by Ryan Rimmel
“What in the actual hell man?” shrieked Shart. “I am not to be used as a projectile.”
“You were the only demon for the job,” I stated, calmly.
Looking back towards the forest, I could already tell that the pursuing bandits were getting close. The birds were taking flight from their perches, and I swore I heard the beating of hooves on dusty ground.
“Badgelor, quit playing with your food. We are out of here,” I called out. He was small and cute again. At least, he would have been cute, if not for the fact that he was rolling around in his opponents’ entrails, like a dog in a junkyard. He snorted and walked toward me, dripping the blood and guts of the poor outlaws he had savaged.
He was going to want to ride on me.
Chapter 39: Durg
With the bandits so close, I didn’t have much time.
I quickly grabbed the shortswords of the two fallen bandits that I fought, realizing belatedly that one was still alive, though very hurt. I left him. I had serious moral compunctions about killing humans, normally. Killing a stunned, half unconscious man was a step too far, even if it would have been a mercy kill.
When I’d killed the bandits in the forest, I was mostly high on fury. I was dealing out retribution for what they’d done to the refugees. That ire had cooled somewhat, perhaps because my hand was frozen. It could just as easily have been the fact that we were standing in enough blood and guts to make a horror movie’s props department ecstatic. Badgelor’s victims were particularly gruesome, considering all their insides were on the outside.
“Badgelor, we’re leaving,” I called out, cutting the final pouch from the last bandit free. It wasn’t the easiest of tasks to do one-handed, but I had a frozen debuff on my left hand. Moving my fingers was nearly impossible. I could feel panic creeping in as I tried to maneuver my frozen appendage. I hadn’t totally come to terms with my missing fingers, yet. Now, I might have two ruined hands. I didn’t know how frostbite damage might work on Ordinal. What I did know was that my fingers were VERY frozen. I could easily lose them. I was beginning to experience dizziness and nausea, when, suddenly, the debuff ended. The color returned to my fingers. Within moments, I had full movement of my hand again. It was like a switch had been flipped, granting me total use of at least one hand again.
The bridge was approximately 15 feet wide, large enough for two carts to pass side by side. On either side was a massive series of wooden trestles, designed to support the bridge both from above and below. There were three points of contact under the bridge. The first was nearly 200 logs out. The second was square in the middle of the bridge. The last was at the far end of the other side of the bridge. From my limited understanding of engineering, I didn’t see how it was possible for the bridge to function correctly, even with Shart’s assurance of magic.
You have learned of the skill Engineering. You are unskilled. When you really want to screw up brilliantly, call an engineer.
I started running over the bridge as fast as my feet could carry me. My Stamina bar began to decrease. I had the Sprint skill - everything here had a skill - and, while I hadn’t trained it to lofty heights, it was enough to give a +25% sprint speed. Coupled with my already significant physical assets, it made me downright Olympic-like in my running.
That didn’t help much when the arrows started launching.
“Three archers,” stated Shart, looking behind us. “And a man on horseback.”
“Crap,” I grunted, as the arrows began falling, “Going serpentine!”
The bridge wasn’t wide enough to zig or zag very far, and it provided absolutely no cover. The bridge was obviously built to allow a small number of defenders to do exactly what those archers were doing, with an entirely clear line of sight down the entire bridge.
At the halfway mark, I called to Shart, “Is the horse getting any closer?”
“I don’t think so,” replied Shart.
Sparing a glance backward, I saw why. That horse was a plow horse. While it was faster than a normal human, it was built for endurance, not speed. Also, I had cleared far more distance than I had expected to. The halfway point of the bridge was nearly 350 logs from the archers. They had actually stopped shooting, as I was now out of range.
Glancing at my Stamina bar, I slowed down. If one of them wanted to come my way for a visit, I’d be happy to oblige him. Sure enough, a massive man began crossing the bridge. Using Lore, I examined my target.
Durg: Man-at-Arms: Level 12
HP: 180/180
Stamina: 250/250
Mana: 40/40
Perk: Savage Wound
Perk: Unlimited Parry
Perk: Titan’s Fist
Skill: Two Handed Swords: Journeyman
Skills: Parry: Journeyman
Skills: Heavy Armor: Journeyman
A Man-at-Arms is a Warrior subclass that is a capable Warrior in all areas. A Man-at-Arm’s strength is his versatility. He might not be as potent a leader as a Knight, or as skilled at fighting an individual as a Duelist, but he is capable of doing both.
As Durg was closing, he drew a gigantic two handed sword from his sheath and held it in a single humongous fist. He was an enormous man, at least seven feet tall, wearing what looked like plate armor. His mount seemed to be a poor quality war horse that appeared totally non-pulsed by the ride.
Chuckling, I grabbed my staff and charged it up for an icicle shot. I could shoot at him three or four times, before he’d close with me. By then, my victory would be a forgone conclusion. I took aim and released the first shot at his chest.
He whipped his sword around and shattered the icicle against his blade.
“Run,” advised Shart, loudly.
I tried again. Durg was still around 70 logs away. The icicle flew true, but, again, he swatted it aside with his sword.
At 40 logs away, I aimed for his horse. Durg somehow parried that, as well, twisting his body half over the saddle and smashing the spell out of the air.
“How is he doing that?” I called.
“His Parry skill is probably Journeyman. They can do that,” said Shart. “Journeyman skills get powerful buffs.”
“Oh no,” I said, turning and reactivating the Sprint skill. That was a new problem. I had levels and lots of skills. However, because of the nature of my gift, I’d not really specialized or trained in what I had. I was completely outmatched. That seemed to be the very definition of a “bad thing”.
Combat skills offered a small bump to attacks and damage throughout the level, but the real benefits seemed to activate whenever you jumped skill ranks. I was an Initiate with swords and had the perk Sword Master, but he was a Journeyman. Each earlier rank of Sword had given me a small, but useful, bonus. I was less likely to drop my sword accidentally, and I could draw it faster. However, I had nothing that allowed me to parry a spell out of the air.
That guy has at least three Journeyman skills.
I started running again, Badgelor and Shart bobbing along on my shoulders. Now that he was closer, we were in trouble. Suddenly, I heard the hooves of the horse begin to thunder. Yes, we do indeed have a problem.
“Hey, his horse has a Sprint mode,” stated Badgelor, as I pivoted around. The horse had previously been keeping pace with me. Now, it was running considerably faster than I was. Durg had his blade held at the ready. I was his only target.
I knew that I didn’t want to get hit by that sword, but the bridge wasn’t wide enough for me to move myself entirely out of the way. Durg was using his mount to corral me into an even tighter space. That, coupled with the very large and very sharp sword swinging around, was going to make escaping unscathed a challenge.
He swung his blade and I dodged. This was my first attempt at dodging a Journeyman-skilled Swordsman. I was going to go on record as saying it was not fun. I had Initiate in the Dodge skill, so I wasn’t totally out of my depth. Typically, I relied on Dodging, Parrying, and Blocking; I was quickly realizing that those under-trained skills were not enough
for every single enemy I would encounter. I really needed to train the skills I had to higher levels.
I weighed my options. Parrying a two-handed sword with a shortsword was not possible. I had no shield. I did have my bracer, but using it seemed to be an off-handed way to pull a Cloud City Luke Skywalker.
I half flipped over the sword before Durg managed to get it repositioned to swing, again. I had barely recovered my balance, when the blade slashed into my shoulder. Badgelor made a deafening screeching noise, kicking at my head with his back paws to avoid being hit. I was knocked back down to the ground. I unceremoniously landed on Badgelor, who managed to keep his front claws firmly imbedded down to my Scapula. His fur was caked in my blood, but he seemed fairly unharmed. The little bastard.
My Iron Will perk was the only reason I got back up. Blood fountained out of my 22 point wound. I had over 300 hit points, which seemed like quite a bit, until it wasn’t. I also had a bleed effect for another 20 points of Damage. That was a passing scratch, compared to the hurt that sword was going to cause me if Durg got too close again. Worst of all, my Defense didn’t seem to do anything to lessen the effects of the strike.
You were hit with a two-handed sword for 22 points of Damage. Base 27 - 5 Mitigate. 4 Additional points converted. Injury Reduced from Severed Limb to Broken Bone.
I didn’t quite comprehend what I was reading, but I also didn’t have time to do a detailed review. What I thought I understood was that my Mitigate skill was the only reason I wasn’t missing an arm. That was more than a bit horrifying. It was high time to go, but Durg didn’t seem all that willing to let me go, peacefully.
“Where is my Wizard?” called out Durg. His voice caused the nearby cliffs to shake.
“I defeated her,” I answered. This caused the warrior to chuckle, as he positioned his horse between me and the path to safety.
“Unlikely, worm,” he replied. “I am Durg, master of these woods. All who enter here are mine. You have taken from me what is mine. How do you plan on repaying me?”
“Do you take installments?” I asked. He chuckled and began moving his horse forward.
“I could take your arms first,” he stated, moving towards me threateningly. I had only one option. I grabbed Shart.
“No! No, this isn’t going to work twice!” he called out, as I flung him at the Man-at-Arms. The shot was perfect, again. Shart was the size of a non-aerodynamic basketball, so I didn’t truly understand how I’d gotten so good at flinging him around. The noises he made were a satisfying bonus, though.
Durg casually swatted my invisible familiar out of the air and kept walking toward me. He had very considerately used the flat side of his blade to change Shart’s trajectory, so at least the demon wasn’t hurt. Shart went flying off to the side, smashing against the trestles of the bridge with an audible smack. The horse whinnied loudly.
“You have an invisible attack, do you?” questioned the Man-at-Arms, “I have the perk, Unlimited Parry. I can deflect even invisible objects. Is that how you took out my Wizard?”
“Hate...you... so... much,” Shart moaned. He was up against the trestles, kind of half floating down and half sliding down to the bridge’s road. Durg strode closer, weapon held high. Then, I saw my opening.
Pointing my staff at his horse’s hooves, I activated it. The small portion of the ground where the horse walked immediately froze. The horse became unbalanced, but not before Durg swung his blade. With one powerful blow, my magical staff was circumcised. I dashed past, grabbed my demon, and climbed up the trestle that Shart had just struck.
In moments, I was just high enough that Durg was going to have trouble reaching me. I continued running down the frame of the bridge, toward safety. Durg bellowed, turning his horse. The abrupt movement caused the animal to slip on the still frozen patch. Both horse and rider toppled to the ground.
I was gone. I ran down the remaining section of the bridge as the Journeyman yelled obscenities at me. His voice grew more faint, until, finally, I could no longer hear him.
Chapter 40: The Long Highway
“And pull,” called Shart. I pulled, and my arm cracked back into place. Self-setting bones was not for the faint of heart.
“Here,” stated Badgelor, handing me a double pawful of healing root. They weren’t hard to find with a nose like his, and this part of the road was full of them. I started chewing. This was a simple fracture. Now that it was treated, I’d fully recover in a few hours. With the healing root, I’d be good to go in about one.
I held out my staff and Shart inspected it. “Took the head right off.”
“I feel like less of a man without it,” I replied.
“Well, no one is going to take you seriously holding that thing, now,” stated Shart.
I tossed the magical staff aside. It had gone from an instrument of death to an ugly stick more quickly than I could have imagined.
Of course, it wasn’t all bad. Now that my arm was set, I decided to review my prompts. After my magical duel with the Wizard, I’d leveled up my Mage class.
Level Up, Mage 2
You have gained one perk. Please select it from the Mage menu.
Your Hit Point Total is increased by 10. Your Mana is increased by 10.
I was searching for the Second School perk, but it was locked behind Twin Casting. Given that all I could do was defend at this point, I had no choice but to take Twin Casting. It would ensure that I was capable of learning a new spell later.
My right hand burned for a moment, before I received another prompt.
Your right hand is crippled. You will be unable to cast spells with your right hand until it is healed.
I had cast spells with my right hand, though. I reviewed my only spell, Break Wind, and found that it was classified as a simple spell.
“Shart, I have a quick question.”
“That I highly doubt,” the demon grumbled. “All your questions always lead to other questions and often give me a headache. Because you are a dummy.”
“My prompt says I can’t cast spells with my right hand, but I have. I’ve successfully cast Break Wind with missing fingers.”
“So far, I have heard no question. Just declarative sentences,” Shart grumbled.
I rolled my eyes. “Why can I cast fart magic when the prompt says I can’t?”
“Simple spells can be cast without using your fingers. All spells require the caster to gather the energy for a spell in the palm. You can still do that, Stubby. Fingers are required to manipulate the energy in more complex or complicated spells. As you may have noticed, Bashara moved all ten of her glorious fingers into unusual patterns before she cast any spells at you”
“So...are you saying that even if I earn a Second School, I still won’t be able to cast anything but simple spells? I can’t cast anything but the easiest ones because I am missing fingers?”
“See. I told you. Your questions lead to further questions. Like, always. There are 3 levels of spells: simple spells, which are pretty farty, if you ask me, advanced spells, which require the use of one full complete hand to manipulate the magic, and complex spells, which require both hands and a lot of concentration to manipulate the magic.” When Shart had finished, he looked smugly at me. God, he loved showing off.
“Why didn’t you explain this earlier?” I asked.
“It seemed irrelevant. In case you hadn’t noticed, you are missing fingers.”
I really needed both middle fingers for comments like that.
I tried to erect a barrier with my right hand, using my thumb and two remaining fingers. It sort of appeared. It was an unusual size and shape. The color was a sickly, pee yellow, and it didn’t feel particularly strong. It was nothing but a cheap copy of the one I could make with my left hand. Hopefully, in a month or so, that would change. Just as soon as I got my fingers back.
In the meantime, I had access to the perk, Second School. I only needed to level Mage one more time, and I could actually learn some spells that were usef
ul! Of course, to do that, I needed my someone to fight. Speaking of...
“We probably need to do something with that Wizard,” I said.
“No need. She’ll suffocate soon enough,” replied Shart.
“We could pull her out and kill her,” stated Badgelor.
“Suffocate?” I asked, glancing at the demon.
“Yes. Aside from the vast mental trauma that being locked in an extradimensional space causes, there isn’t any life energy in there,” said Shart.
“Life energy?” I asked. ‘Is that like midichlorians?”
“Just what the fuck is a midichlorian?” Shart responded. “Is that another stupid, made-up Earth thing? It sounds like another stupid, made-up Earth thing.
“Yeah, we thought so, too,” I answered.
Badgelor frowned in thought, while Shart analyzed how to explain something to someone he deemed dumb. Finally, he settled for as basic an explanation as was possible. “There is just no way to sustain life in there. There is nothing to maintain survival.”
“Is there oxygen?” I asked.
“Do you mean life energy?” Shart countered.
“The stuff we breath. The stuff that keeps us alive,” I clarified.
“Life energy,” both my companions answered.
It was times like this that I was sure I went to hell when I died. Deciding not to continue this ridiculous debate, I changed course. “Badgelor was in there, and he was fine,” I said.