The early summer sun was making its daily route, high in the sky beating down on myself and my coyote pack. By my estimates it's been… almost four days now since I dropped down into this world. With the lake being far too dangerous for us to cross at our current strength, we haven't much choice but to idle ourselves with busy work, most for the sake of making sure we won't die. Food and water is a non-issue, and thankfully we can get any medicine we might need, but right now our main problem is…
"Yaaaaaaawn… fuck I'm tired…" I groaned out, bags under my eyes.
"Quiet down human, it's not too bad…" My brown and warty companion grumbled, but even I could tell he was grumpy.
Simply put, we needed to make a secure base of operations. Something where we can lock the doors and rest easy so to speak. Last night we got ambushed by… eugh, centipedes. Fuckin' hate the crawly bastards. And sadly, like every bug in this world it seems, they were much larger than they had any damn right to be. Unfortunately, neither of us could get any good rest after that, so not longer after sunrise we decided to venture into the swamps.
"Still though… if we're gonna be out here for a few months, I say we make something a little better than some lean-to's…"
Todone could do nothing but grunt at that, and I don't blame him. My caveman brain's the only thing keeping me marching right now myself. But God damn if only I could get something, anything…
"... even a mudhut…" I muttered outloud, not realizing I said it until the last word came out.
"What was that, human?" The toad boy grumbled.
"Sorry, I think with my mouth sometimes…" I admitted. "Was just thinking about maybe using the mud and clay out on the border between the marsh and the swamp to make bricks, maybe use that to make a hut instead".
Todone kept his gaze forward, but I could see the gears turning. "I remember my uncle teaching me that crushed snail shells can be used to strengthen bricks. Would that help?"
I blinked at that, gazing at the kid and processing what he just said. "Limestone... come to think of it… that actually sounds a bit like concrete. That would really be useful. Todone, you are a blessing upon this earth you magnificent bastard".
The toadboy grunted again, glancing from the corner of his eye at me. I could see him grumbling faintly under his breath, but I couldn't catch anything out of it other than 'weird human'. Which, at this point, is pretty par for the course for me so I'll take it. As we pass from tree to tree, I think it would be best to describe what we're looking for.
"Alright, so now that it's come to mind, I think I outta describe what we're looking for. As it stands, we're in need of a few ingredients. Tannin, fat, and some fabric or leather medium. The first two ingredients should be easy enough, but the third one is the tricky part. I've yet to see anything that isn't a bug out here, so unless you want me to make some shitty plant fiber mesh for the armor to be apart of tracking some large game down is our best bet".
"I see, that does make some sense, but what are the fat and this tannin for? Better yet, what is 'tannin'?"
"Tannin's a substance used to treat leather to make it more resistant to just rotting away. Fat can do the same thing technically, but that's not why we're looking for it. The reason we're looking for fat is to waterproof your armor when we make it as well as make some soap, though I recall it can be used for other things like making candles as well. Unfortunately, If I remember right, bug fat and traditional animal fat don't work quite the same way".
"... and what are these 'soap' or 'candles' used for?"
I completely stopped dead in my tracks, taking a moment to admire the sheer innocence of the question. He notices my pause, and turns back to face me. We stare silently at each other, nothing but the wind through the tree tops and the sounds of swamp wildlife.
"You… you don't even know what soap is? Like candles I can kinda get but… soap?"
He cocks his head at me. "I cannot say I have heard of it, hu… Nolan. What is it?"
I chewed the inside of my cheek, thinking about my next words on how to describe it. "Soap is used for… cleanliness. Among my people, it was found that disease is often linked with how clean someone is as well as their surroundings. There's still always a chance you could get sick, that's just life, but health noticeably improves with the introduction of cleaning oneself and their belongings. I plan on making soap to clean my stuff as well as yours if you'd like".
His eyes began to glow as I talked more about soap. Honestly, I'm starting to feel like some kind of crankier and older version of Doctor Stone at this point and I'm not sure how I should feel emotionally about it. Back to the soap however. The real reason I'm doing it is because I'm starting to feel grimy as hell, and the swamp water probably isn't going to be my best choice for getting clean other than surface level grime.
I shake away my thoughts of personal hygiene. "Point being, we'll need a bit of it. But, let's focus on item number one for now; tannin".
"How do we gather this 'tannin'?"
"Good news is, tannin can technically be made from just about any kind of tree bark. Thing of it is though, some barks are better than others. We're going to want to look for hardwoods in particular if we want satisfactory results. Willow is a decent enough choice if needed, but I recall seeing some oaks out here earlier as well. And between the two, Oak is better by a landslide. Just keep an eye out for any critters, and I'll keep an eye out for the ingredients"
"Understood," Todone said simply, carrying his sharp stick at the ready.
We had now set up another campfire, situating it in a relatively more open section of the swampy woodland. I was honestly grateful for the fact that my coyote pack was also a bag of holding, because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to carry all of this beetle chitin with me. I kept the pot lid over the tannin in process, as the fumes aren't exactly fun to breath in. The process was kinda simple actually, grind the bark up into small chips and let it simmer for a few hours. While that happened I decided to do something I hadn't had much opportunity for until just now.
"Nolan… why are you upside down on a tree branch?"
"Simple, Todone. I'm exercising".
"... That doesn't look like any exercise I've ever seen," The toad boy said uncertainly. "But then again, you've proven to be full of both knowledge and surprises".
"It's all good, I get it. You mentioned that your people live in the center of the lake, so I guess that means most exercises are water based, yeah?"
He nodded. "Swimming, diving, and jumping mostly, yes. We do this with large rocks tied to ourselves".
I stopped in my reverse crunching for a moment, okay to rest as I'd taken the time to tie my legs to the branch. "That's not a bad idea actually. Hey, hand me that log over there please".
He nods, and grabs one of the pieces of wood originally intended for the fire. I grab it in both hands on either side and resume, deciding to simply start over as I wasn't too far into this particular exercise. The goal was simple, to hopefully get a little stronger and keep pace with Todone. He's just an adolescent, but I can safely say that he could run circles around me no problem. And if he can do that, then when the time comes if his tribe isn't so friendly, they're gonna mop the floor with me. I doubt it, since the kid himself seems kind of nice. Of course, I haven't been one hundred percent nice myself, so I have nothing against it. Can't blame me though, since he bruised my ribs when we met.
But anyways, the general idea is that with enough exercise, I should hopefully be able to hold my own more steadily, and perhaps test to see if exercise itself may have an affect on leveling up. I can't exactly check and see if I have an experience bar however, believe me I tried, but it seems as though the system just refuses to share its secrets. Would be nice to know how many beetles provide however much experience, but I'd probably end up destabilizing the ecosystem if I tried anything like that. Ah, realism versus RPG mechanics at its finest, forcing me to stay my hand from grinding.
I wonder, what else might affect experience gain? Cooking? Crafting? Simply sparring, even? Or would taking 'quests' yield some kind of experience as well? What even qualifies as 'experience' in the cold, synthetic eyes of this system? Is it really just a simple boil down of 'kill, get stronger' or is there some other intrinsic, spiritualistic value to it? Would it maybe be more like Dark Souls in a weird way if it was the former then?
{Level up! You have one unused level point!}
Well speak of the devil and he shall appear, I guess exercise does gain you experience. I'm willing to bet the beetles I killed the other day however contributed to most of my experience. I drop my log on the ground with a soft thud, and reach up to untie my legs from the low branch. A few moments later, and I'm on my feet.
"Gotta take a crap, I'll be back in a bit. Holler if ya need me," I informed Todone. He simply nods, and I make my way. Technically not a lie either, as I was starting to feel a rumble in my colon.
Moving off not too far from the camp, I unbuckle take a squat and mentally open up the window.
{Level up! You have one unused level point! How would you like to apply it?)
I had to think for a moment on this admittedly. While it would be nice to be able to physically keep up with Todone, I also need to consider what I'm going to have to bring to the table. Seeing as he already covers the role of a fighter fairly well, I suppose I should ease into my support role. That leaves me with Druid, Ranger, or Clothier. On one end, Druids make for great support and healing opportunities while still being open to a fair list of offensive spells. Rangers on the other hand were better suited for more utilitarian purposes like passing checks, finding resources, stealth, and so on. Not to say that the two classes couldn't cover one another's capabilities, but one was usually more suited than the other.
As for Clothier… I'm not really sure. I imagine it's similar to crafting mechanics in other games, where a higher level means higher quality, but I just can't translate that over to DnD mechanics as I never experimented with that all too much. Again, Paladin main. I usually just side-swiped shit with my halberd and Oath of Vengeance. That said, if it does in fact affect item quality… maybe I should take that then. If I'm going to be making armor for Todone, it shouldn't be ramshackle.
I sigh. Clothier it is. As much as I wanna improve my spellcasting, it's not as though we're exactly hurting for magic.
{Level spent, Clothier raised to level 3(Total level 12)! You now have one unused spell point}
… come again? I blinked, rubbed my tired eyes to make sure I was seeing that right. Yes, I was. I had one point, with which I could buy one spell. That… was actually pretty baller. Is there a list I can look at though or- whoa shit. Alright, that's more than I expected. Hmmm… Earthmend… Barkskin… Skywrite?! Holy shit, I could send an SOS to the toadman tribe and let them know Todone is-... wait, no, they don't even know what soap is let alone writing, and even if they did I doubt we have the same alphabet. It's honestly amazing we could even speak to each other, but I chalk that up to magical world shenanigans. Pictograms probably wouldn't work either actually, can't think of a way to write this mess out with that. Fuck, back to square one.
As I'm sifting through and starting to consider making my decision later, one catches my eye.
{Lesser Restoration (Tier 2): You may touch a creature and clear one disease or one condition affecting it. The following conditions are: Blindness, Deafness, Poisoned, and Paralyzed)
… there's no way this is legal, right? Like I know it's an actual spell in DnD, but when you actually hand it to me in a situation where these conditions could very well mean life or death… yeah, no brainer, clocking in my final answer here.
{You have now learned: Lesser Restoration (Tier 2)! No spell points remaining}
Ffffffucking gold. I carefully reach under from my squat against the tree and wipe my ass with a wide and soft leaf, from a plant species in the area that at the very least won't make me break out into a rash. Tossing aside my au naturale shit ticket after feeling satisfied as I can get, I pull my pants up and make my way back towards the camp.
Todone seems to notice the pep in my step, and to be honest I couldn't hide my grin either. "Was it really that good H… Nolan?"
I sighed, getting down on all fours for a set of push-ups. "Oh it was beautiful. You could even say it was… restoring".
He huffed and looked away, though I could tell he found my mood humorous. I started working on a set of push-ups, now incredibly motivated to push myself to the limits with exercise confirming experience gain. I internally wondered with giddiness, as to whether or not this would work with crafting as well.
"Owwwwww…" I groaned out, my bones aching out from the couple of hours I spent switching up exercises.
I wasn't a couch potato back home, my job ensured that much. Warehouse work has its own set of demands it asks of you after all, especially when that warehouse belongs to a billionaire supreme overlord deserving of all our undying loyalty, love, and worship, whose name rhymes with 'Deaf Pesos'.
But man, maybe I overdid it in my enthusiasm.
"Hmm… seemed like a decent enough warm up. I honestly hadn't expected you to be capable of even that".
"Okay, first of all, fuck you," I began, adjusting the wet rag I used a minor {Frostbite} on. "Secondly, I… never really saw a need to exercise more than my job needed of me back home".
The toadman adjusted himself. "What is it that you did for your village?"
Ah, right, the whole explaining it to him like it's a tribe take.
"I worked in a… shipping warehouse. Our job was to help organize packages of goods and make sure they got sent to the people who asked for them as safely and quickly as possible. Considering the size of my 'village', we had plenty of things to go through every day. At minimum, our work would usually last for up to ten hours. Some days were quicker, some not. A lot of it was dependent on the quantity and speed of the crew".
"I… see. So you were responsible for assisting in the trades between your village and others?"
I waved my hand in a rocky motion. "Eh, that's kinda the gist of it. Point being, there was a lot of running and lifting heavy things on your own over those ten hours. I'm about as average as they get for the humans where I'm from".
"Hmmm… thank you for sharing," He said with a nod, seemingly satisfied with my answer. "The life of one who works in sharing and carrying goods is a dangerous one, my uncle always taught me. He himself often guarded one of the caravans that would venture out into the forest and nearby mountains to trade with the other demihuman tribes, a matter he took with pride".
… I'm really getting the vibe that he's misconstrued what I've said, but I also kinda don't wanna correct him.
"I may have been misjudging you, human. You prove yourself to be strangely… amicable, from what I understand. Though, I'll admit I've never actually met your kind in person before".
"... What uh… what exactly is your opinion on most humans?" I asked hesitantly.
He shakes his head. "From what I understand, most of your kind are cowardly and weak fools. You hide behind walls, run from fights if you can help it, and you lash out at demihumans indiscriminately. Though you gripe and complain, you stood your ground with me against the Shearjaws. I know I goaded you, but I'm not blind to the fact that they are not an easy foe for those unfamiliar with them. Though you speak of walls to protect ourselves, you suggest as such for the sake of letting us both find rest and respite. And that is the last thing, if you hold any ill will towards myself or my ilk I've yet to actually see it. It is why I call you strange, all my life I was told these things about humans and here you are proving it wrong".
I felt my jaw slowly lowering as he went on, admittedly surprised. I'm surprised I've made progress with him in only four days, this feels like the kind of thing that takes a little more time to work on. I can't help but ask about that.
"... why do you trust me? What is it in you that sees all this? How can you be sure I'm not just blowing it out of my ass for an opportunity to save myself?"
Todone nodded. "I understand your unease at so easily trusting a stranger. With that said though… I suppose you could call it a gut feeling?"
"... Really as simple as that?" I asked.
He nodded back. "As simple as that".
I stared him dead in the eyes, uncertain if what I was hearing was right. And then I smiled. And laughed. It wasn't a chuckle, or sarcastic, or schadenfreude type of laugh, no, it was a genuine booming laugh deep from my chest. No one other than a number of people I can count on one hand has been like this with me in so long that it… feels nice. I sigh, my smile still present and my chest warm and fuzzy. I give him a bow of my head.
"Thank you. I'm glad I put my faith in you as well".
Nolan Potts, Human (Karma: 40 [Neutral]) [14/15 Spell slots used]
Classes: Brawler (4), Ranger (3), Druid (2), Clothier (3). Total Level (12).
Spells (Druid): Frostbite, Entangle, Create or Destroy Water, Guidance, Jump, Cure Wounds, Dust Devil, Protect from Poison, Hold Person, Spike Growth, Lesser Restoration
Spells (Ranger): Animal Friendship, Speak to Animals, Ensnaring Strike
Gear: Canvas Clothes (Sturdy, Weathered), Oak-Handled Brush-hook, Canvas Coyote Pack of Holding, Bundles of Herbs (Medicinal), Bundles of Chitin, Pot of Tannin, Bundles of Smoked Bug Meat
Items of Note: {Humble Beginnings}.
Party Members are as follows…
Member One: Todone, Son of Kodrotti, Toadman (Karma: -20 [Neutral])
Classes: Toadman Warrior (8), Brawler (7), Total Level (15).
AN: More or less a bonafide info dump on certain old techniques, but I wanted to paint a picture on the lack of Toadmen knowledge on certain things, even if it's from otherworldly sources