Tilly
It had been a long walk…
But with Ichiro acting all loopy, both Kuro and Nyuk wanted to see him back to the village as fast as possible. So they had hiked all through the afternoon and part of the night, forgoing the raft in favor of the overland route due to the newly depopulated forest actually being faster than the stream and river route.
The upside of this was that Tilly was able to collect an armful of the Charmin tree leaves on their way down. He hadn't had to 'go' since before his treacherous flight down the mountain, but now that the near-death adrenaline had started to fade, he expected that to change.
He really didn't trust whatever would pass for toilet paper in this world, so he had decided to take matters into his own hands… or arm.
The downside was that without a bag, or a break, he still hadn't gotten a chance to take a deep dive into his character sheet. The two times he had tried, he had fallen. The grating sound of snickering from the other two lapins heaping coals on the fires of his embarrassment. But he needed to find out what had happened to him in that temple.
As soon as the forest started to thin out near the village, they transitioned from thin winding game trails to a nice footpath leading deeper into the valley. Tilly was ready to try his luck again.
He readjusted his armload of precious cargo and shot a glance at his traveling companions. Both lapins were still leading Ichiro over and around any obstacles that came up, and the lapin himself was occasionally muttering under his breath. Tilly took his chance and called up his character screen again.
Jonathan Luke Tillman
Level: 11 (15500 Exp to next level)
Display Name: Tilly
Race: Human
Class: Son of Flame
Titles: [Harbinger]
Health: 100% (+1.2% per minute)
Mana: 100% (+.8% per minute)
Status Effects: Minor Corruption [Hidden]
Stats:
Constitution: 12
Endurance: 69 (75.9)
Dexterity: 27 (29.7)
Strength: 10
Wisdom: 8
Intelligence: 8
Equipment:
Origin’s primitive stone hatchets: +10% to Dexterity. (Legendary, growth type)
+Imbued Ability Recall.
Origin’s primitive leather armor: +10% to Endurance. (Legendary, growth type)
+Imbued Form Sun Salamander leather.
Skills:
-Forestcraft level 12
-Identify level 17
-Cooking level 12
-Beginner Hatchet level 10
-Animal Processing level 9
-Stealth level 7
-Herb Lore Level 2
-Ax Throwing Level 8
He immediately focused on the "Minor Corruption" debuff, but all that came up was,
Minor Corruption:
Effects: N/A {Nascent stage}
He didn't like the sound of that at all, but at least the pain had settled down. He would just have to wait and watch while he kept an eye out for any way to get rid of it. The rest of his sheet was about par for the course. He saw that he had some great gains across his skills with Forestcraft and his hatchet-associated skills having seen the most growth over the twenty-four-hour gauntlet he had just run.
The real surprise came next when he saw his lonely, but awesome Ability had changed!
Abilities:
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-(Blue) Flame Strike: Channel the fire within you to strike at your opponents. Each strike leaves a smoldering ember at the point of impact and does damage over time. Ember damage is stackable. This Ability has been augmented by your mantle and does 200% more damage to Corruption.
How had that happened? He thought about it for a moment and realized he had read about the ability before he had touched the flame and that this change probably came from his new Mantle.
Well, he was happy with it! No downsides, and a huge bonus against any future Corrupted creatures he would face. Then his face fell as he realized that this was clear evidence that he was being set up as opposition to a much larger problem than just a local infestation...
He ground his teeth for a moment before continuing down to the three titles he hadn't gotten a chance to read yet.
Titles:
[Origin’s Champion]: You have accepted the mantle of champion from Origin. This will augment your skills and abilities over time to reflect your new nature.
[Corruption’s Host]: You hold within your body a Seed of Corruption. This entity's progress has been slowed by divine interference, but it will take every opportunity to grow until it has subsumed your will. Seeds influence: 3%
[Trusted Gaijin]: The highest honor that can be bestowed on a non-lapin by the ruling class. It marks you as a friend to all Lapinkind and they will be immediately predisposed towards offering you any help they may have.
He unconsciously scratched at the scabbed wound in his side as he read the second title.
He winced as he reread the consequences of the Seed growing. He wished he knew how to stop it, or better yet get it the hell out of his body. It did look like he was going to be able to keep track of its progress through the title though, so at least the eventual crushing of his will wouldn’t come as a surprise. Then he heard Kuro say something about a party and he looked up from his brooding, dismissing the screen in front of him.
Two things seemed to happen at once, Ichiro removed himself from the grip of his guide’s hands and bowed to the ground while something that sounded like a sonic boom echoed from the distant village, and suddenly, Lord Hiro was standing before their little group.
Tilly was so shocked at the sudden change of events that he missed what Ichiro said from his bowing position, but he did not miss the bowel-liquifying sight of a stone-cold Lord Hiro drawing his sword in a smooth motion.
Tilly was unable to do anything but drop his armful of leaves, as the Samurai swept his gaze over the four companions, stopping as his red eyes met Tilly's with bloodshot intensity. The other two lapins simply bowed their heads, and for a moment Tilly thought it was all over.
Then Lord Hiro stepped up to the space before him and bowed deeply, offering his sword up in both hands. It was hauntingly beautiful, the handle wrapped in fine white leather, and the blade itself a matte black, seeming to have been forged from the darkness of an empty night sky. It thrummed with power and Tilly knew he was in the presence of something truly powerful.
“My son, our future, has returned to us.” He announced gravely, his head held low.
“I see he has already awarded you the title that is your right amongst our people. Know that I and Tsugomori owe you a debt, there will come a time when this world comes to strike you down. When that day comes, you will have us by your side. Until that time, we call you friend.” He finished, his bass growl of a voice going up a single octave at the end as he choked back some of the emotion he had held so rigidly in check for the entire encounter. He took one final moment in the bowing position, then he stood up and sheathed his sword before turning back towards his son.
“Your life is not yours to give… it is your people’s. Get up and tell me what has happened since I last saw you.”
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Ichiro's portion of the story was related before they started walking again, with his current state explained in as much detail as he was able. Then as he entered into his semi-meditative state to continue walking, the rest of the group spent time answering the Lord’s questions. He showed himself a sharp interrogator, asking for multiple viewpoints at the same moment, trying to grasp details that Tilly could barely comprehend.
The final hour of walking to the village passed quickly, and before Tilly knew it, he was entering back through the same gate he had stood over the day before, and continuing to the small but neat village square.
The party Kuro had apparently been able to hear almost an hour's walk away was still going by the time they arrived. It was past midnight, and Tilly could tell that many of the villagers had already returned home, the ones who were left had been deep in their sake cups for a while.
“Look, it's Lord Hiro down from the wall!”
“Wait… Is that human back from banishment already?”
“Shut up you fool, it's Young Lord Ichiro!”
The whispers and gasps washed over them as they entered the center square. Ichiro was still being led by the two Loggers and Tilly followed behind, not exactly sure what was expected from him as a “friend of the people.”
Lord Hiro led them to the center of the square and looked around at the remainder of the people still in attendance.
“Listen to me carefully, I want everyone here to pass on my words to the rest of the village by morning.” He announced in a deep voice that easily suffused the surrounding square and crowd.
“My son has returned and the abomination poisoning these lands has been defeated. For his part in this, the human Jonathan Tillman is owed a debt, one that perhaps our people are unable to repay.”
At these words, many of the eyes turned from the speaker to the level eleven human standing in mismatched furs to the left of their Lord. Standing there, next to the last of the noble family of their race, his presence seemed somehow thin. But they had all heard stories of what humans were capable of; toppling empires, establishing dynasties, even ascending to the heavens. Perhaps this was one such human, and if he had agreed to a bond with their people, maybe the great dishonor of their past would finally be expunged.
Tilly knew none of these things, but he did feel the weight of their expectations settle uncomfortably on his shoulders along with every eye in the village. He really didn't like the sound of debts or obligations owed either way. Sure he had been pretty much forced into the confrontation, but it didn't matter, at this point, he had figured out that something like that would have happened no matter where he had shown up in this world.
Something big was happening all around the Nephesh, and whether he wanted to be or not, Tilly was involved.
'I just had to pick that fifth class... didn't I?' he thought mockingly to himself as he considered the people looking upon him with wide eyes.
Whoever this Origin was, he was probably laughing his ass off right now.
The small crowd dispersed after the announcement to go and spread the word of Ichiro's return and the official confirmation that the threat was over. Lord Hiro moved to quietly speak to the two loggers, who bowed their heads and moved off, leading Ichiro somewhere. Then the Lord turned to Tilly, taking in his humble form once again.
“Our fates are now tied together, you will not survive long if you remain such as you are.”
Tilly looked down at himself, hugging his arm full of leaves closer to his chest. The lapin's words struck him as ungrateful, and he immediately found himself fighting back a sarcastic reply,
“Uh, I am definitely interested in getting stronger, but do you mind if I get a little sleep first? Also, where exactly is your bathroom, I'm not sure what the correct etiquette is but I need to take care of something…” He finished, trailing off as the stone-like visage of Hiro's expression didn't crack in the slightest.
“You will stay in the same home you did your first night here, unfortunately, it belongs to one of the warriors we lost and is now free. Look slightly beyond that building towards the wall and you will find the facility you need. Tomorrow, we will sit down with Shuji and come up with a plan to balance out your deficiencies and plot a course for your growth.” He answered, his eyes not wavering for a second.
He then turned and left, leaving Tilly to fend for himself.
It was actually kind of nice to no longer be escorted through the streets, although he couldn't quite remember where his one-room house was. He took another look around the square, noting a large stone slab that seemed to be a stage of some sort. It sat at the end of the square opposite the street to the front gate. To the right of that was a street leading off to the river and to the left was the street that Tilly thought might lead to Shuji’s shop. He shrugged to himself and wandered over to the river street. He thought he remembered his little house being pretty close to the dock.
Unnoticed by Tilly or any of the other lapins present at the celebrations, a small glowing arcane mark flashed to life on the corner of the teleport platform. The one that confirmed the platform was clear and still in working order.