The third was coming out. Time was speeding up but Dave didn’t have time to restring his bow. He sent a stream of fire at the oncoming creature.
It cried out with the heat but kept rushing forward. Dave needed armor; he needed a damn spear. He could picture it in his mind: he could feel the wood in his hand, the metal spike at the end.
Just a meter away, the third Karr’s Health hit twenty percent and it started to run away.
Dave wasn’t having any of it. Feeling a headache from lack of Mana coming on, he continued and turned the lizard to charred meat.
Without thinking, he threw his arm. His eyes widened as a javelin of grey smoke pierced the lizard.
The first Karr with the arrow in its mouth gave up on trying to get rid of the obstruction in its mouth. It smacked Dave’s left leg, making him cry out in pain. He felt it break. Either he killed the Karr now or he’d be stuck on the ground, fighting it.
Dave yelled and fell on the Karr like he’d seen in some wrestling TV show.
He kicked the Karr’s mouth shut, driving his arrow still in the Karr’s mouth, through its palate and into its brain.
The last Karr was charging. Dave imagined a lance, hoping he was right. A lance of grey smoke appeared in his hand; the Karr didn’t have time to react as it impaled itself on the grey lance.
He put his foot down; finding that it was broken, he yelled and fell back onto the ground.
He activated Touch without thinking about it. Instead of focusing outward, his pain-racked mind turned it inward.
He felt the wrongness of his leg; he could see how it had broken. The Karr had only swiped it, but it was a strong beast, used to killing level 30 animals by tearing out their throats with their mouths and claws.
With his low level, it had pulverized the bones in his legs.
This shouldn’t hurt this much! He held his leg and he looked away. It was at an odd angle.
Dave passed out in pain.
***
Bob stepped out from his spot behind a bush, wearing the face of Bobby McMahnon, a gnome with a large nose and thick unibrow.
He walked over to Dave.
“Well, look at you, you little conjurer you. We’re going to have a lot of fun.” Bob leaned over, touching his hand to Dave’s head, and instilled the knowledge of healing and Shadow Conjurer into his mind.
***
Gold light emanated from Dave’s body. He felt the bones moving into position. The pain was terrible as they got into place, the muscles and tendons pulling it together. There was no pain quite like having two broken bones ground together. Dave thought it similar to nails on a chalkboard, but inside his body and connected to nerves.
The light died away. The bone was set but Dave was out of energy. He laid back, still holding his leg, pain still there.
He looked up and saw a gnome. “Who the hell are you?” Dave asked.
“I’m Bobby McMahnon, but you can call me Bob, or the grey god,”
Dave stared at the gnome in confusion.
“We’ll get to it later—lots of time to talk and figure out the secrets of Emerilia. Right now, I don’t have much time. I can’t hide myself from that Elf for too long.” Bob looked out into the forest.
“Where the hell did you come from?” Dave asked.
“Later, later. For now, get stronger. When it’s safe again, I’ll find you. You shouldn’t tell anyone about me—you know, other than the fact that you’d sound crazy. I don’t want the other administrators finding out about this.”
“Administrators? There are more like you?”
“Well there are AI to keep most things running and keep a watch over Emerilia. For the most part I control them, though I am part of the great Jukal Empire. They’re a pretty paranoid bunch so there are a number of people that check my actions and the actions of the AI’s over at random times. It makes this whole sneaking about much more entertaining,” Bob smiled.
“Are you a Player?” Dave asked, wondering if he was getting trolled badly.
“No, I’m the creator and manager. Anyway, back to the point on hand. I’ve given you a gift. If you’re willing to have it,” Bob said.
“What?” Dave asked.
“First is a healing spell—going to need that out in the big ole world. The second is what you just used. Shadow Conjurer. If you can imagine it, then you can create it, kind of.The more you know of what you want to make, the vloser your conjurations will be to the real thing..”
“So I can conjure anything that I can think of?” Dave asked.
“Yes, as long as you understand it completely. The better you know a weapon, the less Mana you need to put into it to create it, which is still going to be a lot,” Bob said.
“That sounds a bit time consuming. If I wanted to have a weapon, I would have to study it again and again until I could understand it completely and use it.”
“Might even need an adventure to go find some cool weapons.” Bob winked before he looked to the forest again. “We’ll talk again later—have fun!” Bob stepped back toward the bush and activated Stealth.
Dave didn’t have the Mana to use Touch, though he doubted he would have found the gnome even if he did. He laid back down, his notification bar taking his attention.
Stat Increase
+1 Vitality
+1 Strength
+1 Intelligence
+1 Agility
Level 7
You have reached level 7; you have 20 stat points to use.
New Spell: Healing
Broken bones, cuts, and bruises are a natural part of Emerilia. With this, you can put yourself back together instead of relying on your Endurance. Might be time to invest in some Vitality, dude. You’re not in a beginner area anymore!
Effect: 15pts/s to Health.
Cost: 10 Mana/s
Affinity: Light 5, Dark 5, Earth 5
He stared at the Affinity levels. The healing spells he’d heard about dealt with Light and Dark, or Light and Earth—not all three.
New Spell: Shadow Conjuring
Effect: Create items infused with Mana
Cost: Dependent
Affinity: Dependent
“Weird ass game,” Dave growled. He was at 60 Health and his leg was barely set. He needed to bond the bones back together. He wasn’t sure how to do it; his Mana regenerated while he’d been checking his notifications and he poured all of it into his leg.
He lay back, drained as his notification bar blinked in the corner. He left it alone, using Touch of the Land. His range had grown again: it seemed as if he not only felt the land around him but now he could understand things in the water and the air around him. It seemed to flow out of him like a breath, farther and farther, for half a kilometer in every direction. He didn’t just sense the ground and the things upon it. He sensed the moisture in the air, the plants and life in the water and ground. The life and death of everything around him. It was as if his senses had opened up, an unknown door flying open to stretch across all things.
He sensed the object under his hill. A pattern was imbued into its surface. It seemed to be like the mirror that he held in his pack still and there was something odd from the outside. There was an entrance, or a hatch of some kind. Buried beneath the hill, but it was there.
The pain had eased away from his leg, but the phantom of it still remained. “Well, nothing to do but try it out.” Dave put pressure on his leg. It seemed to hold as he stood.
He got to his feet and moved toward the Karrs. His stomach rumbled, reminding him of why he’d come down to the river.
“Waste not, want not.” He cut the creatures open and gutted them, throwing the unwanted bits into the river.
He filled up his canteens with water, grabbed the Karrs, and headed back to his home.
Three more racks were made, and the big lizards hung from them.
Humming, he moved to the kiln; he put a solid log in and channeled fire into it. Soon the log caught fire.
Dave put a pot on top of
the kiln, pouring water in and putting a selection of herbs, roots, and other items he’d nibbled on. He took out the elk, cutting it up into small chunks and put it in the pot.
He sensed someone on the edge of his range. He felt a resonance within them; they were a magic user of a type. They moved cautiously toward his hill. He pulled out his bow and quiver, laying them down and making it look as though he were inspecting them before sharpening his thin blade.
More people moved toward the hill. Dave had no doubts about where they were headed. Through Touch of Land, he could make out their bodies, their dense muscles and facial features, the armor that they wore, and the weapons they carried.
He could’ve created a drawing of their faces. There were five Dwarves. Another creature entered his purview. It was not like the Dwarves.
Although the Dwarves walked as if they were beating the ground into submission, the other person danced across the ground as though it were ice.
Elf, he gathered.
He looked into the pot and put in more water and ingredients, cutting up more elk.
The Dwarves wore a good number of weapons—so did the Elf—but they walked in a loose group. If they were going to attack him, he’d expect them to group together more. Still, he kept his knife equipped as well as his bow and quiver.
As he waited, he checked his character sheet and Affinity levels.
Character Sheet
Name:
David Grahslagg
Gender:
Male
Level:
3
Class:
-
Race:
Human/Dwarf
Alignment:
-
Unspent points: 20
Health:
1200
Regen:
0.20 /s
Mana:
220
Regen:
1.00 /s
Stamina:
200
Regen:
1.15 /s
Vitality:
12
Endurance:
10
Intelligence:
22
Willpower:
20
Strength:
20
Agility:
23
Affinity levels
Dark
16
Light
15
Air
13
Water
13
Earth
15
Fire
13
He tasted his stew as the group slowed. Dave could feel the changes in the air around them. They were talking among themselves, trying to figure out how to approach.
“Are ya Dwarves or a bunch of ninnies?” Dave raised his voice, carrying over to the six people.
The Elf moved forward; the others followed, coming out of the forest, and looked at Dave, who was tasting his stew.
He tried to sound confident; he didn’t want to appear weak. “Come on, don’t just stand there. Take a seat. I’ve got some elk stew going. Don’t know how it’s going to be, honestly, but well, better than rations.” Dave smiled at the agreeing grunts from the Dwarves. The Elf took a seat.
Dave stopped himself from sighing loudly. He turned to the stew before he turned back to the group. The Elf was studying him with a close eye. He returned the favor.
She was beautiful, a kind of ethereal beauty that could take a man’s breath away and make him doubt himself. She had deep-brown chestnut hair pulled back in a braid, green eyes and pale skin, with the trademark pointed ears.
Dave had seen a lot of beautiful women as Zane. He was more interested in her skills.
Deia
Half-Elf
Level 65
“I’m Lox, leader of this here warband. That’s Gurren, Joko, Max, and Tounk.” He pointed out the Dwarves. Each of them stuck their shields into the ground. They looked like massive kites, an embossed center with its bottom tapering down to two points that the Dwarves used to stick them into the ground. That allowed the Dwarves to grab them quickly, or stick them into the ground to stabilize themselves against an enemy.
Their armor was the same dark metal as their shields. It was heavy duty and made them look like armored tanks.
Joko was a woman, but you wouldn’t be able to tell with her formidable beard and scars. Dave put it down to his Dwarven side that he knew that she was actually a she.
The Dwarves grunted or nodded, looking severe as they wandered off with an axe.
“So, what brings you around these parts?” Dave asked.
“Well, we are looking to found a trading outpost here. We were making our final reports when you showed up,” Lox said.
“Oh?” Dave tried to sound nonchalant as his hand moved closer to his blade.
“Don’t worry, halfling. We won’t take your homestead from you. You claimed it and are building a fine home,” Lox said.
“So why meet with me?” Dave asked.
“Thought it best to know who our neighbor is going to be. We are also interested in how you are making your home. We’re Dwarves, not Elves. We build from stone. Yet there is little around and you have still been able to create a home.”
“What about Elven homes?” Dave looked at Deia. If there was one, there was probably more.
“Elven homes take decades to build properly. They are grown from trees and imbued with magic. We have been looking into other options for building homes, though your method seems quick and possibly good for our use,” Deia said.
Lox sat against his shield and started to pull off his armor. “Also, because you can use Touch of the Land,” Lox said.
“Hmm?” Dave squinted, curious.
“You can use Touch of the Land. It’s a rare skill to have and something that Dwarves try to cultivate. We’re not sure how a halfling like you was able to cultivate it, but you’re rather powerful with it,” Lox said.
“You can sense my Touch of the Land?” Dave asked.
“Yes. Only masters of Earth can cast it without it alerting others who have a high enough Affinity for Earth,” Lox said.
“Okay, so what do you want me to do? Find you ore veins?”
“No. We would want to teach you and understand you better. It is Fend, my master and lord under the Mithsia Mountains, who is interested in you.”
There was a cracking as the tree, aided with three pushing Dwarves, crashed down, hitting two other trees.
Dave winced at the damage as Deia closed her eyes in exasperation.
The Dwarves started to hack the branches off with their swords and single axe.
Quest: Way of the Land
Lox, leader of a Dwarven warband, comes with an offer from his lord. Will you learn the way of the Dwarves and unlock the secrets of the earth around you and your own abilities?
Y/N
“What would this cost me?” Dave asked.
“Nothing. We wish to teach you more and come to understand you.” Lox looked offended.
“To the Dwarves, cultivating a skill such as Touch of the Land is a great honor. Knowing the ground more is like knowing their gods more. Their livelihoods are attached to it and they become closer to the ground that they adore with every person who is able to see into its depths,” Deia supplied.
“Ah, thanks.” Dave looked upwards. He could feel the growing rain. “Do you have any cloaks? You could string them up, make a sheltered area around the fire. It’s going to start raining heavier soon.” Dave looked to Lox and Deia.
They both seemed wary of him, but they’d been forthright with him. He felt that there was another reason that the lord under Mithsia Mountains wanted to teach him more about his Touch of the Land, but Dave was perfectly fine figuring it out on his own.
Deia pulled out what looked like a hammock made from waterproof material. They worked to make a shelter, Lox helping after some time. The other Dwarves came back; they put down their log that they’d turned into a seat and strun
g up their simple shelters using their shields and sticks.
Dave shared out the meal and the Dwarves seemed to lighten up. Deia kept on studying him. He had a feeling she was the reason that he’d felt as if he were being watched for the last couple of days.
“So, what is a group of Dwarves and an Elf doing fighting together? Thought races didn’t work that well together?”
“Well, this ain’t no simple ‘group’ Dwarven Shield Bearers are grouped into five, making a Warband. As for why we brought ole Deia along. Well, our people have been trading with one another for years now. After some time, we kind of combined our military forces. With our combined strength, we’re looking on opening new trade routes,” Lox said. He was clearly the leader of the Warband by the way the others looked at him.
“So, why are you wandering around the forest?”
“Without the travelers of other areas, we have to look to keeping the creatures down with our own forces. Some say that there was supposed to be a village here, but then it was never formed in the fires of Jukal.” Lox sighed.
Dave used Analyze on them, finding that they were all over level 50. Naturally NPCs barely made it above 10 unless they were in the military or guards. In a low-level area like Omal, guards were only level 30 or so. With the buffs that they received in cities, they were closer to 55, only conjuring higher levels if they were attacked by travelers.
Having natural level 50 roving patrols, Dave didn’t want to know what their buffs were like in their homes.
“So, the aim is now to create a road from Mithsia and Kufo’tel to Omal to increase trade,” Joko said.
“And this location here?”
“Well, caravans are going to need a place to rest in between and our population needs some room to grow into. This is at the edge of our borders and is a good defensable position,” Lox said.
The Trapped Mind Project (Emerilia Book 1) Page 10