Chapter 8, Knife's Edge
It appeared to be closer to a badge now that I could see it clearly, the metal medallions in my possession seemed to blink up at me. Not quite gold, like a silvery bronze, or mixed with brass as I had presumed. They had felt off, like it had been vibrating in my grip when Anna had initially handed it over to me.
At some point the strange feeling had gone away, settling into my skin before my pursers caught up with me. Though to say that Anna and her 'wares' were nothing more than a bunch of bad omens would likely be a mistranslation. Or a misinterpretation given how extreme lengths of insanity that my life had now become.
Doesn't help that it was nearly noon and I was still on the brink of freezing my balls off. My old line of thinking that my pair of gloves that I brought with me from Earth proved to be insufficient, and all my wounds seemed to repeat that sentiment.
There's no pain like ice cold wet cloth trying to suck the life from exposed veins and still healing scar tissue. I could feel the bones in my wrist scrape against each other with every small movement that my body made while breathing.
Again, I wasn't a doctor, but even I could tell you that the cold was going to be an issue for a man in my predicament. Sleep had beckoned me to come hither like that white girl in my poetry class that fantasized over serial killers. It was warmer than it had been, but it didn't really do much to help.
Even with how cold that I was, the wolves under my command gave my body the reminder it needed to feed itself. Little weasels that they are, they had practically scarfed down all the venison that I had managed to pack. They had grown quickly, and while they were still lanky creatures, but you could now mistake them for dobermans that had been bred with huskies.
While my cloak draped over the kids to shield them from the cold wind, the wolf pups served as half decent personal heaters. The way I was laid out was a poor imitation, but reminded me of home all the same. Neither of them cared for the medallions in my hands, only perking up when I brought out my lighter to warm myself. Greedy little shits, first my food and then my heat. Veritable leeches.
Promotion: Monk Mage!
Personal Skill Upgraded!
Deserve to Die - Foes within four spaces take 2 extra points of damage.
\/
Deserve to Die - Foes within five spaces take 3 extra points of damage.
I stopped being such a fucking pansy, and ignited Anna's 'gift' with the stream of mana that traveling down my tensed muscles. There wasn't like a big flashy change, if anything did, I could probably say that the itch I had for a smoke became easier to wrestle control over. Like hell would I ever tell that woman that, but I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
The change itself was easy, as it forced my racing heartbeat to pullmet while the blank medallion was suddenly engraved. It's artwork that painted the face shifted with every blink of an eye, whatever secrets it held would have to stay secret for now. Double the headaches simply weren't worth the trouble.
Sometimes. . .
When I stopped paying attention to the enchanted pendants long enough, they reappeared pinned to my chest. Though if that was all, it would be something that could live with despite how strange it was. I just couldn't shake the paranoia that came from not even being able to remember ever holding it, or either, now that I had two of them. As if everything connected to these items were names of people or places that I couldn't quite recall.
It was so hard to be sure of myself, and it was so easy to be lulled into the new inhuman normal of my life. Nothing apart from the few holdovers from my old world quite felt right in my grip. The air was too crisp, the wolves too tame, mother nature so alive and people who lived in these lands so savage. All of that before pondering how magic was more or less second nature to me, and I wasn't sure what to attribute that to either.
Those traitorous thoughts that fed my spiraling emotions tumbled out of place when one of the pup bumped their wet nose against my face. It startled me, and I let loose a growl of my own that made the feral thing back up.
Control was re-exerted over the lesser creature, and its own train of thought was merged with my own. I smacked my neck with my hand/tail to get a mosquito buzzing nearby to fuck off. My nerves were running hot as my headache had been reborn from the effort to bring the wolf under my heel, "Can you fuckers not behave for 10 god damn seconds?!"
Atop the hill, I think my exhausted sigh was the only sound people would've heard for miles after the howling winds had died down. I'd been trying my best to separate myself from them, micromanaging the behavior for a bunch of wild animals was finally getting the better of me. While it was a crass thing to be relieved by, but having one of them die on me had done wonders for my strained psyche.
God I need a nap, when was even the last time that I've slept? Yesterday, no that was the fucking dungeon. I was scouting the city before that, up late from the worry that I'd have to fight a bunch of city guards in the street.
My phone, where did I put it?
8:65 A.M. Wednesday, December, 22th . . . Signal Available 94% :
The screen of my Olivetti shined with the answer, unlocking my phone and reflexively dialed Lorenzo's number. He should be available to get me out of this stupid ass shit, screw roasting marshmallows. Sarah couldn't pay me quite nearly enough to go along with this dumb idea if I knew that we we're going to have to deal with so many bugs.
Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring!
His fat ass should be awake at this hour, though I should probably leave him a message. I could use a drink, and at least he won't tell me off about my day drinking. Isn't it the case that there's always a happy hour going on somewhere on god's green earth, "Pppfff-!"
Click!
Prick needs to keep his phone charged more often, one of these days someone is going to call him for something serious and his battery will be dead. I mean this is kinda of serious, but I suppose that I can wait for him to get his dick out of Claire if he's gotta go-
Ring, ring, ring, ring!
Fucking- Just pick up the goddamn phone, or let me leave a voice mail. Worthless piece of shit, I knew that I should've gone with a Russian phone and not another Oli. . . I could bribe him with lunch, man I could do with some barbeque, or even go for the super expensive place Lorenzo loves to eat at so much.
(Hey, dipshit. This canping shit blows, and I'm going to blow my brains out if I have to do another childrens campfire sing along. I'm sharing my location with you, to pick me up. Meet me halfway?)
Took me an embarrassing amount of time to type out the message, just looking at the bright screen hurt my eyes. It's what I get for staying up late, totally bringing coffee next time that I have to go hiking. Pretty sure that even with rewriting the text half a dozen times from pure scratch that something about it was just. . . Off.
I was left on read, but given the hour it would be stranger still if he had gotten back to me immediately.
Click!
'Goddamnit, ugh. . .'
A nap sounds nice, with my feet being heated and my blanket it isn't that bad. Cozy enough to be knocked unconscious but painfully awake after staying up all night drinking that the alcohol was starting to wear off. Offhandedly I switched my phone off of vibrate and onto sound so that I could hear someone calling me easier, 'Why didn't I do that to begin with?'
My phone flickered off without receiving any inputs for five minutes, with a sense of relief falling over me after the sensation of the extra light disappearing. The change further startled me back into the waking world, and reminded me that I had yet to get a response from Lorenzo. Briefly debating what to do next, if anything at all. I thumbed one of the buttons and pressed the phone against the side of my ear.
"Hey maaaaaan," The hint of southern drawl leaked from my voice as I trailed off while racking my brain for what I was going to say. Rubbing the dark rings under my eyes with my other hands and half shielding them from the morning sun as I did so. Repeating the same action with my middle finger to scratch, but failing to get rid of the irritation. Swapping to my thumb in the same motion I made to shift my phone to a more comfortable position, "Pfffhhh. . . I'm leaving you a voicemail, and yes I know, it's very cringe of me to do so."
"You can save the 'I told you so's for later', and for the record? The free vodka wasn't worth it," A dry laugh left my lips at the crooked memory, recalling some of the ridiculous dares that had led to me getting so drunk. The ghost of some quite high quality whiskey brushed against the back of my throat as I idly hummed to myself, "Say what, if you manage to get here in the next 30 minutes breakfast will be all on me."
"So that would be like what?" Despite the desire to let my eyes rest, and weight that lay on my face I opened my eyes. There was a brief flicker, I saw an exhausted man with a phone in his hands from my position sprawled out on the ground before him. A beam of light stabbed my eyes and I blinked while holding out a hand to block out the rising sun, "Fucking hell, ugh. . . Yeah let's call it nine thirty-"
8:56 A.M. Wednesday, Ianuarius, 22th . . . No Signal Available 49% :
"What?" I felt as if the voicemail icon was mocking me from where it lay on my phone's unlock screen. My brain lagged behind, trying to piece together how in the world I could've ended up in Ianuarius even if I had imbibed a copious amount of alcohol. Ending the voicemail early I ran through the steps to restart the device, 'I could've sworn it was December, why the fuck isn't my roaming data kicking in. Where did the signal go?'
All the familiar pieces of what I'd been through in the past four weeks flowed through my mind. Stuck staring at the mangled mess that had been made of my arm, looking at the damn thing like it was brand new. I wouldn't have been able to handle being left in a soundproof room, the echo of my own heart beat rang loudly in my ears.
'What the FUCK is happening to me?' The noise that came out of my mouth was muffled, a strangled human yell that died halfway on its way out. Half of my hand stuffed down my throat as I bit down so that my panicking thoughts had somewhere to go. My phone hadn't reset probably, still showing the same wrong date and time that simply couldn't be true.
I couldn't bear looking at it anymore, the top of the hill was too warm so I took a walk to distract myself. Anything to add a bit more noise so that I wouldn't have to be alone with my own thoughts. Swearing under my breath after absentmindedly patting my pockets for a smoke and only finding my lighter where they ought to be.
The nearby icy river beckoned my troubled mind closer. . .
Splashing my face with a douse of the freezing cold water helped wash away some of the stress that I had accumulated. The fire in my chest bristled at the contact, sending brief stabs of pain into my scalp as I formed a cup for the liquid with my hands.
The air was colder downstream, leading my thoughts uphill to the sleeping children that I built some distance from. It wouldn't be good for them to see me like the mess I was currently, my poker face had never been the best around. Had I allowed the wolves to come with me I would've killed them, anything seemed like a good idea if it meant regaining control over my own mind.
I wanted to believe that the state this place had altered me was only temporary, a brief madness that going back home would wipe away. Half of my shaking came from the cold, while the other was from my nerves.
My clothing felt like a second skin, and the seamless sensation that hugged my body was unmistakable now. God's I haven't had showers in weeks, and as I dipped into the sluggish river a sense of relief washed over me. Strangling the flow of mana that wanted to rush through my body at the same time as my adrenaline, bleeding the tension from my nude body. While I had never done such a thing back home, it wasn't an unwelcome experience by any measure.
Not having soap or anything turned out to be a pain, but being unable to properly clean my clothing, and more importantly my cloak was far worse. My magic was pulsing through every single thread, clinging to the material like it were my own flesh.
What I had brought with me from earth was less disorientating, and probably helped to explain what the medallions were doing to me. Or maybe I had it all wrong and it had to do more so with exposure over such a long time. All I had was hope that this wasn't some elaborate Chinese finger trap for my soul.
Considering my options, I would have to get used to it with the very real possibility that those weird mutant people would follow us. For what reason would they want to? Well, I could come up with nothing pleasant for the two girls that had fallen into my care.
"Ughhhhhhhhhh," To say that I was way in over my head would probably be a severe understatement of the obvious. Especially in the state that I was in, looking over at my pincer-like right arm didn't prompt much confidence. I could barely take care of myself, and that was even with all of the lucky breaks that I had come across. So my plan basically just boiled down to repeated tactical retreats while attempting to avoid direct confrontations as much as possible.
My arm wasn't as tender as it used to be, with fingers from both sides of my splintered limb responding to my commands just as well as the other. Long jagged white scars ran down the length of my arm, all the way from the space where my middle finger was absent to my elbow. While the damage had been extensive. . .
There weren't many fish travelling through this waterway, but the moving water provided one of the few hotspots for fish during this time of year. I hadn't been much of a fisherman, and if I had attempted to simply grab a trout with my bare hands it likely wouldn't have gone too well. Now though? It was almost hilariously easy to wade waist deep at the center of the river, and just wait for one of them to swim past. From there the only task was picking the fattest fucker.
Of my upper limbs, while the uninjured one that was clearly the better of the two; My splintered limb seemed to afford me an improved grip that was far more flexible compared to my stronger side. It was a bit humorous to think that my injury had inadvertently given me a third hand, even if it cost me a finger. Silver linings, and all that.
Course, as much as someone like myself enjoyed bodies of water that didn't mean my tolerance for ice water rushing against me was infinite. Doing my best impression of a wet husky as I shook my cloak free of any excess water. I lit up a pulse of warmth taking the shape of a burning sphere held within my offhand to dry myself off during the trek back uphill.
Leaving the kids so exposed to the elements probably wasn't the best idea by my estimation, but I had deemed the height advantage worth it at the time. Generally working off the half remembered theory that higher locations out in the wilderness should be warmer than the lowlands. Yours truly was no boy scout, so it could very well be that I was talking out of my ass with that tidbit. Again I have not slept long enough to make sensible decisions, and that will probably come around to bite me.
It was her eyes that slowed my approach once I crested the hill, the sickly little sister had woken up. Her gaze snapping over to me as my boots crunched the snow close enough for the girl to notice. Quite the amusing thing to watch through the eyes of the pups, of a terrified kid buried under a blanket beside their sibling.
"Hey," The wash had seemed to have done me some good, and while I still sounded like rumbling death through the ears of the cubs. I at least, wasn't as much of a walking corpse visually speaking. With the intention of putting her at ease I crouched down with my back to her, "Have a nice nap?"
". . ."
From the lack of any response whatsoever from the girl I carried on with settling up a fire like nothing was out of the ordinary. Taking the tinder, and strips of woods from the time I had spent in the forest so that the fish would be easier to cook. Magic wasn't something I could afford to be too wasteful with, not to mention the damn shit just tastes off when using my own mana.
Click!
My switchblade snapped free of its compact form as I readied the three fish that I had managed to catch. While I could've realistically caught more with the opportunity that I had been granted, storing it for long term consumption wasn't as attainable. I lacked salt you see, and all other sorts of desirable types of spices.
"Who are you?"
I felt my ear flicker at the sound through the mirror image one of the wolves shared with me. Taking my time to find the right words that would be appropriate to respond with. Collecting myself with the smell of cooking fish wafted up past my nose, and once it had taken the right hue I brought it with me as I approached the young girl. It wasn't my best work, the fish that is, but seafood had never been my forte.
"Ah fuck- eh, name's Alcides," At the look of confusion I allowed a wry grin to spread across my face, and crouched down where she was sat. Her older sister stirred whilst I offered what must've been the poor girl's first proper meal that she had had in weeks. Once I had my fun, and my mind had the time to settle on the right thing to say. She would have an answer of a sort that in my opinion would best put her at ease, ". . .My name is A-dulf, but more than that-"
The nickname that Anna insists on giving me would have to suffice, though I wished that I knew what it meant.
"You need to eat."
"The fire has need of more fuel," She eventually bit into the fish once I turned my back so that I could finish tending to the rest of what I caught. As much as I despise the taste of fish on a personal level. It was still leagues safer for the kids as a meal than the bear jerky still remaining in my pack, "Make sure your kin eats too, stay put, and stay warm. I will come back."
Even the risk of tainted flesh was too much for me to accept.
We made good distance during the night, as it was the only time that I felt safe to travel under. Taking great care to keep the amount of mana my body was leaking steady, while it undoubtedly was keeping the kids warm in this weather. The small puddles that my feet left in the fresh snow unnerved me, and I ordered my wolves to brush away our collective footsteps.
Even if we had to travel slowly with my bad arm, that made discretion all that more important. No one in their right mind would intentionally follow the tracks of wolves. Course, no plan survives contact with the enemy after all.
So I spent most of my daylight hours either sleeping or studying the only book that I had on me. Well, I also still had a map of the country, but there were only so many hours that I could stare at the same mountain range.
3(x2) Faith
"Hello? Adolf sir-," White motes of light emanating from my tome blinked out of existence as my attention was split and refocused on the girl's words. My head jerking back from having my train of thought interrupted startled the young girl before she could finish what she was trying to say, "There is- Eeep!"
"Hmm," It was certainly a sight to see, someone so curious and yet so deathly afraid of me. The younger sister had been clothed in green at Anna's behest, and the pair of sisters looked like a bad homage to the Christmas holiday. Women's obsession with dressing up children will be something that I'll never be able to fully wrap my brain around, "Are you good down in that?"
"Fine! I'm [perfectly alright]. No need to pay [attention] to [Bernie," All that I could see of the poor girl at this point was her stark white hair, almost as messy as my own. Hiding her face and muffling her voice under the blanket that had wrapped her up in a burrito. The abrupt random sneezes had spooked the pups more than once, "Don't mind me. . ."
"Uh huh," She'd come along in her own time, and from what information that my wolves had managed to share with me. Her time hadn't left her as a total recluse, speaking at length with her sister even if the words were distorted over our connection. If it was important enough that I had to know. Words would probably become redundant if such an occasion were to come to pass, "Okay."
I wasn't going to dig into her issues, and even if I wanted to, my actions might've just made the situation worse. So what I could do was limited to Soothing her every so often when it looked like she was shaking particularly badly from her illness. While her fever had broken sometime last night when we had been forced to cross a frozen lake, I doubted that the cold weather was doing her any favors.
The ruffling of her subtle movements to adjust her sitting position was hard to ignore but I simply brought the tome in my hands closer. Biting back the urge to snap at the restless child laying in my lap, resigning myself that any practice would have to be postponed. Shoving any negative emotion that I felt as her little whispers pierce the silence between us, "Adolf?"
"It is like a hex in your lay of word," Her gaze lay on the open page that I had left off at before she had distracted me. Gray eyes hidden so well amongst her pale skin and snow white hair peered up at me with familiar curiosity. At the sudden look of dread that crossed her little face it occurred to me that a clarification was in order, "This one is not for the warm, but to heal you."
Looks like 'hex' has bad connotations here, or maybe the girl's just easily startled. . . God I wish that things could've been different, simpler than this mess that I had gotten myself into. Or for her sister to return sooner rather than later, allowing her to gather water on her own was a mistake.
"Oh," With her unasked question answered she glanced back down for the fuzzy curls to take center stage, and just released an exasperated huff. The trunk of the broken tree I was leaning my back into grinded against my cloak, and the sensation reminded me of skin on gravel. My cloak not being literally attached to me happened to be a god send, and kept me from wasting my sole vulnerary in minor cases of my clothing getting caught on the fauna. 'Bernie's' next actual question did stir me from my slow descent into unconsciousness, "I- When you take us- or when we're going at night what's that spell you use to make everything warm?"
This had probably been the single longest conversation that I've had with her since we met. I sucked in a deep breath as my brain spooled to life for an answer to a question that not even I had completely understood.
"Yooooaaaaa~," My yawn was a long and low affair, bringing me a few seconds for the mana to trigger a different sort of spell. Both 'spells' felt different in their own ways, but weren't too dissimilar from manually triggering my gag reflex. Augmenting my voice at the same time that I pushed a level of mana into the air around me, "That is just my mana, no more, no less. Fire and heat, from the leak if you will."
During exercise the heat that kids seemed to feel was a byproduct, like how sweat would naturally form. It was my best guess, and seemed to coincide with how my magic had formed a second sort of body that flowed with 'mana'. The language barrier spell was far more difficult to pin down, and Anna's regular interference in my life just made that worse.
"I can't- even [imagine keeping] track of all that, [father] had [considered] it a waste of time for me to study, but you can do so much. On- top of what [power] you must have- you work so hard to keep me and the [princess] from just [freezing] to [death," She just kinda rambled on in front of me, though I was able to keep track of what was said. Stifling as she buried what must've been her cold face into my chest if her shaking from the sudden breeze was anything to go by, "Oh. . . A [thousand apologies] for [interrupting] your [studies]. [Please] don't kill me."
She was a silly little thing, a half scared to death rabbit at the best of times. Even worse whenever one of my wolves glanced anywhere near her way, and they weren't even full grown yet. Their appearance matched what you'd expect from a fatter than usual jackal, but to a mere child I doubted that made much of a difference.
"Calm down. I did not save you," Mana buzzed in the back of my throat, the snow in her hair was shaken free with the order I infused with my power. It seemed to have the desired effect as the puffs of fog from her rapid breathing slowed down, "Just to kill you now, nor will I any next day."
"I'm [sorry. I'msorryI'msorryI'msorrymsrrymsrry," The muttering of her breath went in circles as the fight left her limbs, and I wrapped the blanket Anna had given us around her shoulders. Settling down as her speech became slurred slowly she slipped back into Morpheus' domain, "[Please. . . please] don't take me back home, good sir [knight]."
The last layers of the connection I maintained with the wolves snapped back into place once the trio returned. My attention turned away from tending to Bernie's sleeping form once her sister arrived with my two flasks filled with freshly melted snow, and water from the lake in the other.
We were forced to keep trying north along the mountain range from then on, and to fill the boredom I started to keep audio logs. Writing in a journal just wasn't my style, and would've been harder to explain away in this day in age. Not entirely sure if people have plastic here, and fewer questions about my origins was a favorable thing.
Sometimes we'd see lights off in the distance. Far off settlements that would've taken us off course no matter how tempting the opportunity would've been, but I knew we'd have to go back at some point. Food was just too scarce in winter, and there were only so many tricks I had tucked up my sleeves. Pine cone stew wasn't going to be nearly sufficient for the 5 of us.
To say that the pup put up a hell of a fight to part ways with us would've been an understatement, but bringing them along would've been a death sentence. I think farmers of the past considered them just as much of a menace as farmers of my time hold coyotes and jackals to be.
Even after that, the three of us weren't that much better. I don't think a grown man who clearly doesn't appear to be related to the two young girls with him comes across as any better regardless of the time period. Despite my reservation 'Edel', that being Bernie's older sister seemed to be the sharper of the two and so I handed her most of my coin to get supplies. While I entered the town's bar to get a feel of things, and check if Anna would be capable of manifesting.
There was a fair bit of bad news to come along with the good, she was present, but just not in the ways I would've preferred.
"Anna," I hissed out the name like I was trying to get the attention of a dog with its jaws around a bone. She didn't even seem to be all there as she played the role of a barkeep, "Anna!"
"[Having trouble getting] a beer pal? [Sounds about right," A tipsy man crashed down onto the seat next to me by the more secluded end of the bar. The stench of alcohol was thick on his breath as he leaned past me, "Shit hole [towns] like [Remire] can [barely] get the food [right, if that."
"It is what it is," Rolling with his attitude I shot back, leaning back into my more fun loving city boy mask. I hardly cared but I saw a clear opportunity to scratch an itch that I'd been having, "You know how bad it can get out of the city."
"'It is what it is' he says. Ghahah. Too true," His chottling was a roaring sort of laughter, an older man surrounded by other armed people left the establishment at the same time. One of them, the leader, briefly stopped Edel as she bumped into him and what she had bought dropped onto the floor. I gave her a discrete slow circular wave to buy me time while we talked, "Let me buy you a [drink friend]."
It had been a long while since I'd had some alcohol, and the long headache born from running out of smokes just made the temptation worse. Eagerly accepting the offered beverage from the not 'Anna' as she passed by, "To what do I owe it too?"
"Ah [nothing] much. Just my [immensely] good [fortune] is all," The man laughed as he bragged, wildly shaking me around as he paid for another round of drinks. Bernie was stuck hiding behind Edel's shoulder once the groceries had all been picked up as the much older gentlemen made his apologies, "[While] I don't have much [money] now, I know the debt I have here will be [nothing compared] to the [boatload] of cash [waiting] for me."
"You don't say," Sucking in my reservation about spending anymore time with this dipshit. I continued to butter the idiot up, "Your luck has been good for all the work you did."
"Yeah. [Finally found] this [nobleman's bitch] wife and [daughter] that he'd been [looking] for," A little too loudly for my liking he shouted out that last part for plenty of people at the bar to hear. Enough that the man that Edel had walked into glanced over to us and looked eyes with me briefly. Noting that the two girls had started walking towards me even as his subordinates started to drag him along, "Just [might] join one of the [slave catcher mercenary groups officially] too, and get two [rewards] for the [price] of one! You [should] come, the [retrieval bonus] is [going] be [sweet]."
"Yeah," My switchblade burned in my broken hand, withdrawn from being seen in the depths of my cloak. Ready to strike even as I agonized over what the best course of action to take would be, "Ss- weet."
Chapter 8 Note: (Jan 21th)
-Nothing new, mostly double checking support conversations and fe3h dialogue in general so personalities come off correctly.
Choices (optional to participate in)
1) No Time Limit.
- Once in a lifetime opportunity, a character's canon rewrite. Be warned! I have many terrible things in store for multiple characters, plus you already know what happens in canon, so you are only getting this once. You can comment complex conditions under which this will activate as in saving it for later to keep certain characters alive longer, like if you'd keep a character alive even if they should've died. No retcons. This is not comparable to Sothis's time reversals, most character deaths will just be downgraded to mortal wounds etc.
] [Rewrite] Write in.
2) Available until Chapter 10.
- Pick one deficiency and proficiency for Alcides to adopt, alongside the proficiencies and deficiencies he already possesses. If they coincide or contradict what is already present then a proficiency will be negated or a deficiency will be converted into a weakness.
] [Proficiency/Deficiency] Write in.
3) No Time Limit or if a Good Idea Comes To Me.
Wolf pup names! WooooooW, you guys get to name the dogs. That or I'll just spin a randomizer for names that I think would be funny. (You can still suggest names for the 2 that are alive.)
] [wolfNames] Write in.
4) Available until Chapter 9.
- Choices made here will impact the direction that the story goes in, taking the form of influencing Alcides' traits to dictate what 'route' will be followed, and what it will consist of. Assuming no one votes, or it's a tie. The choice will default back to me.
] [Status Quo] Good Solution, Now; Alcides' apathy will diminish, but his impulsiveness will persist. Alcides become a slave once more, and TWSITD may take an interest in Alcides. His various relationships with Edelgard, Mercedes, and Jeralt will improve due to this new course of action. Factions: Alcides' reputation with the Populists will reach Patron, Nobility reaches Ally, and the Traditionalists reach Collaborator. However, the Revisionists will remain of Mixed opinion. The Adrestrian Merchant Company will reach Monster, but the faction will weaken.
] [Status Quo] Perfect Solution, Later; Alcides' impulsivity will be replaced by patience, but his apathy will persist. Alcides will remain a freeman. His various relationships with Bernadetta, Emile, and Hubert will improve due to this new course of action. Factions: Alcides' reputation with the Adrestrian Merchant Company will decrease to Scoundrel, but the faction will strengthen. Monarchists will reach Collaborator.
Character Sheet and Details
Alcides, Lv [10] Mage, Experience: 130/235
HP: 30 (40%)
Mv: 2
Str: 13 (35%)
Lck: 9 (30%)
Mag: 20 (60%)
Def: 13 (35%)
Dex: 10 (40%)
Res: 21 (60%)
Spd: 15 (50%)
Cha: 6 (20%)
Class Growths: (Mage)
HP: 5%, Str: 0%, Mag: 10%, Dex: 5%, Spd: 0%, Lck: 0%, Def: 0%, Res: 10%, Cha: 0%
Base Critical Chance: 9.5% = [(Luck Dex) / 2]
Dodge: 9% = Luck Ability bonus
Base Attack Speed: 8 = Speed [Inventory weight (Strength / 5)]
Personal Skill: [Deserve to Die] - Foes within five spaces take 3 extra points of damage.
Class Ability 1: [Prepare] - Spending an action will store any spell that can be triggered at any later date as an action with no reaction from foes. [Monk Mastery required, 40/40]
Class Ability 2: [Logos, Lv 1 - Grants 1 range for spells per whole new letter grade above F. (D = Rng: 2)
Class Ability 3: [Pathos, Lv 1 - Increases the user's max uses of spell by 0.1 per partial letter grade beyond F. (Note: I draw the line at keeping track of spell usage)
Class Ability 4: [Ethos, Lv 2 - Grants the ability to use magic that is lower than or equal to this skill's placement * 2. (E = 4 Mt Currently)
Class Ability 5: [Mastery required]
Ability 1: [Knife Prowess, Lv 5 - Grants 5% to land a crit while using sharp weapons.
Ability 2:
Ability 3:
Ability 4:
Ability 5:
Learned Combat Arts: [Flash Slash] - Allows the user to throw their weapon at the target, with a durability cost of 5, and increased range of 1 tile. (Str Weapon Mt 3 = Atk)
Learned Abilities: (n/a)
Available Spells: [Soothe] - Mt: 0 Crit: 0 Rng: 0 Lv: F A spell designed to treat inflammation, and reverse damage dealt to an ally. The healing output delivered is equal to the caster's level of magic.
Learned Spells: [Blaze] - Mt: 3 Crit: 15 Rng: 0 Lv: F Can inflict Burns that reduce physical defense equal to might on critical hits.
Skill Levels: Knives (70; C), Reason (89; C), Authority (26; E), Faith (11; F), Daggers (0; F)
Proficiencies: Reason.
Deficiencies: Faith.
Budding Talent: (n/a)
Inventory: Steel Knife (1 mt, 10% crit, 1 wt), 1 Blessed Tome (4 wt), One Vulnerary, and a pair of Sacred Galewind Shoes (0 wt), traveling pack (7 wt), 2 silver ore (2 wt), 1 bronze ingot (2 wt), Knowledge gem (0 wt), Argathian Dagger (6 wt). Total wt = 22
Currency: 10 Gold Coins.