Mirien’s brows drew down in confusion. “A jade wild druid? I’ve never heard of that class,” she murmured.
Kyran nodded. “The wild druid is one of the rarer combat classes. It draws from the both the psi and magic skill trees and contains eleven different skills. The jade druid is a variant of the class, only made possible by Aiken’s clan.”
“Eleven?” asked Mirien, her eyes widening. “I have never heard of a class with that many skills before.” She glanced sideways at Adra before adding, “And the Brotherhood have intently studied all the player classes.”
Kyran, too, sneaked a look at Adra. The wolven did not react to the mention of the Brotherhood as she so often did, for which Kyran was grateful. Perhaps the two will learn to work better together from now on, he thought. He turned back to Mirien. “I am not surprised,” he replied. “According to the book, there has only ever been one wild druid in the Game before.”
“Book? What book?” asked Mirien.
Kyran closed his eyes and held out his hand to summon the Champion’s Handbook from his inventory.
Mirien glanced down at the book and gasped. She reached out to touch the tome, but stopped halfway. With her hand hovering reverently over the book, she looked up at Kyran with shining eyes. “Where did you get this?”
Bemused by her reaction, Kyran looked from Mirien to his other two companions. They likewise appeared puzzled by her behaviour. “Why do you ask?” he asked.
“Do you not recognise it?” she asked, then shook her head. “Of course you don’t,” she muttered. “This book contains some of the most treasured pieces of lore on the Game. There were only six copies ever made, and the gods strictly control its dissemination.”
Seeing that Kyran still did not understand, she added, “Simply having seen this book is enough to get you and everyone you know killed. The gods are not willing to allow such knowledge on the Game freely spread. The Brotherhood has tried for years—and failed—to make a copy of one. They are much too carefully guarded.” She stared piercingly at Kyran again. “Where did you get it?”
And Aveyad simply handed it over to me? he wondered. Had the vampire lord realised what a treasure he was giving Kyran? He must have, thought Kyran. It seems he had much more to be grateful to the undead for than he had realised.
Kyran peered up into Mirien’s searching gaze and shifted uncomfortably. The elven maiden might have proven herself true to the party, but he was not yet willing to go as far as trusting her with all his secrets—especially one as dangerous as his alliance with the undead. “I found it in Crota.” Adra and Gaesin exchanged glances at this boldface lie, but said nothing.
Mirien no doubt realised he lied, though she forbore from calling him out on it. She simply nodded. “Well, you should put it away for now,” she said reluctantly. “But when we are somewhere more secure, would you let me look at it?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you,” said Mirien, smiling gratefully. She rose to her feet, followed by Adra by Gaesin. The two women headed deeper into the cave, while Gaesin took up a position just inside the cave mouth from where he could look out onto the mountain beyond.
Kyran stared thoughtfully after Mirien. The elven woman was proving to be more useful that he expected. The Brotherhood, it seemed, were quite knowledgeable of the gods and the Game. And while Mirien appeared to be sharing her knowledge freely now, he realised the rest of the Brotherhood might not be so free in their exchanges. They would want something in return from him.
He sighed. Extracting knowledge from the Brotherhood without binding himself to them was a problem for another day. He had other things to consider right now. Closing his eyes, he shifted his thoughts to his interrupted levelling.
He had five combat ability points and could choose two abilities. The difference between the effectiveness of his fire spells and other magic spells was still minimal, so there was no reason to replace fire dart and fire shield just yet. With that in mind, he made his choices.
New ability learned: delayed casting (allows the caster to create and hold the weaves of a spell to be triggered when desired).
Delayed casting was a utility spell and an interesting one at that. By reducing the delay in his casting time to zero, it would vastly improve the effectiveness of his surprise attacks, and just as importantly, unlike the other apprentice-ranked spells, its effectiveness would not diminish as he advanced to higher ranks.
New ability learned: mass sleep (causes the targets in the area of effect to fall into a magically induced slumber).
Mass sleep, his second choice, added another psi crowd control to his arsenal. Given that he already had sufficient magical area of effect spells, he didn’t need any more of them just yet, and thus far, he wasn’t using his psi to its full potential in battle. Mass sleep would give him more options.
Next, he turned to his civilian abilities. Of the available abilities, invigorating aura was the only one of immediate benefit, and he learned it without hesitation.
New ability learned: invigorating aura (increases the stamina regeneration and movement rate of allied players).
There was only one more thing he needed to do before he gave in to sleep. Reaching out to the nearest of the tamed worgs through the mindscape, he cast beastform.
Tendrils of interrogating psi flowed into the worg’s mind, probing and analysing the creature. And gradually, step by step, Kyran began to understand the befriended beast: his form, movements, and abilities.
Congratulations you have learned the beastform: worg.
Known beastforms: 1/4.
Warning: this knowledge is permanent and cannot be unlearned.
As a result of your class variant, you have also acquired understanding of the unique beastform: jade worg (replaces the night stalker trait with jade armour).
An hour later, swaying slightly from tiredness, Kyran open tired eyes again. Ah, he breathed, looking at the worgs with new eyes. He understood them so much better now.
He glanced at the sleeping bear. Out of curiosity, he reached to Aiken and cast beastform.
You cannot learn the beastform of Aiken. Jade great bears are rank VI creatures, your current rank is: apprentice (rank II).
His expression dropped into a moue of disappointment. It would be a long time before he could assume the shape of his brother’s people—if ever.
But for now, he was content enough with acquiring the worg’s form. He yawned tiredly. No longer able to resist the call of sleep, he lay down and fell deep asleep.
✽✽✽
Mirien’s thoughts were awhirl with speculation as she lay down to sleep. Her tiredness was temporarily forgotten as her mind played over Kyran’s startling revelations.
Eleven skills, a rare class, and a unique variant, she thought. She had done her best to hide her amazement during the conversation, yet some of it had slipped through. Even now, she could barely stop herself from shaking her head in disbelief.
Kyran seemed completely unaware of the significance of what he had told her. Most champions in the Game possessed only six to eight class skills, and almost never more than nine. Yet Kyran had eleven, and from the obvious power of his spells, all seemed to be enhanced by his traits and attributes. Even disregarding his status as a free agent, Kyran, she realised, was no ordinary player.
Then there was the ‘jade’ class variant. He could only have achieved that by accomplishing some great deed on behalf of the jade bears, she knew. Was that how he had defeated Lesh? With the great bear’s aid? She needed to unlock the secret behind that.
And finally, there was the book. The Brotherhood’s knowledge of the players and their classes had been painstakingly assembled over centuries. Their scholars salivated at the thought of getting their hands on the Champion’s Handbook, and here Kyran was offering it to her like it was any other mundane book. She had all but snatched it out of his hands when she realised what he held.
Whatever Kyran said, she knew he had not just found it in the d
ead city. Mirien resolved to discover the mystery behind the book. There had to be far more to the story. As there was far more to Kyran than she had suspected.
She yawned and, despite herself and her bouncing thoughts, fell into a deep slumber.
✽✽✽
Kyran’s eyes snapped open to the sound of a long, mournful howl. It was immediately followed by two others.
The hunting packs were back.
He reached out through his psi-bond to the three befriended worgs watching the party’s perimeter. The three were sitting up alert, but displaying no signs of agitation. The hunters were still far off then.
Adra leaned over him. “Kyran, wake—” She stopped, noticing his open eyes. “Oh good, you’re up already. The worgs are back.”
Kyran sat up. “I heard. What time is it?”
“It is the middle of the fourth watch. Night has just begun to fall again.”
“Fourth watch?” he asked, startled, “but that is my watch.”
“It was,” said Adra, a momentary smile lighting her face, “but Mirien and I decided you needed the rest. She took the second watch, and I, the third and fourth.”
“Adra, that wasn’t necessary,” he protested.
“You needed the rest,” she chided. “But come, we need to get moving.”
Letting the matter drop, Kyran rose to his feet. “Where are the others?”
“Eating outside while keeping watch for the worgs and ogres.”
Kyran nodded and followed Adra out. Aiken, Gaesin, and Mirien were sitting in a line across the cave’s entrance and looking down on the mountain slopes while they ate through their rations.
“Morning, Kyran,” said Gaesin. He looked up at the night sky. “Well, I guess that isn’t right. Evening, I mean.”
“Evening,” replied Kyran with a smile. He dropped down next to Aiken and pulled out his own rations. It was a clear night. The stars were shining brightly, and not a cloud marred the sky. The air was brisk and cool, with just the hint of a chill. A perfect night, he thought.
Another howl broke the silence, a long, undulating cry. “We were wondering,” said Mirien, after the cry died out, “why the howls only resumed now.”
Kyran chewed meditatively through his food before answering, “The worgs are nocturnal, and their senses sharper at night. They must have stopped to rest for the day.”
He raised the kobold rations to his mouth, then dropped it as he saw Adra, Gaesin, and Mirien staring at him. “What?” he asked, frowning.
“Nothing, Kyran,” said Adra. “It’s just that you seem very sure of your knowledge.”
“Oh,” he replied. “That’s one of the wild druid class abilities. It grants me a more complete understanding of the creatures I befriend.”
The trio nodded, accepting this. “So they will not hunt us during the day?” asked Mirien.
Kyran shook his head grimly. “They can and will. It’s just that night is their preferred time to hunt. The packs must have already been on the move for days if they felt the need to rest last night.”
Which reminded him, the three tamed worgs needed to feed as well. He summoned the creatures back and threw them some of the kobold rations.
The worgs snarled and battered at the ration cubes, clearly unimpressed by the food Kyran had provided. But their hunger was too great to reject even the paltry offering. Eventually, the three lay down and chewed their way through the hardened cubes.
Kyran turned back to the rest of the party. “Anyway, we have some time before the packs catch up to us, but there can be no question that the ogres still hunt us. And with no rope, we are stuck in the inner range. So, the question is, what do we do now?”
“Is there another route out?” asked Gaesin.
All eyes turned to Mirien. She shook her head slowly. “None that I know off. Not unless we return to Durn Duruhl and try the mountain pass—gargoyles and all. We could try heading west and searching for the route Gnarok’s warband used up the escarpment, though finding it may be more difficult than tackling the pass.” She sighed. “I’m sorry, I don’t know of any other route through the mountains.”
They all fell silent, thinking. “So, we have three options then,” said Kyran. “One, attempt the gargoyle-infested mountain pass, but that will require us to backtrack, and given our run-in with the ogres, we have to assume Xetil knows where we are and that he can track us. He will assuredly have other forces behind us by now.”
The others nodded, agreeing with his reasoning.
“The second option,” continued Kyran, “is to head west and search for the path Gnarok used to scale the escarpment. But even assuming we can sneak past the ogres pursuing us, like Mirien, I don’t fancy our chances of finding the route upwards.”
“Why don’t we just follow the escarpment eastwards? Surely at some point, it must end,” asked Gaesin.
Mirien shook her head. “We can’t. The escarpment runs nearly the entirety of the southern Skarral range. We will have to follow it for weeks, and its Octu already.”
Kyran and Gaesin looked at her blankly.
“She means,” said Adra, “that winter will set in soon, and as difficult as our hike through the mountains has been so far, we do not want to be here when the first snows of winter arrive.”
Kyran glanced up at the clear sky again. There appeared to be no hint of winter on the horizon. “How long do we have until winter sets in?” he asked.
Adra and Mirien exchanged glances. “Two weeks, perhaps three,” answered Adra. “No more. And that assumes winter does not arrive early.” Mirien nodded in agreement.
“Which means we have to find a way out of these mountains fast,” said Kyran, lowering his head as he pondered their predicament.
“You mentioned a third option?” asked Mirien.
Kyran nodded. “Yes. We get the rope back,” he replied simply.
A stunned silence fell over the trio. “How?” asked Gaesin, disbelievingly. “There were over forty ogres in Gnarok’s warband. How do we overcome all of them?”
“I don’t know yet,” admitted Kyran. “But it is our best option, I think.”
“Do we even know if they still have the rope?” asked Adra.
“They were reeling it in,” reasoned Kyran. “They must intend to keep it.”
Mirien’s lips were pursed as she gazed thoughtfully between Kyran and the worgs. Noting her expression, he asked, “What is it?”
“Just how good is your taming, Kyran?”
“About as powerful as my magic,” he replied. “Why?”
She nodded. “If that is the case, there may just be somewhere we can gain more...allies.”
He looked at her questioningly. “There might be a wyvern nest a few days east of here,” Mirien said.
“Wyverns! That is madness,” exploded Adra at the exact moment that Kyran thoughtfully asked, “Might be?”
Mirien looked from one to the other, then answered Kyran first. “I never saw their nest myself, just their forms flying high above as I journeyed south.” She looked at Adra. “I admit it is dangerous, though what other choices do we have?”
Adra opened her mouth to retort, but was silenced by another howl. The three worgs, still chewing industriously on the kobold rations, looked up, and cocked their heads sideways as they listened intently.
Even to Kyran’s ears, the howls sounded closer. He turned to the two women. “We’ll debate it later. Let’s deal with our pursuers first.”
Game Data
Ability: Delayed casting
Skill: Spellcasting.
Description: This ability allows the caster to create and hold the weaves of a spell to be triggered when desired.
Rank: Apprentice.
Cost: 160 will per hour.
Execution time: 5 seconds.
Duration: Infinite (activated ability).
Buff: Can hold the weaves of a spell in readiness to be activated instantly when required.
Ability: Mass sleep
Skil
l: Telepathy.
Description: This ability causes the targets in the area of effect to fall into a magically induced slumber. Warning: the effect wears off if the targets are attacked.
Rank: Apprentice.
Cost: 80 will.
Execution time: 5 seconds.
Area of effect: Radius of 0.1m x skill around target.
Range: Up to the caster’s direct line of sight.
Duration: 1 second x skill.
Debuff: Causes hostile creatures in the area to fall asleep. May be resisted.
Ability: Invigorating aura
Skill: Commander.
Description: This spell increases the stamina regeneration and movement rate of allied players. Warning: The spell is cancelled if hostiles enter the presence of the caster.
Rank: Apprentice.
Cost: 160 essence per hour.
Execution time: Instantaneous.
Buff: Stamina regeneration and movement rate increased by 1% x skill to vassals, minions, and self.
Range: Maximum distance of 10m x skill.
Duration: Infinite (activated ability).
Chapter 17
16 Octu 2603 AB
The gods are not all-seeing, nor all-knowing, at least not on Myelad. Severed from their numberless followers across the cosmos and the greater part of the divine essence that fed them, the gods are much reduced, and only shadows of their former selves. Yet, even possessing a fraction of their power and bound by the Game, the divines are still far beyond most mortals. —Dagzid, Brotherhood scholar.
Hours later, Mirien was running hard, with Kyran’s three worgs by her side. Behind her was a sea of black, as over sixty snapping, snarling worgs converged on her position.
Mirien was playing bait again. One of Kyran’s creatures peeled off to attack a pair of the ogres’ worgs that had gotten too close. She glanced towards the battling beasts, but she couldn’t slow down to aid Kyran’s creature. Pursuit was following too close on her heels.
Sovereign Rising (The Gods' Game, Volume III): A LitRPG novel Page 23