In no time, both sleeping huts were fully engulfed by the flames—even the smaller, unoccupied structure began smoldering from the proximity of the intense heat of the burning huts and burst into flames soon after.
I thought I would catch most of the kobolds in the fire, but even in my best estimates, I figured a few would escape. With that in mind, I had taken up a position where I could fire arrows at them as they emerged from the huts, but I was completely unprepared for the wholesale slaughter I had wrought. None of them made it through the doorways, and not a single kobold managed to escape the flames.
Kobolds were evil creatures and their fate that day was just and well-deserved. If they had discovered me, they would have killed me without hesitation. If the kobolds, goblins, orcs, and whatever other malevolent creature existed on this Earth were anything like the ones in the dead man’s memories, a swift death would have been the best I could have hoped for, as anyone unfortunate enough to be captured alive by them was likely to experience long sessions of torture, with even further depravities being committed on a woman like me, before being relegated to their cookpots.
But even considering all that, I couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy as the XP notifications began to roll in. Every blinking icon marked another kobold’s grisly demise in the rising flames behind me, and I felt somewhat uneasy as I slowly stalked away through the trees.
But my sense of guilt faded quickly, and I was actually glad for both aspects of that. First, I appreciated the fact that I did feel some uneasiness over the slaughter—the day I could kill dozens of literally helpless creatures and still feel nothing would be the day I became a person I did not want to know. My sense of unease reassured me of my own humanity, but I was also happy that I got over the guilt rather quickly. What I had done needed to be done; it was as simple as that. The creatures I had killed had likely been responsible for very many deaths, the remnants of the looted clothing and armor they wore attested to that fact. Had I not killed them that day, they likely would have taken many more innocent lives, so the deaths of those kobolds had probably saved an untold number of innocent beings. Overall, I thought of my temporary sense of guilt as a good thing, equally as good as how rapidly I was able to move past it.
I did regret the lost opportunity to search for any loot since none of the kobolds had escaped the flames, and I wasn’t going to wait around long enough for the fires to die down. I consoled myself with the fact that, going by past experience at least, it wasn’t likely that the kobolds had much of value to loot anyway… Besides, my primary goal was to gain XP. Once I was a fair distance away, I found a relatively safe spot and stopped for a moment to check on my progress.
Dreya Dae
Human Female
Level - 3
3872/4700
Health 140/140 Aura 310/310 Endurance 140/140
Class – Warden – Wardens gain a 10% bonus to skills associated with nature or which have natural effects
Specialization –
Mastery –
STR - 14
CON - 14
DEX - 16
INT - 14
WIS - 12
CHA - 18(+1)
Abilities
Ignore Armor – Your next arrow will ignore a portion of the target’s armor. Cost – 20 Aura. - 7%
Stun – Your next arrow has a chance to stun its target on hit. Cost – 20 Aura. - 18%
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. – 5%
Spells
Enhanced Sight – May be cast on self or ally. Improves visual acuity of the recipient in dark or obscured conditions. Cost — 20 Aura. - 4%
Skills
Bow – 21%
Critical Hit – 17%
Blades – 10%
Short Sword – 8%
Dagger – 13%
Critical Hit – 6%
Two-Handed – 5%
Armor – 9%
Medium Armor – 11%
Perception – 21%
Environmental – 21%
Identify Enemy – 7%
Identify Person – 3%
Subterfuge – 16%
Stealth – 19%
Find Trap – 5%
Disarm Trap – 4%
Set Trap – 7%
Manipulation – 7%
Persuade – 9%
Barter – 8%
Survival – 11%
Tracking – 9%
Identify Creature (Beasts) – 3%
Skinning – 7%
Field Dress – 6%
Alchemy – 1%
Herbalism – 1%
It was pretty impressive—after clearing all of the notifications, I had gained well over one thousand XP. My little conflagration had managed to get me more than halfway to my next level!
I took the opportunity to take a quick look over my entire sheet, and as I stared at my ridiculously high Charisma stat, I began to get frustrated—I needed to stop at a town soon, if only to sell my loot and get supplies. But even worse, if I wanted to continue getting stronger, I would probably have to stay somewhere for a prolonged period of time. I already stood out just due to my uncommon features in this land, and even at its starting value of sixteen, my high Charisma had gotten me noticed before. What effect would it have now at nineteen? With the Bloody Hearts hunting me, I needed to blend in, not stand out even more. Despite how strange it might seem, I would need to keep my hood raised anytime I was around people. It was the only thing I could think of that would hide my features and keep me from drawing any undue attention. With a sigh of resignation, I closed the UI and returned to my journey towards Sota.
Since I had stayed up all night, I was utterly exhausted. My tiredness, combined with my need to travel cautiously, meant that it took most of that day to finally reach the road I had been aiming for. The path was a narrow track, and I probably would have stumbled right out onto it, except for the fact that the sounds of a small caravan passing by had alerted me to its presence as I got closer. I might have been more aware of my proximity if I had been checking my mini-map, but I had clearly been slipping a bit in my fatigue.
I then took a quick glance at my map and noticed that I was only an hour or two away from a small town called Dunnell. I knew the name because before I left Tula, I had quizzed Marli about some of the Kingdom’s smaller towns while never focusing on any specific region, lest she know my ultimate plan.
Under different circumstances, I might have called out to the caravan and tried to join up with them for the rest of the journey to town, but there were just too many risks involved for me at this point.
First, I had no idea who was with this caravan—they could all be innocent merchants on their way to town, but if even one of the people traveling with it was associated with the Bloody Hearts, I would be in trouble. Ella’s sad tale also came to mind, reminding me that the caravan might also be comprised of the worst sort of people—the kind who would look on me as an opportunity… The kind like Nedd. Even if they weren’t—even if they were all decent individuals, a lone female traveler emerging from the woods would likely spur conversation that might eventually reach the Bloody Hearts and ruin all my efforts at deception.
So, instead of trying to join the caravan, I simply waited for them to pass. Only when they were long gone did I follow them, and I made sure that I stayed well behind the unknown group.
22
Dunnell was much like both Holly and Tula—a small, unremarkable town comprised of a few shops, catering to both locals and travelers alike, along with a modest inn and a few residences. Most of those who would call the town home actually lived outside of its boundaries, on nearby farms or ranches, eking out their meager living off the land.
After spending the last two nights eating rations and sleeping on the ground, I was desperately looking forward to a good meal and a comfortable bed a
t the inn. But first, I wanted to unload the loot I had gathered, and perhaps pick up some better gear. With my hood pulled up over my head, I made my way over to the general goods store.
When I entered the shop, I found that it reminded me of Marli’s. The store was neat and well-kept, and somehow managed to have a cheery feel to it.
A middle-aged man greeted me from behind the counter. He was profoundly average in virtually every respect, from his average height to his average build to his brown hair and his even browner eyes. The one thing that stood out about him was his truly honest smile. It was warm and genuine and immediately put me at ease. I couldn’t help but return the grin, even though he couldn’t see it from beneath my cowl.
“Hello and welcome! What can I do for you today?”
“Hello,” I answered in return. “I have a few things to sell, and then I’d like to have a look around your shop to see if there’s anything that catches my eye.”
“Of course,” he replied. “Show me what you’ve got there, and I’ll see what I can do for you.”
I took out the short swords and daggers I had gotten from the guards in the kobold mine and piled them atop the hides I had skinned while hunting. I kept the small box of gems though, intending to save them for any potential bargaining later.
The kobolds’ blades were no mere hunks of ore, as the goblin weapons had been. While the goblins had attempted to forge their own weapons, the kobolds seemed to have no qualms about using the arms they had taken from their defeated enemies. Although the stolen weapons were by no means fine blades, the difference in quality was readily apparent.
The shopkeeper looked over the weapons, appraising each one carefully before seeming to come to a decision about them, but when it came time to examine the hides, no such deliberation was required. When he was finished with his review, the shopkeeper rendered his verdict.
“The blades are all decent enough, so I can offer you two silver bits for each dagger and three for each sword. These skins are nearly worthless,” he said as a tone of disdain crept into his voice. “I’ll give you a copper each, as all I can do with them is pass them on to the tanner and see if he can salvage them.”
His offer on the blades seemed fair—it was exactly what Georl had paid for the poor-quality blades I had sold him, and that was after I had used my best ‘persuasion’ skills on him. So, I accepted his offer, and we made the exchange. After I thanked the merchant, I took a few moments to peruse his shop.
The store was a tidy affair. All the goods were well-organized, so it was easy to find what I wanted. My armor was decent but incomplete, so I looked for the pieces I was missing and managed to find a few that looked good. I also wanted to upgrade my bow if possible, or at least get a back-up for it—the brief horror I had felt when I thought the weapon had been damaged made me realize the importance of keeping a spare.
I hadn’t intended to, but I also found a much better short sword. Although it wasn’t a weapon I had used much, I knew that fact was more due to luck than anything else. Sooner or later I was going to be in close combat, and when that happened, I wanted to have the best weapons possible—my daggers were excellent, and my short sword needed to be as well.
I gathered my finds, brought them to the counter, and placed them before the merchant and simply asked him, “How much?”
The merchant smiled again as he looked over the gear. He knew his stock well and provided me with prices without hesitation.
“The leather armor components are two silver Marks per pair, the short sword is four silver Marks; if you intend to trade it for the one you are wearing, I will take two silver Bits off that price. The bow is seven silver Marks. If that’s agreeable, I’ll throw in the extra bowstrings at no charge.”
I thought his prices were steep. Even after trading in my sword, it would be just shy of fourteen Silver Marks for everything I wanted to buy. But then again, all my previous dealing had been with friends. As expensive as it seemed at first, I still had a feeling that his prices were fair. Besides, I really needed the upgrades, so I agreed to his terms.
We exchanged coins and item once again, and as we completed the transaction, I suddenly thought of another item that might prove very useful.
“Tell me… You wouldn’t happen to have a better backpack for me, would you?” I asked him as I placed my pack on the counter, allowing him to examine it.
I knew anything better might be more than I could afford, but it didn’t hurt to ask. Besides, even if I couldn’t afford it, I might at least find out how much one would cost.
“No,” he said regretfully. “That’s a pretty standard upgraded pack, but I don’t currently have one that’s any better.”
“Oh,” I replied, somewhat disappointed. “Tell me, if you did have a better one, how much would it cost?”
“Well, if you traded in the one you have now for one that is a step above, it would be seven gold Talons.”
Seven gold Talons?!, I thought in amazement. That was equivalent to 175 silver Marks. All my remaining coins together amounted to less than half that amount.
“I… see,” I managed to say without gagging over the cost. “And what benefits would I get from such a pack?”
“Well,” the shopkeeper said proudly. “They vary slightly, depending on the crafter of the pack, but the last one I sold had 50 storage slots, each with a capacity of 20 items, and reduced the weight of all its carried items by 70%.”
It was a significant upgrade, no doubt, but also came with a significant cost as well.
“Yes, well too bad you don’t have one then. I would have liked to have lightened my load a bit,” I replied.
“Ahh, but perhaps I can still help you with that,” he said as he motioned me over to a different counter. The shopkeeper withdrew a small box from a shelf below and opened it to reveal a number of fine-looking rings.
“Now, most of these are just cosmetic, mind you, but this one may be just what you need,” he said, as he picked out a silver band with a small green gem in it.
He passed the ring to me and gestured for me to put it on. As soon as it was firmly on my finger, its properties became known to me.
Ring of Encumbrance – Increases Wearer’s Encumbrance by 10%.
I quickly pulled up my sheet, and then closed it just as fast, peeking only long enough to verify the effect, but not wanting to risk giving away my Deathless status.
Ten percent didn’t seem like a lot, but it could easily make the difference, and even more so as I gained levels. Right now, it was a mere 14 pounds, but at higher levels, that 10% would scale up along with my increase in stats. Eventually, it could wind up providing a huge advantage. I hid my excitement as best as I could before I began the negotiations.
“It could be useful. What would you ask for this?”
He smiled again. But this time his smile wasn’t warm like before. It felt more like I was a sheep being looked over by a wolf who had just found his dinner.
“Well now, I think you’ve seen the real potential of a ring like this, so I won’t bother messing around—three gold Talons.”
I really wanted the ring, but I didn’t have anywhere near that much coin—not even close. But one of the reasons that I didn’t have the money was because I had been forced to leave behind a great deal of loot that would have been too heavy for me to carry. Having the ring would help me make more money, but I needed to make more money to buy the ring. I struggled with the paradox for a moment before I remembered the small box I had held in reserve. I pulled the little container from my pack and placed it on the counter.
“What do you think about this?” I asked as I removed one of the smaller yellow gems and placed it in front of him.
The shopkeeper took a moment to examine the stone, and then returned a value of seven Marks. Our negotiations continued in this manner for a while—I would place a single gem on the counter, and he would add its value to my total. He seemed to be fair in his appraisal of each gem, and I apparently had an hon
est buyer, so I simply dumped the remaining rough gems on the counter.
“I’ll tell you what,” I said to him. “Just make me an offer for these including the ring, and we’ll call it a deal.”
The gems came up a little short of his full price, but not by much. I tried to get him to accept the shortfall, but he simply wouldn’t budge. He knew the value of the ring and was willing to wait for another buyer if it meant getting his full price. I finally relented and made up the difference from my coin purse. As I left the shop with my new acquisitions, I stopped briefly outside to pull up my Inventory.
INVENTORY
Encumbrance 73/154
Clothing
Recurve Bow, (45)
Short Sword, (25)
Daggers, Fine (3)
Leather Chest Guard (15)
Leather Tassets (7)
Leather Bracers (1)
Leather Armguards (1)
Leather Cuisse (1)
Leather Greaves (2)
Leather Boots (2)
Leather Gloves
Hunter’s Cloak (2)
Padded Shirt (3)
Padded Pants (4)
Minor Token of Grace
Ring of Encumbrance
Never Ending Quiver of Arrows
Camp blade
Belt pouch, common:
15 weak health potions, 5 red crystals, 2 cure disease potions, 2 cure poison potions
Coin pouch, Soul Bound:
22 Silver Marks, 23 Silver Bits 115 Copper
Backpack 50 slot, 50% weight reduction
I closed the screen quickly as a smile crept across my face. It had been rather costly, but I was in a much better position now. I had more armor, a better sword, a back-up for my bow, and also managed to increase my loot-carrying capacity—certainly not a bad outcome. Throw in a nice meal and a good night’s rest, and this would end up being a pretty awesome day. My smile remained plastered on my face as I made my way to the inn… not that anyone could see it.
Second Skin: Fractures Page 20