Kaden had several goals in mind and by the time he hit the FarPortal, the Falcrow was becoming very annoyed with his messages. He emerged from the portal in the Guild and headed straight to Dervish’s Summoning Services.
Mr. Dervish wasn’t there, but the concierge at the front desk had a package. Kaden swore. “Of course it was a [Ranger]. Of course it was. Then he noticed the note. This is the one the System says was auto-completed. The arrow head is a relic from a previous System. You can’t manufature these anymore. Also, it’s ten kinds of illegal, but again, Centurions don’t hear ‘no.’ - J.D.
Kaden studied the package contents. Three different kinds of bows with level fifty, seventy five, and one hundred requirements. Oddly, none of them required the [Ranger] class. The arrow head in question was clear, like glass.
[Splinter Swarm — Arrow Head]
This head will divide on impact. With every point of mana it draws from the target, it will further divide. Any mana regen will result in additional division.
[Dawn Cloak]
A cloak empowered with the light of dawn, this cloak will let you see in all conditions as though it were early dawn. [Blind] will not remove this ability. This cloak may not be worn with the [Sunset Cloak]. This cloak costs a thousand mana to bind, but no mana to use thereafter. This cloak will regenerate slowly if damaged, or faster if fed mana.
[Sunset Cloak]
A cloak empowered with the growing shadows of sunset. This cloak will let you cast the gentle shadows of twilight, making it easier to hide. [Stealth] class abilities are greatly enhanced while wearing this cloak. This cloak many not be worn with the [Dawn Cloak]. This cloak costs a thousand mana to bind, but no mana to use thereafter. This cloak will regenerate slowly if damaged, or faster if fed mana.
Kaden stored everything away and opened the other package. This time, the note popped out first. This ain’t what I expected, and I don’t know how it’s supposed to be an inheritance. That’s the System for you. You’ll need to go to the main Temple of Varun and meet with their priestesses. Sorry.
Within it were three items. A wand labeled [Hand of Varun], skill scroll for [Minor Mend], a [Staff of Varun] and a thin Healer’s white robes. The staff and wand resisted his attempts to [Identify] them, giving errors.
CLASS_CONSTRAINT_NOT_MET.
He wasn’t a healer and wouldn’t be, but someone at the main temple could explain. That was going to be a problem.
Eve wouldn’t be willing to go, and Kaden didn’t like abandoning her, but the Quest would be worth it.
From there, it was a quick trip across Verona to the Mage’s Tower. At this time of night, only the most cursed or desperate would show up. Or Kaden. He waved to the initiate on duty.
“Curses, take the portal to the right.”
“Necromancers, please.” Kaden smiled. “Sevin’s expecting me.”
“Freak,” the initiate said under his breath as he activated a different portal.
Kaden stepped through and found the Necromancers had transformed their dimension into a sandy beach. Skeletons didn’t need to breathe, and they acted as guards while the actual Necromancers slept on rafts rocked by the waves.
Jutting from the water a good five feet, Skully stood out because his bones had turned a stained wooden brown with red veins. [Plague Crows] perched in his eye sockets, and Skully’s ‘hair’ bones grew all the way down to his hips on his back, while a beard of finger bones rattled. His ribs were still smooth fangs from some beast, but instead of raw bone, a fleshy red track ran down the spine.
“Skully!” Kaden waved.
Skully lumbered forward, dragging a line of floats behind him, dumping the necromancers off into the water as he approached and kneeled to stare into Kaden’s eyes.
“Greetings.” The quiet voice was Sevin. He still had black mana stones embedded in his skull, but he wore only a loincloth, and the man had tanned. “It’s good to see he still remembers you.”
Kaden had swapped the obedience binding for [Soul Binding]. Skully couldn’t forget. “You’re looking better.”
“I’m not feeling better. Not yet. I miss my sister. The food tastes wrong without poison in it. There’s no [Blight] to fight here, and the other Necromancers are, frankly, weak. But it’s good to be away from Omnor. Come, let me show you my work.” Sevin dried off with a towel and put on a thin black robe, then led the way to a set of sand castles. “Right through here.”
When Kaden took one more step, he stood in a lab.
Well, it was kind of a lab like Danae’s. Row upon row of undead like Skully stood, most of them with [Plague Crows] hopping back and forth.
“I’ve replicated his build exactly. Down to the bone. Down to the exact bone, and still, he has something they don’t. I can’t put my finger on it, but none of them will devour a criminal if offered and Skully will. Their rib-jaws are joined, but only he chews.” Seven sighed. “It’s such a wonderful monster. Skully, show off, please.”
Skully reached up to rip his own head off.
Hair and beard rearranged to form legs, and the friendly animated skull Kaden knew was back. It scuttled over to wave at him. “Oh, a fun-sized monster! What happens to the rest of him?”
Sevin picked up Skully to show off rivets in the back of the cranium for easy access to the plague crow nest. “I remembered you said you lived in a farmhouse. I’ve seen your TriTerror. I thought, why not park most of Skully outside? The cold won’t matter. Snow and rain won’t matter. Also, what made you attach an Inventory to him?”
Kaden shrugged. “It seemed like a good idea.”
“He’s a kleptomaniac. If it’s not nailed down, he takes it, but who wants to tell him no when he’s towering over you?” Sevin focused. “Give it all back.”
Small black stones clattered to the floor.
Sevin shook him. “I said all of it.”
A wand, two spellbooks and six crystal balls clattered to the floor.
“See?” Sevin picked up the book. “He’s your problem now. Don’t take him to the Crafters floor at the Guild or you’ll have a mob after you. Oh, and he needs enrichment. Make sure he has lots of empty skulls to spread [Plague Crows] to. Check out his status.”
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[Skully - Persistent Reanimation]
This thing ought to be in a dungeon. As a matter of fact, it will be in a dungeon the moment you fall asleep. Sure, you can claim you created it from scratch, but who are people going to believe? The [Beast Master] they’ve never met or their own [Identify], which will tell them the story of a mad necromancer with a fear of spiders and a loathing for salesmen? “Skrider” sounds nice. Yes, Skriders. Which are legally distinct from Skully. What a stupid name. Next you’ll be naming a zombie ‘Moulder’ and getting yourself in trouble with an [Attorney].
Level: 5
HP: 1200
Mana: 25
Skills: Bite, Wall-Crawl, Bone Net, [Various, dependent on body], Devour
Talents: Dense
Titles: Progenitor
[Devour]
By consuming the corpse of any entity with mana, you may temporarily obtain one of their skills
[Dense]
Your bones are near unbreakable. Since you’re nothing but bones, that’s a tad unbalanced. We should probably do something about that. Maybe after we fix [Bearserkers].
[Progenitor]
You are the first of your kind, but thanks to your actions, not the last. Any skills you develop will become bloodline attributes for your descendants. Way to get your freak on, you creepy skulliton.
Progenitor had such potential. “What counts as his descendants? Is it skulls infected with Plague Crows?”
Sevin began to point out individual bones. “I’ve taken a bone from Skully and built it into each of these. I’m hoping that’s enough. Your beasts level. My creations don’t, but perhaps we can bridge this divide.”
Kaden shook Sevin’s hand. “I’ll bring him by for visits. And, I’d guess, you want any skulls he ‘enriches?’”
“They will be appreciated. In return, I’m sure you’ll need our services to repair damage. He can heal, but so slowly, compared to what any Bone Mender can do.” Sevin’s tone said he understood Skully would be a brute.
“Any chance I can learn that bone mending skill?” Kaden asked.
“If you dual class as a Necromancer, certainly.”
That did it. Kaden was ready to take Skully home. He left them to their beach relaxation and headed out through the streets of Verona with Skully thudding along behind him. He waved to the wagons passing by. Skully waved to the wagons crashing into buildings. Skully really was the friendly sort.
“Halt!” A city guard shouted. “Stop…I mean…who are…what is…”
“Skully. Kaden Birch. A reanimated skeleton spider who took over the body of a [Tomb Champion] and houses [Plague Crows]. I was heading to the Guild to leave. You really want me to stick around? He’s got twelve hundred health. You’ve got, what, three hundred? And that’s before he uses your corpse to heal.” Kaden nodded to the Guild. “How about you follow along behind me and keep the city safe by ensuring we leave?”
The man lowered his spear. “Keep walking. Straight to the Guild.”
Kaden reached out and touched the spear tip. “Maybe sharpen this later? Come on, Skully. You’re not allowed to bone him.”
“What did you say?” the guard shouted.
“Bone you. He strips the flesh off of things and devours the bones, and he’s not allowed to do it to you.” Kaden pushed open the doors and led Skully through the first floor of the Guild, stopping and waiting for a [Summoner] with three full-sized elephants to pass. Skully squeezed up to the second floor, and they took the FarPortal back. At the farmhouse door, Skully ejected his head and hopped to grab Kaden’s arm. Kaden stepped inside to find Sara passed out on the couch, Eve lounged in a chair, reading a book, and from the master bedroom came the strains of Trella’s lute.
“Oh, look, another monster.” Eve yawned. “Is that the same one as last time?”
Skully raised a tentacle to greet Eve, which had the misfortune of looking like a rude gesture. Kaden thought he meant well.
“You have a moment?” Kaden asked. “I need your advice. One of the Inheritance packages is for a healer. A set of artifacts ‘of Varun.’ I’m going to have to go to the main temple to track down who it was supposed to go to.”
Eve was rarely warm annd kind, but her normal cool nature grew ten degrees colder. “And what sort of advice could I possibly offer?”
“Queen Bruna is the High Priestess. Is there anyone else I could meet with?”
Eve shook her head. “I don’t really have friends in that temple. You have to understand, there are no temples to Nurav. There are no other priestesses. But I do know the woman who taught us the litany. I’ll send you her contact information. Just—don’t ever mistake purity for kindness.”
That was solid advice. Kaden left her there and headed to the bedroom to find Trella dressed in warm yellow pajamas. “You look good. Skully’s back. Say hello, Skully.”
“Is he giving me the finger?” Trella asked. “Eclipse, feel free to eat him.”
In the corner of the room, a pool of shadow opened one yellow eye and then closed it again.
“Go on,” Kaden said. “I’ll wait.”
Trella put away her lute. “This guard duty sounds made for a [Shadow Blade].”
“That’s my hope.” Kaden pulled the scroll from Ignus out. It had updated with new instructions. “We meet at the Guild, jump to a city on the Southern Continent to collect our mages, from there, we FarPortal to the caves. They’re Fire Mana flooded, so we won’t have [Fire Mages]. The group is supposed navigate through the caverns all the way to Trunistan, where we grade them and they grade themselves. We get two gold each to spend in Trunistan.”
And the faction tokens.
“And all we have to do is keep them alive?” Trella raised an eyebrow.
“All we have to do is keep any wandering spawns over twenty five off them. Now, if they challenge one of the bosses? Or choose to attack a spawn? Different rules.” Kaden referered to the second scroll. “Body recovery is a must. Resurrect if we want to. Only one gold when we hit Trunistan if it’s bodies.”
“And if they kill each other?”
“They’re not—” Kaden consulted the box. And pulled out another scroll, reading it twice before announcing it aloud. “Use your imagination.”
“I love this Quest.” Trella put away the lute, as Trinity lumbered in and pushed the door shut. “If you keep collecting Beasts, we’re going to need a bigger bed. Eclipse already pushes me off.”
Skully had climbed up the ceiling and clung to it like the chandelier from hell. He didn’t need to sleep, and Kaden felt safer with him there. Also with Trinity. And Dominion. And Kaden wasn’t sure what Trella would do if anyone ever tried to sneak in, but he was certain it wouldn’t be gentle. When he looked out the window, the outline of the [Falcrow] said it hadn’t abandoned him to go out working mischief.
There was always tomorrow.
###
Morning, in the streets of Verona, was always busy, snow, ice, storms, or not. Trade routes ran through Verona to get anywhere better, and that meant the city didn’t pause. While most of the party relaxed at the Guild, Kaden was making hard choices in Beast Control.
Fire attacks like a Drake’s wouldn’t be useful in a cavern of fire beasts.
No, what he wanted was currently curled at the far end of a holding pen, covered in ice and snow, and shaking. Not from cold. From rage that it wasn’t being allowed to murder humans.
[Yattui - Blizzard’s Avatar]
This is not a yetti. Those will just freeze your body and smash it to fragments. The Yattui hasn’t just been touched by [Storm] and [Ice] mana, it has embraced them. Now, in the depths of winter, it seeks to extinguish the warmth hidden away by feeble men. *This yattui did not expect to meet Centurion class Adventurers before it even finished echoing the call of doom. This is not how it was supposed to go at all.
*Frustrated*
Skills: Freezing Gale, Ice Plate, Ice Slide, Mangle, Brutal Blows, Blizzard’s Breath.
Talents: Antifreeze, Immovable, Brass Knuckles.
Kaden read through the various skills. He could only pick two skills and one talent, but bonding the beast gave him options. So many options. Immovable was the easy talent choice. [Blizzard’s Breath] would be deadly like [Wrath of the Furnace] but Kaden still didn’t have enough mana to avoid mana shock. [Freezing Gale] was a lesser version which carried a debuff, slow, and [Ice Plate] could coat a surface in ice, probably so [Ice Slide] would work better.
Binding Slots were becoming a real barrier to power. Soon he would need to figure out if [Soul Binding] would level on its own or if it retained the bond-based leveling of [Beast Taming].
“Are you going to stand there and stare all day?” Wren’s voice startled Kaden.
The ex-shield turned [Artificer] stood in the hallway with Okit by her side.
Kaden didn’t hesitate to give her a hug. “You look so good! Aren’t you supposed to be at school?”
“I’m on a practical project break. I have to craft something to be evaluated. I heard the Griffin hatched. I heard a lot of things.”
“Give me a moment.” Kaden dispatched the Falcrow to the Guild. “Everyone else will want to see you. If I casually say ‘And Wren says hello,’ Sara will string me up. We don’t have long, we have to run some mages through caverns, but anything’s better than nothing.”
“Go.” Okit said, taking the clipboard from Wren. “Go with them. Test your creations. The days here are quiet. There are no customers at the Big House.”
Wren looked stunned. “I don’t—I won’t adventure anymore. I’m never setting foot in a Dungeon again.”
“This is a cavern, not a dungeon,” Kaden said. “And you’re with a Dungeon Master. I recently discovered I can force people in and out of a dungeon. I had to, because of those stupid [Mirror Shields].”
Wren’s eyes grew round. “You have a [Mirror Shield]? Is there any way I can buy it? Listen, Artificer come in eleven flavors. Some work like Alchemists, from base materials. I’m a [Revisionist]. I work with the properties something already has. Changing size, shape, or combinining functions. I’d love to run some experiments on your shield.”
Kaden couldn’t help the grin. “‘A’ shield? No. You should talk to Sara. She might give you a stack of them.”
He had to race her to the Guild.