Getting to the town took a short while, and Luke made sure to leave his skeleton squadron in the forest, away from the eyes of people who might attack them on sight. Heading to the gates, he waved up at the people manning the top, and they were opened just enough for him to slip in.
Asking for directions, he received two primary reactions on his way through the town. Some people still looked at him with disgust, knowing what he was despite the wooden mask covering his face to prevent his unsettling appearance from putting them off. Others greeted him with polite words or a wave of the hand. Luke crunched the numbers quickly, and then extrapolated that based upon the few interactions with people going about their business, the town had a 72% favorable view of him.
He reached Garran’s cottage and rapped his knuckles on the door. After a few minutes, it opened, and the man answered. He looked haggard, having just woken up. “Oh…hi there, Luke.”
Luke asked, “May I come in?”
“Rather you not,” Garran replied as he scratched his head. “It’s messy.”
“Well, to the point, then. I am on a mission to cull the Fog Creepers.” He held up his right hand with all fingers splayed. “The Last Warden gave me a Quest. I know exactly how many Matriarchs there are.”
“Five,” Garran mumbled. “Yeah, The Blooming Hand has given a ton of us trappers and hunters a quest—” he stopped and straightened up, his voice clarifying to a regular volume. “Wait, you’re going after the Matriarchs?”
“And something called the Forest’s Heart which needs cleansing.”
Garran nodded rapidly and flung the door wide, retreated inside, and Luke stayed on the porch as the man hurried into clothes. “The Forest’s Heart is at the far northern part, near the mountains, where they join together and close off the end of the valley.” He finished putting some longer pants on and began lacing up boots. “Let’s make a deal—you keep me safe, kill the Fog Creeper Matriarchs, and I’ll guide you to each one’s nest. Well, the approximate area. I know the general location, but not the exact grove or clearing. Deal?”
Luke grinned under the mask. “That was what I was going to offer. Great minds think alike.”
Garran finished lacing his boots and went to grab a jacket that was a deep green like the forest around them. “It’ll be a day’s long endeavor. But if we can do this in one fell swoop? The Blooming Hand will reward me. Maybe extra, since I’m the only one of her followers in town doing it!” He then looked at Luke and said, “Supplies. What do you need?”
“Nothing,” Luke said. “I don’t need to eat, drink, or sleep.”
Garran chuckled. “But I will. Give me thirty minutes around town, and we can head out.”
Luke acquiesced, and accompanied the man as he rushed around the settlement. Some supplies were given freely—like the supply pack similar to what Luke had been given. But, Garran’s bag had a large waterskin and several blocks of compressed plant matter and a sack of salted fish. Upon inquiry, Garran explained, and Luke reasoned out based upon that explanation that the plant-bar was effectively a carbohydrate-based nutrition bar. It wouldn’t provide for much protein needs, hence the salted fish, which would keep for a good period of time.
“Tastes like grass,” Garran said, “but it fills the stomach.”
The duo headed out of town, but on their way to the gates, the mayor, Travis, approached. “Ah, the Undead who came to our aid. How are you faring?”
“Well,” Luke replied. “Just going on a hunt with Garran here.”
Travis smiled. “Well, I wish you luck. Tell me, word from the fort?”
“Dawnbringers are setting up,” Luke replied. “The folks you sent to help build the place back to something worth protecting were a bit put off by my Undead, but it’s fine, now. Captain Stephanie has command of the fort, and my…control beacon for some local Undead.”
Travis’ eyes went wide at that. “Could you…” he chuckled and looked abashed. “Weird question, but could you set up one of those here? I can’t help but think how helpful it would be to have some Undead hands to deal with some of the more unsavory tasks around here.”
Luke shook his head. “Sorry. I can only make one every forty-ish days.”
“Ah,” Travis muttered. “Shame, that.”
“Plus,” Luke added, “I have to do it in a place steeped in death. This town seems pretty alive. And, you don’t have a graveyard or anything like it.”
Travis clicked his tongue, then patted Luke on the shoulder, his palm and the ring on his finger smacking and making a thud and ting noise, respectively. “Well, keep up the good work.” He then looked at Garran. “No more losing a leg.”
Garran chuckled and pulled his crossbow’s sling higher on his shoulder. “I’ll be fine with Luke around, I’m sure.”
The duo departed and once they reached the forest’s edge, Luke found his skeleton crew where he had left them, standing at the ready. Garran was shocked at first, and as Luke pulled his mask off, he explained, “I figure we use them for the heavy lifting. Since the Matriarchs require corpses for their weird reproduction, it makes sense to use Undead and replenish them as they fall.”
He then mentally chided himself. Damnit, he thought, I forgot to have my Undead grab the Death Essence Shards from the skeletons I sent to die in the forest’s edge. Note to self, get those when I return to the fort.
That was one of his problems rearing its ugly head; Luke had a tendency to get caught up in the numbers, the current going-ons, and occasionally small details escaped him. He would always remember them later on, though, and in his job back on Earth, he could make the fixes before anyone saw the final product. Here, though, he needed to be more diligent. There was no guarantee those Death Shards would stay in the forest’s edge. He might have lost out on a semi-valuable resource.
The good news was that he could make Death Shards on his own, simply by raising Undead and then dismissing them. But, that required bodies. And right now, bodies were on short supply. That thought gave him a split-second of pause. He had just thought of corpses as supplies.
It’s not that bad, he thought as he drew his sword and followed Garran’s directions into the forest. Corpses are a source of supplies. It was the same on Earth—when someone died in hospital, if they were a donor, they’d have organs ripped out to help others. I’m doing the same thing here. The dead have no use for their bodies, so they might as well serve me as underlings, or as a source of Death Shards.
Practicality was stronger than any weird sense of morality that threatened his psyche.
Luke ran a hand along his sword and activated Infuse Weapon, willing it to light with Pale Flame. He also used Black Guard and Marrowsteel Plate, committing the Mana and Stamina he had to to maintain them.
[Health: 125 / 125 {Barrier: 12}]
[Mana: 91 / 111 {126}]
[Stamina: 94 / 109 {119}]
[Command Limit: 30 / 46]
Luke figured that his Mana and Stamina would regenerate well before they encountered the Matriarch was reached, and elected to use his time walking through the thick growth with Garran and his skeletal escort on more applications of Marrowsteel Plate.
[Maximum Barrier reached.]
[Health: 125 / 125 {Barrier: 62}]
Hmm, Luke thought, so I can only have a barrier up to fifty percent of my maximum Health. Interesting. It’s not practical during combat at all, since it takes up so much of my current Mana and Stamina. But still, if I have time to prepare ahead of time? Totally worth it.
The one downside was that the cosmetic side effect was incredibly noticeable. His whole body was covered with a layer of white bone plates that oozed a deep, crimson blood that vanished before touching the ground. Garran was pointedly walking a few steps farther back.
Hours passed as the sun passed overhead and the two were not bothered by any living creatures. Whether they detected the Undead in their vicinity and fled, or they were just animals scared away by movement, nothing approached them. And so as day bled into night, Luke and Garran reached the section of the forest that he claimed was the whereabouts of one of the Matriarchs.
“How’d you find where they were?” Luke asked as he chopped a branch down and kept walking forward along the now-cleared path.
“Well, the trappers and hunters try to keep track of where the Fog Creepers are thickest,” Garran replied. “Hunters get far away, while trappers like me who want the Life Shards and make a living from gathering them want to be near them. Makes sense that the Matriarch would be where the monsters are the most populous.”
“How do you normally get them to fall for a trap?”
“Bait,” Garran replied. “Any corpse will do. Normally I used small game, like thriscawls or mesilcorbs.”
“And those are?”
“Ah, right, you’re not from here…” Garran quickly gave a visual run-down of both. Thriscawls sounded like a combination between a cat and an owl, though not able to take to the air, and could only use the wings to glide. And, they were all striped, like a tiger. Mesilcorbs were akin to squirrels, but they had long necks and sinuous bodies like a ferret, and a long, snout-based head with a lengthy tail to match. Those came in various shades of brown, black, and spotted like a cow.
Luke mentally logged the information.
The forest began to grow thicker and Luke whispered, “I’m guessing thicker forest means more powerful Life Power nearby, so we’re probably close to it?”
Garran nodded and ratcheted his crossbow, loading in a bolt. “Yeah.”
Luke looked at his skeletons. “Your task is to protect and guard Garran.” He then moved forward, cutting a path, and after another ten minutes, heard movement to his right. He froze in place, and looked in that direction. More noises reached his ears: the loud, odd, near-slurping noise of the vines being pulled from one of the Matriarchs’ bodies. It was a distinct sound, almost like sucking on a straw but trying to suck up jello through the tube, while not forming a seal.
It was disgusting to say the least, and sent a chill of dread down Luke’s spine. He could never get used to the sight.
Moving to his right, he chose to try to tread gently through the undergrowth and foliage, rather than cut through it. He was able to semi-successfully do so, and though the sound of leaves moving and branches thwapping back into place after being touched met his ears, the sounds could just as easily be dismissed for some animal moving through the growth, or the wind.
He wasn’t, however, stealthy enough to take any Fog Creeper off guard, and as the clearing came into sight, he was attacked. Claws came from his left, and he barely got his shield in the way in time. The monster was of Nest Guardian size, and looked like the others Luke had dealt with before. He knew their weakness in fighting style, and immediately closed the distance, getting into its reach, and shoving his Pale Flame-ablaze blade tip-first into the torso. The flames licked and seared at the living creature, and it sent out a cry of distress that gurgled as Luke pierced something akin to lungs.
The thing brought claws around Luke’s back, raking against the Marrowsteel Plate, and not doing a single damned thing to the Gravebound Knight himself. Luke wrenched his blade back and forth, opting to not stab again, but instead rely on the blade’s superior edge and the Pale Flame empowering it to enable a solid cut. The monster kept raking its claws across Luke’s back, but his barrier held firm, and the thing stopped moving and began to turn to sludge.
Luke pulled his blade out and moved into the clearing. The Fog Creeper Matriarch was on a log, being tended to by three of the smaller attendant-sized ones. Two more Guardians were already en-route. One Guardian rushed in from Luke’s left, the other from directly in front of him.
A loud twang echoed out from behind him, and thwipped past his head. It slammed into the head of the Fog Creeper charging him from the front, and sent the thing tumbling down into the ground where it began to liquify.
He’s a good shot, Luke thought.
He faced the one coming at him from the side. He got his shield into the way of a claw strike, and then felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, and something hit him from behind. It smelled fresh and carried the strong scent of mint—and completely burned away all of his Marrowsteel Plate. He presumed the Matriarch had used some type of magic, and Luke shoved his blade deep into the Guardian in front of him, aiming for the top of the torso. His blade drove into place, and Luke took a step forward, and used the weapon as a fulcrum to pivot in a one-hundred-eighty degree arc, putting the Guardian between him and the Matriarch.
His stab must have hit something vital, because the Guardian began to turn to goop on the spot. It reinforced to Luke one fact he hadn’t fully confronted but now was faced with: Health damage taken increased based upon how vital the location was to the person. He must’ve gotten a one-shot, just like Garran had, because he had hit something important.
The Matriarch’s clawed hand was raised, and a bolt of light, refreshing green light shot forward. Luke barely got his shield in the way to block the magical projectile, and felt the blast wave wash over him. It left him feeling itchy, and he knew it was the familiar tingle of Life assaulting him.
But his armor was supplementing his Resistance, and so he was barely injured at all.
[Health: 122 / 125]
Luke rushed forward toward the Matriarch, and the four attendant Fog Creepers moved to intercept. But, they were the size of house cats, and Luke was easily able to sweep with his blade and chop them in half with several quick slices.
Another twang echoed out from the foliage nearby, and the Matriarch was impaled through the neck by a bolt. It sent the monster to the ground, and the next magical projectile it was preparing to fire whizzed off far to Luke’s left. He was able to close the gap and with a downward chop, decapitated the thing.
All in all, the whole encounter took fifteen seconds.
Garran came out of the forest line. “Good job. You were good.”
“Thanks,” Luke replied. “Shards weren’t discussed. Fifty-fifty split good with you?”
“Yeah. I’ll start grabbing them.”
[Resistance Increase: Life (-22%) → (-21%).]
[Aspect Increase: Melee Familiarity (Blade) 4 → 5 (gain +5% damage with bladed weapons).]
[Art Increase: Marrowsteel Plate 2 → 3 (Absorbs 13% of your Health worth of damage).]
[Black Guard 4 → 5 (While active, reduce all damage taken by 5%).]
[Experience Gained: 297. Current Experience: 1158 / 1000.]
[Experience consumed: 1000. Remaining Experience: 158.]
[Level achieved! Level 12.]
[Level 12: Gain +1 Vigor, +1 Tenacity, +1 Free Point]
[Please allocate your Free Point now . . .]
Luke thought, Put it into Vigor. The faster I kill something, the less damage I’ll take.
[Choose 1 Art and 1 Aspect to put a Rank into.]
I want more damage, so let’s go into Infuse Weapon for the Art, since the damage conversion has to bypass some level of physical resistance innate to the weapon against monster flesh. For the Aspect…everything is tied at five, except for Gravebound Fortitude, but that hasn’t come into play yet. And, honestly, the flat 10% damage reduction and damage output is strong, but very situational. Flat damage increase or reduction is better. So, I’ll take Melee Familiarity (Blade).
[Art Increase: Infuse Weapon 1 → 2 (2% of the inflicted damage is converted to the applied Power Type.).]
[Aspect Increase: Melee Familiarity (Blade) 5 → 6 (gain +6% damage with bladed weapons).]
[Would you like to see your full status screen?]
Yes, Luke thought as Garran brought over the Shards and gave Eric his split, the skeletal squad still flanking him as an escort.
-----
Name: Luke Rivers.
Class: Gravebound Knight 12 (Tier 1).
Vigor: 22
Instinct: 10
Tenacity: 23
Acuity: 21
Essence: 21
-----
Health: 125
Mana: 126
Stamina: 123
Initiative: 31
Focus: 42
Burden: 33.5
Command: 46
-----
Arts: Corpse Retainer 5, Pale Flame Bolt 2, Black Guard 5, Marrowsteel Plate 3, Chill Field 2, Grim Harvest 2, Infuse Weapon 2.
Aspects: Undead Creature, Enduring Soul 5, Melee Familiarity (Blade) 6, Armor Familiarity 5, Gravebound Fortitude 1.
Resistances: Blunt (0%), Pierce (0%), Slash (0%), Heat (2%), Cold (25%), Spark (0%), Caustic (2%), Toxin (100%), Force (0%), Holy (-49%), Life (-21%), Death (100%), Soul (10%), Mind (10%), Curse (25%), Void (0%).
Equipment: Gambeson (Standard), Chain Coat (Standard), T1 Life-Resist (5) Scale Coat (Fine), Bastard Sword (Standard), Wooden Mask (Standard), Backpack w/ Adventuring Supplies (Standard)
Essence Shards: x3 T1 Death, x62 T1 Life, x2 T1 sub-Life
XP / Threshold: 158 / 1000
-----
Health: 122 / 125
Mana: 91 / 111 {126}
Stamina: 94 / 113 {123}
Command Limit: 30 / 46
-----