Second Skin Omnibus

by M Damon Baker

  As we made our way downstairs, the entire Imperial Guard joined me, just like they had each time I’d gone off to war previously. While we marched down the steps, I freed up my Aura pool by dismissing most of my traps, but left one across the entrance to my suite, protecting the area where Talína and my other secretaries worked. I also kept my summons of Ridge and the air elemental active; Ridge still played an important role in our efforts, while the other elemental kept the air in the dwarven caverns from becoming stale and unhealthy.

  My companions were waiting for me when we reached the ground floor, each surrounded by their own cadre of Ministry Guards. Our individual processions merged into one as we marched through the Palace gates together and continued to grow even larger as more soldiers joined with us on our way towards the Garrison walls.

  Bane flew overhead while Líann and I walked hand in hand on the ground below. Venna strode along my opposite side with Stel, while Saibra maintained a vigilant watch from just a pace behind us. As Commander of the Imperial Guard, Ella was only a short distance ahead, and Broda, with Khorim right next to her, walked confidently behind the Commander. Surrounding us was the entire might of the Imperial Guard and nearly all the Ministry Guard as well, yet our tiny procession was insignificant compared to the Imperial Army that was waiting for us when we ventured beyond the Garrison gates.

  Over 11,000 soldiers were arrayed in the fields that lay between the Garrison and the Army’s fortress. Even as we emerged and first glimpsed the awesome sight, the first elements of that massive force had already begun marching down the road towards our outpost on the trade route. Neat, orderly rows of soldiers strode purposefully ahead of us, all intent on ending the menace of the Dark Lands for good. Very few had escaped the horrors of those accursed lands, so the fervent desire to halt the endless misery that flowed out from the Dark Lands was quite understandable.

  Our pace would be a slow one, and we had days ahead of us before even the first elements of our Army would reach the junction with the trade roads. Only then would we begin to execute our deception, hopefully catching our enemy’s army completely by surprise. But for the time being, we simply marched down the road, heading inexorably towards our conflict with the vast army of the Dark Lands.

  The morning of our third day on the road finally came, and while our massive camp was being broken, I couldn’t suppress the broad smile on my face. As the soldiers busied themselves with their duties, I stared at the Scryer’s Circle on my finger for a moment, the perfect duplicate of the Khelduin band Líann wore, contemplating the significance of its dual meaning as I channeled my Aura into the ring, activating its power for the first time.

  The ring’s description only indicated that I would be aware if its protections were ever breached, but as the invisible barrier fell into place, I felt the shiver of my unseen observer’s intrusion being repelled. I knew that the Mistress of the Dark Lands would most likely attempt to resume her efforts to spy on me, but after experiencing that first sensation of her rejection, I felt nothing else.

  When the Army was ready to move on, the first stage of our deception began. While our supply wagons trundled down the road towards our border fortress, escorted by a contingent of 500 soldiers and Bane circling overhead, the bulk of our forces continued North, following the path that Bane had scouted for us several weeks before through the forests. Although our deception had focused the enemy’s attention on our border fortress far away, and Faine’s soldiers at the outpost had cleared the nearby lands of any hostile creatures, we still sent out a wide vanguard to eliminate anything that might happen to discover us as we passed through the woods.

  Our best hope for success relied on speed—to catch our enemy before they became aware of our flanking maneuver. So, without the wagons to slow us, Evans set a brisk pace, and we marched onwards until the sky grew dark. The camp we made that night was dark and cold, but we risked no fires in the forests while being so close to our enemy’s borders. And since the supply wagons had taken the road when we continued North into the dense forest, all anyone had with them was whatever they carried on their backs. Tents and bedrolls under the open sky and cold rations were all the comforts any of us would have until after our pivotal battle.

  Despite the lack of comforts, spirits were high. No one doubted that our fight would be a difficult one, but it was also a battle that they had been looking forward to for quite some time. For many, the anticipation of the opportunity to strike back against the Dark Lands was a life-long dream, stretching back many years and often rooted in some deep, personal tragedy.

  The malevolent creatures of the Dark Lands had been raiding the surrounding Realms for many millennia, and their influence had spread far beyond the borders of that foul region. I’d encountered orcs and goblins even within the protected confines of Lorida, and the presence of those evil monsters—and much worse—was far greater in the other Realms. So long as the Dark Lands existed, it would be a constant source for still more of the vicious monsters that preyed upon the people of Arrika; a scourge that could only be halted if our war ended in success.

  Líann and I slept in the close confines of my old tent that night, sharing the space and grateful for the small measure of privacy it provided. Although a stout guard had been set about our camp, I still laid a series of traps around us; my concern over the evil Deathless wouldn’t allow me to do anything less. Even considering the danger—or perhaps because of it—I felt a certain closeness with Líann as we lay together. The two of us were embarking on the greatest quest in history, and although we were far from alone, I couldn’t help but feel that it had become our mission.

  I turned to speak with Líann, to share my thoughts with her, only to find that she’d already fallen asleep. She’d become tough; far tougher than when we’d first met, but the brutal pace Evans had set for us that day had completely worn her out. Líann was not the only one—many of the soldiers seemed to be totally spent after the long day’s exertions, so I wasn’t overly concerned over her tiredness. Instead, I took the opportunity to look over my personal sheet. I’d done quite a bit of training and dealt with Aimee, the Deathless prisoner since my last look, so I was curious to see how much had changed.

  Dreya Dae

  Sintári Female

  Title: Sintári, Empress

  Level - 64

  1883385/18911200

  Health - 506/506 Aura - 984/1364 Endurance - 506/506

  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 – Warlock

  STR - 61 (+6)

  CON - 42 (+4)

  DEX - 42 (+4)

  INT - 33 (+3)

  WIS - 33 (+3)

  CHA - 80 (+8)

  Abilities

  Ignore Armor – Your next arrow will ignore a portion of the target’s armor. Cost – 20 Aura. – 36%

  Stun – Your next arrow has a chance to stun its target on hit. Cost – 20 Aura. – 35%

  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. – 47%

  Flurry – Perform three rapid strikes with a bladed weapon. Cost – 30 Endurance. – 42%

  Parry – Chance for your blades to block next melee attack targeted at you. Cost – 20 Endurance. – 43%

  Hamstring – The next arrow fired has a chance to cripple your opponent. Cost – 20 Aura. – 32%

  Hilt Bash – Stun your opponent with a successful hilt strike from your bladed weapon. Cost – 30 Endurance. – 41%

  Blood Price – Your arrow inflicts a damage-over-time bleed effect. Cost – 30 Aura. – 37%

  Blind – Your next arrow has a chance to inflict blindness on a successful hit.
Cost – 30 Aura. – 37%

  Achilles Strike – Cripple your target with a slash of your bladed weapon. Cost – 30 Endurance. – 41%

  Penetrator – Advanced Ability – Your arrow pierces through armor easily. With increased proficiency, it may penetrate through even greater barriers. Modifier – Strength. Cost – 60 Aura. – 20%

  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. – 41%

  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. – 42%

  Combine Abilities – Advanced Ability – You may channel more than one Ability into a single attack. Success depends on your proficiency with each individual Ability. Modifier – Intelligence. Cost – 150 Aura. – 20%

  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. – 86%

  Shadow Armor – Use your shadows to form a barrier that not only absorbs incoming damage, but also lashes out at any foes within its reach. The power of this armor’s offense and defense depend on how much of your darkness you channel into it. Modifier – Shadow Magic Affinity. Cost N/A. – 32%.

  Protector Abilities

  See Truth – Twice 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. – 48%

  Spells

  Enhanced Sight – May be cast on self or ally. Improves visual acuity of the recipient in dark or obscured conditions. Cost – 20 Aura. – 52%

  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%

  Spike – Launch Ice Spike(s), delivering bonus cold damage on a successful hit. Cost – 40 Aura. – 22%

  Bolt – Release a Bolt of pure Lightning at your target(s). Cost – 40 Aura. – 29%

  Find Weakness – Highlights vulnerable points on the target. Modifier – Intelligence. Cost – 80 Aura. – 22%

  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. – 42%

  Shield – May be cast on self only. Manifests a forward-facing barrier against incoming projectile attacks. Duration and resistance of the barrier are based on proficiency and modifier value. Modifier – Constitution. Cost – 80 Aura. – 24%

  Entangle – Create an area of entangling vines that will hold any foes caught within its radius. Area of effect, the distance you may cast the Spell, and the power of your vines will all vary based on your Abilities and proficiency. Modifiers – Strength and Dexterity. Cost – 150 Aura. – 28%

  Compel – Force a sentient creature to answer a single question. If you successfully dominate their will, the target will reply with a truthful answer to one question you ask. Modifier – Charisma. Cost – 80 Aura. – 18%

  Slumber – Area-of-effect sleep Spell. All enemy creatures caught within the boundaries of this magic who fail a Constitution check will fall into a deep state of unconsciousness. Modifier – Charisma. Cost – 350 Aura. – 1%

  Fireball – Launch an orb of raw fire energy at your foes, which will explode on contact. The force and magnitude of this blast will vary depending on your proficiency and modifiers. Modifiers – Intelligence and Wisdom. Cost – 300 Aura. – 20%

  Shadow Magic – Affinity 17%

  Life Drain – Rip the life force from your target and add it to your own. This will either restore your own Health or add a temporary boost to it if it is already full. Modifier – Constitution. Cost – 150 Aura. – 5%

  Skills

  Bow – 68%

  Critical Hit – 54%

  Blades – 51%

  Long Sword – 50%

  Short Sword – 53%

  Dagger – 60%

  Critical Hit – 44%

  Two-Handed – 57%

  Pole Arms – 14%

  Spear – 23%

  Armor – 45%

  Medium Armor – 47%

  Perception – 58%

  Environmental – 59%

  Identify Enemy – 56%

  Identify Person – 54%

  Combat Dodge – 26%

  Subterfuge – 41%

  Stealth – 41%

  Find Trap – 20%

  Disarm Trap – 20%

  Set Trap – 20%

  Manipulation – 61%

  Persuade – 70%

  Barter – 46%

  Survival – 24%

  Tracking – 27%

  Identify Creature (Beasts) – 19%

  Skinning – 16%

  Field Dress – 15%

  Alchemy – 19%

  Herbalism – 31%

  Potion Craft – 27%

  Lore – 11%

  Identify Magical Item – 20%

  The first thing I realized was that, while keeping the traps in place back at the Palace wasn’t too bad, maintaining my hold over the two elementals, plus the Scryer’s Circle, was putting a serious dent in my Aura pool. I might be forced to abandon them all if I really needed the Aura at some point.

  Beyond that, some of my talents had advanced quite far. In addition to the anticipated gains in both Compel and See Truth, I’d finally managed to max out Fireball. My Manipulation talents were also continuing to tick upwards, and my Lore Skills had advanced slightly, most likely due to all the Deathless gear I’d been identifying. Shadow Armor was by far the most pleasant surprise, however, having advanced well beyond the typical 20% training limit—I only wondered just how far I’d be able to push that talent before I reached its final boundary.

  Although the sound of Líann’s soft breathing next to me echoed in my ears, my thoughts were of Bane as I drifted off to sleep. The rest of my companions and my Tári were close by, but he was alone and far away; separated from me due to the requirements of our strategy. He’d scouted the terrain between the Imperial District and the border fortress and found safe places to roost during the night, but I still worried for him, both over his safety and forced solitude. I resolved that if—when we won this battle, I would never let him be away from me for so long again. Even in her sleep, Líann seemed to sense my distress, and as she shifted slightly, her arm draped over me, and she nestled her face against my shoulder. The comfort she brought me helped banish my concerns for a time, and I was finally able to fall asleep myself.

  Our march North continued for two more days before we turned Eastwards. The trail we followed led us through a series of low rolling hills and canyons, and we might have gotten hopelessly lost had Bane not plotted the course for us so well. After another four days spent marching through the harsh terrain, we finally approached our enemy’s encampment, apparently undetected. With their eyes firmly focused on our fortress to the South, they seemed to feel no reason to patrol the lands that surrounded them.

  While Evans prepared our Army to make its assault, Eryn and I crept forward. The next part of our plan required that she get within sight of our enemy’s massive forces, and I wanted to see what we were up against with my own eyes. Stealth, not strength was what we needed most, so over the strong objections of both my guardians and my Tári, the two of us proceeded ahead alone.

  Our objective came into view wh
en we rounded a final bend in the narrow canyon we’d been traversing. Before us lay what appeared to be the entire might of the Dark Lands, massed in preparation for our destruction. The sprawling camp lay spread out within the confines of yet another broad canyon, with massive defenses erected facing southwards. Those battlements would be useless against our attack from the West, however, but with the sheer numbers that were arrayed against us, our enemy wouldn’t need their help to wipe us out.

  From where we watched, hidden behind a patch of low scrub, I could see orcs and goblins numbering in the tens of thousands—at least double the size of our forces. But they were not alone. Alongside the green-skinned monsters were trolls, ogres, and hobgoblins as well, the latter being the taller and more violent cousins of their goblin relatives. Scanning the camp, I caught sight of a tribe of gnolls, adding their brutal canine-like viciousness to our enemy’s seemingly endless count. Other creatures I couldn’t recognize also walked freely among the camp, some almost too horrific to describe, but the thing that made chills run down my spine was the sight of so many members of the so-called ‘civilized’ races accompanying the Dark Land’s army.

  My blood boiled when I saw dwarves, elves, humans, and even a few halflings among our enemy’s forces. Only a handful of them could be the Deathless who’d joined with the dark Mistress; the others were natives of this world—brigands and bandits—betrayers of their own people and soulless victimizers of any who had the misfortune of being weaker than them. Thinking of the hellish fury we were about to unleash, I had no pity for those worthless scum. I only wished each of them the most agonizingly painful death possible.

  Scattered among the ramshackle tents and shelters that had been erected, I spotted dozens of ballistae aimed straight up at the sky above. The tale of the destruction Bane had wrought in the frozen Northlands had obviously reached the Mistress of the Dark Lands, and her forces had prepared themselves well against any potential assault from above. But our initial attack would not be coming from that direction, or any other direction they’d probably imagined. Looking over the vast army, likely numbering more than 40,000 when all the various races and species were counted, I simply nodded to Eryn, and she offered me a grim smile as she triggered the trap we’d prepared for them.