"This was a little out of the way but it is the best spot to camp nearby" Azzaria says to me when we set the sled down.
She obviously has more in her physical stats than me because I am tired and sweaty, while she looks like she just endured a brisk walk. "How long will it take to get to Efftin?"
"Since we are slowing down to drag the shell with us, two days. It will be worth it with the payout we will get though."
Not enthused about the length of time trudging through the woods, I start walking in the direction of a rustling I heard earlier. "I want to test a couple of things so I'll be back in a few minutes. Timbre, you can hang out here with Azzaria. Thia, you are with me. It is time to see what you can do." I say this with a smile and reach over to her. Thia jumps on my palm and I lift her to my shoulder to perch. She is a little wobbly at first, but then leans into my neck and settles in.
"Don't be gone long. I don't want to have to come searching for you."
I nod my head to the supremely distracting elf and head out. Only a few minutes out I hear the sound again. Slowing down I then stop behind a tree before peeking around it.
Young hare, lvl 2. HP: 100%.
This is the first level 2 I have seen, but I'm not worried now that I have some offence. First though, is to see what Thia has got in store for it. Looking over to her I give her a nod. Just then I could feel a slight sense of acknowledgment from the bond we share. Surprised by this I almost missed when Thia ruffled her feathers and pointed her beak at the hare. From the very tip of the beak and anemic arc of gold colored lightning shoots through the air the dozen or so feet and strikes the hare right in the back.
The hare falls on its side and doesn't move, but I can tell it is still alive from its breathing. Must have stunned it with the surprise attack, or the lightning has some kind of paralysis affect. Not wanting it to recover and escape I raise my hand to help aim and fire a Mana Bolt. It hits the hare in the side and I can see the energy discharge into the body. Now it is dead.
Satisfied with my test for both of us, I collect the hare and head back to camp. "Hey Azzaria, got another young hare. We can cook it along with the other meat we got for our trip. With all the noise we make dragging that sled around I don't think we will see much to hunt on the way." We quickly skin it and start cooking. I don't know her well, but Azzaria seems to be extra quiet. I catch her looking at me curiously too. Not in a way that would indicate a romantic interest, but just curious. "Is something wrong" I ask her when she looks at me like that again.
"S-sorry, it's nothing."
"No, it's ok. You can ask me whatever it is that's on your mind."
The meat is done so we start eating while we talk. "You aren't like other humans at all" she says to me.
A little nervous, I feel my face to see if anything is different and say "what is so different?"
She gives a little giggle that makes my heart flutter for a second before answering "you really aren't bothered by the fact I am different?"
"Nope, not even the slightest. I actually think you are an extremely attractive woman." WHAT THE HELL DID I SAY THAT FOR. I continue before she sees the hesitation at my own words. "Where I come from, racism has been looked down on for quite a while. For many it is considered the sign of a weak personality, compensating for a lack of self esteem. Though we don't have elves and whatnot, there was a lot of prejudice at one time based on the color of ones skin."
"That is just silly. You are still humans."
"On a world of only humans is that much different than hating or looking down on you because of you shapely ears?" After saying that I can actually see the tips that are visible from under her hair darken to a shade of pink.
"Is that how you really feel about it?'
"I swear on my magic." When I say that I feel a brief warm feeling and then it goes away.
"..." Azzaria is staring at me with her mouth open again.
"What?"
"To swear on your magic is to call upon the goddess of magic to verify your statement, your patron. If you tell falsehood while evoking her she can take your magic, or at least curse you. It might be permanent or it could be temporary, depending on the severity of the lie and what the goddess decides. This is especially serious to mages."
"Well, I had an idea that it would be a serious promise, but not like that. Doesn't matter since I meant what I said, so no harm done."
Staring into my eyes she nods slowly. She has caught me in that gaze again, but I am jerked out of it when she says "It's late and we have a long way to go. I am sure that your Beast Companion can keep watch while we sleep. Good night." That said she takes out her bedroll and lays down facing away from me and the fire.
Making another mental note for a bedroll of my own, I make sure that Timbre and Thia have had enough to eat then go to sleep myself.
Chapter 6
"Wake up sleepy"
I feel someone shake me as my mind starts to clear. "Uh, great. You are one of those people aren't you" I respond to the one shaking me.
I open my eyes to see Azzaria looking at me with a cocked hip "What kind of people?"
"Morning people. The sky is just barely starting to brighten with dawn and you are up, fresh and ready to go."
She laughs playfully at my obvious disdain for morning. I get up and do my ritual stretching. Watching me, Azzaria seems to think it is a good idea and joins me. After we finish, we get up and start trudging through the forest. The shell is like that of a tortoise, so it is tall but not exceptionally wide. This means it is easier to get between the trees, but it is still about eight feet wide. Taking the occasional detour so that the shell fits, we make decent time and start talking after a silent couple hours.
"Your world sounds strange. Will you tell me about it?"
"As long as you tell me about this world. Free exchange of information."
"Deal, so what is it like? You said that there are only humans there."
"There are animals too, though none that are sentient. No magic what so ever either. We do have stories of elves and magic. They are all fiction as far as I know. Last time I heard, there was over 7 billion people on the planet we call Earth."
She giggles a little at the last part. "Earth? Why not just call it Dirt?"
"I know right? Kind of silly, but that is what it's called. There is no system for our status, classes, or professions either."
"How do people know what they should do in life?"
"They don't. They just do the best they can. Still, science has done many things for the advancement of civilization. There are things called planes, that are made of metal yet fly with people inside. Cars are vehicles that travel at speeds much faster than a horse, and there are buildings over a hundred stories tall." Momentarily lost to nostalgia, Timbre brings me out of it by rubbing against my leg as we walk. Thia makes another cheep too, before Azzaria responds.
"That sounds like a tall tale."
"Where I am from it is just as unbelievable to be able to use magic and have a status screen appear before my eyes. In fact, we have fantasy games exactly like that. That is partly why I am what I am now. I played those games."
"Do you miss anything or, anyone from Earth?"
Looking over to her I take a second to think. "Not really. I didn't have any family that I was still close with. Also, the best friends I had didn't even know what I looked like, or me them. After the initial adjustment, I actually am quite grateful to be here."
"That is good. Is there anything you want to ask me about?"
"I don't really know at the moment. Everything about this world is different and I already learned so much from you. Do you mind if I just ask later when I have things I do not understand?"
She nods her head and says "It's ok with me. Just let me know when you have questions."
"Thanks Azzaria. I'm glad you found me."
Continuing our chatter for the rest of the day we didn't talk about anything else important. Azzaria says there isn't much wildlife arou
nd here other than the dire wolves and adult hares. Apparently more dangerous creatures are known to be deeper in the forest, but that is past the village of Efftin. The fact that they hadn't seen anything wasn't surprising with all the noise the sled made.
Pulling the sled into a small clearing we stopped for a break. "It's getting late. Do you think we should stop?"
Looking into the orange tinted sky Azzaria says "I think we have gone far enough for today. We can set up camp here and tomorrow we should be in Efftin around midday."
We start a fire to ward off the night chill and to warm our dinner. After we eat, we make sure there is enough wood stockpiled for the night and lay down. Azzaria has her bedroll, but at least I have Timbre who lies down on the other side of me from the fire.
"Goodnight Azzaria."
"Night Vol."
*******
I wake up with a start. Earthquake! Wait, it's not an earthquake, but there is a rumbling sound. The sound and the shaking isn't coming from the earth, but from what I am leaning against. Timbre is making a deep rumbling growl. A second after that my mind kicks into gear and I sit up. It is still dark out but there are enough coals still glowing to light up a small area. Looking to Azzaria, I can see that she is awake too and getting her bow ready. She also straps her long hunting knife to her side.
I follow suit and grab my staff with my left hand so that I have it at the ready. Slowly, Azzaria, Timbre and I get up to face the direction Timbre is looking in. Thia is hunkered down on Timbre's head, with her head looking all around. I can hear a shuffling headed in our direction from the tree line. "Do you know what it is?" I ask.
"No. Dire wolves are the only thing we would even need to worry about, but they don't make that scraping sound when they walk. They are nearly silent when stalking prey."
Preparing for anything I step back a couple paces to get distance. Next to the fire I kick another log into it for the light it will provide. The fire starts to flare up a little and I use Identify on the creature shambling into our camp.
Possessed Goblin Corpse, lvl 9. HP: 100%.
Calling out to Azzaria I tell her what it says "It is some kind of undead Goblin. Says it is possessed. Level nine." The Goblin was probably green in color before its death, but now it is more of an ashy gray color. The undead creature is wearing only a loincloth, and its finger and toe nails are two inch claws. Only a little taller than the waist of my six foot frame with pointed, bat like ears. The goblin's eyes are the milky white of a corpse. It doesn't seem to see well since it was watching the fire as it approached, until it heard my voice.
The head of the creature swivels around to look in my direction before letting out a weird clicking, hissing sound. The sound is harsh like nails on a chalk board, laced with obvious malice. Timbre starts to step forward when I tell her to stay back and wait for it to get closer. The walking corpse takes off sprinting in my direction.
"Shit! I hate it when they run!" I yell. Raising my hand and aiming for the center of mass on the smaller creature. We are about 30 feet from the tree line where it started running at me, so there is enough time for me to concentrate on casting. A second after I start my cone shaped Mana Bolt races away from my hand striking the monster on the left side of the chest. The force of the spell causes it to spin a little and, in its mad dash for my sweet meat, it trips over its feet and hits the ground on its stomach about a dozen feet away from me.
Before the Goblin Corpse can get up, my friend puts an arrow through the shoulder closest to her, on my right. Seeing that the arrow pinned the monster to the ground, I call to Azzaria "Do that again. Pin it down." So fast that I almost missed it, she draws another and fires. This one pins the other shoulder down. Attached to the ground like that prevents it from getting back up. Struggling to get up makes the monster easy prey, and I put 2 more Mana Bolts into its head before it stops moving.
Timbre, standing next to me, is still growling at it. Turning to her I say "It's ok Timbre, it is dead now." She doesn't stop and even Thia is staring intently at it. "What's wrong you two?"
Azzaria steps up next to me while looking at the downed monster. "You said the description said that it was possessed? Well, what possessed it?"
At that moment, a scraping sound could be heard coming from it. Watching carefully, the sound is coming from the head. Soon the mouth moves, and then it's pried open by chitin covered appendages. Crawling out of the mouth is a blood red beetle about half the size of my palm. I quickly use Identify.
Corpse Driver Beetle, lvl 1. HP: 100%.
"Corpse Driver Beetle is its name, level 1." After I say that Timbre's growling gets louder and Thia makes a loud, for her, high pitched screeching sound. Then Thia releases her electrical discharge into the beetle. It dies from that alone. "That was anticlimactic. It only took one shot for Thia."
"Corpse Driver Beetles are week even for their level. This is because they use the bodies of higher level creatures to fight and then infest more bodies. They are very insidious. We need to tell the elders council as soon as possible. Something needs to be done about these things before they get out of hand and threaten Efftin."
I walk up to the Goblin's body and look at it. I don't see how it died, but I don't want to touch it either. I ask "How do the beetles kill their victims, I don't see anything on this Goblin?"
"They can take recently dead, so it could have died naturally. There is one other thing that it could be though. If there is a big enough infestation they will capture nearby creatures to bring back to the nest. The ones with bodies will restrain the creature and knock it unconscious. A newly hatched beetle is allowed to enter through the mouth and burrow into the brain. This kills the host and allows the new beetle to take over. From the low level of the beetle I think this one was new, and scouting for the nest."
Looking over to her after she tells me about these horrifying beetles, I can see the expression on her face. She is scared about what it means to find this thing here. To get her mind off it for now I say "Best that we get a move on then. I can see the sky lightening, so we should pack up and get out of here as soon as possible."
Packing up the camp, we head out as soon as there is enough light from the impending dawn to see by. As we travel I am thinking about the encounter we just had, and I need more power. The modifiers for the power of my spells seem to be my INT and the spell's level. Since I can't up my INT unless I increase my level, I'll have to work on the spell. Before I get started, I turn to Thia who is riding on Timbre again.
"Thia. Start practicing your spell on things as we travel. Fire off a couple and then wait for your mana to regenerate most of the way before doing it again. I want us to keep most of our mana in case we encounter another possessed creature."
Turning back to the path and dragging the shell, I start to fire off a couple Mana Bolts at a time, and then I wait for my mana to fill again. With my mana regeneration it takes less than a minute for my mana to replenish. Seeing this I can guess that my mana regeneration rate is higher than 20. Hopefully I can view that later when I can see more information from my status. Thinking of something, I turn to Azzaria and get her attention.
"I was wondering, is there a limit to how high your level can go?"
"Not that anyone knows. The higher the level you are the harder it is to increase it, and the stronger the creatures you have to fight to make progress. This means that it can get pretty dangerous, and many die in pursuit of getting stronger. A few do make it past level one hundred from what I have been told, but I never saw anyone that powerful. There are rumors though that after level 100 you can do something to get a fourth subclass."
Nodding to her I say "thanks for the information. I really am lucky to have ever met you." Then I practice my Mana Bolt again. I start firing off 5 or 6 at a time to practice rapid firing my spell. After a couple of hours of this I see that my message icon lit up. Excited about my progress, I check my messages.
Neutral Magic has reached lvl 2.
I keep pr
acticing and so does Thia. A few minutes later there is another message. The message is not for me though. It is about Thia. It appears that her spell, that is called Zapp, has leveled. up.
Your familiar's skill: Zapp has reached lvl 2.
Seeing the message gives me an idea. I don't think I ever tried to see if I can view Thia's status. Still dragging the shell with Azzaria, I turn to her once again "Can we stop for a minute and take a break. I would like to try something."
"Sure. What are you going to try?"
"I just realized that I never tried to view Thia's status and I don't want to be moving in case it works and it gets in the way." We stop and sit down. While Azzaria watches me, I think of viewing Thia's status and it works.
Familiar
Name
Thia
Race
Thunderbird
Level
1
HP: 40
MP: 150
STR
4
AGI
15
VIT
4
INT
15
WIS
12
Unspent SP: 0
Unspent TP: 0
Abilities
Familiar Bond tier 1
Skills
Zapp lvl 2
It was a stripped down version of my own status screen. Having succeeded once, I try it again on Timbre but nothing happens. "Azzaria. I can see Thia's status, but not Timbre's. Do you know why?"
"I don't know much about familiars so I can't tell you anything you don't already know. As for your beast companion, there are a number of fighter subclasses that deal with befriending or taming creatures so I know some. Beast companions are either subjugated or come willingly with a person so they handle their own status or it is automatic. As for why you can see Thia's, I can only assume that it is because you have a magical bond of some sort that isn't present in other companion types."
A Mage Prepared Page 7