I attempted to open my eyes, slowly looking around my surroundings. I confusedly looked at the bow, at the altar, and finally at the sun just peeking over the horizon. And then it hit me.
"Aw fuck I passed out!" I hissed low enough that I hopefully wouldn't wake up my companions, getting up despite the fact I still felt dizzy. And a little nauseous too, actually. Combined with the dull pains in my body and I wasn't feeling up to snuff at the moment.
Still, I needed to pack up the altar before they saw it, as I needed to keep that trump card a secret. Of course, if they're already up, I'll have to come clean. I peer my head in and I'm pleasantly surprised to see that the both of them are still sleeping. I grab my bag and head back outside. As I place down the bag and open it, I hear something stir from inside the hut. Panicking, I grab the altar and simply drop it in, hoping it would simply slide in as I've done with other things despite the logic of it. Thankfully it did as such, though I'll admit a new concern about it breaking things in the fall. Future me's problem, worse comes of it I'll just replace what I lost. I finish zipping up the bag, just in the nick of time as the hatch opens to reveal a yawning old lizard.
"Ahhh… good morning Nolan. I hadn't expected to see you up this early at all. What are you doing up… is that my… no it can't be…" Zaru trailed off, staring at what used to be his bow.
"Was up all night casting a special ritual to enchant your bow," I began, in the process of bullshitting. "I can only enchant an item through this ritual once every full moon though, so… make it count I guess".
"Wha… but how? What does the bow even do?" He began asking, any tiredness shaking away from his old bones.
"Remember when I said I had a few family secrets like the Experience Theory? This is one of those secrets. Sorry, Zaru, but unless we're in a severely threatening situation I can't really tell you anything"
His features softened, and he gave me a sigh as he nodded in understanding. "Very well, but can you at least tell me what it does now?"
"Gladly," I began. "Er, a part of the enchanting process is giving the item a name to imprint upon it, so I'm sorry you didn't have a say in the choice, but its name is Emerald Moon by the way".
Huh, I scarcely remember what happened during the ritual but that part seems to stick out at least.
"Not only is it supposed to self repair, but it'll also work with you when making your shots. On top of that, you should be able to cast the spell {Ensnaring Strike} with it. How's it sound?"
The lizardman stared blankly at the bow, seemingly unresponsive to my query. He stepped forward slowly, and gently touched the bow in my hands. His reptilian claws glided along its body, tracing the gently pulsing grooves of the wood. He looked up and into my eyes, almost as if he was asking 'May I?'. I nodded, and he grabbed the bow from my hands. He wielded Emerald Moon as though it were made of glass at first, brushing the bowstring with his claws.
"This… it's…" He murmured softly, his voice failing him at first. "... this is on par with our great treasures if what you say is true"
Beg pardon?
"Um… is it now?" I asked warily, uncertain of whether or not I should be concerned.
"Nolan… I thank you from the depths of my heart for this gift," He said with a low bow.
What the fuck is going on here? I'm like, level twelve, and half of those levels aren't even in magic related classes. There's no way in hell it's that good right? It's just a first tier spell and some buffs.
"Um… you're welcome? It wasn't a big deal on my part, it was just a matter of timing and mana more than anything. I'll be able to do it again in about a month".
He shot up from his kow-towing and stared at me with that twinkling gaze. What is it with these guys and being wide-eyed at me? I'm weaker than their asses by a sizable margin, so what the hell's so special about this?
"Nevertheless, it is more than most of our people are capable of. If only you'd be willing to share more of your knowledge. Alas, I suppose that only so much can be shared," The old man conceded.
Externally, I put up a face of sheepishness, inwardly I was panicking.
What the hell did the System give me?
As Zarusosa took his time further playing with Emerald Moon, I mentally asked for a list of known enchantments to further examine {Sprout's Breath}... but it's not there? Where did it go? I take a second to peer through all the enchantments before I spy it again, but locked this time. I'm supposed to be level twenty-five before I can do this? What the hell happened?
{Notice: Special conditions met, allowing bypass of requirements for one singular enchantment. Be advised that this enchantment will be locked off again upon use}
What? What did I even do to get this?
{Notice: Special condition (Helping Hand) met, provided upon (REDACTED)}
Did… did my Patron just throw me a bone? Because there's no way the System would goof up like that otherwise.
"Er, Zaru, feel free to experiment with your new bow, I'm going for a walk to shake off my morning sickness, okay?"
The lizard nods, more focused on the living bow than myself. I simply stroll through the marsh absentmindedly, occasionally watching my step to make sure I don't slip in the muck. Meanwhile, I start sifting through my list of future options, noticing that all the enchants I saw last night were now locked off behind a level wall.
"Alright, what enchantments would be available to me at, say, level ten?" I asked out loud, though quietly enough that I doubt the old lizard would have heard me from this distance.
Immediately, a list of enchantments from ten and below was brought up. Not only was the list small, but most of them weren't even available to me due to my particular skill set and classes. I give a simple mental command to filter them to the Druid class for better studying, and I'm greeted by a sad sight.
"... at least there's still options I guess…" I muttered.
There were only a handful of options, and while they seemed useful they weren't good from a combat perspective.
"A glorified flashlight, make it so a waterskin or jug can hold more water, even a lesser version of {Sprout's Breath} mending that's a bit slower… what options do I have with the Enchanter class at this level?"
The list of enchantments practically skyrocketed at this point, and as I studied the list I was greeted with a dilemma. This was a fourth class I'd have to put points into if I wanted things to go smoothly for myself. A fourth level that would sap away from spec'ing into my other three and developing myself as a Druid slash Fighter. How many levels can I even put into each class?
{Classes: A designation of one's 'Occupation', thousands of class trees exist, ranging from job classes to combat and support. Each class is capable of taking up to fifteen levels before maxing out, at which point you may either 'Evolve' the class or multi-class into other options with a max level cap of one-hundred, special circumstances non-withstanding}
I blinked at that. Fifteen levels per class with a max level of one hundred? Not even taking into account whatever the hell these circumstances are? That would put me at level sixty when all is said and done. Of course, there's the whole 'Evolve' thing that I can do. How would that work? Hmm, can I evolve my Druid class?
{Notice: Several requirements needed}
Well duh, I didn't expect to get it soon, I just wanted to know my options for what I can evolve it into. Immediately, another box of information popped up, providing me with a list.
"Oh wow… these are… exactly like the 'Circles' in Dungeons and Dragons…"
I don't remember all the details, but my aunt was a regular Druid or Ranger player. Come to think of it, she would have been better suited to my build, a thought which makes me laugh at the irony. But she explained that each circle held its own particular spell options and theme. On this list I saw Circle of the Desert, Circle of the Forest, Circle of the Swamp, list went on. Not all of them were that though, as I saw something that made my eyes widen.
"Oath of the Ancients? No fucking way…"
As it turned out, I could in fact have my cake and eat it too. Now this one seems like a trickier route, but I could possibly pull it off. I would need to max out both my Druid class and a combat class, that being Brawler in order to do it, but it could be done. Of course, not only would I need that, I would apparently have to take a special quest according to the description. Of course, it doesn't tell me what that quest is at the moment, so I'm kinda tits up on that for now. But I could run as a Paladin after all, which would honestly feel a little better for me in terms of know-how.
I keep walking, now glad I have a plan in mind for how I'd take that path. That still leaves me with twenty five levels to play with, and that's presuming I even wanna advance Clothier to the fullest. What would even the point of that be if I can more or less just make things with enough stick-to-itness and understanding? Not really one-hundred percent sure, but it seems like I can pull things off with at least some degree of personal skill. I'll admit however, it may very well come in handy when I need something a fair bit more advanced like a three-piece suit. Now there's a thought, me in my sunday best trekking through underbrush to go monster slaying.
I look to the sky, and notice that more rain clouds are on the horizon. Damn, a shame too, was planning on working on Todone's armor in the sunlight. Those two seem to enjoy the rain just fine though, so at least it won't stop them from doing their own separate thing. Still, it wouldn't hurt to make sure they're at least prepared for the rain ahead. I roll back to the shelter, deciding that if we're all going to get things done today we should probably do it while it's sunny.
"Fuck," I hissed out, sucking at the pinprick of blood that came out of my finger.
I put the bone needle down and ate a Goodberry I'd tucked away, healing the wound itself like no problem. That said, this was the third time I'd done so far and the underlayer for Todone's armor wasn't coming along as quickly as I'd wanted it to. It was looking pretty great, especially considering that extra point I put in a while back increased what should be my craftsmanship.
After their armor was made, I planned on going with either one of them on their jobs, seeing as I was already starting to get a little bored with everything here in just a couple of days. I just need a little breath of monster fighting to add up to the experience on top of my exercise and craftsmanship to make things go by a little quicker is all. I don't expect to shoot up a level any time soon, but I wanna at least hit level twenty before the year is out. That's the goal, anyways, it all depends on what life actually has to offer me.
I pick the needle back up and refocus on my work. As I do so I keep imagining what I'll do once I get out of this forest. Should I go south or north? On one end, Baharuth to the south doesn't exactly sound like a grand old time, but on the other end neither of the other two have much of a clue as to what's to the north aside from some goblin tribes and a 'Beast of the South', which I thought was a weird name considering it was to the north of us, but I'm not one to judge. Apparently the name was coined by some traveling demihumans up north but I'm not saying it's certain. I wanna say the part about some mythically strong beast is hokey, but in all likelihood it sure as hell ain't. At the very least they made mention that he's fairly nice compared to some of the other forces of nature out here.
Speaking of, there's two more in particular that the two warned me about, nevermind the various demihuman tribes in the forest and swamp that may not be too keen on a human being out here. A 'Giant of the East', and a 'Snake of the West'. Apparently I'd need to be careful on account of their expansive territories. Supposedly, they have their own degree of control over the local troll and naga tribes respectively. Naga I could probably handle one or two at a time on a really good day, but a giant mountain of meat, bone, and more meat doesn't sound like a fun time.
I finish the thread on this layer of padding and grab another cut of leather, ready to add the shoulders of the underlayer now. Doing so, I carefully align it and make the first few threads, satisfied and ready to enter the rhythm again.
God, with those monsters out to the east, west, and north, it seems like my only option would be to go south, right? Nope. There's a giant sleeping demon tree to the south that apparently completely dwarfs any and all threats, and legend has it that the damn thing would end the world should it wake up. So that's something I wanna go absolutely nowhere near even if I'm just passing. If I ever plan on going that way I'd need someone to guide me so I can stay as clear from wherever the fuck it is as much as possible.
From the sounds of it, both the Beast of the North and the Snake of the West can be reasoned with at least, so I might be able to take my chances if I cross paths with either of them, but the east and south are definitely off limits unless I'm a minimum of level forty, and even then I don't wanna take any unnecessary chances. So that leaves me with… the north or west. According to Todone, there's talk of dwarves that live in the mountains alongside frost giants and ice dragons, which is it's own separate brand of fucked, but they also sound like they'd be a great place to visit if I wanna jumpstart myself on grinding against the local fauna in and outside of their caverns.
Then there's to the north, which unfortunately neither of my two companions has much knowledge on other than there's humans up that way. Todone mentioned that his mother might know something, but unfortunately that means no information any time soon.
And finally, an option I hadn't really considered until just now. Staying. It wouldn't be ideal, as both Todone and Zarusosa warned me that both of their tribes are very leery of humans, but it might actually be in my best interests. Not only is the majority of the fauna in the area scaled depending on what section of the forest you go to level-wise, but there would also be the fact that I wouldn't have to worry about watching my six for who knows how long all alone while I try to find some form of civilization. But the perks would outweigh everything else.
By staying, not only could I properly grind myself up to a higher position of strength, but I'd also potentially have a place to stay, and even get to hang out with these guys. I'll admit, it's probably because I got used to humans being the only intelligent race back on Earth, but there's a certain novelty to being friends with non-humans. That, and these guys have some prime knowledge that I doubt outsiders would have due to being secluded tribes. So there's that. And to be honest, from the sounds of it these guys need help too. Not only are they starving or dealing with future housing issues, but it seems as though their differences are keeping them from becoming something more. Of course, that's only if I could pull such a thing off.
Still, if they put aside their issues with one another, I'd bet they'd be a force to be reckoned with. Definitely not something I should say aloud to them, but I wonder if maybe I can gear things in such a way that they'll see the good in both sides? They'd be able to work alongside one another and provide aid, maybe even build this region out to be something where demihumans can hide out from the humans outside the forest. The things I've heard would certainly mean that such a thing would be a welcome sight for any outsider demihumans.
I sighed, picking up the second sleeve pad and starting another stitch on my work. After I did this the chitin should be good to slap on, hardened with a nice tannin layering and doubled up. Hope Todone likes it, he was pretty jealous of what I did for Zarusosa's bow.
Onto those two… I think they're proof that the two races can get along. They've only been together for a few days, and already they seemed to be warming up, if only somewhat. At least it's gone from cold and disdainful to civilized and lukewarm. Not ideal, but it's not like I expected them to be friends after going from tribal rivals. Zaru's been showing a bit more patience, and Todone's been biting that long tongue of his. Though I think the only reason they've been getting along is because of our mystery monsters.
Hopefully whatever these mystery beasts were, they would come soon, the suspense has been killing me and I could stand for it to stop, if only because the idea of these things coming to us while we're asleep doesn't sound too nice. Honestly, it's got me worried because if they could mop the floor with lizards on par with Zaru then how the fuck were we gonna fair? It had me seriously considering whether or not we shouldn't just bite the bullet and turn tail to the old lizard's village, even if it meant getting a lot of flak from being with a toadman. At least there we'd have capable lookouts keeping an eye on things instead of an old man, a juvenile delinquent, and just some guy not even worth giving a descriptor.
But nah, that's not something we can realistically do at this junction. Zaru did mention that he was a ways off from the lizard, but at this point it's probably only going to be a couple of days now before this thing gets here if it has his scent. I brought this up with him, and we both came to the agreement that if it didn't strike by the next full moon he would be on his way. I actually commend him for not wanting to leave sooner, from the sounds of it he'd want nothing more than to go home to his tribe, so the fact that he's willing to stick together until that point genuinely means a lot.
I told him that, at the very least I'd like to come with to know where they are, so I could stop by and visit sometime. The old man laughed at that and rustled my hair a bit, admitting that he wouldn't mind having 'such an odd human' visit his village, maybe even give pointers on some of the things I knew so his kinsmen would be better off. Honestly, with men like him on their side and kids like Todone on the other side, I can't even imagine how they bothered fighting in the first place. Sure they're stubborn as hell but they're still good people. It can't have been that simple though, I suppose. A lack of land and resources can do that to ya I guess.
I shake my head as I finish up the final stitch on the leather. Now it was just a matter of adhering the plates to the leather and voila. Hope it makes up for not enchanting something for him.
Nolan Potts, Human (Karma: 50 [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, Dried Deer Hide, Bones, Bone toolkit
Items of Note: {Humble Beginnings}, {Emerald Moon}
Party Members are as follows…
Member One: Todone, Son of Kodrotti, Toadman (Karma: -30 [Neutral])
Classes: Toadman Warrior (8), Brawler (7), Total Level (15).
Member Two: Zarusosa Shaha of the Greenclaws, Lizardman. (Karma: 110 [Neutral-Good])
Classes: Lizardman Hunter (10), Warrior (9), Ranger (5), Total Level (24).
AN: So geography in the New World is incredibly confusing. So much so that I gave up on trying to make sense of things. If there is a legitimate map out there somewhere and I'm just being stupid, then fine, but now I'm just gonna play by my rules here. Sorry if it ain't accurate XD