Leveling both of these to five gave him the itch to check out their talent trees. He decided to start with Herbalism.
You have 2 unused Talent Points.
Talent
Description
Tier 1
Green View (0/5)
This ability allows the user to see plants you have previously identified with a soft glow when within 50 feet of them.
Rarity Upgrade (0/5)
This ability increases the chance that the herbs you gather will increase in rarity. Note: this will not change the plant itself, just the rarity of that specific type of plant.
Regrowth (0/5)
This ability allows you to commune with nature and spend some of your mana to improve the growing speed and yield of surrounding plants by 20% per point.
Cost 30 Mana
Well, those were some exciting benefits. Level 1 of Green View was an absolute no-brainer. That skill would help ensure he didn’t miss herbs that he was walking by when traveling. His second point would be tricky. He could put another point into Green View and see what the benefit there could be, but he decided instead to go with Regrowth. He hoped that he could use the ability to improve their fledgling garden that Daniel was working on getting ready. That skill would probably pay off more than any of the others. He put the point into Green View, and the skill tree changed again.
You have 1 unused Talent Point.
Talent
Description
Tier 1
Green View (1/5)
This ability allows the user to see plants you have previously identified before with a soft glow when within 50 feet of them.
Rarity Upgrade (0/5)
This ability increases the chance that the herbs you gather will increase in rarity. Note: this will not change the plant itself, just the rarity of that specific type of plant.
Regrowth (0/5)
This ability allows you to commune with nature and spend some of your mana to improve the growth and yield of plants within 20 yards of you by 20%.
Cost: 30 Mana
Tier 2
Nature’s Knowledge (0/1)
This ability allows you to sense when usable plants are nearby. This ability works on plants you have not discovered yet, as well.
Will of the Land (0/1)
This ability allows you to improve the fertility of any specified area of land in exchange for mana. This ability affects an area that is 100 square feet.
Cost: 50 Mana
Cooldown: 12 hours
The two new skills were intriguing, but he decided to stick with his previous decision and used the second point for Regrowth. From here, he decided to take a peek at the Farming tree.
You have 2 unused Talent Points.
Talent
Description
Tier 1
Planting Efficiency (0/5)
This ability increases the speed of planting, reduces the time required for plants to reach maturity, and increases the yield of the plants by 10%.
Germination (0/1)
This ability allows you to harvest seeds from a plant by expending mana, even if the plant has not seeded itself yet. This ability only applies to plants that have been cultivated.
Cost: 100 Mana
Cultivation (0/1)
This ability allows you to take natively wild plants and cultivate them anywhere they would be viable. Note: They still cannot survive in conditions that are considered harsh by the plant. This ability also allows for the Germination skill to be used on wild plants.
Arthur thought this skill tree had some real potential. Being able to speed up the growth of plants would be great, but he didn’t see himself having the time to sit around and farm. Helping out when needed was fine, but most of his skill came from harvesting wild plants. He did think the combination of Germination and Cultivation would be fantastic for him since he would be able to essentially domesticate the native plants he found and cause them to seed purposely. This ability would help them get the town back in order and give them seeds to plant instead of the few things he had found.
He decided to get Germination and see what showed up for him after that.
Talent
Description
Tier 1
Planting Efficiency (0/5)
This ability increases the speed of planting, reduces the time required for plants to reach maturity, and increases the yield of the plants by 10%.
Germination (1/1)
This ability allows you to harvest seeds from a plant by expending mana, even if the plant has not seeded itself yet. This ability only applies to plants that have been cultivated.
Cost: 100 Mana
Cultivation (0/1)
This ability allows you to take natively wild plants and cultivate them anywhere they would be viable. Note: They still cannot survive in conditions that are considered harsh by the plant. This ability also allows for the Germination skill to be used on wild plants.
Tier 2
Water of Life (0/1)
This ability allows you to conjure a small water shower over a 10-foot square area that lasts for 5 minutes. This ability costs mana.
Cost: 40 Mana
Cooldown: 1 Hour
Reap What You Sow (0/5)
Plants harvested by you have a 15% increased chance of providing additional useful items. These may include seeds, higher quality ingredients, as well as extra items.
Arthur wasn’t sure how to proceed here. There were any number of options available that could be very beneficial. He still wanted to get Cultivation so he could use it in conjunction with Germination to help improve their stores at the town, but both water of Life and Reap What You Sow had great possible benefits. The Water of Life may end up being a necessary option since he hadn’t seen any irrigation system around any of the farms. Reap What You Sow would probably help him greatly with as much as he gathered and how often. It was always great to have free stuff. Arthur decided to stick with his gut and go with his original choice and put his other point into Cultivation. He would get more points at his next level if needed.
They steadily made their way back, and when they made it to the edge of the forest, they stopped long enough for Rowan to cover the cart with canvas to help protect the meat and plants from the heat of the sun as they walked across the open area to the village. It was late afternoon now and getting rather hot. They approached the town, and Arthur saw a handful of worried faces around. The city itself always had a somber feeling, but right now, it looked worse than usual. He saw people casting furtive glances toward the inn and had a bad feeling something was happening.
They stowed the cart behind the inn, out of sight, and the three of them walked to the door. As soon as they entered, Arthur tensed up. There were four men in there who he didn’t recognize, and they didn’t look like they belonged. Arthur saw Daniel casting nervous glances his way and sighed to himself. He had a bad feeling about this.
Chapter 15
The Thief Crew
Arthur took a closer look at the four seated at the table in front of him. The guy on the left looked like a run of the mill cutthroat. He had shaggy black hair that gathered around his ears. His eyes looked a muddy brown, and he had a gaunt-looking face, His clothing was only slightly serviceable. The clothes looked like they had been decent clothing at one point, but years of wear on the road seemed to have taken their toll.
The man sitting on his left had a similar lanky build, but he had dirty blond hair kept short and close-cropped. He had a short beard that matched his hair and hazel eyes. The man was constantly fidgeting with a dagger hilt on his belt. His nose appeared to have been broken and flattened a few times in fights.
To the man’s left was the third member of the group. He had a slightly stockier build but still looked built for speed. The man had long, shoulder-length, brown hair that was partially tied back. His green eyes seemed to be an odd contrast with his hook nose rounding out the face. He was also missing part of his ear lobe on his lef
t ear.
The final guy to their left, sitting closest to Daniel, appeared to be the Leader of the group. This man was much stockier and looked like he was a pure strength build. He was the tallest of the group and seemed to reach right over six feet tall. His broad shoulders would almost lead you to believe he was a blacksmith himself with the strength he exuded. That impression lasted until you saw his dirty teeth and slightly ragged clothing that also appeared to have been a courtier’s style of dress at one point but was worn down and had faded over the years. He had a dagger strapped on his belt but also had an apparent short sword attached to his other side.
Arthur started to walk toward the bar and hoped they would ignore him when their Leader piped up.
“Would you look at that, Jeremy? Fresh meat in the city, and no one even bothered to tell us.” He told the first man.
“Fresh may not be the right word, judging by their appearance, but seeing a Dark Elf here is quite a shock. She is a pretty little thing, though. She might be worth a little of my effort to get some quality time with her. Would you be interested in trying her out with me, Alex?” Jeremy said and turned to address the third man at the table.
“I don’t know. She seems a little small for my tastes but might be a bit of fun to hear her squeal. That sound does warm the heart. You want in on the action Xavier?” Alex said to the second man at the table.
“You could persuade me to join, but I only want to hear her cry and beg. Maybe I’ll take her last so I can get what I want without ruining your time with her. You object boss?” Xavier said as he turned to the Leader of the group.
“No, you boys can have your fun with her. I’ll not sully myself with her kind. I’ll find some local woman who I fancy and take her to bed. Who knows, if she isn’t half bad, I may let her eat my dinner scraps as a reward.” The Leader said casually.
Arthur felt a fury rise in him he had never known before in his life. These men had just brazenly discussed raping Allendria right here in the middle of a public inn. Not only that, but they acted like it was commonplace, and they could do what they wanted. Seeing their brazen disregard for everything and remembering the looks he got from the townsfolk and Daniel upon his return, he could only assume this was one of the local lord’s infamous gangs of enforcers.
Arthur froze in his place as Jeremy stood up and headed in their direction. Jeremy walked up to Allendria, reached out his hand, and caressed her hair. He then moved his hand down toward her breasts.
“Touch her again without her permission, and you will immediately regret it,” Arthur said with a wave of calm and relaxed anger boiling in him.
Jeremy flinched for a moment and looked in Arthur’s direction. “I can see you are new here and don’t understand how things work. You would do well not to cross us.” He said, and his hand continued down, and he squeezed Allendria’s breast. Arthur saw her wince a bit and could tell she wanted nothing more than to burn this guy alive, but she wasn’t sure what she should do. Arthur took that decision away from her quickly.
Arthur cocked back his arm and swung as hard as he could at Jeremy’s jaw. The man had turned his attention to Allendria and was not expecting any action from them. Arthur’s punch connected firmly and sent Jeremy sprawling across the floor.
You have dealt 25 damage to Jeremy (Level 10) with Fist (Sneak Attack).
The other three members of the gang sprung to their feet in shock and stared at Arthur.
Jeremy sprung back to his feet and was furious.
“I warned you not to touch her. I will not tolerate you disrespecting my friends.” Arthur told him in a much more calm tone than he felt.
“Now, it is you who are going to regret that you bastard!” Jeremy yelled and sprang forward at Arthur. Jeremy was quick and, had Arthur not been expecting it, he would’ve caught him entirely off guard. Instead, it was apparent Jeremy relied solely on his speed because he was taking the broadest swing Arthur had ever seen. Arthur wasn’t sure how he could hit Arthur without breaking his hand in the process with a punch that out of control, but Arthur didn’t want to give him a chance. Instead, Arthur waited until he was within arm’s reach and took a small step into the man and punched him as hard as he could directly in the stomach.
You have dealt 20 damage to Jeremy (Level 10) with Fist.
You have inflicted Knockdown on Jeremy (Level 10).
This time Jeremy fell to the ground and rolled around, unable to catch his breath.
“Arthur, behind you!” Allendria yelled.
Arthur turned just in time to see Alex and Xavier rushing him. Arthur was getting nervous about the prospect of fighting against two of them until Rowan stepped in from the side and floored Xavier with a tremendous punch right into the side of his head. Xavier crumpled like a sack of potatoes while Alex kept his pace toward Arthur.
Arthur tried to avoid Alex’s punch using a sidestep, but the blow still glanced off of his cheek and caused him to stumble for a moment.
Alex (Level 10) has dealt 15 damage to you with Melee attack (Glancing Blow).
Arthur recovered quicker than Alex and sent a sharp left hook into Alex’s kidney while he was still off-balance.
You have dealt 20 damage to Alex (Level 10) with Fist. (Critical Hit)
Alex arched his back a bit and cringed before regaining his footing and slamming a fist into Arthur’s ribs.
Alex (Level 10) has dealt 15 damage to you with Melee attack.
Arthur attempted to ignore the pain and let loose a swing at Alex’s head but missed as the man ducked and came back with another hit to Arthur’s ribs.
You have missed Unarmed swing on Alex (Level 10).
Alex (Level 10) has dealt 15 damage to you with Melee attack.
The second strike hurt infinitely worse than the first and caused Arthur to stumble back a step. Alex didn’t stop, though, and stepped forward with two more quick attacks to the ribs and one good hit to Arthur’s jaw.
Alex (Level 10) has dealt 15 damage to you with Melee attack.
Alex (Level 10) has dealt 15 damage to you with Melee attack.
Alex (Level 10) has dealt 15 damage to you with Melee attack.
Arthur worried he was going to be in trouble when, yet again, Rowan showed up and hit the man from the side.
Alex stumbled backward a couple of steps and looked around. He spotted Jeremy getting to his feet and saw Xavier had started to stir and try and get to his knees. The man looked pretty shaken, and Alex wasn’t sure he would be able to stand.
“Alright, fuck this. I am not going to put up with this crap from some nobodies in a tiny, worthless town like this.” Alex pulled a dagger from his belt, and Arthur saw that Jeremy had reached down and grabbed a small blade out of the top of his boot.
“Be careful now, Alex. If you escalate things, I am not going to hold back, and there is a high chance some of us won’t be leaving this room,” Arthur told him.
“Oh, I am counting on it,” Alex responded and leaped for Arthur. Jeremy wasn’t far behind charging in their direction.
Arthur took another step back to give him the extra second he needed to get his sword out before Alex closed the distance. Arthur swept his sword across his body to push the incoming dagger thrust out of the path of his body and kicked straight at Alex’s leg. Arthur had hoped to hit him right in the knee cap and take his knee out but instead ended up getting a solid hit on the man’s thigh.
You have dealt 20 damage to Alex (Level 10) with Kick.
Alex yelled in pain as he stumbled backward, and Arthur stepped forward with a hard overhanded strike. Just before the sword hit the man’s shoulder, Jeremy arrived and caught the blade with his dagger and redirected it away from Alex’s body. Before Arthur could regain his balance, Jeremy lunged forward, and Arthur felt a searing pain in his left shoulder.
Your attack with Steel Longsword of Minor Beastslaying was parried!
Jeremy (Level 10) has dealt 25 damage to you with Simple Iron Dagger.
You have been inf
licted with Minor Bleed.
“Tough luck for you. Now it is time for you to die.” Jeremy spat at him as he swung his dagger straight for Arthur’s throat.
Right before the dagger hit, Jeremy’s body spasmed, and the man dropped his knife. He collapsed forward onto the ground, and as he fell, Arthur saw Rowan pulling his axe from the man’s back. Arthur looked and saw Alex with rage on his face taking a swing straight for Rowan’s throat, and Arthur reacted on instinct. He judged the arc of the blade and took a downward chop directly into the path the man’s hand was heading. Before the edge reached Rowan, Alex’s arm was cut clean off, and the dagger went flying with the remainder of the man’s hand.
You have dealt 45 damage to Alex (Level 10) with Steel Longsword of Minor Beastslaying (Critical Hit)(Hand Dismember)
Alex dropped to the ground and screamed as he looked at his missing hand.
“That’s enough!” The Leader roared, as his steely gaze swept around the room, watching as everyone slowed to a stop.
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