Your Perception has risen to Level 18.
+2% Perception highlight chance (+36%).
+5% Awareness of magical items (+90%).
+10% Danger sense (+30%).
Your Exploration has risen to Level 6.
+10% Faster Map Drawing (+60%).
+3% Discoverable range (+18%).
Your Darkvision has risen to Level 6.
+2% Visual range in dim light (+12%).
+1% Visual range in no light (+6%).
With those markers in mind, Hal eventually touched down. He expected it to be a soft, feathery landing. As soon as his foot touched the hard ground, the shock of the landing after dangling for so long surprised him.
His knee buckled and he went into a forward tumble, scraping and bruising himself and getting wrapped up in the cocoon of thin flesh. Feeling the warm, pulsating skin against his cheek, he let out a thoroughly disgusted and terrified scream.
Unfortunately for Hal and his injured pride, he could tell several people were rushing up to him by the sounds of their footsteps. Before he could begin to extricate himself from the cocoon, he was cut free like some newborn baby.
Thankfully it was only his friends, but the looks on each of their faces spoke volumes.
I’m never going to live this down.
Just as Hal thought he was doing well to inspire faith in his leadership and ability to command, something like this happened. It was the ultimate humbling experience and the cherry on top was when Komachi slithered out of Elora’s arms and came to investigate.
In the dim bandlight, Hal could just make out the pobul’s fur turning a deep, nauseous shade of green. She scrunched up her little otter face at him, then looked at the wrinkled skin piled on the ground around him.
And she puked all over his feet.
Terrific.
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Thoroughly embarrassed and feeling more than a little weak, Hal had the presence of mind to dismiss his essence as Ashera and Mira helped him back to the caravan. He told them of what he saw up above and pulled out his [Explorer’s Map] to show them each point.
I need to make a habit of doing that again, under more controlled circumstances. His map was updated not only from the superior vantage point but also reflected those places his Perception had picked out.
Komachi groaned and rubbed her belly, casting baleful glances at Hal whenever she got the opportunity. At least she was no longer green.
It didn’t take them long to return to the caravan, hailed as heroes. In short order, the wagons were put back in their usual spots but tighter than usual to stay within the confines of the Manashields.
There was no shortage of volunteers that night for the watch. Few people were able to sleep after the events of the day. The camp was abuzz with everything that happened.
Hal spotted dozens of dwarves with wheelbarrows and shovels, scooping up the haul of crystals left behind by the shattered crystallized bodies of their fallen enemies.
Not until Hal was back in his wagon, cleaning off Komachi’s vomit from his shoe, did he realize how little falling from so high bothered him now.
All his life he was possessed of a fear of heights. Though the terror had crept back into his mind during the first few moments of the fall, it was manageable. He mastered the fear and shoved it back from whence it came.
A remarkable improvement, considering less than a month ago he would not have been able to think clearly enough to sort out a solution. Much less enact it in time.
The thought of change brought him back to the prompts upon the Manakeeper’s death. He had perk points and attunements to spend. Wiping off the last of Komachi’s rainbow-colored vomit, Hal went to clean his hands.
Elora, carrying a sleeping Komachi, entered with Angram close behind. One by one the wagon filled up once more. Hal’s head pounded dully behind his eyes as he splashed water onto his face from the small sink.
Ashera took one look at Hal and rushed over to him. She grabbed the sides of his face and yanked until his gaze met hers. “You are Toxicated,” she said.
Without another word, she rushed Hal over to his bunk, forced him to lie down, and began to order around those nearest the kitchen section of the wagon. Luda got up at once as did Angram, and together they helped Ashera to brew some tea under her guidance.
Hal tried to sit up but Ashera, exercising her superior strength, pushed him down with a single hand. “You do not understand,” she said, offering him the cup of hot tea. “Drink this.”
Figuring it couldn’t hurt to drink what smelled like peppermint tea, Hal brought the cup to his lips and sipped. There was a spicy, gingery flavor that accompanied it but it was good tea. Never one for herbal teas, Hal found himself liking this quite a lot.
You drink [Remedy Tea].
-10% Toxicity/hr.
-15% Strength.
-20% Dexterity.
A tremor shook Hal’s hand and Ashera took the cup from him. “Toxicity is not a joke, Hal. It can have long-lasting effects. What did it?”
“The Elixir,” Hal answered.
Ashera shook her head. “I was worried it might be too much.” She placed a hand on Hal’s shoulder. Rising, she handed him the cup again. “Small sips,” she instructed. “It should get rid of the effect soon. While you could probably tough it out, you will find that the effects linger long after the initial Toxication. They can linger for weeks, Hal. You must remember not to press yourself too hard.”
Taking away the cup, Hal started to reply but she raised a pale hand to forestall him. “I understand you may not have had much choice. I do not mean to lecture. I want to impress upon you the severity of Toxication, nothing more. You are well cared for now, and should suffer no lasting effects.”
With that, Ashera bid him goodnight and climbed up into her bunk. Luda pulled up a stool beside Hal’s bunk and sat next to it. When Hal looked at her she smiled softly at him, the freckles on her face seemed to catch the golden glow of the lamplight. “Do you mind the company?”
“No,” Hal said, shifting about to sit up in his bunk. “What’s up?”
Luda tilted her head to the side, a waterfall of wavy flame-colored hair spilled off to the side as she regarded him curiously. She cast a wary glance back at her attendants, getting ready to bed down for the night. They watched her but kept a respectful distance.
Dropping her voice, she asked, “How do you do it?”
“Do what?”
Her long billowing sleeves brushed Hal’s bunk as she motioned generally at him. “You nearly died, if what I hear is correct among the dwarves of the caravan. The koblins sing your praises even higher as some mystical savior that risks life and limb, always putting his valuable life on the line, for the sake of his friends and those he loves.”
That was hardly the way Hal saw it, but he didn’t see the point in arguing about it. “Your point?” he asked, instead.
“How do you do it?” she repeated. There was a fiery light in her bright blue eyes.
For a long moment, Hal sipped his tea and thought about what Luda was asking. It was clear to him that she wasn’t asking about the literal how. From what he knew of her, as an Oracle she was protected and coddled. Much as Elora, Ashera, and the Rangers had tried to do to him when he first arrived.
That was what she wanted to know. Luda wanted to know how he convinced those around him to risk his life. When that very life he risked belonged – technically – to more than just himself.
All he could do was shrug his shoulders and answer truthfully, “I didn’t give them much of an option.” He kept his voice low, so only Luda could hear. “I was very weak when I first came to Aldim. My life was considered more valuable than my ego and I was fiercely protected. But it became clear, largely through my own recklessness I’ll admit, that if I remained weak I could never stand on my own.”
Luda leaned back, fidgeting with her wide sleeves of moonlight silk. “Thank you.” It looked like she had something more to say but she just shook her
head, bid Hal good night, and went to her bunk.
Setting his cup on the stool Luda had left behind, Hal settled in to the bunk. The tea was having a deeply relaxing effect on him and it was getting harder to keep his eyes open. They drooped heavily despite his efforts to remain awake and eventually he gave up entirely.
As he drew the blanket over himself, he looked across the wagon to the opposite bunk. Mira’s purple eyes looked back at him, her mouth twisted up into a smirk. “I’m surprised you’re not wrapping yourself up with a flesh blanket,” she said with a snicker.
“Don’t speak of that,” Elora said, toweling off her face and leaping up into her bunk. “Komachi’s Chonk stat went down after she threw up you know. She was outputting a healing aura until you showed up and made her lose what was left of her Chonk.”
“You say that… like it’s my fault,” Hal said, struggling to talk around a jaw-creaking yawn.
“Maybe that’s not fair,” Elora conceded. “But poor Komachi.” Hal couldn’t see her, but from the way she practically cooed those three words, he could imagine she was cradling the small loaf-shaped thing in her arms.
Hal opened his mouth to respond but instead found himself slipping further and further away. Mira’s voice came to him from across a widening gulf that swallowed the tail end of her sentence. “You know, I wonder what other kinds of flesh….”
“Wake up,” said a familiar but strangely velvety smooth voice.
When Hal opened his eyes, he found himself lying on the ground. Only it wasn’t dirt or even the crystallized rock that made up much of the Mirrorlands.
He was among the stars. And Besal was standing next to him, hands clasped behind his back, waiting patiently.
Struggling to rid the cobwebs from his head, Hal got to his feet quickly and glanced around. This must be a dream, he thought. They were among the stars, distant constellations blinked across the heavens all around. The floor was solid though it was made of nothing that Hal could see. Nothing but dark emptiness all around.
Distant planets, swirling quasars, and multi-colored nebulae were spread across the vast scenery.
“Walk with me,” Besal said, his voice smoother and calmer than he ever remembered him being before.
“What do you want?” Hal asked, on guard for any of Besal’s tricks. Did this have something to do with his Strain Shock?
The man, whose eyes burned with blood-red light simply looked back at Hal and shook his head sadly. He was less substantial than Hal remembered him. While he had always somewhat thought of Besal’s appearance like Peter Pan’s shadow, this was the first time Besal actually looked as translucent as one.
“We need to speak,” Besal said. “There is much that concerns us both and I would prefer you to be informed instead of bumbling about in the dark as you are so fond of. Come.” At that, Besal turned and began walking away from him.
There was no choice left but to walk alongside him among the stars, as strange as it was. He knew it was a dream now, or something like a dream. It had that strange surreal quality where everything was believable despite the alienness of it.
“Well?” Hal prompted when they had walked side-by-side for a couple of minutes in silence.
“How much do you know about what a Beastborne truly is?” Besal asked.
Hal could only shrug. “Beyond the system prompts that I’ve gotten? Not much. Nobody seems to know a great deal about it. Aside from…” Hal motioned at Besal, who regarded him with a brief understanding nod. “It seems to be a powerful Fabled Class with amazing growth potential. Other than that? I only have what I’m told, which isn’t much.”
Besal nodded as if he expected that. As well he should, considering the two shared consciousness to some extent. Besal had intimated on more than one occasion that he could see all of Hal’s memories and thoughts. Clearly, he should have seen Hal’s answer coming a mile away.
“Allow me to shed some light on some of the finer points then,” Besal said with a dark chuckle. He turned his head to regard the stars around them. “Before you make an even bigger blunder and kill more than just your friends.”
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“Beastbornes of eld were far more symbiotic in their relationships,” Besal explained. “I regret that our… initial reactions were so combative. I truly did not think you were capable of wielding the power that it would take to keep us alive. I was merely acting in my own self-interest.”
It was Hal’s turn to chuckle darkly. “Obviously you were. And still are.”
Besal spread his arms wide, turning to face Hal and walking backward at the same time. “Guilty as charged. However, I have seen time and time again that you are capable of far more growth than your memories or past would dictate be possible. There is potential in you, but you squander it.”
Hal gave him a flat look.
“Part of that might be my fault,” Besal added. “I am willing to shoulder my portion of the blame. But I am not really so bad as you believe. I am really you, you know. I am your dark heart but I need not be your enemy, Hal. Our relationship could be more equitable.”
“And what do you get out of this?”
“Merely the chance to spread my wings-” Besal stretched out his black shadowy wings that stuck out of his shoulder blades to emphasize the point. “The thought of being bonded to you does not seem quite so repugnant to me as it once was.”
Hal took note of the cordial tone and the less-than-substantial form of Besal. In most interactions, Besal was combative and assertive. Constantly trying to take back control from Hal in some way.
This was perhaps the first time that Hal could think of that Besal didn’t immediately try to apply some leverage or gain an advantage. Part of him was still guarded, he didn’t think it would be wise to handle Besal any other way, but something about the Beast seemed different this time.
“You still doubt me,” Besal said, stopping and folding his wings behind his back. “I understand. I have been less than earnest with you. All I ask is that you think about it. Together, our powers would both be magnified. There is much we could do. Together.”
As Hal opened his mouth to respond, he found himself coming awake in his bunk back in the wagon. He remembered the conversation with Besal with crystal clarity. Unlike most dreams where the details grew fuzzier and less distinct with time, Hal found himself remembering crisp details long after he got out of bed and went to greet the morning sun.
It was unusual for him as of late to sleep throughout the night. Hal was surprised to find himself waking up to the first rays of morning, well past the golden light of dawn, after weeks of waking in the middle of the night with barely 4 hours of sleep.
Both his Toxication and Strain Shock had worn off overnight, leaving him feeling back to full strength as they gathered for breakfast. But he still kicked himself at wasting the [Elixir].
With the newfound flood of EXP, he should have waited longer to use that Level Up, instead of trying it immediately and impatiently reaching for an [Elixir]. It was an error he didn’t intend to repeat.
Though he was fatigued, in a lot of pain, and far from thinking clearly at the time, that wasn’t a good enough excuse. He had to get better at managing himself in this new world.
The caravan was on the move soon after. Hal sat in his bunk, going over the prompts and perk points he had to spend. Not to mention the glut of EXP he now had at his disposal.
Monster Attunements Available
Eldritch: 2
Fear Killer 0/5
Every attack has a 10% chance to inflict the Fear status affliction. Any creature under the effect of Fear takes 15% more damage from you.
Lv1: 10% Chance | 15% Damage Increase
Lv2: 15% Chance | 20% Damage Increase
Lv3: 20% Chance | 25% Damage Increase
Lv4: 25% Chance | 30% Damage Increase
Lv5: 35% Chance | 50% Damage Increase
Elder Prowess 3/5
Eldritch creatures are deeply attuned to the ebb and flow of man
a, making them unparalleled practitioners of the darkest magicks. All magic is 10% more potent.
Lv1: +10% Magic Potency
Lv2: +20% Magic Potency
Lv3: +30% Magic Potency
Lv4: +40% Magic Potency
Lv5: +50% Magic Potency
Naturally, he placed the final points into Elder Prowess. It took a lot of perk points to cap out but the benefits were massive. Even though he wasn’t using Splice at the moment, he could feel the thrum of power from his eldritch essence.
Hal placed a hand beneath the bunk where Vorax dozed. The rocking and swaying of the wagon made the mimic drowsy more often than not. Through their empathetic bond, he passed his approval of the mimic. In return, the mimic passed through his own approval of Hal.
Vorax considered Hal part of his family, even though the mimic understood that Hal was not –strictly speaking – a monster. What Hal could understand from the complex imagery the mimic imparted to him, was that the mimic did not hold that against Hal.
Rather, Vorax took the fact that Hal was only part monster as if it was a disability Hal couldn’t help. He wasn’t sure he was understanding Vorax correctly.
But it felt like Vorax thought of Hal much in the same way as a human might think of a child born with some kind of defect. A sense of loss, even pity at having less than a full life, but no less loved or accepted.
You have 1 Beast Magic Perk awaiting assignment.
Azure Lore 0/1
Reach into the very depths of Beast Magic, forming a sympathetic bond with your adversary. By touching a monster, you are able to understand your quarry that much better. Its weaknesses and fears, its strengths, and most importantly what it’ll do before it does it.
Convergence 1/5
Prerequisites: Lv.10 Beast Magic, Lv.10 Beastborne, Azure Fate, Deep Magic.
Beastborne Page 23