Despite Connor's fears, the air didn't seem to be getting any thinner, or filled with smoke. Which suggested that there were some unseen vents, somewhere. Or that the air was being recycled. And honestly, there are probably a dozen viable options out there. Is that really worth considering?
Xander had finally gone to sleep. Takeo had literally not moved since his previous wake-up. And Connor was musing about the air, or more accurately, tried to avoid thinking about the clusterfuck that had been this Challenge. First of all, this incredible and insane cart race. He had been totally outmatched, there was nothing, nothing, he could have done to prevent anything. Then, the monstrous incursion, the people turning into devilish fiends. He hadn't been prepared. His Spatial Ring had been lost to the cause.
He needed a Spatial Storage Jade of some kind so that he would NEVER be found again without any tools to help him out of an unexpected situation. This was a very difficult decision for him, as he only had two Jade Slots to fuck up. Then he'd find a Yellow or an Orange Jade to help him learn at a higher speed because his Path was going to be one of a schemer and a crafter. His last Slot, he would keep free for now. It was common for the Pather, especially for those without Ascending Jades. He had one already, but the Realms were wide, and who knew what kind of Jades existed that could be of tremendous help?
He had checked the Ring's content. Their flight from the bear tribe had netted them several high-graded Orbs. Xander had called dibs on a trio of physical ones, plus another set of physical but Bright. Connor opted to get some Intelligence and Wisdom of the highest grade they'd found and another set of Bright physical. Both of them knew it was certainly too early to make big decisions like that. They'd wait a bit, and see if Takeo woke up and approved their uses of the Orbs. Not that he would have anything to say about the use themselves, but these were Loot that had been put into the common pot, so he could claim a share. Besides,... Connor didn't want to be reminded that they had been forced to set him a Jade.
All told, if he slotted these, he would have filled a bit more than one-third of his seal, with 15 out of 36 slots filled. Once in a Haven, he would of course be able to upgrade these Orbs, but he wouldn't be able to change their types. His friend on the contrary would have filled a bit more of his Seal, with 19 out of 30 slots filled.
That is, without even knowing what their true stats were. Before getting the Seal, the Reader couldn't give them any of the information about their own specs. This was a bit of a bummer, as not everyone took out the same potential from the same Orb, as some people were more attuned to some types of Orbs than others. This also heavily factored into why it wasn't recommended to slot Orbs before reaching a Haven.
Then there were the numerous trinkets and pieces of armor. More options. More choices.
He took out a pair of bones and idly toyed with them. His taking of Takeo's Token of Insight on Bones hadn't proved to be the boon he had expected. But maybe he hadn't been looking at the right place. His manipulation of these bones seemed to be more fluid, his hands more precise. The dagger that soon appeared was probably a bit more solid than his earlier creation. Not that he could check, as his short sword turned to poleaxe and axe had been shattered in the fight. He needed to be more diligent in his crafting, and not just make things for the sake of making them.
He had lost several knives already, and a sword. There was time right now, "Let's get started!"
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Connor was drawn out of his crafting torpor by a pebble Xander had thrown. "What was that for?" he asked, a bit annoyed.
"I've been calling you for a while now. Takeo's waking, I guess?" Xander said, pointing at the unmoving form of their friend, the red hue was receding into his skin.
"Great news indeed. Not worth a pebble, though!" he grumbled back. To his surprise, he had fashioned six little knives. Each was seemingly better shaped than the last. I am getting better at this, he thought, a bit proud of himself. Next stop, a sword!
He quickly fastened three of them in empty slots of his armor and stored the rest. He would need to find a way to make them more durable. He stood up, his legs aching from having been in the same position for so long. He stretched and then walked to Takeo.
"Hey, you're back with us?" he asked, a bit too loudly. Takeo's eyes opened, and he looked around, a bit confused.
"Where are we?" he asked, his voice a bit hoarse.
Xander answered, "In a cavern, we're safe. You've been out for a while, do you remember?" He had a bit of a worried look on his face.
Takeo frowned, and then realization seemed to come. "I-I remember, I guess. Some big ass worm?" He paused. "Thirsty..."
Connor smirked as Xander fussed about the young man, helping him to a sitting position and giving him water. "Now how do you feel?" That was the thousand-credit question.
"Not great?" he replied uncertainly. He still had a better complexion than the last time he had surfaced.
"Okay, do you mind if we check on your wound then?" asked Connor. "We want to see if the Healing Jade did its job."
At the mention of Jade, Takeo frowned. "Healing Jade?" That was exactly what they had feared. It was a pot of puss they had to deal with now. Xander wasn't up to it, and in the end, he was the one who had forced the young man to slot this Jade.
"Right... Right." Connor cleared his throat. "You see, you were in a very, very bad shape a few hours ago. We... we have tried everything, with what we had on hand. You understand?"
Takeo shook his head. "Not really?"
The crafter sighed. "Well. You see, at some point, you came almost awake. And we had you checking the Jades for a Healing Jade. You found one, and we had you slot it. It was the only way to save you. You understand? Do you remember?"
Takeo frowned. "I... I remember something. I think." He looked at his hands, then at his right hand, ungloved, where a second Brown Jade had found its way in his how so strange moving Seal. We'll have to tell him about that as well. Shit.
He called on his Book, "Can you show me the entry about that Jade, please?" he asked his Book. The Book dutifully opened itself and went several pages further. Takeo read, "Stasis. Lock the body of the target into forced deep meditation. Increase overall defense of the body. If used on a willing target, greatly increase natural regeneration." He muttered something about "deep meditation."
"It's... a bit niche," concluded Xander.
Connor had to agree, it clearly wasn't practical. "We'd still like to see the results?" he enquired. He also avoided to remark that he hadn't quite consented to be slotted this Jade.
The young man nodded. "But you'll have to help me, I'm not sure I can remove the bandages by myself," he said softly, after looking at his own torso. "I feel it, the wound. It's still there. Not good."
Xander was already unfastening the bandages as blood was beginning to appear through the bandages. Connor took out their supplies, especially the Clotting Powder's envelope, and another of Healing Powder. When Xander finally removed the last bit of bandage, the sight surprised the two of them. Takeo couldn't see much, besides the blood trickling from his stomach.
"What's going on in there?" asked Connor, a bit worried. "I thought the Jade would have done its job."
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Xander was looking at the wound, "I think it did?" he said, a bit uncertainly. "I mean, look. Ah-" He looked at Takeo, "It will pull a bit, but don't worry, right?"
The young man nodded faintly. And Xander pulled at some scab. "See, there already is skin under this. But there," and he pointed deeper into the hole that had been the young man's wound, "That is strange. It's like... like a membrane? It's not skin. It has even already ruptured, that's why he is bleeding again."
Connor was at a loss. "So what do we do?" he asked.
His friend shrugged, "Put some Powders on it, and let's see what happens. Maybe he just needs more rest under his Jade's Ability?"
"Alright, alright..." Connor took the Powders and applied them to the wound. The bleeding stopped quickly enough. "We only have so many bandages you know." He took out the healing balm and added another layer for good measure. "There, that should do it."
He handed a ball of bandages to Xander who dutifully set it up. "There, you're good to go. Just don't move too much, okay?" he said, a bit worried.
Takeo had been quite passive for the duration of the examination. "I... I don't know what to say. Thank you, I guess?" he said, a bit uncertainly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be a burden."
Xander replied first, "You're not a burden. It was my job to protect you in the first place." He paused, "And I failed, I'm sorry."
The young man was helped back to lying. Connor asked, "Do you remember what happened? I mean, after the bear tribe?"
Takeo frowned a bit, "I think so." He paused. "I saw my body, in golden colors, waves of gold rushing around." He paused again, "That's not the first time. When I got the Seal I saw it too, you know?"
Xander looked at Connor, "THAT is deep meditation, I guess?" he asked.
His friend shrugged, "Could be. Did you see anything else? Blue veins, silvery fog?"
"Exactly. Three little suns, one blue, one white, one golden," he said, a bit excited.
Connor nodded along, and concluded, "Yes, then, that's deep meditation. Your new Jade should help you with that as well. It's a peculiar state that allows you to recover faster and if used correctly, it helps you master energies."
Xander was impressed that Takeo had reached this kind of state without training. It had taken them months before they could even begin to reach this kind of state. "Okay. So the Door then bam, you're in deep meditation?"
Takeo shrugged slightly, "I guess? But there was something weird this time. There was this golden tube that seemed to come from so far away, right into my belly. When I zoomed in, I saw it was pumping out some bizarre fog thing, and pumping in the same-ish kind of fog. It was weird."
Not sure he had understood anything, Connor still gestured to the young man to continue. "And then?"
"And then I got sucked in the tube! I was like a kite in a wind tunnel. It hurt, it was scary," he explained. He was getting a bit agitated. "But then I got super shiny and began to climb back toward my body. I somehow slammed across the tube in the other direction and was propelled back into my body. The cable somehow destroyed everything on the way. Then the world went black and I woke up here."
Some pieces were missing, but Connor wasn't sure they were relevant. "Thank you, Takeo. Maybe we should get you something to eat?" he asked Xander. He had prepared some broth while he had been busy crafting, its smell had been wafting in the air for a while now. He wouldn't say no to a bowl himself.
"Yeah, I'd like that," replied Takeo.
"While Xander gives you a hand, I'll try to recount what happened to us," he said. "I'm not sure I'll be able to convey everything honestly, because that was another level of crazy."
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By the time Connor had finished his story, Takeo had both regained and lost some of his complexion. "Shit," was all he said for a little while. "Do you remember if there was a red-" he paused, massaged his head, and continued, "a red car behind yours? with copper pipes through the windshield?"
"A car?" asked Connor, "Is that the name of those strange carts?"
Xander shrugged, "I haven't paid that much attention to this. Ours had been blue, with writing on the side, but I was preoccupied at that time."
"Johnson and Sons," muttered Takeo. His head lurched back, heavily hit the ground, and began to convulse. Xander dropped his bowl, and lunched himself onto the young man, to keep him from hurting himself more. Connor was panicking just as much and tried to help him in any way. Thankfully the episode didn't last much longer and he was just passed out.
"What the hell was that?" shouted Connor, more astounded than angry.
Xander was flustered. "I-I don't know." It took him a few more seconds to get a hold of himself, and he added, "But it seemed that he knew about what we witnessed."
"You mean?" asked Connor, a bit confused.
"I mean, that we probably relieved a memory of his. And that it was a bad one," he explained. "Which probably means this Challenge was all about this. Probably a Red-Orange-Orange, or something like that."
"So, this Worm we had here, was pumping a memory out of him? and it served it to us?" asked Connor, a bit incredulous.
Xander shrugged, "I don't know. But I'm pretty sure we woke up because he broke that tube of his. You said he was awake before you in the cavern, right?"
As if that explained anything? "Yes, he was," he replied. He tried to remember the scene. "He was crawling toward us, and..." he paused. "Nothing else of importance. When I asked for his help, he gave it directly. I ordered him away from the fight and he teleported away."
"Never mind, all that matters is that we came out of there alive," said Xander. Beside them, the young man shrugged and began to emerge, once again. "Hey, you're back with us?" asked Xander, a bit worried.
"Yeah?" he replied, a bit confused. "God I hate blacking out... What did I do?"
Connor was a bit more worried than before. "You had a seizure, I think. You were talking about a car, and then you passed out."
His friend added, "You said a name. I don't want to say it aloud, but it was a name. And I think it was from your past."
Takeo frowned, "I don't remember..." He paused, "But every time I try to remember a name I get bad headaches. So if I said it, that would explain the seizure... in a fucked up sort of sense."
"The Curse," muttered Connor. "Of course, the Curse!" Xander seemed to understand right away. "That's the Curse of Newcomers, they can't remember names!" He completely had forgotten about that. Not that it resolved anything but it at least explained their friend's seizure, maybe.
"Okay, then let's leave it at that," he quickly added. "Xander wanted to know if this scene was a memory of your?"
Takeo was still white and just nodded. "I need some rest guys."
"Right, right, that's not important anyway," whispered Xander. "Just sleep, or better, activate that Jade again. You know, just think of healing yourself, of getting better, and that did the trick the last time, okay?"
He nodded and the red haze appeared seconds later.
"Well, he is getting a bit better," observed Xander, after a few minutes of silence.
Connor was wondering what they would do now. He was doing better than dying, true, but not much better. They still haven't addressed half of the issues they should have by now. They hadn't asked about the Rewards share, they hadn't talked at all about their next Challenge. They had for some reason unlocked the first and the second Door, but only got one Reward. Besides the options were less than stellar.
"Red-Brown-Brown", he muttered as he looked at the first Door, "And Red-Red-Blue for the second." He looked at Xander, "What do you think?"
"We're in for a fight or two, that's for sure," he replied. "I don't like the second one, but the first one is a bit more straightforward. We'll have to fight a lot of people, probably."
"Something like that," he agreed. "Next time he wakes up, we need to parse all our Jades and prepare." He paused, "I'm not sure how I'll be able to help, though."
Xander smiled, "Well since you asked..." He took out his long sword. "I'd like you to take a look at my sword, and get a feel for it. I would like you to try to make me a new one. A bit longer, a bit heavier, with only one edge. I think I'll be able to use it better."
Connor took the sword and looked at it. "That's a tough one, you know? Do you want to try a new weapon on the next Challenge?" he asked, a bit worried. He would have said that it wasn't the time to try new things, but if he was honest with himself, they almost died because they had followed their Master's rules.
"Maybe, maybe not. I want to have the option. It should synergize well with my Guide, I think, so it would help." He paused, "Also, I'll slot that Thorn Shield unless there is something better in the lot."
Connor had expected something like that. He wouldn't change his plan though, it was his Path to follow, and hopefully, he wouldn't drag his friend down with him. "Alright, I'll see what I can do. I'll need some time, though."
Xander nodded, "Takeo won't be ready for a while, I think." His downcast eyes were enough to convey his meaning. He wasn't out of the woods yet, and they probably would have either to abandon him or carry him.
Maybe Takeo can help me get Insight on Swords? he wondered. He held his friend's longsword in his hands, trying to get a feel for it. It was way too long for his taste. It would be slow to wield, but once it got going, it was a nightmare to stop. It was the whole point of such a weapon, of course. He took out most of his remaining material. Bones were getting scarce. He had some iron and other assortment of metals. Just a few pieces of wood, which is going to be another problem soon. Leather he had plenty, but you can't fashion a sword out of leather, right?
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Several hours later Takeo came back to himself, but his wound hadn't changed much. If he didn't move too much, he was fine, but sitting got him to bleed quickly. Which made things complicated.
They had a bit of a discussion with all three of them. And decided they would leave the cavern when Takeo next woke. If he could walk, then fine. Otherwise, they would have to carry him. Hopefully, the next Challenge will give them access to a Haven.
They still had time to analyze every Jade and trinket they had found. Most interesting was the two Circlets of Mental Resistance. And the most troublesome was the White Jade, which truthfully belonged to Takeo. A Mind Mastery Jade.