Neither Autumn nor I got the go ahead to resume physical training the next day. Instead I resigned myself to spending it inside the inscriptionist’s tent while studying the basics of the craft. The more I learned, the more I realized why inscription took many people a lifetime to master. As much as inscription drew me, I worried about being forced to do theory for months before inscribing anything useful. I had already drawn a simple working rune the other day, why couldn’t I just practice copying known runes for now?
When I said as much, Wolf decided to explain through example rather than lecture. He handed me a very simple light inscription carved onto both a rounded and flat stone. The flat stone glowed white when he pushed mana through it for the first time, but instead of glowing, the one drawn on the rounded surface grew hotter and hotter until the wood table it sat upon began to smolder.
“Small variations of surface will change the effect of an inscription.” Wolf explained. “Even a small deviation without prior knowledge can cause a more powerful inscription to fail catastrophically. Inscriptions designed to work with materials of regular shape and composition are fine to copy, but we don’t have that luxury here.”
I returned to my studies with my entire body itching to move and train something more concrete. I wanted to forge my own runes no matter how much Wolf told me it was a stupid idea. With my abysmal attributes, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to act on my vague plans to gain experience with physical strength alone.
Around midday the lesson turned from general theory to math. “Magic, like all other physical phenomena, is both regular and predictable.” Wolf explained “While non-trivial to learn, we can use fundamental magic theory and math to predict how changing a line or shape of a rune will change magic’s physical effect on the world. This is how modern inscriptionists change their runes to fit objects of different shape and composition, or in the more advanced cases, create their own. Before you can learn the theories of how, you first need to build an acceptable foundation in mathematics.”
Whatever was responsible for me being able to speak and read the same language as the expedition didn’t seem to translate to mathematical operators. I spent an entire hour bumbling through what the strange runes meant before realizing that Wolf had given me a set of basic arithmetic problems. I may not be some math genius, but I at least knew enough to get through basic calculus.
This shifted to algebra, and then basic geometry, all of which I wrote down the answers to with little difficulty. All the while Wolf looked more and more amused while Thorn narrowed her eyes in frustration. We hadn’t even started on calculus when Wolf burst out laughing.
“It seems you have a foundation after all.” He said, clapping me on the back.
“I’d better.” I grumbled. “I’ve spent the last decade learning this shit.”
“Good! I think that means we can skip the first few years of foundational work.” He said and I couldn’t help but grin despite myself.
**********
The expedition finished setting up the camp that afternoon and by the next morning fell back into their daily routines. Several expedition members headed over to the ramp to shore up some makeshift defenses while the Lost retreated to their various instructors for training. Autumn and I headed over to Carmen and the alchemist to get okayed for physical training with Wind. I still planned on surpassing the requirements for that hybrid combat path.
“I’ll give you the ok for physical training, but take it easy today.” Fig told me, to which I agreed with enthusiasm.
Next Fig and Carmen remove the wrapping from Autumn’s arm. I watched in amazement and relief when they removed the wrapping to reveal only matted fur beneath. Nothing but a thin scar gave any indication that the limb had been completely severed just a few days prior. When she flexed her fingers they moved easily, and when she gasped Carmen’s arm she did so with nearly her old strength. Both healers seemed amazed.
“You’re lucky the axe was so sharp.” They told her. “The wound healed cleanly because of it.”
**********
An hour later Wind led us down the long ramp past where Hendric worked to fell one of the great trees for lumber. From there we angled deep into the forest until the thick canopy obscured the plateau from view and the half-crumbled remains of the ruins loomed between the trees. Between last night’s freeze and yesterday’s thaw a crust had formed atop the snow. It crunched beneath my paws with every step.
“I don’t see how we can sneak around in this.” I grumbled.
“With difficulty and practice.” Wind answered. “It’s important to learn to adapt to both your environment and to your prey to remain effective.”
Wind began walking us through different techniques for stealth and stalking others. He showed us how to use the sound of each other's movements to mask our own. He showed us several ways of stepping carefully and cautiously to minimize our sounds and tracks.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“Without magic there is little you can do to cover your tracks and the sounds of your movements in snow like this.” Wind explained. “Anyone can see exactly where you went and where you’re going if you cut across unbroken snow. Instead use the tracks of others or avoid the snow entirely if you can.”
In demonstration, Wind had us walk through the forest at a normal pace while he stalked us. Despite my rather impressive (to old me) hearing, I couldn’t detect him at all until he tapped me on the shoulder. After which we doubled back to examine our tracks. Wind had stepped so precisely within my own prints that I couldn’t find any sign that he followed us at all.
After his demonstration, Wind set Autumn and I took turns sneaking up on each other. Neither of us got within fifty paces before the telltale crunch of snow gave ourselves away.
“As your attributes improve, more techniques to move silently will open up to you.” Wind told us as we took a break in the late morning. “If you have the strength and dexterity you might be able to use trees and rocks to avoid the snow entirely. Remember that in the end, stealth is a simple matter of not standing where your quarry sets his eyes, ears, or nose. I find that humans, or in your case former humans, forget how useful a ‘heli’s sense of smell really is.”
Our vul’heli teacher paused before continuing. “I think training you to use those senses is too important to ignore. Lunch will be served on the plateau soon, but we won’t be returning there today. Instead I want you to catch your own.”
“How.” I asked. “I don’t even have my daggers with me.”
“You have a nose, ears, claws, and teeth do you not? I think that is plenty enough to catch a hare.”
Thus, with the sun out in full force melting the snow, Autumn and I set off on our new task with very real consequences: Going hungry for the afternoon. “Hares are a tad more difficult to find than most bumbling elvenoid sapients you run into.” Wind told us cheerfully. “Good luck and remember your noses: both yours and theirs.”
Autumn and I tried. We really did. But after two hours of failed attempts to even find our prey, Wind took pity on us and threw a still-warm, white-furred hare at Autumn. Yet another lesson followed, this time on field dressing a kill, which was in turn followed by a rather delicious lunch.
“Autumn, have you decided on a professional secondary path?” Wind asked as we rested for a moment beneath the dappled sunlight.
“Not yet.” Autumn said, kicking the snow next to where she sat on a stone block. Softened by the afternoon sun, the snow came up in a single wet lump. “I was just thinking of seeing what options I could choose from. Is there any way to see what attribute focus a professional path will have to see if it synergizes with my combat one?”
“Sometimes you can and sometimes you can’t.” Wind shrugged.
“What do you mean?” I asked. “I just assumed everyone saw a box with path options?”
Wind shrugged. “Some might. The process of choosing a path is different for everyone and deeply personal. Most just won’t say.”
“I assume from your vagueness you don’t either.” I observed, and Wind nodded.
“I’ll just pick what I like then.” Autumn grumbled. “Screw attributes.”
“If I’m the only one min-maxing you’ll fall behind!” I laughed, flicking a piece of snow at her. It bounced off her nose and triggered her to kick a shower of white at my head. I ducked and in the same movement scooped up a handful of snow and lobbed it at her face. To my surprise the snowball struck her right between the eyes.
With a flash of anger and a cat-like hiss, Autumn launched herself at me to catch my sternum with her shoulder. I tumbled back off my stone perch and into the snow where Autumn landed hard on my chest, driving the rest of the air from my lungs. I gasped in a panicked breath only for Autumn to grab a heap of snow in each hand and smash it against my face.
“I think you’re the one who needs to min-max to keep up with me.” Autumn said with a laugh She flicked my nose as she rose, leaving me wet and sputtering on the ground.
“That was uncalled for.” I coughed.
“It was perfectly called for.” Autumn said with a smirk.
“Are you two finished?” Wind sounded amused. “We still have a lot to cover today.”
“Yeah.” I groaned, pushing myself upright. “Just keep her away from me.”
*********
That evening after our training concluded and Wind left to join the others for dinner, I pulled Autumn aside.
“I, um, wanted to talk to you about something.” I said, not quite sure where to begin.
“Yes?” Autumn asked, looking at me with concern.
“I keep thinking about the orcs and I can’t help but be worried about it happening again. I feel so useless here. I feel like I’m living at the whims of Earth and Rain.”
“...I think I can agree.” Autumn nodded. “But is that not why we train with Wind and you with Wolf? This is a new world with new skills to master. It’s not like we can expect to be good at everything right away.”
“Yes, but at this rate it’ll take years before our level is high enough for anything other than basic tasks, let alone survive another attack. We’re learning, but we take no risks. Every movement outside the camp is chaperoned with the likes of Wind and Hendric making sure nothing is there to hurt us, and more importantly challenge us. If our fight with the beetle was anything to go by, the system rewards risk.”
I paused, sucking in a deep breath. It felt good to finally get this off my chest. Yet, instead of agreeing with me, Autumn seemed to frown.
“This isn’t a video game, River, and we don’t even have our paths yet. I don’t think we should be taking the sorts of ‘risks’ you seem to be implying.”
“It’s really not that much of a risk.” I explained. “The five of us already managed to kill that beetle twenty levels higher than us without any planning.”
“Yes, but I seem to remember injury and sheer dumb luck being involved.” Autumn retorted.
“There wouldn’t be any luck involved this time. We just need a proper plan in place to take it down. With five of us, or even with just the two of us, we could use our knowledge to set up a trap, lure a monster in, and take it down. Simple as that. We could grind out multiple levels in a day or have the levels to be useful in a matter of weeks rather than years. We wouldn’t be trapped here.”
Autumn looked me straight in the eyes. “River. I’m going to be honest, I don’t think this is a smart idea. The risk of us dying from some dumb mistake is higher than us dying from an orc raid. You heard Wind. We live in the Heartwood, not some game with pre-scripted monsters.”
“Yeah, I know. Our little prison.” I said, trying to bite back my rising frustration. “But you heard Rain the other day, the so-called wardstone protects these ruins from the worst of the creatures out there.”
“River, no. I’m not doing it, and as someone who cares about you, I really don’t think you should do it either.”
I shook my head and turned away disappointed. “I’m going to try something myself then. I have to do something.”
“River-” I heard behind me, but I didn’t look back. I didn’t understand. Back on earth Autumn had always been the one to stop at nothing to achieve everything she could. Was Earth’s promise of greatness dulling her drive? Did her near death experience affect her more than I thought? Maybe I just needed to show her it could be done.