B01DCAV4W2 (S) (20 page)

When Richter regained consciousness, his first question was, why was he wet?  As recent events came back to him with a flash, his next question was, why was he alive?

He was propped up on what looked like a beaver dam.  His face and one arm were out of the water, the rest of him bobbed gently in the water.  Looking around, he saw Alma resting on top of the dam, looking exhausted.  His poor familiar was laid on her side breathing deeply.  Sonirae’s body was propped against the edge of the stacked wood.  As he watched, the current was slowly pushing her out into the middle of the river and free of the obstruction.  In a few minutes, she would be floating down stream again. 

Richter immediately thought of all the gear she had stolen from him, and how it could be lost forever.  He pushed off of the dam and immediately had to stifle a cry of pain.  That bitch’s daggers were still imbedded in his back like a pair of stubby wings.  Fighting through the pain, he edged himself along the dam until he reached her body.  He then began the laborious process of edging both himself and his prize towards the river bank.

Twenty minutes later, he had finally reached the muddy bank with the body of his tormentor.  Alma had flown over from the dam and was waiting on the bank.  With a herculean effort, he dragged Sonirae’s body clear of the river.  The pain from using muscles that had steel imbedded into them made him pass out again.

Richter woke barely a minute later to a gold sun shining through his eyelids.  When he opened his eyes, he realized that it wasn’t a sun, it was a gold aura surrounding Alma as she healed him.  He thought back to his last memory after drowning Sonirae and thinking there were two suns in the sky.  She must have healed him then as well.  That’s why the poor girl looked so tuckered out!  Continually healing him while he slept could not have been easy, not to mention how it must have felt for her to operate at a near constant state of mana depletion. 

“Thanks love,” he said, looking at the dragonling that sat less than a foot away.  She just licked his face in response.  Richter reached forward with one arm and then reached back to touch the hilt of the dagger behind his right shoulder.  Getting a firm grasp, he closed his eyes against the anticipated pain.  Then, with a sure, strong movement, he ripped the dagger out of his back and threw in on the ground in front of him. 

His health dropped by eighteen and he gained another bleeding status, albeit a short lived one.  He cast
Slow Heal
and the blood loss stopped almost immediately.  He tried to reach the other dagger, but couldn’t find the right angle of approach.   Grimacing, he extended his other arm and reached back, but still couldn’t quite grasp the handle. 

Looking at Alma again, he said, “It looks like I’m going to need your help one more time, baby girl.” Richter sent her an image of himself with a dagger in his back, and then a picture of her grabbing it with her front claws and pulling it out. 

His familiar looked at him with quizzical cock of her head and sent a nonverbal psychic pulse that Richter interpreted as her asking, “Are you for real??”

He sent her the image again and then said, “Please honey.  I need your help.”

With what Richter was sure was a shake of her draconic head, she lifted into the air, and then settled onto his back.  She wrapped her claws around the hilt and then pulled for all she was worth.  Richter felt like she was trying to pull his soul out!  Alma was able to raise the blade half and inch, but could pull it out no further.  When she relaxed her hold, the dagger settled back into his body, it was only with great strength of will that Richter avoided passing out again.

After several more tries, he told her to stop.  He would have to do this the hard way.  Richter got to his feet trying to not jostle the weapon in his back.  He searched the area and then saw what he was looking for.  He almost wished he hadn’t.  Walking over to a young oak, he turned his back to it.  He maneuvered so that the knife in back was in the crook of a low tree branch and the trunk.  An involuntary whimper escaped his lips, and then he just let his legs collapse under him.

Braced by the tree, the knife was torn from his back.  He felt a small grinding as the dagger came free and he thought he understood why Alma hadn’t been able to remove the blade.  The tip of the dagger had become imbedded in his scapula.  He cast
Slow Heal
and just laid his back against the tree.  He finally had a moment to sit and breathe.  He lost consciousness again, his body pushed to the limit. 

When he opened his eyes, he saw that Alma was laying across his lap.  The sun didn’t seem to have moved much, so he couldn’t have been out long.  A flashing notification icon blinked in the corner of his vision and told him that he had things to address.  A faint and bloody grin made its way onto Richter’s face.  He had eaten his meat and it was time for his pudding!

You have agreed to do the okami a favor. Failure to do so when asked will cause a decrease in your reputation with all beings, and other unknown consequences. Keep in mind, your word means everything!

He started reflecting after reading that first prompt.  He didn’t like the idea of owing anyone a favor.  Richter wasn’t sure what he would have to do for the giant green wolf, but whatever it was, it was worth it if Terrod made it back safely to the village.  Besides, it couldn’t be any worse than the outstanding IOU he owed to what was basically a demon.  There was not a doubt in his mind that one day Xuetrix would come to collect.  Richter resolved to start figuring out a way to put others in his debt so that they would owe HIM favors.  It occurred to him that operating like that seemed remarkably similar to the way demons were reported to work.  He wondered what that might mean about him…

Meh, he thought.  A good idea is a good idea, no matter where it comes from.  He got back to his pudding.

You have proven yourself to be: Implacable.  When faced with the near impossible task of rescuing a Companion from a superior enemy, you did not pause.  When attacking a battle hardened Warrior, you did not flag.  When mortally wounded and kneeling before a sadistic Assassin, you did not succumb.  You have shown that you will conquer whatever is before you, even burning your own head and skin to destroy your enemies!  Your relentless focus and pursuit of chosen goals will be reflected in your skills.  You are awarded Initiate level in the skill Tracking.

Congratulations!  You have learned the skill: Tracking.  None shall escape you.  Those who follow the way of the tracker can follow a fish through an ocean and find constellations in the light of day.  You can now find and follow the footprints and spoor of your prey.

Congratulations!  You have reached skill level 2 in Tracking.  +1% attack bonus vs individual prey.  You can follow older tracks.

…

Congratulations!  You have reached skill level 10 in Tracking.  +1% attack bonus vs individual prey.  You can follow older tracks.

Congratulations!  You have advanced from Novice to Initiate in: Tracking.  Your sense of smell is now heightened.  You can track an enemy by scent if you have a piece of clothing or an item they were recently in contact with.

You have been award 31,794 (base 635,882 x 0.04 x 1.25) experience from Brain Drain against Level 28 Human.

You have been award 50,898 (base 1,017,962 x 0.04 x 1.25) experience from Brain Drain against Level 33 Half-Wood Elf, Half-Human.

TRING!

You have reached level 18! Through hard work you have moved forward along your path. As a Chaos Seed, you gain 6 points to distribute to characteristics instead of the usual 4. You also get 25% advancement to the skill of your choice! Crush your enemies, honor your allies, LIVE!

TRING!

You have reached level 19! Through hard work you have moved forward along your path. As a Chaos Seed, you gain 6 points to distribute to characteristics instead of the usual 4. You also get 25% advancement to the skill of your choice! Crush your enemies, honor your allies, LIVE!

TRING!

You have reached level 20! Through hard work you have moved forward along your path. As a Chaos Seed, you gain 6 points to distribute to characteristics instead of the usual 4. You also get 25% advancement to the skill of your choice! Crush your enemies, honor your allies, LIVE!

You have either characteristic points or skill percentage points to allocate from the previous level. Now that you have progressed again, you must allocate your points within the next week or they will randomly be assigned for you.

Richter read these prompts and gave a faint, “Woot!”  It was only fitting that the sadistic Assassin and her Warrior friend replace the experience they had cost him.   It was true that it didn’t replace his skill losses, but a few days ago he was level 18.  Now, he was level 20!  He’d take it!  Richter looked at his other prompts.

Congratulations! You have reached skill level 5 in Stealth.  2% increase to Concealment.

Congratulations! You have reached skill level 6 in Stealth.  2% increase to Concealment.

Congratulations!  You have reached skill level 21 in Traps.  All traps 2% more effective.

Congratulations!  You have reached skill level 4 in Small Blades.  +2% attack speed.  +2% bonus to damage.

Congratulations! You have reached skill level 8 in Light Armor. +2% to defense of all light armor.

Congratulations! You have reached subskill level 5 in Grace in Combat.  Dodge increased by 14%.

Congratulations!  You have reached skill level 5 in Life Magic.  New spells are now available.

Congratulations!  You have reached skill level 6 in Air Magic.  New spells are now available.

Congratulations!  You have reached skill level 7 in Air Magic.  New spells are now available.

Know This!  You have slain a recognized member of the Ouroboros Guild of Assassins.  This could have consequences in the future!

Your familiar has reached level 8!

You familiar has reached level 9!

…

You familiar has reached level 14!

You have been badly burned.  Head burns cause Charisma loss of -4.  Hand burns cause Dexterity loss of -3.

You have completed the Quest: Two Lives as One.  You have done as you have asked and saved Terrod.  Isabella will be safe from her own hand. 

Reward: 1,250 (base 1,000) experience. 

Reward: Relationship with Isabella has increased from Friendly to Trusted.

Reward: Isabella has snapped out of the stupor that her captivity with Count Stonuk had caused.  She will now become an active member of your village.  The benefits of this will only be discovered over time.

Reward: Loyalty of all villagers increased by +20.

Richter was pleased at the growth of his skills and familiar.  He was a bit disappointed that he had reached the end of his prompts though, and he hadn’t been offered a Profession.  He hadn’t been sure if his magic mastery would have let him jump the line, but it appeared he needed to actually level his skills to a journeyman rank first.  Since there wasn’t anything he could do about it he put it from his mind.

He was not overly pleased with the loss of characteristic points due to his burns.  Just how bad was it?  He held his hands up and examined them.  The palms had mostly been spared though his fingertips had some scar tissue.  The backs of his hand were shiny in large swaths.  The skin in those areas was also thickened. Alma’s spells had accelerated the healing process, but it hadn’t changed what would have normally happened.  The gel had eaten through both layers of skin leaving nothing to regenerate. Richter ran his finger across the scar tissue and his sensation was markedly reduced.  Richter flexed both hands and the scar tissue did indeed make it hard to move his hands easily. 

He took a deep breath and cast
Mirror. 
A rectangular mirror appeared hovering in the air.  Richter’s mouth dropped open in shock.  His face was almost completely preserved.  It was the same face he had seen in pools of water since coming to The Land.  It somehow made his scalp look even worse though.  The fire acid had eaten through the skin on his scalp leaving behind bare and shiny scar tissue, just like his hands.  The parody was worsened by seeing the few patches of perfect black curls that had survived the acid trap.  His own reflection horrified him and he quickly looked away.

Richter bit his lip and closed his eyes as if that could erase the image from his memory.  He only dwelled in self-pity for a moment though.  Forcing himself to look back into the mirror, he saw the burns for what they really were, the price he had paid to save one of his people.  If he was being honest, he would still have come after Terrod even knowing that this would happen… Of course, if he was being REALLY honest, he would have much preferred it if he could have merc’d those two assholes, saved Terrod, and not ended up like a Nair cautionary tale!  But hey!  Beggars couldn’t be choosers.  Staring at his reflection he gave himself a wink and then dismissed the mirror.  It was time to get up. 

“Futen,” Richter said loudly, “where are you?”

“I am here, my Lord,” came the monotone answer.  The remnant materialized a few feet away. 

“Good.  Turn invisible again and start scouting around this position in concentric circles.  Come back immediately, if you find any danger.  If you find nothing threatening, keep going until you reach your maximum range, then come back and report.”

“Yes, my Lord,” answered a dead pan voice.  The remnant began to move away. 

Something else occurred to Richter, “And Futen.”

“Yes, my Lord?”

“Thank you for your help.”

The grey orb hovered in midair not responding, simply pulsing with his internal white light.  After a few seconds, Futen simply said, “My Lord,” and glided off to do as Richter bid.