by R. A. Mejia
Novice Health Potion, Distilled
Novice Poison Potion, Distilled.
Novice Mana Potion (3)
Imperare Battle Axe
Imperare Long Sword
Imperare Shield
Imperare Chainmail shirt
Imperare Chainmail pants
Imperare Dagger (2)
Imperare leather armor set -shirt, pants, gloves, and boots
Worn Axe
Empty Waterskins (6)
After we discovered the destroyed kobold lair, we made sure to loot everything we could from dead soldiers. I tried to carry more, but just adding another chainmail shirt slowed me down with the weight. I guess I hit my encumbrance limit. It makes sense, in RPG games how much a character can carry is determined by their strength stat. When that limit is exceeded, they’re ‘encumbered.' Which means they move slowly and usually receive penalties to their other skills. An encumbered character would either need to sell their extra loot or drop the stuff that they don’t need. The encumbered penalty just wasn’t worth it.
Even though the armor I picked up from the Imperare soldiers is better than the basic cloth armor I’m wearing, I hesitate to equip it. When I tried it on after what we discovered at the kobold tunnels, I felt dirty. Like wearing it made me one of them, and I was a part of what they did to the tribe. We decided that we’d sell the armor and weapons when we could. However, that was before my primary weapon was destroyed. Guess I don’t have much choice but to choose one of the Imperare weapons unless I want to fight bare-handed. I take a closer look at each weapon.
Imperare Battle Axe
The battle axe is the warrior’s adaptation of the common wood chopping axe. In the hands of trained fighter, it is a weapon of intimidation and death.
Damage: 3-6 (slashing)
Durability: 12/20
Imperare Longsword
One of the most versatile weapons of the Imperare Empire. The longsword is capable of slashing and piercing a foe.
Damage: 4-7 (slashing/piercing)
Durability: 16/20
Imperare Shield
A medium sized round shield meant to deflect and absorb an enemy's blows. The shield is branded with the symbol of the Imperare Empire.
Defense: 12
Durability: 7/20
Imperare Dagger
A simple dagger. Used for carving meat, wood, or piercing an enemy.
Damage: 3-4 (Piercing)
Durability: 8/15
I consider my options. I’ve been trained to use a variety of weapons, but I don’t have skills for all the ones I have in my inventory. I pull up my [Status] screen to compare my skills to what weapons I have available to me.
Spear Mastery: Novice 7
Knife Mastery: Novice 2
Shield Mastery: Novice 6
Unarmed Combat: Novice 2
When I use a weapon I have a skill for, I deal bonus damage and am more likely to hit my foe. That doesn’t mean I can’t use the other weapons, I just won’t be as good with them or get the bonuses from the skills. I can also get new weapon skills just from practicing with them or being trained in their use. I learned the [Knife Mastery] skill after helping cut up meat and vegetables for dinner for several weeks.
Considering my options, I dismiss using the shield for the same reason I’m not using the Imperare armor. Useful, but it feels tainted somehow. I don’t think I’ll use the longsword, having no idea how to use it properly. I would likely end up cutting a finger off if I tried to imitate those guys from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. I could probably figure out a few moves with the battle axe since I’m used to using one to cut down trees. However, when I consider my unarmed combat skill, I remember how useful it was when I was fighting that assassin. I could use my hands and feet to attack. Also, things like throws and choke holds all count under the skill. Sure, I’m not going to do as much damage as when I’m using a weapon, but I’ll have more options. Plus I usually need to get in close to use my spellwriting during a fight anyways. Maybe I’ll become a spell-flinging monk. Dodging my enemies’ blows and using my righteous Kung Fu fighting to deal out justice and cast spells to devastating effect.
I’m still dreaming of shaving my head and getting some prayer beads when I hear a voice above me.
“Why are you humming ‘Kung Fu Fighting’?”
I look up and see Mary flying above me, still lit up by her [Light] spell.
“Oh, was I? I was just considering my options for weapons now that my spear is gone.”
“Don’t tell me you want to try to be the next Karate Kid or something?” She teases.
“Umm…maybe. But I was thinking more Bruce Lee or Jet Li. Combine unarmed combat with my spell writing.”
Mary flies closer to me and taps her chin with her index finger, considering what I’ve said. “I guess it can work. I don’t know if anyone has ever tried that particular combination of skills before, but if any weirdo can make it work, it’ll be you.”
“Uh, thanks? I think,” I tell her. Then looking around I remember that Mary was supposed to go get my kobold friend, I ask, “Hey, weren’t you meant to get Vrax? Weren’t you able to find him?”
Before Mary is able to answer me, I feel the sharp prick of a weapon at my back and hear a voice say “I am the Pumpkin King!”
I yell and jump, startled by both the voice behind me and the feel of the weapon at my back. I turn around and see my red scaled friend holding his sides laughing. “Yip, yip. I don’t know what a Pumpkin King is but Mary was right, it scares you good. You jump like a little kobold girl who sees her first spider.” He puts his stone dagger away but keeps laughing. I hear Mary giggling above me. After a moment I can’t help but smile at my friend's joke.
“Ok, so maybe it was a little funny. But in my defense, I’ve recently been chased by a monstrously sized Stone Bear and am understandably jumpy.”
“Sure, sure. You jumped so high I think I’ll start calling you the Kung Fu rabbit. You're not nearly big enough to be a panda,” Mary jokes.
“What is Kung Fu?” Vrax asks, a bit confused by the reference.
When I’m joking with Mary, I tend to forget that Vrax never spent any time on earth and doesn’t get any of the movie and pop culture references we make.
“Where I’m from, Kung Fu is a form of unarmed combat. Well, they use weapons too, but they’re best known for the amazing things they can do fighting without a weapon. They can bend steel with their bare hands and dodge any weapon or attack. They use powerful blows from their fists and feet to damage their enemies. Some even have special powers like the Kamehameha which blasts foes with an energy attack.”
“Hey, the Kamehameha is not Kung Fu. That’s a move from Dragon Ball Z.” Mary interjects.
Turning from Vrax, I address Mary, “It is too Kung Fu. Goku learned the Kamehameha from Master Roshi who was a master of the turtle school of Kung Fu.”
Mary sticks out her tongue and responds, “Whatever, anime nerd.”
I puff out my chest and make my best anime hero voice. “That’s right. I’m a proud and loud one at that.”
Mary and I start to laugh, but Vrax just looks more confused than ever.
“Sorry, buddy. All joking aside, Kung Fu is a way to fight without weapons. I already have the unarmed combat skill so I thought I’d try to combine it with my spellwriting. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll probably use the axe I have. At least until I can get another spear.”
At the last explanation, Vrax nods his head and says, “Oh, that makes sense. Can I learn Kung Fu too?”
“Yeah, but you have to call him Sifu,” Mary interjects with a smile.
I roll my eyes at the troublesome fairy and tell Vrax, “Don’t listen to Mary. You don’t have to call me anything. I’ll be happy to teach you anything I know about fighting unarmed. Rex showed me all the practical stuff I know, and we can figure out the rest together.”
“Yip, Yip. Ok, Show me!”
“What, now?” I ask.
/> “Yes. You have something better to do now that you’re awake?” Vrax answers.
The kobold makes a good point. That bear made a pretty compelling wake up call.
I look around the forest and the sky and estimate it’s only a couple of hours till daybreak. Vrax and I both have [Darkvision], so we’re ok practicing in the dark. So, I start to show Vrax the basics of unarmed combat. I start him off with the horse stance. A basic martial arts stance that promotes balance and is the foundation of many martial arts moves. I have him squat slightly, move his feet shoulder length apart, arch his back, pull his shoulders back, and put his arms to his side with his fists cocked back ready to punch.
Mary watches us with a crinkled nose and asks, “Is he supposed to look like he’s using an invisible squatty potty?”
I ignore the sassy fairy and face Vrax. I take the same stance, and we practice punching. Left punch, right punch, left punch, right punch. I also show Vrax the various ways he can block and deflect attacks with his arms and move so that the force of a blow is lessened.
I then show Vrax how to transition from the horse stance to a more effective fighting stance. Moving my left foot forward, I bring my left fist up about eye level ready to deflect attacks. My right fist moves down to about chest level, ready to strike out. My right foot steps behind my left, ready to propel my body forward. I show Vrax several combinations of punches and kicks that can be executed from this position. Once Vrax has a handle on most of these combinations we spar. He’s a lot quicker than I am and is able to dodge many of my attacks. I land a roundhouse kick on Vrax and while he’s able to block it with both arms, he’s still pushed back. Before my foot comes down, Vrax has already recovered and speeds forward to land a punch to my stomach. I double over in pain, my breath knocked out of me. I hold up my hand to pause the sparring.
“You OK brood brother?” Vrax asks as he lowers his fists.
Still wheezing a little I gasp, “Yeah. Just fine. I think that’ll be all for the day.”
Once I’ve recovered my breath I sit down, covered in sweat and tell Vrax, “You picked that up really quickly.”
Vrax sits next to me and responds, “Yip. Kobolds are good fighters.”
Yeah, sure. Kobolds are good fighters. It probably doesn’t hurt that he’s a level higher than me.
Checking my notifications, I see that my [Unarmed Combat] skill went up to novice 3.
I pull up Vrax’s stats on the [Companion] screen.
Vrax
Level 5
Health 68
Stamina 89 / 105
Mana 37
Strength 12
Dexterity 25
Constitution 16
Intelligence 15
Wisdom 7
Charisma 8
Defense: 13
Damage: 2-3 (Unarmed)
Well, that explains how Vrax is so good at unarmed fighting. His dexterity is at twenty-five, I must look like a newborn baby giraffe compared to him with my dexterity at seventeen. Pulling up my [Status] screen I see that unarmed, my fists hit for 4-5 damage. My higher strength score likely adds a bonus to my [Unarmed Combat] damage and my dexterity must have some effect on my chances of landing a blow.
Oh well, no point in complaining about what I can’t change. I decide that we might as well get back on the road towards Valse.
Chapter 1.3
We’ve been traveling by foot for a little over a week, following the trail of the soldiers that have taken some of the citizens of Restrian and the remnants of the kobold tribe. The trail led to a major roadway south of Restrian that heads to the border city of Valse. It lies within the Imperare Empire’s territory and according to Mary, serves as a major trading point for their raids into other countries. The Empire attacks villages, takes prisoners and anything else they can carry and brings it all back to Valse. From there, people and items are sold and auctioned off to merchants who transport their goods across the Empire. By goods, I mean people. Slaves.
Back on earth, there are still some isolated incidents of slavery. For the most part, though, it’s been outlawed. That hasn’t always been the case though. For much of its history slavery of some type was widespread on earth. Whether slaves were spoils of war or a means of creating a cheap permanent labor force, the practice existed for a long time.
However, to my sensibilities, it is abhorrent. I know that I’ve only been on Terra a few months, but I still don’t understand some things about it. How could any society create a forced labor system based on taking away the freedom of another living, thinking, feeling, being? Sure, I admit that I’m personally invested in the issue. People I know have been taken and may be on the auction block as I watch the city. That doesn’t make asking the question of ‘how this all started’ any less worth considering.
While I think about the larger social issues at play here, Vrax and Mary have been carefully watching the city of Valse from some nearby hills.
“From what I can see, there’s a pretty steady flow of traffic in and out of the city. Unfortunately, they’re all humans. Anyone that’s not human is chained up or collared. Imperare soldiers are constantly on patrol outside the city watching for trouble. I don’t know if we’ll all be able to get into the city,” Mary reports.
Vrax’s tail begins thrashing, and he murmurs, “The tribe’s in there? We must get in and get them. Can’t let them be slaves again. Bad, bad, bad.”
I place a calming hand on my kobold friend’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’ll save them. We’ll save them and make the people that killed our tribesmen pay.”
Mary looks at me worriedly. “I know you want to take revenge on the people that hurt you, Armon, but I don’t see how it’s possible. We don’t know who ordered the attack or who participated. We’re going to be lucky just to get back some of the people they took. Don’t you think we should focus on that?”
I nod complacently. I haven’t told Mary or Vrax about the notification I got after I promised to take revenge on the people that destroyed the Red Claw Tribe.
The gods are watching you and have accepted your promise. If you fail to fulfill your promise you forfeit your life. Have a nice day.
Recalling the serious consequences promised by the notification inspire me to look into the exact details of my promise. I remember getting quests before and I figure there must be a system in place to keep track of that information. It turns out it is as simple as thinking ‘Quests’ to access the correct information. The [Quests] panel shows both the quests I have active, and the quests that I’ve completed. When I check, I only have two active quests.
Rescue the Restrians
The Imperare Empire has conquered Restrian and taken some of its citizens as slaves. You’ve promised to rescue them from slavery.
Reward: 30 XP
Rage against the Murderers
The kobolds that adopted you, the Red Claw Tribe, have been massacred. You’ve promised to discover who is responsible for this brutal attack and make them pay.
Rewards: 50 XP. Because of a promise made to the gods, failure to complete this quest will result in the forfeiture of your life.
I recall making both of the promises mentioned in the quest descriptions. Guess it’s just another example of how seriously the world of Terra takes pledges and oaths. I’d never considered the consequences of making a pledge to the gods though.
Not that I need more motivation to deal justice to the people that would hurt a group that adopted me as a member of their tribe. When I think about what they did, the destroyed homes, the murdered kobolds, the crushed kobold eggs. A deep burning anger fills me up. It feels like if I don’t do something soon that anger is going to devour me.
“Owww.” A voice squeaks.
I come out of my reverie and see that I’ve been squeezing Vrax’s shoulder so hard that a few of his scales have popped off.
“I’m sorry Vrax. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I was just thinking of what the Imperare soldiers did.”
He no
ds in understanding. An angry glint coming into his eyes. “Yes, we promised to make them pay. But we need to rescue the tribe members still alive first. Take care of the living first.”
I nod at the wise words. I unclench my fist, and the anger subsides to a simmer. Vrax is right. Take care of the living, then take revenge for the dead.
Chapter 1.4
I take one last look at the city before we move back from the small hill overlooking it and start to plan how we’ll get in. The city of Valse is at least five times as large as Restrian with a twenty-foot tall wall made from dried mud bricks. Soldiers patrol the walls with bows strung ready to shoot any aggressors. The thin forest nearby has been cleared away for three hundred yards all around the city.