Beastborne

by James T Callum

  As he began to point them out, more jumped out at him. By the time he had improved three construction sites, his Tactician had risen to Level 4. Just as he was finishing with his fourth site he was joined by Noth.

  Luda came by shortly to deliver the three men she spoke of, the father and two sons. The three of them were more than a little starstruck upon seeing Hal, earning him another Leadership Level when he greeted them by name and asked if they wouldn’t mind lending the dwarves their expertise.

  Their father, Gregor, more than happily accepted and so the two sons fell over each other trying to accept first before the other could. Gregor shared a look with Hal that said, “what can you do?” and shook his head as he went off to the eastern side of the entrance to help the dwarves there.

  Just as Noth arrived, Hal got another prompt.

  Your Leadership has risen to Level 28(33).

  +1% Party damage (+33%).

  +2% Leadership efficacy (+66%).

  Your Tactician has risen to Level 5.

  +1% Planning efficacy (+5%).

  +1% Ambush & Trap success (+5%).

  -0.5% CP cost of Building Schematics (-2.5%).

  +0.5% Building Schematic parameters (+2.5%).

  You have 1 Tactician Perk point awaiting assignment.

  Drawing Board 0/5

  By taking a Building Schematic and studying it, you are able to improve upon its design. The length of time taken to make improvements is based upon the difference in your Tactician Level and the Item Level of the Building Schematic. You can improve a Building Schematic a number of times equal to the Level of Drawing Board.

  Lv.1: +3% Building Schematic Parameters | -3% Building Schematic CP Cost.

  Lv.2: +6% Building Schematic Parameters | -6% Building Schematic CP Cost.

  Lv.3: +10% Building Schematic Parameters | -10% Building Schematic CP Cost.

  Lv.4: +15% Building Schematic Parameters | -15% Building Schematic CP Cost.

  Lv.5: +20% Building Schematic Parameters | -20% Building Schematic CP Cost.

  Cruel Machinations 0/5

  Trapmaking is a curious art, one which its creator rarely sees the fruits of their labor. By making modifications to the designs of traps you create or oversee, you increase the Critical Hit chance of each trap. Additionally, you gain a portion of the EXP that would have been gained if you slew the creature yourself.

  Lv.1: +5% Critical Hit chance | 10% EXP gained.

  Lv.2: +10% Critical Hit chance | 15% EXP gained.

  Lv.3: +15% Critical Hit chance | 20% EXP gained.

  Lv.4: +20% Critical Hit chance | 25% EXP gained.

  Lv.5: +30% Critical Hit chance | 30% EXP gained.

  While Drawing Board looks good, I don’t really have the time to spend poring over Building Schematics. And with the upcoming assault, there could be a lot of monsters killed with traps. Especially if I oversee their placement.

  Getting “free” EXP was never a bad thing in Hal’s eyes, so he picked up Cruel Machinations.

  With each Level of Tactician the buildings would be faster to get up and have improved stats as well. Now he could take off 7.5 CP from each of the Earthen Bulwarks. Not counting the five he already oversaw, that left 20 more to help set up.

  In doing so he would save a whopping 150 CP worth of work. Half of a full Earth Bulwark. And with the Founder’s Day buff going on, he was likely to get at least a few more Levels out of Tactician.

  “Everything okay here?” Noth asked him. “I thought you would be trying to make bricks. What are you doing?”

  “I’m trying to put my Tactician skill to as much use as possible while we have the Founder’s Day effect ongoing,” Hal said. “Already have it to Level five and with twenty more sites to visit I’m hoping to get it to ten.

  “Making the bricks might be useful but if I can cut down on the CP cost of every building, we could direct our construction efforts a lot more efficiently and in doing so actually have defenses in place by the time the Guild Mission timer counts down.”

  “That is something I wanted to speak to you about, Hal,” Luda said.

  Noth looked over at her, and Hal motioned for her to speak up.

  She shifted on the spot, suddenly under the scrutinizing gaze of several people. Athagan cleared his throat when she didn’t speak up immediately. “Ain’t getting’ any younger lass.”

  “My powers as an Oracle… we’ve discussed it a bit already but what I did with the Manashield? I can do that with various status effects as well. And… depending on what you plan to do with those bricks Noth was talking about, I may be able to help you with them. If not… I believe if I focused my efforts I could double if not triple the length of the Founder’s Day effect.”

  “But?” Hal asked. “There is always a but to something that good.”

  “But it would utterly consume my concentration for the number of days the effect is ongoing,” Luda said. “The sooner I start, the greater the difference I can make. I… I do not know if it will work but perhaps if you were to introduce me to the Manatree it might be receptive to my aid.”

  “And the only cost is that you will be indisposed while the rest of us get a huge boost to skill, experience, and a massive morale boost instead of an impending loss a few days before the attack?” Noth asked. She turned to Hal. “Hal, this is wonderful. Even if you could churn out bricks with Luda’s help, nothing will match extending the Founder’s Day effects even a single day.”

  “You’re right,” Hal agreed. Without that sudden 50% penalty to Morale and the subsequent cliff drop in CP and GP for crafting and gathering, things would be different. “This changes everything. Athagan, I’ll be back shortly.”

  Motioning to Luda and Noth to follow him, Hal took off at a brisk pace to the Manaseed. Things were finally starting to look up.

  88

  “How long do you think you can extend it?” Hal asked, stepping over a root.

  Luda shrugged her narrow shoulders. “Truly, I have no idea. It depends on the magic and its strength, relative to mine I think.”

  “It would be difficult to understate the effect of a single extra day,” Hal said as they went through a small copse of trees. The land sloped upward and in the sheltering boughs of the trees, it was even colder without the warmth of the sun on their skin.

  He was aware of the drop in temperature but it still didn’t bother him as he knew it should. “I have got to find the person Elora tasked with making more. These things are amazing,” Hal said, fiddling with the warm shard that dangled on a fine chain and came to rest above his brow.

  “They are very regal,” Luda said with a smile.

  Noth colored and looked away.

  “Thank you,” Hal said, as they climbed higher into the sloping forest.

  He was about to say something else when they emerged from the forest and his breath was stolen away. It was only recently that he planted his items and already the effect was surprising.

  Before them stood two half-formed Wortlings. Stranger still than their quick growth was their coloration. No longer black, they were clad in beautiful white bark that practically shone with inner light.

  They still looked fairly ugly though, something he doubted would be remedied by being fully formed. He suddenly had a pang of loss for Stumpy. As irrational as it was, he had come to like the creature.

  Of course, such a thing was impossible to reciprocate. It was like loving a toaster or some other inanimate object. And yet, he couldn’t help himself.

  The [Treant Seeds] he planted were already waist-high saplings, covered in the silvery-white bark. The [Treant Cutting] on the other hand was the size of a small apple tree with silvery-veined leaves of jade.

  As if emboldened by the growth around it, the Manaseed was only trumped in height by the [Treant Cutting]. But it now stood as tall as Hal’s shoulders and the man found an overwhelming sense of peace and love flow outward like a wind of emotion.

  It nearly knocked him over. “It is… beautiful,” Lu
da said, taking a step forward. “Do you hear it?” she asked, turning to Hal.

  “It’s… singing,” Noth said, her golden eyes suddenly misted with emotion. “Gods above, I’ve never heard anything so beautiful.”

  Is that what it was doing? Hal took a step forward, then another. The waves of emotion assaulted him. Silvery motes of mana danced in the air. He couldn’t hear the song but that didn’t matter.

  Because he could feel it. The unyielding love of a child to a parent flooded the glade where the Manaseed had been planted. It recognized Hal immediately and called to him in its wordless voice and Hal did everything he could to respond in kind.

  His breast swelled with pride as he saw the progress of the Manaseed after so short a time. His unasked question was answered by a swirl of silvery motes streaking around Luda.

  The girl giggled and gently reached out to touch one. It alighted on her fingertip and was absorbed into her. Luda’s crystalline-blue eyes went wide.

  “Do you both feel that too?” Hal asked, when he managed to speak around the lump in his throat.

  Noth placed a hand on Hal’s back. “I hear it… and it is so glorious that I wished we could sleep beside it.”

  Hal didn’t know what inspired him to speak out against the idea but he shook his head and knew his words were true even if he didn’t know why. “It is an infant yet, it needs space to grow and thrive. I would not risk it being influenced unduly.”

  At that moment he realized how gravely he had erred in leaving the Manatree unprotected. Not that he distrusted his Guild, but this was different. A person that managed to tap into the Manaseed would be able to hold great influence over it.

  Already Hal could feel the Manaseed latching onto… something within each of the three people in its glade. If they lingered too long, it would affect the Manaseed. Whether they willed it or no.

  “It needs to be protected,” Hal muttered, but it was loud enough for Noth who nodded at his side.

  “Can’t you tell the Manatree not to allow others?” she asked.

  “It can’t, not yet.”

  “Can we really spare anybody?” Luda asked, coming back from her trance.

  Hal knew that they couldn’t. But he knew of a way to keep an eye on the glade without having to take valuable workers from their tasks.

  It wouldn’t matter if the glade was secured if the entire valley was overrun and so he knew he would need to pay the keinse a visit with specific instructions.

  They could roost in the branches of the nearby trees, they wouldn’t like it, but Orrittam would smooth over any issues they had.

  It was the best he could do given the limitations placed on him. The keinse would be his eyes and ears to make sure that the glade stayed pure and without corrupting influence.

  He looked at the various creatures he planted and wondered if he was premature in the decision. Seeing their white and silvery bark, he didn’t think so. The Manaseed was affecting them, not the other way around.

  “Noth, we need to find any valuable seeds we have, fruiting trees and the sort if there are any and plant them here. I am almost certain the Manaseed quickens when there is nascent life nearby. Almost as if growing more life makes itself grow faster.”

  Taking a look at the Manaseed’s stats, he confirmed that it was growing at a prodigious pace. Whether it was because he tied it to the Settlement and the Settlement was having a boom of crafting and gathering or something else, the Manaseed was nearly Level 3 already.

  Manatree Type: Manaseed

  Guardian: Hal Williams

  Level: 2

  Experience Points: 2,400/2,650

  HP: 700/700

  It had gained nearly 1,000 EXP overnight.

  “I can get on that now if you think you’ll be here still?” she said.

  Hal’s answering nod was all she needed and the erstwhile Reaper disappeared back into the forest. Luda stepped up alongside him. “You have done something truly wonderful here, you do know that don’t you?”

  He couldn’t stop smiling. “I’m beginning to understand,” Hal agreed.

  “Let us retreat into the surrounding wood,” Luda said. “I can work my magic from afar now that the Manaseed has blessed me with its touch. So long as I’m within its range of influence, all will be well.”

  “You go, I will be just a moment.”

  With a demure bow, Luda took off back into the woods behind.

  The glade was warmer than everywhere else as if the cold threatening chill of winter didn’t touch this place. He knew without a doubt that it was the Manaseed’s influence. This place would be evergreen and flooded with life for so long as the Manaseed desired it.

  Hal could change that. If he wanted to, the land could become autumnal or wintry and sleepy. Here, the very elements could bend to his will and through the Manaseed all things would-

  Shaking his head, Hal put a stop to the errant thoughts. He loved the Manaseed and knew its heart as it knew his. His soul was joined with a Manaseed and though no Manatree would ever harm Hal, he vowed to return the favor.

  He would not wield the Manaseed for his own means. He dared to envision a world blanketed by the protective guardians. Where no Manastorms threatened the world and the colossal sentient trees could watch over all peoples and provide safety to all.

  Of course, that was an incredibly lofty goal. One that Hal couldn’t even begin to work toward while his Settlement was threatened. Orrittam was right, he had to focus on the immediate threat first.

  Gain a foothold and hold on with everything he had. But first, he had to attain it. And it was not going to be easily won.

  The closer Hal got to the Manaseed the stronger its sensations were. He finally reached the thing and knelt in front of it, placing a hand on the smooth silver-streaked pale bark. It felt like polished stone and held a faint heat just like any other living creature.

  He was happy here and he knew the Manaseed was happy for his company. It, however, was not an ordinary child. It did not need Hal’s guidance, though it would surely delight in taking it.

  There was something deeper that guided the Manatrees of the world. Something that connected them all to a common purpose. Something that, as a human, Hal wasn’t sure he could ever fully comprehend.

  Into the Manaseed he sent his love and his pride. He wanted it to know, without any doubt, that he loved it and would protect it until the very last flicker of life faded from his soul.

  The Manaseed responded in turn, promising it would always safeguard his soul. It would pluck him from the soulstream and bring him back for as many times as he wished it.

  For the Manaseed would see no lasting harm came to its most beloved father.

  89

  Luda smiled at Hal by way of greeting and together they returned to the caravan. There was no need for Luda to work her magic out in the cold. The least he could do was make sure that the girl was safe and comfortable as possible.

  “Thank you, Hal,” she said after some time of walking alone in silence. When Hal turned a questioning look her way, she elaborated, “For allowing me to join you in such a momentous undertaking. Carving out a life in the wild untamed lands of the Shiverglades?”

  She gave a delicate laugh at that. “I have seen more of the world than I could ever dream of. I wanted you to know how much I treasure what you have done. You could have turned us away. We were, after all, useless to you while traveling and even now… compared to the sturdy dwarves who can both craft and wage battle? I fear we are not doing enough to hold our own.”

  “Nonsense,” Hal said with a dismissive gesture. “You and your people are family. We all struggle for the same home, for the same ends. Don’t get bogged down in the details of who contributes more. While your people may not be warriors, while the others are defending our home your people can still be building and repairing.”

  “I will see that all hands are given over to the task,” Luda promised. “We will have a home here.”

  As they came
upon the circled wagons, Hal noticed the absence of the various karaks that were usually milling about.

  The pair made for Hal’s wagon, and as Hal had hoped, they saw Noth across the way just as she finished talking to one of the dwarves with his beard tied into complex interwoven patterns.

  Luda stepped up into the wagon and turned to face Hal. “I will require your assistance when I start,” she explained, bright spots of color crept up her cheeks. “I… do not wish to be forward.”

  She glanced fearfully across the camp at Noth and dropped her voice as if the woman could somehow hear her across the fifty-foot divide. “But I will require you hold my… hands as we undertake the linking. The Manaseed did bless me with its approval but your tie is infinitely stronger. If I am able to tap into and maintain even a fraction of the connection, I am sure I can help.”

  It was hard not to laugh. Luda was so very concerned. Hal shook his head and tried to paint on a calm accepting smile. “Don’t worry, Luda. I am not stranger to how magic works, please don’t trouble yourself. I’ll have a word with Noth and be in there shortly.”

  The girl was all too happy to oblige and she shut the door to the wagon behind her while Hal strode across the grassy expanse. Despite all the recent abuse, the grass was sturdy and strong showing no signs of dying. It was cold enough out that the grass should have been sere and brown.

  And with all the recent activity in the camp - or rather outpost as it technically was considered - the grass should have been replaced quickly by packed dirt or churned up mud.

  Noth finished speaking to the dwarf and was handed a satchel. She thanked him and he walked away as Noth turned to join Hal. “Excellent timing,” she said, holding up the burlap satchel. “There are quite a few seeds here. Are you busy? You could plant them now if you want. Several fruiting trees and rare stock the Boulderguts had planned to sell but decided to hold onto considering your aims.”

  “I need to help Luda with her thing first, why don’t you go plant the seeds? I’m sure by the time you’re done I will be too.”