Second Skin Omnibus

by M Damon Baker

  I used most of that time to study the Defiler’s herbalism tome. Her early writings were profoundly unremarkable, consisting of several recipes for helpful potions and remedies, but then her words turned in a darker direction. Her barely coherent scribbling degenerated into a series of diatribes detailing the wrongs that had been done to her and her plans to avenge them. The concoctions that were scrawled onto those pages followed a similar trend.

  Where the early recipes had been for healing, the later ones were universally designed to cause harm. Poison and corruption had become her only theme. Eventually, I grew disgusted with the vile subject matter and tossed the book back into my pack.

  In the afternoon, we returned to our camp by the fortifications for quick lunch. Repeatedly burning through my Aura had proven to be far more taxing than I had imagined, and by the time we took our break, I was almost completely spent. So, while I rested for a while, Tási scrounged together our lunch.

  “You don’t look so good,” Tási remarked as she watched me slumping over.

  “I’m really tired and I have a bit of a headache,” I told her. “I think I overdid it casting Shockwave so many times.”

  “Aura fatigue,” she explained as we munched on our trail rations. “It can happen if you use too much Aura in a short amount of time. You need to be more careful.”

  “Now that I know about that, I’ll try to pace myself a little better.”

  The meal brought back some of my energy and after a short rest we left to tour the wall. When we arrived, Ridge was putting the final blocks in place above the gateway, completing the archway over the entrance and joining together the two sections of our defensive wall.

  “This is great, Ridge!” I said as I looked over his work. “But I thought you said you wouldn’t have this finished until tomorrow?”

  “Yes, Mistress,” he replied. “That is true. If I had built the entire wall to the height of the arch, it would have taken me that long. I hope you do not object to the shortcut I employed. If this is satisfactory, I can begin clearing away the obstructions outside shortly.”

  “No, I definitely don’t object. I appreciate your ingenuity and initiative.”

  “Very well, Mistress,” he answered. “I shall complete my work here and then begin my tasks beyond the wall.”

  “Thank you, Ridge,” I offered him sincerely.

  Ridge merely responded by inclining his head slightly before returning to his work.

  Since I had obviously overdone my training that morning, I decided to take things a little more slowly for the afternoon. Instead of working on my talents, I brainstormed possible defensive measures we might add to fend off the next orc attack.

  Unfortunately, I had no experience in battles like this—defensive warfare was simply outside of my experience. Even delving into the memories of the dead man offered little of value. While he was aware of a multitude of siege weapons and devices, I lacked the ability to either construct or man any such intricate machinery. The only practical idea I could come up with was to have Ridge place more stone spikes in the fields he was clearing. At the very least, that would slow down the orcs’ advance.

  My only other option was to seal the entrance completely, removing the earthen span that served as our bridge across the spike filled trench, possibly even having Ridge wall off the opening entirely. While that would force the orcs to traverse the dangerous trench, it would also cut us off from the outside. That might not have been a big issue at the moment, but it would present some difficulties when my companions eventually returned. My dilemma was resolved when Ridge returned and began stacking the first logs he had cleared from the forest outside.

  “Ridge,” I asked as he finished stacking the heavy timber. “I’m thinking about getting rid of the bridge and having the trench run the entire length of the wall. If we do that, could you fashion something from these logs that we might use to span the trench when we need to cross it?”

  “There are a great number of vines in the area, Mistress,” he replied. “I could use them to lash several logs together.”

  “Yes, please do that, Ridge. Unfortunately, I’m afraid were going to need the added protection.”

  Ridge responded with his usual dip of his head before resuming his work once more. I left him to his tasks, confident that he would handle them with his typical efficiency.

  I was reluctant to return to my practice after experiencing the Aura fatigue earlier. I needed to do something productive that did not involve drawing on my Aura pool. Unfortunately, that ruled out almost all of my training. What it didn’t rule out was working on my control.

  I found a quiet section of the canyon away from our campsite and sat down on the hard ground. I had made orbs of pure emotion on two occasions before. Once, to send my affection through both Tási and Venna, and a second time to kill a filthy bandit with an overpowering sphere of pure hate. Closing my eyes, I looked deep inside myself, and began to form a tiny ball of emotion.

  My thoughts turned to Tási and the coming trial we would face in uncovering her hidden secret. Although I felt concern over what was to come, the little ball of light filled with love and affection instead as my true feelings for her took over. I added to the growing orb, summoning not only my emotional bond to Tási, but for Venna and the rest of my companions as well. The orb pulsed with its familiar yet indescribable light as it grew even larger, and I had to stop feeding into it as it threatened to become too much for me to control.

  Once the orb stabilized, I slowly began to peel off its outer layers. The powerful raw emotions yielded to a softer center that was much smaller, but still retained almost the full power of the distilled emotions I had gathered together. I held the pulsing ball of light together for a just few moments before releasing my hold over it. The light slowly faded as the orb disintegrated within me, sending subtle waves of its energy coursing gently through me as it slowly dissolved into nothingness.

  Once the energy had completely dissipated, I opened my eyes and let out a deep breath. I hadn’t thoroughly thought through the process when I had begun forming the orb. Letting it release its energy inside me had been a gamble. Not much of one, granted, as I had done something similar with the orb I had shared with Tási and Venna, but an unknown nonetheless. Fortunately, my decision hadn’t caused me any harm, but I doubted that would be the case with what I was about to try next.

  The ball of hate that I had used to kill the bandit was no soft and gentle thing. It was a vicious manifestation, fashioned from pure hate and rage, and I had used its power to take his life in the most heinous way I could imagine. There was simply no way that I was going to release the power of one of those dark orbs within myself.

  I decided that I would pass my foul creation into a small patch of scrub that was barely clinging to life along the rocky side of the canyon. And unlike before with the bandit, I would not be trying to maintain the hate-fueled energy once it passed from my body. The effort of doing so had been the cause of my collapse and long lapse into unconsciousness after the bandit’s demise. I would not make that same mistake again.

  I repositioned myself within reach of the pathetic brush and began to channel my darkest emotions. The ball of hate formed within me quickly, and I added to its ominous form, feeding my outrage at this world’s stark cruelty into the growing orb of blackness. My memories of the ambushed caravan and the pitiful body of the woman that the bandit leader had so cruelly tortured fed into the powerful sphere. I was quickly forced to cut off the raging torrent of anger within me before the orb could grow beyond my ability to handle. Holding the completed orb still, I looked over my creation.

  The sphere radiated with an inky black aura, threatening to unleash its foul power at any moment. Hate-filled spikes protruded from the orb, ready to rend the flesh of whatever unfortunate creature I unleashed its power into. When I had sent the ball of rage into the bandit’s body, I’d left all of its harsh exterior in place, completely willing to let the filthy rapist experien
ce the orb’s power in all of its brutality. But curiosity overcame me now, and I began stripping off the black orb’s outer layers. The sphere yielded to me surprisingly easily, and I soon reduced the orb to only its inner core.

  What was left was a perfect sphere of absolute darkness. The surface of the orb was smooth and completely unmarred by any imperfection. Yet, somehow, even without its menacing looking exterior, the bare center of the orb seemed even more imposing than it had before. Looking into its impenetrable darkness, I had the disconcerting feeling that something was staring back at me from within its hidden depths. A shiver ran through my spine, and I instantly reached out and pushed the orb away from me and into the doomed patch of brush.

  As soon as I felt the dark energy leave my body, I opened my eyes again. I watched as the orb wound its way through the scrub, corrupting the vegetation as the foul essence of its power coursed through the living tissue. Leaves shriveled and died, falling to the ground as mere ashes. The woody bark and branches of the scrub rotted away, instantly putrefying before my eyes. The orb did not halt its destruction even when it reached the base of the plant, but continued to wreak its havoc below ground, rending every bit of living matter down to the last fiber of root.

  “That was disturbing,” Tási’s voice came from behind me.

  “Is that the same thing you did to the bandit?” she asked before I could react.

  “Yes, but this time I didn’t try and hold onto it, I just let it go,” I told her.

  “How long have you been watching me?” I asked her, slightly perturbed by her intrusion.

  “Not too long,” she replied somewhat defensively as she sensed my irritation.

  “Well, your timing is perfect, I have something I want to try on you,” I said as I walked towards her and wriggled my fingers.

  Tási’s eyes shot open in fear and she backed away from me quickly.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea!” She protested.

  “No, and neither is snooping around,” I replied as I dropped my act.

  “That wasn’t fair! You really scared me,” she complained as she recognized what I had done.

  “It probably wasn’t fair, but you deserved it.”

  Tási huffed her indignation at me as we walked back up the canyon towards our camp. My meditations had taken longer than I had thought, and long shadows crept across the ground as we returned. I made a quick check of our defenses, ensuring that all my traps were in place before finally calling it a day. When we entered the tent, I was surprised to find Bane waiting inside for us.

  I saw that you were occupied Sintári, so I waited for you to return to make my report.

  “That was very considerate of you, Bane. What did you find?”

  The beasts of the forest continue to draw closer, but there is no sign of the orcs.

  “Good. That sounds like we should have at least another day of relative safety tomorrow.”

  It would seem so.

  Getting ready for bed, I removed most of my gear, but kept my armor on. Until we had things under greater control, there was no way I would be able to let my guard down completely.

  Bane perched on top of us as Tási and I snuggled together. As we lay there, I reached under the blankets and undid one of the clasps on her robe. She stiffened as I slid my hand inside and rested it against the soft skin of her torso, but I quickly reassured her before she could protest.

  “Nothing is going to happen, Tási,” I whispered. “I just miss you.”

  I felt her body relax as she settled in against me. With Bane purring softly on top of me, and the feel of Tási’s warm skin beneath my fingertips, I couldn’t help but smile in contentment as I fell fast asleep.

  We woke in the morning to the terrifying sound of hundreds of marching feet. The orcs had apparently managed to sneak up on us, and we were completely unprepared to fend them off. I snatched up my weapons and desperately strapped them on as I climbed atop the wall, but by the time I reached the top of the stairs, the marching had stopped just outside the edge of the trench. As I peered over the top of the wall to get a glimpse of the enemy, I nearly collapsed at the sight that was revealed to me.

  My sense of relief was palpable as I saw that the hundreds of marching feet belonged to dwarves, not orcs. At the head of the large group stood Broda and Khorim, gazing at the fortifications in front of them, obviously trying to figure out how best to cross over the spike-filled trough.

  “Hello Khorim, Broda. Welcome back!” I hollered at them as I stood up.

  “You’ve built a fine wall, Dreya, but seem to have overlooked something,” Khorim shouted back at me.

  “The only thing I ever overlook is your head, master dwarf,” I replied. “Hold on a minute and I’ll help you get across.”

  I practically jumped down the stairs to where Tási was waiting with Bane on her shoulder. They had heard the entire exchange, and we rushed to the gateway to help our friends across. Ridge was already there, dragging the heavy timbers he had strung together to form our crude bridge. As Ridge lowered the makeshift span, Bane hopped over to me and took up his usual perch on my shoulder and I stroked at his scales as we waited for our companions.

  Broda crossed first, and I welcomed her back with a tight hug. She returned my embrace without hesitation before letting me go.

  “We’ve got a lot to tell you,” she said. “And by the look of things, you’ve got a great deal to tell us as well.”

  “I do, most important among them is that we are expecting an attack any day now.”

  “Can’t leave you alone for a minute, can we?” Khorim broke in as he heard the news.

  “Sadly, you cannot master dwarf. I’m completely defenseless without you,” I retorted.

  “Yes, it’s not like we didn’t already fight off that first attack by ourselves,” Tási added with a smirk.

  “Obviously, we need to see to our defenses quickly,” Broda said, bringing our conversation back into focus.

  “Let’s get everyone inside and settled. Once that’s done, we will talk,” I suggested.

  “Mistress, if I may offer a suggestion?”

  I was surprised to hear Ridge speak and gestured for him to continue.

  “Much of the area just inside the fortifications has already been plotted out for more construction, including barracks facilities. I can shape these for you so that your people will have shelter, but it will require me to abandon my efforts clearing the forest.”

  “How long will it take for you to build them?” I asked him

  “They are not as robust as the fortifications. Perhaps a day for each of the dwarven barracks.”

  “Dwarven barracks?” Broda and I asked in unison.

  “Yes, Mistress,” he replied. “The plans for this place take into account the various needs of all the people. These fortifications include regular barracks for humans, elves, and halflings, as well as dwarven facilities carved into the cliffsides.”

  “Please start on that right away, Ridge,” I responded immediately. “And if you ever have any other helpful suggestions, do not hesitate to offer them.”

  Ridge bowed his head before departing, and I escorted Broda and Khorim into the canyon, followed by over a hundred of their kinfolk. They immediately began to set up a temporary camp while the barracks were being constructed. Once we were sure everything was in order, I showed my companions to the campsite Tási and I had been using, and we began to fill each other in on what had occurred during our time apart. I quickly told them what had transpired in the valley, including the orcs’ attack and the extensive work that Ridge had accomplished. When I finished relaying our story, Broda let me know what had happened while she and Khorim traveled to Dhel-Ar.

  While Stel and Venna journeyed on to Íforn, Broda and Khorim met with her uncle. The King was overjoyed at her unexpected return, and they held a feast in her honor. Afterwards, when they had a quiet moment together, Broda showed him the scroll. The King recognized the seal on the parchment, as it w
as identical to the one on the ring that he wore. Nervously, they’d cracked the seal and read the words they found together.

  The message inside was written by one of the Kingdom’s ancient monarchs, and commanded that the King send forth any of his people who would be willing to help forge a new Realm, one founded on peace and tolerance. The laws of the dwarven Kingdom were clear on this matter, and Broda’s uncle had no choice but to follow the dictates of his predecessor. The news of the new Realm was spread through the Kingdom, but most of the people rejected the opportunity—they were more than happy to live their lives just as they always had, but a brave few had answered the call, coming together in the same spirit that had founded so many of the independent villages across the land.

  When the bold pioneers had been gathered, her uncle had seen that they were well-provisioned for their journey, furnishing them with wagons and horses to draw them. The wagons had been abandoned shortly after the group veered off into the forest, as they simply could not manage the rough terrain, but Broda had made sure to conceal them among the foliage in case we ever had further need for them.

  In all, nearly 120 sturdy and brave dwarves had made the trek. Some by themselves, others came as entire families, and among them were craftsmen and laborers of all sorts, and nearly all had at least some skill with stonework. Even now, as they were still setting up their temporary accommodations, several of the dwarves were already looking over the fortifications, eager to put the finishing touches on Ridge’s rough construction.

  As we concluded our conversation, I voiced the fear that had been haunting me since I first heard the sound of the dwarves’ approach that morning.

  “Bane scouted yesterday and did not see the orcs approaching. We thought that meant that they would not arrive today, but then you showed up without warning,” I told her.

  I am sorry Sintári. I have been searching to the south and east, the direction that the orcs fled. The dwarves must have come from the north.