131. NEW BOND: GWAED.

Another bloody Health potion. Either the mixtures fail, or the healing portion overwhelms the poison or vice versa. For three weeks, I have been at it with no apparent progress. I have a supply of health potions, although some of them have some interesting side effects. I have mostly been using my blood and the Zebrafish Wiremu caught for me. Poisons have been from the stingray, box jellyfish and barracuda. I have also created some interesting poisons, but nothing suitable for the Death assassin. My Poison Resistance went up a level, so some of the poisons are potent.

We will be docking this evening at a small fishing village, and I have a trek inland to try and find a bond. The ship will only be here for three days to trade, restock, and give the crew two days on land. I have a long way to go to get there and back in three days, so I will be leaving as soon as we dock. Walking through the night doesn’t worry me. I have Nightsight, rather than the fancy Darksight, but with my Echolocation, Infrared Vision, Olfaction and Sense Blood, I should be able to avoid anything and make fast progress. I also want to find a number of specific plants for my alchemy, and I am always on the lookout for new plant and animal materials to experiment with.

Sugnwr will also scout for me, which is another reason to leave at night. I have been working with both Sugnwr and Merch on their skills, and Sugnwr has not learned anything new, but Merch has learned Blood Rejuvenation which might help keep her alive, even though it wasn’t enough for Difetha.

I hadn’t been to this area for over thirty years when I was first sailing for Obalno, but I imagine it hasn’t changed much. These areas don’t seem to change as they are mostly just wilderness and mountains. Lots of mountains. Mountain Troll blood would be good to try in my potion, but I doubt I could take one down alone. Actually, that could be a good enterprise if I bond with a vulture. Searching for Monster carcases and scavaging the beast cores from them. Feeding my bonds Monster meat also allows them the grow much stronger than a normal animal. The cores are very dangerous for them, though. Wiremu got very lucky with Tāoke. I learned through my Druid Class, though, that if you feed your bonds enough Monster meat, they can develop their own cores over time and become monsters. It is much safer than letting them eat a core.

I have my pack prepared, and I am ready to go as soon as we dock. I have let the captain know, and Ruku will hopefully stop them from leaving me here if I am back a little late. Ruku wanted to come, but it is better if it is just me and my bonds. I have given Ruku a list of local ingredients to get for me and, of course, any monster meat or blood. Sometimes the village hunters have to take out monsters, so you never know.

I have packed most of the poisons I have created and some of the more potent health potions. I have a Staff, and while I have the Staff Weapon Skill, it is better for me to use weapons that draw blood. My claws and knives are better, and I can use my skills like Haemorrhage, Poison Blood and Blood Infection. My Throw Weapons Skill is the only ranged attack I have, and I have some throwing stars for that. It is a weak area for me, and Sugnwr is only of limited help. I am taking Merch with me, even though his strengths are in a city. In the wilderness, she is mostly just prey. It is better for the new bond if all the other bonds are present. I think she likes snuggling in my bosom.

We docked in the late afternoon as expected, and we were down the gangplank almost as soon as it was lowered. Sugnwr had left earlier and had started scouting the edge of the village. The villagers were happy to see the trading vessel and were gathering their wares to try and sell. I am glad I am not a Merchant. I stopped and bought some supplies for the trip and got information on the local monster situation. I soon left the village behind me.

I have Journeyman Stealth, so I can move quite quickly with a reasonable amount of stealth. We set off at a steady jog. There are normal animal signs, although I am no tracker. I saw moose and deer and normal predators. In these mountains, the normal apex predators are the wolf, bear, coyote and fox. There are numerous lesser predators. Sugnwr has already spotted a bear and a small wolf pack. I altered my route to avoid them.

Three hours later, it was full night, and I was descending into a valley when Sugnwr indicated she had found something interesting. I altered my direction, and when I got close, I went into full stealth. It was a fight, but not just any fight. A pack of coyotes were attacking a fox, but not just any fox. It was a Monster Fox with a fire affinity. How the hell a fox awoke a fire affinity out here was a mystery, but it wasn’t doing so well. Affinities are awoken in a person or beast, not gained any other way. It looks like the coyotes had hamstrung the fox, so it couldn’t move well. The fox was burning all the coyotes when they approached, and a number of coyote corpses were scattered around. There were other smouldering fires around in the pine needles and grasses of the forest floor.

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This was an opportunity for me to scavenge a monster kill and a monster core. I have not had a monster kill before. The Druid class, or Dryw in Elvish, provides a particular specialisation for those with a monster kill. The Gwarchodwr Dryw or Sentinel Druid in the common tongue. Skills the class gives were many and varied, but now was not the time for speculation. It was the time for action.

I withdrew three throwing stars and put one in each coyote and one in the fox. The female coyote took the star in the throat and, combined with the other injuries, she collapsed to bleed out. The male coyote moved, and the star lodged in his shoulder muscle. That was enough for him, and he retreated at speed. I swore at him. I don’t have many of the throwing stars. Maybe I will track him later. I have his scent.

The fox was the best throw, and the star hit him in the neck, severing his spine. I moved forward carefully and killed the fox. I dug out the Beast Core and then drained his blood into a container. I then cut the fur off as best I could. I didn’t have a Skinning Skill, so I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I knew it was worth something, even just as a bed for Merch.

I then let Merc out and called Sugnwr to feast on the corpse. One of the reasons Difetha go so big and learned so many skills was the amount of monster meat I could feed her. She had not become a Monster when she died, but she was well on her way. I tore off a raw leg to chew on myself while I checked on my status. Raw meat is no problem for me with my Fangs and Strong Stomach Skills. I did still prefer my meat to be cooked.

Then I heard the whimper and whine and picked up movement among what I thought were coyote corpses. A young coyote was crawling toward me. He had burned fur around his mouth, and his back leg didn’t work. When he was close and saw he had been noticed, he rolled on his back, presenting his throat and belly to me submitting.

“Oh, bloody hell no,” I said, “you are not joining my pack.”

The coyote stayed with his belly up and whined/whimpered again.

“No. I should just put you out of your misery,” I threatened.

He whined again and wriggled closer to me, still on his back.

“What the hell does our pack want with a dog?” I asked.

He yipped at me a few times.

“I know you are fast, faster than any wolf. Yes, I know you can track, but you will piss everywhere, marking your territory.” I complained.

He whined again, wriggling closer.

“Shit.” This was the first time an animal had chosen to bond with me, rather than me choosing who to bond with. The bond was mostly done at this point, fucking dogs. I ripped off the other hind leg from the fox and tossed it to him, completing the bond. “You had better bloody well earn your keep,” I told him as he scrambled to get the leg and started ripping the meat from the bone. His mouth must have been really hurting him, as a whimper accompanied each bite.

Bloody hell, “Come here,” I told him, and he picked up the fox leg and limped over. I pulled out one of my healing potions and poured some into the cup of my hand for him to lick. I then spread some on his other burns and had a look at his hind leg. The bone was fine, but the tendon was cut and burned. The fox did a number on it, and it will take a while for it to heal. I spread some of the potion over it and fed the rest to the mutt. I then cut my wrist and used Blood Infusion to give him a Blood Rejuvenation and Blood Cleanse. He picked up my affinity straight away, which I think is why he wanted the bond so much. I suspect he had a latent Blood Affinity in him.

“You need a name,” I said. What do I name a Blood Affinity coyote? Blood Sport? No, the Elvish is too long we need something simple. Whiner? He had a typical grey coat of fur with no special markings. I judged him to be about the age of a teenage coyote. He went back to chewing on his fox leg. Stubborn? Almost dogged stubborn? That is a good quality to have and means he is going to be very loyal. Pybyr is Elvish for staunch. Pybyr it is.

I have never had a bond with its own affinity. My bonds tend to learn my blood skills through our bond, but not the affinity itself. I don’t actually know what that means. Animals who become monsters will awaken an affinity, which I guess is why it is so hard for animals to do. Will he become a monster easier and sooner than the others? I don’t know. Will his affinity skills be stronger, and can he learn them easier? Probably.

Pybyr finished his leg and moved to partake of the main carcass. Merch squeaked at him a waved a paw at him, and he backed off. At least he knows his place at the bottom of the pack. Seeing a rat tell off a coyote was pretty amusing. The thing with Merch and Sugnwr is they won’t eat a lot, so there will be plenty for Pybyr to finish. I fished out the fox’s guts and organs and tossed them to him, except for the heart. I took a bite from the heart and then gave the rest to Sugnwr. It was chewy.