[Earthborn candidate #254726, Function increase level 5 cluster]

  Name: Finn Race: Human Class: Mage Subclass: None

  Affiliations: Glorious and Honorable Enchanter’s Guild

  -----------Membership: Full Initiate, Level 1

  Level: 15 Experience Energy: 17% to next level

  Strength: 17

  Stamina: 22

  Endurance: 25

  Dexterity: 23

  Intelligence: 40

  Wisdom: 37

  Charisma: 18

  Health Points: 447 Mana Pool: 549 Mana Regen: 20.392 MP per minute

  Carry Weight: 492 lbs Potion Sensitivity: 25 (level 5)

  Survivability Index: 26.1%

  Skills: Tracking level 11, Enchant Item level 2, Craft Spell level 2, Surge level 2, ????, ????, ????

  There was a dinging from the front doorbell as I finished writing the information on the last item, a wooden spoon. The Wooden Spoon of Ultimate Stirring. The dang thing stirred and seasoned soup with no supervision. It was the first legendary item I had come across. Wasn’t even that fancy, just a well-worn old wooden spoon with a slight bend in the handle.

  “Finn, it’s your friends!” Marin said, poking her head through the door to the work area.

  I set the legendary spoon down and grinned at the older Guild member. “Great, I just finished. You should check out this spoon when you have a second. It’s pretty cool!”

  Archin and Cole approached me, and I shook hands with both of them.

  “You be careful out there, young man,” Cole said gruffly. “We need more like you: quick and diligent. Come back and visit when you can!”

  Archin cleared his throat. “Remember to keep our secrets safe, Finn.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  As soon as I entered the waiting area, Vessa launched herself at me from Arilyn’s arms. “Whoa, careful, little one!” I said with a laugh.

  “Finn! I’m so glad to see you. We had so much fun, and the horses were so nice! There were so many colors of horses, too! There were white ones, black ones, brown ones, spotted ones, black and white ones, red ones, and ones that looked like they had been painted on!” she thought to me in rapid-fire.

  Her excitement was overwhelming, but full of good energy. I laughed out loud. “That’s great, Vessa! I’m glad you had fun.”

  “It was the most fun I’ve ever had shopping,” Arilyn added. “But we should get going. Harper’s waiting outside with the horses.”

  Leaving the city took longer than I had expected, which explained Harper’s mood. She was biting at the bit the entire time, holding in her frustration rather well, muttering obscenities under her breath. I had hoped that she would be less of a beast when we finally got on the road.

  By the time we had reached the western gate and the road that would lead directly to the mountains, I thought Harper was going to kill someone, specifically me. From what Arilyn and Vessa told me, she was tense and direct during the whole shopping adventure, frightening the horse traders.

  Which, as it turned out, was rather useful. They were able to get Arilyn a top-tier roan mare that had been slated for a lord’s breeding stock for a pittance. With the tack thrown in.

  Not that I knew much about horses, but Arilyn and Harper did. The way my favorite Cleric gushed over the horse, I wondered if it had the ability to fly, make lemonade, shoot lightning bolts from its eyes, and even cook a five-star breakfast.

  Rocks was completely meek around the prize mare, showing her every deference. I had a fleeting thought about what GB would think of Arilyn’s horse. Probably would have challenged her for dominance or something, I thought wryly. I really missed that horse.

  The road, wide as a two-lane back home, was as packed as the city for the first five miles. After which it cleared up significantly. Part of that was the intermittent towns and villages along the road. But the farther we got from the capital, the distance between the villages increased. And each village became more fortified.

  That seemed odd to me, as coming from the south and the east, that was not the case.

  I rode closer to Harper, who was in the lead, brooding. “Hey Harper.”

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  She glanced at me and grunted.

  “Why are the towns changing as we go west?”

  “Seriously? Think about it.”

  Then it hit me: the closer we got to the mountains, the more dangerous the area’s monsters became. And most people either did not have classes, or if they did, they were either out adventuring or in the military. I said as much to Harper.

  “Mostly true. There are a lot of people who have classes, but with focuses on non-adventuring, peaceful professions,” she stated, annoyed. “Like a carpenter with a Druid class, with a focus on working with wood. So, yeah… anything else?”

  “What the fuck is your problem?” I asked. “Ever since yesterday, when I went and talked with Arilyn, you’ve been acting like I kicked your puppy and stole your candy.”

  “My problem? My problem?” Harper shouted. “Ever since we got to the library, it was like you were in your own little world. We had things we were going to talk to Eric about. You and I. Instead, you went sniffing after your girlfriend for a chat like a love-sick puppy. Then you had her join our little group! Not that she won’t be useful, but come on. We have some dangerous and important work to do, and I need you focused. Not going to work, or getting nasty with your girlfriend.”

  I leaned back in my saddle. “Shit. That’s why? You don’t think I’m focused?” I said angrily before calming myself somewhat. “We have a lot to do before we can focus on the main quest. And I really hope that we’ll be able to move fast enough that the Voice doesn’t get pissed and tell me to fuck off!”

  Harper said nothing for a moment. “Look, I’m just angry about this right now, okay? I’m honestly angry about a lot of things,” she said softly. Then she looked at Vessa. “Well, not you, little one.”

  The little dragon, who had been napping, chirped at her tentatively.

  “Sorry we woke you, Vessa,” I said. “We’re just discussing stuff.”

  Harper grimaced. “Yeah, stuff. I just have some stuff to mull over. Talk later, Finn?”

  I nodded and reined my mount in a little so Harper could have a little space. As much as I wanted to hash it out, she wasn’t ready to. And maybe I wasn’t ready, either. I had become defensive and aggressive. Harper was my friend, and I would be damned if I pushed her away.

  Arilyn caught up to me on her magnificent horse. “I’m sorry if I caused any trouble, Finn,” she said sadly.

  “You overheard?”

  “It was kind of hard not to, when the two of you were bellowing like a couple of gragyaks in heat.”

  I gave her the side-eye at the comment. “What the hell is a gragnok?”

  “Gragyak,” she corrected, before widening her eyes in surprise. “You don’t know what a gragyak is? Well, I guess you wouldn’t, not having made it that far in this world. It’s a large, bovine beast, with shaggy hair that hangs to the ground. Long, curling horns and tusks. Ugly as sin.”

  “That sounds like an animal from Earth, called a yak. I wonder if the gragyak shares ancestors with yaks.”

  “Maybe, from what I’ve read, there are animals here on Temberis that are obviously from Earth,” Arilyn replied in a scholarly tone. “Some authors even talk about—”

  “Wait, what did you call this place?” I asked. There was something about that name.

  “Temberis. Why, didn’t you know what this world was called?”

  The name echoed through my mind, bouncing around but not really sticking to anything. I vaguely remembered someone else saying that name. A woman’s voice. Not Arilyn’s voice. I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. At least I know now!” I replied, smiling at her. She really was beautiful; her hair cascaded down in curls kissed by the sun’s light.

  Arilyn smiled back at me, somehow looking even lovelier. “Nothing wrong with learning new things.”

  I nodded as we entered the forest in the foothills.

  Vessa came fully awake and looked around frantically. “Finn, there are stinky things out there, approaching us fast!” She thought, terror in her thought. “I don’t like this! Smells as bad as the Mole People!”

  Harper had already come to a stop ahead of us, stared down by a veritable wall of hyena-looking motherfuckers that was blocking the road. They were tall, ranging from a little over six feet to dang near seven feet in height. Armed with swords, spears, and flails, they looked ready to dance.

  Without taking her eyes off the monsters in front of us, Harper spoke quietly out the side of her mouth. “This is a Gnoll Warband, Finn. There’s likely over thirty of them.”

  To my count, there were only seven ahead of us, but I wasn’t going to dismiss her experience. “Can we talk them down? Or trade with them?”

  “No way in hell,” Harper hissed.

  Arilyn frowned. “If this wasn’t a Warband, maybe. A bigger group with more established leadership? Yes. Or a smaller group, like a small tribe or family unit.”

  “So we fight,” I sighed. I had really wanted to avoid using magic. “Alright. Where are the rest of these shitweasels?”

  “We’re surrounded by them,” Harper muttered bitterly. “In the trees on both sides of the road. Likely a mix of skirmishers, marauders, archers, and shamans. With some Fang captains mixed in and a fucking Warcaller.”

  I nodded slowly. “I’m afraid we’re going to have to go scorched earth then. Arilyn, can you block incoming arrows and magic? Or just buff and heal us?”

  “I can do both, and likely a bit more, too,” Arilyn replied nervously.

  “Good. Arilyn, keep us safe. I’ll cast at both sides, hopefully setting gnolls and trees on fire, as well as skewering and poisoning them. Harper, you handle those in the front and any others that show their ugly-ass faces. Got it?”

  “I can do more than that, Finn,” Harper growled at me.

  “Yes, I know. But we don’t have anyone who can go head to head with these things other than you. Make sense?”

  She nodded reluctantly, “Yes, but I don’t like it.”

  I had over five hundred mana points. I was going to use all of them.

  “Vessa, get into my poncho,” I said softly. I waited for her to climb in.

  Very slowly, I stretched out my hands to either side and took a deep breath. But no matter how much I prepared myself to resist the siren’s call of the magic, I was going to want more of it. Can’t think about that, I thought. I have to focus on protecting my friends. I have to protect Vessa. And Arilyn is counting on me, too.

  I felt, more than I saw, the anxious gnolls in front of us step forward. The ones in the trees started their rush. Delicious power flowed through me as I double surge-cast Chain Lightning at the charging gnolls to both sides of us. I squeezed my eyes shut in horror at their screams, even as I laughed in joy at the feeling of the magic coursing through my very soul.

  There was a feeling of connection to the monstrous bipeds, and I could feel that not all of them were dropping. My eyes flew open, and I looked at what I had wrought. Maybe eight of them had fallen. For the cost of around two hundred and fifty mana points. Half my pool. I didn’t even want to do the math on the damage I dealt. But the bodies of both the dead and the living were sparking and smoking as I watched.

  More were coming out of the trees. I saw gnolls with staffs and headdresses of bone and feathers, others with polearms and bows. Arilyn’s voice rose in gorgeous song, while Harper screamed obscenities.

  Arrows fell broken around us, ruined by Arilyn’s protections.

  Firebolts flew from my hands, aimed at the brush and fallen branches. 11, maybe 12. I then turned my attention to the gnolls that were recovering from being shocked, and nailed them to the ground. Glorious cold chilled my bones from the Ice Shards I used, bringing my kill count up to around fourteen or fifteen. Did Harper say thirty gnolls?

  That was more than my mana pool could handle. If my math was correct, 96 mana to start fires that were smoking and spreading. Another 120 to 140 mana to kill the gnolls that survived the Chain Lightning. On the outside, that was what, 480 mana points, give or take? So much for being strategic—

  “Finn, watch out!” cried Arilyn moments before pain flared through my back.

  Something was sticking out of my chest.