require me to Promote my Skill to do so, and most probably with a Shiny Stone.
I took back two of my still usable regular arrows from the Dire-wolves' dead bodies; the last one had bent and was encased inside the carcass, not giving way. I could always pick it up on the way back since those types of arrows could be reforged, for they were made of metal. However, I did not take it now because I did not have a quiver for used arrows; the danger of drawing an unusable arrow was too great in the heat of the battle to take any chances.
"Nice work, Loke," declared Alistar. "You're starting to scare me a little."
I smirked without answering.
When finally the Alpha wolf died, we had already left to continue on our destination, and I asked for the whispers to tell what I had gained.
You’ve earned 1785 + 625 + 663 + 651 Soul fractions. Soul fractions for next Hunter level: 8567/25000
Yeah, hunting at night had its privileges.
I would have never been able to level a third of an entire level during daylight.
Checking my Passive Perk, I was also surprised by its state.
Skill points for Trace Passive Perk Promotion: 315/500
That last weird feeling had given me almost thirty Skill points.
I was growing really curious about what the Skill could give me. However, I had to focus; not only would we soon be in slave traders' territory, but we had to get ready to hunt them all down, and the heaviest job fell on me. I had to carefully pluck them out one by one; only then would the others be able to enter the fighting range.
----------------------------------------
Half an hour later and at least five hidden talismans later, we started seeing the first wired talismans.
My head was starting to ache for Tracing overuse to help me understand the otherwise almost black as coal ground.
"There they are," said Jane before I was able to see it.
I shook my head. I had to focus; I couldn't have a headache distract me.
If first I looked only down, now I had to look both on the ground and in front of me.
"I've brought as much thread as possible; just be sure to be as steady as you can," she said.
The talismans were tied to a thread hanging from the trees and stretched far in the distance, which meant that their base was really close. The threads couldn't be too long. Otherwise, the probability of false triggering grew too much, which would consequently make them useless.
The idea was that I would climb the tree, gauge the tension in the thread, then weave the existing thread with the one Jane had brought and secure it around a branch.
Then I had to cut away the talisman, which hung by two threads, one securing it around to a branch, the other to the thread that led all the way to their base.
It was clear that these talismans were the bait and switch, while the real ones were those we had encountered before.
Nevertheless, to let us pass, they needed to be removed. It was a rather long, boring, and tension-full job, but it had to be done.
When I ultimately finished with the last of them, we could finally see their encampment, and I could feel that Dawn was almost upon us. It gave us the advantage of freely using Alistar's Skills, but the same could be said for theirs.
I still had a few minutes to take out as many of them as I could, if possible. I would have to check, though.
We got closer to their base.
It had a little fenced farm in the front, acting both as their source of vegetables, as much as it did as a defense to block enemies' sight.
They grew damn giant tomatoes and crops that grew taller than Alistar; it was the worst possible thing, and what was worse, I couldn't even climb a nearby tree in fear of being spotted by their snipers. There, sure as Abyss, was at least one.
"Here," said Jane, "We'll be able to see them better from here."
Jane led us around the farm, and really close to their base, although not visible yet, we had gotten close enough that I could already hear somebody talk.
Of course, they were already up. Nobody would skip the Blessed Hour.
Their camp was built inside a burrow on a rare height of the forest's ground. The place where Jane brought us was a point that was low enough to hide our sight to their eyes but allowed us to spy atop the farm.
What we saw then made all our hopes of eliminating the slave trader’s plague fade like cold-breath smoke in the Shade Season’s air.
Discussing with a big man by a steel-plated door was what looked like an official of the Sunguard. Not a mercenary, not someone from the City in look for slaves, not an Envoy to give them the last chance to abandon their ugly trade, but a Sunguard himself, most probably being paid by them to keep his mouth shut on their affairs.
"Fucking fuck…" said Alistar.
Jane did not utter a single word, other than showing her stupefied face.
I, on the other side, had to fight down the impulse of shooting the fucker on sight because when he turned back, I recognized him.
There was no way I could forget that smile of superiority, that golden hair, amber eyes, and those shiny teeth.
It was the same man that just limited himself to watch when our training party of hunters was attacked in the Drylands, years before; before the plague got us, when I lost my arm and when two of my friends died at the hands of those enraged Rhinodusters.
I would never forget his scornful look while on top of his Flow-cart, then his laughter while he enjoyed seeing us getting trampled over by the monsters.
Further proof of his identity was the Flow-cart, the same that was parked by the farm access to his left. My eyes started feeling cold, and I believed I lost control of myself for a second.
When I recovered, I had no idea what had held me back from shooting him down until I recovered my senses and found myself in Alistar’s arms. He was holding me firmly on the ground, with a leg around my waist to stop my arms and one on the mouth from stopping me from shouting.
"What the fuck are you doing?" he whispered to me.
"I'm..."
I was about to shoot him down; I was about to attack that man, throwing every caution to the wind.
I was about to fuck us all up.
It had never happened to me. What was going on?