1.11 Meeting the Neighbors Part One
Unlike the first time I had charged out into the wilds of the Briarwood, I was armed and somewhat prepared. Seven weeks of exercise had resulted in two points of Agility, and one point of Constitution. My weight was down to 280 pounds, but I was constantly hungry. I had decimated the near woods hunting and foraging for the fuel my body needed. My Rank 5 | Morbid Obesity| Flaw was now an only Rank 3 |Obesity|, which meant I was no longer considered Encumbered when walking (moving faster than a walk was still a problem). With five points of Perception from my Titles, I was in a much better condition to leave.
That first Summoning after I had recovered was more general supplies. The second Summoning called forth my +3 Crossbow, +2 Quiver and thirty +1 Quarrels, and some spare hunting knives. The third Summoning, (or fourth counting the original) brought me a +2 Short Sword. The Final Otherworld Summoning resulted in +1 Staff of Hiking. The last two were more than what they appeared. It almost made me think that Janus was just using me to create the Otherwolrdly magic items, rather than for my own merits. Summoned across the gulf of Time and Space had transmuted the materials my weapons were made of, making them far stronger than a simple + could indicate. For example:
+3 Heirloom Ranger Heavy Crossbow
This Heavy Crossbow is constructed of exotic Otherworldly materials and is extremely light and strong.
+3 Ranged Weapon Focus
+3 [Archery] Skill Focus (+5 if {Favored Weapon})
Embedded Spell Pattern: [Hunter’s Mark]
Heirloom Properties(Only usable by Attuned Users who meet Heirloom Requirements).
Longshot: Increased range.
Trueshot: Reduced penalties from Concealment, Obscurement, Weather, and other Incidentals. Bonus Accuracy versus {Favored Enemies}.
Quickshot: Faster Cocking and Reloading. Can spend Sta to auto-cock. Can spend Mana to auto-reload, but only from compatible quivers.
+2 Deep Quiver of Fletching
This Otherworldly Quiver can hold far more than it appears. Although sized to hold 10 short Quarrels , it can hold 30 Heavy Quarrels. Quiver protects contents from Durability loss, and can [Repair] damaged Quarrels if User invest enough Mana. Quiver can Craft temporary Quarrels if provided with materials and Mana, only good for one shot or 48 hours (72 hours in {Favored Terrain/Territory}).
+1 Triblade Broadhead Hunting Quarrels
These Exotic crossbolts have twice the chance of inflicting Crippling Injuries, Injury Ranking increased when pared with [Hunter’s Mark]. They require half the Mana to [Repair] when using Quiver of Fletching.
I was still deciding between Crossbow, Staff, and Sword for my {Favored Weapon}. Their Special Properties were just as personalised.
The Crossbow was strapped to my back, while the full Quiver was attached to my belt. The Sword was sheathed and in a sword frog on my belt. The Staff was in my hand, the Compass in the other, and I strode forth back into the woods.
I had carefully triangulated what I thought was the approximate locations of the other two obstructions. There was a lot of guesswork involved, but that was one of the reasons for my venture. With winter coming, I needed more experience to survive any journey toward civilisation. I was also interested in Leveling my new Class.
In a game Experience is easy, just kill things. In the Realm, it was much harder. While Skill Experience came from training, practicing, and using Skills, Class and General Experience were harder to explain. When Class Skills reach certain Threshold Levels Class Experience is awarded. Class Experience can also be earned my accomplishing Class specific Tasks. Scholars can gain Class Experience: by recording Unknown or Lost Knowledge and storing it in a System Recognized Library, by Lecturing at a System Recognized Academy, by Tutoring a System Recognized Aristocrat, or by Advising a System Recognized Council. None of those Tasks were available to me in the Wilderness. Ranger Tasks include: the Discovery and Exploration of Uncharted Territory, Guiding others through Wild Zones, protecting Society from Outside threats, protecting Nature from excessive exploitation, Military Reconnaissance, Guarding the Borders of the Realm. My Knight subclass adds: proper resolution of Honorable Combat against a Worthy Foe, adequate leadership of official subordinates in pursuivance of militant objectives, and increasing the Honour, Glory, and Reknown of any Knightly Organizations to which one belongs. Chaplains gain Class Experience by ministering to the mental and spiritual needs of those to whom they have been granted responsibility. I had not at that time determined Scouter Experience Tasks.
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None of those options specifically mention killing, in fact in certain situations I could earn more Experience by accepting an honest surrender than killing my opponent. Even Assassins only earn Experience for completing missions, not random kills. There was a way to gain General Experience from killing, the [Soul Drain] Skill. It not only reduced the chance of slain enemies returning from the grave, but allowed the person who struck the fatal blow to absorb some of the accumulated Experience from their victim. A forbidden Skill in the time of the Imperium, [Soul Drain] had become far more common by the time of my arrival.
General Experience is normally acquired from System Authorised Quests, and from well, living. That’s right, just living, breathing, eating, and sleeping converts a portion of the background World Force Essence into General Experience. The amount of Experience earned from daily living is based on local Essence Levels. The Glade granted me 2-3 points a day, compared to 1-2 points a week from most Rural Zones, and 1-2 points a month from Urban Zones..
My more mathematically inclined readers may have realized that should have been enough to easily get the Sixth Level of High Scholar. It would have, except General Experience is divided, proportional to Tier Rank, among all Active Classes. I was losing over a third of my General Experience to my two Honorary Castes. Although Experience does not increase Honorary Levels, it can convert an Honorary Caste, into an Actual Caste. It took me four weeks to figure out where the General Experience was going. By resetting my Active Classes to just High Scholar, and Ranger/Scouter, I was able to finally get that Level Six. Unlike the game, just getting enough Experience is not enough to Level, it also requires a Long Rest. Just the day before my venture out into woods I had consolidated the Level, doubling my Arcane Spellcasting bonus and getting access to more Abilities. I spent my first Skill Point,( which needed another Long Rest), to acquire the first Level of [Retrospection] a Spell that let me revisit memories of past events, in great detail. It had Synergy with both [Contemplation] and [Introspection].
All this meant that my Recon Mission to check out the nature of the other Obstructions could earn Class Experience even if I ended up not attempting to clear them.
I was extremely careful exploring the deeper woods, at least for the first couple hours. Looking around and paying attention actually drained my Stamina, though not as much as the |Morbid Obesity| Flaw had. Even resting every hour for ten minutes, I could not maintain total concentration. I was not my father, I didn’t even play that many first person shooters.
I was still [Taster]ing and [Examining] as much as I could, while maintaining a decent Mana reserve. I had learned to recognize about half of the trees, many identical to varieties from my home world, if perhaps a tad bigger. Paul Bunyan would have loved this place. The similarities bothered me more than the differences. As alien as the Realm seemed at times, sometimes it felt almost like home. The cognitive dissonance made it hard to adjust.
I swear I was being careful, but apparently not careful enough. I was walking around a large redwood sized tree when I found myself nose to nose with a large bear. I estimate that it was between 15 and 20 feet high, had reddish brown fur, emerald green eyes, and cream colored ram horns curling around its disproportionately large head. How such a huge beast could move so quietly astounded me. It should have been trampling the undergrowth afoot, and yet it was able to walk through the woods as gentle as a soft breeze. A hurricane gale force snort exited its nostrils, and it Looked at me. I finally felt what the other end of [Examination] was like, thousands of small bugs crawling across my skin and directly into my brain. It grumphed. I got the impression that the Bear was somehow more real than the rest of the wood, like it could win a staring contest with the sun.
Readers more clever than I was, or more experienced in battle may have already notice some big problems. First, both my Crossbow and Staff were two handed weapons. Second, my sword, which was in its sheath, in its frog on my belt, was underneath my coat and thusly in a difficult spot to reach. In attempting to draw my Sword while holding on to the Staff resulted in almost dropping both. It did result in losing my Sword to the ground. I held my Staff tightly in both hands, and called on [Serenity].
I need to be careful in my description. The Bear didn’t speak in vocalisations exactly, neither was it pure telepathy. IT communicated as much by body language, a flick of an ear, a curl of a lip, than by any sounds. Even Its scent seemed a part of the language, subtly altering with the Bear’s mood. Not that I understood what It was trying to say, just that I could recognise the existence of a language.
I tried my personal cantrip [Tongues] for the first time, and felt it slide right off the big ursine’s soul. There was a language there alright, but not one I could easily steal. I felt the disgust rolling off the Bear in crashing waves. Another snort, this time echoing in my brain like the toll of Big Ben.
You have been Gifted the Personal Talent [Wyldspeech].
[Wyldspeech] can be used to communicate with all Great Spirits of the Wyld.
[Wyldspeech] adds to both Intellect and Charisma Scores for purposes of all language checks involving Animal, Bird, Bug, Fey, Fungus ,Land, Plant, River, Stream, Tree, and Wind type Creatures.
Otherworlder bonus not Applicable.
Alignment Synergy detected.
Multiple Class Synergies detected.
High Scholar and Ranger/Scouter Spellcasting bonuses implemented.
Final Level 4 acquired.
-Well mancub, what have you to say for yourself?