Greater Fey Regeneration: Regain 2 Health per second (120 per minute) (bonus increased after level 20).
Sidhe Sight: You now have a chance to see through Fae Glamours equal to your Perception Attribute plus 1% per level. If the Glamour’s creator is of a higher level, the chance is reduced by 1% per level of difference.
Skills of the Fae: Increase six Skills by 2 levels each (bonus increased after level 20).
Vigor of the Sidhe: Increase your Health by 25 per level (bonus increased after level 20).
More Perks are available at higher levels.
Most of the physical bonuses held little interest for him, even after their post-level 20 increases. Three perks interested him: Arcane Knowledge, Glamour, and Sidhe Sight. The first one would let him unlock a new Force, like, say, Soul Magic. He’d seen – and felt – what those spells could do. Glamours were also extremely powerful. Either choice could make a big difference. But he had so many spells already, including eight new spells he could choose from his current unlocked types of magic. After some thought, Hawke decided to go with Sidhe Sight. Added to his other senses, it would make it next to impossible to sneak up on him. If Desmond or a Fae assassin tried to play games with him, they would be in for a surprise.
Hawke spent four of his spell slots to get Major versions of his remaining go-to spells, and learned two new ones. There were so many choices open to him now that he had to spend a good hour just reading the list of available spells. He ended up picking up one Order and one Chaos spell. He had spent a lot of time and energy harmonizing the two forces inside him, so he might as well get some use out of them:
Shield of Order (Major)
Time to Cast: 10 seconds. Cooldown: 30 seconds. Cost: 100 Mana. Duration: 5 minutes. Range: Self. Effect: Creates a bubble of energy with a 20-foot radius that protects those inside from any incoming spell or ranged physical attack, reducing the damage from such attacks by 20 points per level, and dispelling non-damaging effects (Chance to Dispel: 2% per level).
Only one Shield-type spell can be active at a time.
Chaos Blessing (Major)
Time to Cast: 6 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute. Cost: 60 Mana. Duration: 30 seconds. Range: 100 feet. Effect: Creates a 50-foot radius Chaos zone around a targeted place or person. All friendly subjects in the area of effect gain a percentile bonus to any tasks and chances to resist against negative effects equal to the caster’s level. Enemies suffer the same percentile as a penalty to their own tasks and resistance chances.
Hawke would have to remove Shield of Light from his buff rotation, but even reinforced with Celestial and Order magic, that spell offered a protection of 12 per level, so it was a good trade, especially since Shield of Order would protect any allies nearby, not to mention the chance to dispel hostile magic. It was a good tanking spell, which still was his primary role in a party. Chaos Blessing was a good buff/debuff combo, and he’d experienced firsthand how devastating having bad luck could be.
Finally, he equipped his new shield:
Shield of Hades (Legendary Quality):
Level 29 Item (Minimum Level 24 to use)
Block Bonus: 41%.
Damage Absorption (Successful Block Only): Physical: 120, Elemental (All): 60, Forces (All): 60.
Damage Reduction (Successful Block Only): Physical: 80%, Elemental and Forces (All): 50%.
Durability: 500/500. Requires Shield Skill
Attribute Bonuses: +5 to all Attributes
Special Abilities:
Enhanced Bash: Striking with the shield inflicts Strength + 20-60 Physical damage and 60-180 Elemental (Death) damage.
Darkness Aura: Wielder can cause light levels to dim by 56% in a 30-foot radius.
Death Block: Any enemy who strikes the shield will suffer 140-560 Death damage.
He was going to miss the Lesser Shield of Order, but the Shield of Hades had it beat in bonuses and special effects. From the looks of it, he was going to be stuck with a Death motif when it came to his gear. That was okay. Being Lord of the Dead had helped him protect the living. He would just have to maintain a positive balance. With Saturnyx acting as the voice of reason, he would probably manage to keep it together.
Name: Hawke Lightseeker. Race: Half-Elf, Eternal. Classes: Twilight Templar, Monster Trainer, Mana Mystic. Level: 24(20)
Experience/Next Level: 100,736/120,000
Attributes (All Bonuses Included):
Strength 101, Dexterity 99, Constitution 131, Intelligence 78, Spirit 80, Perception 48, Willpower 68, Charisma 39
Characteristics (Regeneration):
Health: 2,115 (32/min)
Mana: 5,735 (62.6/min)
Endurance: 1,731 (32/min)
Identity: 26
Skills
Blacksmithing 6, Climbing 2, Detect Traps 3, Disarm Traps 7, Dodge 7, Lore 4, Riding 3, Shield 7, Spear 4, Stealth 5, Survival 3, Sword 9(24), Swimming 2, Tracking 3
Languages: Common Fey, Vulgate, Lesser Celestial
Perks
Aegis of the Fae, Dark Vision, Fae Stealth, Mana Adept, Mana Sight, Master of Mana, Sidhe Caster, Sidhe-Sight, Sidhe Speed Casting, Speed-Casting (Life and Light Magic), Spell Penetration, True Sight, Undying, Unlimited Potential
Known Elements, Forces, and Schools of Magic
Celestial, Chaos, Darkness, Death, Fire, Life, Light, Mind, Nature, Order, Twilight, Undeath
Spells
Animate Shadow, Armor of Life, Army of the Dead, Aura of Light, Blast Undead, Bless Crops, Blessing of Chaos, Bolt of Darkness, Bolt of Life, Bulwark of Light, Burning Light, Consecrated Ground, Chaos Funnel, Dark Tendrils, Deadly Roots, Death Cyclone, Death Stare, Enlightenment, Fireball, Gift of the Martyr, Growth, Hammer of Light, Hammer of Twilight, Healing Blows, Healing Wave, In Extremis, Indomitable Aura, Lesser Healing, Mass Blast Undead, Minor Death Curse, Nature’s Grip, Nature’s Guardian, Raise Dead, Sense Life, Send Thought, Shadow Leech, Shadow Step, Shield of Light, Shield of Order, Shroud of Darkness, Shroud of Twilight, Simple Spell Inscription, Song of Sorrow, Steal Life, Terror Gaze, Touch of Light, Transference, Twilight Mantle, Twilight Step.
Special Abilities
Alter Magic, Analyze Monster, Create Magical Trap, Disarm Magical Trap, Dispel Magic I, Dual-Casting, Enhanced Spell-Casting, Enhanced Channeling, Evolve Monster, Greater Bond, Greater Hidden Status, Identify Spell, Imbued Body, Leadership XI (Chosen Foe I, Command IV, Generalship III, Messenger I, Shared Magic I), Living Shadow, Mana Channeling IV, Node Mastery VIII (Advanced Node Travel, Create Node Guardian, Node Portal, Node Recall, Node Sight, Summon Node Guardian), Monster Pet (Level 16 Young Tarakken), Ritual Magic I, Seal Inscription I, Soul Rider, Spell Deconstruction, Spellcraft III, Stop Monster, Summon Monster, Tame Monster, Tantric Touch, Timeless Mind, Tulpa Creation II
Arcane Vocations
Blacksmith 4, Mining 5, Skinning 2, Steward 5.
Guild Powers (Level Four)
Guild Headquarters, Guild Quests, Guild Vault.
And that was that. Many of the improvements he had earned would not help him as long as he was in the Common Realm. As long as he stayed there, his Health, Mana and Endurance would be a lot lower:
Hawke Lightseeker (Half-Elf, Eternal)
Level 24(20) Paladin and Monster Handler
Health 1,695 Mana 5,063 Endurance 1,495
He didn’t mind. Even stuck at level 20, he was still pretty badass, and didn’t feel in much of a hurry to try his luck elsewhere. He had too much to do in his Domain.
“I know. And if I have to, I’ll go into the higher Realms. But I will come back as soon as I can. I won’t abandon what I’ve built.”
Forty
Leara entered the Stronghold of Serenity, and her smile wavered slightly.
“A Bastion of Order? Look at what you’ve done to the place!”
There had been some major changes in the place since Leara’s spy had visited. Gone were the deat
h-oriented architecture and decorations, replaced by neat structures of white marble with golden highlights. Instead of Undead minions, clockwork warriors patrolled the fortifications, along with members of the Sunset Legion, which was slowly being organized, using transfers from Orom’s Town Watch as cadre and growing through a slow trickle of volunteers. The Domain was growing too far and fast to rely on the town’s forces for protection.
The biggest change was not visible, however. Before Hawke had purified the Stronghold’s Core, the place had been inherently hostile to all living things. Everybody who entered was afflicted by feelings of oppression and even fear, and a sense of being watched by unfriendly eyes. The sentient Core hated the living, and hated Hawke most of all. Getting rid of it had been a pleasure. The new Core didn’t appear to be sentient, or if it was, it hadn’t done anything to show it. Maybe that was for the best.
“The whole necromancer thing was getting too depressing, so I changed it,” he told the Fae woman.
“Just like that. You snapped your fingers and changed the Stronghold’s affinity?”
Hawke shrugged. “It was a bit more complicated than that.”
“You’re an overachiever, Hawke Lightseeker. That’s a dangerous trait in the Realms. The powerful get nervous around your kind. You’re too unpredictable for their peace of mind. Many of them will want to make you go away.”
“They can try. Their track record hasn’t been very good so far.”
“That is true.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t bring Desmond along. How is he doing?”
“Quite well,” Leara said with a grin. “He was a good boy, so I rewarded him. Amply rewarded him. He is a bit worn out, however, so I let him rest and came here on my own.”
“That’s nice. Well, as promised, you have won the right to perform one alien autopsy. Let’s get going.”
Making small talk with a pureblooded Fae was risky. The conniving bastards could take an innocent statement and turn it into an obligation of some sort. On the other hand, Leara seemed honest enough about her warning, and she wasn’t wrong. Hawke’s time in Akila had taught him that. As of his last meeting with the city’s authorities, he’d made a bunch of enemies.
The good will he’d generated by stopping the Event threatening the city hadn’t lasted long. Getting the enslaved Eternals out of the city had cost him a good deal of money and burned off a lot favors and Reputation. He’d gotten zero traction in getting any ‘active duty’ Nerf Herders released, although after talking to the prisoners, he figured almost all of them deserved whatever they got. Even the ones who’d enlisted through trickery or coercion had done many heinous things. There were maybe three or four that might be salvageable, but freeing them would require going to war with Akila, and he wasn’t prepared to do that.
Artos and Glorificus had managed to escape arrest, and Hawke had helped them. The pair had thrown themselves on his mercy after things settled down, and several of the enslaved crafters had spoken up for them. They had been no angels, but hadn’t abused anybody. Hawke smuggled them out of Akila inside his Inventory. The two ex-Nerf Herders would be on probation for a long while and would have to make amends and restitution for their misdeeds, but they’d have a better chance than the twenty-eight prisoners in the Imperial city, who were due to be tortured to death over the next six months or so.
That had been just one issue. There was also a faction of city officials that wanted Akila to annex the Sunset Valley. They didn’t have the ear of the City Prefect, but that might change down the line. He still had allies, of course: Clan Stern, most of the high priests, and the Council of the Wise. Hawke hoped that more trade between his Domain and Akila would convince everyone that they’d be better off as friendly neighbors than as enemies. Time would tell.
Hawke led the Fae woman to one of the lower rooms in the Silver Tower. He’d dusted off some of Greg’s old lab equipment and had it brought there: a metal table, surgical tools, extra lights. The room even had a drain and access to running water, in case things got messy.
“You won’t show me the holding place where you keep the specimens?”
“Nope. You get one body to examine, cut up, liquify, whatever. After you’re done, it will be destroyed. Then I will destroy the rest.”
“Will it be a body when it is extracted from confinement, or an aware Undead, ready to fight and kill?”
“Good question. I don’t know,” Hawke admitted.
He had discovered he could access the Stronghold Vault with his mind and deposit items from it anywhere inside the Stronghold, as long as he was within its boundaries, but he had no idea what would happen when he released one of the Revenants from stasis. Luckily, most of them were relatively low level, so he figured he and Leara should be able to handle a single critter if it got loose. Hard to examine it if they burned it to a crisp, though.
“Do you have a way to contain it?” he asked Leara.
All his spells dealing with the Undead were designed to destroy – or create – them. Taking them prisoner didn’t seem like a popular option.
“I will need to make and empower a circle,” she said. “I swear it will only keep the Undead inside it from leaving it, and will do nothing else. I will also dispel it after the examination is finished.”
Hawke had been planning on demanding an oath like that. He nodded. “Very well. Do it.”
The Fae concentrated and a circle of light appeared on the floor around the autopsy table. Mystical sigils and writing in Old Fey formed themselves around the circle. It was an Inscription seal, but Leara could make them out of pure Mana instead of having to paint or carve them in place. He watched her as she worked:
Congratulations! You have learned two new Seal Inscription Formulae: Containment Circle and Magical Inscription.
Both of those tricks would really come in handy. Hawke kept a grin off his face; Leara wouldn’t be happy to know she’d unknowingly taught him a couple of new tricks. He figured she would try to demand some sort of payment. He waited until she gave him the all-clear to summon the Revenant into the circle. He picked the first one he had seen in the Necromancer’s Vault:
Elwynn Alfair (Fae, Undead)
Level 10 Unseelie Revenant
Health 365 Mana 370 Endurance n/a
The slender figure on the table was wrapped in bandages. Hawke noticed the wrappings were covered in mystical writings, and some of them looked like the ones on the circle. Magical bindings, then. The Undead wasn’t moving, so they must still be at work.
“Well, there he is,” he told Leara.
“You didn’t mention that the specimen would be swathed in Inscribed cloth. I can’t see much through the coverings.”
“And I guess entering the circle is a no-go?”
She frowned but walked into the circle, which remained undisturbed. “I will cut the dressings now,” she said, producing a mithril dagger. “Doing so will release the monster, but I should be able to handle it.”
“Be careful.”
Leara snorted. “This creature hardly has the power to be a threat.”
Sawing through the magical bindings took longer than either of them had expected. The cloth bandages were made of some material that would work well as armor, and probably was used for that purpose; he made a note to have someone with Arcane Weaving examine the discarded wrappings. She kept cutting, careful not to let the edge or point touch the body beneath. She wanted an intact specimen to examine.
She got a lot more than she’d bargained for.
The Revenant moved with shocking speed. One moment, Leara was cutting the last layer of bandages. The next, a pale hand had wrapped its long, slender fingers around her throat. An aura of Undeath energy covered the two figures inside the circle. Leara screamed.
Elwynn Alfair (Fae, Undead)
Level 16 Unseelie Revenant
Health 596 Mana 540 Endurance n/a
It’s gaining levels!
.
Hawke fired off a Hammer of Light at the glowing figure that was now sitting on the table and lifting Leara with one hand. The enhanced spell inflicted more than enough power to disintegrate its head and upper torso; what remained fell apart into dust a moment later, like a vampire in a tanning booth. Leara collapsed on the ground, convulsing for several seconds. Hawke stepped into the circle and tried to heal her, but detected no Health damage.
Recovering, Leara gestured at Hawke to step away, which he did.
“Dung-eater!” she screamed in Common Fey, kicking the dust pile that was all that remained of the monster. “Abomination! Filth!”
“Laryn couldn’t do that,” Hawke said. “Or I’d be dead.”
“Laryn was an early experiment. A weakling that Gregory Ballantine felt he could release into the Realms to see what it was capable of. I thought the others would be like him. I was wrong.”
Her eyes were literally glowing red with anger. Hawke’s Sidhe Sight was able to pierce the illusion around her and for a couple of seconds he saw what the lay beneath the flesh she wore as a disguise. The real Leara was an energy being, made of Mana and something else, some force that didn’t follow the same rules as Mana or regular magic. That was all he saw before she regained control of herself and the Glamour became impenetrable again. He also briefly spotted a glowing symbol over her stat box: a laughing mask. She was still working for the Demiurge of Chaos.
“I have learned what I needed to learn,” she said, regaining her composure, although her usual mocking smile was nowhere to be seen. “Even if I paid a higher price than I expected.”
“Did that thing steal six levels from you?”
“Not at all. Just enough power to bolster himself by six levels.”
Did I save her life?
Guilds at War: The LitRPG Saga Continues Page 30