The depth raider’s squealing, crackling and glowing grew more and more intense with every passing moment, and I got the terrifying idea that it was about to explode.

But Lore, finding within himself a new source of courage, edged closer to the beast once more, his hand held out, palm up, trembling. ‘Shh,’ he said, gently. ‘It’s all over, now. Shh…’

Oddly, the creature seemed to respond to him. It turned to face Lore, its wide eyes staring up at him, and the crackling and glowing softened some.

‘There’s a good boy,’ the barbarian continued. ‘Come back to daddy. There’s a good boy.’

The depth raider softened more still, and it turned to look up at Lore. It squeaked at him.

‘Good boy…’ Lore said, stepping steadily closer, until his outstretched hand was just in front of the creature. After another moment of consideration, the depth raider released its growing power, and it hopped back onto Lore’s arm, then crawled up to perch on his shoulder. The amassed crowd stared silently as Lore petted the beast and then turned to face us. ‘What?’ he asked, a toothy grin on his face.

‘Is that… safe?’ Val asked, whose healing magicks had returned Arzak to consciousness, though she was still looking worse for wear—those remaining injuries would need some time, or a stronger healer.

‘Maybe put it back in the cage?’ I suggested.

Lore looked around at the creature on his shoulder, then back at me. ‘I don’t think it’s going anywhere?’

I met Val’s gaze, but she—like me—didn’t have the energy to fight Lore on this point any further.

Behind us, the elven diplomats approached Corminar, and I could just make out what they were saying.

‘Perhaps it is best we return home,’ one of the elves whose name I didn’t know said, ‘if this is what is to be expected of human regions—betrayal and aggression around every corner.’

‘Indeed,’ another agreed. ‘We have been away from home for long enough; it is time we return to our own kind.’

But Corminar shook his head. ‘Do not judge whole regions by the actions of one man. You will notice that for one monstrous sorcerer, there were four non-elves putting their lives at stake to see him brought to justice. If you are to judge the Goldmarch and the Tundras by any standard, just it by theirs.’ He turned around to gesture at the four of us as he said this last bit, and I responded with a nod of gratitude.

* * *

Corminar convinced the elves to continue the last leg of their planned journey, telling them that we had been paid to accompany them to Lenktra, and that was exactly what we would do. From there, they could return home via ship—though they would admittedly have a full day’s wide as they crossed land from the Iron Sea to the Sea of Roots. At least, unless the Great Golden Canal project was finally complete, and those seas connected.

As we journeyed north, I turned my attention back to the not one but two ability selection choices I had to make—Stealth from the battle with the merfolk, and Worldbending from our fight with Arnold Orellan. I’d thought Val might have been relieved in a sense to be rid of the high sorcerer, but having killed him—even if in self-defence—she had retreated into herself a little. She’d assured me she was fine, but just needed a little space. It was the ability selection choices I concerned myself with while I was doing so.

Ability selection unlocked

Select an ability from the list below:

Option 1: Identify Traps (Stealth) — Search for traps in area limited to eyesight range and determine how to disarm. Success chance scales with [WIS].

The first of my two Stealth ability options was a good one, and one I’d found ample use of in a previous life. Though, admittedly, I’d made a career out of stealing, and so this ability was likely to have come in handy more often. Since teaming up with the Player Slayers, had I really encountered that many traps? The ones I could think of I could count on one hand.

Still, it didn’t mean we wouldn’t encounter any in future, and even a single trap had the potential to be deadly. I mentally put this choice in the “maybe” column.

Option 2: Stealth Attack II (Stealth) — Upgrade to Stealth Attack. Passive. 80% boost to damage when unnoticed by enemies.

Being an upgrade to an existing ability, picking this one wouldn’t broaden my effectiveness, but it made my existing strategies a lot stronger—putting the damage boost up from 50% to 80%. This might, in many cases, be the difference between taking an unsuspecting party down in one hit, and them surviving to counterattack.

After much consideration, I decided there was only one real answer to the question of which I picked.

Ability unlocked — Stealth Attack II

Stealth Attack II (Stealth) — Upgrade to Stealth Attack. Passive. 80% boost to damage when unnoticed by enemies.

I was happy with that. Very happy indeed. But that was only one of two ability selections I had to make on this journey. I also had what was increasingly my core skill tree: Worldbending.

Ability selection unlocked

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Select an ability from the list below:

Option 1: Far Hands II (Worldbending) — While active, your barehanded attacks have a 50 yard range, extended through portals.

This first one was a disappointment, I wasn’t going to lie. I’d already ruled out Far Hands as not being useful 20 levels ago; I didn’t—and was never going to have—sufficient barehanded strength for this to be viable. If I’d been able to use the ability for things other than attacks, I could see some functionality for it, but… No. I ruled it out.

Hidden condition met! Alternative ability choice unlocked.

Option 2: Silence II (Worldbending) [Requires: Stealth level 10] — Create a bubble of 20 yard radius in which sound is eradicated. Uses mana/second.

This was another upgrade to a skill I’d passed on before, but this one I could get behind. In fact, I’d almost selected the first version back at level 5, if memory served. I’d had concern then that 5 yards wouldn’t be enough for this to be useful, but now that bubble was 20 yards. This could have been really useful in preventing eavesdropping, as well as maybe as part of any sneaking around I was doing, which would pair well with my Stealth abilities.

However, as I was about to discover, the third and final option also had a synergy with a skill I was levelling up.

Hidden condition met! Alternative ability choice unlocked.

Option 3: Cloth Storage III (Worldbending) [Requires: Needlework level 10] — Open a portal to an inventory space, wherein you can store up to 30 distinct Needlework supplies.

This, the third version of the Cloth Storage ability, was getting pretty strong. Whereas the first two version had allowed for five and ten items respectively, this new one increased the limit to thirty—pretty huge. If I was serious about levelling up my Needlework skill—and I definitely was—then this would allow me to carry around a range of materials and tools without them weighing me down. Plus, maybe I could get a little trade out of it, buying and selling these goods at local towns based on their pricing.

It was a tough decision, this one. Really tough. I would have liked to talk Val’s ear off about it, but I’d heard her when she’d said she needed some space, so I turned to Arzak instead.

‘Storage,’ she grunted.

‘Why?’

‘You soft feet anyway. Basically silent. Not big, strong man.’

‘Thanks, Arzak,’ I said, pressing my lips together.

‘Was compliment! I enjoy little guy. I like know can snap.’

I wasn’t entirely convinced by Arzak’s logic—can you blame me?—but it was just enough to push me from straddling the fence. Besides, maybe there would be a Silence III ability option down the line anyway.

Ability unlocked — Cloth Storage III

Cloth Storage III (Worldbending) — Open a portal to an inventory space, wherein you can store up to 30 distinct Needlework supplies.

I sighed, enjoying the sensation of gaining new abilities, and even closed my eyes for a moment. This was a mistake, because it caused me to trip slightly on an old tree root, poking through the dry dirt, but fortunately I was at the back of the group and so nobody could have seen.

‘You trip?’ Arzak called out ahead of me without turning.

OK, maybe not.

‘Clumsy little guy.’

‘Please stop calling me little,’ I replied. ‘I’m average height.’

‘For human, maybe.’

We continued on, and the sun grew lower and lower in the sky, casting a red glow pierced only by vibrant white clouds. As we’d grown closer to Lenktra, the devastation of the Great Tundran forests was even more prevalent—there wasn’t a tree left alive in sight, and there was absolutely no sign of any efforts to reforest. Whatever need Lenktra had had for timber had been a desperate one, and so I was almost dreading climbing the final crest of the low hills that put the city in sight.

When we finally did, I breathed a sigh of relief to find that Lenktra was still standing—and, in fact, didn’t seem to be under attack at all. It hadn’t been a defensive need for timber, but then… what other needs were there?

And then, up at the front of the group, Lore suddenly came to a halt.

‘What is it?’ Val asked—one of the first things she’d said today.

The barbarian remained very still, and very quiet, and so I and the rest of the slayers joined him at his side. I followed his line of sight, and then realised what he’d seen.

The flags atop the towers on Lenktra’s walls weren’t that of the duchy of Lenk. Instead, the flags were red, featuring the golden sun of the Golden Kingdom. Of the Goldmarch. Of Queen Amira.

‘It’s a conquest,’ I said, surprising myself with the words. ‘She’s conquering—’

‘No,’ Corminar said glumly.

‘No? Cos it bloody well looks like—’

‘It is not a conquest, Styk, because she has already won.’

"Styk"

Level 14 Bladespinner

Base Stats:

Vitality — 32

Intelligence — 140

Dexterity — 69

Strength — 63

Wisdom — 48

Charisma — 31

Skills:

Worldbending — Level 35

Knifework — Level 28

Stealth — Level 15

Needlework — Level 12

Identification — Level 10

Abilities:

Slice — Slice the enemy for physical damage worth weapon’s base damage and additional damage scaling on [STR].

Stab II — Put your weight behind your wielded blade and force the tip through tougher hides and armour. Damage scales on [STR], increased by an additional 20%.

Execution II — Attack a target while undetected for +200% damage.

Closed Reach — Bend reality to narrow the gap between blade and target by up to 8 inches. Uses mana.

Mana-Fuelled — Passive. Optionally, use mana in place of stamina to activate Knifework abilities.

Local Portal II — Create a portal to another location within current range of sight or within a ten yard radius. Uses mana/second.

Portal Slice — Passive. Portals can now be spawned within non-sentient objects. Doing so slices through all objects that are not reinforced by magic.

Tamed Portals — Passive. Increased efficiency of portal magicks means that your portal glow is reduced by 50%, making them less likely to be detected by enemies.

Ash Husk — Convert your flesh to ash, strengthening it against flame for ten minutes. Gain 50% resistance to fire attacks.

Shrill Perimeter — Create a perimeter wall of 20 foot radius, invisible to all but those adept in magicks. If an enemy crosses this perimeter, this spell releases the shriek of a banshee.

Warped Shield — Passive. If an enemy strikes you with a low-level melee weapon, Warp Shield automatically activates to open a portal that deflects this attack. You must not have any portals currently active. Uses mana on activation.

Cloth Storage III — Open a portal to an inventory space, wherein you can store up to 30 distinct Needlework supplies.

Stealth Attack II — Passive. 80% boost to damage when unnoticed by enemy.

In Plain Sight — When activated, you have a heightened abilitiy to hide in plain sight, and are able to spot opportunities to break from combat at a higher rate. Scales on [WIS].

Stitch — Create a basic stitch in common fabrics. Ability scales on [CHA].

Cloth Armour — Craft a cloth armour of higher quality, dependent on materials, time and skill level.

Active Effects:

Legacy of Sisyphus:

XP gain increased by +900%