Second Skin: Unified: A litRPG Adventure (Second Skin Book 3)

by M Damon Baker

  Disable – Advanced Ability – A successful strike of your blade to an extremity renders the affected limb completely useless until healed. Modifier – Strength. Cost – 60 Endurance. – 5%

  Shockwave – Advanced Ability – Your arrow explodes on contact, dealing minimal damage but generating a stunning Shockwave in a radius around its detonation. Size and scope of this effect increase with proficiency. Modifier – Strength. Cost – 120 Aura. – 11%

  Sintári Abilities

  Natural Affinity – The Sintári’s unique connection with the natural world may manifest itself in random ways at times. While these effects are generally beneficial, they are also typically outside the direct control of the Sintári. Modifier – Charisma.

  Control

  Effect varies, applies to all Sintári Abilities. – 33%

  Protector Abilities

  See Truth – Once per day, the spoken words of your target become visible to you, allowing you to see the truth held within them. Strength and duration of this effect increase with proficiency. Cost – 60 Aura. Modifier – Wisdom. – 18%

  Spells

  Enhanced Sight – May be cast on self or ally. Improves visual acuity of the recipient in dark or obscured conditions. Cost – 20 Aura. – 46%

  Create Trap – Place a magical trap upon an area. Size, type and trigger of traps is determined by your proficiency. Cost – 40 Aura. – 53%

  Elemental Arrow – Your next arrow is imbued with elemental energy and causes additional elemental damage accordingly. Cost – 30 Aura. – 28%

  Bolt – Release a Bolt of pure Lightning at your target(s). Cost – 40 Aura. – 24%

  Find Weakness – Highlights vulnerable points on the target. Modifier – Intelligence. Cost – 80 Aura. – 10%

  Summon Elemental – Summons an Elemental creature. If you succeed in binding it to your will, the creature will serve you faithfully until the spell’s expiration. Modifier – Charisma. Cost 100 Aura. – 12%

  Skills

  Bow – 52%

  Critical Hit – 41%

  Blades – 34%

  Long Sword – 37%

  Short Sword – 29%

  Dagger – 26%

  Critical Hit – 29%

  Two-Handed – 30%

  Pole Arms – 14%

  Spear – 23%

  Armor – 31%

  Medium Armor – 36%

  Perception – 44%

  Environmental – 46%

  Identify Enemy – 46%

  Identify Person – 39%

  Combat Dodge – 25%

  Subterfuge – 30%

  Stealth – 35%

  Find Trap – 11%

  Disarm Trap – 8%

  Set Trap – 10%

  Manipulation – 37%

  Persuade – 48%

  Barter – 31%

  Survival – 24%

  Tracking – 26%

  Identify Creature (Beasts) – 19%

  Skinning – 16%

  Field Dress – 15%

  Alchemy – 19%

  Herbalism – 31%

  Potion Craft – 27%

  Lore – 3%

  Identify Magical Item – 5%

  My progress was as I expected, but I quickly realized that something was wrong. My Aura pool was full, no points were reserved for Ridge’s summoning, and I realized that I must have lost the connection with the magic when I’d fallen into unconsciousness.

  “Tási!” I called out for her as I hurried outside.

  “Over here,” she replied, hearing the urgency in my voice. “What’s wrong?”

  “We need to find Broda and Khorim, then I’ll explain,” I told her as we rushed off in search of our companions.

  We made our way to the fortifications where I was sure my two friends were already busy dealing with the aftermath of the battle. When we arrived, there was a bustle of activity going on. Teams of dwarves busily worked to strip the dead orcs of anything worthwhile, while others stacked the looted corpses in piles, preparing to dispose of them in a raging bonfire. While we searched for them, someone must have made Broda and Khorim aware of my return because they found us first.

  “Good morning, sleepyheads!” Khorim greeted us. “Glad you could join us.”

  “I wish I could say the same, master dwarf,” I replied.

  Khorim’s face fell as he realized he had been outdone yet again.

  “I have news—we need to go somewhere we can talk and make some plans,” I continued.

  “That doesn’t sound good,” Broda said cautiously.

  “It’s not,” I replied bluntly.

  Broda led us inside one of the dwarven barracks and into a room that had been carved out to serve as an officer’s quarters. She lit a lamp as we took our places sitting on the bare stone floor, and I told them of the dire quest I had received.

  “You’re right,” Broda said when I finished telling them what I had read. “The Black Hand are not the sort to let something like this go. This confirms what we already suspected. They will be coming for us, and next time, we won’t be facing a single war party. We’ll be up against everything they can muster.”

  With Broda’s stark assessment made, we turned our attention to planning for the impending attack. I brought out the elf King’s tome, and we reviewed the plans that had been so carefully laid out for us.

  The wall itself was nearly complete, only the towers still needed to be added. Two guarding the gateway, and one carved into the mountainside at either end of the wall’s span. Once completed, they would afford us a commanding view of the surrounding land and provide a powerful addition to our defenses. Behind the fortifications, there were still additional barracks to be constructed, in addition to several other routine buildings. The key defensive structure in that area was an extension to the tunnel that comprised the gateway to the outside. A long, fully enclosed passageway turned the entrance beneath the wall into a gauntlet of hell for any attackers. The far end of the passage would be blocked by a reinforced portcullis, trapping enemies within the confines of the tunnel. While the barrier held them there, defenders would be able to slaughter them mercilessly via the many murder holes and arrow slits carved into the walls and even the ceiling above. So long as that portcullis held, the passageway was little more than a deathtrap.

  “With these towers built, we could hold off the orcs for a long time,” Khorim offered.

  “I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Broda replied to him. “We have less than a hundred to defend with. That’s not enough people to take proper advantage of those towers. We’ll only wind up spreading ourselves too thin and give the orcs an opportunity to overwhelm us.”

  “We’re going to build the passageway,” I said as a plan suddenly came to me. “I need to call Ridge back—he has to finish Hilgreth’s forge first, so she can get started on the portcullis, but then I’m going to have him build the extension to the gateway.”

  “Get Dellon and his sons working on an outer gate,” I told Khorim. “It doesn’t need to be pretty, I just need it built quickly.”

  “Broda,” I said turning to her next. “Get the stonemasons working on whatever needs to be done to get that gate up. Once that’s finished, I need them to carve out every last murder hole and arrow port in these diagrams. We need this done right—this passageway is going to be the key to our victory.”

  They both set off immediately, and Tási joined me as I strode purposefully back to the fortifications. With complete confidence, I cast the Summon Elemental Spell in full view of the many dwarves that were still working in the area. Ridge’s form rose from the earth as they watched in amazement, and he greeted me in his usual manner.

  “How may I serve you, Mistress?” His gravelly voice asked as he inclined his head towards me.

  “First, my apologies for your abrupt dismissal yesterday. I hope it caused no ill-effects,” I replied.

  “It was unexpected, Mistress, but caused no harm.”

  “I’m glad to hear that, Ridge,” I sa
id with some relief. “I need you to finish Hilgreth’s forge and then build the extension for the gateway. The orcs will be coming back again, and we need to be ready for them.”

  “I will begin right away, Mistress,” he replied before heading off towards the nearly completed forge.

  As I headed for my next destination, Tási followed along with Bane still perched on her shoulder, just as I had found the two of them when I emerged from the tent that morning. When we reached Hilgreth’s temporary forge, Bane finally hopped onto my shoulder and made himself comfortable, winding his tail around my upper arm as I began speaking to the blacksmith.

  “I need you to make a portcullis, Hilgreth,” I told her while I turned to the diagrams in the elf King’s tome. “It doesn’t need to look good, but it will need to be strong.”

  “I’m not sure that I can build this with the facilities I have right now,” she said reluctantly as she looked over the specifications.

  I grabbed her by the shoulders and spun the blacksmith around, pointing her face across the canyon to where Ridge was finishing his work.

  “That’s your new forge,” I told her as she stared at the elemental’s work. “If there’s anything it lacks, let me know and I’ll have him add it for you.”

  I released Hilgreth from my grasp and flipped the tome to the pages that showed the plans for the forge. Hilgreth looked them over for a moment and seemed satisfied that everything she needed would be there.

  “When will it be ready?” Was her only question when she was finished.

  “Later today, I expect,” I told her.

  “I will have the work done for you as soon as possible, Lady Dreya,” she said before hurrying off to begin the busy work of relocating her equipment to the new forge.

  I had just started to head back to our campsite for some breakfast when a young dwarf came running up to us.

  “Lady Dreya,” he panted. “What shall we do with the salvage that has been gathered? There’s a great deal of armor and weapons and even some coin as well.”

  “Have the gear brought to Hilgreth, see if she can put any of it to use,” I told him. “Deliver the coin to Broda. She can hold onto it until I can decide what to do with it.”

  Two more messengers caught me before I was able to finally get back to our camp. The rest of that day and the two after passed in a blur as I was constantly besieged with questions and inquiries while I hurried from place to place myself, ensuring that all of our preparations were being made as quickly as possible. While we likely had some time before our enemies returned, I was not going to let myself be lulled into a sense of complacency. My overconfidence in leaving our gateway wide open had almost been our downfall during the previous battle, and I was determined to never let something like that happen again.

  Ridge worked non-stop all through those days and had the passageway almost finished by the third morning after the attack. The dwarves worked diligently behind him and had finished carving out the channels that would allow us to set up the intricate mechanisms to operate the outer gate. The machinery would not only allow us to seal off the entrance when the gate was raised, but also provide us with a bridge to safely cross over the spike-filled trench when it was lowered.

  The gate itself was nearly completed. Dellon had worked tirelessly, shaping the logs he had handpicked into thick planks of wood, joining them together into a single large gate reinforced with ironwork that Hilgreth’s apprentices were able to provide.

  Hilgreth insisted on forging the portcullis almost entirely by herself, spending countless hours diligently fashioning every metal span and bolt. Hilgreth took my direction seriously, and every element of her work was as strong as it could be. I had also told her that the barrier need not be pretty, and she seemed to take that aspect of the job to heart as well. The steel might have been strong, but the few sections she had joined together revealed that the finished work would be an unsightly affair.

  It was on the afternoon of that third day that Bane came to warn me that he had spotted a large group approaching the canyon.

  Sintári, he sent calmly as he landed on my shoulder. There are over a hundred approaching us from the woods in the north.

  ‘Over a hundred!’ I thought back to him. With the defenses we had in place, I was certain we could fend off an attack from even a group as large as that, but I found the fact that we were attracting the attention of so many enemies so quickly unsettling.

  Do not be alarmed, Sintári. It is our friends the elves returning from their mission.

  ‘You did that on purpose, didn’t you?’

  I don’t know what you mean, he sent back innocently.

  ‘Get off me,’ I replied with annoyance as I shook him loose. ‘You need to stop begging food from everyone, you’re getting fat.’

  Bane huffed his indignation back at me as he fluttered off to land on a nearby rock.

  I am not getting fat, he protested as he settled down on the stones.

  ‘Maybe not, but you do seem a bit heavier lately.’

  He looked himself over critically, peering at his belly trying to determine if there was any truth to my barb.

  ‘Come on back,’ I finally sent him, feeling sorry that I had prodded him with an apparently sensitive subject for the vain little Rhastoren. ‘We’ll go greet them together.’

  He reluctantly returned to me and curled up on my shoulder again. As I walked towards the gateway, I could see Ridge beginning his work on the finishing touches to the passageway. Soon, the stonemasons would begin adding the defensive enhancements in earnest, completing what I hoped would be the key to our defenses.

  I walked across the log span that Ridge had built and into the open field beyond the wall. The crude bridge still served as our only way to cross over the trench, but I was glad that we would be able to replace it soon now that Dellon was almost finished with his work on the new gate. As I stepped off the span, the first group of elves emerged from the forest ahead of me, with Venna at their lead.

  ‘They seem to have gotten quite close before you noticed their approach,’ I sent to Bane, suddenly realizing what must have happened.

  I first saw them two days ago, Sintári, came his guilty reply.

  ‘Was it your idea or hers to keep this from me?’

  We both thought it would be fun to surprise you, he admitted.

  My expression told him exactly what I thought of the surprise they had planned, and he silently laid his head down, avoiding my gaze. I couldn’t be too upset with him though—the last few days had been incredibly hectic, and I couldn’t imagine how much more difficult they would have been for me if I was preoccupied with Venna’s impending arrival. I stroked Bane across his head and neck, letting him know I was not truly upset with him, and he perked up as I strode through the field towards Venna.

  I greeted her with a hug, pulling her into a warm embrace that she returned with equal enthusiasm. We stood together for a long moment, enjoying our reunion for a while before I finally let her go. As we pulled apart, I reached up and stroked her cheek softly, staring into her eyes intently while I waited for her to recognize the significance of my gesture. Venna’s eyes lit up almost immediately as she felt my fingertips gently brushing across her skin and I smiled at her realization.

  “You’re not wearing gloves!” She declared as she reached up and placed her hand over mine.

  “I still do most of the time,” I told her as I took hold of her bare hand. “But my control has improved enough for me to manage simple contact.”

  “Hello Dreya!” Stel’s voice called out as he spotted us.

  He made his way over to us, and I embraced him just as I had with Venna. Although I cared deeply for all of my companions, the two of them were very special to me; their significance extended well beyond our bonds of friendship. Now that they were back, I felt whole again, as if I had regained a part of me that I hadn’t even realized I was missing. I wanted to spend more time with the two of them, but an entire host of elves were
gathering around us and we needed to get everyone inside the safety of the fortifications before continuing our happy reunion.

  “Broda and Khorim will be happy to see you,” I said to Venna as I led the way back. “Unless of course I’m the only one whose been kept in the dark.”

  “Umm, well about that,” Venna stumbled.

  “I hate all of you,” I replied, rubbing my temples in frustration.

  I am sorry, Sintári, Bane sent. We truly thought it would make you happy.

  ‘I am happy, Bane,’ I replied to him directly. ‘I’ve just been under a lot of pressure the last few days.’

  Once inside the fortifications, we followed almost the exact same process as had occurred when the dwarves first arrived. I had Venna direct the elves to set up temporarily while we figured out a longer-term solution for them. While they began arranging their camp, Stel took me on a quick tour, introducing me to all of the new arrivals. My head was still overflowing with the names of all the dwarves I still hadn’t memorized, and although I tried my best, I simply couldn’t keep up with the flurry of introductions.

  Bane was ecstatic through the entire process. The elves were simply amazed by him and made no effort to hide their awe, staring at him open-mouthed while he sat perched on my shoulder. He made the most of the situation, posing regally for the admiring elves as they gazed at him in wonder. I sighed in relief when the introductions were finally done, and we wandered back into the open canyon.

  “Stel,” I said to him as we finally emerged from the encampment. “We’re facing an imminent attack. How many of these people are capable of fighting?”

  “Yes, one of the notes Khorim sent mentioned the threat we are facing,” he confessed.

  I wondered how Bane managed to communicate with my friends during their little conspiracy. Now I knew he had help, and that my so-called companions were far more deceitful than I had given them credit for.

  “I’m going to have to keep a closer eye on all of you from now on,” I said glaring at him sideways.

  “As you always should have,” Stel smirked back at me.

  “But back to your point,” he quickly amended. “Not many have any real skill with arms I’m afraid, but nearly all of the adults can shoot a bow well enough, and we do have a bowyer and smith among those who came with us.”