Our ride to the hunt was uneventful, just friendly conversation. Then at one point, Runtel told me, “Forrest, I see your Analyze is still at F. You have been slacking off.”
Arrjee defended me, “He spent 3 hours last night meditating. And he learned Dark Sight. That is not ‘slacking off’.”
“Point taken,” Runtel acknowledged. “Yesterday evening, he accomplished a lot. But you’ve had over an hour this morning, Forrest. How many skills have you used?”
Also defensive, Carrie said, “He woke me with a pulse of Bless Blood!”
And that’s just about it. Wake the F up!
“I also analyzed Arrjee once. In addition to Dark Sight running, that is all. You are right. I’m sorry.”
The Master replied, “I see that you are. But instead of being sorry, Analyze. Analyze your horse. Analyze your saddle. Analyze your reins. Open your inventory, and Analyze everything in it. When we get off these horses, Analyze rocks, trees, bushes, us. There is absolutely nothing stopping you from reaching E Analyze before you vanish in a couple hours. Then as you have free time, continue toward D.”
“Yes, sir. I truly appreciate your guidance.” As we rode, I commenced doing exactly as he said. I was not carrying a pouch, but my inventory still had six items to analyze – my leather gorget, jerkin, pair of sleeves, leggings, boots, and the cotton undergarment – the rewards from Skawa.
My passive female horse Pentroz and eight items in half a minute. Crap. I would have completely missed out on those ridiculously easy rank points.
It was 6:20 when we arrived, somewhere, which left me a little over two hours until my sixdays. We were at least a mile from the road, in a rocky area with grass, brush, and a few smaller trees. All of us dismounted. I wandered around, bent over and touching stuff.
This will become a lot more natural at D, when I don’t actually have to touch.
“We are far enough from the spider cave that we should not attract their attention,” Asha informed. “But we are close enough to bait scouts and aggressive ones without wasting time. Carrie, would you stay up here with the horses? They are well trained, and you can keep them grazing as they wish. Just don’t let them wander too far. We will fight down by that rock formation about 70 yards away. You will be plenty close enough to watch the action. Use the party interface to speak with us.”
“Okay, that sounds good,” she said. Looking at me wandering around analyzing, “Forrest, you might want to become a spider hunter now.”
I walked over to her, and touched her. “Alright. I was just saving the best for last.”
“Cur, what am I?” Kossa jokingly asked.
“Well, the rest of you aren’t my sister. But if you insist.” I analyzed her and everyone else. Just after Arrjee,
Achievement: Analyze, E
“Runtel, you were right, thank you. I just got Analyze to E.” He would be my last team member to use it on.
He replied, “Good. When you touch me, you’ll see my age. And if I were not near peak, you’d see my stats.” He showed as 43 years old.
Curious, I analyzed my horse again.. She had recovered enough stamina that I did not see her stats, but Pentroz’ age showed as “mature”. I guessed that a numerical age would not have been all that useful.
----------------------------------------
Okay. Back to being a hunter.
I looked down at the rock formation ahead. There were two large stacks of boulders and stone, with a gap of about four yards between them. “Are we going to pull the spiders through that gap?”
Runtel answered, “Yes, fighting just on this side of it should limit their visibility and help avoid them swarming if we mess up and attract too many.”
“May I make a suggestion?” I asked. Both the senior men were interested. “First, Runtel, how long and high can you make your walls? Can you have multiple ones at once?”
“I can make them a little higher than I am tall. Multiple ones are no problem, and I can make dozens of yards of wall at once. My mana is the limiting factor, but I have a lot of it, and it regenerates rapidly. The walls last about 20 minutes unless I dismiss them early. I’m interested in hearing your suggestion.”
I say, “That sounds perfect. My idea is to limit their movement even further. Imagine a funnel. From the inside of each formation, add three yards of wall that angle toward us. At their termination near us, we could narrow the gap to about two yards. The second part is the opposite. From the outside of each formation have another wall of five or more yards. They would angle backward and away from the formations. I am hoping that a funnel will tend to guide the spiders, make it so they won't see us until the last minute, and further minimize the problem of an unintended swarm.”
“That sounds like an excellent tactic, young Forrest,” Runtel praised. Those four walls will not tax my mana. I can even extend the far walls to be about ten yards in length to have an even more effective funnel.”
Asha says, “Okay, I like this so far. Our general approach will be two of our young adventurers standing at the funnel nozzle. It will be primarily their job to kill the next spider or two that were drawn away from the nest. Runtel and I will be near, acting in standby if things get out of hand. If many of them come at once, we’ll all fight.”
As we walked toward the formation, Asha had another thought. Carrie should be ready if things go wrong.
AY: “Carrie, if you see us running toward you, we screwed up, attracting way too many spiders at once. It would be a retreat at that point. Get the horses as ready as you can before we arrive.”
CS: “Yes, sir.”
Runtel reminded me that I am the healer should it be necessary. Both He and Asha had brought some healing and cure potions, but I should use my skills first. He asked, “Do you know how effective your Bless Blood is in curing? I expect poison strength no more than grade D, and even that is not very likely with these spiders.”
“I can cure grade F. In multiple doses, I can reduce the severity of a poison. So I would reduce D to E, then E to F, then cure F. It would take about 15 seconds, at about 8 ki per use. Also, Bless Blood works on me, but not Heal Other.”
Asha asked me how much ki I have.
“I have 208 max, but I’m still 67 down from all the analyzes. When you do a bunch together, they sure add up. My ki regenerates at about 2.75 per minute. I’m shutting off Dark Sight.”
“That sounds pretty good. Reserve about 70 ki for heals and cures. Without our potions, I’d say more, but we should be fine. If you reach the reserve while fighting, just fight without using ki. We have plenty of damage dealers here.”
Since he was a pure warrior, fighting without ki or mana was his normal. I don’t have the experience yet for anything to be “normal”, but I am sure I can scratch and punch to really annoy my spider nemesis. The only thing I would miss is Dodge
If you remember it, jackass!
“Runtel,” Asha asked, “would you please place the walls? I’ll go forward to bait the first spider here. We will alternate that task, and run back each time, standing by to assist the two fighters. First up will be Kossa and Arrjee.”
Kossa had brought a long knife as her weapon. Arrjee had his sword. Asha’s and Runtel’s shields lay on the ground near us. Asha headed toward the cave, and Runtel formed the magic walls. The two teens went forward a few steps, waiting for the funnel to be formed and have a neck.
When Runtel finished, he went and stood near the neck, just a couple yards back from Kossa and Arrjee.
AY: “I’ve got one following me, a level 5. Your funnel looks great from the wide end. I’ll be there in a half minute.”
KS: “We’re ready. We’ll leave an opening for you to pass us and stand back in reserve with Runtel. Then we’ll close and get it from both left and right when it comes through.”
AS: “Got it. Good plan, Kossa.”
They executed the plan well. It died easily. The level 5s do not seem very tough. I saw that it was a little over a yard in height as it ran toward us, its head and body a little longer than that.
“Query detailed breakdown of xp gain from spider.”
1 level 5 forest spider: 483 xp, split
* Runtel Trillet: 33.3%, 161 xp
* Asha Yon: 33.3%, 161 xp
* Forrest Rhodes: 33.3%, 161 xp
“I would have expected Runtel to get a bigger share because of his walls.”
He did. You also got a bigger share for having the idea, and Asha for baiting the spider. We gave each of you a weight of 2. Kossa and Arrjee would have had a 3 weighting if they could receive xp. Carrie and Onre would have had a 1.
Cool. I think that is the first time Interface has used “we” like that. All seven of the interfaces must be talking.
CS: “I am glad it is not a silk spider. My future tailor would hate me.”
AS: “We probably would have to cull their nest even if silks. But I know what you mean.”
Asha said, “Runtel, it is your turn to fetch. I think you’ll really enjoy seeing your ‘funnel’ from the spider’s view. Kossa and Onre, you are up.”
Almost a minute later:
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
RT: I’ve got two of them, a 6 and a 5. Forrest, I would have put up walls, but they would have been at right angles. I’ll remember this funnel idea; it is very effective.
Learned Skill: Tactics, D
That was easier than it should have been, but so was Meditate. “Thank you, Interface.”
Jacques was good at tactics, and you had your team execute this well.
As the spiders came through, Onre took on the big one, and Kossa the smaller. Their training showed, and the spiders were downed quickly. Onre and I took the third round.
I activated Dodge just as our single level 6 spider got near. I don’t know if that was why it lunged at me, but I easily avoided it. Onre grinned at me, “Nice.” Then he gravely knived it, and my Ki Punch killed it. I”m pretty sure he intentionally gave me the killing blow, but I won’t throw away that good will by saying so.
After four more such rounds of one or 2 spiders at a time, Runtel said the walls would need to be re-created, before they collapsed during a fight. We had also been moving the spider corpses to the side so they wouldn't get in the way. I remembered to analyze every corpse I touched.
Dead Level 6 Wood Spider – adult male, 714 xp
FR: This feels very ‘fish in a barrel’ to me. That is an Earth idiom meaning it is too easy. I suggest this time we do not build the two walls forming the neck, and just have the fin portions going away from us. Does anyone disagree?
AY: Since I called this hunt, I feel extra responsible for you guys. But if Runtel does not see it as a problem, I won’t either.
RT: I believe we will be fine, even if we end up attracting a group of five at once. With we two experienced adults at a ready standby, there should be no issues.
CS: I agree. If no one ever gets bit, this will be boring.
Runtel went down to the two nearby walls and deactivated them. At each of the far walls, he dismissed them, and recast. It looked like he made these ones a little longer this time, though. Asha proceeded to the cave.
AY: Four of them! A 7 and three 6s. The nest is probably realizing something is wrong. Get ready for an actual fight.
It was Kossa and my turn. Asha had been rotating the teams such that we all got equal chances to fight, and so that all possible pairings were made. Runtel stood closer to us than before, and when Asha got back, so did he. The spiders were approaching in a horizontal line, all four of them in front.
Me and my big mouth.
Asha planned, “Kossa and Forrest, you focus on the big one. Runtel and I will hold off and distract a 6 each.” They both had their shields at the ready, likely more to protect us than them. “Arrjee and Onre, you take the third 6.”
Even with Dodge, I got bit in my left forearm by our Level 7 spider. The toxin must dull pain receptors, because it did not hurt very much. I got in a Claw Strike and several Ki Punches, and Kossa stabbed it a number of times, and even gave it an effective kick with her full-toed boots.
Runtel and Asha were not injuring their spiders, just distracting them. So Kossa and I killed another 6, as did Arrjee and Onre. When we were done, I was starting to feel dizzy and groggy. My arm was showing signs of paralysis. I had to Bless Blood me three times like I had described earlier. I was down to 103 ki.
Curiously, I felt none of the invigoration others had described.
Maybe I had too much plain battle exhilaration, or the poison counteracted the invigoration..
No. You were too distracted to notice the numbers, but you used 8 ki per Bless and got back about two and a half. Each time the net cost was less than 6.
“So I cannot invigorate myself, but when I use Ki Healer skills on me, it is cheaper?”
That would appear to be the case.
“Well, at least I won’t turn myself into a sex addict.”
“You just cured yourself, right?” Asha asked. I responded affirmatively. “Would you like some salve for the bite? I know you cannot heal yourself.”
“No thank you,” I answered. The venom seems to have fully clotted the bite.“ Smiling, “I guess they don’t want any of our precious fluids to go to waste. They probably evolved to poison and paralyze a large foe, and drag it into the nest. Once inside, perhaps they suck out all our juices, and maybe eat the rest.” Arrjee affirmed my supposition.
“Asha, do you remember when I warded you last evening? You barely felt anything after two wardings, but at the third you did. Were you monitoring your ki at the time?”
“No. My ki regenerates more than fast enough that Dark Sight by itself won’t drain it. I expect it was holding steady, just below max.”
I asked him, “How high is it now?”
“It is maxed. Why?”
“Based on curing me, I have a theory. Can you do something to use up five or so ki?”
Everyone is looking at us, wondering where this will go. Asha holds up a hand, and points his index finger. Water starts dropping off of it.
“What’s that?!” I asked.
“Make Water. It is another common ki skill, but not as easy to learn as Dark Sight.”
“Well, it is on my list now. Let me know when you are down 5 ki.”
8. Learn Make Water skill
Now it is on your list.
“Thank you.”
He stopped the water. “Already done.”
“Okay, please watch your ki level, and let me know when you feel any invigoration.”
After my first ward, he exclaimed, “It jumped up by 2! I didn’t feel anything though.” The second time was the same, and after the third, “Max. And I may have felt something there.” After the fourth, “You are definitely invigorating me now.”
----------------------------------------
So Carrie would know what was going on,
FR: The side effect of my Ki Healer skills acts differently on ki users. When I used Bless Blood on me, I felt nothing, and realized that it was costing me less than usual. Instead of the wasted ki invigorating me, it flows back to my ki pool.
AY: And you were curious how it would affect another ki user?
FR: Exactly. So you used up a few ki (Carrie, he makes water!) and when I warded you, your ki pool had to fill up before I could invigorate you.
Everyone was smiling at this discovery.
CS: Pure water? Like drinkable?
AY: Yes. It is one of the harder to learn common ki skills.
She joked,
CS: So you can watch yourself drown in the dark?
AY:
CS: Guys, trouble! Two spiders up here. Horses getting spooked. Carrie getting spooked!
We all turned and ran up the hill. By the time we reached her, one of the spiders was dead, and she had gotten scratched up and bitten. One of the horses had run off, but four remained in a disciplined group, facing and challenging the remaining spider. Arrjee and Onre easily took it out.
Arrjee said, “These were probably out foraging for the nest. I am surprised the two of them challenged Carrie and the horses. ‘Aggressive and stupid’ is not an effective survival strategy”
I focused on Carrie. Analyzing her showed her health and stamina down a little bit, and I could see her poison indicator. It only took two cures, so E strength. Her wounds were close enough together, and minor enough, that it only took one 5-second heal.
“I thought you weren’t a fighter,” I said.
“I’m not, but Mom has taught me a few moves. I’ve got claws, and I know how to use them.”
I had to comment, “‘Carrie getting spooked’? Kind of funny, but I’m not sure humor would have been my reaction.”
“I wanted to let you know it was serious, but I was not in fear for my life. It was the perfect reaction,” she said with a grin.
After thinking for a couple seconds, I gave her a big smile. “You know, Arrjee, we have a pretty great sister.” He agreed. We both gave her a one-armed hug.
Within the hugs she said, “Yes. Too bad she has two just okay brothers.”
LIT!
“What? LIT?”
Laughing in Text.
That got me laughing at both her comment and Interface’s reaction. Arrjee joined me, and then everyone else.
As we quieted, Kossa added, “A girl knows her family.”
There were a few more chuckles.
Asha changed the subject. “I didn’t ask, but it looks like we borrowed at least three war horses. The Duchy’s Guard sells them to towns when they reach maturity. Mine and three others stood bravely in the face of a threat and would have fought if the spider had been stupid enough to attack them.”
“I was quite impressed to see that,” Onre said. “Why do you sell mature ones?”
“By then, a horse has passed its peak and is beginning to feel its years. It cannot run as fast or as long as it used to. But it still has plenty of useful years ahead, so towns and villages are happy to buy mature ones. And these have just demonstrated why.”
“I thought ‘mature’ just meant fully grown,” I stated.
Runtel informed me, “If you are not well familiar with a being’s life cycle, Analyze shows their age on a five-level scale – child, youthful, adult, mature, old. For a horse, ‘child’, ‘youthful’, and ‘old’ all together do not even make up a quarter of its life.”
Asha brings us back to task, “We have defeated 21 of 40 spiders so far. There is an hour left before Forrest makes another visit to the void. Let’s complete the quest before then. If our fifth horse makes it back here, good. If not, Forrest won’t need his anyway.”
We agreed. Carrie and the four horses remained at the top of the small hill, and the rest of us walked down to our fighting area. The walls had timed out. Runtel said he would go back to making all four walls again, but leave three yards open at the neck of the funnel instead of the original two. It was clear that we could get more spiders at once than we liked and knew it could be even worse. No one had any objections.
Completing the quest required Runtel to recast his walls two times total. The nest was responding differently than an hour ago, with us attracting group sizes of three and four. It took longer to get a group sufficiently interested to follow, though. They had either gotten more cautious or we had already killed the really aggressive ones.
After 39 kills Runtel asked if he could play and take out the final group by himself. No one objected. Asha drew a group of two Level 6s and a Level 5. Runtel stood at the mouth of the funnel, unperturbed by the approaching spiders. When they got two yards from him, a spiked metal fence appeared under each spider. Each fence had three vertical spikes extending four feet in the air, with just one horizontal bar holding the three together, about a foot off the ground. Each spider had gotten impaled by the rapid ascension of the fences. Surprisingly, the smallest spider survived, and Runtel finished it with his sword.
Now that’s a finale!
Quest complete (42/40). 8g 4s earned.
None of us received any more damage, and I had rotated through my punch, claw and dodge skills. Carrie ran to us, the show over. She looked at Runtel, and with a big grin, “Show off!”
“Yes I am,” he responded, with his own smile.
Asha told us, “Really great job, everyone. I could have done this myself, but I was happy to share the experience and have your company. Besides, I am not qualified to receive bounty for a scheduled culling such as this. It is a normal part of my job. Unfortunately I did not bring gold with me, so I’ll have the reward delivered within a day or two. Is it alright if I send it to you, Runtel?”
“Yes, no problem. I’ll split it six ways. I expect the spooked horse to make it back to town, but if not, I’ll deduct the cost of the horse from our earnings.”
“That will not be necessary,” Asha responded. “The guard would pay for the horse, But I agree with you. In these peaceful parts, it will very likely make it back home with no problem.”
Carrie responded, “Please don’t give me a full share. I only faced two spiders. One really, with the horses holding the attention of the other. I’ll be more than happy with the 4 silver, and then you can divide the 8 gold five ways.”
Arrjee asked her if she was sure, and she said even the 4 silver was probably too much.
“As you wish, Keen Carrie,” Runtel responded. “That will be 1g 6s for everyone else then.”
A small, greedy part of me was thinking Runtel should skip his portion because he was a “grown up”, but logically I knew he was an adventurer. This was one of the ways he made a living.
“Forrest,” Arrjee asked, “Would you like to use part of your reward to get your second armband?” The question surprised me, but I told him yes. He explained to everyone about my river stone armband that will now be paired with a precious-stone one for my other arm. Runtel told me it was not a common choice, but an excellent one for a martial artist. Asha agreed.
Onre told everyone that he had watched me appear yesterday morning. He was curious to now watch it as I vanished back into the void. “8:25 right? That’s still 10 minutes from now. What should we do until then?”
“Yes, 8:25. I do not mind if you all watch. In the meantime, I think I should get back to analyzing stuff. Maybe I can finish ranking it to D when I get back.”
Runtel suggested we all work on our Running skill and endurance attribute. I could analyze someone as I ran along with them, plus, their armor, jewelry, and the like. After that I could start touching the walls and the individual rocks that make up the rock formations that had served us so nicely. Basically, he suggested that I Analyze everything I could touch standing up.
All seven of us started training, running around. It was sort of a game for me, analyzing on the go. The Level 0 teens had no reason to Analyze. They could not get past Level F, but I assumed Asha and Runtel were analyzing stuff just by looking. I had my clock up, and with one minute left, I announced it was time to stop.
We did, and they all wished me goodbye. I reversed it, letting them know that my goodbyes to them were “smaller”. For me, it would only be two and a half hours, for them, six days.
“3, 2, 1. See you!”