by Arthur Stone
A high Measure of Order state was the aim of everyone, commoners and nobles alike. The more I pumped that stat, the more rewards would drop when I was victorious. Currently, I had no Measure of Order, but of course I wanted to begin to remedy that. The more and the sooner, the better. Only then would it make sense for me to advance to degree 1. That way, my boosted Measure of Order would compensate for any loss of rewards from the ORDER.
Alright, so as far as states go, Measure of Order and Chi Shadow are the priorities. However, I could not unlock or improve either at this time. All of this thinking was theoretical. Just something to remember for the future.
Talents, however, were something I had available to me now. Each attribute I unlocked allowed me to learn a single talent. With three attributes, and with Fishing Instinct already purchased, I had two left.
Treya had left me 12 different items and trophies, each with a variety of potential talents. Some were unavailable to me. All in all, 9 different talents were ready to activate.
Personal Talent Mark, Scent of Blood x15
Personal Talent Mark, Detect Poison x11
Personal Talent Mark, Detect Traps x14
Personal Talent Mark, Novice Jeweler x1
Personal Talent Mark, Novice Healer x1
Personal Talent Mark, Novice Stonecutter x2
Personal Talent Mark, Novice Carpenter x1
Personal Talent Mark, Novice Blacksmith x2
Personal Talent Mark, Fishing Instinct x8
Personal Talent Mark, Hand-to-Hand Combat x1
Talent Mark, Hand-to-Hand Combat x10
Talent Mark, Iron Skin x10
There were also many standard talent marks I could gain and boost by a decent amount.
Greater Standard Talent Mark x12 (+25 progress to any talent)
Standard Talent Mark x10 (+12 progress to any talent)
Lesser Standard Talent Mark x42 (+1 progress to any talent)
I was satisfied. Boosting a rank 1 talent from level 0 to level 10 cost 100 units. A rank 2 talent took 200 units for the same. I could clearly see that I had enough units in reserve.
Which talents should I choose?
Scent of Blood was something kotes used to detect injured fish and other animals. Detect Poison sounded more interesting, but I couldn’t think of anyone who might try to poison me. Detect Traps was also irrelevant. The Jeweler’s profession was a fine one, but not a priority in my situation. Same with Stonecutter, Carpenter, and Blacksmith. The local area had enough of these specialists already. No one would be interested in my novice abilities. I wouldn’t be able to progress beyond a novice level, either, due to the Degrees of Enlightenment prerequisites for further advancement. Activating a profession would be a waste of trophies.
Hand-to-Hand Combat was more tempting. Even at low ranks, it was a good ability. Beko had easily defeated me without breaking a sweat. Who wouldn’t want to be able to handle themselves better in a fight? How often did I find myself in hand-to-hand situations here, though? So far, never. It was a necessary acquisition, though. Mother had reserved ten units for it for a reason. She had often forced me into ridiculous sparring bouts with weaklings, hoping that the ORDER would condescend to give me this ability—an important one for nobles, apparently. Even the universally despised ghoul had it.
It was shameful not to have it.
But I could easily live with that shame for months. I had managed this far.
I prioritized the Healer talent. Quite useful for someone recovering from an illness. At lower levels, the skill could only heal minor wounds and scratches, but as it became stronger, the possibilities for its use would grow. People would pay huge sums of money to those with a high-level Healer skill. Those who could ameliorate chronic ailments and resuscitate many who were unable to be brought back by normal means. The strongest could even regenerate lost body parts. For all of its backwards character, local civilization had medical powers much stronger than those of Earth.
So I would take Healer. Even at low levels, it was a useful perk. Perhaps I would select not just one Healer branch but several. Each would need an attribute point, but spending them would be worth it.
Healer was not an easy talent to unlock from the start since it required developed Stamina. I had developed Stamina.
Just as I was about to activate my new talent, I saw something in my peripheral vision. The ORDER menu had a hidden place where special virtual trophies could end up.
I just assumed these were very rare cases, which only appeared in the most unique sets of circumstances. The powers that be, when they were faced with non-standard situations, acted in non-standard ways.
My non-standard situation was standing in the epicenter of an explosion fueled by the chi accumulated by generations of the Crow Clan. This stream, passing through me, changed not only my inner essence, but also did something with the amulet. Since it had been around my neck at that moment, the ORDER had considered the act worthy of a special reward.
Hidden Personal Talent Mark, Artificer: 1 unit. Activation requirements: 2 Perception levels, 2 Spirit levels. Additional requirement: initial activation costs 600 chi. Rank 1, level 1 costs 100 chi.
Unique talent. In order to develop the branches of this talent, you must reset your initial personal talent marks.
The first thing I realized was that this was no ordinary talent. It was a magic talent. Getting such a talent was extraordinarily lucky. Magical workers such as artificers never went hungry, not even in the most desperate times. I recalled how much money my mother had spent in order to recharge my abilities.
Once this talent was unlocked, could I recharge it myself? The ORDER’s policy on giving helpful information was to avoid such giving at all costs.
This wonderful discovery was, however, useless for the time being. I didn’t have the attributes I needed to activate the talent. They were locked, and I didn’t have the requisite chi, anyway. Activation and development of this talent cost a lot of chi. It was magical, after all.
There was a reason that chi symbols were also currency. Natives generally had no problems filling their personal reservoirs, but developing attributes and talents—and in some cases even using talents—cost additional chi. The only alternative to spending that chi took great lengths of time.
I finally set to doing what I had planned before my surprise discovery of the virtual personal talent mark. I used all ten chi symbols that were at my disposal. That added 120 units to my reservoir. 80 more lesser symbols brought this total to 200.
Now for talents.
I pumped Healer to 10, giving me access to the talent’s level 2 progress tree. The choices were limited, and I could only afford one option, as it was the only to require 2 Stamina levels and 1 Dexterity level. I didn’t have the prerequisites for any of the others.
But this one was fine with me. Cure Moderate Wounds allowed me to heal medium wounds and quickly stop any bleeding. My healing abilities were no longer limited to scratches.
Among diseases and other non-wound afflictions, I could only heal sores, runny noses, acne, and other little things. In order to handle any serious diseases, I would need to reset the talent and develop the appropriate branch.
Whenever that was possible. Whenever I acquired the necessary attributes. If I ever did. Simple talents, thankfully, did not need more starting marks. Once a simple talent was unlocked, all of its branches could be developed. As long as you stayed within the quantity limit, you could make whatever choices you wanted.
I was done with talents. I could unlock another, yes, but I decided to do that another day. With the chi I had remaining, my new talent would be quite weak.
Dinner was still quite far away.
What would I do with myself in the meantime?
I began a daring blueprint project. If everything worked out, I might be able to unlock another state. Or get some other happy perk. The ORDER’s rewards were far from predictable, so I had no idea what this significant achievement might earn me.
The merchant was out of town; like everyone else, he was out picking hornflowers. It must have been unusual for him, getting exercise. How would he see the flowers from behind his prodigious folds? I had to figure out a way to get some paper. It wasn’t so easy to find in this world. Production was only in small quantities, and the resulting products highly valued.
I concluded that I had to use tree bark. There was some behind the carpentry workshop—where logs were carried in, either over a small suspension bridge or by a primitive crane, which picked up the logs from rafts carrying them in via the river.
The thought of rafts made me shudder once more. I was glad to see that the river was empty.
Chapter 25
Wild Tales of the Wild Wood
Degrees of Enlightenment: 0 (198/888)
Shadow: 198
Attributes:
Stamina: level 2, 112 points
Strength: level 0, 31 points
Agility: level 1, 83 points
Perception: NA, 50 points
Spirit: NA, 50 points
Talents:
Fishing Instinct (tier 2): 10/10
Cure Wounds (tier 2): (10/10)
States:
Equilibrium (6.31): level 6
Enhanced Enlightenment (0.5): level 0
Supper was dry rations only—crackers, corned beef, and a piece of salted fish resembling herring. The rush to harvest hornflower had crippled our culinary capabilities.. Beko glared and nearly growled at his portion. He had been quite busy today, by the look and sound of him. I had been, too. Eating felt like tossing food into a bottomless abyss, but I was glad to be ravenous, for an appetite is a sign of health.
We cleaned our plates as we sat in our favorite spot. The northern wall really did offer a spectacular view. If I’d had free reign over the place, I’d have planted a hut along its wide top so that we could sit inside as we admired the panorama through a large window.
Not a crumb remained on his plate when Beko downed the water from his birch bark mug. “Seventeen squares today.”
“Nice,” I smiled. “Is that how much you pull in every day?”
“Of course not. Only during hornflower season, and that only lasts a week. It’s too bad, really. Such easy work. Other spices come into season at other times, of course, but they don’t sell for nearly as much. I used to give my squares to the treasurer for safe keeping. Then, during the winter months, I’d live off them. And I’d have plenty to last until spring. During the spring, of course, you don’t need squares to live. Everything is blooming again. Is it true that you found Savi and Gamus?”
I choked. “Uh, that’s a secret that no one is supposed to know about.”
“No one? Everyone knows! When I was delivering my hornflower, the whole line was talking about nothing but the skinnings. It’s a shame. Gamus was a good man. You know, he brought me food one spring, when I lay ill. He liked to share these wild pears he would pick, too. No more pears for anyone now. Not every day you meet someone like that. Most people would never stoop to help a ghoul.”
I marveled at the inability of the locals to keep a secret. “What else are they saying?”
“That it’s too dangerous to disperse, to go off alone or to go far. That we all need to stick together. Safer that way. But that would severely limit our harvest. Some said they wouldn’t be going back out again because they’re too scared. It’s going to be a rough season. Our numbers won’t be very good this year.”
“I didn’t mean that. I mean—thank you, though. That’s interesting.”
“What did you mean, then?”
“About that thing I’m not supposed to speak of. Do we know who did it?”
“They say it was the Emperor of Pain.”
“Gruesome nickname.”
“It’s not a nickname.. It’s hereditary. It’s a post that someone fills. The leader of the Pentagon used to go by that name. Only a sorcerer could fill the role. He was here for ages upon ages, all the way up until the trading post. They drove him out once they established the trading post. Now, the post harvests spices here and mines the earth for ore,. Instead of the sorcerer doing it. He’s angry at that and wants to put everything back the way it was. Make everything his own once again.”
“A sorcerer... is that an omega or an alpha with magical talents?”
“Most likely,” Beko shrugged. “That’s what they say about the last Emperor of Pain—that he was a powerful sorcerer.”
“I’m not a big fan of rumors.”
“You think they’re fibbing?” the ghoul asked.
“Think about it. If he’s so mighty as all that, why is this trading post still intact? He lacks the strength to drive out a bunch of foragers and traders? Where’s his army? Ash has what, twenty-five guards? So the power here is Ash. He doesn’t even look that strong—neither do any of his guards.”
“Ash is a great warrior, they say.”
“I won’t argue that. But no matter how you frame it, the Emperor of Pain must be weaker.”
“He is not alone. Bandits report to him. All the scum of the region come and—”
“And are just as weak as he is,” I stabbed back.
“The Emperor of Pain doesn’t just kill someone. He destroys them.”
“What?”
Beko cautiously glanced across the river. “These people torment their victims. The more pain they suffer, the more blasphemous power the Emperor of Pain harvests from them. When he accrues enough of this power, he can raise the very dead and subjugate them to his will. The undead are very hard to kill. They are dead already, aren’t they? Without magic, I doubt Ash could ever get to him. And Ash has no magic.”
“Things that go bump in the night,” I shook my head. “If this legendary Lecter had undead underlings, they would overrun this trading post without a moment’s pause.”
“The undead cannot come to our shore,” Beko replied.
“What prevents them?”
“This is Wild Wood. A diverse place, with all sorts of wonders. Here, you find places where entry is categorically denied to certain kinds of beings. The undead of the Emperor of Pain cannot cross the river.”
“So why doesn’t he unleash his minions on the hornflower harvesters?” The question seemed reasonable to me. “If they truly have no way to fight the undead, the Emperor of Pain could slaughter them all. But they only killed two, not everyone.”
Beko shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know everything. There must be things besides the river which can stop them. Perhaps there are places even on the left bank which they cannot reach. Or, the Emperor of Pain may be bound by some oath. Some contract. Some condition outside of which he cannot inflict his evil. He needs to live like the rest of us do, after all. And provide for his own. Neither he nor they have the protection of the Pentagon. So he negotiates and makes deals. That’s why he calls himself the Emperor. An Emperor needs lands of his own, after all. This one has his lands—in which he lives.”
I blinked in bewilderment. “I don’t get it. An agreement? With who? What kind of agreement?”
“I don’t know. That’s what people say.”
“Just lay this out for me so I can understand it, Beko.”
“How? I don’t understand it all myself. Rumors vary. The ones telling them don’t understand either. And I don’t understand them. It’s a mess. But the forest definitely has powers who claim it as their own. Everyone knows that. These rulers of the forest must be feared. Even the Emperor of Pain must fear them. One time, I even heard that...”
Beko’s countenance grew dark, showing how much the topic affected him. But who else could I ask about this topic? Everyone else was barely willing to give me the time of day.
Still, I would avoid pressuring the ghoul too much. I stopped him. “Let’s leave this topic alone if you’re uncomfortable about it. I just find it fascinating. After all, I’m only here by accident. I don’t know anything about this place. So everything you tell me is very important to me.”
“How does someone get here ‘by accident’?” Beko asked.
After a moment, I decided to give him a dramatically truncated version of the events which had transpired. “Bandits attacked our home. All of my relatives were killed, but I managed to get away. As I fled, I got lost, and ended up sleeping under a bush on the cold earth. There, I was found by a cart carrying supplies to the trading post.”
“That’s strange,” Beko blinked. “We have similar stories.”
“You were brought here by a trade cart?”
“No, I lived at an outpost with my mother and her husband. He was a good man. He beat me sometimes, especially when drunk, but he fed me well. I don’t remember what happened very well after that,” Beko turned, moving closer and lowering his voice, “when they asked, I just said I didn’t know who it was that attacked the outpost. But I just didn’t know what to answer. What could I say? It was the forest itself that walked towards us. I don’t know how else to say it. And of course answering like that was no option then; they would’ve taken me for a fool. As if they hadn’t already. People like me are unloved in every corner of the world. They say the people down south burn ghouls at the stake, even. I’d rather be here, at this trading post. At least they don’t plan to burn me. To the contrary. They feed me. Also, the forest cannot come here. This island is special. Even the demons cannot make their way to it. The stone on which this trading post stands is enchanted by an ancient magic. As all of the nearby areas of the Wild Wood. Well—nearly all of them. This place is called the Pentagon. It is a place of peace.”