Threadbare Volume 2

by Andrew Seiple

  The figure on stage was not happy, not in the slightest. The angry raccant chattered, and the music switched again, a high set of pipes joining a beat that started and stopped, started and stopped.

  Threadbare didn’t like it one bit. He darted over to Pulsivar. “Bodyguard!”

  Your Bodyguard skill is now level 3!

  Then he remembered his own plight, and the torn bits that were even now leaking stuffing. Not much, but enough to crimp his style. “Mend! Mend! Mend!”

  He ignored the skill up messages from it, and ran to the high chair, slapping it with one paw. “Mend! Animus!”

  But no sooner had it risen again, then everything stopped.

  Then in a flash, the raccant was there, bashing the high chair to bits with a heavy hammer that he’d pulled out of literally nowhere.

  He’d stopped because it was hammer time, and broken it down, just like that.

  Threadbare popped claws and laid into him- or tried to, anyway. The bard could dodge like nobody’s business, thanks to his Raccant Touch This skill.

  And for the first time in this fight, Threadbare started to worry.

  Your Toughness skill is now level 13!

  +2 Max HP

  That hammer hit hard. Pulsivar came arrowing in on the side, got in a good swipe, but the bard was made of sturdier stuff, and he returned the favor—

  —as Threadbare suddenly found himself pulled a few feet over, just in time to take the hammer hit instead of Pulsivar.

  Your Bodyguard skill is now level 4!

  Your Toughness skill is now level 14!

  +2 Max HP

  The fight went on for a bit, and Threadbare switched from trying to shred the guy to just trying to survive, letting Pulsivar do the real work. Fortunately that was a good strategy, and in the end, after three dodge skill ups and two more bodyguard skill ups later, the raccant fell, glasses shattering. Threadbare sagged into Pulsivar, hugging his wounds away with what remained of his sanity.

  You have healed Pulsivar for 80 points!

  Your Innocent Embrace skill is now level 9!

  He was gambling here...

  ...a gamble that paid off, as the words appeared again, and he felt his reserves refill.

  You are now a level 9 Bear!

  CON+5

  STR+5

  WIS+5

  Armor+3

  Endurance+3

  Mental Fortitude+3

  You are now a level 3 Animator!

  DEX+3

  INT+3

  WILL+3

  Whew. Okay.

  Digging through the remnants of the raccant, he found that somehow the creature’s hammer had disappeared, but the gold chain and the baggy pants remained. The black pants almost sparkled, some kind of glitter worked into the material. They were too big for him—

  —but he had a trick for that, now didn’t he?

  “Adjust Outfit.”

  Your Adjust Outfit skill is now level 2!

  He took a sniff of them.

  Wooooo, nope.

  Your Scents and Sensibility skill is now level 15!

  “Clean and Press!”

  Your Clean and Press skill is now level 4!

  They fit nicely, adjusted by magic to teddy bear size. Oddly enough, they only had one pocket in them, and it was really deep. Bigger on the inside than it should be, judging from the outside. But when he tried to put some of his coins in there, the pocket sealed up. It unsealed when he moved his paw away. Weird, he’d mess with that later.

  Draping the gold chain around his neck, he picked the largest tunnel that didn’t look like it went back the way they’d come, threw another couple of mends on himself, and stomped forward. Pulsivar followed, relieved that the noisy music was now gone.

  Six more trash mobs, and a small group of raccants later, Threadbare’s nose twitched at a T-junction in the cave. He took a sniff... and smelled sandalwood.

  Missus Fluffbear! He hurried to the right, completely ignoring the sign on the wall.

  BEWAR THE BEARSERKER

  In his haste, Threadbare completely missed the tripwire. His little legs hit it, and his disproportionate strength snapped it like thread.

  WHAM!

  The floor under him fell away as the trapdoor opened, and the bear plummeted.

  Pulsivar, just as surprised as Threadbare, stared, then readied to jump... and gave a frustrated howl, as the trapdoor slammed shut in the big cat’s face.

  Smooth, greased rock slid by under Threadbare’s pants, which flapped in the wind of his passing. He flailed for a grip, found nothing, and spilled to the ground as the slide leveled out and opened up into a wide space.

  More stalagmite benches surrounded the edges of the cavern, with chicken wire between the cheering raccants occupying them and the pit below. The pit Threadbare was now lying in. He stood up, brushing himself up, and looking around. The slide behind him sealed as soon as he looked at it, a stone door slamming shut as its counterweight tripped. He walked over and poked the stone door desperately, fearing for Pulsivar.

  Your Adorable skill is now level 16!

  Your Work it Baby skill is now level 4!

  Then a ratcheting metal noise came from behind, and Threadbare turned, slowly. The scent of sandalwood filled his nose, and for a minute his heart leaped...

  ...until he saw what was emerging from the darkness under the rising portcullis.

  Four times his size, with pitch black fur, and bright-red button eyes, the plush toy was a walking behemoth. It bore a full-sized lumberjack’s axe in both paws, and the weight of it strained the teddy bear’s seams, revealing wisps of stuffing spilling out from stretched thread.

  And worst of all, he recognized it.

  “Fiyt! Fiyt! Fiyt!” Chanted the raccants above, and the giant-sized Missus Fluffbear roared, headbutted the wall next to her three or four times, sending up red ‘20s’, then turned to glare at him.

  Threadbare looked upon the twisted form of the one he’d come to save, and despaired.

  But only for about a second, and no more. There was murder in his enraged comrade’s button eyes, and he needed to do something about that. “Command Golem! Stop and stand down.”

  It was the first time he’d ever used that skill, but he was pretty sure the letters that followed made no sense at all.

  Invalid target!

  What? Why?

  Then she was charging, and her axe caught him with a sideswing, knocking him off the rounded side of the pit, to tumble several yards away in the arena. He shook his head as a red ‘21’ rolled up from his wound. Suddenly all that time leveling flex seemed time well spent.

  “Command Golem! Missus Fluffbear stop!”

  Invalid target!

  Okay, something was going on here. But the enraged black teddy bear was charging for him again. Threadbare dove to the side.... But got clipped anyway, as she kicked him, this time with claws roughly about four times the size of his own.

  Twelve hit points and a short trip later, Threadbare stood back up again. He needed time to think this over and she wasn’t going to give it to him. But fortunately he was much, much stronger for his size, and much, much more nimble than he had any right to be. Not gymnast class, not anywhere near that yet, but far more than most. He ran and jumped, catching the bottom of the chicken wire lining and boosted himself up, out of her reach.

  Your Climb skill is now level 13!

  Instantly the crowd started booing him, and throwing nuts, bits of moldy bread, and the other snacks they’d been eating. Threadbare ignored them and looked down at the growling, murderous creature swiping the air underneath him with heavy, sweeping strokes. She didn’t look like she was in a mood to talk, so that was out. Was there another way to sort this out?

  He had a lot of stuff that he could apply, here, but did he have anything useful?

  “Status.”

  Why yes, yes he did. At the very least, it couldn’t hurt anything.

  “Eye for Detail.”

  Your Eye fo
r Detail skill is now level 2!

  And as her status opened up, he twitched in surprise.

  He hadn’t been able to check her back in the ruins of his home, not while they spent all that time in that darkened basement, but he was pretty sure that what he was seeing didn’t match what she should have. According to this, her name was “The Bearserker,” her race was Construct, and her job was Optional Midboss. She was a fifth level midboss. No toy golem or bear jobs to be seen, and that just wasn’t right.

  Aside from that, her stats were surprisingly anemic. Everything was in strength and hit points. She hit hard, for her level, and had an okay Axes and Choppas skill, but her defenses were shabby. Not much sanity. Not much moxie or fortune. Decent endurance and about four hundred hit points, but this didn’t line up with what he knew of her at all.

  Fuzzy hands poked at his paws, and he turned to see the nearest group of raccants pushing at him through the chicken wire, trying to shove him back into the pit. They wanted to see stuffing, dammit!

  Threadbare tried to climb away from him, but there were a lot of onlookers, and one of his paws was forced free. Only a matter of time for the other, he knew.

  But that was fine. A great weight had been lifted from him. This wasn’t Missus Fluffbear, couldn’t be her. It just looked like her, somehow. He didn’t know what was going on here, but he did know this;

  He was free to beat the stuffing out of this misshapen mockery of his friend with impunity.

  And he had a hitherto unused toolset to use to do so that was just ducky for the occasion.

  “Guard Stance! Challenge Bearserker!”

  Your Guard Stance Skill is now level 2!

  Your Challenge Skill is now level 2!

  Instantly the strength drained from his limbs and his paws felt clumsy—

  —but that was fine, because he felt... faster, for a lack of a better word.

  The raccants easily pushed him free from his last pawhold, and he twisted in midair, dodged the oncoming swipe, and landed on the handle of the axe, arms up in a boxing stance.

  AGL +1

  Well, why not try everything he could? “Fancy Flourish!” The little bear’s arms darted out in a spray of quick jabs, as the bear huffed and puffed. Threadbare shifted his legs back and forth on the axe handle like a little boxer.

  Your Adorable Skill is now level 17!

  Your Work it Baby skill is now level 5!

  The Bearserker has resisted your Fancy Flourish!

  Then the axe twisted in her hands, and he dropped down, managing to roll and just barely dodge it as she struck down at him.

  Your Dodge skill is now level 6!

  Then it was up again, dancing toward her legs, paws up, jabbing at her with claw swipes as she turned, trying to cleave him. He was only doing about ten damage a hit, but she was having a lot of trouble connecting. The few hits he took did hurt, but he was wearing her down. And as he fought, he threw in Fancy Flourishes, managing to land a couple through her willpower, despite his inexperience with the skill.

  Your Fancy Flourish skill is now level 2!

  A green ‘6’ drifted up from her head. Moxie damage.

  Your Fancy Flourish skill is now level 3!

  Another green ‘6’

  But he dropped it once he started feeling tired. He was still using claw swipes after all, and that was more important in the long haul. He didn’t have a chance of zeroing out her moxie, and he wasn’t sure what that would do anyway. So instead he settled for trying to pound the stuffing out of her.

  Your Brawling skill is now level 23!

  Critical Hit!

  LUCK +1

  Your Claw Swipes skill is now level 19!

  DEX +1

  Critical Hit!

  LUCK +1

  Your Claw Swipes skill is now level 20!

  AGI +1

  Critical Hit!

  LUCK +1

  Your Brawling skill is now level 24!

  But as time went on, he noticed something. She was getting torn up, yes...

  ...but her strikes were hitting harder.

  Your Toughness skill is now level 15!

  +2 Max HP

  When they connected, they tore him up something fierce. He watched a red ‘40’ roll by with alarm. He was down maybe half, he didn’t have time to stop and check. All it would take was one lucky critical hit on her part, and bad things would surely happen.

  Come to think of it, she’d had a skill called “Power from Pain,” hadn’t she? If this was it, it was troublesome. She couldn’t have much left, hit-point wise, but...

  He ran, getting some distance, and the crowd booed again. Was there a way to turn off guard stance? He concentrated, still running with a bear behind, and felt the stance click off. Instantly he slowed a bit, and the axe almost swept through his head.

  Your Dodge skill is now level 7!

  But before she could try a backswing, he leaped, and caught the chicken wire again. Instantly the raccants surged toward him, but that was fine. He had what he needed; a breather.

  “Mend! Mend! Mend! Mend! Mend!” He shouted, over and over again as they pushed and shoved at him. He maxed the skill when it hit fifteen and kept going. After about the ninth casting they managed to knock him loose, and the Bearserker’s axe narrowly missed him with an upswing. Without time to think, without time to re-establish guard stance he hit the ground, grabbed her leg, and tore great swipes of it free.

  And this time, without guard stance gimping his damage, Threadbare managed to tear right through her plush paw. She crumpled, falling to one knee, and he grabbed her shoulder, hauled himself up, and tore through her plush head. Red stuffing spilled out, and the over-muscled Bearserker fell. The crowd went wild, and Threadbare clambered down, shaking. He was tired, so tired, but there was no way that hadn’t—

  You are now a level 2 Duelist!

  AGL+3

  DEX+3

  STR+3

  Ah, there it was. His pools refilled.

  Then a hissing noise filled his ears, just audible under the roaring crowd. He looked down to see yellow dust pouring out of the Bearserker’s skull. He’d seen that dust before, long ago... it was the same dust that his creator had almost turned him into, when he was first awakened.

  His creator had taken great care to bottle it. Threadbare didn’t have bottles, but he had apron pockets. He started scooping it up and pouring it into his pockets... but found that after he’d gotten about half of it in a pocket, the other half wouldn’t fit. Curiously, he experimented, and found he could put the remaining dust in another pocket. He just couldn’t mix the two of them.

  Threadbare looked up, only to watch the Bearserker’s corpse disappear in front of his eyes. Gone, just like that. What the heck?

  A creak interrupted his reverie, and he looked over to see the portcullis shuddering downward as it started to close. No other way out of this pit... He ran for it, managed to just get under it before it shut.

  The corridor beyond was dark, with lighted doorways off to the side, each blocked off by a portcullis, and a chest at the end of a stone door. And there, fading into view not ten feet from him, wisping into existence from nothingness, was another Bearserker.

  Thoroughly freaked out and not wanting to fight a murderous midboss in the tight confines of a tunnel, he ran past her. The stone door opened as he approached, but he slowed, tempted by the treasure chest.

  Then the Bearserker roared, and Threadbare saw a green ‘12’ lift out and float up above him. Yeah, no, the treasure chest wasn’t worth it. He darted through the stone door and it ground shut behind him, cutting off the sound of the Bearserker’s lumbering approach.

  Whew! Threadbare looked around him, at the tunnels lit by an obscene amount of stolen lanterns. Back to the old familiar corridors, it looked like.

  The little teddy bear Flexed, and Self-esteemed himself again, watched those buffs skill up, and refocused his mind on the task ahead. He’d been separated from Pulsivar back there. He had no doub
t the big cat could take care of himself, and a quick check of the party screen showed him still there, still in relatively good health.

  Then the cat’s hit points went up as he watched, and Threadbare chuckled, the tiny sound breaking the silence of the cave. Pulsivar was grooming himself, had to be. “Good kitty,” Threadbare whispered, and toddled off to find him. He activated Scents and Sensibility along the way, hoping to catch the big cat’s scent, and make his task easier.

  He did find Pulsivar’s scent... at about the same time the first Trash Mob found him.

  One minute later, the trash mob was in ruins, Threadbare was a few coins richer, and down a few hit points. He mended himself, resumed the hunt, following the scent trail—

  —and got jumped by another Trash Mob.

  Midway through, he got smart. What exactly was animated trash?

  “Eye for Detail.”

  Your Eye for Detail skill is now level 3!

  Yep, they were animi. Also a slime, which was weird, but whatever. He was new to this whole animator thing, that was his excuse.

  Well, he’d wanted to come in here with minions, hadn’t he?

  Five Trash Mob encounters and five skill ups to Command Animus and Creator’s Guardians later, Threadbare was feeling a bit lightheaded but he had a full party. True, they were literally garbage, but they were his garbage, and they could take hits like no one’s business. Well, not compared to him, but they were good for their level, anyway.

  Having a bunch of Trash Mobs in his thrall let Threadbare pick up speed. He got jumped a few times more, but his garbage goons swiftly made junk of the offending Trash Mobs. And it turned out, that grinding through trash mobs using animi was enough for another animator level.

  You are now a level 4 Animator!

  DEX+3

  INT+3

  WILL+3

  That was a welcome refresh. Binding all those trash mobs had cost him a bit over a quarter of his sanity, mending had taken more, and the fights had drained stamina a bit. All back in a heartbeat, thanks to a timely level.

  And after a time, the mounting weight of the coins salvaged from dead Trash Mobs stretched his apron tight around him, and started working on another skill as well.