The ‘gang’ – we have expanded beyond my ‘team’ – has adopted a dinner schedule that rotates between Arrjee and my home, Kossa’s home, and Karzin’s Inn. This evening we ate at the Inn. I learned that Odd does not need to eat typical food, although he can. Normally he leaches sustenance from the earth itself, and the aether he constantly absorbs helps in that as well. So while we were eating, he had a bite or swallow of everything, mainly for the flavor and texture. I got the impression if he did not have memories of a previous life, he might not not have bothered with even that.
The cottage has become our regular home, sort of a pre-dorm until one gets built on campus. My Master Lenyet Birch doesn’t have a place of his own yet, so he shares the cottage with us, with the rule that he is ‘one of the gang’ during the evenings and nights, not a Master. That doesn’t mean he won’t and doesn’t share his knowledge, but any of us can do that too.
After dinner, we went to the ‘fort’, which is what Onre named our cottage. Arrjee had told me that they had something major to share with me, and once we got settled back on the rug of the den, as we had been prior to Carrie getting us. Lenyet was on the floor again, not seated at the desk. I asked him if he had a chance to complete copying my character sheet, and he said he had.
It surprised me when Interface invited us all back into a party. Aloud, I asked him, “Interface, I’m happy to be in the party again, but is there a specific reason?”
I: Hello again, everyone. Forrest, yes. You didn’t complete your leveling process.
I thought for a moment. “I didn’t?”
I: You still have to assign your three free points.
“What’s with that?” asked Odd. I thought everyone only got two free points at every level. At least that is how it has been in both my lives so far.”
“It’s compensation for my only being around one day in seven. You-all can get a lot more experience while I’m absent, so I get an extra free point. I’m not sure everything balances out, but I’m certainly not going to reject it.”
Arrjee said, “We’ll hold off on the news until you finish leveling.”
“Okay, cool, I’m excited to hear it. Okay, up until reaching Level 5, I had been planning on adding one point to vitality and perception each level. Perception because it lags almost everything else, and vitality because improving my HP and HP Regen is central to both HPR Boost and, when I take it later, Share Health. The third free point might go anywhere else.”
hope for good advice
Onre agreed that this was a good approach, and others acknowledged the same. “Well, thanks. Except now that I have Boost Armor, I think I should rethink that. There is now a continual drain on my stamina and ki. Their primary attributes are endurance and wisdom. I want to acknowledge that in my free point selection, but that means I cannot also use free points on both vitality and perception. Does anyone have any thoughts or advice?”
Arrjee asked, “Have you had a chance to speak with Lenyet concerning your goal of balanced attributes? I remember when we had this discussion at Level 4 you were going to discuss it and min-maxing with your Master, once you got one.” || use your resources
Lenyet asked me what min-maxing was, and I described it. Before he could respond, Odd shared, “In my old life, we called that ‘building to your strengths’.”
“I can see how both phrases apply,” stated Lenyet. “Generally, it is a good approach. However, I believe being a martial artist is somewhat different than most classes. Our true capability is seen at the intersection of body, mind, and spirit. I think of myself as a ‘warrior of balance’, and as such have kept my attributes fairly close to each other. Thus, I favor the balanced approach Forrest has been taking, although it is unfortunate he can do little about his lagging luck and charisma. On the other hand, that makes it easier to keep the other eight balanced with each other. That said, he is in the position right now where he needs to choose between balance and favoring the specific nature of his skills.”
Arrjee contributed, “Out of the four attributes you are considering, two of them are strident, harder to train than the other two. So I would strongly consider boosting perception and wisdom. And since vitality is native and untrainable, I think you should consider putting the third point there.” || consider broad implications
“Arjee, I’ve been meaning to talk to you for a long time about training attributes.” He suggested that we discuss that later this evening. All I needed to know right now is that eight were trainable, but three took longer and were more difficult.
Kossa summarized, “If you follow Arrjee’s advice, you wouldn’t be addressing the endurance drain of Boost Armor. It’s funny, you have three free points, and it’s still not enough.”
“Thank you for the second opinion, Kossa. I haven’t decided for sure, but I am leaning Arrjee’s way. Perception is the main one that will tend to lag, as everything else averages at a two-point bonus per level. Does anyone else have an opinion?”
Onre stated, “I get that martial arts and balance are a very good fit. But I know I would also be concerned about ongoing skill loads related to wisdom, vitality, and endurance. You are not making a decision for all time, just how to best handle Level 5. You might consider boosting those three now, and at Level 6 give perception two free points along with one for vitality. At 7, you would be back to one in vitality and perception, and maybe alternate the third between endurance and wisdom.”
Arrjee and Lenyet agreed that might be a good approach. I asked, “Interface, you formed this party so you could be heard. What do you think?”
I: I believe taking a long-term, flexible outlook would be a wise decision.
I laughed for a second. “He avoids giving me specific advice, but sneaks it in sometimes anyway. Reading between the words, I think he just said to do as Onre suggested, Right now, boost wisdom, vitality, and endurance. Catch up on perception next time. Does anyone think that would be an inferior approach?”
curiosity. Sun?
Ferret said, “Those three all good. Choose them.”
“Time you balance.” || Balance yourself over time. It does not have to be all at Level 5.
“Okay, then. Let’s do it. Interface, add one free point each to wisdom, vitality, and endurance.”
I: Endurance: 22
Vitality: 25
Wisdom: 24
HP: 326/335
SP: 318/331
Ki: 340/352
Additionally, all three of your regen skills have increased somewhat.
Kossa asked, “Is Forrest done leveling now? It seems like we’ve been doing this all day.”
I: We have spent 43 minutes in discussions and the leveling process. Yes, Forrest is done with his leveling for now.
I clarified, “Interface is not being curt, but precise. I’m used to it.”
----------------------------------------
There was a knock at the door, unexpected at 18:20. Onre got up and answered it. I heard Dad say hello, and he, Grandma, and the young bandit Corval Hirsut walked in. The den was pretty crowded now, so Grandma turned around the chair by the desk to face us, and sat. Onre sat back down as well, and the other two newcomers stood by the door.
Dad spoke as Mayor, “Good evening, everyone. You saw young Corval Hirsut earlier on campus. He has been tried, and in punishment for his part in the assault and attempted theft, will be working for the village and the school for the next year. This may seem light, but he probably also saved the life of guardsman Drahm Frahm. That honorable and selfless act has earned him a degree of trust. Even so, I expect him to memorize the terms of his punishment by tomorrow. He will be taking a Soul Oath to fulfill them.”
He stated, “I’m willing to take the Soul Oath right now,” probably wanting to get it over with.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
“That would be a bad idea,” Dad responded. “If I imposed the Soul Oath now, the oath itself would feel like an additional punishment. You would almost constantly experience my will layered on top of yours. However, if you can swear each from memory, you will make it your decision to follow them, and my will will not haunt you for the next year.”
“Oh! I will definitely memorize them tonight then.”
Arrjee asked what the terms were, looking inquiringly at both Dad and Corval. Corval unfolded a piece of paper and began reading it.
1. I will work as a cadet of the village guard for five hours a day, nine days a week.
2. I will work for the school five hours a day, nine days a week.
3. I will speak with the empath Dorra Marson twice a week, one hour per session.
4. I will do these things for one year, at which time my oath will be fulfilled.
I wondered, “That sounds very reasonable. But why are you all here now? It is getting late.”
Grandma answered, “As part of the terms of his punishment, Corvus will be provided room and board, and 18 bronze per week. I suggested that your ‘fort’ here might be the ‘room’ portion, and eating with you could often be his ‘board’. When barracks and the cafeteria open at the school, other arrangements will be made. I know that with Lenyet there are already eight of you here, but the barracks will be manned five per room. With two bedrooms in this cottage, it works out.”
Even though she was phrasing this as a suggestion, I was sure she already knew this would be what happens. And I won’t be sleeping here very often anyway, so there will still be eight most of the time even with Corval.
Odd approached the situation with humor. “Corval, do you snore? Actually, do any of you snore? Not that it matters; I can sleep through anything. I am just curious.”
Corval smiled, realizing his probable acceptance and the humor in the question. “I have been told that I sometimes snore, but relatively lightly.” We discussed the issue, trying to determine who snored the quietest. We could reach no consensus, except that Corval was welcomed to our gang.
Grandma told us, “Since Corval is an alchemist, he has agreed to become my apprentice. He will occasionally work at the shop, but I mainly expect to be paid as he gathers herbs, reagents, and perfume ingredients from the nearby forest. That is not part of his punishment, but his apprenticeship will be an opportunity to increase his knowledge and experience.”
“An opportunity I very much appreciate, Master Rhonda Silverstone.”
Dad closed out their visit by saying we would be expected for breakfast at 5:25. Then, “Forrest, at 6:25 Asiel and Orian would like to speak to you privately in the administration building. Then at 7, Cleric Ronvaldt would like to meet up with both you and Onre there. He will introduce you to the Formless Abider.” Onre and I acknowledged, and he and Grandma then left.
Just as Corval was taking a seat on the large rug, he got a surprised and confused look on his face, and I saw that he had joined the party. After a few seconds,
CH: Um, hello everyone. Why are we in a party, and who is ‘Interface’?
I: That would be me, Forrest’s interface. Explain it to him, Forrest.
“Interface, was it a good idea to just drop this on him like that?”
Yes. If you were not already partied, I would have suggested a different approach. But he will be living here in a house with eight other people who know about me already. Tip-toeing around my presence would just get needlessly awkward.
I revealed to Corval my state of being, though not my immortality. But the one day in seven thing would become obvious when I vanish tomorrow, and letting him know I’ll age very slowly fits right with that. And I tied this nature with having a sapient interface.
“Not everyone knows Interface is his own being; I only share that with some people. It is not common knowledge, although the way I’m absent most of the time and the fact that I age slowly is.” He agreed to not talk about Interface outside the group. I let him know that my family knows also, which led to explaining how my brother Arrjee and uncle Onre are part of that family.
Arrjee and Odd revealed that they were awakeneds also, as well as a brief explanation of their former lives. “Woah,” concluded Corval. “The strangest thing about all this is that the presence of an Elemental named ‘Odd’ is not the oddest thing here.” That led us into another discussion of what was the oddest thing in the room. It ended up being Interface, so far as anyone but me knew, the only fully sapient interface there was.
I asked him something I had been wondering, “Odd, why did you choose the name ‘Odd Earth’, anyway? It doesn’t sound like a name an elemental would have.”
“I fully expected to have two natures. One was to be a staid and reliable Earth Elemental, thus ‘Earth’. The other is completely opposite. Erus, that was my name, was wild and free, with great dreams of adventure. I fully expected that attitude to be an unusual fit, if it fit at all, so I went with ‘Odd’ as my first name.”
“I am not sure Erus has integrated into a new personality. It feels like most of him is her. He still refers to ‘Erus’ as ‘I’.”
That may well be correct. One possibility is that the life of an Elemental was so far removed from her actual dream of being an adventurer that the personality of Erus had little to blend into. Now that he can live his dream, it is likely that full integration can take place. He already identifies as male, so that is some adjustment.
“Yes. I’d hate to be calling him ‘it’, and elementals just don’t feel like they are feminine. Not Earth Elementals, anyway.”
“I promised Forrest news,” announced Arrjee, “and it is about time we got to it. First, as Grandma mentioned, we will eventually move to a barracks with five students per room. What she didn’t say was that the five leveled teens who live together also adventure together. We’re all going to be leveled by the time the school opens, so the members of our adventuring team are already here. Odd, you are too new to be considered, and Corval, you haven’t been accepted as a student. Don’t rule it out, though. You’re in the perfect place to become known to staff and teachers. Also, Odd, Evening Sun has already decided to be the tank for our team, so plan on being an awesome tank for another one. Until the school opens, we’re very happy to have you continue to train with us.”
“That was a long preamble to say we have selected our team.”
If Sun is in, that means Ferret is probably out. Maybe Kossa or Onre gave up their spot. Damn, I feel sorry for him if Ferret and Sun are split, though. They’re perfect friends.
“Our party of five will be Onre, Kossa, Sun, Ferret, and me.” || relax, brother
Wait, what?!? He wants me to relax, but I was in the party from the start! Intellectually, it is the right decision, I have to admit that. I’m only here one day in seven, leaving them one short most of the time. Don’t cry. Smile and listen.
disappointment
“Forrest had always been part of us. But, brother, I am sure you realize we would be short-handed on most days. We spoke to Asiel and Dad in their current capacity as co-administrators, and they guided us to this path, one that includes you. On your Tuesdays, you will be like a wild card, giving the team an extra boost in both damage and healing. Teams normally have five members, but ours has five and one seventh.” || not abandoned, brother
And Sun echoed, || friend not abandoned
Dammit, I’m crying. Tears of relief, though. Geez, what a roller coaster!
“Guys, it would have been nice if you had started with that part. I thought for a minute I’d have to find another team, and I wanted this one.”
this one
Onre clarified, “We discussed how we would tell you. I don’t remember exactly why we decided to have the slow reveal., I think the gist was to leave you on an emotional high instead of just a flat statement up front that there were six of us.”
Ferret corrected, “Five and one seveth.”
I let them know, “Okay, it is cool, and you definitely left me feeling positive. Now I just need to be the best one seveth I can be!”
My Master corrected me. “Forrest, I know that was a joke. But Ferret very much wants to improve his grammar and speech, and he has already gotten much better.” Enunciating very clearly and slowly, Lenyet spoke, “sseevveennntthh – do you hear the ‘n’ in there, Ferret?”
“Yes, Lenyet, thank you. ‘sevennth’. That’s hard to say. Forrest, I know you wasn’t making fun of me. Now I get the joke.”
“I didn’t mean anything bad, and it wasn’t even funny. Sorry. If you are okay with us helping you speak better, you should know we say ‘you weren’t’ or ‘you were not’. We don’t say ‘you wasn’t’.”
“Oh, okay. So it is ‘I wasn’t’ but ‘you weren’t’, right?”
Lenyet responded, “That’s right. There are a lot of rules like that, but you are learning them well. We could always understand you, but now you are beginning to speak like you had teachers.”
“I didn’t, but I do now! Thank you. You guys don’t need to correct me every time and interrupt what going on. But if nothing going on, I like to learn.”
Okay, tough one. Sun never pronounces ‘is’ either. I’ll let this one slide.
I explained to Corval that Ferret had grown up among nomads on the Trichyan Continent, and didn’t have an education.
“Wow, Ferret, that’s a lot like me!.” Corval exclaimed. “I grew up with bandits and didn't have any real sort of education. When I was 9 though, a medicine woman named Mowd joined us. She had been a medicine woman in a nomadic tribe. She taught me to read and a lot of important things like that.”
“Teacher Dorra Marson teaching me with all the other unleveled younglings.”
Lenyet offered, “Corval, if you would like me to continue from where Mowd left off I would be happy to evaluate your knowledge of letters, numbers, and world. I’m sure you saw that I have the Tutor class. Since I am living here anyway, we could find the time to do your grades until you fully catch up.”
“I would very much like that, Tutor. This evening I need to learn the terms of my oath, though.”
Ferret offered, “Since you have a list already, I can help you learn it, like flash cards, except longer.” Corval said he would very much appreciate the help.
“I can help, too. As a tutor I have skills which can help with your focus, memory, and retention. You won’t learn the terms immediately, but you’ll be able to learn them quite quickly.”
“Yes, please,” accepted Corval. “Thank you both.” Lenyet got up; Corval and Ferret followed him to his room.
“Guys,” Arrjee thought for a second. “I was going to describe how I train my attributes. Should I wait for Corval and Ferret to come back?”
“I know I’ve been wanting to learn since the day I met you how you got your Charisma to 12. But those two will probably like to learn, too. Lenyet said it wouldn’t take very long for Corval to memorize his list, so I think we should wait.”
The others agreed, and we just talked about our lives for about 15 minutes, some of us both of our lives. When the memorization group finished and returned to the den, Onre had just started sharing his life and about him becoming an orphan at age 6. I could tell that Corval’s interest in this personal history was very strong. He had sat down and didn’t take his eyes off of Onre until he completed his narrative.
“This is too weird,” summarized Corval. “Ferret was raised a nomad without an education and Mowd is a nomad. Now I learn that Onre was also made an orphan at age six when his parents were murdered. That is how I became an orphan and a bandit at age six. The people who murdered his parents were The Grease, and I killed one of The Grease today, or at least someone who had been part of them.”
That led to another fifteen minutes of Corval, Onre, and Ferret comparing their lives.
I agree with Corval. This is too weird.
Or fated encounters.
“Do you believe in fate?”
I find the concept of fate more likely than this degree of coincidences. Not just between Corval, Ferret, and Onre. Corval needed a tutor. Lenyet is one, who happened to be in this very room. You needed not to be alone. Within two hours of your arrival on Heere you had met Arrjee and were already building a family. Et cetera. I don’t believe even System could have planned all this, which leaves fate.
“Or coincidence.”
Do you believe that?
“Not really. Let’s go with fate.”