The Land_Alliances

by Aleron Kong

  You have agreed to do the okami a favor. Failure to do so when asked will cause a decrease in your reputation with all beings, and other unknown consequences. Keep in mind, your word means everything!

  He started reflecting after reading that first prompt. He didn’t like the idea of owing anyone a favor. Richter wasn’t sure what he would have to do for the giant green wolf, but whatever it was, it was worth it if Terrod made it back safely to the village. Besides, it couldn’t be any worse than the outstanding IOU he owed to what was basically a demon. There was not a doubt in his mind that one day Xuetrix would come to collect. Richter resolved to start figuring out a way to put others in his debt so that they would owe HIM favors. It occurred to him that operating like that seemed remarkably similar to the way demons were reported to work. He wondered what that might mean about him…

  Meh, he thought. A good idea is a good idea, no matter where it comes from. He got back to his pudding.

  You have proven yourself to be: Implacable. When faced with the near impossible task of rescuing a Companion from a superior enemy, you did not pause. When attacking a battle hardened Warrior, you did not flag. When mortally wounded and kneeling before a sadistic Assassin, you did not succumb. You have shown that you will conquer whatever is before you, even burning your own head and skin to destroy your enemies! Your relentless focus and pursuit of chosen goals will be reflected in your skills. You are awarded Initiate level in the skill Tracking.

  Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Tracking. None shall escape you. Those who follow the way of the tracker can follow a fish through an ocean and find constellations in the light of day. You can now find and follow the footprints and spoor of your prey.

  Congratulations! You have reached skill level 2 in Tracking. +1% attack bonus vs individual prey. You can follow older tracks.

  …

  Congratulations! You have reached skill level 10 in Tracking. +1% attack bonus vs individual prey. You can follow older tracks.

  Congratulations! You have advanced from Novice to Initiate in: Tracking. Your sense of smell is now heightened. You can track an enemy by scent if you have a piece of clothing or an item they were recently in contact with.

  You have been award 31,794 (base 635,882 x 0.04 x 1.25) experience from Brain Drain against Level 28 Human.

  You have been award 50,898 (base 1,017,962 x 0.04 x 1.25) experience from Brain Drain against Level 33 Half-Wood Elf, Half-Human.

  TRING!

  You have reached level 18! Through hard work you have moved forward along your path. As a Chaos Seed, you gain 6 points to distribute to characteristics instead of the usual 4. You also get 25% advancement to the skill of your choice! Crush your enemies, honor your allies, LIVE!

  TRING!

  You have reached level 19! Through hard work you have moved forward along your path. As a Chaos Seed, you gain 6 points to distribute to characteristics instead of the usual 4. You also get 25% advancement to the skill of your choice! Crush your enemies, honor your allies, LIVE!

  TRING!

  You have reached level 20! Through hard work you have moved forward along your path. As a Chaos Seed, you gain 6 points to distribute to characteristics instead of the usual 4. You also get 25% advancement to the skill of your choice! Crush your enemies, honor your allies, LIVE!

  You have either characteristic points or skill percentage points to allocate from the previous level. Now that you have progressed again, you must allocate your points within the next week or they will randomly be assigned for you.

  Richter read these prompts and gave a faint, “Woot!” It was only fitting that the sadistic Assassin and her Warrior friend replace the experience they had cost him. It was true that it didn’t replace his skill losses, but a few days ago he was level 18. Now, he was level 20! He’d take it! Richter looked at his other prompts.

  Congratulations! You have reached skill level 5 in Stealth. 2% increase to Concealment.

  Congratulations! You have reached skill level 6 in Stealth. 2% increase to Concealment.

  Congratulations! You have reached skill level 21 in Traps. All traps 2% more effective.

  Congratulations! You have reached skill level 4 in Small Blades. +2% attack speed. +2% bonus to damage.

  Congratulations! You have reached skill level 8 in Light Armor. +2% to defense of all light armor.

  Congratulations! You have reached subskill level 5 in Grace in Combat. Dodge increased by 14%.

  Congratulations! You have reached skill level 5 in Life Magic. New spells are now available.

  Congratulations! You have reached skill level 6 in Air Magic. New spells are now available.

  Congratulations! You have reached skill level 7 in Air Magic. New spells are now available.

  Know This! You have slain a recognized member of the Ouroboros Guild of Assassins. This could have consequences in the future!

  Your familiar has reached level 8!

  You familiar has reached level 9!

  …

  You familiar has reached level 14!

  You have been badly burned. Head burns cause Charisma loss of -4. Hand burns cause Dexterity loss of -3.

  You have completed the Quest: Two Lives as One. You have done as you have asked and saved Terrod. Isabella will be safe from her own hand.

  Reward: 1,250 (base 1,000) experience.

  Reward: Relationship with Isabella has increased from Friendly to Trusted.

  Reward: Isabella has snapped out of the stupor that her captivity with Count Stonuk had caused. She will now become an active member of your village. The benefits of this will only be discovered over time.

  Reward: Loyalty of all villagers increased by +20.

  Richter was pleased at the growth of his skills and familiar. He was a bit disappointed that he had reached the end of his prompts though, and he hadn’t been offered a Profession. He hadn’t been sure if his magic mastery would have let him jump the line, but it appeared he needed to actually level his skills to a journeyman rank first. Since there wasn’t anything he could do about it he put it from his mind.

  He was not overly pleased with the loss of characteristic points due to his burns. Just how bad was it? He held his hands up and examined them. The palms had mostly been spared though his fingertips had some scar tissue. The backs of his hand were shiny in large swaths. The skin in those areas was also thickened. Alma’s spells had accelerated the healing process, but it hadn’t changed what would have normally happened. The gel had eaten through both layers of skin leaving nothing to regenerate. Richter ran his finger across the scar tissue and his sensation was markedly reduced. Richter flexed both hands and the scar tissue did indeed make it hard to move his hands easily.

  He took a deep breath and cast Mirror. A rectangular mirror appeared hovering in the air. Richter’s mouth dropped open in shock. His face was almost completely preserved. It was the same face he had seen in pools of water since coming to The Land. It somehow made his scalp look even worse though. The fire acid had eaten through the skin on his scalp leaving behind bare and shiny scar tissue, just like his hands. The parody was worsened by seeing the few patches of perfect black curls that had survived the acid trap. His own reflection horrified him and he quickly looked away.

  Richter bit his lip and closed his eyes as if that could erase the image from his memory. He only dwelled in self-pity for a moment though. Forcing himself to look back into the mirror, he saw the burns for what they really were, the price he had paid to save one of his people. If he was being honest, he would still have come after Terrod even knowing that this would happen… Of course, if he was being REALLY honest, he would have much preferred it if he could have merc’d those two assholes, saved Terrod, and not ended up like a Nair cautionary tale! But hey! Beggars couldn’t be choosers. Staring at his reflection he gave himself a wink and then dismissed the mirror. It was time to get up.

  “Futen,” Richter said loudly, “where are you?”

  “I am here, my Lord,” came
the monotone answer. The remnant materialized a few feet away.

  “Good. Turn invisible again and start scouting around this position in concentric circles. Come back immediately, if you find any danger. If you find nothing threatening, keep going until you reach your maximum range, then come back and report.”

  “Yes, my Lord,” answered a dead pan voice. The remnant began to move away.

  Something else occurred to Richter, “And Futen.”

  “Yes, my Lord?”

  “Thank you for your help.”

  The grey orb hovered in midair not responding, simply pulsing with his internal white light. After a few seconds, Futen simply said, “My Lord,” and glided off to do as Richter bid.

  Richter stared after the remnant wondering if he had just seen the first true sign of emotion from Futen. He shook his head and put it from his mind, he had other things to focus on. Richter turned his attention to Alma, “And you, my wonderful little beastie, thank you for saving my life. You are beautiful and I am lucky to have you.”

  Alma flared her wings and preened in the warmth of her master’s adulation. He beckoned her and she launched herself into the air. She circled his head once before assuming her favorite perch on his shoulders.

  Richter walked over to Sonirae’s body and rolled it over. Almost all of the skin on her face was gone and her empty eye sockets revealed bone beneath. A portion of her upper lip was strangely untouched and it was a deep violet blue. Her scalp was relatively untouched as if she was the opposite of Richter. Her hair was sodden and wisps of it were plastered to her desquamated facial muscles. Looking down, Richter couldn’t believe this was the person who had mercilessly gelded him not long ago. Now, she was just… meat.

  As surreal as looking at the dead body of his torturer was, now was not the time for self-reflection. Besides, he thought, this vicious twat deserved far worse! With a sneer on his face, Richter got to work. First, he examined the two blades she had plunged into his back.

  Steel Dagger of Bleeding. Damage 8-11. Durability 18/20. Item Class: Common. Quality: Above Average. Weight 0.4 kg. Traits: The sharp blade is made to inflict extra bleeding damage upon successful strikes. Bleeding time +10%. Bleeding rate +10%.

  Serrated Orichalum Dagger of Tearing. Damage 9-12. Durability 25/28. Item Class: Common. Quality: Superb. Weight. 0.5 kg. Traits: The deep serrated teeth of this blade are angled toward the hilt. The weapon will slide in easily, but will cause massive damage upon removal.

  Richter grimaced upon examining both blades. They certainly fit the Assassin’s fighting style. The orichalum blade must have been the one that had made the large tear in his stomach. Either way, it was his now.

  Those weren’t the only weapons she had though. The woman seemed to be a walking arsenal of both standard and exotic weapons.

  You have found: Glass Finger Claw. Damage 1-3. Durability 247/250. Item class: Rare. Quality: Superb. Weight 0.1 kg. Traits: Specialized item created for Assassins who can produce their own poison. This claw nestles onto the tip of the forefinger. A specialized groove will channel the poison to the needle like point at the end of the claw. A single scratch is sufficient to poison your target.

  You have found: High Steel Forearm Crossbow. Damage 4-7. Durability 37/40. Item Class: Uncommon. Quality: Superb. Weight 0.6 kg.

  You have found: Mini Quicksilver Hollow Nose Crossbow Bolts. Quantity 17. Durability 9/9. Item class: Uncommon. Quality: Above Average. Damage +4. Traits: Each bolt can hold a single dose of poison. Extra compartment slows the speed of these bolt by 10%.

  The crossbow was interesting. It was only about six inches long and it had two leather straps attached to the underside. The firing mechanism seemed to be operated by an adjustable chain with a loop at the end. The loop had been around Sonirae’s middle finger. It was easy to deduce that sharply flexing her hand downward would fire the bow. A weapon like this could definitely come in handy. It was also small enough that he should be able to cock it with one hand. He nodded to himself, a lot of times, one hand jobs were the best in his experience.

  Even the bolts were cleverly packaged. They were held in a cloth band that tied around her upper arm. The cloth had been attached to the same arm that the crossbow was attached to. He could see how, with practice, a bolt could be fired, then the opposite hand would cock the mechanism again and quickly grab a bolt, easily slipping it back into place. He placed the crossbow and bolts into his Bag. The next thing that caught his eye was a leather strap on her arm.

  You have found: Leather Wrist Sheath. Durability 11/12. Item Class: Uncommon. Quality: Above Average. Weight 0.1 kg. Traits: Made to hold a slim knife to the underside of a forearm. Tensing and releasing the correct muscles will cause the dagger to slip free and into a waiting hand.

  A quick test showed that the dagger of bleeding fit into the wrist sheath, like a hand in a glove. He removed the orange metal sheath at her waist and placed the orichalum dagger back into its home. The bleeding dagger went into his Bag, and he strapped the tearing dagger to his thigh. He kept searching.

  The bitch was wearing his Belt of Strength! No wonder she hadn’t hit like a girl! He quickly took it off of her. She also had several pouches at her waist. One held a roll of paper, now sodden. Another a fairly large amount of coins, but it was the third that captured his attention and brought his joy. It was his gear!

  He quickly put his necklace back on. It didn’t make him stronger or give him the ability to fly, but in its own way it was just as amazing. His Necklace of Scry Defense let him avoid any divination, tracking or detection spells short of God level magic. He hadn’t realized how naked he had been feeling without it until he put it back on. A sigh of relief escaped from him involuntarily. It wasn’t as if Richter thought the entire world was out to get him. He honestly didn’t think he was that important. At the same time, it never fully left his mind that he was brought to The Land by an unknown agency. He had no conception if they meant him good or ill, he only knew they were powerful. People could call him paranoid all they wanted, he just felt better with the necklace around his neck.

  The other two pouches he just placed in his Bag. He upended the coins so his bag could do its CoinStar autosort thang. The other pouch went in because he didn’t want to risk damaging the information on the papers. They were soaked and the ink had run, but maybe Randy could do something clever to retrieve the information.

  He placed his Belt of Strength on as well, but held off on his rings. Sonirae was wearing several and he would check their stats before he put his own back on. They went into his Bag. Having donned his own necklace, he remembered the hidden compartment in the wooden necklace she had been wearing. Sure enough, a search under her shirt revealed it.

  The necklace itself seemed nothing special. A bit of finagling and he was able to find the catch to pop open the hidden compartment. The blue vial and eye dropper were revealed, though the bottle was only half full.

  You have found: Poison of Nil Abilities. Item Class: Rare. Quality: Exquisite. Administering this poison will block all of a target’s Abilities for a period of one hour. Doses 1 of 2.

  Richter smiled imagining how Beyan would cream his pants to get a hold of this potion. Richter then shook his head. The gnome was a serious pain in the ass, but he still just might have to make the Philosopher’s Cauldron. Richter put the blue vial in his Bag and continued searching the woman. Tucked into a large pocket of her cloak he found a small rectangular box.

  You have found: Waterproof Iron Elm Box. Durability 78/85. Item Class: Common. Quality: Above Average. Weight: 2.4 kg. Traits: The wood has been treated with an alchemical substance to waterproof the outside of the box.

  He examined the object carefully, but saw nothing to indicate a trap. It appeared to open like a cigar box and the lid was secured by a simple hook latch. Despite not seeing a clear danger, Richter still decided to handle this item with caution. A specialized Rogue would be just the type of person to booby trap her own equipment.

  Richt
er set the box on the ground and angled it so that the lid was at ninety degrees to where he crouched. He then used a dagger to flick the hook free and slowly lifted the lid. As he raised it he saw a thin string stretching up and froze. A few seconds later, a red glow started to emanate from the inside of the box, confirming that he had found a trap. Making sure not to move the hand holding the lid open, he cast Simple Light with his free hand. The ball of light illuminated the inside of the box and he saw how the string was attached to a bottle of red fluid. All that was needed to do to disarm the trap was to move the string off of a hook on the lid. He carefully reached inside the lid and unhooked the string. The red light faded.

  He looked at the body of the Assassin and then with deliberate slowness spit in her ruined face. Not wasting another moment on her grotesque visage, he turned back to the object in his hand and opened the lid.

  What he found was a red velvet lined interior that was divided into eight different sections. In each section was a vial. Not the pinky sized vials he was used to seeing that held a single dose of a potion. These instead looked like those bottles of ketchup you sometimes got with room service at fancy hotels. The only differences were that these bottles were square, so as to nestle snugly in their compartments. Each top was a rubber nipple connected to a dropper which extended down into its bottle. As he continued to examine the contents of the box, he realized the red vial attached to the string was not just a potion. It had a mechanism beneath it.

  You have found: Incendiary Trap. Durability 15/15. Item class: Common. Quality: Average. Weight 0.2 kg. Will create an explosion of flames. Damage 10-12. Can cause Burn status.

  The other vials were all potions.

  You have found: Poison Antidote. Potion Level: Solution. Strength: Processed. Weight 0.1 kg. Will cure almost all poisons. Doses 5 of 5.

  You have found: Drowned One Poison. Potion Level: Solution. Strength: Processed. Weight 0.1 kg. Causes 13-15 points of Water magic damage for 5 seconds. Can cause Slow. Doses 5 of 5.