by C. J. Carella
Saturnyx said.
True blood, as in Fairy blood?
One way to find out. Hawke used another Arachnoid dagger – the last one had been melted in that unfortunate lightning bolt trap incident – to prick his thumb. It didn’t occur to him that the lock might be trapped until just after he let a couple of drops of blood touch it. Luck favored the foolish that one time, however; the lock sprang open. Inside was a small pouch and a golden egg, about twice the size of a normal chicken egg. The pouch had two gold and five silver denars. His True Sight identified the egg:
Seed of the Fae (Epic Item)
If exposed to the light of the full moon for three lunar cycles, the Egg will hatch, giving birth to a random High Fae creature. Whomsoever holds the hatchling when it is born will bond with it.
Pet! Got me a pet! Hawke thought.
Debbie Downer strikes again.
Hawke shared the news with the rest of the group and handed over the gold and silver, since he figured everyone had earned a piece of what he had found. Everyone seemed happy at the exchange, except Tava.
“I will be able to tame a Beast Companion when I reach the fifth level of the Path,” she said, sounding slightly miffed. “A High Fae would make a wondrous ally.”
Hawke thought about offering her the egg, but only for a moment. That sort of gesture was more likely to make her think he was a pushover, or, worse, that he was trying to buy her affection. If she wanted the egg, she was going to have to out-argue or outfight him.
“Best leave Fae things to the Fae-blooded,” Kinto said. “Hawke is more likely to find joy from whatever monster springs from such seed than the likes of you, child.”
“Thanks, I think,” Hawke replied.
“Besides, he found it, and the coin, and could have easily stowed both away without a word to us. Fair is fair, and the coin will come in handy. He also nearly died in the finding of it,” he added.
“You are correct, Father,” Tava admitted.
“Next time I find a secret compartment, you can have dibs on it,” Hawke offered her with a grin. “I’ll even heal you if you go ‘boom.’”
“You are a true noble knight,” she responded with a slightly sarcastic tone. “Patrician blood must flow through your veins.”
“Nah, I’m a filthy commoner.” But I wouldn’t mind making you my queen, he thought, and she caught the gleam in his eye and smiled back, playing absently with a lock of her hair.
Hawke felt like he was having the best of luck. So far, he’d found an intelligent sword, had earned the favor of not one but three goddesses, and now had gotten himself a golden Pokeball that in three months would let him bond to some super-critter. Images of himself riding a great dragon or maybe a winged unicorn flashed through his head. Going home was still a priority, but he should count his blessings; things could have gone a lot worse for him.
Saturnyx warned.
Twenty-Nine
You have earned 400 XP.
Congratulations! You have reached Level Five! You have gained 6 Attribute points to distribute.
You have gained a new Perk. Choose wisely!
You have gained bonuses to your Characteristics: +10 Health, +10 Endurance, +15 Mana.
Your Dodge Skill has been raised to 6
New Life and Light Magic Spells Available.
Current XP/Next Level: 2,840/3,500
You have found 2 gold and 3 silver coins.
You have found: Minor Healing Potion (1), Minor Mana Potion (2), Minor Endurance Potion (2).
The group had encountered another band of Risen led by a Shaman, all level five. This time, however, Kinto had told Hawke to keep his auras off and stay well back while the Hunter scouted ahead. That allowed the Hunter to discover the four undead instead of being ambushed by them. Armed with that knowledge, they had done much better in that fight.
Kinto sneaked closer, Hawke acted as a decoy, and when the Undead went after the glowing Paladin, the Hunter ambushed the Shaman while Tava and Gosto attacked from range. It hadn’t been a cakewalk, but nobody had been seriously hurt and they had taken down the enemy in a brief but hectic battle. They had earned less experience, but it had been enough to push Hawke and Gosto up another level. Tava was close to it but hadn’t quite made it, and Kinto was still far from going up.
Saturnyx explained.
Ok, that makes sense, Hawke thought as he sat down and started doing admin work while the two members of the party who hadn’t leveled up stood watch. This was probably going to take a while.
For his Attributes, he decided to go mental and raised all non-physical Attributes by one point, with the spare point going into Willpower. He still wasn’t sure what the effect of raising his Intelligence was, but he hoped it would mean fewer boneheaded decisions, although that was more a wisdom kind of thing, and the ‘rules’ didn’t have a wisdom Attribute. Which maybe meant that you had to become wise on your own, without magic raising your ability to make better choices.
Perks! That was a new reward, which only happened every five levels. There were a lot of choices available; he went down the list that appeared in front of him:
Brute: +4 to Strength and -1 to Dexterity.
Efficient Casting: Reduce spell Mana costs by 1 or 10%, whichever is greater.
Fae Regeneration: Your Half-Elven blood lets you regain 2 extra Health per level every minute.
Gifted: +1 to three Attributes of your choice, or +3 to a single Attribute.
Hardy: +5 Health and +3 Endurance per level.
Inexhaustible: All Endurance losses are halved.
Mana Adept: Increase Mana regeneration by 1 point per level every minute.
Skilled: Increase three Skills you know by 1 level.
Sorcerous Aptitude: Gain two new eligible spells or Class abilities.
Speed-Casting: Reduce casting time for one Element or School of magic by 1 second or 10%, whichever is greater.
After some consideration, Hawke decided to take Speed-Casting and apply it to Light magic. Those time reductions were cumulative, so now he could cast even more Light spells instantly, without requiring verbal or physical components. That could make a huge difference in a fight.
Hawke turned to his sword next:
Saturnyx Demons-Bane (Legendary Artifact). Soul Sword. Level 5. One- or two-handed. Damage: One-Handed: 24-29; Two-Handed: 25-39. Requires Swordsmanship Skill.
Special Abilities:
Enhanced Attributes: +5 to Strength, +5 to Constitution, +5 to Dexterity.
Enhanced Skill: +5 to the wielder’s Sword Skill.
Dragon-Bone Hilt: Provides Damage Resistance: Elemental (Fire) 55% Elemental (All Others): 25%.
Elysian Steel Cross-Guard: Reduces the Mana cost of spells by 1.
For his next Elemental Boon, Hawke now had three choices. He could pick a power from previous levels, or he could select one of two new abilities. The new powers were all good:
Elemental Damage: You can spend 5 Mana to channel your Chosen Element through your blade, inflicting 1-4 points of Elemental damage per level. This ability lasts one minute per activation.
Elemental Shield: You can spend 5 Mana to increase your Resistance (5% per level) against both your Chosen Element and its Opposite. This ability lasts one minute per activation.
He took more time with this choice because, after level five, he wouldn’t be able to choose more Boons until reaching level ten, and then he would only get another pick every five levels after that. Saturnyx had explained the Boons were front-
loaded because her wielders had been meant to be at least tenth level; they would start out with six powers from their chosen category, and then steadily acquire more abilities over time. Hawke went for the Elemental Damage ability. He was already a pretty decent tank, and the best defense was killing the other guy before he killed you.
I was one lucky noob, finding you when I was a first-level scrub.
Maybe someone upstairs likes me.
Hawke shrugged. He would play the hand he’d been dealt to the best of his ability, and worry about the future when it became the present. Satisfied with his choices, he picked a new spell, one from the Life Element:
Lesser Healing
Time to Cast: 2 seconds. Cooldown: 20 seconds. Cost: 15(14) Mana. Duration: Permanent. Range: Touch. Effect: Heal 10 Health per caster level. This spell will also remove any crippling injuries and effects, except those caused by natural aging.
The spell was expensive, but if anybody suffered a debilitating injury it would take care of it. Hawke had seen that regular healing dealt with things like concussions, but he had worried about what would happen if someone lost a finger or an eye. It looked as if Lesser Healing could deal with that sort of thing. After finalizing his choices, he gave his character stats a final look:
Name: Hawke Lightseeker. Race: Half-Elf. Class: Paladin. Level: 5
Experience/Next Level: 2,840/3,500
Attributes:
Strength 17(23), Dexterity 13(18), Constitution 19(25), Intelligence 15, Spirit 18, Perception 14, Willpower 15, Charisma 18
Characteristics:
Health: 97 (Regain 6.4/min)
Mana: 71 (Regain 5.7/min)
Endurance 92 (Regain 6.4/min)
Identity: 21
Skills
Detect Traps 1, Disarm Traps 2, Dodge 6, Lore 3, Shield 7, Spear 4, Stealth 1, Survival 3, Sword 7(13), Swimming 2, Tracking 1
Languages: Common Fey, Vulgate, Lesser Celestial
Perks
Dark Vision, Speed-Casting (Light Magic), True Sight, Undying, Unlimited Potential
Spells/Abilities
Aura of Light, Bolt of Life, Bulwark of Light, Consecrated Ground, Enlightenment, Growth, Hammer of Light, Lesser Healing, Shield of Light, Touch of Light
Hawke was glad to regain the Identity points he had lost when the Dire Bear killed him. He now understood how the system worked. The more levels he gained without being killed, the better his chances to survive without losing his memories and eventually his Eternal existence. That also meant you had to stay on the advancement treadmill; the Makers and Arbiters had set up things that way. You either grew more powerful or you died.
Saturnyx said.
That sucks. He had no memory of those deaths, which was probably a blessing. He reminded himself of the dozens of gamers still trapped in there, still dying, over and over again. He wanted to help them right away, but he needed power to deal with the Necromancer.
What level should I reach before I try to take out Domort?
Crap. From the sound of it, he was only halfway to where he needed to be before he could even think of going after Domort. And there was no way he could do it alone. He would need a full party to do it. He glanced at Kinto’s family. They wanted to defend their homes, so he could count on them, even the old Hunter. And if he could convince the Prefect to allow it, he could hire some Dwarven Adventurers in Akila. And maybe get the Nerf Herders to help out. Kinto’s misgivings worried him, but maybe the Guild’s bad rep came from culture shock or misunderstandings. He hoped so; he really wanted to join up with people from his reality.
Hawke sighed. First things first: he had to take care of the Lair and then figure out his next move.
Thirty
“Fire lizards,” Kinto muttered darkly after he came back from his scouting run. “Why did it have to be fire lizards?”
“Never heard of them before,” Hawke said.
“That makes you a lucky man. Seven to eight feet long if you do not count the tail, which doubles that total. Sharp teeth on jaws strong enough to rend plate armor. And, once every nine or ten seconds, they can breathe fire, much like a dragon.”
“Okay, that sounds pretty bad.”
“What’s even worse is that there are three of them, all of the sixth level of power. It was by the gods’ grace that they didn’t spot me. They are nesting in the biggest room yet, a wide cavern that the Troggs enlarged with their Earth magic. My gear allowed me to approach them, but when they see you, Paladin, they will burn you down from a hundred feet away.”
“Uh, I have fifty-five percent fire resistance. Would that help?”
“Almost six-tenths, eh?” Kinto said. “Four-tenths of Hell are probably too much to handle, don’t you think? And you will not be burned once but thrice.”
“Well, I got my auras, too, and my armor. I could draw their, well, fire, and then hold them off while Gosto heals me and the rest of you help me kill them.”
“I’ve heard worse plans, but not many,” the Hunter grumbled. “Might be I can help to turn it into a middling to bad plan instead.”
He summoned a clay bottle from his pouch of Holding. “Fire salve. Worth five times its weight in gold, when you can find it at an alchemist’s shop, which isn’t often. Rub it on and it will absorb some of the flames without harming you. It’s what dragon hunters use in the higher Realms, if they wish to live. Not much good against a full-grown adult dragon, let alone a Great or Ancient one, but fire lizards are among the lowest forms of dragon-kind.”
Kinto handed the bottle to Hawke, who uncorked it and took a look at the contents. The bottle was filled with a reddish-brown liquid that smelled like raw sewage mixed with copious amounts of black pepper. The stench was almost bad enough to make him drop the container.
“Careful there!” Kinto said. “Five times its weight in gold, I said, and that’s no lie!”
“So I’m supposed to slather that stuff over my clothes? I’m going to smell like…”
“I know what you’ll smell like. And no, the salve does not go over your clothes.”
“Okay, that’s a little…”
“Goes over your bare skin, it does.”
“…better?”
* * *
He took off his shirt so Kinto could cover up his back. Tava offered to do it but the Hunter growled at her. She still gave Hawke a few appreciative glances. After that, they let him have a little privacy around a tunnel corner so he could send his clothes to his inventory and put the lotion on his skin, so to speak.
This stuff better work.
He did so as he rubbed more of the stinking, gooey mess over his arms, having already done his front torso, legs and feet. His face was next, and that was going to be the worst:
Fire Salve
Alchemical Concoction (Enchanted Quality). If applied over the skin, will provide 15 points of direct Damage Resistance against Fire and increase Elemental Resistance (Fire) by 20%. The effect lasts for six hours or until the salve is washed off, whichever comes first.
“Okay, that sounds pretty good, actu
ally. I’ll be seventy-five percent resistant to fire, not counting my armor and auras.”
“Thanks. I needed a pep talk.”
Hawke had been burned before. Nothing major, just stuff like accidentally touching a hot stove, playing with matches as a kid, one time when he’d smacked an exposed halogen light with his elbow. Getting a full-body dose of that sort of pain was going to be as bad as… well, as putting the salve over his face. He made sure none of the stuff went into his mouth, because if it tasted half as bad as it smelled, he wanted no part of it. Not to mention the stuff was probably poisonous.
Ugh. Which end?
He got the stuff in his hair, made sure he wasn’t missing a spot anywhere. Saturnyx helpfully let him know when he was completely covered in the disgusting mixture. He put his clothes and armor over it, feeling downright slimy, and went to rejoin the group. Everybody kept their distance. His sense of smell had quietly died by the time he was halfway done, but theirs hadn’t and they didn’t want any part of it.
“Are we ready?” he asked.
“Whenever you are, Paladin,” Kinto told him. Hawke wasn’t sure, but once again he thought there was the hint of a smile in the Hunter’s dour face. The man was turning into a regular laugh factory.
The plan was simple enough. Kinto would sneak into the cave first and wait for a good time to strike the critters from behind. Next, Hawke would stroll into the room, draw aggro and take the lizards’ flame attacks before luring them into hand to hand combat at the narrow entrance, where no more than two could get at him. Tava would shoot them until it she saw the lizards begin to inhale for another round of fire breathing, at which point she would run around the corner. Gosto would do the same, alternating between heals and attacks.