"So... We're going to go around the hill and loot some more caches?" asked Takeo, as they were resting in the shade of the canopy. The clearing they had found the previous evening wasn't that large, but it was enough for the three of them to have their own space and a little privacy. They had kept watch during the night, or at least Xander and Connor did. I still don't know if I am grateful for that or disappointed... thought Takeo.
"Yep, that's the plan. We'll go around the hill, hopefully find some more cache and then we get out of this Challenge," answered Connor. Xander beside him was a bit embarrassed when Connor explained the reason behind this. "We need the extra food." Connor didn't mind laying it all on Takeo's head. "Besides, a Reward, even a poor one, is still a Reward. Who knows maybe we'll find something useful."
Takeo nodded. Of course, they hadn't planned on meeting him... He still felt a bit disappointed. This Challenge was boring. Xander was their lumberjack and both himself and Connor had just nothing to do. To distract himself, Takeo had been feeding odds and ends to his book. Bits of bushes, trees, and grasses. He had even fed it some of the thorny plants, at the price of a few scratches and some blood. All this had earned him several of these Tokens, most were generalist ones about plants. And he was working toward a few more specific, on brambles, specific thorn vines, and a few others.
Still, that's probably useless.
"Well, let's go, guys!" called Xander, pretty happy to have a day of work ahead of him.
Takeo had tried to spot if there was any wildlife in this forest. When no tree was falling, they could hear birds. But they had yet to see one. Connor had said that he may have seen squirrels, but he wasn't sure. And so far, they hadn't seen any other animal. The Newcomer's mind wandered some more. The smell of the forest was nice and reminded him of his parents. They had done some hiking together when he was younger. His father had been well versed in the local flora and fauna and had tried to impart him some of his knowledge. But nothing had really stuck, as he was busy running around and playing with leaves and sticks. A bittersweet memory.
Takeo came back to himself as Connor was fussing about Xander's axe. He had altered the design during the night as the extra reach of the pole-thing wasn't necessary anymore. This is still incredibly useful. But the weapon needed a lot of maintenance, as Connor didn't know shit about bones. Uh? A strange thought came to his mind. Could Connor eat one of his Tokens and gain insight into how to use bones more effectively?
The only Token he had ever "consumed," was the one about Orbs. And maybe that was a bit too metaphysical for him, as he lacked probably much of the background to understand anything about it. Maybe it wouldn't be the same if he absorbed the Tokens about plants and such, as they are probably simpler. So maybe... maybe it could work. But then I would reveal some more things about myself. From his discussion with the young men, he understood that "Looting" Abilities were rare, and often they were quite useful and led to quick money. Even Connor's was a gold mine as he produced ready-to-be-used leather of still unknown quality. The metal scraps he obtained were probably useful too. And all these could be sold at a Haven for a pretty penny. Argh, Bright Orbs, of course... And easy money was always attractive to the wrong kind of people.
Now, his Book was way too powerful. It had an Analysis Ability, Spatial Storage, even if a weird one, and some sort of Looting ability as well to generate Tokens. And while the Lexicon and Note-taking abilities weren't top-notch in terms of power, they were still very useful. So he wondered if he should trust these two with his secrets. I don't know them that well, but they seem to be good people. And I don't think they would betray me. But still... He was still a bit wary. I don't know them that well.
"Hey, Takeo, are you coming?" asked Xander from the recently felled tree. That startled the young man out of his pondering.
He took Xander's offered hand and climbed on the trunk. "Thank you." He said, a bit embarrassed.
"You seem a bit off today, is everything alright?" asked the now lumberjack.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about stuff," answered Takeo. "Like, how dangerous is it going to be for Connor to have a Looting Ability?"
That seemed to surprise both of them. Ah, didn't expect me to have deep thought? he mentally smirked.
Connor had been busying himself with removing branches that were on their side of the trunk. He looked back at the Newcomer with strange eyes. "Well." he paused. "We haven't yet discussed that. But there are indeed several categories of Abilities that are heavily sought after." He paused again. "And as you have surmised, Looting Abilities are one of them." He looked at Xander, who shrugged. "That's a complicated question. I guess that anyone powerful enough could kidnap me and force me to work for them."
"And doesn't that bother you?" asked Takeo, a bit surprised at the nonchalance displayed by Connor. "I mean, you would become a slave, right?"
Neither seemed to like this being said so directly. Connor continued, "True, true,... But you have to begin to make your peace with that. In a Haven, you may be protected by the local authorities, IF they value freedom. But outside, you're on your own and no policing force will do anything about it."
Xander added, in a somber tone, "Also, even in Haven, you're ultimately not safe, as there will always be people above or not caring about the law. And they will do whatever they want, as long as they can get away with it, or too powerful to care." He sighed, "Thankfully, Connor's Looting ability isn't that powerful. But for example, young Spatial Elementalist, freshly Sealed... They are a prime target for slavery."
Takeo frowned. "That's a bit too much for me. And what's a Spatial Elementalist?" he asked.
"It's someone who's got a Spatial-aspected White Jade. People with White Jade are called Elementalists, those with both a White and a Purple may be called Mage or Summoner depending on how they use their powers," explained Xander. "And the Spatial Aspect, once correctly mastered allows you to travel back and forth between two Realms on the Path." Xander left it at that, he didn't need to expand on the subject. Takeo could already see how that would be an overly powerful Ability.
"Anyway, that's why we all bear Seal-Gloves and usually keep our mouths shut about our abilities with strangers around," Connor pointed at his. "And that's why I should make you one, by the way. I'll see to that at the next stop."
But then some things like Looting abilities have a visible effect, let's say like increased loot obtained. An attentive merchant could notice that... Takeo mused the question some more, "But then, how do you explain the increased loot?"
"We can discuss while working, we're almost done with this tree," said Xander, as he was already moving toward the next one.
Connor replied, "Well, you get smart. You don't sell everything at once nor at a single merchant. You don't stay too long at a Haven. There are many options. And if you're smart, you can even make a profit out of it, without getting caught." He seemed to have pondered the question before. "Besides, I'm not alone. Being in a group lessens the risk."
Takeo nodded. I guess that's a good enough answer. He mused some more about his situation. So my Looting ability great or not, shouldn't be too much of a problem unless I try to sell the Tokens. But then, I don't need to sell them, I can just use them myself. He smiled for a second before getting back to be serious. Would they extend their protection to me? He didn't know, but it was getting clearer that he'd need to find loyal companions to keep him safe. Alone he was a target.
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It took some time to reach another outcropping of stone. This time there weren't any water sources, and Stone Cache was guarded by a living and kicking thorny vine. It stood like a miniature hydra, with a dozen flowery heads, and each spewed thorns like bullets and lashed out with spiked vines like whips. Thankfully, it was slow to move, and they had hard stone cover to hide behind.
To the Newcomer, it seemed like a mighty foe, but to trained fighters like his two companions, it was barely any more dangerous than a kitten. They nodded at each other and then rushed the beast from behind their rocky hideout. Xander was spotted first, as he came from the right, his small round shield raised. Connor appeared, barely a second later, an arrow already fired at the nearest head. Xander Stepped laterally, dodging the incoming bullets, and unleashed a white crescent of light that cut through the hydra's body, severing five heads in one go. By the time the plant recovered from the shock, three more heads were down thanks to Connor's arrows, and soon enough, the beast lay spasming on the ground, the knots of its body severed.
"That went quicker than expected," said Connor, as he recovered his arrows.
Takeo was stunned by their efficiency.
Xander shrugged, "Well, Master had us trained against its cousins... And we're a lot stronger now." He looked at Takeo, "You should train too, you know. You need to learn how to defend yourself!"
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That dragged the young man out of his stupor and rushed at Connor before he could Loot the corpse. "Hey, I want to try something!" he said. "Do you mind if I borrow the... what is it called anyway?"
Connor looked at him, a bit surprised, "Well that's a Hydra, a plant one. They don't have specific names that I know of, but I guess you could call it a Thorn Hydra." He looked at the young man suspiciously, "What do you want to try?"
Guess there is no two way about this. He smiled a bit apologetically, "I want to try to Loot it..." He had several Tasks already nearing completion, and he suspected he'd get a new one from this Hydra. He called on his Book, and it opened itself at the appropriate page.
Task: Collect ten Sentishydra corpses (0/10) [ ]
Task: Collect ten Hydra corpses (0/10) [ ]
Task: Collect ten plant-type monster corpses (0/10) [ ]
Oh, so it's a Sentishydra? He looked at the corpse, there was of course no description, but maybe he'd get one from the Analysis once he took hold of it.
"What?" came from Connor.
He ignored the outcry from his companion and carefully grabbed a cutting from one of the hydra's vines. The Book didn't react to the corpse Tasks, but it highlighted plant and thorns options. Vine or Thorn? He hesitated a bit but decided to go with the vine option, as it might prove more useful for Connor. He fed a few cuttings to his Book and the Task was completed. Strange that it didn't require me to provide cuttings from different plants... What does the book really want from these anyway?
As expected, he'd earned himself Tokens of Insight and Intuition. He grabbed the Insight one out of the Book in front of his companions and probatory friends. And happily showed them: "There! It's a Token of Insight into the nature of Vines," he declared proudly. "Take, it please." He handed it to Connor, who took it with a bit of hesitation.
The Token, quite like the previous one emitted a faint blue shine, and a small engraving appeared on it showing a vine. Connor looked at it, a bit dumbfounded. "Well, that's... unexpected." He looked at Takeo, "Thank you, I guess. But... What should I do with it?"
Takeo's face fell a bit at that, So that's not common? He sighed Never mind. I'm committed now.
"Just put it in your mouth, it's a bit of a rush but nothing dramatic," he explained.
Connor looked at him, a bit incredulous, he exchanged a worried glance with Xander who shrugged, "Never heard about such things, but I guess it's worth a try."
Connor put the Token in his mouth and chewed on it. He made a face and massaged his head. "Ouch, that's a bit painful..." But he seemed more thoughtful than pained.
Takeo smiled, "So, what do you think?"
The new crafter seemed at a loss for words. A bit like a fish out of water, he opened his mouth and closed it with another frown. Xander came beside him and poked him in the ribs, "You're alright?" he asked, a bit worried.
Connor's frown creased some more and distantly replied, "I-I'm not sure. Yes?" He shook his head, and looked in askance at Takeo "What the hell was that?"
The Newcomer shrugged, "Honestly I'm not sure... In some books, back home, Insight can be a Big Deal. It should be like knowing inside out whatever the subject of that insight is. I tried one with Orbs, but I didn't get anywhere with it. I hoped that you'd have more luck with this one." He took out another Token, an Intuition this time on Vines, "I've got a few others, mostly about plants and grasses. Things I've been collecting since we started this Challenge. But I wondered if some could be useful to you."
"Uh, I guess so," answered Connor, still a bit dazed. "I'm still not quite sure I understand what happened, honestly. But that clearly got my Guide excited, she's been chatting non-stop since I ate that thing."
Xander seemed completely left out of the conversation. He was about to ask something when Connor interrupted him. "Anyway, I'm fine, so stop fussing Xander. I'm just a bit confused, that's all." He looked at Takeo, "And that's your Book doing? That thing is a menace. To you."
"What are you talking about?" asked Xander, trying to get back into the conversation.
Ensued a bit of back and forth between the three of them. As Takeo had surmised, his Tokens were a bit of a Big Deal. So much so that should it be known, it could turn bad pretty quickly. "With that Book, and probably any Ascending Jade, you'll be a killing machine in no time," concluded Connor. "Do you have any idea how much a single of those Tokens could be worth?" The young man honestly didn't know and shrugged. "That's the trick, they are worth probably months if not years of work, and that is nothing you can quantify in terms of money."
"Add to that, that I can fuse them to get better insight," mumbled Takeo, at which another "Outrageous" came out of Connor. "Well, I planned to keep it a secret. But as we discussed earlier, I need to find people I can trust and who can help protect me." He looked pleadingly at his comrades. "You've been good to me so far, and I'd like to keep it that way. While I can't do much to keep myself out of trouble, I can at least try to empower you." And he left out his plea for them to protect him, but he hoped they'd get the message.
Connor looked at him, a bit dumbfounded. "You're serious about this, aren't you?" he asked. Takeo nodded. "Well, I guess I can't say no to that. It's just too good to be true, honestly." He looked at his friend, "You don't mind, right?"
"It might change our plans a bit, but you knew I'd be fine with this anyway," answered Xander with a shrug. "I'm just a bit surprised that you'd trust us so much," he added, looking at Takeo.
The Newcomer was a bit embarrassed. "It's complicated, for me, to trust... but I need to get over my fears."
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The rest of the day was spent harvesting bits of everything and trying to understand why some things like the Hydra's cutting could be added twice and some other plants couldn't. Besides, just the Hydra corpse itself, which was the central node where all the vines were connected, was enough to count as five plant-based monsters by itself, but only one Hydra or Sentishydra. I guess that's because it isn't a true count of corpses, but something else the Book is seeking.
Connor had been confused with the results he'd got from the Insight on the nature of Bones, Metal, and Leather. These were the most generic the Book could provide. He had the option to complete a Task regarding Goblin's Bones and Goblin's Skeleton directly for example and they had a small argument about whether it was worth it. The skeleton would probably be worth something, but maybe the book would provide a Task at some point for a generic bipedal Skeleton. I'll have to wait and see.
Either way, they had visited three other clearings that day. Only one was inhabited, and this time by a trio of little plantlike creatures. They were about the size of a cat, with a round body and a single eye just above a three-segmented mouth. They could hop around but each time it required them to pull up and push down their roots, which made them quite slow. The only problem was that they could breathe out a cloud of some kind of gas that none of them wanted to have to deal with.
Once again, the duo had been quick and efficient. Connor had shot one of the creatures in the eye, and Xander had cut the other two in half with his sword. That's an Endurance Challenge, not a Combat one, alright... He was pretty sure, if confronted with such creatures, that he wouldn't stand a chance.
By the time the sun came down, they had reached the end of the now-named Thorny Maze. The sum of the loot from the Caches didn't amount to much, besides the Healing and Clotting Powders, and another anti-poison Balm. The most useful item was probably a small pair of Herbalist Gloves that prevented the wearer from receiving any physical damage from plants, through the gloves. In this setting at least, it was useful.
They decided to spend the night up on the Hill. It had been a long day, Xander was especially tired as he had hacked at least two dozen trees. But for his effort, the Challenge's Reward had been on the nicer end, despite being the first and "easy" Challenge. All of them had received a handful of Bright Orbs. Takeo had gotten a Red Jade "Thorn Whip" which seemed to be almost interesting. Connor drew out a Yellow "Edible Plant" which was both disappointing and probably a bit redundant. And Xander had gotten a Red "Thorn Shield" which was definitely useful. To the point that he wondered if he would Slot it.
They had a small meal, and then Connor and Xander went to sleep. Takeo had earned himself the first watch. He was a bit nervous, as he had never done that before. Xander had entrusted him with his weird timepiece. It looked like a small wooden box, in which laid a small dented cog that spun on its own once it had been cranked enough, and a little magnified gem that shone with a faint light.
"You see," had explained Xander, "No Realms share the same day-night cycle, so as Pather it's difficult to get used to the time. Some, like the Arena, just don't have any such thing as a cycle."
Which had thrown Takeo in a loop. In retrospect it was obvious, but he had been so focused on himself and his immediate predicament, that he hadn't noticed this. "Err-, sure. Not that it makes any sense, but I'll have to get used to it." And wasn't that something he liked to repeat?
"Well, this little gem here," he tapped his fingernail against the blob of glass magnifying the gem inside the timepiece. "That is a very special kind of crystal that is sensitive to Time, with a capital T. Honestly I don't know how it works, nor why. But it will always change color at the same pace, wherever you are. It's useful in certain situations." Then he pointed at the finely dented cog, "And this is a clockwork mechanism that will spin at a constant speed. It has nothing to do with the crystal. The crystal is great for a longer period, but the cog allows for finer measurement of the local time. You crank it, then you set the timing with a little cap you can push on a dent of the cog, and you let it turn. When the black arrow points to the cap, time's up. Simple, right?"
It also implied that time wasn't quite constant, and some places had a faster or slower flow of time than others. But he let it slide. In the end, what does it matter?
He looked at the night sky. It was reminiscent of his own childhood sky. The few stars he could place at Home, he couldn't find here. Besides, there were three little moons chasing each other instead of one big one. He wondered idly what he would look like in a year, or two. Would he be slaving for some rich asshole? Would he be dead? Would he be a powerful mage?
He liked the idea of wielding magic. Just the thought of it made him giddy. But he'd need first to find a White Jade and that was easier said than done. And then, what kind of mage would he become? Sorry, Elementalist, he corrected himself. At the moment he had a treasure trove of plant-related Insight of one kind or another and he could probably get more easily enough. His teleportation was already something Space-related, and wouldn't that be nice? But his Book was already dangerous enough, so maybe he should try to find something a bit lower-key.
His eyes landed on the only lit Door. Their next Challenge. I wonder what it will be... The crystals shining on the door were Orange-Green-Brown. Of course, Connor and Xander had discussed the potential meaning of this code themselves, but Takeo tried to make his assessment using their indications.
According to his Notes, Orange was the color of Charisma. Green Dexterity and Brown Constitution. Xander had said that the first one gave the type and the following one altered or gave a mood to the Challenge.
So we'll probably get to meet people, because how would else you use Charisma? he mused. And then, we will have to do something dexterous and difficult? He frowned, Or these people will be nimble and enduring?
By the time the tenth idea was up in the air, it was already time to wake Xander and get to sleep.