by JK Galioto
“Hmm,” he thought aloud. “I guess working at Hardee’s as a part-time fry cook for a year in high school only qualifies for two points in the cooking skill; seems about right. Also,” Jack continued his musings, “how many skills can a person learn? I’ve been dropping restaurant-quality deuces my entire life, and I’m going to rock that skill when I learn it!”
Chewing slowly on one of his deer steaks, he contemplated his situation. Remarkably, he felt better. His health had climbed to ten out of his max of fifteen. The cuts on his face and shoulders were scabs now, still in the healing process but well along their way, although man did they itch. He absently scratched at one of the large scabs.
As the sun began setting on the horizon, Jack decided to find a place to camp for the night. He wasn’t sure if being in a small meadow next to a river and on the game trail was smart. Strike that, he was sure it wasn’t smart. He didn’t know what type of deadly secrets the forest held, but given that Chad told him Rigara had goblins, minotaurs, giants, and the like, he guessed mountain lions were the least of his worries. After packing up his things into his glorious backpack, he spent a few minutes gathering firewood, just in case.
He then set off, going west across the river where the land seemed to climb, based on what he could tell from the tops of the trees. He trekked upward through dense bushes, carefully navigating thorns and poison ivy, eyes on a swivel looking for large predators. But as he walked, he lost focus, as was his tendency, and began looking for any plants he recognized. After a while he spotted echinacea, a large daisy-looking plant that his grandfather had used to treat headaches. He quickly used Analyze on the pink and yellow flower.
Name: Echinacea. Effect: When ingested, echinacea will heal 1 point of damage. Other properties: Unknown.
Analyze was too low level to find out all but the most basic information, but at least it confirmed that it would heal him. He decided to save the flower, assuming his rest would heal him to full.
He received another notification.
You have learned the gathering plants skill, improving your chance to find, identify, and gather plants and herbs. You gain a +18 bonus to this skill based on prior experience.
You have attained beginner rank in the gathering plants skill and may choose one of the following perks:
Seek and You Shall Find 1: Increases the chance to spot useful plants by 25% and increases the range of spotting plants by 25%.
Faster Gathering 1: Speed of the gathering process improves by 25%.
Like many high school kids in Merrill, Jack had picked ginseng root and strawberries as a part-time job when they were in season. Hundreds of hours toiling in the summer heat had given him a nice bonus. He really wished he had taken that job at Brose’s Greenhouse, as he could see putting that potential knowledge to good use. He decided to take a rank in Seek and You Shall Find; finding additional plants was more important than harvesting said plants faster.
He walked on for a few more minutes, eventually discovering a small clearing that backed into a short cliff face and decided to camp there for the night. After digging out a shallow pit with his shortsword and dagger, he again went through the arduous process of starting a fire, using wood from his bag.
The sun had long since dipped beneath the horizon, giving way to a moonless night. Whether because this planet didn’t have a moon or because it was a new moon, Jack couldn’t be certain. He shouldn’t be able to see anything without the fire, but his Darkvision had kicked in. Instead of total black, he saw the terrain in shades of light and dark grey, like he was watching an old episode of The Honeymooners or I Love Lucy. Not wanting to delve into the ramifications of his elven heritage, he didn’t give his Darkvision much thought, just enjoyed the benefits.
He soon had a modest fire going. He pulled his hides out, stringing them up near the flames to dry and block the chill night air. He ended up using the backpack as a makeshift pillow, which was harder than you would think, because it was essentially empty. He tried to get some sleep but lay there for a long time, staring up at the sky. The night was beautiful, despite the dropping temperatures.
Looking up at the stars, he realized he didn’t see any of the familiar constellations. No Big Dipper, Little Dipper, North Star, or Orion’s Belt—more reminders that he wasn’t anywhere near Earth anymore. He almost started singing “Somewhere, out there, beneath the pale moonlight,” but thought better of it. Maybe let’s not attract all the monsters to the campfire. Surely some of the denizens of the woods with poor hearing haven’t noticed me yet.
As he turned away from the fire and tried to get some sleep, his last thoughts were of Billy and the kids at his gaming shop playing Dungeons and Dragons while he lived it. An uncharacteristic feeling of worry washed over him as he realized he, known mainly for his ability to make a mean hangover cure, may be the only thing standing between them and impending doom. Jack worked to focus his thoughts back on what he could control, using a breathing technique he had learned while being a yoga instructor to relax each muscle group, until he felt calm.
You have learned the meditation skill. You can now meditate to regenerate health, spell points, and stamina faster. You gain additional 1% regeneration for each skill point. You gain a +12 bonus to this skill based on prior experience.
You have attained beginner rank in meditation and may choose one of the following perks:
Namaste 1: It takes you 50% less time to get into a meditative state.
Deep Thoughts 1: Gain an additional 10% to regeneration for every 30 minutes in a meditative state, capped at 50%.
Mental Resistance 1: Gain an additional 25% resistance to mental attacks against you. Cost: 15 stamina.
Jack thought for a moment before taking Mental Resistance 1. He hated people telling him what to do, and the thought of someone controlling his actions was terrifying. And every time he thought of Deep Thoughts, it made him think of his favorite Jack Handey quote. Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them and you have their shoes. A smile formed at the corner of his lips, quickly turning to a yawn as he looked up at the stars, distracting himself by imagining and naming new constellations in the foreign night sky until he fell asleep.
Chapter 7
Somewhat surprisingly, Jack awoke feeling refreshed and—eat your heart out, Wolverine—he was completely healed! Healing in hours what would take weeks back on Earth was absolutely amazing. The fire had long since died out. Still, he thanked whatever this world offered as gods that the night had passed uneventfully. He couldn’t wait to get more of his friends through the portal; this was more than a one-man job. After a quick breakfast of dried steak, he packed up his gear. Taking the lodestone out of his backpack, he let it dangle from his finger. Was it his imagination, or did he see it twitch a little to the west? Since he didn’t have a specific destination, he decided to head in that direction.
Before doing that, he scaled the cliff behind his camp, which was silly with handholds, and looked around. The forest surrounded him in every direction. To the west, the trees eventually gave way to mountaintops peaked with snow. To the east, he thought he could just make out the portal, only a few miles away by his best guess. It felt like it should have been farther away, but he realized that most of the time while traveling he’d crept very slowly in his ninja stealth mode—well, Chris Farley in Beverly Hills Ninja stealth mode at least. To the north and south were more trees and forest, but he glimpsed water far off to the south, where sparkling blue reflected the rays of the morning sun.
Climbing back down to the ground gave him another notification.
You have learned the climbing skill, improving your ability to climb up and down various surfaces and objects.
Nope, no bonuses to that skill. Climbing had never really been his thing, given his beer gut and overall poor fitness.
He started walking toward what he considered west, assuming the sun rose in the east on this
planet. The forest continued to be littered with trees, most of which he recognized: pine, oak, cottonwood, ash, and birch. It was zany how much this felt like being back in Wisconsin. His grandpa had been stationed in Hawaii while in the army, and he would tell stories of how many of the trees on the islands were not indigenous but were imported from the Philippines or other countries, including pineapple trees. Jack wondered if at some point in the past trees from here had seeded Earth, or vice versa.
A couple of hours later, when the sun was high in the sky, Jack stopped to take a quick break and saw a notification in the corner of his vision.
You have learned the hiking skill, improving your carrying ability as well as walking speed over difficult terrain. You gain a +8 bonus to this skill based on prior experience.
“Hiking is hard work,” Jack said, using his sleeve to wipe away sweat and sitting down with his back to a nearby birch tree. Being overweight and out of shape truly sucked, and he promised himself that if he ever got out of Rigara, taking better care of himself would be on the agenda. He had a buddy on the other side named Joey, but in the mountains of Guatemala he was simply known as the “cabra blanca” or “white goat.” He hiked longer and faster than anyone Jack had ever met, including guides, Sherpas, and other porters. If he had an ounce of what made Joey go, he would be fine. In fact, hiking with Joey probably had parlayed into the meager eight-point bonus he’d received for the skill. He wondered what skill rank Joey would have in hiking. Heck, he wasn’t even sure what the ranks of skills were beyond untrained, beginner, and journeyman.
Suddenly, he heard Alexa’s voice in his head.
“There are ten skill ranks. Starting at beginner rank, each rank provides perks that you can choose to enhance your skill. The ten ranks are:
“Some of the ranks have requirements; for instance, you cannot achieve higher than expert in the stealth skill without having access to the Rogue class. Certain skills require training from someone with a rank above you before you can progress. Other skills have attribute requirements before moving to certain ranks. Your perk ‘Knows No Shame’ allows you to bypass these requirements.”
“Ask and you shall receive,” Jack murmured, a grin appearing on his face as he reviewed the chart that appeared in his mind. It was daunting. For a guy that never stuck with something for more than a few months, he wondered how well he would fare on Rigara. Of course, the fate of the world didn’t depend on him keeping a bartending job at the bowling alley; only the blood alcohol level of the bowling teams would depend on that. Let’s just say he had been known to give away free drinks occasionally, though if he was being honest with himself, perhaps more than occasionally. Was bowling a skill on this world?
While he rested, he noticed a slight purplish tinge to some moss a few feet away; moss that he didn’t recognize. He used Analyze.
Name: Spongy turf moss. Effect: When ingested, spongy turf moss will heal 2 points of damage over 10 minutes. Other properties: Weak pain relief.
You have gained 1 skill point in the Analyze spell and 1 point in the gathering plants skill. You are now apprentice rank in gathering plants and may choose one of the following perks:
Seek and You Shall Find 2: Increase the chance to find plants by an additional 50% (total 75%) and increase the range of spotting plants by an additional 50% (total 75%).
Faster Gathering 1: Speed of the gathering process is improved by 10%.
Jack chose Seek and You Shall Find 2, already seeing the benefit of identifying plants more easily.
“Alexa, what do my skill points in gathering plants do for me, beyond the perks?”
Alexa’s cool voice responded, “Each skill point in gathering plants grants you a one percent increased chance of finding and identifying plants. Higher ranks in this skill also allow you to discern multiple effects from a plant when it is identified.” Interesting. The apprentice rank in gathering plants must have allowed him to identify a secondary property of the spongy turf moss: mild pain relief. “Riganol!” he exclaimed as he chuckled at his own joke. Sadly, Alexa remained quiet. Tough room.
He knew pain was in the forecast, as sure as January snow in Northern Wisconsin. Just like Jack’s grandpa could tell when a storm was rolling in, Jack knew a fight was coming.
After gathering all the moss he could find, Jack stood up and pulled out his lodestone, letting it dangle on the line once more. After the errant movement from releasing the stone subsided, he saw a clear pull to the west. Excited, he moved in that direction, referring to the lodestone every thirty minutes or so to make sure he was hiking in the right direction and, if he was honest with himself, to take rest breaks.
Jack focused on being stealthy and alert, still a little on edge from the battle with Cooter. The world rewarded him with skill bumps to both hiking and stealth, moving him to the beginner rank for both.
Notification icons appeared in the lower right of his vision, and he reviewed them as he rechecked the stone, totally not taking advantage of a notification just to take another breather.
You have gained a skill point in stealth and attained beginner rank in the stealth skill. You may choose one of the following perks:
Armored Stealth 1: Decreases stealth penalty for wearing armor by 25%. Normal penalties: light armor 25%, medium armor 50%, heavy armor 100%.
Fast Stealth 1: Increases speed of stealth by 10%. Normal: Stealth reduces speed by 50%.
“Alexa, can you explain what each skill point in stealth does for me?”
“Of course, Jack,” the cool female voice responded. “Each skill point in stealth decreases the chance to be noticed by one percent. The stealth skill is opposed by the perception skill of the person from which you are hiding.” Since he was sure he would be trying to sneak past creatures and people with high perception, he chose Armored Stealth 1 to offset the light armor penalty. He noticed there were multiple skill trees branching off both perks that would most likely come into play as he leveled up his stealth.
Opening the other notification, he was told he’d hit beginner rank in hiking and given the following perk options.
Fast Hiking 1: Increase speed of hiking by 25%.
Difficult Terrain 1: Increase ability to hike effectively on difficult terrain, such as ice, by 25%.
Carrying Capacity 1: Increase carrying capacity by 50 pounds. Normal: Your carrying capacity is equal to your strength score x 5. You can currently carry 55 pounds with no stamina drain.
Jack reviewed the list, weighing the benefits of each perk. His amazing backpack allowed him to worry less about carrying capacity, although he was fairly weak and the ability to carry more would probably benefit him. In the day or so he had been on Rigara, speed had taken a back seat to stealth, so he chose Difficult Terrain 1, hoping the skill would give him better footing on uneven or slippery ground and help him in battles where he would likely be fighting on surfaces coated with blood—much of it his own, if the first fight was any indication.
Jack continued his hike, finding a small path made of grass and loose gravel. After about an hour of hiking, the lodestone nearly pulled the string out of his hand as it yearned to go north and off the trail. And of course, north led uphill. Not finding a path, Jack wound his way through trees, bushes, and other plant life. Grunting with exertion, he trudged onward, and before too long spied a cave entrance carved into the side of a hill. From his current distance, it surprised him that he could make out the deep shadow that signaled the cave entrance.
He was less surprised when a notification icon appeared and he mentally opened it, bringing a dialogue box into view.
You have learned the perception skill. You gain a +17 bonus to this skill based on prior experience.
You have attained beginner rank in the perception skill and may choose one of the following perks:
See What is Hidden 1: Your ability to spot secret doors, traps, and hidden caches is improved by 25%.
Improved Senses 1: Choose one of your five senses and improve that sense. Each
time you choose this perk, you can pick a different sense.
Many of his jobs over the years required Jack to be observant, not to mention the weekly poker games at the Northway Bar, where his well-developed observation skills had played a significant role in getting him kicked out of the poker group. He had also spent a lot of time hunting with his grandpa, which required keen eyesight and focus. All this combined was apparently enough to bring him to the upper range of beginner rank.
Jack thought both options seemed remarkable. He remembered watching a television show called The Sentinel in the ’90s that featured a detective that was somehow gifted with supernatural senses and used them to solve crimes. It certainly wasn’t the best show, but what the main character could do was awesome. On the other hand, finding secret doors and hidden caches could lead to booty. Deciding to find out more, he asked Alexa how perception worked.
“Perception is used in many ways, but primarily to detect hidden things, including traps, secret doors, or creatures using stealth. Your perception skill will be opposed by the stealth value of the creature, item, or object you are trying to find.”
Jack knew some of this from the description of his stealth skill, but this clarified it a bit more. While See What is Hidden helped all the time, Improved Senses would be more situational. He chose See What is Hidden 1 and began moving toward the cave entrance.
Chapter 8
The mouth of the cave sat about fifty feet from the edge of the forest, which gave way to large boulders and rocky, uneven ground. Jack positioned himself behind a tree near the edge of the clearing and waited for a few minutes, not seeing any signs of life. Even though it was near midday, visibility waned a few feet into the dark cavern. Changing to Darkvision mode nearly blinded him, as he didn’t consider the bright sun overhead. After releasing Darkvision and getting his weapons ready, he crept toward the cave in a circuitous route, taking advantage of the cover of the forest as long as possible. He ended up a couple hundred feet away from the cave, but next to the same cliff face. Using the natural contours of the rock face, he stealthily advanced until he was crouched down near the entrance behind a boulder that reached nearly to his waist. Notification icons were blinking in his vision, but for once he let them be. He would review after he found the pearl.
