The intense white noise assaulting her eyes and ears faltered and faded until she could see that she was once again standing in the medical ward where she had undergone the tutorial, but it had changed. The gurneys had been removed and now a line of white stone pews stretched back toward the closed wooden double doors.
She was kneeling on the raised stage in undamaged gray pajamas. To her left she could see an ornate wooden table on which sat several items that she recognized as the things she had been carrying when she placed the stone on the dias.
She winced when a familiar voice announced, “Congratulations Player! You have completed your task. Management is pleased! You have one hour to check your modified statistics and choose how to allocate your points!”
She looked up to see not the verdant green sprite she had become familiar with but a lavender colored figure floating through the room. She chose not to respond. Probably best not to get on this one’s bad side.
She stood and turned to see a massive screen of floating text before her. Her old friend, the character sheet, had returned to her. She cracked her knuckles and started to allocate:
Name: Maria Emilia Rossi
Race: Western Grath
Affinity: Bound Earth
Level: 12
Unallocated Stat Points: 24
Unallocated Knowledge Points: 60
Special Note: You may spend 10 pts to acquire three new item slots!
HP: 210/210
MP: 180/180
She looked over her base statistics and noted she had gained some points naturally through the course of the mission. She raised a hand moving through the numbers and allocating the twenty four points she had available. Her attribute point allocations focused on Reflex and Constitution with other points spread over the remaining values.
Her new statistics after combining her natural bumps and free point allocations were:
Strength 15
Reflex 23
Constitution 26
Knowledge 12
Intuition 16
Charm 17
Before moving on she noted that the allocation of her points had raised her ‘HP’ to 310 and her ‘MP’ to 200. She glanced down at the expansive list of skills and muttered to the sprite, “How much time do I have left?”
The sprite answered in a mechanical voice that sounded like it came from a daze, “Forty five minutes Angelus.”
With that she hurried to allocate her forty eight knowledge points, ignoring more specialized skill allocations in favor of broad major skills. While she gained a great deal in Athletics, Melee, Ranged, Stealth, Deception, Persuasion, and Survival she chose to shore up some of the skills she had not used, but found important with free points.
In addition, there was a new ‘Artes’ skill and she chose to place the bulk of her points there. She was tired of being on the verge of passing out while activating Coat or when trying to heal herself.
When she had finished allocating her points her final totals were:
Physicals
Acrobatics 28
Athletics 28
Brawl 26
Melee 28
Ranged 33
Stealth 32
Socials
Deception 23
Persuasion 30
Menace 16
Leadership 22
Barter 11
Mentals
Drive 21
Science 19
Finance 16
Strategy 26
Crafting 22
Survival 32
*New* Artes 30
Glancing with concern at the circling sprite she reached over to a floating button that said, “Spend 10 Points Now to Gain Three New Slots!”, and slapped it.
A prompt appeared, “Congratulations! You have gained three item slots!”, which she ignored and moved on. She scanned her abilities ignoring those she had already read and expanded the description of those marked new.
Abilities
Servant of the Bound Gods
Prehensile Tail
Hedge Cleric
*New* Resilient Warrior
You have been struck down again, and again by your foes and returned to life by mere chance. Now it's time for your body to start pulling its own weight! You add 10% of your Constitution value to your armor!
*New* A Regular d’Aubigny
You’ve got a thing for the ladies, and they have a thing for you. Whenever you are interacting with a woman your social skills are considered increased by ten.
*New* Salon Specialist
You know traditional basic western grath markings for the earth tempered. Use these markings to modify artes! Reproduce them as needed.
*New* Aim Small, Miss Small
You have a tendency to strike for small weak points and succeed. You gain a plus five to ranged skills when attempting to strike a smaller target for specific effect!
*New* Ranger’s Stride
Don’t let your short stature mislead you. You have the know-how and training to recognize proper paths, impeding vegetation, and the endurance to travel farther and more efficiently in the woodlands than many. Your on foot travel in wild environments is four times faster than a normal creature of your size.
*New* Subsistence Guru
Your ability to survive with few supplies in the wilds (any environment) are quite impressive. You can pick out game trails, signs of passage, and animal leavings with ease. In all but the most hostile environments you will never go hungry and can provide enough food and water for two other creatures.
Known Artes / Runes
Stoneflesh
Strike
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Inner
Build
Coat
Push
Heal
Expel
Pull
*Evolved* Mag is now Sounding!
In addition to providing the caster with the direction of north, upon use Sounding provides an innate feel for depth below ground, the vague shape and outline of nearby chambers, and a feeling of the nearest points of ascent or descent.
*Evolved* Camo is now Decoy!
Blend in? Why settle for that?! Distract your enemies while you escape under the cover of camouflage! Decoy creates a fragile construct of your form providing distraction while you blend in with your environment!
She did not bother looking up as she said, “Time?”
The sprite answered, “You have fifteen minutes, Angelus.”
She moved from the screen to the table and found that each of the items that she had taken with her to the dias were represented. Now they were translucent outlines placed in clear black squares on the outline of the white table.
Bound Equipment
Vogel Hide Cloak (Small)
This cloak is ideal for staying warm in the hostile environs of the Timber Expanse.
Imperial Shortbow
Standard issue Imperial bow for short range skirmishes.
Arrows x 6
Silver Buckled Grath Belt
Ideal for keeping up the breeches of the adventurer on the go.
Hunting Knife
A simple knife for dressing game.
Hard Tack Biscuits x 6
Slices of TomTom Fruit x 4
One slice of TomTom fruit increases Mana regeneration by 50% for thirty seconds.
Wilderling’s Bag
Waterskin
Symbol of the Dominus
Ranger’s Leathers
Lens of the Forgotten Custodian
This eye of a Bough Temple Custodian which can be used to craft!
Heart of a Noctis Pod (Small)
This dark malformed crystal hides some kind of power connected to the terrifying Noctis! This is a crafting item!
Reforging Dagger
While an effective weapon in its own right this blade has a hidden special property! You can touch the tip of the blade to any damaged item, that is not already considered destroyed, and mend it back to full effectiveness. Only available once per day.
The Bough
*Error. Item Unknown!*
There were three prompts floating above the table and the items.
[Accept New Loadout?]
Which was grayed out.
[Dispose of Items to Current Maximum?]
and
[Would You Like to Craft?]
Raising an eyebrow she hit the, “Would You Like to Craft?,” button and the Lens of the Forgotten Custodian and the Heart of a Noctis Pod (Small) rose from their place on the table to float above the other items.
After a moment many of the items on the table were grayed out as the Lens was highlighted. Only three items were still lit. The first was the hunting knife. She gestured to the knife and it flashed in tandem with the floating representation of the lens. A text box opened below them.
“Hunting Knife will become Sure Cut Blade. This Hunting Knife is now more efficient and precise. You can skin and process kills 25% faster with less meat and hide lost.”
“Accept? Yes/No?”
The second was the Imperial Shortbow.
“Imperial Shortbow will become Snapshot Bow. This bow requires 25% less aiming time to make precise shots.”
“Accept? Yes/No?”
The last item was the Silver Buckled Grath Belt.
“Silver Buckled Grath Belt will become Sure Cinch Belt. You will never have to adjust this stylish belt. It will always resize to fit your waist.”
“Accept? Yes/No?”
She frowned at the final option and even managed to chuckle. She scanned the options and after only a moment’s thought highlighted the bow and hit the ‘Yes’ option. There was a flash of light and the lens vanished and the bow was left.
She repeated the process for the ‘Heart of a Noctis Pod (Small)’ and found that it could only be combined with two items. Her Vogel Hide Cloak (Small) and Ranger’s Leathers. The Ranger’s Leathers option made them more durable. The crafting explanation suggested that the Heart made the armor more fluid and it would shift to provide more comprehensive defense. She found the cloak option far more interesting.
“Vogel Hide Cloak (Small) will become Grasping Cloak. At a thought the Grasping Cloak pulls itself tight around the wearer, splitting and binding as needed to cover their entire body. In darkened areas this dramatically increases the wearer’s ability to avoid detection.”
‘Accept? Yes/No?”
With time slipping away she quickly hit the ‘Yes’ prompt and watched the two items combine.
The menu closed and she was once again left with two options and chose her next option:
[Dispose of Items to Current Maximum?]
She dispatched all of the items she didn’t want returning, finding that by selecting each of them and outlining them in gold she could virtually yank them off the table and ball them like a ball of paper.
The sprite commented, “Catching on quickly.”
She ignored her and quickly placed the eight items she wished to keep in their individual squares and surveyed them.
Wilderling’s Bag
Grasping Cloak
Snapshot Bow
Waterskin
Symbol of the Dominus
Ranger’s Leathers
Reforging Dagger
The Bough
*Error. Item Unknown!*
She looked up at the strange sprite that was now staring directly at her and said, “Done.”
With a sweep of her arm and a giggle the little sprite proclaimed, “With only thirty three seconds left to go. Congratulations again, Angelus!”
The screen above her vanished and the light that seemed to permeate the room from the walls faltered. Standing in complete darkness she heard the voice of the sprite echo through the room, “Your service is appreciated Angelus. Sleep in peace.”
She started to speak but her words came out slurred, “What… I.. what does…?”
The world shuddered around her and the last thing she felt was her body hitting the floor.
–
A gentle but familiar voice echoed in her ears sounding far away, “Maria? Are you ok?”
She felt a gentle hand on her cheek and opened her eyes to a smiling Alora. She mumbled the word, “Hey…,” before her mind caught up with her and she realized where she was.
Alora whispered, “Are… are you ok?”
Maria blinked and muttered, “I think?”
The small arboreal woman looked at their surroundings with wide eyes, “What is this place?”
She sat up to find herself laying on her couch in her apartment in Glendale. The room was dark and very warm. She could see her messy kitchen just beyond the living room. Nearby her large flat screen tv loomed. Alora was kneeling on her wooden coffee table looking confused but intrigued.
Maria studied her for several long moments before she said, “It’s… it’s my apartment. Where I live.”
Alora’s eyes widened further and her response was a breathy expression of wonder, “This is where my mother is from?”
Maria sat up and wiped the beaded sweat from her brow before saying, “Forgive me for asking but how are you visiting my dreams in the re… my world?”
The tiny goddess swept her entwined root legs off the coffee table and stood, “I am not sure. I sense I am not free of the Bough, but,” she clasped her hands together and nodded, “this is a solid first step.”
She wandered over to the window and pulled the heavy curtain aside to show a part of the valley skyline, “This is amazing! How many of your people live in this place?”
Maria looked toward the door to the apartment and said, “A few million…”
Alora cut her off as she pushed her leaf entwined face against the glass, “Millions?”
She pointed at a point on the glass and added, “Can I see those mountains? Can we go there?” The location she was indicating was South Mountain Park and Reserve, a looming spine of mountains that made up the entire southern skyline of Phoenix and its ancillary cities. She had more than a few occasions to visit South Mountain, and a lot of the other peaks surrounding the valley in her youth.
Maria stood and walked to the window with her, “Yeah, I mean… it depends how versatile my dreams are I guess?.”
She noted with concern that there was no movement in the city. The streets were lifeless and none of the typical jets flying into Sky Harbor were cutting across the red orange sky. She sighed and leaned against the window.
She felt a hand pressed against her back and Alora asked in a whisper, “What’s wrong?”
Maria shook her head back and forth against the cool glass window and said, “I’m starting to believe I’m in a coma. I was in a bad accident, maybe all this is…”
Alora stepped up behind her and spoke in a meek and pained voice, “Do you think I don’t exist?”
Maria sighed and thumped her head against the glass, “I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
After a few moments Maria added, “Are you really using me?”
Alora stepped close enough to the window to look up and into her eyes. Her eyes were wide and she whispered, “We are using each other. I am not going to lie to you.”
Maria considered the suggestion and nodded against the glass, “I need answers. You need to be free.”
The goddess offered her a weak and unsure smile, “I don’t know how long it will be before they summon you again but, let’s make the most of it.”
Maria raised an eyebrow at her and when she blinked the tiny little arboreal was gone, “What do you…”
When she turned back to the darkened apartment it had changed. The lights were on and cool air washed over her. What had been a sparsely decorated apartment had changed in dramatic ways. The living room was now spotless and the couch seemed much more worn and used with wear and tear around the arms and cushions. A pair of vibrant green potted plants had been placed on the coffee table.
