I had just paused for a moment to fire a Swarm arrow at a random tree when I was launched off my feet and pummeled to the ground by a powerful blindside blow. As I hit the ground, the searing pain of my own flesh being ripped apart lit my nerves on fire—whatever had just attacked me had torn cleanly through the padding on my leg, and badly mangled my thigh.
I screamed in agony and reflexively lashed out with my bow, and a loud ‘crack’ resounded as I managed to strike whatever it was that had pinned me to the ground. I heard a startled yelp, and the heavy weight that had been pressing me into the dirt was suddenly gone.
Despite the extreme pain in my leg, I knew that I had to get up. If I didn’t, the creature that had attacked me would soon recover from its momentary surprise and finish me off. I rose as fast as my one good leg allowed and then leaned heavily into a nearby tree as soon as I got up; when I saw my attacker for the first time, I knew I was in serious trouble.
Just a few yards away, regarding me cautiously, was a huge forest cat—well over 500 pounds, it would have easily torn me to shreds if I hadn’t managed to startle it off me. Now, wounded as I was, the odds remained distinctly in the cat’s favor.
I raised my bow and was reaching for an arrow when I realized that my already slim chances of survival had taken a huge hit. The cracking sound I had heard when I lashed out with my bow had not been from a telling strike on the cat... It had been the sound of my bow snapping in half. My leg buckled, and I cried out in pain as I threw the useless weapon to the ground in disgust and frantically struggled for options, but I had none.
All I could do was draw my blades and hope for the best. It would be my meager skills against the massive cat’s vicious claws and sharp fangs, and I didn’t have long either way. Not only had the cat torn a huge gash through my leg, but I was also bleeding profusely, and the continued loss of blood was causing my already low health bar to steadily decline. If this fight didn’t end soon, I would be dead even if the cat failed to land another blow.
Sensing my weakness and impatient for the kill, the cat abruptly launched itself at me.
I attempted to dodge under its lunge, but all I really managed to do was let myself slide down to the ground. As the cat’s body passed just above me, I swung with all my remaining strength and activated Flurry in a desperate attempt to fend off the attack. I was lucky because at such close range, I could hardly miss.
The blade of my short sword caught the beast with all three strokes, and the first two bit deeply into the cat’s ribcage, but as the cat’s momentum carried its body past me, the final thrust of my blade tore through its belly, ripped into its soft abdomen, and spilled its insides onto the forest floor.
The cat landed in a graceless crash and mewled pitifully in pain. I watched for a moment, trying to make certain that it was no longer a threat until a sudden bout of lightheadedness reminded me of my own dire condition.
All of my previous wounds had been relatively minor and had healed on their own after a short while, but the mutilated flesh of my thigh was clearly no such small affair as the deep gashes continued to bleed heavily and showed no sign of healing on their own.
I reached into my belt pouch and pulled out two of my red healing crystals. I crushed one in my hand as Marli had instructed me to and hoped that it would be enough. Just in case it wasn’t, I gripped the other crystal tightly, ready to add its healing magic if needed.
Almost immediately, the bleeding ceased, and the edges of the wound began to close and slowly knit themselves together. I watched in amazement as my wound healed in a matter of seconds, leaving only the faintest scar behind. If what Marli had told me was correct, the healing magic of the crystals would make even that small blemish vanish over time.
I sat on the ground in silence for a few moments—the cat’s ambush had very nearly taken my life. It probably should have killed me; I had just gotten lucky… Very lucky. Even traveling as stealthily as possible, being alone had still left me vulnerable. The beast would likely never have attacked a group, and I thought that it would probably even have avoided a party of two.
I wished Zander was still around. As much of a jerk as he had been, even with him trying to cheat me out of my fair share of loot, things would be much better for me if I wasn’t alone. In all likelihood, my ‘confrontation’ with Nedd would have never even occurred if Zander had been with me.
But that simply wasn’t the case—I had to deal with things as they were, not as I wanted them to be, and right then, I needed to loot the damn beast that had nearly killed me and then deal with my notifications.
I approached its body carefully and made sure it was truly dead before I got too close. When I was certain, I placed my palm against its fur and checked for loot. I expected to see only the pelt and was pleasantly surprised when both its claws and fangs were also considered valuable. Once I had skinned it and removed the teeth and claws, I checked my waiting notifications.
Unlocked skill discovered! You have discovered the Perception sub-skill Combat Dodge.
Experience gained – You have gained 315 XP.
You have reached 20% proficiency in the Blades skill. Proficiency gains slow after achieving 20% proficiency. Note that combat skills cannot be self-trained beyond 20% proficiency. Any proficiency gains beyond 20% can only be obtained via actual combat, through training with a mentor possessing sufficient mastery, or by certain magical means.
You have reached 20% proficiency in the Blades sub-skill, Short Sword. Proficiency gains slow after achieving 20% proficiency. Note that combat skills cannot be self-trained beyond 20% proficiency. Any proficiency gains beyond 20% can only be obtained via actual combat, through training with a mentor possessing sufficient mastery, or by certain magical means.
My pitiful attempt to avoid being skewered had unlocked a new skill, Combat Dodge, and it seemed like one I could certainly use. I would have to start practicing that as part of my training, at least until I got it to 20%. I decided to take a quick peek at my updated sheet before moving on.
Dreya Dae
Human Female
Level - 4
5307/7200
Health 150/150 Aura 330/330 Endurance 150/150
Class – Warden – Wardens gain a 10% bonus to skills associated with nature or which have natural effects
Specialization –
Mastery –
STR - 15
CON - 15
DEX - 16
INT - 15
WIS - 13
CHA - 19(+1)
Abilities
Ignore Armor – Your next arrow will ignore a portion of the target’s armor. Cost – 20 Aura. - 18%
Stun – Your next arrow has a chance to stun its target on hit. Cost – 20 Aura. - 20%
Block – You may attempt to use your bow to parry a single melee attack. Cost — 20 Endurance. - 7%
Swarm – Your next arrow duplicates itself in flight. Cost – 20 Endurance and 20 Aura. – 17%
Flurry – Perform three rapid strikes with a bladed weapon. Cost – 30 Endurance. - 15%
Spells
Enhanced Sight – May be cast on self or ally. Improves visual acuity of the recipient in dark or obscured conditions. Cost — 20 Aura. — 16%
Skills
Bow – 22%
Critical Hit – 20%
Blades – 20%
Short Sword – 21%
Dagger – 17%
Critical Hit – 14%
Two-Handed – 8%
Armor – 15%
Medium Armor – 18%
Perception – 23%
Environmental – 23%
Identify Enemy – 9%
Identify Person – 3%
Combat Dodge – 4%
Subterfuge – 22%
Stealth – 22%
Find Trap – 5%
Disarm Trap – 4%
Set Trap – 10%
Manipulation – 8%
Persuade – 10%
Barter – 10%
Survi
val – 19%
Tracking – 19%
Identify Creature (Beasts) – 7%
Skinning – 10%
Field Dress – 9%
Alchemy – 2%
Herbalism – 3%
I was happy to see that my proficiencies were getting much more well-rounded. Although my preference was still for ranged attacks, at least I was no longer a one-trick pony—all my skills were advancing really well, at least until they managed to hit the 20% mark. This didn’t surprise me either, since at lower levels, improvement was typically rapid, but would eventually level off at some point. The 20% proficiency mark was apparently the leveling off point here.
Once my wound healed and I had finished reviewing my sheet, I only needed to figure out just how badly the cat had damaged my armor. So, once I closed the window, and having a quick look around to make sure I was still safe, I evaluated my tattered gear.
The padding the cat had torn into was sadly ripped to shreds. Perhaps it could be mended, but it was beyond my ability to do so. My leather, on the other hand, had merely suffered some torn laces, and replacing the damaged laces with the supplies from my repair kit was a relatively simple fix, so, I wrapped the padding up as best as I could and strapped the patched armor back in place. With my repairs as complete as I could manage, I took a deep breath and set off towards Daile’s herb patch once again.
I resumed practicing my bow skills as I traveled through the forest, although I was forced to use the back-up bow I had been keeping in reserve. In addition to having to either repair or replace my padded pants, I was going to have to get a new bow when I got back to town. This was getting to be a rather expensive little side quest, I thought to myself. Fortunately, it wasn’t too long before I reached the first area marked on my map and I took out the parchment and began examining the plants, comparing them to the illustrations on the page.
Luck was on my side, and I found an ample supply of several of the herbs in just a short time. Once I had gathered all I could, I pulled up my map, located the next spot, and headed off yet again.
Throughout the rest of the morning and well into the afternoon, I traveled from location to location. In some spots I found nothing, but most of the areas held an abundance of the various herbs that Daile was looking for—I even managed to find quite a few while I was traveling between his marked areas. By the time I finished with the last location, I no longer needed to reference Daile’s parchment in order to pick out the appropriate herbs. Late in the day, when my pack was full of harvested herbs, I started my trek back towards Laurel.
As I got closer to town, I wound up on the same track I had taken on my way out, and as I approached the location where the cat had ambushed me earlier, I came across a set of large prints in the dirt. At first, I mistook them for prints left by the big cat as it had stalked me, but as I looked closer, I realized that not only were they were from a different beast entirely, but they were also very recent. I immediately slowed to nearly a crawl and advanced cautiously. With an arrow nocked, I began tracking the beast through the woods, on high alert for any indication of another ambush.
After a while, I could hear low grunting and strange noises coming from just to my left. My momentary confusion dissolved when I realized exactly where I was—the sound was coming from the exact site of the ambush, right where I had left the cat’s carcass. Obviously, something had found the body and was feasting on the remains. I circled around carefully and tried to sneak up and get a glimpse at whatever it was, and when I reached a small break in the undergrowth, my quarry came into view.
Before me, ripping huge chunks of meat from the dead cat’s body was an absolute monster of a bear. Even on all fours, the bear loomed large over the cat’s carcass, easily more than double its size. There was absolutely no doubt that the tremendous beast could kill me with ease, but it also likely represented an equally tremendous pile of XP as well. If I could come up with a decent plan, it might be worth the risk.
Decent plans were not my forte, so I came up with the next best thing.
I climbed up a nearby tree until I reached a vantage point that gave me a clear line of sight on the bear as it continued devouring the cat’s remains. I recalled my earlier difficulties dealing with the wolf under similar circumstances, so I took some time to clear any branches that might obstruct my shots before I aimed my first arrow at the bear.
I fired a Stun arrow, and it took him right between the shoulder blades. However, instead of freezing in place as I expected, the beast let out a terrifying roar and spun around angrily, obviously not succumbing to the Stun effect.
When it didn’t locate me immediately, I got off a Swarm arrow, and both shafts struck it in the chest. While both hits were solid, they only seemed to anger the beast even further. My second shot gave away my hiding spot, however, and once the beast located me, the bear charged.
I got off another two quick shots, a second Stun arrow which the bear also shrugged off, and an Ignore Armor shot. The Ignore Armor arrow actually managed to slow him down a bit, and the shaft drove deep into its body, leaving only a tiny bit of fletching sticking out amongst its thick fur.
Once I found the right Ability to use, I began pouring shot after shot of Ignore Armor enhanced arrows into the bear’s body. While I did so, the bear reached the base of the tree I was hiding in and began to climb up after me, which represented both the opportunity I had been waiting for and the risk I had been willing to take to get that opportunity.
As the beast ascended, it stared up at me, clearly intent on tearing me to pieces—this was exactly what I had been waiting for. My first shot went slightly wide and only scored a deep gash in the side of its head. Unfazed by the wound, the bear continued to climb up after me. But fortunately, my second arrow flew true, and imbued with Ignore Armor, the arrow sunk deeply into its eye socket until it finally struck bone and stopped suddenly with an audible ‘thunk.’
The bear seemed to freeze in place for a moment, suspended among the branches, then it simply went limp and crashed back to the forest floor, snapping several tree limbs on its way down. The tree shook violently as the bear’s lifeless body impacted with the ground and sent tremors through the branches.
I waited cautiously for a while, wanting to ensure that it was truly dead before I began my descent. After a few moments passed with no signs of life, I thought it was safe to climb down. Even so, just to be sure, I sent two Swarm arrows into its body. When the bear showed no reaction to the arrows’ impact, I climbed down to inspect my kill.
The bear was truly immense—even bigger than I had first thought. I assumed both its pelt and claws would have value and pressed my hand to its side to confirm my thoughts. I was correct about the hide and claws but had overlooked its canines. Once I had identified all of the valuable loot, I set about skinning and harvesting the carcass.
It was another messy affair, but when I was finished, I wiped the blood from my hands and was satisfied with the somewhat decent pelt and huge pile of claws and teeth. I also butchered some of the meat, in the hope that I might sell some of it to the innkeeper. Considering the loss of my bow and the damage to my armor, I needed to make as much coin as I could from this quest.
But before I set off again for Laurel, I decided to review my notifications.
You have reached 20% proficiency in the Survival sub-skill, Tracking. Proficiency gains of non-combat skills will slow after achieving 20% proficiency.
You have reached 20% proficiency in the Survival skill. Proficiency gains of non-combat skills will slow after achieving 20% proficiency.
You have reached 20% proficiency in the Ignore Armor Ability. Proficiency gains slow after achieving 20% proficiency. Note that combat skills cannot be self-trained beyond 20% proficiency. Any proficiency gains beyond 20% can only be obtained via actual combat, through training with a mentor possessing sufficient mastery, or by certain magical means.
Experience gained – You have gained 368 XP.
You have reached 2
0% proficiency in the Swarm Ability. Proficiency gains slow after achieving 20% proficiency. Note that combat skills cannot be self-trained beyond 20% proficiency. Any proficiency gains beyond 20% can only be obtained via actual combat, through training with a mentor possessing sufficient mastery, or by certain magical means.
That was all good news—not only had some of my most useful combat Abilities increased, but it also meant I no longer needed to practice them while I was traveling. I could now either travel faster or focus on my other proficiencies, and the XP wasn’t too bad either. With both proficiency gains and XP on my mind, I looked at my ever-changing character sheet once again.
Dreya Dae
Human Female
Level - 4
5675/7200
Health 150/150 Aura 330/330 Endurance 150/150
Class – Warden – Wardens gain a 10% bonus to skills associated with nature or which have natural effects
Specialization –
Mastery –
STR - 15
CON - 15
DEX - 16
INT - 15
WIS - 13
CHA - 19(+1)
Abilities
Ignore Armor – Your next arrow will ignore a portion of the target’s armor. Cost – 20 Aura. - 20%
Stun – Your next arrow has a chance to stun its target on hit. Cost – 20 Aura. - 21%
Block – You may attempt to use your bow to parry a single melee attack. Cost - 20 Endurance. - 7%
Swarm – Your next arrow duplicates itself in flight. Cost – 20 Endurance and 20 Aura. – 20%
Flurry – Perform three rapid strikes with a bladed weapon. Cost – 30 Endurance. - 15%
Second Skin Omnibus Page 25
