Ultimately, all that remained were a thin tome and a set of portable alchemy equipment. The book turned out to be an herbalism tome, penned by the Defiler herself. Leafing quickly through the pages, I could see that it had also served as a journal of sorts. The scrawled writings seemed to descend into ever darker rants and ravings as the formulas turned from useful potions into a series of disturbing toxins and poisonous mixtures, but even as disconcerting as it was, there was much I could learn from the tome, especially the earlier writings that had still focused on beneficial concoctions. It would not be an easy book for me to study, but I tucked it away for further review.
The alchemy set would also serve me well—the Defiler was clearly a loner, wandering in the wilds and wreaking havoc wherever she saw fit, and as such, her equipment seemed tailored for that lifestyle. Lighter, and made to be used in the field, the assortment was both better and more complete than mine, so it also went into my own backpack.
The backpack itself was also a good find—I could not discover its properties, but it did give off the same soft blue light as the other items when I viewed it in the loot menu. Since I already knew the properties of my own pack, I assumed the fact that I couldn’t identify it meant that it was a step up from what any of us currently owned, so I draped the pack over my shoulder, signaled to Broda that we were done, and we headed back to where my friends were waiting for our return.
When we reached the wagon, I was dismayed that neither Venna nor Tási had regained consciousness while we were gone. Both appeared to simply be sleeping and a quick glance revealed that each still had full health bars, and since there was nothing else we could do for either of them, we piled into the wagon and headed back to the small village.
“Did you find anything useful?” Stel asked, clasping Venna’s hand as we drove slowly back to town.
“Honestly, most of the items are only suited for me, but I cannot identify them,” I replied. Considering the source of the loot, I was unwilling to try and discover the properties of the gear by trying them out either.
“But I think this should be yours,” I said as I tossed him the backpack. “Wait until you learn more about it, of course, but I’m pretty sure it’ll be an upgrade for you.”
Stel had often served as our party’s de facto mule, carrying the heavy burdens of our loot for us, so providing him with an improved backpack would not only be a direct benefit for Stel but a boon for all of us.
“I can’t tell either,” he said as he looked over the pack, “but I suspect you are correct. Thanks.”
We traveled the rest of the way back to town in silence, constantly observing the two unconscious women, hoping for any signs of improvement. Though they seemed to sleep calmly, neither one showed any sign of waking from their slumber.
When we finally arrived in town, the citizens rushed to offer us aid. They quickly escorted the wagon to one of the larger homes, and one of the villagers led us inside. Then, we placed Venna and Tási in two of the beds upstairs where they could recover more comfortably. Stel remained with Venna while I watched over Tási for a while, but before long, Broda entered the room and pulled me away from Tási’s side.
“Whatever happened, she’s gotten the worst of it,” she said, dragging me out of the room. “But I can see that you’ve suffered as well.”
“I’ll watch over her,” Broda continued, making it clear there was no room for disagreement. “You get some rest. You’ll do no one any good the way you are now.”
With that, Broda closed the door in my face, and I heard a sharp click as she engaged the lock.
Not only was Broda right about my current state, but she had also left me no other option, so, exhausted and unable to perform any productive tasks, I settled into one of the downstairs bedrooms and quickly drifted off into a restless sleep.
15
When I woke up, it was light outside again. I had no idea how long I had been asleep—it could have been the next morning or even the following day for all I knew. Stumbling out of bed, I walked out of the room and began looking for any sign of my friends. Khorim greeted me as he sat at the kitchen table, munching on something.
“Morning lazy-bones,” he taunted. “Well, ‘afternoon’ is more like it. I have news for you, but I’m under strict orders not to tell you anything until after you’ve eaten.”
“Just tell me now,” I implored.
“Sit. Eat. Then talk,” he replied unsympathetically between bites.
Knowing it would be pointless to argue, I did as he asked. Taking my first mouthful of food, I realized the depth of my hunger—I hadn’t eaten anything since early the previous day, and my body desperately craved the nourishment. Only after devouring far more than I had intended did I finally look at Khorim, begging him to relay the news he had been withholding, and thankfully, he relented under my pleading gaze.
“Ahh,” he grumbled, “enough with the puppy dog eyes.”
“Venna awoke early this morning. She’s fine—fully recovered. In fact, she’s tending to Tási right now.”
“And Tási?” I asked hopefully.
“No change yet,” he answered grimly. “Venna is doing all she can, but she does not know how long it may be. She hoped you might be able to offer some insights but gave me strict orders to only let you upstairs after you had taken care of yourself.”
Typical Venna—and typical Khorim as well. I was certain he had taken no small pleasure in playing gatekeeper to me, and now that I was released, I left him behind and rushed upstairs to Tási’s room. I was so desperate to see them both that I had to stop myself before bursting inside and disrupting them. After taking a few deep breaths, my nerves finally calmed, and I opened the door slowly before stepping inside.
Venna sat at Tási’s bedside watching as the halfling appeared to sleep peacefully. She looked up at me and smiled as I entered the room, gesturing for me to take the seat beside her. I sat down next to Venna and took a long look into her eyes. Thankfully, she seemed well, unencumbered by any lingering effects from the trauma she had endured.
“Dreya,” Venna spoke softly, “I know this may be difficult for you to talk about, but if I am to help her, I need to know what happened. Stel and Broda told me what they could, but I need to know everything.”
Venna was right—it was not an easy subject for me to discuss, but considering what was at stake, I began telling her all I could remember without hesitation.
“She needed me to channel my Aura into her to keep you alive,” I began. Venna had been conscious during that exchange, and the others had been present as well, but I didn’t want to overlook any of the details, and it helped me to start at the beginning. “I had to touch her, to place my hands on her back.”
“She reacted to the contact as you might imagine. I couldn’t tell exactly what she experienced, but I could feel her body shivering as I fed my Aura into her. I felt it too, but it was strange—unlike the raw sensations that come with purely physical contact. The feeling was incredibly powerful, but at the same time, there was both a warmth and a certain sense of gentleness to it.”
“She eventually collapsed from the strain of it all,” I said, filled with an overwhelming sense of guilt. “I should have been more careful… I should have known better.”
“No Dreya, this is not your fault,” Venna replied softly. “You did what she asked of you, and it was necessary to save a life—my life—and for that, I am grateful. Neither of you truly knew the risks you were taking, and for all you had known, it could have been you that wound up suffering the most from the experience.”
“You took a chance,” she continued, gazing into my eyes as they began misting over. “Both of you took a chance. Honor the risk she took, honor her courage; do not rob her of that with your guilt.”
Her words struck me hard, but she was right. In assuming all of the responsibility, I was denying Tási the selfless courage she had displayed.
“She was very brave,” I whispered, taking Venna’s words to hear
t.
“I don’t think that will be the last time you get to see that side of her,” Venna replied, wistfully. “She’s proven to be quite willful just in the short time I’ve been instructing her.”
“Really? I hadn’t noticed,” I retorted as I managed to smile back at her.
“That’s it,” Venna said sternly. “Get out.”
I left in a hurry, lest I incur her true wrath.
Walking downstairs, I finally felt a little better. As she had intended, Venna’s gentle rebuke had served to take the edge off of my guilt. I was hopeful that Tási’s condition would resolve itself quickly, and that we would be able to leave this town and all of its unpleasant memories behind.
I decided to return to the room I had claimed and go over my notifications; I hadn’t had a chance to look at them last night, mostly due to being too exhausted and preoccupied with other things, but also because I felt little motivation to do so considering the uncertain condition both Venna and Tási had been in at the time.
Passing through the living area, I saw that Stel had apparently taken the chest from the back of the wagon and lugged it inside where we could keep a better eye on Venna’s precious icon. He was perched on top of its lid, wiping the sweat from his brow as I walked through the room.
“Need a hand?” I offered, knowing full well that the job was already finished.
“Not with this,” he smirked, “but there’s a pile of manure that needs to be loaded up…”
“Yeah… No thanks,” I demurred. “I have a little Deathless business to attend to.”
“Of course you do,” he replied flatly.
Finding my way back to my room, I closed the door and sat down on the bed. After exhaling a deep breath, I steadied myself and was about to open up my notifications tab when I remembered the token—I had simply looted it from the Defiler’s corpse and left it in my backpack, never taking the time to combine it with the others or even examine the precious item. Pulling it from my pack, I looked at the new token for the first time.
The token was by far the simplest one of the group, although it was barely more than a perfect elegant pearl, it still radiated the power I had come to recognize from the other tokens. Apparently unchanged from its natural form, the sole adornment was a small metal base that was attached in some unseen way to the otherwise perfect white sphere. As I held it in my hand, its powers became known to me.
Minor Token of Acumen – This charm increases the wearer’s Intelligence by one point. This effect is permanent until the token is given away freely or sold willingly.
I had no idea how many tokens there were, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that there were only two more left to be discovered. It suddenly made sense to me that there would be one for each Attribute, and only two of those were now left for me to discover. Withdrawing the amulet, I let the two artifacts guide my hands as they melded into a single entity.
The pieces came together with a ‘click,’ and I felt them resonating in my hand. Unlike the last time, this union was powerful, and the vibrations were accompanied by a warmth that almost grew uncomfortable before the amulet finally went still again. The ‘ding!’ of an alert rang subtly in my head, signifying that I had completed yet another portion of the amulet’s quest.
Having reunited the pieces of the amulet, I opened up my notifications.
Experience gained – You have gained 11 XP.
. . .
Experience gained – You have gained 11 XP.
Experience gained – You have gained 55 XP.
. . .
Experience gained – You have gained 55 XP.
Experience gained – You have gained 11 XP.
. . .
Experience gained – You have gained 11 XP.
You have reached 20% proficiency in the Alchemy sub-skill, Potion Craft. Proficiency gains of non-combat skills will slow after achieving 20% proficiency.
I didn’t understand the XP notifications at first; aside from the Defiler, none of us had killed anything recently. As the numbers had continued to scroll past, I suddenly realized what they represented—each one correlated with the administration of a dose of the antidote. I had even received credit for the ones that had been given by my companions and so, feeling grateful for the unexpected boon, I let the messages continue again.
Quest Completed – You have completed the Quest Venna’s Little Helper III. You have assisted Venna in her efforts to cure the plague-stricken village. In going beyond the original requirements of this Quest, your reward has been increased. For clearing both villages of the plague, and eliminating its source, you have been rewarded with 1100XP. A further bonus may be granted upon the safe return of the Goddesses’ icon.
Experience gained – You have gained 1650 XP.
Quest completed – You have completed the hidden quest Defiler. Although Defilers are the sworn enemies of Keepers, all Wardens are encouraged to eliminate the threat they represent. Defeating the Defiler furthers not only the goals of your Class, but of your chosen Specialization as well. You have been rewarded with 2200 XP.
Quest Completed – Uniter III. You have located and joined the next part of the Ancient Symbol, adding significantly to its power. You have been rewarded 550 XP.
Quest Assigned – Uniter IV. Use the four joined pieces to help you locate the next part of the Amulet. Once you find it, join it with the others.
I paused and stared at the final notifications on my screen. I had somehow added to the power of the amulet? What did that mean, and why had the quest changed its terminology? I had always thought of the combined tokens as an amulet simply because of how I had worn them, but my quests had always simply referred to it as an ‘Ancient Symbol.’ Now, right in front of me, the quest dialogue had changed, and the fact that this change had occurred immediately after noting that the Amulet had ‘significantly’ increased in power was equally troubling.
I summoned my Inventory page to examine the Amulet.
Inventory
Encumbrance – 68/275
Clothing
Recurve Bow, (48)
Essence Blade (45), Soul Bound
Fine Short Sword, (18)
Dagger of Laceration (2)
Dagger, Fine (3)
Archer’s Circlet
Fine Leather Chest Guard (10)
Fine Leather Pauldrons (2)
Fine Leather Tassets (4)
Fine Leather Bracers (1)
Fine Leather Armguards (1)
Fine Leather Cuisse (1)
Fine Leather Greaves (2)
Fine Leather Boots (2)
Fine Leather Gloves
Hunter’s Cloak (2)
Fine Padded Shirt (2)
Fine Padded Pants (3)
Scrolls, Resurrection
Unidentified Amulet, Soul Bound
Token of Grace
Token of Insight
Token of Agility
Token of Acumen
Ring of Encumbrance
Never Ending Quiver of Arrows, Soul Bound
Camp blade
Belt pouch, common:
15 weak health potions, 14 red crystals, 2 cure disease potions, 2 cure poison potions, 2 purple crystals
Coin pouch, Soul Bound:
12 Talons, 48 Gold Bits, 185 Silver Marks, 87 Silver Bits, 192 Coppers
Backpack 50 slot, 70% weight reduction
I immediately looked for the Amulet and sure enough, the description had been altered there as well. However, aside from the difference in name, there were no clues about what other changes might have occurred. I almost closed the page before noticing that the Encumbrance value of my bow had decreased. Realizing that it was probably due to passing the forty percent threshold in my proficiency, I quickly turned to my personal sheet.
Dreya Dae
Sintári Female
Title: Sintári
Level - 15
82953/84200
Health 220/220 Aura 510/510 Endurance 220/220
Sintári
– Sintári interact with their surroundings in unusual ways. The effects of these interactions can be unpredictable
Class – Warden – Wardens gain a 10% bonus to skills associated with nature or which have natural effects
Specialization – Protector
Mastery –
STR - 25
CON - 22
DEX - 23 (+2)
INT - 21 (+2)
WIS - 17 (+2)
CHA - 30 (+2)
Abilities
Ignore Armor -Your next arrow will ignore a portion of the target’s armor. Cost – 20 Aura. – 32%
Stun – Your next arrow has a chance to stun its target on hit. Cost – 20 Aura. – 29%
Block – You may attempt to use your bow to parry a single melee attack. Cost – 20 Endurance. – 20%
Swarm – Your next arrow duplicates itself in flight. Cost – 20 Endurance and 20 Aura. – 40%
Flurry – Perform three rapid strikes with a bladed weapon. Cost – 30 Endurance. – 24%
Parry – Chance for your blades to block next melee attack targeted at you. Cost – 20 Endurance. – 23%
Hamstring – The next arrow fired has a chance to cripple your opponent. Cost – 20 Aura. – 27%
Hilt Bash – Stun your opponent with a successful hilt strike from your bladed weapon. Cost – 30 Endurance. – 22%
Blood Price – Your arrow inflicts a damage-over-time bleed effect. Cost – 30 Aura. – 30%
Blind – Your next arrow has a chance to inflict blindness on a successful hit. Cost – 30 Aura. – 30%
Achilles Strike – Cripple your target with a slash of your bladed weapon. Cost – 30 Endurance. – 22%
Penetrator – Advanced Ability -Your arrow pierces through armor easily. With increased proficiency, it may penetrate through even greater barriers. Modifier – Strength. Cost – 60 Aura. – 5%
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