Lying down, I gaze at the slowly brightening sky, lost in thought. With the artifact rope binding my entire body so that I can only wiggle my fingers and open my mouth, there's not much else for me to do. I contemplate the idea of conjuring an Illusion magic to create the Des rune on my palm, but time and again, I cancel the drawing. I have no idea how Scully's artifact will react to the rune's activation. There's a high chance it might kill or incapacitate me before I even start casting a spell. Objects like this peculiar rope are designed to catch and hold, and it's logical to assume they'd have a feature that prevents their prey from using magic.
In essence, I'm in no rush. I have no illusions about escaping from the Border Guard, especially in a place like the Wicked Woods. So, whether I lie here tied up or run like mad, the outcome will be the same – I'll be captured. Unlike Scully, however, I stand a chance of survival. I've done no harm to the Sidhe. Here, it's fifty-fifty. They might release me after questioning, or they might kill me. Running might even be a losing strategy since a fleeing person appears guilty. Admittedly, a fifty percent chance of survival isn't something to be overjoyed about, but even in this Cycle, there were times when I was much closer to death.
On the bright side, I'm now absolutely certain that Scully is a Shard. Firstly, she's already Steel. Secondly, this damned rope! An artifact capable of becoming immaterial at its owner's command isn't just Mithril level. It's something extraordinary, even for the top rank of the Spiral of Elevation. And for a mere earthling to acquire something like this so early on is beyond belief. Thirdly, she mentioned her poison immunity isn't a Mithril Achievement. The way she said it seemed to mock my assumption that Mithril was the highest possible level. So, her poison immunity could very well be a manifestation of an Adamantium Achievement, akin to my "Pure Palm of Five Empty Fingers." That places Scully in a different league compared to the vast majority of earthlings. My "past self" never achieved an Adamantium Record throughout the entire Cycle.
Recalling how the girl moved, spoke, and, most importantly, what she told, I have a hunch about which deity she might be a Shard of.
"Damn Artemis wannabe," I whisper softly.
As if hearing these words, the rope binding me loses its solidity and vanishes within seconds, presumably returning to its owner.
Scully's plan was for me to jump to my feet and bolt the moment I was free. Instead of such rash action, I first examined my leg and then began gathering the items scattered everywhere. Naturally, I started by pulling the Thunder Dagger from the trunk and sheathing it.
What annoyed me most about her was not the sneaky attack while I was trying to help but the mess she made. Why did she have to do that? She saw everything was neatly organized. I understood she was in a hurry, but it was still infuriating!
Damn! What a day this has been. It's as if all of Ain has turned against me. First, the disruption in the Way, which seems less and less like an accident. Then the talk with the quester. Followed by the mysterious visit from Rey. And finally, as the cherry on top, my encounter with Scully. And it hasn't even been a full day since I left Tries! It feels like the world treats me as the exact opposite of the Shards. They're always lucky, but fate seems to be taking revenge on me, giving me its worst. Regardless, I'll handle it. I'll get through - unless the Sidhe finish me off.
Shaking my head, I start packing my belongings. That unbearable Aussie took the best of my two bags, the backpack I got in Unudo. The remaining bag, purchased from Aunt Zian's shop, is not as convenient for moving through the forest, but it's much more spacious.
Despite Scully having robbed me quite a bit, taking everything she deemed valuable, from potions to learning scrolls and even spare pants, I still had a decent amount of stuff. As I packed up the scattered items, I kept mulling over the situation.
Scully had caught me off guard brilliantly. No denying that. I had been waiting for some trickery from her; my instincts told me she was dangerous. And yet she persuaded me and played her injury so convincingly that I believed her. I could have realized something was off when she poured a "Lesser Healing" potion on her fingers. She poured it instead of ingesting it to heal far more severe injuries than some minor burn. This should have alerted me, signaling that she wasn't as wounded or in as much pain as she appeared.
Wait! No need to beat myself up about this. It's clear now, not then. Hindsight is always 20/20, and the situation seems so obvious after the fact. At that moment, anyone could've missed such a detail. Plus, Scully wasn't a stranger. I knew her from our first group mission and from the "memory of the future." Though, that memory hinted that she was quite the self-centered vixen. The "past me" didn't know her personally, having seen her only a couple of times, but had heard many stories about her. Then again, recalling the rumors Miranda spread about "me," the name Raven to strangers was strongly associated with being one of Ain's biggest perverts. So, those rumors about Scully, preserved in the "memory of the future" and heard from others, should be taken with a healthy dose of skepticism.
However, those stories seemed to have some truth in them. She truly was a bit obsessed with sex. And I think I know why. The girl mentioned that she has a power that strengthens her after intimacy. So, I don't think I'd be wrong to assume she has an Affinity with Nature. Arien had the same, and it definitely affected her character, amplifying her natural insatiability to its limits.
This wasn't unusual for Ain. Affinity is named so for a reason. Gaining an Affinity, you accept it into your soul, and it inevitably changes you. This, by the way, is one of the reasons I wasn't so thrilled about being Accepted by the Light. It's quite likely that the Light in my soul pushes me to help others more than I initially intended.
An Affinity with Nature doesn't go unnoticed by those who embrace it either. Nature is life, instincts, procreation. As a result, those who acquire it, let's say, "start to enjoy intimacy a bit more than they did before the Affinity." I'm sure of this based on Arien, as it was one of the reasons we parted ways. If she had her way, the future goddess of Spontaneous Magic would never leave the bed for days. But at the same time, it made her incredibly magnificent in bed.
Due to the rush of memories and the fact that healing potions have a side effect of increased arousal, I felt a bit dizzy from the sudden blood rush away from my brain. I took a deep breath and performed a short breathing exercise to calm down. It would be problematic if the Sidhe saw me in such a state, especially since my pants were torn, providing a less-than-modest view.
Since I initially had no plans to run away or escape pursuit, and moreover found a sewing kit discarded by Scully in the grass, I, once calm, took off my pants and began to mend them. Besides, this process had a soothing effect on the flow of thoughts, which I needed now more than ever.
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If I'm right in my assumptions, and Scully is a Shard of the deity of Hunting, then her acquisition of Affinity specifically with Nature seems very logical and consistent. Arien, being the goddess of Spontaneous, Elemental, or, in other words, Natural magic, also rightfully earned it in the Last Cycle. So, everything seems to fit.
Damn! If I manage to get out of this mess, I absolutely must not seek vengeance on Scully! Perhaps give her a little lesson, but no more. No matter how much I'd want to find her and pay her back for what she's done, I'll have to suppress my thirst for revenge deep down. Because imagining what a Shard of Hunting, ascending the Divine Stairway of Divino, is capable of takes my breath away! She mustn't be killed! Personal vendetta pales in comparison to the potential harm she could inflict upon the Invasion army.
More accurately, I might have to kill... If she, following her awakening instincts of the perfect hunter, crosses a line and begins to hunt humans. Then, she might cause more harm than good. But I deeply hope it won't come to that. And after our encounter, I'm no longer sure I could handle such a task.
Damn. Having received the "memory of the future," attracting the personal attention of questers, earning a total of eight Adamantium Achievements, winning the Alchemists' Tournament, and ascending as one of the first earthlings to Steel, I became too confident in myself. If I survive the encounter with the Sidhe, it will be a valuable lesson for me.
By pure chance, I clashed with one of the Shards, and despite all my training and Achievements, I lost. Even though I lost due to a treacherous attack, that detail isn't as important in this context. One can say, "In the match Raven vs. Shards, the score is currently zero to one." It's disappointing and frustrating, but it does a good job of grounding me. I thought too highly of myself. So fate punished me for such arrogance. Losing a few items, a backpack, and a couple of dozens of gold coins is, if you think about it, a small price to pay for such a lesson.
Moreover, did I have a choice to act differently? One of my main priorities is helping earthlings. And as for preserving as many Shards as possible, that's goal number two in my strategy. Considering that the first time I thought of Scully as a potential Shard was during the first group trial after she effortlessly subdued a brute like Skortseni, did I have an option not to help her? Could I have let her die, running away immediately? Would I have done so if I had realized in the first few seconds that her wounds were made not by poachers but by the Forest Guard? Probably, I would have tried to negotiate and persuade her to work together. But Scully, in essence, killed the possibility of establishing trust between us with her lie about the poachers. Perhaps realizing that her lie was exposed and that I would no longer trust her, she attacked. The moment of her first strike - when I saw the Sidhe tip - confirms this theory.
Given that I lost to her, wouldn't it be better if the Sidhe indeed tracked me down, giving Scully time to escape? Wouldn't it be more beneficial if she survived instead of me? Perhaps the right decision now is to break away and run in the opposite direction from where the likely future Goddess of Hunting went. This way, leading the Sidhe away from her.
But then I "remembered" how Scully died in the Last Cycle and decided that my life might still be of use. Because in that "future," she thought it would be a good idea to sneak into the demon camp and kill the Demon Prince right in his tent. And that was when she was just at the beginning of the Legendary Coil of the Spiral. So, who knows what she'll come up with in this cycle? Driven by a thirst to find worthy prey, she might get herself into the most adventurous adventure possible. And perish, misjudging her abilities. As practice has shown, Shards, before conquering the First Flight of the Divine Stairway, are quite mortal. Because otherwise, there would have been not four in the Last Cycle but a full dozen declared by the questers.
So, it's settled. I won't run anywhere. I'll behave like a regular traveler who, by a series of coincidences, ended up in the Wicked Woods. This behavior might help me make peace with the Forest Guard. Such an act wouldn't save me from Sidhe hunters. They'd kill me right away. But the Border Guard recruits the calmest and most level-headed Sidhe. Although, if you think about it, calling Sidhe level-headed strongly smells of madness. Sidhe are an alien, non-human sentient species, and from what I know, they think differently too. They have different motivations and life goals than us. I'm sure even their hormones and the like don't work the same way ours do. The fact that a human and Sidhe can produce an elf offspring is probably due to the influence of magic rather than biological compatibility.
I wonder if, as compensation for abandoning me on Gnur, I had asked Larindel not for the Lightning Ring but his other ring. The one that was a pass into the Hidden Forests. Would Larindel have given it to me? If I had asked and he had given it, it would certainly be handy now! If only... Why dwell on these "if only"? My thoughts were clearly going in the wrong direction.
Continuing to leisurely stitch up the long tear in my pants, left by Scully's boot knife, I tried to shift my mind to more important matters. For instance, I needed to plan the future conversation with the Sidhe. There was no doubt they would eventually find me. Hence, strategizing a dialogue with these creatures of Nature, Darkness, and Shadow is better done in advance.
Wait! Why did I overlook this before? Sidhe, like no other people of Ain, revere Seguna. In their "divine hierarchy", she ranks second after Obeorn and stands even higher than Da'Nnan. And I can capitalize on this! By showing them my Affinity with the Shadow, I have a good chance of winning the Forest Guard over. Rahu, whom I met in the second group trial in the past cycle, reportedly visited the Sidhe as if he were close kin. And most likely, they let him into their Forests precisely because Seguna favored him - the one we earthlings called the Master of Shadows.
So, if they don't kill me outright and give me a chance to demonstrate my Affinity with the Shadow, there's a good chance they won't touch me at all. Mulling this thought over several times, I concluded that my odds of survival are much better than a mere fifty-fifty, probably closer to ninety percent. Of course, to capitalize on these odds, I'd need to say the right words and avoid their provocations. But I'll manage that somehow.
Don't worry, Scully, I'll see you again, and you'll pay me back. For the attack, for the wound in my leg, for stealing, and for the mess you made among my belongings! Because even without killing, one can significantly disrupt someone's life. Considering I'll be "disrupting her life" solely out of noble motivation, aiming to strengthen and hurry that reckless, treacherous Aussie towards the Stairway of Divino, my conscience will be clear even while seeking such revenge!
After pulling the last stitch tight, I tied a knot and bit off the thread. Then, I packed away the needle and thread into a bundle and stashed it into my bag. I put on the mended trousers and checked their fit, somewhat satisfied.
Getting to my feet, I carefully examined the armor Scully had abandoned. It was badly damaged, which is probably why she didn't take it with her, to avoid being weighed down while running through the forest. During the inspection, I hoped to find some clues on how to locate her, but to my dismay, there were none. The leather armor the Australian wore was standard for this region. Well-crafted, quite expensive, with metal inserts, but still, it was just the usual armor for a tunneller of the Metal Coil of the Spiral. One could purchase such at any armorer's shop in almost any city on this side of the Great Ridge. The trademark of the craftsman who made it didn't mean anything to me. However, I tried to memorize this mark, just in case. I also couldn't find the boot knife she had thrown at me; she probably picked it up and took it with her. Even though the armor, even in its state, had some value, it wasn't worth taking. It weighed about eight kilograms and would take up a lot of space.
Finishing my inspection of the campsite, I put on my gambeson. After tightening all the belts, I slung my bag over my shoulder and extinguished the fire. Then I looked around, chose the direction Reygyana had indicated, and confidently moved forward, stepping on crunchy branches, not worrying about the noise I made.
Dawn was breaking, and sunlight was already touching the treetops.
Despite the likelihood of the Forest Guard watching me, I walked at a steady pace, a slight smile playing on my face. I was confident that I would handle everything and that one day, I would find this future Goddess of Hunting and teach her the lesson she deserves.