If they had found the fleeing ratfolk, she might have been forced to step in to stop a slaughter. No matter what, she wasn’t going to let anyone kill babies in front of her. Regardless if a stupid quest told them to do it.
None of the others seemed perturbed by the fact that the quest had expected them to exterminate children. But then again, they’d lived in this world a lot longer than Piper. They’d probably dealt with ratfolk in the past.
Still, she wouldn’t let herself rationalize killing children. There must be a better option. Like turning them in to the local authorities… who she realized would probably immediately execute them.
Piper huffed with frustration. When she became an aspirant, she didn’t think it would be so complicated. She thought she would be fighting monsters and other evil creatures. Not exterminating ratfolk who acted far too human for her tastes.
The sound of approaching footsteps made her look back, and she spotted Selene approaching. As usual, the young woman looked almost annoyingly perfect. Even after a battle, every single hair was in place, and her makeup was flawless. She definitely had a skill.
“What do you want?” Piper snapped.
Selene held up her hands. “I just wanted to make sure you were all right.”
“I’m fine,” Piper said. “Now that you know, you can go away.”
But Selene didn’t leave. Instead, she walked quietly at Piper’s side. Finally, she asked, “How are you feeling?”
“Why do you care?”
“Don’t be silly,” Selene said, giving her a brilliant smile. “You’re my friend, and I care about you.”
Piper only glowered in return. In her mind, Selene was just as bad as the others. “How can you be alright with killing kids?”
Selene shrugged. “I’ve seen the smouldering remains of villages razed by ratfolk. They do far worse to our children than simply killing them.”
“It doesn’t matter what they do,” she insisted. “It matters what we do. Just because they’re ratfolk doesn’t mean they’re evil.”
For the first time since they’d met, Selene’s expression hardened. “The children who escaped today will have litters of their own within a few months. If another group of aspirants doesn’t find them, hundreds of people will die. Their deaths will be on us.”
Piper shook her head, her emotions swirling like an angry sea.
“Did you know that over a dozen peasant families have gone missing in the area?” Selene asked. “That includes children and pets.”
“What… happened to them?”
Selene exhaled and stared off into the distance. “Didn’t you see?”
Piper shook her head.
“Basil said there were piles of human bones in the tunnels. With everything going on, I can’t blame you for missing them. The ratfolk were eating the peasants.”
Piper took a moment to digest the news. “I… think I need a few days. Right now, I can’t handle any more quests.”
Selene gave her a sad little smile. “I understand. You always have a place in our group if you want one.” She reached out and touched Piper’s shoulders. “But there’s no reason we can’t grab a meal together.”
“We’ll see.”
“You know where to find me.” With those words, the dark-haired woman slowed her pace, letting Piper forge ahead alone. Selene remained on the side of the road until the others caught up with her.
Piper kept moving, still struggling with the events of the day. As she walked, she caught snippets of conversation behind her, as Selene relayed her words to the others. She knew in her heart she wasn’t done trying to become a wayfarer. But she was going to be far pickier when it came to choosing quests. From now on, she’d only fight monsters like the mucklings.
As her mind returned to the fight once again, she reached around to touch where she’d been stabbed. Ironically, of all the injuries she’d sustained so far, the one inflicted by a low-level ratfolk had been the worst. If she hadn’t activated [Demonic Blood] when she did, she might have died.
The longer she was out in the world, the more she realized that she had gaping holes in her stats. She desperately needed to improve her Vitality and Perception. Both of those stats would give her a better chance at survival. One would let her detect hidden foes, while the other would ensure she stayed alive long enough to use her racial skill [Demonic Blood].
At the thought of her stats, she brought up her character sheet. Hopefully, focusing on distributing her new levels would take her mind off things.
Piper Ashcroft
Race: Shadeling, Level 45
Class: Deceiver (Epic), Level 42
Attributes
Strength – 125
Dexterity – 70
Stamina - 60
Vitality – 30
Perception – 30
Swiftness - 70
Magic - 200
Mana - 750
Mana Regeneration – 750
Free Attribute Points - 30
Racial Skills (5/10)
- Demonic Blood, Level 35
- Demonic Fury, Level 1
- Demonic Intellect, Level 8
- Tail Strike, Level 14
- Quick Claw, Level 12
Skills (10/10)
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
- Ambush Detection, Level 5
- Animal Caretaker, Level 5
- Archery, Level 19
- Cooking, Level 6
- Enduring Casting, Level 11
- Identify, Level 11
- Hunting, Level 19
- Running, Level 12
- Stick Wielder, Level 1
- Subterfuge, Level 21
Spells (5/10)
- False Face, Level 20
- Truth Shroud, Level 24
- Umbral Terror, Level 5
- Veil of Lies, Level 16
- Wraithskin, Level 5
As Piper read over her character sheet, she noted that she’d only gained 1 level in her race and 1 in her class. Her leveling speed had slowed down significantly lately, but then again, only one of the ratfolk had out-leveled her. And the Holy System rewarded you for taking risks.
She’d also gained 2 levels in [Demonic Blood] and 1 in [Tail Strike]. For her skills, she’d received 1 level in [Ambush Detection] and 1 additional level in [Archery]. However, she hadn’t gained any in [Wraithskin] like she expected. Once again, the battle had probably been too easy.
In the future, she’d have to concentrate on taking down more difficult foes if she wanted to keep advancing. Preferably quests with monsters and not humanoids. But she couldn’t do that with her current group. She would have to come up with another solution to gain access to more difficult quests.
As her thoughts once again drifted toward the ratfolk burrow, she forced her mind to concentrate on her stat points. The stab wound she’d taken had proven that her vitality was far too low. She decided that she was going to have to change that.
Piper had a total of 30 free attribute points to work with. To start with, she dumped 20 points into Vitality. That brought the attribute up to 50. Not only would it make her tougher, but she should recover from wounds faster. Which was a nice bonus when she couldn’t use [Demonic Blood] in public.
Next, she placed 10 points in Perception, which brought it up to 40. While she could rely on [Ambush Detection] most of the time, it didn’t work very well when she couldn’t react to her opponent—like with the ratfolk rogue in stealth.
Though she didn’t completely understand why she hadn’t seen the creature. Had it used a spell or a skill to escape detection? Normally, she would ask the others. But she wasn’t up to talking to them right now.
The moment she was done, her anxiety returned with a vengeance. Not that she was any stranger to the emotion, having practically lived in a hospital with a fatal disease hanging over her head for most of her life. And she knew how to deal with it.
As she trudged down the dusty road, passing merchant caravans and groups of travellers, she forced herself to recall everything that made her happy. She thought about her dad, and the way he used to take her to museums and art galleries. Then her thoughts turned to her mother, and how they used to paint together before she got too sick.
Inevitably, thoughts of her parents turned toward her death. The recollection of dying soured her mood slightly, so she focused her thoughts on the farm.
The memory of Alfred’s indignant face every time she got him with the little statue in his boots made her smile. Then she recalled Ethel and how the woman used to putter around the kitchen, making sure everything was just right. Finally, she thought about her best friend in the world, Ophelia.
When she got back to Kalmyros, she decided she was going to take her friend out for ice cream. Nothing defeated a bad mood like a creamy treat. Maybe she’d buy a few other delicacies while she was at it.
Piper decided that she wasn’t going to wait. The city shouldn’t be more than 10 to 15 kilometres away. And maybe she could finally start leveling up her skill [Running]. For all she knew, it might only level up when she was running for her life. She hadn’t gained any levels in it for ages. But at least this way she’d find out.
Breaking into a sprint, she dashed down the road, ignoring the calls from her party. She pushed herself to the limit, her strides eating up the ground. A few travelers gave her surprised looks, but she barely noticed them.
The sensation of running made her feel free. As the kilometres fell away, she felt her anxiety receding. The only things that existed were her and the road. And the urge to keep pushing her burning muscles.
Ding! Your skill, Running has reached level 13.
So, she could level up the skill outside of combat. But she had to push herself to the absolute limit.
With that in mind, she pumped her arms, her bow bouncing against her back, and her pouches banging into her legs. She barely noticed any of that, feeling a kind of euphoria flooding her veins.
More level notifications continued to appear as she drew closer to the city. Only when she approached the outskirts did she slow to catch her breath. Her lungs burned, and her legs ached.
But she’d gained a total of 5 levels in [Running]. And more importantly, she felt slightly better. As an added bonus, she’d reached the city far earlier than she expected.
The sun had barely passed its zenith, meaning it was early afternoon. Her stomach rumbling reminded her that she’d missed lunch. She should go and grab Ophelia from her studies and then take her out for a meal.
Leaning down to sniff herself, she added a bath to the list of things she needed to do. She quickly added finding a seamstress and a clothes launderer to the list. The back of her dress had a jagged hole, and she was covered in blood—most of it her own.
Piper angled her path in the direction of the inn. But after about fifteen minutes, she realized that she was completely lost. Why couldn’t they just make straight streets without meandering around all over the place? What was wrong with the designer of this stupid city?
Turning around, she tried to orient herself toward the river. However, after another attempt, she ended up on the outskirts again. With a frustrated stomp of her foot, she scanned the streets for anything familiar.
After a few minutes, she spotted a tiny figure moving through the crowd. She immediately recognized the girl as Wisp; the thief who had tried to snatch her purse on her first day in the city. But more importantly, Wisp had given them directions to the Dancing Gnome Inn.
The blond-haired thief looked poised to pickpocket a wealthy-looking man. For some reason, she seemed completely oblivious to the guard looming over her. Was she trying to get herself thrown in jail?
Piper hurried through the crowd, and she caught the girl’s wrist right when she was about to lift the purse from the bulbous merchant. Wisp reached for her dagger before relaxing slightly at the sight of Piper.
The man started at Piper’s sudden appearance at his side, and he groped for his money purse. After reassuring himself it was still there, he mopped his bald head with a handkerchief and glared at them. “Begone, urchins!”
Piper guided the young thief away, heading toward a nearby alley. Once they were safe, she released the girl.
Wisp rubbed her wrist. “You probably just cost me a pouch full of gold coins.”
Piper pointed at the cloaked figure trailing the richly appointed man. “I’m pretty sure I just saved you from a night in jail.”
“What are you talking about?”
“That man,” Piper pointed. “The one wearing the dark cloak and hood over his face. He was watching you the entire time.”
“I don’t see anyone….” Wisp trailed off as her face paled. “How’d you see him? That’s a guard using a skill to avoid detection.”
“I have no idea, but I just did.” Piper paused as the words left her mouth. Was this the result of her higher Perception attribute? Was she able to see things she couldn’t see in the past? How many other things hadn’t she noticed in the city?
“I would have been thrown into the stocks for sure,” Wisp whispered, pale as a sheet.
Piper's eyes widened at that. Did they really place thieves in the stocks here? She was about to ask a follow-up question when she felt fingers brush her own money purse. Smacking Wisp’s hand away, she glared at the young woman. Apparently, gratitude only went so far with a thief.
Wisp grinned. “What? I’m hungry.”
“Tell you what,” Piper said, shaking her head. “If you show me the way to my inn, I’ll buy you lunch.”
“Lunch and dinner,” Wisp countered. “Plus, I want to know how you do everything.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure you don’t.” Wisp’s fingers reached out for Piper’s money pouch again, only to be slapped away for a second time. “Like how you changed your class? Which is impossible, by the way. And how you saw that guard with a camouflage skill?”
Piper chewed on her lower lip as she thought over the question. Then, coming to a decision, she raised her hand with her palm open. She cast [Veil of Lies] and a bowl of ice cream appeared in her palm.
“You’re an illusionist!” Wisp clapped with excitement. “We could make so much money together.”
“I’m not stealing!”
“Just one score,” Wisp insisted. “There’s a merchant who sells gems…”
“I’m not stealing,” she repeated. “Now, do you want lunch or not?”
“Fine,” Wisp said. “But I’m telling you, a few weeks with me and you’d be rich beyond your wildest dreams.”
Piper shook her head as the young girl launched into a story about a diamond the size of her head. While the thief had seemed afraid of her when they first met, that no longer seemed to be the case. Which was too bad, since a bit of fear might keep her coin purse safe.
She continued to listen as Wisp led her in what she assumed was the direction of the Dancing Gnome Inn. Becoming friends with a thief probably wasn’t her best decision in life. But then again, the girl might prove useful in the future. If only to make sure she never got lost in this city again.