by Ryan Rimmel
“Nah,” smiled Julia, laying back down closer to me, her head nearly resting on my lap. “Most people don’t know how slowly an Acolyte recovers Mana. They just think I’m an expert rank or something.”
“That’s a bit close, don’t you think?” I asked, and Julia grinned.
“You are supposed to be my fiancé. Little things like this keep people from asking questions,” she yawned. “Besides, it's nice and warm, and I get tired after lunch.”
She went to sleep right there, using me for shade and a fold in the tarp for a blanket. I used the time to check on Windfall. Nothing had changed. I talked to Shart, and nothing had changed. I contacted Badgelor, but he was gruff with me. I decided to leave him alone.
So overland travel really doesn’t agree with him.
I looked down at Julia, who was still sleeping, and tried to come up with a plan. After we summoned Shart back, I needed to level back up to 60 and arm myself appropriately. I carved another baseball bat, but I would need something like the greatest baseball bat ever made to kill Charles. I was about to ask Shart about magical weapons when Badgelor finally responded.
“What do you need?” he huffed. At any range, I could usually point toward Badgelor. This time, he seemed to be everywhere and nowhere. I couldn’t tell how far away he was. I brought up my map to confirm, but he didn’t show up there, either.
“Just checking in on you,” I replied.
“Well, I’m busy. Try again later,” growled the badger and cut me off.
I paused. Badgelor cut me off. Part of me was mildly upset that I’d been dismissed so quickly. Then again, if Badgelor could cut me off, I could cut Badgelor off. Or, better still, I could cut off other annoying observers. I didn’t mind Shart as much anymore, but the lack of privacy was an issue. I mean, sometimes you had to do your business. Nothing was less enjoyable while on the squatty potty than a demon screaming in your ear.
Every single time.
“Shart, I can’t track Badgelor on my map,” I stated.
“I don’t know why you’d want to anyway,” Shart responded. I sighed. They really were like squabbling siblings. Shart harrumphed before continuing, “At this range, I wouldn’t expect you to be able to track him. Badgelor just left Windfall. Without your ring, your maximum range is ten stupid Earth miles. Badgelor is nowhere near that close.”
“Could I make another ring of Mental Bonds?” I asked. That ring had expanded my range by 50%, and I was kind of upset that I’d lost it.
“You’d need a pretty high-quality ring, some crystals, and some herbs for the ink,” replied Shart.
I pulled out a ring ornamented with an elaborate gemstone. “This is of good quality. I have crystals in my dimensional storage, and I can find the herbs.”
“You need to get into your dimensional storage,” stated Shart.
“I’m guessing there is a Clerical spell for that?” I asked.
“You get it at level 8,” replied the demon.
“Well, then, I’d better get started,” I said, scratching symbols into the ring. Rune Crafting was calming, and, since I already knew the runes it was easy to get them scratched into the ring. I watched for caravan-related prompts while scratching the marks, but it was a lazy day. I’d already assigned everything.
The stretch of road was quiet and peaceful. As I finished the last mark, I yawned. Looking down at Julia, who was peacefully snuggled up against my leg, I stretched out. Looking up at the sky, I felt more relaxed than I had in days.
I dozed off, vividly imagining the hundred ways I wanted to kill Charles.
Chapter 20 – Once Again into the Breach
I snorted awake at the sound of two men fighting. Julia was glaring at me. As she got up, she hissed, “You are a terrible bodyguard.”
“Hush,” I said, moving to the front of the wagon. Cole was yelling up at RonJared, who had his head sticking out the open window at the front of the cabin. It was kind of a funny scene, more so with me hanging off the roof trying to eavesdrop. Given the volume of their voices, it was not a hard task.
“We can’t go around saving everyone,” yelled RonJared, blocking the oxen from moving forward.
“We have been coming to this town for years. I’m not going to sit by while they plunder it,” replied Cole.
That was none of my business. I rolled back up, looked at Julia, and swore inwardly. She was glaring at the two arguing men. Then, she shifted to look at me with her devil eyes.
“There are bandits, yes, actual bandits, ransacking the town. It was supposed to be our next stop,” stated Julia. “Cole wants to fight them off. RonJared wants to slink away like a coward.”
“RonJared doesn’t want to risk his men. That's the smart thing to do,” I stated, standing to get a better look in the village. I could easily make out twenty or so bandits attacking the villagers. “If we go in, our people will get killed. We shouldn’t risk it.”
“We shouldn’t risk it?” growled Julia. “People are dying! We are adventurers! Saving people is the sort of thing adventurers do.”
● Quest: Save the town of Imola. Bandits have beset the town of Imola. You must save the town! Will you accept?
I selected “No,” before turning to Julia. “I’m not risking it, either. I have something important to do, and I’m not going to go off half-cocked on every quest offered to me.”
Julia glared at me. “I thought better of you than this. I even got you a weapon.” She gestured to where a poor-quality longsword sat.
“You can’t save everyone,” I said, leaning back.
“We could save these people,” replied Julia. I felt a trickle of shame at that, but only a trickle. I remembered golden hair falling into nothingness.
Cole pleaded for another moment. People were dying, and they were doing nothing. Julia glared at me. I focused on keeping my body loose. I zoned out. I was done playing hero. When I played hero, people died.
Julia inhaled sharply and then started climbing down the wagon to talk to Cole and RonJared. I sat for a long moment, looking up at the stars. I can’t save everyone.
“Good,” stated Shart, “You got over your stupid heroic phase. We need to focus on what’s important, killing Charles.”
“Yes,” I said, letting Shart’s words convince me. Jim was over the stupid hero and he was retired. I was just going to look out for number one and focus on killing Charles. Turning my head, I watched the village for a long moment. My high Perception allowed me to hear the screams, see the fires, and watch those men destroy the little town.
Then, I saw a little girl running. She couldn’t have been more than six or seven years old. She was fleeing so fast that her golden hair, the tips tinged red, flew out behind her. Quickly gaining on her was a large man, carrying a bloody sword.
It wasn’t a conscious decision. Later, I couldn’t even remember how I got off the roof of the wagon. The next moment, I was flying in a red haze. I wasn’t as powerful as I had been in the dungeon, but it would be enough. I landed in a roll, coming to my feet more quickly, thanks to my enhanced Mobility.
At the last moment, the bandit noticed me. I executed a Hack and Slash on him. He parried the first strike and followed up with a counter on my second. I bent around the counterblow with my newfound agility, which left me with two more strikes. I delivered them to either side of his neck.
● Hack and Slash: Two successful hits, 54 Damage total, +20 Damage per second bleed effect for the next 14 seconds. Carotid Artery severed X 2.
His blood covered my whole face, as I dropped my poor-quality longsword. I picked up the bandit’s much higher quality weapon, while the man attempted to drink a healing potion. I snatched the potion from his hand and shoved it into my pouch, all while searching for a second target.
I quickly found one, as another bandit chased after a young man. The would-be victim was desperately trying to escape but was running out of options. His pursuer laughed heartily, right up until I attacked him. Driving my stolen sword through the unsuspectin
g bandit’s guts, he suddenly found himself nailed into a wooden post behind him.
● Thrust: Sneak Attack! Base Damage 35 X 3 for Sneak Attack! Target has suffered internal bleeding, 3 points per second. Severed spine effect, permanent paralysis from the waist down.
The second bandit began making some startling choking noises, as he struggled to get at his healing potion. I doubted it would have done much good. I stole the potion from him with my Quick Steal perk and picked up his sword. He must have dropped it from the force of being rammed into the post. The bandit attempted to pull himself loose, but I kicked the sword that skewered him. The weapon angled down, leaving him screaming. His body slumped over the sharp blade and stopped moving.
I found three more pillagers outside a nearby barn. They had forced the door shut and were trying to get the barn to burn with people trapped inside. I landed in the middle of them and executed a Cleave. All three men and five arms moved back. The sixth arm fell at my feet in another spray of blood.
Suddenly, an arrow slammed into my shoulder. As I turned around, two more caught me in the chest. Several bandits, armed with longbows, had found me when I was too enraged to notice them. A crack formed in my fury, as I suddenly took stock of the area around me. I remembered a long time ago, when goblins had seen me in a tree and shot me with arrows. They had nearly crippled me.
● Arrow: Damage base 33. Breakdown 25 Damage, 8 Piercing Damage, Defense Penetration: 8. Total Damage: 5
I hadn’t expected those arrows to do any Damage. A quick review of my logs showed that they were using Penetrating arrowheads, which ignored a certain amount of your Defense. I still had Mitigate, but Mitigate relied on your armor as much as your skill. I couldn’t Mitigate 8 points of Damage without heavier armor.
More arrows flew at me, but they were no longer an issue. Now that I was paying attention, my heightened Mobility reduced the Volley penalty I’d previously experienced to manageable levels. I Dodged the remainder of the arrows, until the bandits got fed up with my shenanigans. They tossed their bows and charged at me, trying to pen me in on all sides.
Cleave was still on cooldown, so, as they closed, I executed a Hack and Slash. At my current rank, I could manage five strikes. Each slash successfully landed, even as several of their strikes hit me in return.
One might question the decision to allow them to strike my person with their sharp swords, so I’ll explain.
The generic type of damage on Ordinal was just called Damage. You got it from falling a few feet or stubbing your toe. A sword, competently wielded, caused Damage and Slashing Damage, which was much more potent. A truly skilled fighter could cause Severing Damage, which was virtually guaranteed to cause a terrible wound.
When the bandits attacked me, most of their damage was just Damage. Some caused Slashing Damage, but only a minuscule amount. All my damage was Slashing Damage, except for the bits that were Severing Damage.
In short, point for point, my damage was far more serious than theirs.
● Bandit A suffers 19 points of Damage (17 Slashing, 2 Severing) Bandit A suffers a bleeding wound for 8 points a second for 6 seconds. Bandit A’s right hand is Severed.
● Bandit B suffers 18 points of Damage! Bandit B’s left hand is Severed.
● Bandit C suffers 20 points of Damage! Bandit C’s right hand is Severed.
● Bandit D suffers 19 points of Damage! Bandit D’s Right Shoulder is Crippled.
● Bandit E suffers 22 points of Damage! Bandit E is Blinded.
● You have suffered (5) 20 point attacks, taking 5 damage. 12 Slashing Damage - no additional effects.
All five bandits fell backward, screaming. By now, the rest of the posse had realized that something was very wrong. I didn’t know how many had invaded, but I’d broken them. The fact that I heard Cole and his soldiers charging into the village probably helped. I caught sight of Julia, blasting one of the bandits with a Holy Bolt. Some of the raiders were wise and simply fled. Others tried to escape while carrying various kinds of booty. That only served to slow them down.
One bandit was carrying a young woman across a bridge. I didn't want to consider what the bandit’s purpose for kidnapping was. Fortunately, I didn’t have to. I used Flash Steps to close the distance. Executing a Thrust, I jammed my blade through his spine. He laboriously wheezed in a gasp, leading me to assume I had punctured one of his lungs. As he fell forward, I reached for the woman. The man kept his grip, determined to carry on with his dastardly desires. We all fell from the bridge, plunging into the ice-cold water below.
● Level up, Cleric 7
● Your Hit Point total is increased by 10. Your Mana is increase by 10.
● Your Hit Points have increased, your maximum Hit Points are now 460
● You Mana has increased, your Maximum Mana is now 120.
● You have gained a perk!
The cold snapped me from my rage. All the fury simply flowed out of me, as the icy water lapped around my body. I pushed back to the surface. The young woman had already gotten herself untangled and was floating next to me. Her eyes held shock and wonder, as she gazed at my various injuries. She reached out her hand to touch me.
“Grebthar?”
Groaning inwardly, I ducked back under the water and swam for nearly a minute. While swimming in the frigid water, I distracted myself by checking my character sheet. It was a good thing I did. When I’d stupidly charged the bandits, my name had changed from O’Really to Jim, the mayor of Windfall.
Growling, I changed it back, before I resurfaced closer to the road. I had cast Renew on myself, so I was clean and fully healed by the time I emerged. I cast Endure Elements, which had the side effect of making the moisture clinging to me slosh away.
I activated Shadow Walker and slunk back to the wagon. Leaping back to my perch, I slumped down and found a spot to hide my new sword. I spent a few moments casting Mend on my garment and the hole I’d made in the tarp. The garment was already in such poor condition that it didn’t matter much. The tarp, on the other hand, looked fine. You couldn’t even tell I had hidden a stolen weapon within it.
I’ve got to stop doing this.
There was scrambling to my side, and I turned to see Julia climbing up the wagon. She stormed over to me, nearly tripping on the hidden sword. She tossed down the old sword she’d found for me, the one I’d used on the first bandit.
“The villagers are saying Grebthar appeared in the flesh and started killing bandits,” she said, glaring at me. “You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
“No,” I lied.
“So, it wasn’t you?” she asked, grabbing at my shirt. It was thankfully dry due to the spell I had cast.
“No, I’m not a hero anymore,” I replied.
“Tell that to the village. Whoever charged in there saved twenty people from being burned alive in a barn,” replied Julia. “The barn was ready to light. Cole couldn’t have gotten there fast enough to save them.”
I closed my eyes.
Julia said nothing for a long moment. “Fine, be that way. Just so you know, Grebthar’s heroics have caused at least thirty people from that village to ask to join our caravan.”
“Feck.”
You unimaginable, fucking imbecile. I heard the words in my head, but even I couldn’t tell if they were my own thoughts or Shart’s.
Chapter 21 – Room to Grow on the Open Road
● Caravan: Rank 2
● Vehicles: Grand Caravanner's Wagon (1/2)
● Population: 68
● You have gained a Rank in the Caravanner subskill. You may now apply a Caravan perk to the caravan!
● Perk selected: Improved Movement +10%. You will travel 10% faster.
“They will not all fit on the wagon,” I groaned, looking first at the new people coming with us and then at Julia. She frowned at me.
“Leave pilgrims?” she retorted hotly, looking at me like I was a bug. “We can make room.”
I glanced over to
RonJared, who shook his head. “They are going to have to walk. We can rotate them onto the wagon in shifts, but the people who LIVE on the wagon aren’t going to give up their slots.”
“We could just get another wagon,” stated Julia.
“I’m sure a random wagon is just going to love the idea of joining up with us and taking a bunch of strangers on board. Let me try,” I said, jumping to the top of the Caravanner’s Wagon. We were on the Silverado; there were a few decent-sized wagons nearby. My yelling was boosted by War Leader, so I could be heard at a 25% greater range than normal. “Hey, I’m a Caravanner! I need a second wagon for our trip to the Vineyards. We have a bunch of Pilgrims with us! Any takers?”
There was silence for a second. I looked down at Julia and shrugged, before someone yelled, “Is there a quest?”
I inhaled to begin my reply but cut myself off. I hadn’t checked.
There was silence for a second. I looked down at Julia and shrugged, before someone yelled, “Is there a quest?”
I inhaled to begin my reply but cut myself off. I hadn’t checked.
● Quest: Add a second wagon to your caravan, 100 Skill Points.
“Yes,” I replied lamely. We got four requests to join the caravan. Julia tried not to say, “I told you so.” I could read it in her eyes, though. She so loved being right. That fact seemed universal among women.
That left me with a choice as to which wagon to bring. RonJared threw up his hands. Even in a caravan, he only cared about his wagon, so I was free to make a choice for our second. The first candidate was a merchant’s wagon. He sold stuff. As I looked at him, I noticed a ping in my menus.
● Merchant’s Wagon: Expert Merchant will grant the caravan a +9% boost to the price of all goods sold.