Marli then turned her attention to the ring.
At first, she merely looked at it like she had done with the pouch. Then her eyebrows scrunched up, and she picked it up. As she turned the ring around slowly between her two small hands, her face became a stern mask of concentration. Then suddenly, a look of surprise came over her.
“Oh,” she muttered. “Oh,” she then repeated with more meaning.
“What is it?” I asked as my curiosity got the better of me.
“The ring enhances the shadow magic Ability. I’m not exactly sure how much though. There appear to be additional benefits, but they are beyond my ability to reveal.”
Nice!
“Sounds... valuable,” Zander intoned.
“Yes. It does indeed have value, to the right person. I happen to know a Priest who might find this ring quite alluring. He would probably be very appreciative if I were to give it to him…” she said before her thoughts seemed to wander off for a moment.
Her momentary lapse gave me pause. Then the meaning of her hesitation came to me, and I understood. She had made some very interesting word choices, ‘alluring,’ ‘appreciative.’ It was clear that this priest held some intrigue for her that went beyond any religious affiliation. A point that put her right where we wanted.
Zander seemed just as lost in thought as Marli was. Not wanting to let the opening pass, I jumped in to seize the opportunity. Zander would just have to deal with my interruption.
“So, Marli, if we decided to trade the ring, what could you give us for it?
Marli snapped out of her meanderings quickly. “Oh. Well, let’s see.”
Much like Georl had earlier, Marli made a bit of a show of pondering her potential offer and pretending to reexamine the ring a few times. Finally, she made her move.
“I think this backpack would be a fair trade. It’s an upgrade from the standard backpacks most adventurers use. This one has fifty slots, each of which can hold ten similar items. In addition, it reduces the weight of all items inside it by half.”
“That’s an interesting starting point,” Zander rejoined. “But for us to part with what is such an obviously valuable item, we would need to receive some things that would benefit both members of our party.”
You go get her, Zander! I thought. Seeing that Zander and I were on the same page, I left the negotiations in his hands and took a moment to peruse the rest of the shop.
Marli had a wide variety of merchandise, and all of it was neatly organized and sorted by type. It was quite the contrast from the other general merchant’s cluttered junkpile.
As I wandered through the aisles, I had a good idea of what I was looking for. My top priority was a better bow. While mine had served me well so far, I had no doubt that I would need a serious upgrade if I wanted to continue producing effective damage against the inevitably stronger opponents I would be seeing in the future. Secondly, I needed better, and hopefully, lighter armor. It hadn’t happened yet, but I had no doubt that sooner rather than later I would find myself in uncomfortably close proximity to sharp and pointy objects. When that happened, I wanted to be wearing the best armor I could get my hands on.
I was bothering with all this because I was secretly hoping that the developers would offer some compensation for the effects of the anomaly. Not only was I stuck in the wrong body, but the comms were still out, and I was still trapped here for several more hours! Letting me keep all my gains seemed to be the least they could do for me. Perhaps some Attribute points or an XP bonus to boot? So, with that in mind, even though I fully intended to reroll as soon as possible, I still went through all the motions of playing for keeps, so to speak.
After finishing my circuit through the shop, I managed to find an assortment of items that would fill my needs. There was a new bow, well, new to me at least, that had the same Encumbrance value as the one I currently owned but was clearly better quality. I also found several pieces of decent leather armor, including a chest piece that took only (15) Encumbrance to wear, but was still of better construction than mine. It also came with a matching padded undershirt that was missing from my current armor. Additionally, I had found some boots (2), greaves (2), and leather tassets (7), often just called a skirt, that offered protection around my waist and upper legs. The final items were a pair of bracers (1) and gloves to protect my forearms and hands. The bracers had been a high-priority item, as I had experienced a few occasions of ‘arm slap’ in the two skirmishes we had fought. This was the wonderful feeling you got when your bowstring cracked against your forearm as you released a shot. No more of that for me, thanks. The gloves were a bonus, and I wasn’t going to complain about them having no effect on my Encumbrance either.
I gathered all my items together and dropped them on the front counter.
“Not sure how things are going, but I found what I’m going to need.”
Zander looked annoyed while Marli simply studied the pile and catalogued all the items, adding up their worth.
“Oh, and in case it’s not obvious, I’ll be trading in this armor and bow,” I added, indicating my currently equipped items.
Marli nodded her understanding while Zander let out a frustrated breath.
“Are we close to a deal?” I inquired.
“Honestly, we weren’t. Not knowing what you needed, we were pretty much just going around in circles,” Marli remarked. “I think this,” she said waving over my pile of stuff, “helps put a value on your side of the ledger.”
I might have stepped on Zander’s toes a bit, but at least I had advanced the negotiations.
“Let me make you an offer, Zander,” Marli said as she turned back to him. “Your friend here will get all of the items she has picked out, and you get the backpack. I assure you the two of you are getting equal value. She may be getting more items, but that backpack is worth just as much, if not more.
“On top of that, I’ll throw in ten silver Marks.”
I held my tongue. If Zander didn’t take that offer in about three seconds, I was going to do it for him.
“I believe we have a deal,” Zander said after a brief pause.
The little bastard almost gave me a heart attack.
Items and coins were exchanged, and as we made our friendly goodbyes, it seemed as if all parties were happy with the deal. We may have undersold the ring, but we had received a very good haul of equipment for our low levels. As a parting gift, Marli had even included one of the common coin pouches she had told us about. It was not soul-bound and lacked some of the better enhancements of the one we had looted from the caster; however, the common ones still automatically sorted any coins you put in it, could carry up to one thousand of each coin type, and reduced weight of those coins by 50%. Not bad for a free bonus. According to Marli, these common pouches were fairly ubiquitous. Apprentice leatherworkers and enchanters worked together crafting them in an effort to increase their skills. As a result, the market was flooded with these common pouches, and although they were highly useful, they had also become very cheap.
It was turning into a very long day. Two fights, my first kills, and there was still more left to do. As we made our way down the street, Zander and I realized that while we had gotten our gear upgraded, we had completely forgotten to purchase any supplies.
Although we could have gone back to Marli immediately, we were both tired and hungry. We decided instead to head for the inn for some dinner and a good night’s sleep. The supplies and such could wait for morning, or at least it could for Zander. By the time morning came, I would have logged out and rerolled a new character. He would be in for a bit of a surprise when I was gone.
Last laugh will be mine Zander, I thought with a chuckle of satisfaction.
As we made our way towards the inn, I pulled up my notifications.
Unlocked skill discovered! You have discovered the Perception sub-skill Identify Person.
Unlocked skill discovered! You have discovered the Manipulation skill tree and the Persuade sub-s
kill.
Unlocked skill discovered! You have discovered the Manipulation sub-skill Barter.
Oh, that was nice. I wasn’t sure that I liked the fact that my actions with Georl fell under the Manipulation tree, but since Barter was there too, it couldn’t be too bad.
Next, I pulled up my character sheet and Inventory to take a look at my new skills and gear.
Dreya Dae
Human Female
Level - 1
350/1200
Health 120/120 Aura 280/280 Endurance 120/120
Class – Warden – Wardens gain a 10% bonus to skills associated with nature or which have natural effects
Specialization –
Mastery –
STR - 12
CON - 12
DEX - 14
INT - 12
WIS - 12
CHA - 16
Abilities
Ignore Armor – Your next arrow will ignore a portion of the target’s armor. Cost – 20 Aura. 1%
Stun – Your next arrow has a chance to stun its target on hit. Cost – 20 Aura. 1%
Spells
Skills
Bow – 12%
Critical Hit – 8%
Armor – 1%
Medium Armor – 1%
Perception – 8%
Environmental – 11%
Identify Enemy – 4%
Identify Person – 3%
Subterfuge – 3%
Stealth – 4%
Manipulation – 7%
Persuade – 8%
Barter – 7%
INVENTORY
Encumbrance 40/120
Clothing
Recurve Bow, (50)
Short Sword, Simple (25)
Leather Chest Guard (15)
Leather Tassets (7)
Leather Bracers (1)
Leather Greaves (2)
Leather Boots (2)
Leather Gloves
Quiver
19 Arrows
Camp blade
Belt pouch, Small
Coin pouch, Common:
10 Silver Marks, 2 Silver Bits, 71 Copper
Backpack, Small
Hmm. Not bad. I tried to do the math in my head before I bought all my new gear, but it was good to see the numbers confirmed for me. With my new bow, I had thirty Encumbrance points to spare during combat. I still needed to allow for traveling equipment, but I felt like I had adequate capacity for now. Plus, I had managed to upgrade both my offense and defense for a minimal Encumbrance cost. I was feeling pretty good about myself.
6
T he shingle outside the inn proclaimed it as ‘The Fat Pig,’ and prominently featured a giant pink hog gloriously rolling in a pit of mud. Sounded yummy.
We were probably a little early for the evening crowd, so it was no surprise that we had the inn practically to ourselves. We picked a table in an out-of-the-way corner of the dining area and took our seats. The barman was busily cleaning glasses and getting ready for the night’s crowd that was sure to come later, but a young waitress was quick to arrive to help us.
She looked to be about twenty years old. Her simple dress draped loosely below her waist but then clinched tightly in the bodice, favoring her youthful body, and the plunging neckline of her outfit provided a clear view of her ample cleavage. Long, chestnut hair framed her pretty face, then fell haphazardly around her bare shoulders. While she was attractive, I thought she seemed a bit too obvious. Zander, on the other hand, was mesmerized.
“Would you like some ale?” She asked.
“Uhh...”
“What my friend means to ask is, how is the ale?” I replied.
“Ah, new in town, are you? Well, you should know that Klepp, the owner of ‘The Pig,’ brews the best ale for miles. It’s not to be missed, if you ask me,” the waitress replied helpfully.
“Two ales then for my friend and me. We’re hungry as well. What’s on the menu tonight?” I inquired.
“You’re in luck! Tonight, we have either the beef stew or a lovely fish pie.”
Not much of a choice in my mind.
“I’ll have the beef stew. Zander?”
“Oh, um, yes, of course. I mean… I’ll have the same,” he stammered.
Pathetic.
She turned and with a smile set off to fetch our order.
Remembering Zander’s earlier comment at the blacksmith’s, I decided to apply a little petty revenge.
“Real smooth,” I teased.
“Shut up,” Zander retorted. But his flushed cheeks told me that my comment had hit the mark.
The ales were soon brought, swiftly followed by the stew. Both were quite good, and we washed down our meals with a second round of drinks.
We began talking over our ales, and Zander’s inner geek, apparently let loose by the alcohol, released a font of information on the game and its environment. Over the next two hours, and several more ales, Zander divulged every tidbit of lore he had uncovered about the world of Second Skin.
The torrent of information was more than I could remember, and much of it was simply worthless trivia. But amidst the pointless minutia, Zander disclosed a great deal of useful information as well.
I learned that the locals referred to the players as ‘Deathless’ or less frequently ‘Eternals,’ obviously due to our ability to return to life after being killed.
I found out that this world was also called ‘Earth,’ like our own, but it was known to be an alternate reality, a different Earth than ours. Similar in many respects, yet quite divergent in others.
Most of the ‘unsavory’ bodily functions were not necessary for the players. We could eat and drink as much as we wanted, but never need to ‘go.’ That was really cool. Unrealistic, but cool. Sleeping would also clean your body and your gear automatically—no dreary maintenance required. Of course, you could still take a bath or shower if you wanted to, but it wasn’t required. Zander also added that for ‘the ladies,’ such as myself—ha!—we didn’t have a menstrual cycle. Not the words he used, he kind of just fumbled around till I got the idea. He really was such a geek. And, as an added bonus, we only got pregnant if we wanted to. The odd look he gave me when he dropped that little bit of info was… disturbing.
Death was another subject he knew a lot about. When we died, and Zander assured me we would be doing a lot of that, we would respawn after a short delay. We could set a bind point at an inn or our home, if we owned one; otherwise, we would come back in the closest safe town or, if we had died in a dungeon, just outside the dungeon’s entrance. We wouldn’t lose our equipment or XP, but we would suffer a temporary debuff. There was a 10% reduction in all Attributes, Skills, Spells, and Abilities that lasted until we made a kill or for 24 hours, whichever came first.
While the combat log was visually unobtrusive, any critical information would be instantly ‘known’ by the player. You would become aware of various things like status effects such as burning or bleeding without having to visually read the log.
What I had been thinking of as skill advancement, the increasing percentage associated with each skill, was officially known as Proficiency. Proficiency was not actually a measure of your ability to use a skill—that was granted when you gained the skill itself. Rather, Proficiency measured the ability to use a skill well. It factored in things like critical success, gaining enhancements to the core ability—things like a lightning spell gaining a stun modifier—and was also rumored to affect the skill in other, hidden ways.
I also learned that my Aura pool was only a fraction of what was known as Personal Aura. According to the lore, we could only access and manipulate a mere portion of our Personal Aura, and that small portion was known as our Aura pool. Then there was where Aura came from. Something called ‘The Essence,’ or just ‘Essence’ for short.
Essence was, in short, everything. It was an ephemeral energy that emanated from all things. Not just living things like that other famous energy you’re probably thinking of, but all things. Rocks, mineral
s, the air itself, everything. Aura was simply that infinitesimal portion of this all-encompassing energy that we, as mere mortals, were able to manipulate with our tiny little minds.
Wow. That was kinda humbling.
The final tidbit was how all this Essence lore tied into the hyper-sensory experience that the players had in Second Skin. The game lore stated that since we had no access to Essence in our home world, our sensory intake was overwhelmed by the power of the Essence surrounding us. The result was the hyper-stimulated sensory experience that I had when I first arrived here. Apparently, the natives did not understand when they were asked about it, as they perceived their world ‘normally.’ The players’ odd relationship with Essence also made their Aura-based powers slightly more potent than those of the natives. A subject of some soreness for them.
That final revelation brought up a question for me.
“Zander?”
“Yesh,” he slurred.
“Do other immersion games also have this hyper-sensory effect?”
“Oddly enough, no. Itsh something of a debate on the tech forums. The defelopersh haven’t been able to giff a good reshon for itsh.”
Clearly, it was time to cut off the geek’s alcohol.
“I’m getting tired, and we should get an early start tomorrow. Let’s settle up our tab, get some rooms and go to bed.”
“Bed? Oh, yesh, bed,” Zander mumbled. “Mishh! Oh mishh!” He beckoned the waitress.
“Yes, sir?”
As she approached, Zander was stunned into silence yet again by the display of the young woman’s cleavage.
Apparently, I needed to handle this difficult task for him.
“We need to pay our bill and get a couple of rooms for the night, please.”
“Of course. Your bill so far is 12 silver bits, and the rooms are one Mark each per night.”
Zander suddenly broke free from the powerful effects of our waitress’s bare skin and fumbled open his fancy new coin purse.
Second Skin- Fractures Page 6