by Dakota Krout
“Stop!” Why was that voice familiar? Oh, drat. The Archer had arrived. “If you keep attacking, I’ll take you down!”
“I wasn’t attacking. I was stopping them from killing puppies!” Jaxon explained with his hands in the air. The humans were getting to their feet in various stages of pain, and magic man was violently coughing up blood. At least he could breathe; Jaxon had been worried that he had crushed the Mage’s windpipe.
“Guys…?” The archer’s voice wavered a little as he took in the scene: wounded Wolfman females, the cowering puppies, blood dripping down a sword without a wound being visible on Jaxon. “You guys didn’t, did you…?”
“Come on, man! They’re just computer programs. They aren’t real! You know what is real? The money we get for their bounties!”
“How much?” Jaxon asked seriously, even as the Rogue was ‘sneakily’ trying to get behind him.
“What?”
“This Warrior doesn’t seem to have many points in intelligence.” Oops. Jaxon had accidentally said that thought out loud.
“Let me try again. How much money would you get for their bounties?” Jaxon patiently awaited the answer as the group counted the Wolfmen.
“A half silver a head at a minimum,” the Warrior said aloud, finishing his slow counting. “This would net us forty silver, easy. Doesn’t matter to the quest that more than half are small, a bunch of them have metal earrings so they’d go for more.”
“Tell you what.” Jaxon fished a gold coin out of his bag. It may have been a blessing in disguise that he hadn’t been able to get to the bank. “I’ll give you this if you promise to leave them alone.”
The group was eying the gold coin but seemed hesitant to accept. Well, that was the carrot, time for the stick. “Or you can fight me again, then attack the very large people over there who will be fighting to protect their young. All on the off chance of making half this amount of money without losing experience.”
Jaxon waved the coin around in an attempt to hypnotize them, but no skill popped up so he must have been doing it wrong. The archer spoke for the group, at least Jaxon hoped he did, “We’ll take it. Come on, guys. This is stupid. Do you really want to kill puppies? Even if they are just virtual? Game or reality, I don’t care where you do it, that’s some sick stuff.”
“Fine, fine!” the Warrior grumbled even as the Rogue snarled at this outcome. Jaxon thought the Rogue wanted to stab him just for fun at this point. The armored brute held out his hand for the coin, and it landed in his palm with a *clink*.
“A pleasure doing business with you, gentlemen!” Jaxon called as they gathered together and walked off. The Mage, still coughing, made an entirely unnecessary and overtly rude gesture as they vanished into the foliage.
Well, that was enough of that. Jaxon looked over at the Wolfmen, who were watching him warily as they tended to their damaged member. Jaxon decided to wait until they were up to full capacity before leaving; he’d hate for someone to attack them right now. When everyone was on their feet and the beastly people seemed to be getting ready to start moving again, Jaxon waved, turned, and started walking away. To his surprise, a guttural voice called out to him.
“Wait, human.”
Chapter Six
“You speak the human language very well for someone with a flat tongue!” Jaxon complimented the ancient lady walking toward him. He smiled at her, and she bared her teeth at him in return. “You have a lovely smile!”
“A what? Showing your teeth is a sign of aggression. I was returning your threat in kind!” She snarled slightly every time she hit an ‘R’ with her words.
“I see! With humans, especially me, showing your teeth like this is a sign of friendship and being polite or courteous.” Plus, it was fully an unbreakable habit now; it would take years of conditioning for him to change his ways. “What can I help you with?”
She paused for a second, thinking through his words and pondering her own. “I need to thank you for your assistance.”
“I was not seeking a reward, thank you. I also doubt that you have anything that would interest me, as I am not overly concerned with possessions and have no real way to transport them in any case. So, thank you, but no thank you.” As his words left his mouth, the sound of thunder rolled through the area.
The ancient female squinted at him. “I don’t think you understand. We need to reward you for your help, or we will suffer the outcome that you saved us from. Is that what you want? To have saved us only to leave us to our previous fate?”
“Obviously not… but…” Jaxon hesitated. They had nothing with them that he could see, and Jaxon would feel like he was taking advantage of them if he took anything. He may be considered a bad person by some, but this was not a line he felt willing to cross.
“Travel with us for a day,” the crone demanded. “Knowledge can be a burden, but it can also be a wonderful reward. You seem to be in need of both, and… possibly in need of direction? I could see that you understood the rudiments of proper speech. I could teach you more, enough not to be attacked at least. Do you have anywhere else you need to be, or is this something that interests you?”
“I am…” Jaxon had nothing else going on, no real quests, and no idea what he should be doing. Being exiled from all the human settlements really narrowed down your options for information gathering. His next words came out slower than he usually preferred, since he liked to exchange knowledge quickly, “I suppose… I can do that.”
“Then let’s get started.” She turned and barked at the others, and they got moving once more. She stared at a very young, very fluffy Wolfman, who cowered away. Satisfied that he wouldn’t run off again, she turned back to Jaxon. “What is your name?”
“Jaxon,” the Monk replied brightly, extending a hand automatically.
She looked at it, then his face, and smacked the proffered hand away. “No. Bad Jaxon! Casual touch is reserved for lovers or family members. If you must touch someone, it must inflict pain no matter any reasoning you have for doing it.”
Jaxon’s eyes went wide, and a smile blazed across his face. “Really? Really? That is excellent news!”
“You are… a strange human. Never before has that been heard, understood, and gladly accepted.” The crone growled deep in her throat; perhaps that was their way of saying ‘humph’? She’s a curmudgeon! Perfect, Jaxon knew there was a reason they were getting along so famously. “Now, let’s get on to speech patterns and the proper way to hold your body. When you are speaking to someone of a higher caste, you must hunch your shoulders like this and–”
“No can do! Lose my perfect form, high shoulders, and straight back just to speak to someone?” Jaxon was aghast at this suggestion, especially when they had no one available to fix the long-term issues this caused their society.
She snarled at his interruption, causing a few of the nearby people to jump away. “Insolent little whelp! Don’t take the advice if you don’t want it, but at least learn what I have to teach you! Close your mouth and listen.”
This was how Jaxon passed the next full day as they trudged slowly through the forest, avoiding roads, paths, and anything that might be traveled by other humans seeking them. Jaxon slept soundly and without snoring, which was commented on favorably by the others when he woke up. Apparently, the louder you snored, the lower your caste. Jaxon simply shook his head with a grunt; the snoring was actually likely due to their terrible posture and snouts. Mix the physical aspect together with the lower castes who need to hunch down extra small, and you get horrendous snoring. At least, that’s what Jaxon assumed.
As their time to part approached later that afternoon, Jaxon looked over the final gains from his travel with these surprisingly pleasant people.
Skill increase: Wolfman Language (Spoken/body) (3/10). You have learned the basics of the Wolfman language and can now speak enough common phrases to have your intentions understood.
Not a huge increase, but Jaxon highly doubted that he would have ever b
een able to intuit the words and postures needed in order to get to this level of understanding. Their time together ran out just as the group was reaching a crossroads. How very fitting. The crone came over to him as Jaxon was speaking to the puppies. He was being very careful not to touch them, no matter how badly he wanted to pet them. They were at about the same level of linguistic skill as he was, which is why Jaxon had been assigned to practice with them for most of the day. The silver-furred female watched for a moment, flicked her ears in a sign of approval, and motioned him over. “I have not been fully honest with you, human.”
“Ah. Is this the sudden yet inevitable betrayal? I’m about to be attacked?” Jaxon looked around, but if the enemies were stealthy at all, he already knew he wouldn’t stand a chance.
“No, nothing like that.” She hesitated and seemed to be casting around for words. “I did pay you for services rendered, but I was also using you as an additional guard during our travels. I knew that you wouldn’t let anything happen to the litters, no matter what your personal feelings were at the time, and I used that. My debt has grown instead of shrank, but I feel that I have something that can balance the scales.”
“I really didn’t mind–” Thunder shattered the air again. Sheesh. Why was he not allowed to help? “It’s my choice to help, game! Don’t force rewards on me!” Thunder again, this time slightly more ominous and grumbling.
“Enough of that, please!” The crone was looking around frantically. She pulled a medal out of her bag, and it flared silver as she pressed it to his hand. “This is a small token of appreciation and should grant you safe passage through our lands. That is not the reward, for as I told you before, knowledge is often much better.”
Item gained: Token of Appreciation (Wolfman). By wearing this token, your reputation with Wolfmen will be set to neutral. This will allow you a chance to make a case for survival when they would otherwise attack on sight. After removing this token, any positive gains will be added to your actual reputation. Re-equipping will reset your reputation to neutral, though any grievances will still be held against you.
“Now, here is the information that I truly hope will be helpful.” She took a snuffling breath through her snout before continuing, “In our lands, there is a temple. This temple is dedicated to nothing and no one. It may even be a dungeon, but it has never been proven. If you make it to the temple, a door will be opened for you, and you will have a chance to prove yourself in combat. The further you advance, the greater the reward you will be able to gain, and I have heard of powerful specializations becoming realized within.”
“I also have a warning for you. While you are within the temple, you must only use skills related to your class, else the rewards will vary wildly. You can also only ever attempt the trial once on your own. If you fail, you fail.” She was breathing heavily at this point and needed to sit down. “Anyone is welcome to attempt the temple, but few ever even arrive at the structure. Be safe, and take our thanks with you.”
Chapter Seven
At least they left Jaxon on a path and pointed him in the right direction. It would have been rather difficult to traverse the forest in an unknown area and find where he should have been going. A temple behind enemy lines… this sounded like a song worthy quest! It was also fitting for a Monk to go to a temple to increase in power, and for some reason, Jaxon felt that this was the absolute correct decision. He supposed that the quest had told him to follow his heart, and he thought that was what he was doing. After all, the heart is in the front of the body, and he was constantly moving forward.
Jaxon continued walking along the path, having been told that it would lead him directly to a settlement that would give him directions to the temple. The old crone had told him very specifically to be careful, leading him to believe that there were going to be fun things along this path. Jaxon started walking, then, remembering, he started skipping along the flat and well-traveled trail. He decided that this would be a good time to train his dexterity, and while skipping, he also began to do flips and cartwheels in the air. This was certainly not the fastest way to travel, but after a couple of hours, Jaxon started to see improvements in his form.
Dexterity +1!
“Thank you, game. That is very helpful.” He never stopped skipping along as he read the notifications.
Skill increase: Aerial Acrobatics (Beginner II).
Skill increase: Jump (Apprentice 0). Congratulations! You have entered the Apprentice ranks! As a reward for your efforts, damage from falling has been reduced 5%!
“Those are also handy!” His smile only grew as he continued traveling, but sadly, he was not paying attention to where he was going. Did you know that snakes like to sunbathe on trails and flat rocks? Jaxon learned that by completing a flip and landing on a snake’s head like a certain red-hatted, Italian plumber. He hurriedly cartwheeled away to gain distance.
*Hiss*! Jaxon seemed to have angered the serpent. This would be an interesting challenge; did snakes have back problems? Jaxon had never run into a similar issue, but he had a great fondness for reptiles and most of all snakes.
“Hi there, little guy!” The snake coiled and reared up, it’s head now above his and waving back and forth. “Listen, I’m so sorry about that. I love snakes and would have never intentionally attacked you. You are all spine! It’s glorious!”
He was nearly shouting by the end of his small speech, and the snake had gone still. Its tongue flicked out repeatedly, the only part of it noticeably moving. *Whisk*! Jaxon contorted to the left, dodging the finger-length fangs that had been aiming for his neck. “Oh, come on! My snakey-snake, why are you making me do this? I already said sorry!”
*Whisk* *Whisk*! Jaxon slid to the right, then tumbled into a somersault to avoid the follow up strike. “I don’t want to fight you, and I won’t!”
Quest gained: Betting your life! A Monarch Death’s Touch Asp has targeted you for an infraction. Although you apologized, the mean ol’ snake just woke up and is grumpy! You promised the snake that you wouldn’t fight it, so let’s see what happens! Avoid the unbelievably poisonous fangs long enough for the snake to get bored and leave. Failure requirements: Attack the snake or get bit. Reward: 5 points to dexterity, variable. Failure: Death or Warlock title, double Exp penalty.
Jaxon almost faltered as the quest appeared, the fangs brushing the strap of his backpack, corroding it in the same moment. As he cartwheeled over the next attack, the strap broke, and he needed to let the pack fall to the ground. He had gained a few feet of wiggle room, or so he thought. The Asp moved forward in a straight line across the ground, not winding like a normal snake in the slightest. It left a furrow on the ground of smooth, packed dirt, leading Jaxon to believe that it had some kind of earth manipulation ability.
The front of the snake lifted off the ground as it approached, like the prow of a ship that was moving across water extra speedily. Jaxon was off-balance, and the only option was up. As he gained a firm foothold and jumped forward into an aerial somersault, the snake came further off the ground and fangs opened to catch him. Jaxon burned through nearly a hundred points of stamina with his next maneuvers; Contortionist’s Dodge was used to his maximum ability, and his ribs shifted up and over the Asp’s mouth. The rest of his body slid along the snake, and he rolled down its length as it passed under him.
Jaxon hopped to his feet and stared the snake down as it swung around to face him once more. He started weaving his body side-to-side, arms held out and moving independently in slow arcs. His fingers were also wiggling as he warmed up. Jaxon hoped that blocking an attack wouldn’t count as attacking because he was starting to run low on stamina. The Asp, seeing him move like this, coiled up and reared back.
It locked eyes with Jaxon, and its head started moving in time with his own. Jaxon, understanding that something had changed, continued moving in similar patterns. He slowed down incrementally over time, but the snake stopped following his movements well before he got close to stopping or needing to sto
p. With a somewhat agitated hiss, the Asp slithered away through the underbrush. Jaxon took a deep, calming breath, then screamed as a wall of text and pain slammed into him.
Quest complete: Betting your life! You charmed a Monarch Death’s Touch Asp into leaving you alone! While you certainly didn’t tame it—a feat believed to be impossible—your movements struck a chord in its snakey little brain. Perhaps it thought that you were another of its kind? Reward: +5 Dexterity, Title: Snake Charmer.
Snake Charmer: You have shown that your love for snakes is true, refusing to fight even on the verge of dying! In the future, it will be 20% easier to tame reptiles, and snakes especially will show you favor, attacking you last if possible.
You have reached a threshold of 100 dexterity! Your nerves, reaction times, and bodily movement ability are being modified; please lie down to avoid falling and hurting yourself! Starting in 2… 1…
Jaxon hadn’t even been in this much pain when he had burned to death over thirty seconds. His skin rippled as his muscles were forcibly contracted, and his limbs spastically twitched. His head thrashed side to side, and the only reason he didn’t bite his tongue was that his jaw was too firmly clenched. Then Jaxon felt his bones change. This was the most terrifying aspect to him, as he knew exactly what his body could handle to this point. Then the pain and fear went away, and he was left with pure excitement that he once again had the opportunity to explore a new body.
He was flat on his back in the middle of the road, a few cuts from sharp rocks dripping blood. He didn’t mind one bit; Jaxon only had smiles today. His legs lifted up, then bent to put the pads of his feet flat on the ground. Ever so slowly, Jaxon straightened his body into a standing position without ever needing to use his hands or force to get into that position. “I’m made of rubber! I bet that looked like a scene from a horror movie!”
He was correct, and the one person who had witnessed the event was nearly sick from watching the inhuman motions. A dagger glinted in the light briefly as they considered moving against the target early… no. Jaxon was going to be leading the team to treasure; moving against him now would be foolish. The knife vanished into a sheath, even as the figure vanished into the shadows.