“Okay.”
“That means we’ll be staying on the path and dealing with whatever comes out of the trees or is in the clearings. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Stern. My name is Stern, Cyra.”
“Okay, Stern.”
“Next, we’ll properly introduce you to Pawly,” Stern said as he summoned his friend.
Pawly appeared and chuffed, bumping into his leg before turning to Cyra and purring.
Cyra smiled as she reached out to pet Pawly. “Hello, again. Thank you for comforting me.”
Pawly purred and shifted closer for easier pets.
“Pawly is going to be doing most of our work. She has upgrades that make her extremely dangerous.”
Cyra nodded, stroking Pawly. “She’ll do a good job.”
“My other perks aren’t really useful for combat,” Stern said. “What about you?”
Cyra’s hand faltered briefly.
“I have improved hearing from my mother’s family and improved dark vision from my father’s. If I kick something, there’s a chance it will be stunned briefly, which is how I got away from Klein. The last perk is… Life Sense. I can sense anything living within twenty feet of me.”
“How does that work?” Stern asked. “Is it active all the time?”
“I have to concentrate on it. It takes a couple of seconds, but then it flows out of me and I just know.”
“Hmm… that can be useful, especially if we think an ambush is close by,” Stern said.
Cyra looked up at him. “Really?”
“Yes, easily,” Stern nodded. “I had a grasslands dungeon with carnivorous ground squirrels in it. That would have let us know where they were instead of having to sweep the entire place.”
Pawly chuffed and bumped into Cyra’s leg.
“Pawly likes the idea of not being surprised, either,” Stern chuckled. “Okay, time for you to see everything Pawly can do. Scoot back a little. She gets a bit big.”
Pawly huffed, looking back at Stern.
“It’s true and you know it.”
Cyra inched back, but Stern kept waving her back until a few feet separated her from Pawly.
“Okay, first perk increase,” Stern said as his fingers flexed through the pattern.
Cyra inhaled sharply when Pawly went from a large house cat to the size of a small lion. “Goodness, you’re amazing.”
Pawly preened.
“Second increase,” Stern said and he rotated his wrist through the pattern.
Twin furred tentacles rose above Pawly’s shoulders, and Cyra froze as she stared at them.
“And the last one,” Stern said as the fingers of his right hand danced in the correct pattern.
Pawly appeared to be a foot to the left in the span of a blink.
“What?!” Cyra asked, shocked at Pawly’s sudden movement. Her mouth fell open, as Pawly was a foot and a half to the right now.
“Weird, right?” Stern chuckled. “Extend your hand to where Pawly had been sitting.”
Cyra reached out and, when her hand met fur with nothing there, she froze again. A heartbeat later, Pawly appeared exactly where she’d been the whole time.
“What is that?” Cyra asked in wonder.
“An illusion that shifts where she seems to be. If she’s touched, it reverts back to her real location. If you stop touching her for a second, she starts shifting again.”
Cyra removed her hand and Pawly appeared two feet to the left of where she’d been.
“She’s amazing...” Cyra said in wonder.
Pawly chuffed and headbutted her chest.
“Why didn’t she appear like normal that time?” Cyra asked, looking at Stern.
“It doesn’t break if she touches something, just if something touches her,” Stern said, having noticed it before.
“Oh...”
“Okay,” Stern said. “Pawly, path dungeon. You’re lead. We’ll follow, with Cyra between us. Cyra, do you know how to use a weapon?”
Cyra shook her head. “Not really. I can stab things if needed, though.”
Stern pulled one of his sheathed daggers free and handed it to her. “Stab if they get close enough. Any questions?”
Cyra held the dagger, looking at it for a long moment before swallowing. “No.” The word was a whisper.
Stern swayed in place, Cyra’s gratitude hitting him hard. Shaking his head, he got to his feet. “Pawly, we follow, your majesty.”
Pawly chuffed and started down the path.
Stern held out a hand to Cyra. “Ready to be stronger?”
Cyra looked up at him with bright eyes. “Yes,” she said with conviction, taking his hand and coming to her feet.
The top of her head only came up to his chin and he smiled. “Follow Pawly. I’m right behind you, keeping you safe.”
Cyra turned away, her cheeks red. “Yes, sir.”
Stern didn’t bother to correct her, drawing one of his daggers and trailing her.
Pawly led them to a small clearing where the path split around a handful of saplings. Pawly stopped at the fork and looked back at Stern.
“Yeah, we should let Cyra shine,” Stern smiled at Pawly. “If you don’t mind, Cyra?”
Cyra swallowed hard. “You want me to go in there?” Her question came with fast breathing as she panicked.
“Easy...” Stern said softly, touching her shoulder. “I just want you to use your perk and let Pawly know where the mobs are.”
“Oh,” Cyra exhaled heavily, her fear fading as quickly as it had come. “Of course.” She closed her eyes and willed her perk to work.
Stern felt a small pulse of energy pass through him and nodded. Pawly shook herself, having felt something similar. Okay, that could be a problem in more powerful dungeons with intelligent mobs.
“Two,” Cyra whispered. “In the stand of saplings, one on either side. Both are in the branches.”
“Any information on them?” Stern asked quietly.
“I’m sorry, no,” Cyra said, deflating.
“It’s fine. It’s a basic perk,” Stern said. “Pawly was just a house cat before being able to turn into what she can now. Just think of what your perk could be if it upgrades.”
Cyra nodded slowly, giving it some thought.
“Pawly, you’re on point.”
Pawly chuffed and stalked forward, ready for the attack from above. She edged to the left side of the path, her tentacles down but ready to strike. The other two stayed put, though Stern had stepped in front of Cyra, ready to throw his dagger.
The creature was fast and, if they hadn’t known to be prepared, both Stern and Pawly might have been taken by surprise. The snake launched itself from the tree— it was long, thick, and had aimed to land squarely on Pawly.
Pawly shifted aside, her tentacles slapping the snake monster and pushing it away. The moment the snake hit the ground, Pawly pounced. It tried to jerk away, but Pawly managed to grab it behind the head and bit down hard.
Cyra gagged slightly when Pawly almost severed its head. Turning away, she breathed deeply, trying to not vomit. Stern looked back at her with a raised eyebrow and shook his head. Pawly spat the dead snake out and went trotting around the path to the other side, where she repeated the performance.
As Pawly dealt with the second mob, Stern turned to Cyra. “You okay?”
“That was…” Cyra exhaled slowly, then looked past Stern to where the snake was fading into the ground. “Sorry… it just looked so real.”
“It is real,” Stern said. “Deadly real. The only difference is that there’s no clean-up, which is good and bad. A snake that size would be worth a good amount to a tanner, but if the dungeon let us loot the bodies, what would be the point for those who hunt outside of dungeons?”
“That’s a good point,” Cyra said as she watched Pawly kill the second one. She shuddered, but didn’t turn away this time. “I can do this. Sorry.”
Stern touched her shoulder, drawing her eyes up to his
. “Don’t apologize so much. We all have things we have a hard time dealing with. Maybe you’ll find that being a Walker isn’t for you, and there’s no shame in that.”
Cyra stared into his eyes and shook her head. “No. I need to be a Walker.”
Stern inhaled slowly as her conviction hit him. “Okay, then let’s move on. There are more of these to kill before we find the boss.”
Pawly came trotting up to them, dragging the second snake behind her.
“Yup, you’re a mighty hunter,” Stern chuckled. “Cyra doesn’t care for the dead, though.”
Pawly paused a few feet away from them and dropped it. Looking around, she turned and kicked dirt onto the carcass.
Cyra giggled. “It’s okay, Pawly. I’m learning. Thank you.”
Pawly meowed quietly before trotting down the path, leaving the snake where it lay.
“She likes you,” Stern said as they walked behind the cat.
“Yes. Like you, she makes me feel safe,” Cyra said, her cheeks heating.
Stern felt the quick surge of emotion, and his pace slowed for a second. Breathing slowly, he watched Cyra and wondered about what he’d felt.
~*~*~
The clearings came and went with Cyra telling them how many snakes there were. Pawly killed them all with little difficulty. None of them came close to landing on Pawly with her illusion going, and she dispatched them with single bites to the back of the head.
They all paused outside of the last room, and Stern frowned at what he was seeing. There was a body of water with trees thrusting out of it. The water was brackish and had a lot of dead leaves, limbs, and a downed tree in it. A small path led around the edge of the pool.
“It’s in the stand of trees,” Cyra said.
“And will go into the water,” Stern said. “Water snakes are such a pain. They swim too damned well. It’ll use the debris to hide and try to ambush us that way. I bet that tree would support us if we were stupid enough to get on it.”
“We won’t?” Cyra asked.
“No. Pawly, stay on the edge. I’m going to throw some stones into the water. That should bring it down to investigate. Once Cyra says it’s in the water, just splash the edge and get ready to attack it.”
Pawly chuffed and stalked around the left edge of the pond.
“Cyra, keep your perk going, please. Tell us as soon as it comes out of the trees,” Stern said. He set his bag down and started to dig for the rocks he’d collected on the way to the city.
“You’re carrying rocks?” Cyra asked as she closed her eyes and focused on Life Sense.
“Always be prepared,” Stern said. “Dad loves that saying.”
Cyra listened to him as she felt the snake in the trees— it was shifting about as if interested in what was happening. “It’s moving, but it’s still in the trees.”
“Okay. Once it hits the water, we need to be quiet so it’ll go for Pawly. Snakes don’t hear exactly, but they can still follow sounds.” Finding the stones he’d gathered, Stern left his bag where it was and stood. “Here we go.”
Gripping the flat stone, he aimed for the trees. When he snapped his wrist, the rock went skipping across the water. It failed to make it all the way, but Stern’s aim had been good. With a grunt, he flung the next one and it leapt across the water, slamming into the trees.
“It’s down,” Cyra said.
“Pawly,” Stern said before he knelt and readied his dagger.
Pawly yowled and slapped the water with both tentacles, then paced to the side. She glanced toward Cyra, who nodded and pointed at the water. Pawly slapped the water again and moved a bit farther to the side.
A few seconds later, the snake lashed up from the pond, striking at where Pawly appeared to be standing. It passed through the illusion as Pawly slapped it with clawed tentacles. Blood flew and the snake whipped back the other way, striking out again. Again, it hit the image of Pawly but not her. Pawly yowled and slapped it again before the snake whipped back into the water, bleeding from deep gouges. Pawly yowled one more time, then hit the water as she pounced after it.
Stern yelled as he stood, eyes wide as he watched the thrashing in the water. “Dammit, Pawly! It’s better in the water than you are!”
Cyra fidgeted wondering what she could do to help.
Heartbeats felt like eons, but Pawly dragged herself up onto the edge of the bank, soaking wet. Cyra exhaled along with Stern— both of them looked at the drenched cat, worried for her.
Pawly huffed and waved a paw at Stern from where she was on the ground.
Stern exhaled again. “Go home. We’ll see you soon.”
“What?” Cyra asked.
Stern pointed at the glowing orb on the log in the pond. “Pawly killed it.”
“But what about her?” Cyra asked worriedly. “Is she okay? Can we dry her off?”
Stern smiled. “She’s fine. When I call her back, she’ll be dry and preening.”
Cyra sighed in relief and looked sheepish. “Sorry. I just worry for her.”
“So do I, even though I know she’s immortal as long as I’m alive,” Stern said. “Come on, the dungeon is done. It’s time to get your perk, loot, and badge.”
Cyra blinked at him, then crushed him in a hug. Stern froze as Cyra’s face pressed into his chest. He kept his hands away from her, not wanting to make her uncomfortable.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Cyra sobbed.
Feeling her joy and hearing her sob, Stern lightly placed his arms around her. “You’re welcome, Cyra. One dungeon down, but more to go, right?”
Cyra sniffled and nodded. “If… if you’ll be there…?”
The emotions that hit Stern were tangled, jumbled, and messy, and he didn’t want to look at them too closely right then. “Yeah. Pawly likes you, so it makes it an easy decision.”
“I like her, too,” Cyra said as she let go of him and turned her back to him. “Sorry.”
“No apologies. Joy is a good thing. Touch the orb and you’ll be taken to the store. I’ll be right behind you.”
“Okay,” Cyra said. She wiped at her face before jumping onto the log, which didn’t move an inch. She quickly crossed to the orb and touched it.
Stern got his bag back in order and hefted it onto his back. “Well… this isn’t how I thought I would do things… but it feels right.”
With a smile, he went to join Cyra.
Chapter Twenty
Stern blinked and saw the shop around him. Cyra was speaking with Ria at the counter and looking at the three pages between the two women. Cyra already had her badge pinned to her clothing.
“Looking at your perks?” Stern asked.
Cyra jerked slightly, then nodded. “Yes. I had no idea it would be so hard to choose.”
“It can be,” Ria said. “Other times, the pick is simple and easy.”
“Would…?” Cyra began before trailing off for a moment. “Would you give me your advice, Stern?”
“If you want,” Stern said, going to stand beside her. “Perks are a personal choice, though. This is something you’ll never be able to change.”
“But members of a crew often give each other advice to better synergize with each other,” Ria said.
“True...” Stern said slowly, having felt Cyra’s hope surge at Ria’s words. “Okay, Cyra, let’s start with the first one.”
Picking up the first page, he studied it for a moment. Sprinter; run on, runner. Can go to full speed in a moment, and runs faster than others.
“Obviously you wanted to be quicker when you were younger,” Stern said.
“I ran away from a lot of conflicts,” Cyra said softly.
“That’s understandable,” Stern said, putting the paper down. “What about the next one?”
Cyra handed it to him and Stern gave it a good look over. Improved Life Sense 1; Help others know when life surrounds you. Those in your crew will know where you have felt life.
“Wow, that can be very useful if we’re trying
to be quiet,” Stern said. “It also means that there will be other increases to that perk in the future.”
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