by JK Galioto
“Crabs are good, fill my tummy.
Make Wobby strong and not so hungry.
Come little crabs and feed your friend.
After Wobby eats, you come out my end.”
Not the most complex tune, but it was catchy. Besides, who am I to know what passes for great music amongst other races? Maybe this guy is the Freddie Mercury of this generation. I mean, it can’t be easy to sing through a beak. Not wanting to attract the creature’s attention, he slowly backed away to get Gooch. The eye in the lower left corner of his vision was yellow and slightly open as he moved, but then his boundless luck failed him, and his shortsword banged against the statue as he turned. The eye opened wide and flared a bright red. Wobby stopped his song, turning his head toward him. Like the proverbial deer in headlights, Jack froze in place, not daring to breathe. Maybe its eyesight isn’t great. Maybe it tracks by movement. He watched as the creature stared directly at him, then took a step forward. Or maybe it can see just fine.
He wasn’t going to be the guy who attacks someone first just because they were different, especially one that had the heart of a poet like this big beastie. His thoughts immediately went to Dobby, partially due to the similar name. I can’t judge these creatures based on being weird; so much of this world will be weird to me, and who am I to judge? Too much of that kind of hate back on Earth. Plus, he needed to be diplomatic and find allies, right? Finally, if he was being honest with himself, he had a soft spot for musicians. So instead of reaching for his weapons, Jack put on his best smile and waved at Wobby as he took a small step forward.
“Hello there, friend!” he said in his best Undercommon. “I was, you know, just passing through. Didn’t mean to bother you. I will be on my way.” He placed his hands in the air as far as possible from his weapons. It was hard to read Wobby’s reaction in the dim light of the moss; its beaked face didn’t show any discernable emotion. The huge, shelled creature began moving slowly toward Jack, head slightly cocked. Nervous, Jack started a low chant, backing away slightly and putting his hands out in front of him.
“Sun’s getting really low big fella, real low. Sun’s getting really low.”
Ignoring Jack, the creature continued forward. “Wobby claim this area. Wobby claim crabs. You do not take my crabs.” Its slow pace increased into a run, and before Jack knew what was happening, Wobby had closed the distance and lashed out at Jack with a huge hooklike appendage. I guess the creature didn’t find me crab-tivating. Jack chuckled to himself moments before the strike lifted him off his feet and sent him airborne, landing hard on the ground some twenty feet away. He thought he heard a rib crack. Not cool man, that hurt! Some people just aren’t meant to be the good guys.
“A little help here!” he screamed in Gooch’s direction, rolling backward to his feet, rib aching with the effort. He felt for the cave wall behind him as Wobby approached.
Jack pulled his weapons out as Wobby took two large steps forward and swung both of his hooked arms at him with a powerful overhand chop. With no room to maneuver, Jack attempted to parry the blows, thrusting his shortsword and dagger directly in the path of the large claws. He was able to slow the momentum of the hooked claws, but not stop them completely, and they impacted his shoulders. Jack took the hit and rolled with it, feeling his left shoulder pop out of its socket. Taking a quick glance at his remaining hit points, he saw he was down to six. Six!
That’s when Gooch made his entrance, roaring and charging at the creature, shield extended before him and longsword held tightly at his side. He took Wobby completely unaware, and even though the large creature was probably five hundred pounds of muscle, shell, and beak, Gooch managed to send the creature flying, creating a small dent on his shield and a large crack in the creature’s carapace.
Shouting, “My turn!” Gooch followed up his charge with a slash to Wobby’s chest. The sword couldn’t penetrate the carapace but did enlarge the crack forming on it. Wobby was far from out of the fight, however, and after standing up, it squared off against Gooch. They began trading blows.
Jack gawked at the way Gooch easily shoved the creature to the ground, but as the fight continued, he knew Gooch needed help. Picking himself up, wincing from a sharp pain in his ribs, he grabbed his dagger in his good hand and circled behind the creature, watching as Wobby used its huge, hooked claws to bat away Gooch’s shield and strike the burly warrior on his side. Jack wasn’t sure how much more punishment Gooch could take before succumbing to the giant monster. Directly behind the creature, Jack darted forward and slashed at his unarmored calves. His standard-quality dagger cut deep into Wobby, sawing through tendons. He took a second to look at the combat notification.
You hit Wobby with your dagger for 30 damage. Base damage 3 (2-5) +2 agility bonus, times backstab multiplier of 3, times critical multiplier of 2.
The creature never saw it coming, allowing Jack to score backstab and critical multipliers against its defenseless flesh. “Take that, you, um, big-armed crustacean!” Jack groaned inwardly.
The creature fell to the ground, its injured right leg unable to hold its weight. Gooch took advantage of the distraction by slamming the pommel of his longsword into the creature’s chest, completely obliterating the carapace covering it. “Like cracking lobster shells at Captain Jack’s!” he cried. But the pommel blow left Gooch momentarily open to a hit from the doomed singer, which it took advantage of by sending the warrior flying across the room.
Wobby turned on its good leg to face Jack, hatred burning in his eyes, as it squawked, “Mine. My home now. Die!” Even on one knee, the creature still stood taller than Jack as it raised both of its hooked arms for a final, killing blow, only to look down at Jack’s dagger sticking out from the hole in its chest carapace. It fell face-first into the ground, slamming the dagger even deeper into its heart. Jack thought he could just make out a final word from the creature before it breathed its last: “Why?”
Chapter 26
A slew of notifications appeared in Jack’s vision once the strange, hooked horror lay dead at his feet. He glanced at Gooch to make sure his friend was okay and saw a familiar blank expression, indicating he was working through his notifications. Jack eagerly did the same.
You have killed Wobby, a level 5 hooked horror. You receive 451 experience points.
Congratulations, you have attained level 5 and may choose a new class.
Straight to business, Alexa was all front-of-the-mullet this time.
Rogue: Continue along your journey with Rogue as your primary class. The Rogue class specializes in stealth and attacking with surprise. While not as effective in combat as the Fighter, the Rogue can learn a particular set of skills that makes them useful in and out of battle. The Rogue is often called the Liam Neeson of adventuring classes.
More humor. Jack chuckled; the emotionless façade of Alexa was starting to crack.
Tomb Raider: The Tomb Raider class is at home exploring ancient temples, looting sacred ruins, or spelunking in sea caves. The class focuses on skills needed to survive in harsh locations, including locating and trap making, finding secrets, parkour, and general survival skills.
Bard: Bards are clever and charming, capable of using their artistic talents to strengthen their allies and weaken their foes. The class is versatile and knows a wide variety of skills, making them capable of becoming spies, scholars, performers, or saboteurs.
Skald: Like Bards, Skalds use their musical art to enhance allies and weaken foes. Unlike Bards, you can find Skalds at the front of combat, leading the charge with their comrades. Skalds forsake the nuanced arts of deception and charm for heightened battle prowess.
Ninja: The Ninja is a clandestine agent who excels at espionage, deception, and assassination. The Ninja is known for their ability to blend into their surroundings and attack with ruthless efficiency using a variety of thrown or melee weapons.
Investigator: Whether they’re looking for long-lost treasure or finding fugitives, Investigators thrive on solving mys
teries. They gain knowledge through observing the world around them, using their intuition and powers of deduction to assess and dispose of any danger they meet.
Duelist: Duelists focus on swordplay, to the detriment of all other weapons. They move with an unsurpassed grace, parrying and dodging blows while attacking with deadly efficiency. They usually wield light weapons, using their agility to lethal effect.
Jack took a moment to soak in all the information, weighing his personal desires with what his party would need to be successful. After watching Gooch fight, he immediately ruled out Skald. He could honestly say he was not built to be a frontline fighter, inspiring music or not. Besides, it looked downright painful. He also ruled out Investigator; while the class sounded interesting as all get out, he was concerned it wouldn’t have the damage output he needed. That left Rogue, Tomb Raider, Bard, Ninja, and Duelist. Those classes used their agility to avoid attacks rather than rely on heavy armor’s damage mitigation properties, which jived with Jack’s fighting style. His unceasing curiosity made him dismiss the Rogue; while he loved the skills he had picked up, he wanted to try something different. He narrowed down his choices to Bard and Duelist; the Ninja and Tomb Raider classes sounded amazing but didn’t particularly call out to him.
He thought more about the Bard; buffing his friends and debuffing his enemies through the power of song and lute felt right. The class could also help him down the road with negotiation and diplomacy. In some of the games he played, Bards could also heal their allies through magic and song. However, he also had a vision of himself dual-wielding scimitars, hypnotically dancing through hordes of trolls and cutting them down as fast as they came at him. In the end, he chose Bard; as cool as the Duelist option felt, he needed the versatility the Bard offered. He could always take Duelist at level 10, assuming it was offered again.
You chose Bard as your next class. You gain 6 hit points, 6 stamina, and 10 spell points. In addition, you gain 2 attribute points in agility, luck, and charisma. You gain the Bardic perks Inspire Ally, Discourage Foes, and Song of Respite. Finally, you can access the enchantment and restoration spell domains. Choose one spell from each domain now. You can choose new spells as you level and will gain access to more powerful spells.
Enchantment Domain:
Bravery: Casting Time: 2 seconds. Spell Cost: 8. Cooldown: 5 minutes. Effect: The Bravery spell grants resistance to mental effects for all allies within 30 feet of the caster for 1 minute.
Savage Scorn: Casting Time: 2 seconds. Spell Cost: 8. Cooldown: 10 seconds. Effect: The Savage Scorn spell mocks an opponent, causing them to fumble their next attack if they fail their resistance check. Savage Scorn is cast as part of an insult directed at your foe.
Sleep: Casting Time: 10 seconds. Spell Cost: 10. Cooldown: 5 minutes. Effect: The Sleep spell attempts to cause opponents to fall asleep for one minute, or until their slumber is disturbed. This can be cast at a range of 50 feet and affects all creatures (friend and foe) in a twenty-foot diameter circle. Each creature that fails the resistance check will succumb to sleep. Penalties apply if you are already engaging an enemy in battle.
Animal Friendship: Casting Time: 5 seconds. Spell Cost: 12. Cooldown: 1 hour. Effect: This spell enables you to befriend animals if they fail their mental resistance check. You can train your pet to perform simple tasks. The spell lasts for 12 hours.
Restoration Domain:
Minor Heal: Casting Time: 3 seconds. Spell Cost: 8. Cooldown: 30 seconds. Effect: The Minor Heal spell heals the target for 1-8 + 3 (charisma modifier).
Mend Bones: Casting Time: 30 seconds. Spell Cost: 20. Cooldown: 5 minutes. Effect: The Mend Bones spells restores dem bones, dem bones, dem broken bones.
Cure Poison: Casting Time: 15 seconds. Spell Cost: 10. Cooldown: 30 seconds. Effect: The Cure Poison spell will instantly cure any weak poison in the target. Stronger poisons can resist this spell, based on the strength of the poison vs. the skill of the caster.
Invigorate: Casting Time: 5 seconds. Spell Cost: 7. Cooldown: 15 seconds. Effect: The Invigorate spell removes fatigue from a target, granting them energy similar to a venti latte with extra caramel and a double shot of espresso. The spell lasts for 4 hours; at the end of the 4 hours, the target of the spell will crash, exhausted.
After thinking for a few moments, Jack selected Savage Scorn for his enchantment domain spell. He liked the defensive nature of the spell and thought it would be a blast mocking his enemies.
He needed a way to heal himself and Gooch, so he chose Minor Heal from the restoration domain. He had hoped to see a “Stone to Flesh” spell to aid Dobby and Latani, but it was not to be. He was pleasantly surprised and happy that the low-level spells required no spell components.
Jack then reviewed his new Bardic perks.
Inspire Ally: Using musical talent, you inspire allies within 30 feet of you, granting them +15% attack speed and +3 damage on all physical attacks. This perk lasts for 1 minute after the Bard is finished singing or playing an instrument.
Discourage Foes: Using musical talent, you discourage foes within 30 feet of you, subjecting them to 15% reduction in attack speed and -3 damage on all physical attacks. This perk lasts for 1 minute after the Bard is finished singing or playing an instrument.
Song of Respite: Using musical talent, you double the healing regeneration of yourself and any allies that can see or hear you. This perk lasts for 8 hours.
You can use these perks a total of 4 (1 [Bardic level] + 3 [charisma modifier]) times per day.
Jack couldn’t wait to show off his new spells and perks to Gooch, but wanted to finish going through his notifications first.
You have gained a level in Party Leader. Choose your party specialization from the following options:
Scout: You are an adept traveler. Your leadership provides bonuses to adventuring skills, such as stealth and survival, based on your Scout Leader level. In addition, speed of the entire party increases while not in combat. Travel perks will become available as you progress.
War Leader: You inspire your party to kill them all and let Zeus sort them out. Your leadership provides bonuses to attack speed and damage, based on your War Leader level. Perks to increase damage will become available as you progress.
Bastion: A good defense is the best offense. Your leadership provides bonuses to overall party defense skills, such as parry, block, and dodge, based on your Bastion Leader level. Perks to improve defense will become available as you progress.
Spirit Guide: You strengthen your party’s connection to the mystical arts. Your party gains bonuses to casting speed and damage from spells. Perks to improve the mystical connection will become available as you progress.
He thought about the different options and decided to go with Bastion, hoping it would keep him and Gooch alive a little longer. He debated taking Scout, but just didn’t think he could ever make Gooch quiet.
You chose Bastion for your Party Leader specialization. While grouped in a party, you and your allies (up to 4 members), will gain a +5 skill bonus to dodge, parry, and block. Your party must be within 60 feet of you to receive this bonus.
Jack checked his last notifications.
You have gained 2 points in small blades, stealth, dual wield, gathering creatures, and light armor, and 1 point in dodge, parry, and acrobatics.
You have achieved apprentice rank in the dual wield skill and may choose one of the following perks:
Two Weapon Defense 1: Increase chance to parry attacks against you by 10% when wielding two weapons.
Two Weapon Attack 1: Increases chance to critical hit with weapons by 5% when wielding two weapons.
Perfect Ambidexterity: You can perform any action equally well with either hand. Prerequisite: apprentice in dual wield.
Jack could see the myriad benefits of being the Perfect Ambidexterity perk and chose that.
You have learned the diplomacy skill. You can use this skill to persuade others to agree with you, to settle differences, sign treaties a
nd accords, and solve conflicts. You gain a +8 bonus to this skill based on prior experience. Your sun elf heritage also grants you a +10 bonus to this skill. You have obtained beginner rank in the diplomacy skill and may choose one of the following perks:
Court Etiquette 1: You inherently understand the basic court etiquette of any government that you meet, as long as you can understand their language. Additional ranks will significantly enhance your court etiquette knowledge.
Gather Information 1: You can use your diplomacy skill to gather information about a specific topic or individual. You must spend 30 minutes canvassing people at local taverns, markets, and other gathering places. Additional ranks in this perk reduces canvassing time and increases the likelihood of gaining relevant information.
Jack had sold Cutco knives with his friend Geoe in high school, going door to door. Over time, he’d learned how to get customers interested in the fantastic knives. He’d also watched Boiler Room at least a dozen times. ABC; always be closing! Jack thought of a quote by Winston Churchill: diplomacy is the art of telling people to go to hell in such a way that they ask for directions. He had a long way to go if he thought he could get the Ravanan Empire to leave the planet, let alone ask for directions, but this was a start.
Jack decided on the Court Etiquette 1 perk, staying true to his long-term focus of winning other races and governments over to his side—if he ever left this cave long enough to find a friendly race.
Chapter 27
After Jack finished going through his notifications, he looked up to see Gooch standing over him, breathing in short, tight breaths.
“I dinged level 4, and you will never believe the perk I chose!” he said eagerly, very unlike the patient, levelheaded big man. Not waiting for Jack to answer, he continued. “It’s called Know Pain, No Pain 1. It reduces my pain by one percent for each point in vitality. With the two points I just put into vitality, I now have a twenty-eight percent pain reduction.”
