Second Skin- Fractures

by M Damon Baker

  Specialization –

  Mastery –

  STR - 15

  CON - 15

  DEX - 16

  INT - 15

  WIS - 13

  CHA - 19(+1)

  Abilities

  Ignore Armor – Your next arrow will ignore a portion of the target’s armor. Cost – 20 Aura. - 12%

  Stun – Your next arrow has a chance to stun its target on hit. Cost – 20 Aura. - 20%

  Block – You may attempt to use your bow to parry a single melee attack. Cost – 20 Endurance. - 1%

  Swarm – Your next arrow duplicates itself in flight. Cost – 20 Endurance and 20 Aura. – 12%

  Flurry – Perform three rapid strikes with a bladed weapon. Cost – 30 Endurance. - 1%

  Spells

  Enhanced Sight – May be cast on self or ally. Improves visual acuity of the recipient in dark or obscured conditions. Cost – 20 Aura. - 11%

  Skills

  Bow – 21%

  Critical Hit – 20%

  Blades – 13%

  Short Sword – 15%

  Dagger – 13%

  Critical Hit – 9%

  Two-Handed – 5%

  Armor – 12%

  Medium Armor – 15%

  Perception – 22%

  Environmental – 22%

  Identify Enemy – 9%

  Identify Person – 3%

  Subterfuge – 21%

  Stealth – 21%

  Find Trap – 5%

  Disarm Trap – 4%

  Set Trap – 7%

  Manipulation – 7%

  Persuade – 9%

  Barter – 8%

  Survival – 15%

  Tracking – 17%

  Identify Creature (Beasts) – 3%

  Skinning – 7%

  Field Dress – 6%

  Alchemy – 1%

  Herbalism – 1%

  Once my review was complete, it was time for the fun part. Loot!

  Unfortunately, the goblins’ loot was mostly a disappointment—aside from the wand that had done so much damage to me, they had little of value. Between the three goblins, they had four poor-quality daggers, a shoddy-looking staff, and a mere handful of coins. I pocketed the coins and placed the wand and blades in my pack but decided to leave the staff behind. When I was finally done sorting their gear, I checked my map again and set off in the direction of the next town.

  Even at the slow pace dictated by my decision to work on my various proficiencies, in addition to traveling in Stealth, it still only took a few hours for me to approach the town. According to Marli, this particular little hamlet was known as Clermont. It, along with Laurel, the next town along the road, was one of the two that I had chosen as potential places I might be able to call home for a while. To avoid suspicion, I stepped out of the forest and onto the dirt road a short distance outside Clermont and made my way into the village.

  Like the other small towns, Clermont had a small number of shops and a single inn, but as with Dunnell, there was no tavern. One again, if I wanted any food, the inn would be my only option.

  It was late by the time I made it into town, so I decided to wait until morning to sell off my loot. A hot meal and soft bed were much higher on my list of priorities and won out over selling my haul of mostly junk goods. As I approached the inn, a gaudy placard in front announced it as ‘The Wayward Goose.’ It was an odd name, I thought, but so long as the food was good, I really didn’t care.

  When I wandered inside, I found a tidy dining room and bar that was warmed by the flames of a huge hearth, over the mantle of which hung a gigantic, stuffed goose, posed as if in mid-flight. It was the inn’s namesake, I presumed. Before I could choose a table, the barmaid greeted me cheerfully.

  “Good evening to you! What can I get you today? Would you be interested in lodgings for the night or just some fine food?”

  Her warm smile reminded me of Ella, and instantly put me at ease.

  “Thank you—dinner and a room, please,” I replied, returning her smile, even if she couldn’t see it from beneath my hood.

  The woman showed me to a table, and even pulled out a chair for me to sit on. After she ran through the dinner selections, I went with her recommendation of a venison dish. She informed me that a local had just brought in a fresh kill, and it was apparently one of the chef’s specialties.

  Once she had my order, she returned quickly with a heaping plate of meat and greens. The two paired together perfectly, and I was soon greedily wolfing down huge mouthfuls. The tasty brew she’d brought washed down the food with a very satisfying hint of barley, and for a moment, it almost seemed worth all my troubles just to be able to enjoy such wonderfully delicious food and drink all the time.

  When I finished, instead of retiring immediately to my room, I decided to stay in the common room for a while—the inn wasn’t overly crowded, and the few patrons all had the look of locals. I ordered a second mug of the fine ale and sat back to enjoy the beverage, listening to the patrons’ banter as I sipped my drink. After spending so much time alone, it was good to simply be around other people for a while. When my mug was finally empty, I beckoned over to the barmaid.

  “I think I’ll be calling it a night. Can I get that room now?”

  “Of course!” She said. “We do require that you pay in advance, so with your food and drinks, it will be one mark and three silver bits, please.”

  I passed her two marks and asked her for the key, and she smiled broadly as she accepted the coins.

  “We’re actually completely empty for the night, so if you don’t mind, I can put you up in one of our better rooms, at no extra charge, of course.”

  “That sounds lovely. Thank you,” I replied.

  I followed her upstairs, and she showed me to my room. It was a bit larger than the rooms I had been staying in, and the bed looked to be of much better quality— definitely a nice upgrade. The young woman indicated a small cord next to the bed, and then explained its function.

  “If you need anything, just give that a yank. It’ll ring a bell down in the kitchen, and someone will be right up to help you. We usually reserve this room for special guests, but seeing as you’ll be our only guest tonight, we might as well offer our best service,” she said with a wink.

  The gesture threw me off for a second—had she just offered me some special ‘service?’ I quickly discarded the thought. Clearly, I had read too much into her gesture. She couldn’t even see my face… I was just being silly.

  “Thank you. I appreciate the extra effort. I may find myself staying around for a few days, and if that bed is as comfortable as it looks, I might not mind paying a little more just to stay in this room.”

  She closed the door as she left but replied to me as she did so.

  “Oh yes, if you do stay, I think you’ll find that the bed is worth the extra cost, my lady.”

  The tone of her voice as much as her words made me think I might have been right about the meaning behind her earlier offer. But instead of dwelling on the possibility, I shoved the thought aside and shed my armor as I got ready for bed.

  25

  I awoke in the morning feeling refreshed and invigorated. Not only had I slept wonderfully in the comfortable bed, but I had also decided to treat myself to, well… myself the night before. The pleasure of the release had relieved not only the tensions of my body, but also much of the stress that had been weighing on my mind. It wasn’t as if my problems had disappeared, but after a good orgasm, they seemed to bother me a lot less.

  I had thought I might be less sensitive than I had been the first time, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Every slight touch, every caress had still sent incredible thrills of delight running through my entire body. My fingers had barely begun to venture between my thighs before I was overcome by my arousal. The climax was just as incredible as before, and I remembered my back arching skyward in response to wave after wave of sheer pleasure that coursed through my body, my hips softly writhing and my body shu
ddering in its lingering release. When it finally wound down, I was completely spent and had sunk back into the bed, falling asleep almost immediately. With the relaxation of that release, and a decent night’s sleep, I felt better than I had in days and I looked forward to the morning.

  I took one last stretch before climbing out of bed and relished the feel of the soft mattress and warm covers against my bare skin. I had to fumble around for my undergarments, and once I found them, I got out of bed and got dressed. While waking up clean and not having to polish my gear were both convenient, I missed the relaxation of a long, hot shower or a nice soak in a tub. Suddenly, I laughed out loud, realizing that what I thought I remembered were still only shards of the dead man’s lingering presence, I had yet to actually experience those things for myself. Someday I would have to try them out, just to see if they were as good as the dead man’s memories seemed to imply.

  I had just finished getting ready and was about to head downstairs for something to eat when a loud crash echoed from the street below, followed by a few choice curse words. I went to the window and pried open the shutter before I peered outside to see what the commotion was about. The sight of Wil, the Bloody Heart shopkeeper from Tula, across the street had me instantly reaching for my weapons.

  He appeared to be tending to some goods that had fallen out of a wagon, and there was another man with him who I did not recognize. Since they didn’t seem to be looking for me, I sat down to watch them for a while—my breakfast would just have to wait until I knew what the hell they were up to.

  The two men busied themselves picking up a few items that had tumbled out of their wagon and then entered the general merchant’s store. A short while later, they returned outside with another man who was apparently the shopkeeper. I couldn’t hear them talking from across the street, but the two miscreants were clearly trying to sell some of their goods to the merchant. There was some back and forth, and the shopkeeper examined a few of the items closely, but after a while appeared to reject all the merchandise. A few final words were spoken before the two packed up and rode their wagon out of town.

  I breathed out a sigh of relief as I watched the wagon disappear down the road. The small town shouldn’t warrant any sort of permanent Bloody Heart presence, but even the occasional appearance of their members was cause enough for concern. Even more so if it was Wil, who would recognize me on sight. I needed to know why they had been here, and if they were expected to return. I had already intended to visit the merchant’s shop after breakfast to sell off my loot, and Wil’s mishap with the fallen merchandise would be the perfect opening for me to inquire about his presence without raising suspicion.

  I made my way to the dining room and sat down to survey the few souls that were present. Wil’s unexpected appearance had dampened my initial good feelings about the town and left me a bit on edge. As I looked over the sparse crowd, none had the seedy look of Bloody Heart criminals, so I relaxed just a bit.

  As seemed typical for these small-town inns, the same young serving woman was still working the room. She brought me some sort of breakfast cakes covered in honey and a steaming mug of tea. As she put them in front of me, I felt her hand on my shoulder and she gave me a gentle squeeze.

  “Now, if there’s anything else you need, you just let me know, okay?”

  The double meaning of her comments was becoming quite clear.

  “Yes, certainly,” I replied as evenly as I could.

  “Do you know if you’ll be staying with us again tonight, my lady?” She asked, as she slowly trailed her hand off my shoulder. “It was so slow last night, I was hoping for the bell to ring, so I’d have something to do. Even if it was just to keep you company for a spell.”

  I had to wonder if the girl was just that brazen or if somehow, even with my face obscured, my Charisma was influencing her.

  “Sorry, I’m not sure yet,” I replied to her. “I have a few errands to run. I’ll probably decide later today.”

  “Well, I certainly hope you will. You just let me know as soon as you decide, and I’ll make sure you have everything you need,” she said before walking away towards the kitchen.

  I finished my food in a hurry and left a few coins on the table. Fortunately, I was able to make my exit before the young woman could resume her flirtations. Once I was outside, I crossed the street in a rush and made my way to the general store.

  The inside of the shop was typical of the small-town stores I had seen. Except for Wil’s collection of junk, they were all tidy, well-organized, and friendly.

  “Hello, traveler. What can I do for you on this fine morning?” Greeted the shopkeeper. He was the same man I had seen earlier talking to Wil, and although he didn’t seem like the Bloody Heart type, there was really no way for me to know for sure.

  “Hello,” I replied. “I have a few things to sell before I look over your wares.”

  I had decided that this was going to be my standard practice in a new shop—sell first and get a feel for the merchant’s honesty before I considered making any purchases. To test his trustworthiness, I placed a portion of my loot in front of the merchant and made an offer.

  Based on my past dealings, I felt I had a good feel for the value of most of my stuff. I offered the merchant all of the various weapons I had accumulated and named my price, giving him a total just a bit higher than I felt they were worth. After we haggled a bit, I wound up settling on a number just a bit lower than what I had wanted, but close enough for me to not bother to continue the negotiations. Once I knew the shopkeeper was at least fair, I pulled out my two more valuable items.

  “I almost forgot these two items,” I said, as I laid out the goblin’s wand and the backpack that I had looted from Seera’s tormentors.

  The merchant glanced briefly at the backpack, and easily recognized its properties before he turned his attention to the wand. He picked it up and ran his hands along it and seemed to gain some knowledge about the item in the process.

  “Do you know the trigger words?” He asked as he placed the wand back on the counter.

  “I don’t. The former owner was unable to tell them to me when I acquired it.”

  “No, I suppose not,” he replied in amusement.

  “Well,” he continued. “It’s not the best quality, as you know, but still quite serviceable. If you had known the trigger phrase, I would have offered two Talons. Not having the words drastically lowers the value. I can offer only a single Talon for it, and the same price again for the pack.”

  Two Talons? Gold Talons? That was a fair bit of coin for me, and I had underestimated the value of both items quite severely. I hid my excitement as best I could and pretended to accept his offer reluctantly.

  After he passed me the coins, I took the chance to inquire about Wil.

  “I saw you had a bit of a commotion outside earlier. Friends of yours?”

  “Ahh, yes, the new traveling peddlers. No, they are not yet friends of mine, but I suspect I will be forced to purchase some of their shoddy goods whether I like it or not.”

  I sensed an opening, and I prodded for more information.

  “Really? Why is that?”

  “Well, they’ve taken over old Lonny’s route between here and up past Dunnell. Lonny was one of my main sources of goods. With him gone, I’m not left with much choice.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad,” I replied. If Wil was going to be a regular here, I clearly needed to move on. “So, they don’t go past here down to Laurel?”

  “Not likely; few do. Laurel is more than a full day’s journey, and not many merchants are willing to take the risk of overnighting on the road with a wagon full of goods.”

  That was definitely good to know—the distance between Clermont and Laurel should provide a decent buffer for me. That little bit of information pretty much clinched Laurel as my new home for a while.

  “I see. Well, I wish you luck. Hopefully, the quality of the goods they bring will be better next time.”

  “Ye
s,” he said with a chuckle. “They certainly couldn’t get much worse.”

  I took a look through the merchant’s shop but didn’t find anything else of interest to me. So, I bid the shopkeeper a friendly goodbye and stepped outside.

  With Wil making somewhat regular appearances, Clermont was definitely out of the question for me. Laurel, being so distant and apparently off his route, was the far safer bet. I briefly wondered what had brought him all the way out here, so far from his shop in Tula. The only reason I could think of was that the town had somehow thrown him out after his Bloody Heart connections became known. There was no way for me to know for sure, but it was the only thing that made sense. In the end, it didn’t really matter—regardless of the circumstances that had brought him here, I needed to be elsewhere.

  I left the street and took to the forests just outside of town to begin my trek through the woods towards Laurel. At the pace I was keeping, I estimated it would take almost three days to get there. It didn’t really matter how long it took though; I was in no hurry. The journey just allowed more time for me to work on a few of my proficiencies.

  26

  The rest of that day passed uneventfully. I traveled as stealthily as possible, remaining alert for any threats, and practiced both my Swarm and Ignore Armor Abilities as I made my way towards Laurel. As the day began drawing to a close, I opted for a change of pace. I stopped earlier than usual and found a secluded spot to make camp.

  Once I had my camp prepared for the night, I set aside my bow and drew my blades. I had been neglecting my blade skills for too long, and they were falling behind. Plus, I finally had an actual blade Ability to work on, so for the last few hours of light, I practiced hacking at small trees and imaginary foes.

  I quickly realized that Flurry was an amazing talent—when I unleashed the skill, my blades arced out in three quick flourishes that would be devastating to any foe they struck. It wasn’t my plan to fight at close range, but battles didn’t always go as planned. I finally had a skill that would serve me well should an opponent get too close, but with a cost of thirty Endurance, it was not something that I could afford to use repeatedly. I even had to pace myself carefully just to practice it. But it was also obvious that a well-executed Flurry attack could easily turn the tide of combat in my favor.