1.2 Waking Up to a New Life.

I woke up to the sounds of birdsong welcoming the dawn. My back was stiff from spending all day and night lying on a stone table, but I felt much better. At some point, I transitioned from comatose to deep sleep. I woke up hungry, thirsty, angry, and feeling better than I could ever remember being.

I  was no longer being flooded with Notifications. I could still feel them waiting for me, like an imaginary blinking blue dot, everytime I closed my eyes, but I had some control over them. 

Stretching out my arms and sitting up, I took a good look around and listened. I was not an outdoorsman, by any stretch of the imagination, but my family had been. I was a third generation Eagle Scout, with my father being one of my early Scouting leaders. No matter that I prefer staying indoors and reading, I wasn’t a stranger to the wilderness my bulk might suggest. 

Birdsong, but none that I quite recognised. Chirping of insects I couldn’t identify. Wind whispering through the trees, almost like distant voices. The trees, taller and greener, a mix of pines, oaks, walnuts?, maples?, with others I could not name. The sun rising above the treetops, bigger than I was used to, the sunshine like golden honey dripping across the landscape. It seemed richer, more alive. The colors brighter, as if the whole world was in High Def.

The Stone Circle, just worn pillars of gray rock, hummed with a quiet power, like standing too close to a high power transformer. The table I was sitting on was marble rather than granite, still gray, but veined with copper, silver, gold, blue, and red. There, where I had laid my head, was the triple circle pattern of Triquetra. The same pattern found on a TV witch’s Book of Shadows, or a cinematic thunder god’s hammer. A pattern found on the white gold wedding band I still wore on my left hand.

We brought our bands at a RenFaire, not a jewelry store. Mine of white gold, hers of rose gold, both cleverly etched with celtic knotwork along the entire length of the rings, except at the top, where the band swelled so the Trinity Knot pattern could be better displayed. I still wore mine, even after fifteen years. I wore hers on the pinky of my right hand, and could not remove it even if I had wanted.

For almost twenty year I had been wearing the Symbol of the Realm. I still don’t know if that was a coincidence or not. 

The first rule of being lost in the woods, according to the former marine Scoutmaster of my youth, was to take stock of resources. So I closed my eyes, and thought ‘Status’.

Name:Gabe

Title:Otherworlder

Presence:3

Race:Elite Human ???

Class:High Scholar(Lit) 5

Caste: (H)ImpCitizen???

Alignment:10

Ethos Modifier:--

Health:36/40

Wounds:0/10

Sanity:39/44

Psychosis:0/8

Mana:32/33

Stamina:28/29 

AGL:3    Mod-3

INT:13  Mod+1

CHR:8   Mod-1

BRN:13  Mod+1

WLL:8  Mod-1

LCK:6   Mod-2

CON:10  Mod--

WIS:8   Mod-1

MAG:10 Mod-- 

DEX:10   Mod--

WIT:10  Mod--

PER:8    Mod-1

Brawn and Intellect were my highest stats. Not surprising, I read a lot, and as for Brawn, well, I may not go to the gym at all, but you try walking around with an extra 250 lbs strapped to your body and see what kind of workout you get.

Presence seemed low to me, it was meant to be a representation of the strength or intensity of my spiritual aura. Practically, it was based on the highest level class. Castes, Careers, and Races were treated as half-classes, so their levels were divided in half. Careers were the NPC only classes, like Scholar, but I had five levels in the upgraded High Scholar, which should be considered a full class. Focusing on Presence I got my answer:

Presence is unaffected by Honorary Classes, Titles, and Levels.

Presence is unaffected by Hidden Race Levels. 

Presence only counts half of open Race, Caste, and Career Levels.

It is negatively impacted by Hidden Title: Realm Newbie.

Until it expires Bonus Class Levels are divided in half. 

The answer was accompanied with a sense of loss. Checking again I noticed it costed me 3 points of Stamina. [Introspection] was a Skill, which meant there was a cost associated with using it. The more information I accessed, the greater the cost. No wonder I passed out yesterday. The pain must have been my Health draining once my Stamina bottomed out.

It was a tool I asked for, but one that wasn’t nearly as useful as I had anticipated. It also meant I couldn’t just go around Examining everything to gain skill levels. Under Mana would drain both Health and Sanity.

In spite of the cost, there was one more thing I needed to check.

Personal Skills/Spells: Introspection 1,Tongues 1, Examination 1, Summon Gear 1

Amateur Skills:None           

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Amateur  Skills are not affiliated with any Class, and have a MaxLevel equal to their primary Attribute Score. In addition to Learning from a Qualified Trainer, Amateur skills may be awarded by the System when successfully performing an unskilled action. The Difficulty of being rewarded with an Epiphany is based on Presence Score plus total number of existing Amateur Skills, plus total number of full Classes (including Careers) minus Luck Modifier. 

Current Epiphany Difficulty: 4

Class Skills: None

Unspent Class Skill Points: 5

Unspent ASI: 2

Class Skills have a MaxLevel equal to either primary Attribute Score, or Class Level plus Attribute Modifier, which ever is greater.

Class skills may be Learned from Class and Skill Trainers, Acquired by Epiphany, or purchased with Skill Points.

Skill Points may also be used to Improve existing Class Skills, up to Class Level.

I had five Skill points, which meant I could get five Level 1 Skills, one Level 5 Skill, or some combination thereof. The two ASI, or Attribute Score Increase surprised me, since I only expected one. ASI were earned every four full class levels, up to level 20, every five up to level 40 and every ten there after. Half-classes only generated an ASI every ten levels. Since I wasn’t counting on the Hidden Race and Levels, I should only have one. 

I wasn’t complaining! Each ASI would increase a Score under 10 by three points, a Score under 20 by two points, and a Score under 30 by one point. I could increase my Agility to 9, and basically be considered normal. It should go without saying that an Agility of 3 is very bad.

ASI could also be used to buy a Perk. There was a lot of debate on the forums about Score improvement verses Perk acquisition. I normally increased Attributes, but a wilderness specific Perk could really help me right now.

I struggled to get off the stone table, or rather altar I had been sleeping on. I fell to my knees, but was able to pull myself up to my feet. I walked around, examining but not [Examination]ing the marble altar. I didn’t want to waste my limited Mana when I could just look and see if I could recognise something from Lorecraft. If I could figure out where I was, then I could start to make plans. I was pretty sure I had been resting on an Altar of Accension. An Altar surrounded by a Stone Circle on a hill in a primeval wood.  If I were to assume I was in one of the starter areas from the Lorecraft game, I could then limit my potential locations.

I can just imagine readers are wondering why I haven’t gone looking for water yet. The old adage states, three minute without air, three days without water, or three weeks without food. Given my blubber reserves I could likely last twice that without eating, but I still needed water. The answer was I wanted to wait for my Stamina to recover. My body weight alone was enough to inflict an Encumbered Condition, despite by 13 Brawn. That meant I burned Stamina just by casual walking. Besides I din’t have anything to hold it, yet.

When checking my Skill Status I discovered a [Summon Gear] personal spell. Hopefully that meant a canteen and walking staff in my future. Back on Dirt I had a whole room filled with camping and Scouting gear. The rest of the trailer had book shelves covering the walls with my own personal collections of games, graphic novels, and books. I was one of those packrats that never threw anything away without a gun pointed at my head.

Before the accident, me and my wife had been volunteer Den Leaders for the Cub Pack sponsored by our church. I had become a Merit Badge counselor as an adult trying to pay forward my own positive Scouting experiences. After the accident and my physical recovery, I was asked to join the Troop’s Scout Committee, as the Advancement Coordinator. I figured they were trying to help my emotional recovery by getting me to engage. 

Over the next 15 years I completed Woodbadge Training and certification, and even spent two years as Scoutmaster. Two years that convinced me, my health was just not up to camping with a group of 11-14 year old boys. I only went on about half the camping trips, often driving up the following morning instead of staying the night, but I did own my own camping gear. Cleaned, dried, and packed ready to go a moments notice, just like my Dad had drilled into me. 

Perhaps more importantly was my collection of staves and walking sticks. I was not the most stable hiker, but rather than using a cane for assistance, I collected staves. Some fantasy inspired purchased at RenFaires. Some hand carved gifts from fellow Scouters. I one I dubbed my Scoutmaster Staff even had an aluminum eagle screwed into the top. I knew I wouldn’t get far without some walking assistance.

The fresh air felt rejuvenating. I would recover a number of Stamina points equal to my Constitution every Short Rest. Assuming I was in a Wilderness Zone, that meant roughly one point a minute. I walked to the nearest Menhir and ran my hands across the rough surface. Stepped to the next and repeated. I went around the whole circle looking for something that might help me narrow down which of the three wilderness starting areas I could be in. There were no paths leading down the hill, no game trails I could see breaking up the woodlands. The ancient majestic oaks and pines surrounded the hill without encroaching on it.  My fledgling woodcraft and a memory were not up to the task.

Altars of Accension belonged in the Cathedrals and Temples of the great cities and capitals. They were one of the few Artifacts that allowed players to upgrade their Classes without needing to pay a Trainer. I knew of three Altars dedicated to the Will of the World. Altars sacred to Druids, Wood Elves, Cardinal Pilgrims, and Primal Rangers. Altars of Nature, Balance, and Neutrality. My Pally always started near an Altar of Accension dedicated to the Avatars of Light and Life. It made sense that Janus would choose a more Neutral place for me to start.

I remembered a creative writing class I had taken where the teacher recommended that when given a choice, always make the choice that was worse for your protagonist. Which of the choices would be the worst from my point of view? Grimmwood, Brightwood, or Briarwood? Grimmwood, home of giant spiders, evil hags, fell beasts, and other creatures of darkness. Brightwood, home of the Fey, and all of the mischievousness that entails. Briarwood, home of the Great Beasts. It was said of old that hidden in the middle of the Briarwood is an ancient castle where sleeps the ancestral Queen of the Briars, at least that is the Lore. Gothic witches, Fairies, or talking animals, those were my options, and nothing I had seen suggested one over the others. 

Leaving the question alone for the moment I returned to the Altar itself. I was all topped up and ready for magic. Although not Cosplaying anyone in particular, my standard Con dress was a weird hybrid between Hugh’s version of Van Helsing and Aragorn, sized for St. Nick.. I did have an old brown leather messager bag, where I kept my lap top, dice, cards, maps, and other gaming supplies.  I was wearing it at the time I was summoned, and it did indeed make the journey with me, but I was still unsure of the state of its contents. Hopefully I would have the Components needed for the spell. 

Besides my rings were two other adornments of note, both acquired on my honeymoon to France. We attended the Celtric Festival in Lorient, Brittainy. I picked up a silver belt buckle with a triskelion design, and my wife got a purple gold Triskele medallion, that I was currently wearing around my neck. I had replaced the belt numerous times, but always kept using the same buckle. Purple gold sounds cool, and as it is an alloy of gold and aluminum, it is actually cheaper than yellow gold.

I mention this only because I was hoping for a Mystic Spell Focus to help with the casting. Spell Foci are items that help the caster channel Mana, reducing Concentration and Material  requirements, and decreasing the chance of backlash. Enhanced foci may even give a bonus to the casting check. Foci are generally specific to a single Tradition of Magic: Arcane, Eldritch,Elemental, Occult, Primeval, Psionic, Sacred, and Personal.  Personal spells do not belong to any specific tradition, but are unique to each individual. As such one can not just find a Personal Spell Focus, it must be personally crafted for a specific individual. Mystic foci on the other hand are not crafted, they evolve. Exposure to Mana in extreme circumstances can ‘awaken’ items with latent mystic potential. That is what I was hoping for. That something I was wearing would help me cast my Personal Spell, [Summon Gear].

For what it was worth, normal Scholars were considered Latent Arcane Casters. I did not know if High Scholars were any more effective at Spellcasting, but I hoped.

First, [Introspection] to check out the spell and any casting modifiers.

Personal Spell: [Summon Gear] Level 1

Arcane School: Transdimensional/Summoning   Fifth Circle

Sacred Domain: Travel

Components:Vocal, Somatic, Graphic, Concentration

Casting Time: 5 minutes

Cool Down: 24 hours

Duration: Instant

Cantrip: No

Ritual:Yes

Caster Check:Yes

Mana Cost: 50

Caster Level:1

Caster Bonus:+3

I was happy to see the Caster Bonus, that meant I was wearing something that counted as an Enhanced Focus. I was also glad to see it could be cast as a Ritual, since at 50 Mana a pop it cost more than I had to give. UnderMana is a nasty Condition which drains both Health and Sanity. Ritual Casting trades time for Mana, or Concentration. A one hour ritual, and the spell would be survivable for me.

I didn’t expect to be able to cast the spell as a cantrip, which is a simpler, rote version of a spell that could be cast quicker, if at the cost of effectiveness. 

The spell level indicated the caster’s, in this me, proficiency. Higher levels either increased effect, or reduced cost. The spell’s circle told me how complicated and difficult to cast it was. Anything over fifth was consider Legendary Magic. I could only pray the Boon made up for my lack of skill.

I spent the next several hours studying the spell’s description, both the standard Incantation, as well as the Ritual versions, resting when needed. A very brief use of [Examine] revealed the leather sack had transformed into an Arcanist's Kit, the laptop now looking like a leather bound grimoire. The preparation also unlocked the Skill [Spellcraft], without needing to spend a skill point. I was tempted to increase it, but decided to wait. 

The Ritual ended up being far more than I had anticipated. I knew it was going to be difficult, I just didn’t know how draining, how physically and mentally painful it would be. I thought my vocal cords were going to snap, my bones hurt, an intense migraine exploded in my head. At the end I saw a gray/green canvas backpack materialise on top of the Altar. And then the world went black.