Chapter 31 (Early Version)

Chapter 31 - Blessings & Curses

Slowly, like a grave flower blossoming the dark energies flowed into the great lizard’s cadaver sloughing now rotting flesh from thick pristine white dragon bone. A new nightmare was born, arising with the stench of a freshly turned grave and all the majesty of the winged tyrants of the sky. The first Bone-Dragon Vizzeks came into existence with a roar and the howl of a thousand lost tortured souls.

- On the Cataclysm by an unknown Quassian Scholar circa 103 AC


Kidu was shaking me, worry and concern etched into his features as Elwin hovered overhead. I was greeted by a plethora of messages and notifications which followed me from my dream. Somehow I knew this was a crucial moment for me, my first class change in this game.

You have selected Paladin as your calling
You have learned Purify (lvl.2)
You have learned Holy Aura (lvl.1)
You have learned Maces (lvl.1)
You have learned Shields (lvl.1)
You have learned Medium Armour (lvl.1)
You have learned Heavy Armour (lvl.1)
You have gained Gift - Mark of the Paladin
You have gained 2 Wisdom
You have selected Reaver as your calling
You have learned Rust (lvl.3)
You have learned Decay (lvl.1)
You have learned Drain (lvl.1)
You have learned Entropic Aura (lvl.1)
You have learned Axes (lvl.1)
You have learned Pain Nullification (lvl.2)
You have gained Gift - Touch of the Void
You have lost 3 Strength
You have lost 3 Constitution

The flood of messages threatened to overwhelm my short-term memory. My thoughts were distracted by the sounds of the forest; unknown animals calling out to each other, hunting each other, mating with each other. I told Kidu in a voice hoarse from screaming in the night, “Give me a moment, I need to gather myself.”

Putting out a hand to steady myself, I sat up and absorbed the scenery around me. Night had fallen and Kidu, by some miracle or dent of his wilderness survival skills, had started a fire from the fallen branches that had carpeted the floor. Elwin was scanning the forest, wary of my screams bringing something down to our camp.

Kidu, seeing that I was safe, went back to tending the fire while munching on another of the sweet carnivorous Snap-Honey heads. Taking a deep breath I decided to review my situation. Mercifully the first thing I noticed was that I was at full Health, Stamina, and Mana after my rest. Fresh and ready to tackle the threats this cruel world would throw at me.


STATUS
Calling: Gilgamesh Level 10 Paladin of Avaria / Reaver
Strength: 22
Dexterity: 16
Constitution: 34
Intelligence: 18
Wisdom: 16
Charisma: 10
Luck: 15

SKILLS & PROFICIENCIES
Pain Nullification (lvl.2)
Power Strike (lvl.2) 10
Endure (lvl.3)
Stealth (lvl.1)
Rest (lvl.3)
Backstab (lvl.2)
Dodge (lvl.3)
Polearms (lvl.2)
Dual Wield (lvl.1)
Critical Hit Mastery (lvl.2)
Mining (lvl.2)
Unarmed Combat (lvl.3)
Hammers (lvl.2)
Flails (lvl.1)
Maces (lvl.1)
Shields (lvl.1)
Medium Armour (lvl.1)
Heavy Armour (lvl.1)
Axes (lvl.1)

SPELLS & MAGIC
Heal (lvl.5) 5
Rust (lvl.3) 2
Identify (lvl.2) 1
Silent Casting (lvl.1)
Mana Regeneration (lvl.2)
Purify (lvl.2) 3
Greater Heal (lvl.1)
Holy Aura (lvl.1) 2
Decay (lvl.1)
Drain (lvl.1)
Entropic Aura (lvl.1)

GIFTS
Curse of Entropy -20% all starting attributes.
Mark of the Paladin - 10% resistance to Dark/Holy magic. 5% resistance to Physical.
Touch of the Void  - 10% reduced resistance to Holy/Fire magic, 20% resistance to Mental Effects, 15% immunity to Mental Effects.

Experience to next level 2107/2583

Health: 225/225
Stamina: 53/53
Mana: 13/13


With the sudden addition of my new skills and proficiencies, my character sheet had started to become cluttered. A strange, yet welcome change, was that spells and abilities that I had cast or used before now displayed their Mana or Stamina points cost on my character sheet. I noticed too that my ‘Gifts’ had an explanation detailing their effects. Even as I puzzled over  this I wondered why I hadn’t received any visions to give some explanation for my new spells’ functions. Perhaps it was because they were part of my Calling or class choice already? Very unhelpful, I mentally complained to myself.

However, most disturbing of all was that I had lost the equivalent of two levels worth of attribute points from the Reaver class being forced upon me. This meant a significant reduction to my overall Health and Stamina. One silver lining was the two new points of Wisdom from Paladin that gave me an extra point in Mana. I would also have to pay more attention to the gains in my ‘secondary’ attributes such as Charisma and Luck. Somewhere along the way I had simply stopped tallying their increases in mind.

The new skills were welcome, but I could not deny that I felt a certain trepidation at the thought of trying them.The mentally unsettling effects of executing my Rust spell were still forefront in my mind.

With so much to get a handle on, I felt my attention begin to wander. I stared out into the distance, ruminating on ways to test my new magic. I decided that it would be wisest to first inform my companions about the latest developments.

“The gods have gifted me with new powers,” I stated suddenly without preamble.

Kidu gave me a knowing nod and a smile before intoning solemnly, “Thus the gods often grant their favour after overcoming great trials. I too have felt their touch after our escape.”

Truthfully, I had no idea what he was talking about. Perhaps this was the NPC’s way of interpreting a level up and increase in power; he had after all killed a significant amount of foes during our escape. Elwin on the other hand simply raised an eyebrow, intrigued no doubt but willing to hold off his questions until later.

“I would like to test out one of the spells, I don’t think it’s an offensive spell, but I don't exactly know what it does…” I said in a tone which did not inspire confidence.

“Do what you must, we will help you observe. It is hard to learn with no instruction from a master,” said Kidu in sympathy.

“I think I am going to move a bit further back...” Elwin said as he inched further away from the crackling fire.

Before Elwin had finished leaving the firelight I had already begun to cast Holy Aura, holding a hand out in front of me. I decided against using Silent Cast as I did not wish to reveal the full repertoire of my skills, even to my allies. Fingers traced strange patterns in the air, my voice rose to chant a language I had never heard before. As I incanted the words I noticed that there was a slight echo, as if another being was talking alongside me.

As my chant reached a crescendo I firmly said, “Holy Aura,” as a single pulse of golden light was pushed away from me at its epicentre. It bathed the area around me for a distance of about ten metres. Around my companions however the light settled, as if warding them against the darkness.

Kidu and Elwin both held up their hands to inspect the golden light that had surrounded and wrapped itself around them. They looked incredulously as it played in intricate arcane patterns about all of us. Then a small shock of horror hit me as I looked at my status bars. Not only did the spell use two Mana, but my maximum Mana had also dropped by two. Quickly I cancelled the aura spell, and the golden light softly disappeared. My companions still spun around, as if trying to determine where the golden light was disappearing to. With a sigh of relief, I saw that my maximum Mana had risen again to thirteen, but my current Mana remained at eleven. Intriguing, I thought to myself, what would happen if I tried to cast the spell again?

My companions were distracted and so I decided to cast the aura spell again, this time using my Silent Cast skill. I could feel resistance now, almost as if the spell did not want to comply. It took a long while, perhaps six or eight seconds, before I was able to complete the spell and a golden aura bathed us once more. It certainly took a lot longer to cast without the somatic component of the spell. Looking at my status I could see now that both current Mana had dropped a further two points to nine, and that my maximum Mana had again dropped back down to eleven. I gave a silent prayer of thanks to no god in particular that I had not damaged my Mana reserves permanently.

“Do you feel any different?  Anything at all?” I asked my companions hesitantly.

“Apart from the pretty lights, nothing. Pretty impressive though. Probably could make a few copper pieces at the next mummer’s faire,” piped Elwin a little sarcastically.

“Answers never come easy in the understanding of the ways of the gods,” retorted Kidu, “perhaps this magic is a ward against evil and misfortune?”

I nodded to Kidu, his words containing surprising insight, before I continued, “We also need to do something about these,” holding up the remains of my chains on both wrists. Casting Rust on metal in contact with skin was a painful operation I did not honestly want to repeat anytime soon.

Just as I was beginning to think about casting my improved Rust spell on what remained of my bindings, I noticed something about Elwin and Kidu. They no longer had the remains of their manacles bound at their wrists and ankles!

“Yes, about that,” Elwin began with a smug smile on his face, “we didn’t want to disturb you while you were having your beauty sleep,” he said, producing a thin sliver of metal out of nowhere as he walked over to me.

Kneeling before me he began work on my bindings, popping them loose off my ankles with dextrous ease.

“Strange skills for a Ranger,” I said, looking him firmly in the eye.

“Let’s just say I had a troubled youth,” he replied in an even tone, dodging the subject as deftly as he had unlocked what remained of my bindings. “Now for your wrists.”

I held out my wrists, and with an artisan's grace, he jigged and manipulated his crude sliver of thin metal into the sockets of the manacles. He released me from the iron in a matter of seconds, tutting as he worked. Touching my now liberated wrists in confirmation, I reveled in the feeling of greater freedom from the loss of the metal hindrances.

“Thank you, Elwin, much appreciated. You are certainly a good man to know to get out of a bind,” I said gratefully, testing my range of motion now that the chains and manacles were no longer there. “Now if only we could do something about these collars,” I continued, smiling wryly as I pointed to the metal at my neck.

Kidu began to raise a pickaxe in his hand, his answer to my question clear which drew a worried glance from our Rogue. I held a hand to my head to stop my helm from moving as I waved the other hand frantically to stop him from continuing down his obvious plan of action.

“I don’t think we need to resort to that just yet, I think my magic could weaken it a little more first!” I almost shouted. It would also be a chance to test, albeit potentially painfully, the level of control I had with my spell.

“Your choice,” he shrugged as he lay down to sleep on the green moss of the forest floor, throwing another loose branch into the crackling fire before closing his eyes.

Elwin threw a worried glance at me, “You’re not thinking of starting off with me are you?”

“No, Elwin. Have no fear, at least for the moment,” I said, sneaking him with a mischievous grin. “Please watch over me in case anything goes wrong…”

Bringing the magic to my center I concentrated as best I could, worry staining my thoughts with a cloud of doubt. With the improved level of the spell, would the magic simply turn my collar into hot slag and kill me in the process? With this thought in mind, I focused on trying to tamp down the dark energies, attempting to resist unleashing its full power. With my mind fully engaged in staving off the full powers of the spell, I simply lacked the focus to use my Silent Casting skill. Eldritch words speaking of dark things rose to my tongue, a language not meant for mortals to utter, and I could see Elwin looking visibly perturbed as he looked away. A small portion of my mind had registered that Kidu had begun snoring already, the sounds of which would rival any great beast in a rut. My fingers, stilting in their motion, drew esoteric symbols in the air leaving a trace of ozone and oily dread blackness. Just as the spell was about to reach a crescendo of arcane power, I felt the powers begin to subside and deflate. Feeling the time was right I released the black lightning into my collar, which caused it to heat up, but not painfully so. I had succeeded in my experiment of taming the dark alien energies as I had only lost a single point of Mana in casting the spell.

Smiling a cracked smile at the Rogue, “Well, it seems that wasn’t too bad.  I appear to have learned how to control myself a little.” Elwin simply looked quizzically at me.

Straining down as best as I could to look at my neck, I waited for the roiling energies to finally subside before casting Identify on the collar to see how much damage I had inflicted on its durability.

Iron Slave Collar
Durability 258/400

Thirty-six points of damage. Not bad I thought to myself. Although the level two spell did more damage, it was extremely painful and required me to spend additional Mana on healing. This was the most efficient way and safest way to go.

I gave Elwin a thumbs-up, and I smiled from ear to ear. Elwin just looked like he had just sucked a sour plum before saying, “After all this you want me to bugger myself? Can’t say I can find the humor in it. There are places to go for that sort of thing.”

“No, no Elwin. That’s not what I meant at all! From where I come from this is a sign of good luck…an indication of approval. You see right now I am rather pleased with myself,” I said, holding up both thumbs, placatingly smiling as best I could.

“Thought you had no memories,” the thief said in a slow calculating voice before grumbling once again, “bah, for that you’ll be taking next watch. Guess I’ll have to be keeping another one of my eyes on you,” he finished as he continued griping before making a bed for himself on the cold floor.

“Of course…” I began before I noticed that he was already fast asleep, his breathing shallow and even.

Adjusting the loose helmet on my head I began to stare up at the dark canopy, observing only one or two twinkling lights through the thick boughs.  All around me I could hear the sounds of the forest as its denizens continued their nocturnal activities. The air was fresh and invigorating, full of the green smells of a vibrant forest, free of the stifling pollutants of my old world.

Alone with my thoughts, I began to reflect on my journey so far. Thinking back to my struggles with the amphibious Bibsis, I realized just how much I had grown in power since coming to this strange new world. My time as a slave had forged my body and soul, and I was a very different man from when I first arrived. I realized the innocence I once possessed was forever lost. I had killed, and more than once at that too. This was a world that demanded it, even rewarded it. I knew in my heart of hearts that this was no simple parody of a game. The scents, the sounds, the suffering; it was all too real. Yet despite all this, it was still a world that was beautifully virgin and full of wonder.

I thought too of Earth, and of the mediocre yet somewhat tolerable life I had lived. Every day had been a struggle but of a different sort. There I had to worry if I would be able to pay the bills on time; here I had to worry if I had enough Health, Stamina, and Mana to survive the next encounter with a monstrous creature. I chuckled to myself inwardly thinking of the situations that I once considered stressful. Here I had grown hard, but I knew I had to grow even harder still.

I touched my collar, a reminder of the sights I had witnessed and the trials I had suffered. My first gift for slaying another sentient human being. This was another hurdle I had to overcome. Focusing on Identify I cast the spell on my collar once more, needing to confirm my progress from the day before.

Iron Slave Collar
Durability 254/400

Intriguingly the durability had dropped another four points. Was this from general wear and tear or was it the lingering effects of the spell? ‘Curse’ type spells in games usually took a long time to fully take effect…

I had a feeling that it would do me no good to wait and with six points of Mana I continued to cast the weaker version of Rust onto my collar, ignoring the oily dark energies and weak whispers that followed each cast.

After the fifth cast, wishing to avoid reaching zero Mana, I tried to snap the tortured metal with my bare hands, grunting loudly in the effort as I did so. A hand the size of ham grasped my shoulder and I turned to look at Kidu. His face was hard and unfamiliar in the dark flames, casting him as a monster, his blonde dreadlocks like a wild Medusan growth.

“A fine sentry you will make,” he laughed in a not-too-unfriendly manner.  “Please, let me,” he said, his large hands reaching for my neck.

For a split second, I feared that he wished to end my life and my body involuntarily stiffened. Gently he placed his giant hands on the collar at my neck, before with a great twist he snapped the weakened and heavily corroded metal. It fell broken to the forest floor.

“Thank you Kidu,” awe and appreciation in my voice in equal measure at his impressive strength.

“Freedom is more than payment enough,” he said, even and stern, before laughing and slapping me on the back, “but I would like to stay free for a little much longer so I will take the next watch!”

Gesturing for me to sleep once more I removed my helm and gloves, laying them down next to me before curling up into a ball. I touched where the metal once met my neck and looked down at my wrists now free of chains. Soon enough sleep claimed me once again as her and the dark whispers followed me into her realm.