Cass woke with a killer headache. Alyx, Marco, and Pellen all leaned over her. She was covered in the glowing purple ichor and still lying on top of the Keeper’s corpse.

“Good, you’re alive,” Alyx said, reaching a hand down to help Cass up.

Cass’s first instinct was to ignore her hand and dig into the monster’s flesh for her prize.

Cass pushed aside that impulse and took Alyx’s hand, anyway.

She winced as she moved, the pain in her shoulder overtaking every other sensation as the crystal shifted, digging deeper into her flesh.

“Abyss,” Alyx muttered. “What did you do to yourself this time? Come on.” She helped move Cass away from the corpse to the far side of the room.

Moving slowly, Cass prepared a fire from her supplies. “How long was I out?”

“A minute or two,” Alyx said. “Unless you want to count from…” she hesitated, looking for the right description before settling on, “… when that thing started screaming.”

A spike of pain stabbed through her head at the mention of that. Her heart pounded in her chest. What was that?

It felt similar to when Salos possessed her, but that was not Salos. Not the Salos she knew, anyway.

She’d felt an overwhelming desire to protect… Alyx? Not Alyx. Someone who looked vaguely like Alyx, in that they were both women with red hair.

Any idea what that was about? Cass asked. The campfire sprang to life, and the others settled around it.

A groan floated over their connection. What happened? How did we… Oh. Abyss. It happened again, didn’t it?

Depends on what you mean by ‘it’ exactly, but yes.

“Care to explain?” Alyx asked, standing across from the fire. Her arms were crossed over her chest. It wasn’t an order, but only because Alyx did not have the authority to make it one.

Cass looked away. She could feel their eyes on her.

Just like she could feel the Keeper’s soul beneath her whispering for her to dig it out and claim it.

“Can I tell you later?” Cass asked.

Alyx’s displeasure was tangible in her stare.

What do we tell them? Cass asked. How would they handle traveling with a demon? Cass couldn’t imagine being pleased about it.

Salos materialized behind Cass and poked his head out around her.

Alyx’s glare flicked toward Marco and Pellen before settling back on Cass and Salos.

“Fine,” Alyx said. There was no pleasure in the single word. Just unhappy acknowledgment.

“Can you help me get this out?” Cass asked the others, gesturing to the crystal.

“Is it wise to try?” Marco asked. “You’re going to lose a lotta blood all at once if you pull that out.”

Cass winced, imagining the outflow of blood a whole this sized in her shoulder would produce. “But I can’t just leave it here either, can I?”

“Suppose not,” he grunted. “Let me see.” He sidled up around the fire, inspecting her shoulder. He shook his head. “I’m surprised you’ve got any movement in that arm.”

Cass resisted the urge to shrug. “My body’s weird.”

He snorted. “So it seems. How’re you gonna plug it when I pull this out? You got any bandages in that bag o’ yours?”

Cass nodded.

“Give it here,” he said. Over his shoulder, he grunted at Alyx, “Girl, stop glowering and come help me.”

Alyx’s frown intensified, but she did as he asked and came around to help. She knelt beside Cass. “What do you want me to do?”

“Take those,” he nodded at the bandages Cass had retrieved from her Bag, “And be ready to shove a fist full into the opening.” To Cass, he continued, “Do you have any herbs or ointments for this? Pull ‘em out if you do.”

Herbal Concocting immediately jumped to the forefront, suggesting herbs that would have been useful in this situation. Callimeer Willow for the pain. Hudsmith Moss to promote clotting. Artallin Anise for anti-bacterial. She didn’t have any of that, though.

She shook her head.

Marco sighed. “We’ll make this work. Don’tcha worry. Why don’t you make us some clean water we can flush the wound with, then I’ll pull this out, yeah?”

Cass nodded. She took the pot she’d bought in town from her Bag and held her hand over it, summoning water into it with Elemental Manipulation.

“Alright, let’s try this then. Ready?” He didn’t wait for Cass to nod again. He just pulled.

Pain arched through her as the crystal shard ripped from her body. A scream leapt from her lips. Her world flashed white. She felt water splash over her shoulder and heard Marco yelling about bandages.

Salos pressed himself against her side, his body warm against her soul.

When her vision cleared up and she could feel something besides the pain, Marco was already half-done wrapping her wound.

“Good, you’re doin’ good.” He repeated that over and over, while Alyx braced her body.

“I’m okay,” Cass said. Her voice was weaker than she’d expected. Hoarser.

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Marco nodded. “Almost done now.”

“Is everyone else okay?” Cass asked.

“No one else was impaled,” Alyx said sharply. “I have a few scrapes. Marco’s armor has a few new punctures and a lot more dents. Pellen is fine.”

Cass sighed in relief. If she was the only one badly injured from this, then that was a small blessing.

“What is your Fortitude?” Alyx asked.

Sharing numbers was frowned upon, wasn’t it? But there was no room for debate in Alyx’s tone. “Uhhh, 17?”

Alyx scowled, her mouth snapping shut. Cass couldn’t tell if she was displeased with that answer or not. “That’s better than I expected. Increase it to your level, at least if you want to fight at the front with me and Marco. And we’re getting you more armor when we get back. Significantly more armor.”

Cass nodded mutely.

“There ya go,” Marco said, tucking the tail bandage in on itself.

“Thanks,” Cass said, flexing the arm. Moving it hurt, but was otherwise unrestricted. Was that just a spirit-bodied thing? Probably.

Stamina: 32/129

Focus: 56/423

Health: 34/114

Cass frowned over her stats. That had gone poorly. Her Health was especially low.

Perhaps it was time for tea?

Cass set her pot beside the fire and refilled it with water. When it began boiling, she added a handful of herbs and pulled the pot away from the fire to steep.

A few minutes later, she had

Cass’s Medicinal Tea

[Although brewed by an amateur with little experience mixing their own tisanes, this combination of herbs is a potent brew with a delightfully earthy flavor.

Minor increased resistance to illness

Increased resistance to symptoms of diseases

Increased Health, Stamina, and Focus regeneration]

She fished a couple of cups from her Bag. “Anyone else want tea?”

“Sure,” Alyx said. Marco nodded.

“Tea?” Pellen asked, looking down at the pot.

“It’s good for you,” Cass said.

Pellen shrugged and nodded.

Cass handed out a cup to everyone before settling back and sipping it herself. It was more bitter than the last batch she’d made in Uvana, but then, this wasn’t sweetened with Dreamberry leaves, was it?

Pellen grimaced with her first sip. Then her eyes widened as her primary eye focused on something only she could see between her face and the cup. “This helps recover Health?”

“Not much,” Cass said.

“You have a medical skill?” Pellen asked.

“Is that uncommon?” Cass asked.

“For a person who does combat as much as you seem to, yes.”

“Why? It wasn’t difficult to get it.” She’d literately thrown a handful of random herbs in a pot for the skill. It couldn’t possibly be an unknown skill.

“Its theorized possessing some categories of skills significantly decreases the chances of unlocking a skill in other specific categories,” Pellen said. “Skills for healing and skills for combat are two such categories.”

Cass shrugged and immediately regretted it as pain shot down her side. “I don’t have many combat skills and I’ve only got the one ‘healing’—” she paused. No, that wasn’t true, was it? “I’ve only got two skills I’d classify as ‘healing’.”

“Oh, the fire thing!” Pellen snapped her fingers. “Right. Perhaps the combat skills are the things which should be surprising to me then?” She hummed in thought.

How much of this is true? Cass asked Salos.

There is a correlation, but nothing I studied suggests that it’s anything like a hard rule. If anything, it is more likely an issue of skill suitability than skill synergy. Salos said. He lay loaded up in her lap, his tail twitching from side to side.

Skill suitability? Cass asked.

Sure. Every person has skills they learn more easily than others. If not, every child would have something like Sprint, Wrestle, and Puppy Dogs Eyes before they reached level 2. There is a skill for everything, but you will only get skills for things that resonate with you.

With that in mind, it is hardly surprising most who willingly claw after power and jump into violence do not have suitability with the healing arts.

Interesting. What did that say about her then?

Marco downed the entire cup Cass had handed him, then set about pulling the last crystal shards from his armor. None of them appeared to have penetrated his skin.

Alyx sipped hers slowly.

Herbal Concocting has increased to level 4.

The skill whispered that her tea would be more effective if she toasted the seeds of the Verid’s Aster rather than using their dried leaves and that it would taste better if she pealed Pillow Root and then soaked it in vinegar before adding it to the concoction.

Cass shook aside the ghostly information the new level brought her.

Had she gotten any other levels from the fight? She checked her notifications.

Dodge has increased to level 18.

Elemental Manipulation has increased to level 20.

Wind Blade has increased to level 15.

Mana Blade has increased to level 9.

Identify has increased to level 12.

Mana Sense has increased to level 10.

Beacon of Hearth and Home has increased to level 10.

Mana Blade has reached the First Step! Congratulations!

[Your consistent use of this skill has opened options:

1. Fuse Mana Blade and Wind Blade creating Tempest Blade (lvl 12).

2. Gain Skill: Manifested Blade (lvl 6), Forsake: Mana Blade

3. Keep: Mana Blade (lvl 9)]

Not bad. Mana Blade had finally hit the First Step. Cass compared the effects of the two offered skills to her existing ones.

Mana Blade (lvl 9)

[A blade of steel cuts flesh and bone. A blade wreathed in mana cuts deeper still.

Sheath your blade in your mana to increase damage inflicted by your bladed attacks, reduce speed damage inflicted heals, and damage incorporeal bodies.

Modified by Ala.

Focus Cost: minimum 1/sec]

Wind Blade (lvl 15) (Wind)

[Through study of the winds, you have discovered how to shape them into a weapon of your will. None can stop the wind.

Condense the air into blades with your mana and Mind. Direct with a melee weapon or send them at your targets with your Will for an additional mana cost.

Association with the Concept of Wind increases the speed of the blades and allows for greater control of shape and direction.

Modified by Wll.

Focus Cost: 5 (melee), 15 (ranged)]

Tempest Blade (lvl 12)

[Gather the tempest itself to be your blade and lay low all who dare to stand before the coming storm.

Condense elements of the raging storm into blades and fill them with your mana. Direct with one’s weapon or unleash them upon your targets with your Will. Subsequent blades in quick succession are faster.

May damage incorporeal bodies.

Modified by Wll.

Focus Cost: 10 (initial blade), 3 (subsequent blades)]

Manifested Blade (lvl 6)

[A blade wreathed in mana cuts at soul and spirit, a blade made of mana cuts deeper still.

Manifested a blade of mana in a form you are familiar with.

Blade gains Unhealing Rend (Status Effect: Reduce regeneration of Health) and Ever-pouring Cut (Status Effect: Reduce healing of inflicted wound).

Manifested blade remains in existence as long as it is within the skill owner’s possession.

Modified by Res.

Focus Cost: 100]

Now which to pick?