by Kyle Johnson
At the end of an hour, he had a double handful of simply enchanted items, along with a half-dozen more powerful ones where his Greater Creation Perk had kicked in and upgraded the item for him. Most granted decent boosts to Stats or to things like Attack, Defense, or Spell Power. A few gave a boost to LP regen, and two of the more complex ones included an armoring Enchantment that would encase the wearer in a flexible, steel skin. All were Fine or Excellent quality, so he figured they’d sell reasonably well without looking like he was trying to usurp House Gilris’ position in the Stronghold.
Once that final task was complete, he’d gathered the other party members and headed out of the Stronghold with a dual sense of trepidation and excitement. He’d promised Lorsan that he’d visit the man in the dreamscape regularly and stay current on what was happening with the House, which, combined with the forty or so pieces of Enchanted jewelry had mollified the man somewhat about his Lord’s impending absence. He also touched base with Mathias and told the Lancer the same thing; he’d check in with him every few days regarding the Quest and see how things were going, which seemed to relieve the man a bit.
They’d left the city without fanfare and headed out into the Forest, making good time thanks to Aranos casting and maintaining his Aura of Movement. The Spell allowed him to boost the party’s overland speed by reducing his SP regen. Normally, this was a 1:1 ratio – increasing the party’s speed by 1% also reduced his regen by 1% – but thanks to his Spell power boosts from his Perks, Titles, and items, Aranos could get about five times the bonus for the same cost. Since Aranos’ regen rate was a bit over 55 per second, he had no issues giving his party a 250% bonus to their speed and taking a 50% penalty to his regen rate. Combined with the 20% boost the party got from his Leadership Skill, the boosts allowed the group to practically fly through the forests – or literally fly, in Aranos’ case, since he had the SP regen needed to maintain his Flight Spell and Aura of Movement at the same time. Even better, after an hour or so of this, he got a nice notification:
Spell Boost!
Aura of Movement has gained a level!
Aura of Movement*
New Rank: Student 1
Effect: You suffuse an area 45’ in radius with life magic. All allies in this radius gain a bonus to their movement speed up to [Int / 4 + Spell level x2] %. This bonus is lost if they move beyond the radius of the Spell for any reason. This does not increase attack or casting speed.
Channeled Spell: This Spell must be channeled to be maintained, reducing the caster’s SP regen by 90% of the boost percentage (so a 30% boost reduces SP regen by 27%.)
Cost: 325 SP
At that speed, they reached the Blightlands in less than an hour. Aranos hadn’t ever been in the Blightlands during the day; all of their hunting there had been at night so far. At night, the Corrupted Lands were a place of danger, where dark creatures roamed, and the hunt had been their only concern.
During the hours of daylight, the Blightlands were desolate and sere. The soil was almost dead, drained of energy to the point that there was very little able to grow there. The only plants were either carnivorous or had brambles, poisonous flowers, and leaves that were so dark green as to seem black. He had seen the tracks of the small game that fed on these plants – not everything could be carnivorous, of course, or the food web would collapse – but he was certain that even those small creatures would have to be Corrupted just to survive this place.
The very atmosphere seemed blighted; the air had a bitter taste to it, and despite the warmth of the day, the wind had a cold edge as it swirled across the blasted landscape. Everything here was stained some shade of black, and the sun overhead felt more distant and cooler than it had even under the canopy of Eredain. There seemed to be a faint but perpetual whispering sound filling the air, as well, just below the level of his hearing. It encouraged him to try and strain to hear it, but something in his gut told him that would be a bad idea.
This is a place that doesn’t like life, Aranos had realized, his One with the Land Ability allowing him to feel the diseased, sterilizing energy of the Blight soaked into the ground. It hates us, and it doesn’t want us here. It’s just another aspect of the Corruption, trying to sap our wills and weaken our resolve.
They hadn’t encountered anything dangerous during their trip. The few Shadowborn they saw gave them a wide berth; those creatures tended to be weaker in sunlight, so they probably avoided confrontations as much as possible during the day. Aranos didn’t imagine that would continue to be the case for very long, though. The High Road wasn’t too far off, and he wasn’t naïve enough to think it was unguarded.
“Do you perhaps have an idea of how distant that road is, Shadedancer?” Saphielle asked, holding her gauntleted hand over her brow to keep more dust and ash from being blown into them. “I am uncertain how to gauge that, and my eyes seem to deceive me.” Aranos understood the woman’s distress; he had no clue how far away the High Road might be, either. Distances could be deceiving, here; the lack of color tended to make everything blur together, and his depth perception felt off, just another sense being jarred by this place.
“It is another hour of travel at the speed we are moving, thanks to my Oathbinder’s Spell,” Geltheriel replied, pulling up the image of the map for them all to view. Aranos had almost forgotten that Cartography was one of the woman’s Skills, although one she hadn’t trained very much. Still, it at least allowed her to know unerringly where they were on the map, the Skill seemingly unaffected by the scabrous landscape.
“Normally,” she continued, “we would be arriving at the High Road just as the sun fell, rather than under full daylight as we will be. My hope is that, should any beasts guard the road, they will be slumbering, or at the very least, tired and less vigilant.”
Yeah, of course something will be guarding the road, Aranos thought grimly.
“One might imagine that if we can see the road, likewise anything on the road can see us, as well,” Rhys pointed out. “I assume, then, that there is some reason to remain atop of this hill, in plain sight.”
“Good point,” Aranos nodded. “Let’s get down lower and see what we can do to Camouflage ourselves and maybe move in Stealth from here on out; it’ll take a bit longer, but it’ll be a lot safer.”
“With the movement bonuses your Leadership grants us, we will not be slowed significantly,” Geltheriel smiled. “One more reason I am glad I handed that role over to you.”
“What kind of bonuses did we get when you were Party Leader?” Aranos asked her curiously as the party began moving cautiously down the dusty, ash-covered slope. “I don’t recall seeing anything like that in my status.”
“I do not possess the Leadership Skill,” Geltheriel admitted. “I never believed I would be commanding others, and in fact, doing so does not suit me well. Without that Skill, one can only gain bonuses through Perks, and we never accumulated such, nor am I certain how to do so.”
“Leadership Perks are gained through specific forms of group combat,” Saphielle spoke up. “This makes sense, since the primary function of that Skill is to command others. You may gain Perks for defeating a numerically superior force, for defending against such a force, for successfully launch a surprise attack, and indeed for many other such feats. Usually, these can be improved, as well: if you gain a Perk for successfully ambushing a force larger than yours, you might improve it by doing the same to a force twice as large, then again for defeating one three times as large, and so on. I am unclear to the specific details.”
“Do you have the Leadership Skill?” Aranos asked the Avenger curiously.
“I do, and before you ask why I never requested to be Party Leader, recall that the Skill’s benefits are Charisma-based.”
Aranos nodded at that. With her abysmal Charisma, Saphielle’s Leadership wouldn’t have granted the party any of the benefits of the Skill. Without those, she probably figured there just wasn’t a good reason to ask for the position.
“I d
o not possess that Skill, should any be curious,” Rhys said calmly.
“None suspected you had, Druid,” Geltheriel grinned at him. “One has only to be in your presence for a handful of moments to understand that Leadership is not one of your talents.”
“That is likely true,” Rhys shrugged. “And yet, I possess so many others that the lack of one is certainly of no import.”
“Well, the lack of two if you count humility,” Aranos grinned. “Which I’m pretty sure you don’t.”
Is this what you call Stealth? Silma’s voice echoed in Aranos’ mind. I can hear you from a hundred yards away, you know. The fenrin was once again scouting ahead, her silver-white coat obscured by the coating of dust she’d rolled around in. Her senses allowed her to lead the party around a number of hidden creatures who might or might not have bothered them, making her new Perks even more valuable.
“Silma’s reminding me that we’re supposed to be moving in Stealth,” Aranos said quietly to the others. “She’s right; if there are creatures guarding the High Road, I don’t want them to hear us coming.”
They moved silently for an hour, Aranos’ eyes searching the ground for any tracks that might clue them into the presence of enemies guarding the High Road. This is the logical path that anyone from Eredain would take to use the road, he thought grimly. That means it’s also the logical place to set up an ambush for anyone trying to get to it.
Fifteen minutes later, his Scent Ability told him that Silma was on her way back to them; he was surprised when the first he sensed of her was when his new Lifesense Skill told him something was approaching, even though his eyes couldn’t see her. She felt like a tingle of bright energy to that sense, something that stood out like a beacon in his mind. A moment later, he picked up her tracks, and her ghostly form shimmered into his view.
There’s something lying in wait up ahead, he heard her voice in his mind. Some sort of giant lizard. An image flashed in his mind of something long and reptilian, with gleaming, black scales and sharp, dagger-shaped teeth.
Thanks, girl, he replied. How far?
Maybe fifteen minutes at the pace you’re moving. It’ll probably smell you in ten, though.
The party had halted when Silma returned and waited patiently as he silently communicated with his Companion. He glanced at them and used his awkward, fumbling hand signals to tell them that there was one creature, straight ahead, and close.
Now, I have to see it to make a plan for dealing with it, he realized. I don’t know what it is, what the ground around it is like, or how it’s positioned. He motioned forward, and Silma crept ahead, guiding them toward the lurking creature. The ground was becoming rockier and uneven as they moved, the rolling hills giving way to twisting ravines flanked by walls of black, tumbled stone on both sides. What little underbrush there had been vanished, leaving nothing but fallen piles of rock to hide their movements, forcing them to move even more slowly to avoid dropping out of Stealth.
No wonder it took Silma a while to get back to us, he thought as he picked his way carefully around a jumble of stones. We’re moving at a fraction of our normal Stealth speed, here.
Geltheriel was the first to spot the creature, and she signaled an immediate halt. Aranos peered around myopically, his Perception simply not as high as hers, but after several moments, he saw a quick glint in the wan sunlight, a brief flash from above. He looked directly at where he’d seen that instant gleam, and for a moment, all he saw was a large outcropping of black stone jutting up from the boulder field. Another glint caught his eye, though, and his Perception kicked in, outlining a glossy, black figure clinging to the side of a rock face. Its body was long, probably 14’ from snout to tail, covered with gleaming scales. It held itself almost motionless, the only movement coming from its head as it swung it slowly from side to side, its tongue darting out to sample the air, using its six legs to grip the stone securely.
Geltheriel caught his attention and gave the party a signal that meant ‘retreat’. They nodded, and Aranos sent a silent thought at Silma to follow before slipping back out of sight of the waiting monster. Geltheriel led them back through the stone passages for several minutes before stopping and turning, her face grave.
“Oathbinder,” she told him seriously, “that was a munjuin; this could be more difficult than I feared.”
Aranos noticed that Rhys had winced as she spoke and waited to see if his Beast Lore would kick in, but he couldn’t recall anything about the lizard in his training. “Okay,” he replied after a moment, “what’s so difficult about it? I mean, I could probably blast the thing off the side of that cliff, to be honest. If we hadn’t spotted it…”
Geltheriel interrupted him, shaking her head. “This is the difficulty,” she explained. “You remember the cenzik, and how it fed off your Spells? A munjuin is similar. As I understand it, those scales resist most magical attacks, even those that merely pass near it; your Spells will simply slide off it harmlessly, Oathbinder.”
Aranos frowned. “That makes it harder,” he admitted. “How agile is it?”
“Very, in short bursts,” she replied. “I am certain those extra legs give it advanced maneuverability and speed.”
“That raises another concern,” Rhys broke in. “Munjuins typically paralyze their enemies with their poisonous bite and then devour them whole; doing so makes them grow larger but can also alter their bodies in strange ways. As I understand it, the more unusual a munjuin appears, the older and more powerful it will be.”
“I take it that it’s not normal for them to have six legs, then?” Aranos sighed, not needing to see Rhys shake his head to know the answer. “So, it’s poisonous, immune to direct magical attacks, and fast in short bursts…wait, why only in short bursts?”
“It is how they attack,” Geltheriel informed him. “They lie motionless until the prey is in range, then they make a single rush, grabbing it and paralyzing it so they can devour it at their leisure. Once they have made that rush, though, they are slower and less agile.”
“Do they chase prey?” Aranos asked hesitantly as an idea formed in his head. “I mean, if they miss with that initial attack, do they follow their prey, or do they reset for another ambush?”
“I…am uncertain,” she answered hesitantly. She looked at Rhys, who shrugged helplessly.
“I’m guessing that if their first attack misses completely, they just let the prey go,” Aranos offered. “That’s what most reptiles do: they make a single, fast attack, and if it misses, they wait for another chance. Doing it takes a lot of their energy…and here’s how we’re going to use that to our advantage.”
The most difficult part of his plan was waiting until everyone was in position. He activated his Flight Spell and very slowly drifted up to the top of a rock outcrop, a spot where he was hidden from the munjuin but could see the ravine below the creature. From this distance, his Tracking Skill didn’t allow him to see his party, although he was certain that Geltheriel was moving into position on the far side of the ravine while Silma and Saphielle set up at the entrance to the pass. Geltheriel’s positioning was the more critical: if the munjuin spotted her moving, it would attack early, and Aranos’ plan would quickly fall to pieces.
Fortunately, the creature didn’t seem to detect her, even though he was certain it had some sort of Scent Ability; he assumed that the Ability alone didn’t let you penetrate Stealth. It was likely a combination of his Ability, Tracking Skill level, and Perception Score that allowed Aranos to do that, and the odds were that the creature’s Skill level and Stat weren’t quite as high as the aleen’s.
Aranos removed his bow and settled himself as he saw Silma’s shape slinking through the ravine. The fenrin wasn’t in Stealth, so her motions were plainly visible, and when the munjuin froze, ceasing the slowly movement of its head, Aranos knew it had seen her. The wolf padded forward, moving closer to the lurking predator, seemingly unaware of the danger hanging above her. Aranos dropped his bow and began readying an Elementa
l Barrage, calling forth ice mana while at the same time activating his Rapid Shot Ability.
Silma inched closer, now almost directly beneath the ebon lizard, and suddenly, the munjuin erupted in a burst of movement. It sped down the rocky incline as if the tumbled slope were a grassy hill, darting at the fenrin with jaws spread wide. It didn’t need to catch the wolf, just to scratch her and let its venom do the rest, and despite her speed, even knowing the attack was coming, there should have been no way for her to avoid that rush.
In fact, that would have been the case had Aranos not boosted her Agility and Endurance with his Greater Empowerment Spell. Instead of remaining frozen for a fatal instant, the wolf moved faster than Aranos’ eye could track her, leaping backward and twisting, her paws striking the rock face and allowing her to bound off it and dodge easily out of the way. The lizard rushed past, its jaws snapping shut just inches short of her tail. It whipped its head to the side in an attempt to grab the fleeing fenrin, but the nimble wolf was well clear.
The moment she was out of the way, Saphielle stepped out of hiding, grabbing the creature’s attention with her Battle Shout. The lizard hissed and scrabbled toward the Warrior, who jabbed with her spear to hold it back. Aranos gave her a moment to occupy the creature fully before moving on to the next stage of his plan.
Ice roared from his hands as he unleashed his Ice Barrage, aiming not for the lizard but for the cliff faces to either side of it. Globes of ice slammed into the rock face, bursting and showering the lizard in shards of rocks that bounced harmlessly off its gleaming scales. Aranos didn’t notice that, though; his barrage had a very specific purpose, and all his focus was on that.
The lizard hissed and tried to lunge toward Saphielle, but its movements were awkward and sluggish. Aranos’ ice rain hadn’t been an attempt to wound the creature, it had been designed to drop the temperature around it by several degrees. The sheets of ice now clinging to the rocks chilled the air around the munjuin, and as Aranos had guessed it would, the drop in temperature slowed the lizard significantly. He quickly picked up his bow and drew a mana arrow, sighting on the monster as Silma pivoted and joined Saphielle in attacking it.