“You see what I mean?” Dryfu asked, flapping close enough to look right through Tim’s eyes. “Was that a joke, fade hand? Remember as your guide I read your thoughts. What just happened all up in there. Scary.” Dryfu flew off toward camp and Melody sitting before the fire.
Her backward glance landed on Tim with alarm and composure.
Tim found the stykiller on the warm side of a log, facing away as he did when he was being prickly. “You think I… I didn’t ask for this. Ask my brother.”
“I’d like to,” Melody said with a different kind of concern in her tone than Dryfu shared. There was something there between her and Chris that she was holding close to her chest.
“We’ll get to that,” Tim said.
Melody’s gaze landed on his fade hand holding the pouch.
“We’ll get to that, too,” he chuckled.
Gregor hung the cast iron pot over the fire. “I’ll let you do the honors.”
Tim dumped the snake carcass into the pot of water and brushed his hand on his pants. Again, only catching himself after. He shook off the weird feeling of friction on his fingertips that needed him to dance them together like the keys of a piano. As though his fading flesh should feel normal.
“Careful how you react to the fade,” Salyards said, his voice hard as the sai he sharpened. “Word’s out about the aura mage with a hit list. They’ll have eyes everywhere. Keep it in your pocket in the open if you can. If we meet anyone on the way, keep your head low and let the no faces like me and your lord Gregor get our hands dirty.”
Tim showed him the snake guts on his hands.
“You’re fine around the camp with Gregor’s protection spell. Tomorrow, and the days and weeks to come, it’ll get bad.”
Ky bobbed his head like he’d seen it. “People get desperate quick.”
Jil bumped Tim’s elbow. “You gonna stir that or let it cook like an old sock?”
He shrugged and lifted the ladle from its black metal perch. “I don’t know. Have you had old sock? It’s surprisingly good.”
He stirred the snake and followed her coaching to poke it around a bit.
“Do you think we’re any closer to finding the jewel?” Tim asked Jil, who was observing the snake in the pot.
During their two weeks hunting toiga, she’d hinted at what the Jewel Hunt would be like. The location could be anywhere in the six pillar nations. That’s it. Gatewalkers, and more so, the leifman who dropped it, reflect its light when they get close. And maybe a path will take shape, either intentionally or unintentional, and the Jewel appears in place of something else. Boom. Just there.
The “path” that she spoke of was the most ambiguous of the mythology. She seemed to toy at him with the little bits of examples from past hunts. One ended with the jewel appearing in a pumpkin patch at a farm of a recent widow near to losing it to the landlord. Another time, it rewarded a Thief for breaking into a Shipman’s safe.
“You have found an interesting path kicking the artisan hornet’s nest,” Jil said.
“Within a few days kings and wannabes across our world will have a price on your head,” Salyards said.
“So, this place has that going for it,” Tim said. “Can we afford to wait here the night, even with the spells?”
“Only fools travel at night once the leaf has fallen,” Salyards said. “The amount of predators—”
“Finally evens the odds slightly closer in their favor,” Gregor said, and pointed at the pot. “You don’t want to overcook it either. Melody. Whatcha think?”
She peeked over the rim and returned with a glint of excitement. “It’s ready.” She took the ladle and hung it. “Now try using only your aura to split the meat. There’s a secret inside.”
Tim sent Magic Hunt into the carcass, searching for aura that didn’t disperse like mist when he drew near.
“Aura stability is different than physical strength,” she said. “Exist and be the strength, same as the aura you want to assimilate.”
Tim shrugged. “Well, now that you put it like that. Sounds easy.”
Tim closed his eyes and hummed the mantra for Caddyshack’s Be the Ball montage. His mind focused his breathing on the aura streams within in the hopes the two rivers could join paths. A distinct pulsing, faint, then growing with the next inhale circled his arteries in underlying channels. He went from riding them to being them, or at least tried, and hovered closer to the Takekuma with the thought of the two warming under the same sunlight. Once together, his aura latched, then assimilated.
Tim’s MP sank quickly and his aura hunting sensation bottomed out as though falling into a sink hole.
“Oh, you better get it,” Ky said, face lit in a smile at Tim’s source of entertainment.
Get what? Tim thought he had it. Then the scope took a galactic shift in perspective. An empty horizon stretched him so thin it felt like he was falling into a well. His hook caught the fish’s gills, but failed to stop its last ditch effort to escape.
Tim tried shooting his aura over its head only to lose the thread and watch his MP sink twice as quickly.
That distance is farther than you that. Grow, Aura Mage. Quick before Ky wins a bet you don’t know about.
How do you know?
I’m stykiller. I see everything, even the most subtle hints signed between him and Melody.
Alright. Tim balled up his aura as though from the palm of an action figure sized mini him standing on the rim of the pot. Straight from his imagination appeared a violet and starpink man dressed like Indiana Jones, complete with hat and whip overlooking the dark depths beneath the rising steam. The majestic light in his appearance faded to the aura textured frame of the movie star’s stunt double.
New Aura Familiar granted: Mini Indi. Lv. 1 Aura Ranger Hybrid.
Melody cocked a brow of being impressed. Tim started to stand but Salyards stuck out a hand.
“No. That’s an aura friendly. You control it with your mind,” he said. “Learn to wield this power without flinching.”
Tim made Mini Indi pull on the whip’s handle, his own hand twitching not to follow his mini in form. Leather running over leather zipped along its length as he unknotted them whip in a single, calculated tug. Tim heard it as though he were the same size as Indi and standing beside him. If he focused hard enough… the sound of Indi’s inhaling picked up in his hearing as clearly as if it were his own breath. Is he alive?
He is a different being and race than you, but yes.
Tim’s aura tickled across the inner…ceiling of his … underflesh.
I will bury a fire ant in your ear while you’re sleeping.
Tim chuckled. The working of his power and progress to this new thing, plus the fact they survived another night had him in good spirits. His brother was sleeping soundly, if a bit odd, with how roots grew from his bare feet and hands to plant anew in the soil. Smokey the Bear curled himself into a ball at his master’s feet, soundly snoring away.
I might never get used to that, he thought, encompassing all manners of Chris the wood priest sorcerer.
Can I speak with him—Indi, I mean? Tim thought.
“You may,” came a gravely cool voice as though from the mouth of Ol’Harrison Ford himself, cast to play Indiana Jones 6 and ready to cash his check and leave before he breaks a leg. His stunt double resemblance of Mr. Ford showed itself in more rounded cheeks and darker brown hair.
“As long as you promise not to rocket launch me in a fridge, we should be good,” Indi said.
Whoa. Indi’s voice sounded in his head like Dryfu’s. And he knows pop culture. How?
“Are you asking me?” Indi asked.
Uh, sure. Quickly though. Tim kept the aura river flowing into his manifestation, but his MP dipped under twenty so he had to do this.
“We can chat later. In short, I’m what you made me. Not exactly Indiana, but your version as a familiar, and somewhat weaker of a representation due to your low level as an Aura Mage. But I would know what you know about his scenes. And those Harrison played.”
So you’re more Harrison than Indi.
“Kind of. The manifestation you made me this time took Indi’s skill set and experience.”
The whip grew a thicker aura ball on the end, gently looping at Indi’s side leg. Cat toy, Tim thought and dispersed a bit of extra juice until the weight filled to the mass of a baseball. He wound it up with his action figure’s arm spinning in a high circle until he met the right speed and hurled it at a seventy-five-degree pitch. His throw burst into his MP supply. Meaning if it ran out before it hit the wall—thunk!
Stolen story; please report.
The ball splashed into the wall, reformed into the center of impact and drove a spike into the tough ground. Tim fed a bit more c-mana into the drill and pumped a second blast. It spread two feet in and branched out to spread his own roots.
A flash of power heated the undersurface.
Shut it, I’m gonna cut off your narration ability. You’ll be all beep boop thing dumb.
Easy, cranky pants. As I was thinking, and you ruined the best part, but an instant after impact the surface responded with its own display of power. As though woke from a deep slumber, the snake’s now resurrected? Aura—
More like,
Freed the spirit of a Lv. 8 Takekuma Snake
Close enough for you though. You can’t reach this spirit without killing the host first, at least not at your skill.
Forty-Nine MP deposited into his supply along with c-mana well past what he’d used to free it.
A small yellow star floated up from where the spirit had lashed him. Tim’s acknowledgment caused the star to splash outward in a shower of twinkling lights.
You have been granted a new title: Takekuma Waker - Tier 1. You’ll now have an instinctive sense of Takekuma within ten meters. 10% better ability to free their spirits without setting off their traps. 10% better product from their carcass.
Gained a new Skill: Alchemy. Additional insight and potency to concoctions made with Takekuma Spirit.
Skill: Magic Hunt gained a level (7)!
XP bars in Magic Hunt, Aura Mage and Aura Blades jumped within 80 percent of next level.
Indi showed up as a Level 1 Aura Ranger in his Familiar subfolder alongside Dryfu.
The Takekuma spirit lit up like a centipede of yellow and violet light within the snake’s carcass.
“What is a Takekuma Waker?” Tim asked the group. No offense Dryfu, I’m only curious of their experience as well.
“They hold one of the highest concentration of aura in their spirits,” Melody said. “It’s rare to unlock one without cracking the seal and releasing the aura into the ether. I’m a little surprised you got it first try. Your aura mage touch is impressive.”
“Takekuma aren’t easy to wake,” Gregor said. “Nice work.”
“Thank you, can I split the meat open now?”
He nodded.
Tim mentally gripped the spirit’s head and peeled it down its spine. The layer of spirit skin split the meet with a gushing mist of aura. It settled into the skin and soaked the meat, illuminating it in pink starlight. At the end, it disconnected from the feet like a well-cooked slice of ham.
“That’s for you, Waker,” Gregor said. He sawed off a six inch cut and lifted it out of the water. “Before you eat it, think of the skill you want to practice. It’ll bless your efforts.”
Tim thought of Gregor’s protection spell and the plan to leapfrog it. “If we leave will this place be safe without any more protection spell?”
Gregor thought for a moment. “If we hide our tracks on the way out.”
“Okay. Let’s do that.”
“Why’d you say that?”
“I’m gonna focus on the horses.” Tim took out the artisan’s pouch. “And this.”
He raised the long slab of Takekuma spirit and opened his mouth to swallow it down. It melted onto his tongue with the taste of grilled turkey seasoned with cayenne. His face melted next as muscles kissed the world goodnight. Every ability bar filled to full of cultivation points. Aura welled up in him like warm soup, tickling taste buds to expand their power. He sent it through Magic Hunt into the light of the campfire and spread it wide across the forest like a dawning sun.
Magic Hunt has expanded into Aura Light.
Among the nocturnal creatures cast into sudden daylight, Tim spotted three Takekuma. A second idea sprang as the light not only helped him see predators and prey, but also the horses. He wanted to cast Protection on them in part with Gregor’s spell, and another from his own strength. After, he would hunt.
The horses slept lying in the grass. Blades soaked in Gregor’s protection spell. He unwove it by the separation of letters up the middle. Inside he wrote his addition. A poem about his parents.
Gone for now, but in your absence, I’ll live my biggest dreams.
All your misdeeds, forgiven.
Mine are many more.
Wherever you are, I pray you see me well.
And yourself as the only one of your kind on my heart. Mother and Father to him who was cute for a time, then too frequently petulant.
You offered me the world and did your best to train me for it.
Then were forced to watch as I embraced it alone.
Know that I am well and well prepared.
Kept tight by the memory of your love and protection.
I am strong in gratitude.
His poem became the string he used to tie Gregor’s spell into his new cloth, then he fashioned protection into the horses legs, hooves, eyes, minds, spines and then soaked into the muscle beneath.
After successfully covering each horse in his spell, a notification read:
You have gained a level! Now Ranger Level 11.
The following skills gained levels:
Horses’ Keeper Level 3. Protection gained a level (8)
XP in Aura Mage stopped ten percent short of reaching Level 3. Adjacent skills gained incrementally similar to how Aura Mage had. Even if a skill was not a main element used, parts had impact, and the same went for his secondary class.
Tim rolled a 2 and a 5.
New MAX HP: 105
New MAX MP: 68
His AP read:
Str 13, Dex 14, Con 9 (-1 racial), Wis 15 (+1 second to c-mana), Int 9 (+2 racial), Char 6
He put them into:
3 Wis (18 +1 second to c-mana)
2 Int (11 + 2 racial)
“Hey, eat something.” Jil tossed him a length of Takekuma. He caught it in his dagger, the strike accurate and surprisingly natural.
He took a bite and noticed the rest of the group done with theirs. Weapons out and ready for a hunt.
“I didn’t have time yet to finish your gear,” Gregor said, “but I’ll keep at it and finish soon. You up for some night hunting?”
A grin tickled his lip. “Yeah.”
“Good. I want you to work on your Magic Hunt while that skull breath is kickin.”
Now it was a full-on smile. “Alright!”
Tim finished his food on the run, leading his friends with deadly nocturnal accuracy. Magic Hunt’s newest level combined with the cultivation boost made it so he wasn’t just hunting for animal’s aura, he was also seeing them with a secondary source of light cast by his aura. Its pink hue lit not only surface but aura channels firing underneath. This instinctual advantage combined with his higher dexterity helped him get the first step on the snakes and tree rats.
“Hit a new level?” Ky asked Tim.
“Yeah. A few.” Briefly, the skills showed their new levels:
Magic Hunt (8)
Small Blades (8)
Fleeing (5)
Parrying (6)
Self Defense (6)
Ally Maker gained two (4),
Healing (5)
Keeper (6)
Poison Resistance (4)
Torture Endurance (3)
Politician Lv (4)
Tim could see that last one playing out in the bond he grew with these Farar by waking the Takekuma and joining them in the wild of night hunting. They reminded him of Martin Sheen in Apocalypse Now, truly alive in this jungle dance of death. His Aura Light reflected like madness off their eyes. He rode that tiger to a bounty of Takekuma to probably earn a few levels in Alchemy if he woke them right.
“You look ready to quit.”
Tim spit. His hands on knees posture gave him away. “Probably. My cultivation’s about plugged up. I need rest.”
“Me too.” Ky flicked a silver coin to the other hand where it absorbed it into his knuckles.
“What’s that skill?” Ky had pelted a few enemies with thrown coins, producing a stun effect perfectly timed to last three strides and a first strike.
“Jackpot. Part of my Collector class. I prefer to keep ‘em, but I’ll throw em if we need me.”
“Did you earn any back in our loot?”
“Nothing better than I’d use in target practice.”
Tim stood and stretched his back. “So, you’re medic, collector, and whatever it is lets you use that short sword like you do. What’s your main class?”
Ky polished off a stain left by one of his victims. The blade was just under three feet, with a tip that slanted down somewhat like Cloud from Final Fantasy 7. The short sword didn’t appear to have a blitz move enchanted into it, but it was plenty sharp and worked well for his dash strike and close-quarters combat.
“Farar Knight.” The way they said it sounded like he was going to say ferrari knight, which that would be cool.
Don’t call him that. Please save what respect you still have.
Okay, Dry. He still planned to call them ferraris as a group.
What-ever, dork.
Dryfu’s American accent was improving. It’s more, what-eva!
“I like the short sword. Is Gregor’s the same kind?”
Ky showed off the beauty of the blade. It was thick enough in the middle to be sturdy for stabbing through a thick target, and the slide off to the razor’s edge down both sides had a glossy sheen that looked like it could cut you just from looking. Turtles with helmets, sharp beaks and vicious claws decorated the grazed middle of the blade.
“Kind of.” The turtles moved like a hologram alive in his strokes. “The Jernigan is a Farar Knight staple. We train for two years minimum with only the Jernigan for offense and defense. This is a couple steps up from my graduation blade. We’re in a golden decade for Wachamia. Where the Farar have been called on and rewarded for their efforts.”
“Fighting the cartel?”
“And rogue leveling, which has its benefits, such as when the skull goes off before we capture them. I’ve been boosted by that a couple times.” He shivered. “And glad for the straining. I don’t mind the payout avoiding that, too. Primed skulls fetch a heavy bag or two.”
Gregor emerged in a swath of branches, a Takekuma in each arm. “You already talking rewards, Golden Ticket?”
Ky took one. “Nah, Buds. I was explaining how I’d come across this nice Jernigan.”
“After taking the wrong end of a zachys and utilizing a pinpoint coin to the retina?”
Ky chuckled. “Well, I didn’t get that far into the story. But if you ever see a beached lake monster about this high,” he said as they walked, holding his hand shoulder height. “Furry like an otter but with a wicked quick spin jump to tail swipe. Run like you owe its momma money.”
“Will do.”
Jil and Melody entered the firelight of their camp carrying a branch and two hefty animals hanging between them. The autumn red coats were unlike any animal he’d seen so far. He’d caught flashes of their battle while he was busy fighting Takekuma in the trees. Their arms were hairy and long like a sloth, and ending in claws any beast on earth would be proud to boast. One left its mark across Jil’s abs, and she fought through the way it hindered her stride. Tim felt a fleeting interest in anything else, but her look off told him not to make a deal out of it. She was just annoyed, mostly with herself.
“Nice haul,” Salyards said. He dumped a two-hundred-pound black boar looking creature soaked in its own blood. The sai marksman had a fair amount sprayed on his clothes but appeared uninjured.
“You can get some sleep now,” Gregor told Tim as he stepped in beside him. “You did well tonight. The remaining Takekuma will best be raised when you’re fully rested. They’re too valuable to risk.” After a two step, he added, “You keep using your powers for good, and you’ll have my sword,” Gregor said and tapped the hilt at his hip.
“Thank you.”
Gregor received the gratitude with modesty. “Thank me when we get that jewel.”
“Do you think my path could add catching your old friend, Chane?” Tim asked, glancing over the ground for a place to lie for the night.
“Would be my honor to have you with me, though we might already have welcomed you to that path.”
Melody sprinkled some mushrooms and plant stems into the pot. A yellow cloud bloomed over the rim and popped, forcing her to lean back. “I’d like some of that action. Are we getting party contracts ready?”
“You sure you’re cool with my brother?” Tim asked her.
“Cool is a fun term. I’d say I’m intrigued by his history. His character is different and similar to yours. Gentle like you, but more willing to take risks that may still be an anchor on his neck. With you on our side, I have enough confidence to sign on to your party. I like you—I like you both—and I like the challenge of helping you keep him in line. Having a wood sorcerer priest in our party is tantalizing, too.”
“That it is. He tantalizes me all over.” Switching to a serious tone, he added, “you’re right about Chris and that anchor. I sensed it too, though he’s doing a good job hiding it. I appreciate the help being there when that anchor can’t be hidden.”
“You got it. Better to keep him close even if I didn’t suspect he’s a spry one.”
“Spry?”
“It means good. Not fair we always resort to your American lingo regardless of how much I enjoy it.”
“You’re a cool bird, Melody. I appreciate you.”
“Likewise, mage. Looking forward to that ghost thunder.”
“There’s nothing more you need to prove tonight,” Gregor said. “In the morning, we’ll discuss the cartel and next steps.”
Tim wrapped the cloak Ky gave him for protection against tree urchins and laid down, resting his head on his arm. As he drifted to sleep, potential explanations for what “ghost thunder” might be carried him toward dreams of adventure… and loss.