He wanted to tell her that he didn’t know why he had the mark, much less what it was. Not that she would have understood him anyway.
None of this was fair. He wanted to be back in his apartment, ordering so much takeout from the local Chinese restaurant that he was on a first-name basis with the delivery guy.
The Huntress, as Hal was beginning to think of her, took out a cloth and a canteen. She poured the water out onto the dark cloth and Hal’s eyes went wide with thirst.
He licked his dry, chapped lips.
That look had not escaped her notice and in an act of kindness, she handed him the leather-wrapped canteen. While Hal hungrily drank from the relatively small canteen, the Huntress scrubbed the blood and mud from his mark.
If she thought the mark would be wiped away, she was sorely mistaken.
Hal watched out of one eye as he forced himself to slow down and sip the water, knowing the dangers of drinking too much, too fast. The mark shone even brighter than before. Its many intricate lines were as clear as the day he first arrived.
The baying of the hounds echoed all about them and the sound of distant voices filtered in through the trees. There was a strangeness to the forest, the way it warped and twisted sound.
Hal stopped drinking from the canteen that seemed to hold a suspiciously large quantity of water to better listen. They were close now. He watched the Huntress for any sign of what she would do. He was at her mercy and under no illusion that she was going to let him go.
Would she kill him, or hand him over to his pursuers? It would be nice to know why they were chasing him. It wasn’t like he hurt anybody or did anything bad.
The theft of a single cloak surely didn’t warrant such an aggressive response.
Without any preamble, the Huntress released his arm and stood. In one smooth motion, she sheathed her sword and offered a gloved hand to Hal. He grabbed it and she effortlessly hauled him to his feet.
The Huntress put a finger to her pursed lips. Hal nodded his understanding. She pulled a bow off her back and fit an arrow to the string. Keeping low, she guided Hal around the tree he slept beneath and up a nearby slope.
He did the best he could to keep up and stay silent but he was noisy and slow. His stomach twisted in a tightening knot of pain. Every few feet the Huntress stopped and waited for Hal.
The forest changed around them. Thick trunks gave way to smaller ones with larger gaps in the canopy overhead letting in streams of gray morning light. The storm, it seemed, had spent most of its fury last night and was content to leave the sky overcast.
Thick underbrush grew up between the thinning trees. The Huntress led him through, pulling branches and bushes aside to aid in his passage.
Every so often Hal took another drink from the canteen. By his estimation, he drank enough refreshingly cold spring water to fill the oblong container several times over. No matter how long he drank, the canteen never emptied.
Before Hal had time to ponder the implications – or the impossibility – of the canteen, the Huntress grabbed him and pulled him roughly to the ground. He would have fallen face-first if she hadn’t put out another hand to catch him inches from the dirt.
The Huntress guided him deeper into the thick underbrush until they were both well-hidden.
Like every other person he came across, the Huntress was ridiculously strong and had no problem moving him about like he was a doll. Conversely, Hal was weaker than he ever had been in his life, and he didn’t chalk that just up to exhaustion, starvation, and dehydration. It was something more than that, just like his inability to speak with any semblance of intelligence.
Through the bushes, he couldn’t see much, but the Huntress could. She had her sword out and murder in her eyes. And while the villagers didn’t seem to harbor any good intentions toward him, he didn’t know if they deserved to die.
For all he knew, the mark meant he was some virulent plague bringer.
If only he could speak their language, understand what they were saying.
Better yet, if he could speak their language and didn’t sound like an idiot. It hit him how important communication was. Discerning friend from foe was so much easier when intentions were obvious.
The whole ordeal could be a misunderstanding. Not that Hal was willing to risk himself on that theory.
While Hal couldn’t see the villagers, he could hear their many feet stomping around. They spoke in that same harsh, guttural language the Huntress tried to speak to him in.
Next to him, the Huntress tensed like some great hunting cat. Her eyes focused on the scene before her. Hal held his breath as the tension drew itself out to the breaking point.
Just as he wondered when she was going to spring out in a blur of violence and kill every man and woman there, the Huntress relaxed. The voices grew distant and a dozen shaky breaths later, she pulled him out of the bush and took off, strangely, in the direction the group had come from.
They had many more run-ins with the villagers. The baying of the dogs was background noise to their constant traveling. The Huntress pulled Hal along the entire way, never threatening but always insistent.
Hal didn’t know if she would stop him from leaving but he had no intention of fleeing. She was the only person that had helped him so far and he imagined he would be caught within minutes of being on his own.
The wily woman led them in strange, circuitous patterns that at times came uncomfortably close to his pursuers and at others seemed to place them far behind. Hal could make no sense of the direction and eventually gave up trying.
Instead, he focused on the Huntress and doing his best to follow her.
Sometime around midday, she held up a hand and Hal froze mid-stride. She cocked her head to the side. They hadn’t heard a villager or much of anything for the last hour. And rather than constantly changing their path, they were making a steady progression in a single direction.
He put a hand out to brace himself against the nearby tree. He was out of breath again. Through the bark, he felt a faint tremor.
Hal looked to the Huntress and their eyes met. He saw her worry and concern.
And a moment later, coming down from the high branches of the tree he was leaning against, he saw the reason.
It reared up ahead of them, the strangest creature Hal had ever seen. It stood well over ten feet tall, covered in a mixture of chitinous green plates and coarse black fur caked with green moss.
Thick trunk-like legs supported a wide fur-covered torso with an insectile head and long serrated arms like a praying mantis. It clicked its two-foot-long mandibles at them, bulbous eyes regarding them as little more than snacks.
The Huntress moved into swift action. She unslung her bow and had three arrows leaping into the air before Hal could even take his hand away from the tree.
Hal looked around on the ground, found a rock, and hefted it in his palms. As much as he wanted to run and hide, he could at least prove a decent distraction.
The arrows struck deep into the thick fur and the creature loosed a disorienting wail. The Huntress staggered for a brief moment.
The [Scourge] uses Stunning Wail.
You resist the effect.
Somehow unaffected, Hal hurled the stone as hard as he could. In a feat of atypical strength, he managed a decent throw. The rough stone tumbled end over end and struck the thing on its bulbous compound eye, just as it leaned down to strike at the Huntress.
You throw a rock at the [Scourge].
The [Scourge] takes 3 points of damage.
Am I in a game? That was the only time he had ever seen prompts like that before. He forced the thoughts away, he couldn’t afford to be distracted at a time like this.
That was all the Huntress needed. The creature swiveled its head to regard the annoyance, Hal. With its deadly arms slowed by the distraction, the Huntress jumped over the scything blades. She cleared six feet into the air like it was nothing.
The monster lifted one serrated claw and struck out at
the easier target. Its arm came down at an angle that would cleave Hal from shoulder to hip. He tried to dive to the side but already knew he would be too slow.
But the Huntress wasn’t.
She pulled back on her bow and let fly a glowing arrow that cut a streak of red lightning through the air before her feet even touched the ground.
The arrow intercepted the claw and exploded.
Waves of heat washed over Hal’s face and rolled over his back. But the arrow had done its job and when the smoke cleared, the claw’s reach had been reduced to eight feet.
The broken four-foot-tip of the claw laid near Hal on the ground, leaking an ichorous briny fluid.
Feeling somewhat useful, Hal pushed himself up to his knees and looked for another rock. If he could distract the monster again, the Huntress could capitalize on it.
What he found instead was a wriggling length of rope he initially mistook for a snake. He leaped to his feet away from it at first, only to trip and fall.
The rope lashed out like a striking viper and coiled itself around Hal’s ankles before he could even shout. A second rope soared out from the side and perfectly encircled his wrists. In less time than it took him to say, “What do why?” Hal was tied up and lifted off his feet by the magical rope.
The Huntress uses Binding Rope.
You suffer the effect of Bind.
There was that prompt again.
The Huntress moved one hand through the air like she was conducting a symphony, her fingers left trailing lines of light in the chill air. In response, the ropes tugged harder and pulled Hal behind a row of sheltering trees.
He tried in vain to wriggle out of the bonds but they held tight.
In one move, the Huntress had removed him from the fight. Hal could still hear the sounds of battle but could no longer see anything. And it seemed like it was getting fainter.
His embarrassment and frustration soon gave way to amazement. He was floating in the air, suspended by magical ropes. His mind spun with the implications. Judging from the way she had cast the spell – or so he assumed – it was an easy thing, as she did it mid-combat.
Not to mention the game-like prompts. Just where was he?
Hal stopped struggling and examined them closer. They seemed like any normal rope, except faint silvery threads were wound throughout the weave. They glinted every so often in the wan light.
A chilling screech echoed through the forest, followed immediately by a heavy thump he heard but could not feel. The ropes lowered until his feet touched the ground a moment later.
They slithered from him and went around the side of the tree to join the Huntress. She knelt down and opened one of the many small pouches she carried – far too small for so much rope – and the two ropes obediently slithered up her thigh into the pouch.
In the distance behind her, Hal could just make out the charred and arrow-riddled remains of the monster.
She cast him an appraising, vaguely angry look. One that immediately turned to surprise as a golden wind surrounded Hal and flowed through him. His mind felt clearer than it had in years.
His body felt like he just spent a full day at an expensive spa, his muscles were relaxed and that ache in his back that had been bothering him for months was just… gone.
The Huntress defeats the [Scourge].
You gain 200 Experience Points. (-80% from Contribution).
Novice reaches Level 1.
You have 5 unspent Attribute Points awaiting distribution.
Your HP, SP, and MP are fully restored.
And how do I do that?
Hal started to say something when she raised a hand to forestall him. Without a word, she moved past him and continued on ahead.
He had plenty to think about as he followed in the wake of the Huntress.
Focusing on the prompt that remained in his vision for once brought up a simple menu.
By selecting “Status” in a similar way, a semi-translucent window of information floated in front of his face about an arm’s length away.
[Status]
Hal Williams
Level: 1
Next Level: 100/350
Classes
Novice: 1
Resources
Health Points(HP): 20/20
Stamina Points(SP): 20/20
Mana Points(MP): 20/20
Attributes
Strength(STR): 1 (+)
Vitality(VIT): 1 (+)
Dexterity(DEX): 1 (+)
Agility(AGI): 1 (+)
Intelligence(INT): 1 (+)
Mind(MND): 1 (+)
Charisma(CHR): 1 (+)
Regeneration
HP/hr: 6.5
SP/hr: 6.8
MP/hr: 6.8
Resistances
Fire: 0
Ice: 0
Wind: 0
Earth: 0
Lightning: 0
Water: 0
Light: 0
Dark: 0
Defensive Parameters
Defense(DEF): 0
Magic Defense(MDEF): 0
Insulation: 4
Class Affinity
Survival Skills
Combat Skills
Magic Skills
Crafting Skills
Social Skills
Hal rubbed his temples tiredly, trying to keep everything in sight while not tripping or falling over any of the roots or stones. The prompt said he had 5 points to spend, right?
Focusing on one of the plus icons next to a stat, Hal mentally poked at it. The number went up by 1. His STR doubled to 2 and suddenly his skinny stick-like arms bulked up and gained muscular definition.
Not enough to be considered healthy even, but more than he presently had. Though he was never so emaciated back in Seattle. Or ever in his life.
Okay, I get it.
As soon as he placed a point, another icon appeared to subtract it. He took away the point in STR. Immediately a wave of nausea assaulted him and it was an effort just to keep moving. He staggered more than once but managed to stay upright.
If these stats - all 1’s, he noted sourly - were really the representation of himself in this world, then a lot of things made sense. Chiefly, his demonstrably low INT.
First thing’s first. I cannot continue to talk like a florking idiot. And… if it really is this easy to increase my intelligence, maybe I can learn the language easier if I upgrade it.
Hal placed 4 points into INT, immediately his sluggish hazy thoughts became crystal clear.
Time for the true test. Hal cleared his throat and said, “Listen, I know we got off on the wrong foot but something was wrong with my brain before. Thank you for helping me.”
Relief washed over him as his mouth didn’t ad-lib or go full catatonic on him. The Huntress looked over her shoulder at him, but didn’t reply.
“Right,” Hal muttered. “The language thing.”
Still, it was a welcome change that he could speak properly now.
Hal confirmed the stat placement and looked at the single point left over, placing it into STR. His arms bulked a little again and it was easier to hold his head upright and walk properly.
He took another look at just the core stats to see if anything else changed, such as his regeneration.
[Status]
Hal Williams
Level: 1
Next Level: 100/350
Classes
Novice: 1
Resources
Health Points(HP): 20/20
Stamina Points(SP): 20/20
Mana Points(MP): 20/20
Attributes
Strength(STR): 2
Vitality(VIT): 1
Dexterity(DEX): 1
Agility(AGI): 1
Intelligence(INT): 5
Mind(MND): 1
Charisma(CHR): 1
Regeneration
HP/hr: 6.5
SP/hr: 6.8
MP/hr: 6.8
Fair enough, he thought. INT and STR don’t seem to affect regeneratio
n rates.
After seeing how poorly having a 1 for a stat was, Hal’s first priority became getting every stat to a passable level. Seeing as having 5 INT seemed to be at least equivalent to his usual level of intelligence - as far as he could tell - that would be the benchmark he would set for the rest of his stats.
The untiring woman walked on, and though Hal tried to sate his hunger with more pristine mountain water from the magically infinite canteen, his stomach was not buying it.
It growled, continually and loudly. Enough that the Huntress finally looked back at him as if he was doing it intentionally. He gave her an apologetic shrug. She took the canteen and took a sip before giving it back, spoke to him again in a melodic voice before giving up and miming.
She rubbed her stomach, the leaf-molded plates of leather shifting with her touch.
“I guess some things are universal,” Hal said, nodding along. “Yes, I am starving.” Hal thought he remembered reading somewhere that a person could last over a week without food. He was fast coming up on only half that and he felt like death warmed over.
The Huntress nodded and took him over a nearby rise. Down in a small grassy depression, pock-marked with muddy pools from the recent rains, Hal saw the strangest tree he’d ever seen.
It towered above the rest but it wasn’t the tree that drew his eye.
It was the thousand different shades of virulently colored mushrooms that grew from the trunk. Many of them were large enough to sit on like something out of Alice in Wonderland.
The Huntress was already halfway to the tree by the time Hal realized he had stopped walking to marvel at the tower of fungus.
Weakened from hunger and the constant marching, Hal did his best to catch up but it was a poor attempt even with his extra point in STR. Now that the burst of adrenaline from the Level Up had worn off, he was more sluggish than ever.
By the time he reached the tree of a million fungi, the Huntress was hard at work examining the colorful things. Mushrooms had never been his favorite but he was so hungry he would have eaten almost anything placed in front of him.
Beastborne- Mark of the Founder Page 4