Chapter Sixty-Eight: Party

The group stayed a short while after the Guards left with the survivors. They watched the tiny forms of orcs moving back and forth between houses, roaming through fields, all completely unchecked. When the nearest band looked like they were about to investigate May’s Crest, they decided it was time to leave. They melted back into the shadows of the Deep.

One of the Hunters with them, Rea, was one of those three who had ranged this part of the Deep before she’d been captured. She was a strange woman, completely taciturn one moment, and chattering away with manic energy the next. Tom wasn’t sure if it was something born of her time spent captive to the orcs, or the way she had developed during her time as a Hunter, or part of the reason she had been exiled in the first place.

After watching her navigate the woods with greater ease even than Jace, the most natural born Hunter he had met so far, he decided it didn’t matter. She knew her business, and would be a deadly asset to them if they were to carry out operations against the orcs.

The terrain in this southeastern section of the Deep was rugged, stonier than Tom was used to, with greater shifts in elevation. Val’s range was relatively flat. Still, it only took them a couple of days to reach the cave Rea based herself from.

From the outside, it was exceedingly well hidden, merely looking like a loamy, moss-covered rock wall. Rea wiggled a finger into a crack in the stone, and an entire section of the rockface swivelled smoothly outwards to admit them.

She tapped a spot on the wall as they entered, and enchantments flickered to life along the walls. It made Tom a little heartsick for Val’s oak: the enchantments were exactly the same, clearly made by Scriber. They walked between narrow, twisting rock walls for a minute, slowly travelling downwards, before their path suddenly opened up onto a large cavern.

It was larger than the space under Val’s oak, perhaps almost as big as a hall. Where the space under Val’s oak had clearly been man-made, this looked like a natural feature that had been repurposed. The space was easily large enough to accommodate forty people or more.

A small trickle of water ran down one wall and settled in a pool. Enchantments glimmered from beneath the water. Large shelves had been cut directly into the rock all around the sides of the cave. Rea immediately launched into an enthusiastic explanation of all the things she had found in the Deep over the years, and stored on them, while they nodded along politely.

This would be an excellent base for them. Far enough away from the orcs that they could throw off any pursuit after an operation, so hidden that they would not find it even if they were scouting the area in force, close enough that they could strike at the orcish army quickly. It was perfect.

They weathered Rea’s jovial rant about her treasures, many of which were valuable, but more of which seemed to fit some completely arbitrary criteria for having been collected. Tom didn’t judge her. Every Hunter had a right to their nice things.

Once she wound down, they settled in. The space in the cave was far too large for one person to make use of, and Rea offered them to set up their sleeping spots along one wall, currently unused.

Two of the Hunters took a brief rest before heading out to rendezvous with the other camps. The plan was that they would all meet here, in the centremost base, every fortnight.

Tom set up his bedroll, pulling a spare that he’d been keeping in his storage out and setting it beside his for Rosa. Ever since he’d gotten his storage skill, he’d been stowing extra bits and bobs away when he got the chance. You never knew when you’d need them, and they didn’t put a strain on his stamina carrying them, so he figured there was no reason not to. He had been about to run up on the limits of his storage skill when he had found Honeyfield’s ring, and then such considerations were no longer an issue again.

“Wouldn’t mind a storage space myself, I’m thinking,” Rosa commented. Tom thought about it for a moment, then twisted Honeyfield’s ring off his finger and offered it to her. She accepted it with a puzzled expression. Tom sensed her run a trickle of mana into it with Hunter-Gatherer, and she gasped.

“This is too much, Tom! Goddess! You fucking fool, you’re too generous!” She tried to push the ring back into his hands, but he refused to accept it back.

“If you’re going to live a Hunter’s life, live out here with us, then this will make things easier for you. It will put my mind at ease knowing you have it. If it’s the value that bothers you, then we can swap some of the stuff around.” He’d already given out most of the weapons in it, enchanted and otherwise, but a decent amount remained. Of his own belongings, it mostly contained spare necessities.

“Tom! I’m not a Hunter. And something tells me most Hunters don’t have spatial storage, anyway.”

“Speak for yourself,” Errol said, pulling a pipe and pouch of tobacco from thin air. He was another of the Hunters who’d been captured. He seemed a good natured man, though quiet. He tamped the tobacco weed down in the bowl, and cocked an eyebrow at them.

“You’ve got Fire, if I remember rightly. Would you mind?” Rosa huffed, but she tapped a gentle fingertip to his pipe, holding it until he nodded. Errol winked at Tom while she concentrated, and chuckled softly as she stalked back over to him. Curls of blue smoke lifted from the pipe, dancing in the enchanted light.

“Well,” she said. “Thank you. Just don’t be thinking this earns you any special favours!”

Tom laughed. “Oh, you’re doing me the favour: all Sesame’s honey is in that ring. You’ll never get rid of him.” Sesame had been dutifully following Rea around as she pottered about in her kitchen area, perhaps hoping to earn himself a snack. At the mention of honey, though, he came ambling over and plonked himself on his hindquarters. He turned his round, furry visage on Rosa, beaming desperation at her.

“Goddess’ sake,” she grumbled. “You’re a bottomless pit!” She thrust a finger at the bear, and he slowly toppled over backwards with a pitiful groan. Tom could see Rosa wrestling with a smile. Errol roared with laughter from his seat on his bedroll. It was impossible to resist Sesame’s charm. A pot of honey was quickly produced.

Tom and Rosa sat on their own bedrolls. Sweet tobacco smoke drifted lightly around them. Their quiet conversation was punctuated by the sounds of Sesame noisily licking his pot clean.

“I can’t believe you have your fall!” Tom said. “You should have told me!”

Rosa looked like she was about to fire a sarcastic comment at him, and then visibly discarded it. “I had planned to, of course. It just didn’t seem like the right time. I was not taken for so long as some of the others, but it was rough even so. I’m just glad they didn’t get a chance to …forge me.” She shivered.

Tom wrapped one arm around her. “It’s okay. We got you back. And we’ll pay the orcs back tenfold for what they did to you. For what they did to all those poor people. I’m sorry, I was trying to cheer you up.”

“I would think you would be the one needing cheer, Tom Cutter, now that I have such an obviously superior fall to you,” she said, her usual, cutting self returning. Tom snorted.

“At least you’ll finally be faster than me, now you have Speed.”

“I was always faster than you, Tom. This is a fact.” She gestured dismissively. “Speed is broad though, and what I have is perfect for me. Look for yourself.”

Tom’s wisp pulsed pink, and he drew it over to him.

Party request received: Rosa Raventos. Accept?

“Wipe that expression off your face, Tom. You look like a fish.” She flicked her hair behind one shoulder. “I will not be needing a party with my unit any more, I am thinking. This makes sense. Plus, I am curious if you have been telling me the truth about these outrageous skills of yours.”

Tom rolled his eyes at her with a grin, and mentally accepted the request.

Her wisp resolved into view, just in front of her. It was a vibrant orange-red, limned in dark, ashen grey. The striations between the two were opaque, but colourless, just a small rippling like the heat over a hot cobbled street in summer. It gave the impression of a smouldering ember, which he thought was appropriate. He navigated to her status screen.

Request Status: Rosa Raventos.

Status: Rosa Raventos.

Ideal One (Complete): Fire.

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Skill One (Complete): Firewall (Active).

Mana cost: High.

Cooldown: Moderate.

Range: Medium.

Create a wall of fire. Enemies that intersect the wall take moderate damage, and have a low damage over time burn effect applied to them.

Skill Two (Complete): Ember Soul (Active (Channelled)).

Mana cost: Trivial (Ongoing: Escalating).

Cooldown: Low.

Range: Medium.

Damage: Low (Escalating).Duration: Channelled.

Caster can create fire, and can project it into beams. Damage scales with mana cost. Enemies struck have a low damage over time burn effect applied to them.

Skill Three (Complete): Wildfire (Passive).Any enemies affected by a burn effect have a chance to cause a low damage over time burn effect on other nearby enemies, regardless of whether those enemies are already affected by one. Caster is immune to negative, heat-based effects.

Skill Four (Complete): Immolation Mosaic (Active (Surge)).

Mana cost: Extreme.

Cooldown: Extreme.

Range: Medium.

Damage: High.

Duration: Short.

Caster can create a circle of fire that damages all enemies within. Any enemies damaged have an additional moderate damage over time burn effect applied to them.

Ideal Two (Complete): Smoke.

Skill One (Complete): In a Puff of Smoke (Active).

Mana cost: Moderate.

Cooldown: Low.

Range: Short.

Caster can teleport a short distance. Caster creates a small cloud of smoke at the start and end points of the teleport.

Skill Two (Complete): Smoke Shroud (Active).

Mana cost: Low.

Cooldown: High.

Range: Medium.

Duration: Moderate.

Caster can shroud an area in smoke.

Skill Three (Complete): Running with the Wind (Ritual (Familiar)).

Mana cost: High.

Cooldown: High.

Requirements: Fifty life essence, fifteen fire essence, fifteen smoke essence, fifteen air essence, five water essence, and five speed essence.

When summoned: Familiar can make moderate damage physical attacks. Familiar can discorporate parts of its form for trivial durations. Familiar has a channelled ability.

When subsumed: The caster can adjust their weight. Moderate buff to caster’s speed. Moderate buff to caster’s endurance. Minor buff to caster’s stamina regeneration.

Skill Four (Complete): Where there’s Smoke… (Passive).

Any of the caster’s smoke effects that touch an enemy apply a low damage over time burn effect to them.

Ideal Three (Complete): Speed.

Skill One (Complete): Quick Escape (Passive).

The caster’s speed increases by a trivial amount for every enemy within short range of the caster.

Skill Two (Complete): Drag it out (Passive).

The caster’s damage over time effects have an increased duration.

Skill Three (Complete): Cut to the Chase (Active).

Mana cost: Moderate.

Cooldown: Low.

Range: Medium.

Target enemy is dealt the full amount of damage of any damage over time effects affecting them, and all damage over time effects are removed.

Skill Four (Complete): Quickfire (Passive).

Decreases the cooldown of all the caster’s skills by a trivial amount. There is a trivial chance upon the caster casting a skill for the cooldown to instantly reset.

Pinnacle Skill (Complete): Heart of the Inferno (Control).

Mana Cost: Low (Escalating).Range: Extreme.

Fire (Kindle):

Caster can control fire and, to a lesser extent, heat.

Smoke (Smoulder):

Caster can control smoke. Caster can see through smoke.

Speed (Tempo):

Caster has control over speed by trivial increments.

Tom let out a low whistle. When he had read Val’s skillset, he had felt incredibly inadequate. He knew, logically, that much of that was due to Val’s Ideals being at a far higher tier than his own, but he still couldn’t help but feel that his own skillset was awkward.

Rosa was at the same tier as him. Exactly the same tier. And the differences were stark.

The sheer amount of damage she could produce was staggering. She had many different tools for many different situations. She would have no trouble with large crowds or single enemies.

She had not one, but two movement skills. Her familiar meant she could travel long distances with ease, even if it was not instantaneous.

And her pinnacle! A control skill! He thought back to how useful Clarevine’s had been. They cost barely any mana, and provided a huge amount of versatility. They could even act as a sort of pseudo-sensory skill. If you tried to control something, you would be able to feel if it was moving, what its shape and orientation was, even if you used a light touch.

They were complete opposites. Rosa would never have to whittle away at an enemy. Even if she fought something as tough as a drake, she could simply flit about and pulverise it. Tom was green with envy.

“I never realised you were so …sturdy. It must be comforting,” Rosa said quietly.

Tom turned to her, away from his wisp. “That’s not how I would have put it. Your skillset, Rosa, it’s incredible! Your damage output…”

“Did not help me one bit when the orcs attacked in the night. I burned many, it’s true, but it only took one good knock to the head and I was out. I felt so powerless.”

Tom wrapped her in a hug. He knew his passive skills provided him with damage reduction, on an objective level, but he had never really stopped to think about the subjective security that they provided. He might not be able to incinerate orcs with a gesture, but they would be hard pressed to drag him down.

“It’s a good thing we’re a team then, isn’t it? We’re in a party now, after all.”

She surreptitiously wiped away a tear, then gazed up at him. “Will you be my big, dumb, meatshield, Tom?”

“Only if you be my wildfire, Rosa.”

She snorted, just a light exhale through her nose. But she nodded her head, where she rested it back upon his shoulder.

“We will make a good team, I think. But Sesame’s food comes out of your share of any profits.”

“Deal.”

They settled in to sleep, but Tom lay awake for a long time. Rosa snored softly on his chest, and Sesame much more loudly from where he had curled up beside them.

He was glad to find life was not all suffering, and silence, and survival.

In the deep dark of the cave, his wisp pulsed gently pink.