Chapter 14: Tooling up

I logged back in after I had eaten, showered and used the facilities. I found Fiona waiting at our usual table sorting her stones into piles and puzzling over them, and I waved at her when she looked up and noticed me. I made my way through the crowd without much effort, most seemingly still finding me unsettling despite the gorgeous little deer creature that floated alongside me. Fiona gave Baruu an appreciative look then nodded.

“Fizzle left a note for me saying you two had powered up your monsters.” She told me looking at Glitters. “There’s some stuff I need in order to move Glitters up a tier but it isn’t really what I was going for with him.” She sighed then perked up. “But there are some gnarly insect monsters out there so I’m okay with it.”

Apparently, a night (and when I checked the in-game time, most of a day’s sleep) really agreed with Fiona. She chattered excitedly in a manner very similar to that of Alber. It was beginning to make sense that those two hit it off I supposed. I was happy about it; Fiona had been a great companion for the past couple of days and I genuinely liked her. I just hoped she didn’t murder Alber when she found out he was a slob.

“So, what’s the plan, go to the merchant quarter see if we can get some stones or supplies or whatever?”

“Yes, that sounds like a great idea.” She hopped up and tugged me towards the door, I chuckled and followed her out. “Alber’s on his main right now, buying the items I need since my account isn’t going to be transferred.” She explained as we walked “He told me you found us out last night.”

“Yeah, was a bit of a surprise, I’d forgotten he was seeing someone. If I’m honest, he doesn’t talk much about his non-game life unless you get him in a rant.”

“Yes, that sounds like him.” She giggled “He’s talked about you a lot before you know, I was glad I got to start off my new character with you, you’re keeping things fresh.”

“I’m glad that I’m keeping things fresh.” I chuckled.

“Yeah, I was expecting a boring grind to get into shape for when the wargames come about again. The NPCs don’t really go to war on their own and they won’t during the winter and spring. It seems summer is the season for war and stuff.”

I nodded as we wandered the busy streets of Meadows Edge making a beeline for the sprawling merchant area. We entered the large market square before long, winding our way through the myriad of stalls and crowds of shoppers. I kept an eye out for the players who had ganked us earlier but I couldn’t see any of the tell-tale blue name plates amongst the shifting sea of green names. A cold rain began and when I failed to react Fiona looked briefly cheated. We hurried down a cobbled side street, doing our best to avoid the pooling rain and keep our footing on the slick cobbles, we ducked into a familiar alley and descended into the stonecrafting trainer’s arcane knickknackery. The same nasty little skull as last time leered at us with glowing blue flames, clacking its teeth in silent laughter; or maybe it was welcoming us back? I didn’t know.

As I looked around the cramped interior, I felt a presence at my side, looking up the proprietor smiled down at me.

“Ah, Master Opensky was it? Yes, welcome back and how can I be of assistance to you today?”

“I’m looking for recipes for the Stonecraft skill, I learned how to identify stones but nothing else since.”

“Ah, of course. Miss Fiona, what are you looking for?” he asked turning to Fiona before he vanished into the back of the cramped little store.

“Have you got an index of available spell texts?” she called after him.

“Yes, you will find it on the counter over there. Master Opensky, if you would follow me and please keep your monsters under control.”

Baruu who had been sniffing at what looked like a dusty, rolled up rug crammed in one corner of the cramped front room bleated indignantly then pranced through the air closer to me. She nuzzled in and after I gave her an affectionate pat she settled down and remained close to my side as the elven shop-keep led me into the back of his store. The second room turned out to be much more spacious and it dominated the bottom floor of the building. The space had been halved; one half dedicated to stock for the small front room that I was beginning to suspect was just an entryway that had been converted. The other half was a mix of what looked like arcane laboratory, library and living quarters. I frowned at the elf who offered an apologetic shrug.

“Please excuse the clutter,” he demurred, “my work distracts me at times and I get behind on the cleaning. Now you wanted to learn more about the stonecraft skill correct?”

“Yeah, have you got any recipes or books?” I asked now that he had brought us back to the topic at hand.

He strode to one of the three desks that occupied much of his living area’s floor space. This one, unlike the others, was piled with various items I assumed were related to the NPCs study of magic, held stacked rolls of parchments quills and ink pots. He picked up the least tatty quill and gathered a few sheathes of parchment or paper and began scrawling on it. He began to speak as he worked.

“I can show you how to craft unattuned stones, so long as you have the Lilite needed. What you can do with these items is infuse your mana into the stone or remove an undesired magical affinity from a creature to be passed along later.” When I nodded to show my understanding, he continued. “There are also the capture stones, these too will be dependent on your skill level. The higher it is, the more powerful the creature and of course there is the less popular familiar stone.”

“Familiar stone?”

He eyed me then sighed, straightening to this full height, raising each parchment in turn to blow gently on the ink to encourage it to dry before reaching for a handful of sand. As he scattered the sand to soak up the excess ink, he began his explanation.

“As you know magic is not wielded solely by the Chosen in this world. Those of us not so fortunate enough to be born a Chosen must acquire magic by alternate means. This could be entering a pact with a powerful sentient monster, years of study and access to a small monster sub-species called a familiar. The skull I have in the cage is one such creature.”

“Okay that sounds cool, I could think of one or two people I’d give one to just off the top of my head.” I told him thinking of Torsgulf, Katrina and Miller.

“That would be incredibly generous, familiars are difficult to come by. They can be created by siphoning a portion of the energies released during the death of a monster. What it becomes is seemingly random, but it is postulated that the affinities of a monster that is in the process of returning to the ether affect the single type of mana the familiar is born with. Then it’s as simple as keeping it around you for a full day and a night and it’ll bond or preform a short ritual with some expensive materials.”

I nodded then opened my inventory as he approached me with the three recipes for the skill. He waved me away to my surprise as he handed over the scrolls. They were smooth to the touch and the ink was a rich dark purple, very fancy I thought. I read each scroll, then closed the notifications that popped up to inform me that I had learned something related to one of my existing skills and a brief description of each.

Create capture stone

Create a capture stone of varied quality.

The quality of the capture stone is determined by the skill level, quality of tools and Lilite purity.

Create blank affinity stone

Create an empty affinity stone.

The quality of the affinity stone is determined by the skill level, quality of tools and Lilite purity.

Create familiar stone

Item quality: uncommon

Use: when a monster dies you can attempt to capture a portion of its aethereal state by infusing the stone with your mana. The more mana you spend on the process the greater chance you have of creating a usable familiar that can be gifted to a companion NPC.

I closed them down, Vespenon waiting patiently. I raised a quizzical eyebrow at him and he sighed audibly.

“The world can do with more magic in it I think, but I will ask that one day you send me another familiar so I may progress further with my work, preferably something of the life affinity. I will of course reward you further, you Chosen do so enjoy your rewards.”

Quest alert

Quest type: Unique, personal

Find a familiar for a friend

Vespenon, the shopkeeper has asked you to provide him with a life aligned familiar. You may complete this quest at any time. Furthermore, should the familiar have a rare second affinity the reward will be increased

XP: 1000

Reputation:

Starsinger Elves

Murkwort mercantile guild

Items: unknown

Accept/Decline

I hit accept and when the quest text disappeared, the elf clapped his hands and beckoned me towards the third desk, this one against a wall piled with black stones that looked remarkably like coal. When Vespenon gestured for me to pick one up, I discovered it had an oily texture to it like graphite, worse yet, it felt like it was shifting ever so slightly in my hand. I put it down then instinctively wiped my fingers against my armoured pant leg.

“This is Lilite.” He told me, he then gestured to a 5-inch needle like tool. “That is an athame. They come in many different shapes and sizes. We use it for various magical rituals, but it also makes for a decent carving implement. It’s bladed so don’t grip it too tightly I’m sure you will find the stone yields to the metal easily; but do be delicate though. If you are careful, there should be enough there for three familiar stones and perhaps a couple of capture stones. Now I will go and help young Miss Fiona, she is always a good customer, and she will no-doubt, make-up for the loss I incurred passing on the stonecrafting knowledge to you.”

With that, he left me and Baruu in his living space as he bustled back through to the tiny alcove that served as his storefront. I could hear them begin to bicker good naturedly about the quality of items. Soon the sound of their voices faded into a murmur as the serious negotiations began. I shrugged and picked up the fine bladed needle instrument and inspected it, not with enough intent to get the item description but more just to have a look. The rear inch of the athame, as Vespenon had called it, was rounded, and roughened like a file. The blade had a sharp edge to each side tapering towards a slightly hooked tip. I sat at the table having dragged a stool over to be my perch. I picked up the first palm sized chunk of oily, black stone.

Unrefined Lilite

Item quality: uncommon

Item type: reagent

Used to create various monster stones or to be consumed in magical practices.

I brought up my crafting menu and selected the familiar stone menu. It was a weird experience, previously I had looked at the Lilite I saw a chunk of ugly rock, nothing more. But now that I had selected what I wanted to create I saw the potential in the stone, what it could do with my guidance. I saw the power it promised. I placed the stone down and began to etch into the stone finding it pliable. It was like scratching the surface of a bar of soap that had been left in the water too long, the tool left crumbling peels in its wake as it glided through the soft stone. After a minute I was satisfied with my progress and was pleased to notice a skill increase of two levels. I grinned and reached for the remaining stones.

When we later left Vespenon’s shop, Fiona handed me a weighty wrapped bundle. I raised a questioning eyebrow as I hefted the string bound pile. She shrugged and began leading the way further into the mercantile district towards the stores that sold generic adventuring gear, rations, potions, and the like. Clearly, she had a plan. I shrugged and jogged to keep up with the swift woman. She trotted along ahead of me, Glitters floating along beside her, before she spoke up.

“Those were spell tomes that I felt you could use.” She explained as we rounded a corner into a street that clamoured to the sound of ringing hammers. Each building had a furnace of some archaic design and anvils prominently on display. Tools hung from rafters and a variety of species seemed to be hard at work crafting everything from tools to weapons and armour. My eyes boggled and a sense of excitement built in my chest. “Now were going to find some better armour, then grab some potions and go grind.”

“Without Fizzle?” I asked surprised, as we began our procession down the smithy street, eyeing the bronze weapons and armour sets displayed prominently outside of store fronts,

“He’s already a whole level ahead of us.” Fiona pointed out as she leaned in to examine what looked like a set of throwing knives. She briefly bartered with the smith, then walked away with the items. “However, you need to learn to fight alongside teammates. Don’t get me wrong; you’re getting there. But you let that Dannath guy split you off from the group and then he whittled you down when we couldn’t interfere.”

I nodded and felt a stab of guilt, my enthusiasm for the arms on display and crafting supplies dipping slightly. Fiona seemed not to notice but then she rounded on me suddenly and grabbed me in a squeezy hug. I stared down at the little avatar and felt a swelling of affection. She really was sweet, she and Alber were going to be good together; he had a very similar approach when attempting and usually succeeding in cheering me up. She let the hug last a little longer before she backed up.

“We’ll get there. Anyway, the spells. The first is sucking mud. Usually you need the water magic attribute to cast it effectively but given the weather is shit during the winter and that Baruu can use her sleet spell, you’ll be able to cast it. It’s called combination magic, seasoned players have learned to use the terrain, weather, and their allies magic types to their advantage and over time it will become the norm for you. You’ve likely not noticed, but Fizzle actually redirects the flames he and Violet cause more often than he casts fresh spells. He’s a hybrid melee magic caster on his main but I know he’s really wanted to have an excuse to switch to a new character; you starting to play and me having to start again were just two more reason for him to do it.”

“Yeah that sounds like him, at work he’s pretty content to just go with the flow as well, I’ve had to drag him up through the ranks myself because while he is good at his job he’s just like ‘yeah man, I get it. More income but like hey I’m just okay doing what I’m doing’.” I said using my best Alber impression which got a laugh from Fiona. She beamed at me then we got on with our shopping, we had a level to get before Alber joined us in Meadows Edge again.

We had elected to go the valley where I had found Baruu and a handful of other fascinating, beautiful, and advanced monsters. As we climbed the steep slopes to the pool that fed the stream and the valley, I became very aware of the monster stones stowed away in my inventory. The pool that gathered fed by a meltwater sourced waterfall was sadly empty of bloated slimes as we crested the rise into the small depression in the ground that held the body of water. We took a moment to rest there and look back over Meadows Edge. The town spilled out of the small bowl despite the walls ringing in the centre of the town. Plumes of smoke rose and twisted in the chill winter air above the town. If I squinted, I was certain I could see figures moving on the walls. The roofs of the buildings inside the sanctuary of the town walls were tiled but those outside, mainly to the south, were thatched. We turned our backs on the town and descended into the valley.

We didn’t need to go far as it turned out. We were only a few hundred feet in from the mouth of the valley when three razor-fanged squirrely monstrosities took it upon themselves to pelt us with sticks, branches, and some sort of hard-shelled seed. Fiona took particular offense when they began flinging large fist-sized balls of thick purple goo which turned out to be the creatures (for lack of a better word) leavings. I sighed as Fiona, her face scarlet with rage, lips curled back in a feral snarl, hurled herself at the unfortunate little creatures. They however found the entire ordeal hilarious and lazily dropped to the ground to meet the incensed woman. As they straightened, I realized that they only partly looked like squirrels or rodents. Their bodies resembled that of apes, the distant ancestors of man. They had dark grey fur and their tails were one of the more squirrel-like features along with the ears, whiskers, and nose. The mouth, eyes and body were all simian in their form, though they did possess long claws that looked like gnarled wood. I sighed, readied my axe, and shield then advanced. The bark-like features suggested a nature affinity and as such, the fire damage from my axe would massacre the poor shit-slinging buffoons, much like it had the little plant men in the dungeon.

I focused on the creatures, their orange name plates flashing up above their heads. I heaved a sigh of relief when no icon appeared by their names meaning they were ordinary wilderness mobs and as such, a push over.

Branchshaker Sciurisimian: Level six

Branchshaker Sciurisimian: Level six

Branchshaker Sciurisimian: Level six.

Fiona, who had charged the creatures opened with a flurry of bronze throwing knives at the Sciurisimians, (You know what, that is hard to say.) Squirrel apes. The squirrel apes hooted angrily at her beginning to range forward swinging powerful arms at Fiona, some with the hilts of the knives still protruding from their bodies. However, the Level seven Player weaved her way past each blow, her mismatched daggers opening wounds, red blossoming amidst the grey fur. They began to screech and hoot loudly. One that had managed to brake off from the others was returning with a large rock in its hands, piggy little eyes burning with hate for Fiona. I sighed and jogged over to interpose the ambitious little git. I lashed out with my axe earning a startled look from the creature. It gibbered at me wildly, hurling the stone towards my head. I raised my new rectangular hide and bronze shield and triggered Stoneskin for good measure, I had to increase my magic levels to learn the spell Fiona had presented me with. The creatures’ attack stopped short. It gave a confused ‘ook’, a startled and bewildered expression on its alien features. Its jaw went slack and its eyes dulled a moment later as the head of my axe buried itself into its skull.

This proved to be an unfortunate mistake, the creature slunk to the ground dying but not yet dead and to my horror, my axe was firmly stuck into the poor beasts’ head. Whilst I was trying to wrench it free, the fight now gone from the creature, I hadn’t noticed that the smaller of the two still fighting the graceful and deadly Fiona broke off to either investigate the fate of its companion or to take vengeance for him while I was vulnerable. Distracted, I didn’t notice the creature or the thick tree limb it used to beat me around the head with until the blow connected. I reeled away losing my axe as the world spun, only vaguely aware that something had happened from the certain vertigo and the chunk of health that had vanished from my bar. I stared angrily at the creature and pointed at it attempting to cast my Gem Shot spell. Instead lightning arced down, the creature thrashed comically for a moment before blades of wind tore into it rendering it to pulpy sappy remains. Baruu bleated triumphantly from above, I gave her a thumbs up before retrieving my axe and waiting for the dazed icon that had appeared to disappear. I recovered in time to watch Fiona run up a tree, push off and back flip over the stunned ape monster, as she sailed gracefully over the top of it she flung her throwing knives with deadly precision, piercing the flesh and eyes of the creature which broke apart into lights before it could even slump lifeless to the ground. Fiona retrieved what knives she could; it seemed that for every two knives expended she could retrieve a single knife.

We moved deeper into the valley as the day progressed, wading into copse of trees and brush, or sending our monsters into caves or unnaturally dark patches of shadow to lure out monsters. To my surprise, since Baruu’s transformation into a storm springer fawn, she seemed to enjoy the combat we engaged in. She was faster and more powerful, but she did still enjoy using her buff and healing spells, only casting offensive magics when I was directly in danger. She proved to be less timid, bleating excitedly as she lured carnivorous cave dwellers to us for the slaughter. It turned out to be an incredibly efficient system as various bizarre, freaky, or downright disturbing creatures lurched forth presumably to eat our monsters but only to find their own deaths instead. We used this method for several hours slowly building our combat skills and teamwork as we went. After the battle had calmed and we had picked up the meagre loot the monsters had offered I realized something. I hadn’t taken the opportunity to attempt to create a familiar, so I decided that later I would.

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As evening arrived, bringing with it a deeper chill than the day had held, we trudged back to the small lake at the heart of my little valley. Fiona looked around the area appreciatively. She had openly cooed at some of the monsters we had seen. While I had offered her one of the poor-quality capture stones I had created, she declined, though I could see she was really tempted.

“I need to find a life monster” I informed her as we settled down behind a rock cropping to camp by the lake that served as the watering hole for the monster life in the valley. I had told her that the predatory variety monster seemed to be worth more exp than the example of prey-like creatures we had battled today would likely make an appearance here.

“How come?” She asked, not bothering to look back at me as she peeked over the lip of the rocky outcropping eyeing the surrounding landscape of the pool.

“Personal quest from Vespenon. He wants a life affinity familiar to continue his magic research. I was also thinking of giving a couple to some of the NPCs I like before we leave.” I explained as I leaned back against the uneven stones around us, trying my best to get comfy while we waited for something worth fighting; or a pack of somethings would be nice.

“Ah. You know what a companion is right?” she asked

“Um, no actually.” I admittedly sheepishly.

“Okay, so you can get NPC companions, but they’re not really seen as worth it by most players. You can invest a bunch of gold and rare items into them only for them to up and die in some battle. I understand that PVE players get more use out of them.”

“How do I get one?” I asked, taking in the new information and making a note to tell Alber off for neglecting so much of my education within the game when I returned to work in a few days’ time

“You know how when you complete a quest you get reputation with an established organization, like the militia for example. Well, you can also gain reputation with the NPCs family or species or whatever. For instance, Vespenon is a Starsinger elf, you’ve probably also got reputation with the Torsgulf clan.”

I opened my character page to check the validity of the information. While I knew Fiona wouldn’t lead me astray in the game like Alber might, it was still good to confirm things for yourself rather than just taking some one’s word for it. Sure enough, in my character window there was a tab for reputation, I read them aloud to Fiona, though not loud enough for my voice to carry around the tranquil watering hole.

“Militia is recognized. Torsgulf is Spoken of. That asshole Boyle’s family is included as well, it says detested.”

Fiona whistled as she scurried closer, a notification popped up informing me that Fiona was requesting to view my character information. I accepted and she inspected. She then tapped the Torsgulf name prompting an explanation.

The Dwarven clan Torsgulf

Angan Torsgulf has spoken highly of you to his relatives. Members of this family far and wide know your name. They are more likely to offer aid and rare quest lines in the future. Given your reputation, it is likely one of the younger and more headstrong of the clan would be willing to join you in your adventures. Speak to Angan Torsgulf for more information.

A quest notification popped up.

Six degrees of separation

Quest type: personal, companion.

Present your friend Angan Torsgulf with an item or preform a heroic feat before him that will convince him to request a family member join you in your adventures. Be warned as should the gift not be of sufficient rarity or value the clan will become offended and your standing with them fall.

Possible rewards: a companion from the Torsgulf Clan

Reputation increase with the Torsgulf Clan.

Accept/Decline

I hit accept then then turned to Fiona. She was now studying my stats array with a thoughtful expression on her face. Since levelling up in the dungeon, my stats were slowly improving: my strength and dexterity scores were at fifteen; constitution and intellect were at twenty giving me larger health; stamina and mana pools; and I had increased my wisdom by two up to seventeen, gaining another couple of Ki points. I hadn’t spent anything on charisma for a while, I’d only spent a few token points to make bonding with creatures a little easier. Fiona’s eyes scanned them then turned to me.

“Next level-up put two points into constitution, one each in strength, dexterity and wisdom.” She told me beginning her explanation. “You like to fight up front rather than have Baruu or us take the beating. And from watching, you enjoy it. Until you have more monsters or more advanced spells, you don’t need much more in the way of the magic stats. Maybe when we hit Level ten spend them in there. For now, focus on your physical growth and gaining Ki.”

“Why not focus on mana now?” I asked feeling a little annoyed that she was trying to tell me how to play the game, but I calmed myself. Fiona had my best interests at heart.

“Late in the game the most powerful spells take a long time to cast. If you’re determined to get in the way of anything that threatens us you need to build up your physical resistance in order to contend with the monsters players tend to favour. Believe me, they’re a bunch of bloodthirsty ass-holes for the most part, you’re always likely to be attacked when out of town.”

I sighed and nodded; she knew best. We returned to our vigil watching the various monsters gather at the water’s edge. There were more slimes than I remembered this time, they shlorped and squelched their way to the water’s edge then disappeared beneath the surface as the more advanced creatures bent to drink. There were a few creatures that resembled Baruu; not exactly Mist-springers, or Storm-springer as she was now, but similar in that they were part elemental and part mammal. There was quite a large creature, resembling a young elephant with gem tusks and instead of leathery skin it had the beginnings of metallic mail growing from its rough grey flesh. As it waddled towards the water’s edge the smaller creatures scattered to make way for it. We watched it, Fiona letting out a little noise of awe at the creature. I fished a capture stone from my inventory and pressed it into her hand.

“I don’t know what grade it is, but the stone should be able to catch a mid-tier grade C monster according to the description.” I murmured at her.

“It’ll be easier to catch if we battle it first.” She whispered back at me.

“Understood, Professor.” I hushed back, then shooed Baruu into the air giving her instructions to use her lightning bolt magic on the creature when it tried to attack me. I didn’t know if the little creature understood the command I had gave her, but I would find out soon enough.

I rose from our hiding place and triggered a Challenging Shout. The creature, in the process of filling its trunk, startled spraying water, before rounding on me. Now, outside the safety of the rocks I was beginning to realize just how large this creature was. I stood at about seven and a half feet tall, this creature was easily a head taller than me and wider still. Up-close It did indeed look like an infant elephant if a freakishly large one. Its back and tusks glittered as though made of metal and gems, a clear indicator of the earth affinity being the dominant magical affinity just like Baruu’s storm clouds. It glared at me and faked a charge; when I didn’t back up, it began swinging its trunk wildly, kicking up sand in a cloud. Before the creature could fade from view its angry red name plated flashed into existence for a moment

Crystal tusk mammoth calf, Level nine.

As the cloud of dust grew to unnatural proportions, I realized that magic had been employed. I cursed and took a ready stance and, bringing my shield up, I waited. I could see a vague outline moving in the dust cloud and found myself becoming more determined. I thought about what Fiona could do should this spell effect be on our side. I had the sneaking suspicion that the creature could see me; which proved true as I lost sight of the looming shadow in the stirring cloud. I waited for a moment only to be barrelled over a second later, the heavy feet of the large creature stamping down with all its might as it ran over me. I did manage to trigger Stonskin when I realized that the creature intended to trample me.

I could hear Baruu bleating far above, no doubt distressed by the cloud hiding her master from view, and no doubt sensing my distress, just as her own fed back through a growing mental link that had been established when she gifted me my earth magic.

Fortunately, the trampling assault lasted for a few seconds, as unlike with the mound in the dungeon, the creature was driven off as lights flashed above me. Glitters had entered the fray; I could see a series of angrily flashing lights through the growing sandstorm. Doubtless, the prismatic little critter was lashing out with furious laser beams that were the manifestation of its light affinity.

I rose to my feet, dusted myself off then checked my health bar. I had taken a beating under the creature even with Stoneskin in effect, I was sitting at around sixty percent. Not low enough to justify one of the few potions we had spent the last of our gold on after buying new equipment.

I staggered towards the flashing lights aware that while Glitters was a great distraction, his prismatic gem-like cocoon was alarmingly fragile. I started jogging and soon found myself breaking from the swirling dirt cloud to see the gem tusk had been forced back into the watering hole by a field of the pulsing red lights that I knew did horrible things to an opponent. Baruu was leaping above us, lightning crackling over her fur as she built up the magical charge to unleash her new Lightning Bolt spell. I had misgivings about that, while CO had a variety of strange magical affinities, it still worked on a loose rock-paper-scissors format for damage with weaknesses and resistances. However, as I soon discovered, unlike the handheld and console games I had played in the past, weather and terrain played a huge part. Submerged in the water as it was, the poor creature received the full effects of Baruu’s spell. There was a flash followed by a rolling thunderous crackle, I brought my shield up to cover my eyes and as such was able to watch as the creature’s health bar as it emptied drastically until only a sliver of red remained. That’s when Fiona approached, speaking gently to the creature, and making soft soothing sounds, the capture stone, concealed behind her back.

“Hey there, little guy.” She cooed at the creature, and it bellowed plaintively at her as she approached and struggled to right itself. “Easy now, easy. I’m here to help.” Fiona reached out a tentative hand and when the panicked creature unable to move either from pain or the paralysis effect Baruu’s spell had left in place, she gently ran her hand across its cheek and then along the gem tusks, its eyes once wide with panic calmed then closed. Its breathing softened then, instead of heaving raspy breaths it seemed almost as though it were at rest. Fiona pressed the stone to its forehead when its eyes had closed. Just as when I had caught Baruu and the yet unnamed slime in the pouch at my hip, the large elephantine creature broke apart into the bright lights that represented its aetheric form. They swirled around the stone for a moment then were drawn within. The rune that I had carved into the stone pulsed red once, twice, and then pulsed green before growing dull and lifeless again. A notification appeared informing me that I had received experience for assisting in the capture of the gem tusk mammoth calf, which brought me closer to my target level of eight. Fiona grinned then, seeing me watching her, leapt up from her kneeling position in the water and splashed towards me, toppling me over for a hug.

“Thank youuuuuuu!” She squealed. “Oh, you have no idea how long I’ve wanted an elephant creature! I just adore them in the reserves back home. I thought I’d never get to interact with anything like it for at least thirty levels, maybe even more depending on where we went.” She squeezed tighter then clambered up, pulling me off the ground with with surprising strength.

“How do you get monsters out of their stones anyway?” I asked as we began walking towards the far valley wall in unspoken consent. “I caught a clear slime back in that dungeon but all I got was a message about not being able to have more than one active monster at my level.”

“Oh, right well, if you want to switch, you recall Baruu into her stone then you let your slime out.” She told me. “You can have more active monsters as you level up and it’s a good idea to switch them out a bit, but if it’s a clear slime it’s probably worth just leaving it alone to build up its bio-mass. The longer you leave it in there the larger it will get as it has no other way to express its experience gain other than to invest in that trait. I don’t understand how it works myself. I think slimes just want to get big and fat; the largest slimes in the game are some of the most chill monsters I’ve ever seen, even wild ones tolerate NPC children jumping or sleeping on them without consuming them.”

“Do I need to have the creature out to influence its evolution?” I asked curiously, an idea forming in my head. Whether-or-not I could do it, depended on what Fiona told me now.

“Unfortunately, yes, otherwise you could influence it with favourable affinities without the environment causing freak mutations. That’s the gaining of abilities, features, traits, or spells outside of their species or magical affinities. Sometimes they can even gain a magical affinity depending on where they are.”

“Ah well,” I sighed. “I’ll focus on Baruu primarily, I’ve decided she will be my partner, I’ll leave the slime until we get to the mainland so I can really experiment with the species and affinity stones and things.”

“Oh god, you’re going to be a breeder, aren’t you?” She grumped.

We had found a cave by the time Fizzle had contacted us; we were crawling through a particularly narrow gap when the familiar incoming external call jingle began playing incessantly in my head. I grumped and came to a halt earning a quizzical look from Fiona ahead of me.

“Alber’s calling” I explained as I accepted the call.

“Hey man, can you tell Fiona there’s a guild emergency and I won’t be back on Fizzle until later, I have mailed the stuff she wanted to her, but I’ve got to deal with this thing.”

“Uh huh” I said dryly, I motioned for Fiona to stop.

“What’s he saying?” She asked, hearing the tone of my voice, a scowl appearing on her face.

“Guild business,” I told her in reply.

“Oh, good. You’re together. She can’t hear me but I can hear everything you hear. Tell her that the problem guild was up to no good again and they’ve deemed it necessary that Snorg and I handle it.”

I relayed the message. She sighed then began to speak.

“Alright then, be quick about it though. We’re pretty close to Level eight and we should hit the dungeon again to hit the zone level cap as soon as we can tomorrow, even if it means a repeated dungeon crawl.”

“Alright, alright; listen. I’ve also found out something about Meadows Edge but I’ll talk to you about it when I log on as Fizzle in a few hours; and yes, I mean game hours; it won’t take me long to take out this bunch of dicks.”

With that he hung up, I told Fiona all that he had said, and we continued deeper into the cave. We followed the cave’s narrow winding tunnel into a large natural chamber. Stalactites and stalagmites both hung and jutted up like so many fangs. The air had a damp and musty smell to it that made me need to sneeze. Two cave mouths, one to the left and one to the right branched off from the chamber, the left-hand path had a fresher scent to it while the other one… The other one smelled like burning trash and festering meat. I didn’t know what was in the blackened depths beyond, I just had the distinct feeling I didn’t want to know about it. I had seen enough nasty corpse creatures at the manor house, and I wasn’t going to fight the half-chewed remains of some poor creature or adventurous NPC. I tugged Fiona by the wrist and motioned towards the left-hand mouth, she nodded after leaning towards the right-hand cave mouth catching a whiff of the decay.

The left-hand path climbed gently but cut back on itself many times as it rose. Eventually after an hour of climbing we exited into the cool late evening air but rather than tasting the fresh breeze I caught the unexpected scent of sulphur. Wrinkling my nose, I looked around, discovering what appeared to be hot springs on a plateau halfway up the tall valley walls. Steam rose from them in thick plumes; presumably they were the source of the acrid smell. Fiona moved forward eagerly to investigate, dipping her hands in the water. She sighed.

“Hot water,” she purred. “Please tell me you have baths and things on Mars.”

“Yes, we do. We aren’t that barren red world you Earthlings think we are. The terraforming project is progressing nicely and will likely be finished in our lifetime. So, yes, we have water to spare for frivolous things like baths.”

She stared at me aghast, no doubt wondering who this funny sounding Martian was, daring to have the audacity to challenge the necessity of baths. Then shrugging, she turned back to water, and it was with a surprised yelp and a great splash that she vanished beneath the surface of the slightly cloudy water. Whilst amusedly watching her as she fawned over the water, I’d got sight of the cause when she had clearly not. A large set of reptilian jaws had lunged out of the water and clamped onto Fiona’s black-clad leg, hauling her into the largest of the pools. I snarled and crashed forward, the creatures red name plate and Fiona’s blue were still visible beneath the water.

Onsen cave drake, Level twelve.

And to make things worse, there was the silver shield icon that denoted as tougher than the average mob, a rare mob. I cursed and hurled myself into the scalding water desperate to frantically hack at the large murky shape that I presumed was the creature’s body, empowering each stroke with Ki as I swung. One blow seemed to hit harder than the others, two of my few precious Ki points vanished and a notification window appeared awaiting patiently for when it could have my full attention. The drakes’ HP decreased encouragingly. The milky waters were coloured purple as the drake’s blood mingled with the growing red from Fiona’s injuries. (What was with this game and its need for hyper realistic gore?) I continued my assault for as long as my Ki and stamina would allow. At some point Fiona had struggled free as I briefly saw her rolling out at the pool’s edge whilst the drake and I thrashed in the churning waters fighting each other for supremacy. Once Fiona had escaped and Baruu had darted over, I spotted the green energy of her most powerful healing spell going to work on Fiona, the mangled remains of her leg straightened and reformed.

However now that she had gone from the fight and Baruu was tending her, that left only the creature and I. Glitters being technically part earth elemental was loathe to float above the water, instead deciding to stay back and fire lances of light rather ineffectively at the creatures’ hide. I had seen the light beams punch through stone and flesh like it was nothing in the past and had to infer that the sheets of displaced water were somehow lessening the intensity of Glitters’ assault. Still the creature’s health pool was slowly dropping towards fifty percent and I imagined that when Fiona was back in the fight the creature wouldn’t stand a chance. But for now, it was just me and it.

The drake’s mouth was even larger than expected as its lower jaws seemed to unhinge and grow wider, four-inch hooked fangs lined the cavernous interior and a thick, black forked tongue writhed inside. I jammed my shield between its teeth. It bowed under the pressure and, for a second, I thought my new shield was going to shatter but miraculously it held against the monstrous jaws. Discovering it was unable to close its mouth, the creature tried to back away but the shield, and me along with it, were dragged forward. I snarled and lashed out with my axe at its snout doing a little damage but mainly succeeding to infuriate the reptilian goliath further. It thrashed harder, revealing a powerful muscular tail, flattened at the tip to aid in swimming like a crocodile or a gator. Thank whatever AI oversaw this creatures’ evolutionary progress that it wasn’t capable of bipedal locomotion. It was however capable of exhaling super-heated steam as I soon discovered when the attack caught me unawares, the steam rolling around the edges of the shield to scald my arm and face. I cried out as it stung my eyes, freeing myself of the shield and backing off. It seemed that once I was no longer attached to the shield, the creature had a much easier time ridding itself of the encumbrance before surging towards me with frightening speed. I scrambled to get out of the pool, rolling myself over the lip and onto dry ground, narrowly avoiding the snapping jaws that closed in behind me. I rose panting, shaking my shield arm missing its familiar weight. As the creature heaved itself out of the pool on thick muscular legs, each foot topped with razor claws. I swallowed and conjured a gem shot into my now free hand and raised my axe.

The drake regarded me for a moment, sizing me up as though wondering if I was worth eating or if it should just kill me out right. It didn’t get much more time to think as Glitters renewed its furious assault on the lumbering drake; now each laser that stuck the hide burned deep into the flesh through the rocky scale plates that covered its body. It seemed that the water had indeed lessened the power of his earlier magical attacks, I’d keep that in mind in-case I ever had to fight a light affinity monster like Glitters in the future. Frack I loved Glitters.

It hissed in pain then bellowed a challenging roar at me before heaving in a deep breath. Recognizing the sound of the inhale, I quickly understood what it signified. I threw myself to the side as the drake exhaled another gout of super-heated steam with such force it cut a furrow into the rocky ground. No wonder that attack had hurt so much I thought as I looked at the churned-up earth. Despite my quick reactions and steadily improving dodge skill, the blast had caught me below the knees, while my pants were soaked and clung to the flesh of my legs. A burning sensation lingered even with the system doing its best to dampen the pain. An icon appeared informing me that I had suffered severe burns and that I would be unable to move very fast until I was healed. What’s more, it dealt 3 points of burn damage every second for fifteen seconds. I tried to crawl away noticing the creature’s eyes, one had been ruined presumably from the dagger thrusts that had allowed Fiona to escape its clutches. It looked at me, a stupid glee twinkling in its remaining angry ophidian eye as it began to shuffle towards me.

Baruu it seemed had other plans, as she and Fiona re-joined the fight. Lightning arced from between my little fawns’ horns and zapped the creature for the full damage but there was no paralysis debuff this time. Fiona, who had leapt from a rather convenient rock formation, buried two daggers to their hilts between its shoulder blades as she fell upon it, yet the resilient creature began to thrash and roll to shake Fiona free. Baruu tended to me with another of her large nature attributed heals. I just had to be patient as the spell did its work, grateful for Baruu’s healing spells that would also cleanse me of negative effects. I sat up and watched the battle unfolding before me.

Glitters and I had managed to whittle the dumb beast to just below forty percent of its HP but despite this, the thing was a rare monster and clearly an apex predator in its own right. It wasn’t going to go down without a fight, especially to what it no doubt perceived as its dinner. It became apparent that despite being injured, the drake was still a force to be reckoned with; a well-placed tail lash sent Glitters flying into the rocky valley walls where he promptly shattered and broke apart into dancing lights that were drawn towards the stones Fiona had elected to mount in an odd bracelet she had fashioned of woven leather straps. When Glitters vanished, Fiona backed up calling the name of her new companion, it turned out to be Stampy. I winced at the name. Stampy, who had been injured before his capture now seemed entirely healthy, it trumpeted angrily at the creature while stomping its feet, causing the ground to shake and the water ripple.

The fight between the young mammoth and the drake was insane. The elephant creature defiantly charged the drake numerous times despite getting bitten and scratched by the vicious claws. However, the earthen nature of the plucky elephantine infant protected it from most of the harm, the naturally occurring mail rings and rough hide denying the fangs access to the delicate flesh within. There was one point towards the end of the monster brawl as I healed and Fiona called orders like a protagonist in an old cartoon when the mammoth calf wrapped its trunk around the drake’s tail and slammed it repeatedly into the ground in vicious short arcs. Eventually, the creature’s skull split on a rock, its body once madly writhing to get free went slack and broke apart into lights. I had been waiting for this as Stampy mercilessly ground the drake into paste with its immense strength and made it look like the infant creature had been at play. I tossed two of the familiar stones I had into the dwindling lights. I saw a couple of different coloured orbs melt into the stone, before they faded and the stones fell amidst the piles of gold, shards and a small chest.

I was then promptly greeted by skill-up notifications, a level-up notification, and a new ability alert.

Level up

You have five unspent attribute points

You have learned the skill Power Strike

Power Strike

Cast time instant

Cost 2 Ki

You attack with a powerful precise blow scoring an automatic critical dealing 3 times the weapon damage you normally would.

This technique can be used in conjunction with other martial techniques such as Wild Blow.

Your teammate Fiona has gained the psionic affinity.

We both looked at each other and then to the gem and metal-encrusted mammoth calf that was now lowering itself into the hot water of the spring, trumpeting its delight.

“It had the psionic affinity, what like telekinesis and stuff?”

“Apparently so.” She said, as she checked the creatures’ stat window though not deigning to share the information with me. She shrugged then called for Stampy; who, after a moment rose from the water, coated in mud, and trundled his way to her. I scurried to check the chest which yielded some high-quality species stones but nothing noteworthy, apparently the game was done being generous with us. I made sure to pick up the two familiar stones I had thrown, receiving two near identical windows as I picked them up.

Fire familiar stone

Item quality: rare, crafted

Crafter: Blue Opensky

This stone contains enough monster essence to create a fire affinity familiar. You can gift this creature to a companion or sell it to a merchant for a high price

Sell price: 10,000 gp

My eyes boggled at the price, then checked the second window after closing the first.

Earthen Familiar Stone

Item quality: rare, crafted

Crafter: Blue Opensky

This stone contains enough monster essence to create an earth affinity familiar. You can gift this creature to a companion or sell it to a merchant for a high price.

Sell price: 5,000 gp

“I suppose we best head back and wait for Alber.” She told me as she climbed atop Stampy, who trundled forward and began descending a steep slow that barely made its way up to the plateau we stood on. I shrugged, Baruu zipping ahead to follow Fiona and make the acquaintance of our groups newest monster.