As the rock touches its skin, the crocodile reacts with lightning speed; unfortunately for it, even its quick reaction isn’t enough to save it. The rock drops on its head with finality, crushing its skull with a crunch. Strong as its bones surely are, impenetrable as its armour apparently is, it’s not enough to stand up to a rock that’s got to weigh several times what I do.
The rest of the body flails for a moment in its death throes and then stills. I let out a breath I didn’t even realise I’d been holding. This creature has just been so powerful, so daunting that I’d half-thought it might survive even this. My adrenaline rush making my limbs shake a little, I step back and sit down a couple of metres away from the dead killing machine. I barely notice as Bastet comes to sit down next to me. I do notice when she leans into my side and I put an arm around her back.
“Thank you,” I say, heart-felt as I turn my head to look at her. This is the second time one of my Bound has come running to the rescue, and I’m just as grateful this time as the first. The thought of another putting their own body between mine and an attacker’s still elicits a soul-deep gratitude which I pray I will never lose.
Bastet replies with a wave of reassurance, warm companionship, and a hint of reprimand for going off without her in the first place.
“But you looked so comfortable, and the cubs were enjoying themselves,” I tell her. “I thought I’d be able to handle any threat,” I finish weakly. The feelings of doubt she sends me are enough to make me look away again. I return to meet her gaze at her next communication, though. The feelings are mixed, but I after a few moments I get the gist, and a warmth grows inside me at the message. She’s telling me that we’re pack, and we see things through together. So simple, but yet so complex at the same time. I know that this isn’t the end of the issue – I can’t always have the cubs with me. But we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Instead, I return the feelings with warm acceptance, not able to prevent a little longing and reticence from entering the communication. I have to think for a while before I realise why those emotions rise at the thought of pack. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt my family was complete, and I’m worried about committing to a new one, only to have it broken once more. Taking a deep breath to push away the past, I look at the corpse of the creature we’ve just killed.
The first thing I think as I stare at the body is that it’s not as big as I’d thought. In the middle of the fight, it had seemed massive, but really it’s not that much longer than me. I remember some crocodile breeds can grow up to five metres in length; if this crocodile had been one of those monsters, I’d surely be dead right now.
Of course, I’m thinking about Earth creatures here – this monster is from another planet entirely, so who’s to say that the same rules apply at all? Still, it looks very like a crocodile to me, so I’m going to continue calling it that.
I see why I didn’t notice it before – the crocodile’s scales are patterned like the bed of the river. I’d have probably been able to spot it if I’d known where to look, but I hadn’t been paying enough attention. Next time. Always next time, until next time doesn’t exist. Even as I watch, the colour starts to fade from the scales to a grey-green, starting with the ones on the creature’s back. Huh, a chameleon crocodile?
If these things can adjust the colour of their scales to match their environment, I’m going to have to be very careful: they could be hiding anywhere. Shuddering, I make a mental note for later reference, but then forcibly direct my mind elsewhere. I regret that I couldn’t Dominate it, but it was just too dangerous to try. Even with Bastet there, if I’d tried and failed, I doubt I would have survived it. Oh well – I might get another opportunity in the future; I hope I’ll be better prepared for it if I do. At least this corpse should be a treasure trove of materials.
Armour. I hope I work out a way of skinning this thing as I’m eager to see what kind of armour I could make out of its pelt. Arm and leg guards at least, possibly some kind of tabard too that I could put over or under my chitin armour. Or instead of, if it turns out to be better in terms of defence. It also depends on how much of a mess I make in trying to detach the skin from its flesh. That’s a later concern, though.
Right now, I push myself to my feet and lift the rock off the crocodile’s head since its body has gone limp. It’s significantly easier to lift the thing now both arms are in good condition. Not wanting to keep the heavy weight for anything else, I just drop the rock off to one side, intentionally not looking at the business end of it. The crocodile’s skull...isn’t actually as damaged as I thought it might be.
The rock did a good job, but I think the only reason it succeeded was because part of the skull fractured and pierced the brain. The main structure of the skull is actually pretty intact. I find myself shaking my head: a rock like that would have crushed my head like a melon – what kind of beast is this that only barely takes a fracture from sitting between a large rock and a hard place?
It only makes me even warier of encountering another of these crocodiles: the only reason I survived was luck. If its initial strike hadn’t been badly judged and actually managed to hit me, if I hadn’t been able to ride it, if I hadn’t been able to stumble out of the way once I’d blinded it, if it had torn off my arm instead of breaking it, if Bastet hadn’t been able to distract it while I was finding the rock…. I shudder once more.
Heaving the corpse up with both arms, I quickly slot it into my Inventory, taking up one of only two slots free. I should have probably eaten its heart, but I honestly just want to finish what I came out here to do and then head back home. I’ve had enough near-death experiences for today.
“Keep an eye out for me?” I ask Bastet, receiving an affronted agreement in return. I guess that’s the equivalent of an offended ‘of course’ in my terms. Returning back to the riverside, I spend a good few minutes carefully scanning the water and banks, looking for any suspicious movement or shape. Even when I’m fairly confident that there are no more crocodiles around, I still keep a wary eye on the water and banks.
Once I’ve filled the converted tree stump with as many fine pebbles as I wanted, I tuck the container into my last Inventory slot and then take off. Moving as quickly as I can under Stealth and Fade, I don’t regret leaving that particular area behind.
I’ve got to collect two other types of pebbles to complete the filter; I wonder grimly how many more fights I’ll be in before the day ends. Well, at least I have help now. After the last two outings into the forest, I resolve never to leave home without Bastet. I think I've finally learned my lesson about going it alone when I don't have to.
*****
As it turns out, the answer is two more fights. Fortunately, neither of them were too serious. Not like the one with the crocodile, anyway. Once was a snake – or some other legless lizard – that I almost stepped on, but was diverted by Stealth at the last moment. It took offence nonetheless, and quickly struck at me.
I did get bitten, but it only slowly ate at my health, at most taking a quarter off before fading. I think that my body’s getting used to poison after all the different types I’ve experienced so far. Either that, or it was just a weak venom. Either way, Bastet killed the thing before I could and we both moved on, not even bothering to collect the body. Not that I don’t want more venom, but given how poorly it acted on me, I didn’t want to have to get rid of something else which might be more useful.
As for the second attack, it was birds of all things. I think we got too close to their nest or something, because they kept flying down to pick up detritus off the forest floor and then flew up to drop the bits on me. The attacks were more annoying than anything else, and I didn’t manage to hit any of the birds with my rocks, nor did Bastet succeed in grabbing any with her leaps: I don’t think raptorcats are used to hunting flying prey, somehow. In the end, we just walked away quickly, hoping that they would stop attacking after we got to a certain distance.
That proved to be right as they soon gave up and returned to their nest or whatever. And no, I didn’t run away – I just didn’t think I should kill birds who were only defending their home. No, my decision wasn’t made because I couldn’t actually do anything about their attacks…
Either way, I’ve finally managed to accomplish all I set out to do in the forest and quickly head back home. At least the two creatures we killed earned me enough Energy that I’m more than three-quarters of the way towards the next level.
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Getting so close to the next level has caused me to seriously consider refusing any more stat points until I’ve levelled up. I might have to see what stat points are offered to me, though: if Intelligence or Wisdom are possible to increase before, I reckon I’ll be too tempted to say no.
Pausing to let my stamina refill a bit after using Fade so much, I pull up my status screen.
Name: Markus Wolfe
Race: Human
Class: Tamer
Level: 1
Energy to next level: 78%
Energy absorption rate: 11u/hr
Energy towards debt: 1%
Intelligence
9
Mana: 90/90
Wisdom
9
Mana regeneration rate: 225u/hr
Willpower
16+3 (+20%)
Health regeneration rate: 19u/hr
Constitution
10
Health: 100/100
Strength
11
Stamina: 14/60
Dexterity
7
Stamina regeneration rate: 70u/hr
Class skills
Dominate – Beginner 3
Tame – Beginner 1
Fade – Novice 1
Non-Class skills
Lay-on-hands – Novice 4
Stealth – Beginner 7
Animal Empathy – Beginner 5
I’ve still got three stats under ten. Dexterity is the most annoying down at a seven, but I’d quite like to get Intelligence and Wisdom up to ten as well before committing level-up points to them. But Dexterity is important not just for what the stat itself offers, but because it also affects my stamina regeneration rate. That’s what’s been holding me back a bit when moving through the forest – I’ve had to regularly make the choice of whether to keep walking without Fade activated, or wait in a hidden place until my stamina regenerates and then continue walking with Fade.
Most of the time, I’ve been making a compromise – resting for a few minutes in a safe (or safe-ish) spot and then continuing without Fade until my stamina is mostly regenerated. Ultimately, I’d like my stamina regeneration to keep up with the cost of Fade, but that’s probably a while off.
Fade uses about four points of stamina per minute when it’s active, so I’d need to be regenerating around two hundred and forty units per hour in order to run Fade permanently. That in turn requires twenty-four points in Dexterity, since the regeneration rate seems to be at a one to ten ratio with the points. Assuming that all remains constant, that is. And assuming there are sixty minutes in an hour, as well – I haven’t exactly been able to reliably test that.
Anyway, I think it would be best to try to bring all three of those stats up to ten before levelling up. Dismissing the screen, I keep moving, my mind going over what I can do to increase Wisdom and Intelligence since I reckon my future crafting efforts are going to improve my Dexterity without me even trying.
By the time I’ve got home, I’m ready to start earning my Dexterity points. It turns out that the cubs had stayed behind with Kalanthia as I’d suspected.
“Thank you for looking after them,” I tell the giant feline.
They were no trouble, she replies. I’m glad – especially considering what that male cub is usually like. Your Bound indicated you were in distress?
“Yeah. Bit off a bit more than I could chew,” I admit ruefully. There is a pause as she looks at me thoughtfully.
Be it far from my role to dictate what a Binder should do, I am surprised that you go into the forest without your Bound so often. It is my experience that Binders tend to keep their Bound close to them – they are usually the most protected of the group, not the least.
“I get that,” I concede. “Honestly, I’ve been thinking along those lines too. It's just...Bastet has her cubs to look after too, and I don't always want to disrupt them. And Spike...he’s too vulnerable.” Kalanthia stretches out a paw, claws the length of my forearm sliding out and glinting in the sun.
You may be surprised at how your Bound can evolve, given enough time and kills. A grenslar is, I will admit, not the most combat-capable of beasts, but that can change. As for the cubs, they will not always be small. She yawns, revealing black lips and a huge red mouth. And if you wish, I could sit on the babies at times – for a price. I eye her warily.
“A price. What sort of price?” She lays her head on her paws, looking away from me. It’s an obvious dismissal.
Something we can discuss later, if you are tempted. I nod slowly, not sure whether I’ll take her up on it or not. She sounded... ominous. Then again, how bad can it be?
Surveying the area, I think through my to-do list, finally deciding to set up my filtering process. First, though, I want to check on whether my fat-collection is working.
Hoping that the needed animal fat will be waiting for me on top of the pot I set boiling this morning, I head into the cave. As I enter, I see a dark-coloured blur shoot past me. Frowning a little in confusion, I hesitate for a moment before entering my cave. Pausing at the entrance, I can’t believe my eyes for a moment and just stand there open-mouthed. Then, as my temper rises, I find my voice returning to me. I raise my voice to summon the most likely culprit.
“Trouble!”