Second Skin Omnibus

by M Damon Baker

  The sound of snapping branches and the crunching of twigs and leaves being crushed underfoot was punctuated by the appearance of a giant figure in front of us. With an unintelligible roar, the creature charged at us, wildly swinging what looked to be the mangled trunk of a fully-grown tree.

  The creature had to be at least a dozen feet tall and swung its crude club with reckless abandon. Aside from the barest hint of a loincloth, the creature was unadorned. Its oily skin was a filthy mess of dirt and grime, and its long, greasy knot of hair whipped around the creature’s head wildly as it ran towards us. As I drew my bow and lined up a shot, I watched as the crazed giant battered down the forest around him, easily taking out saplings and even half-mature trees in his unrestrained frenzy.

  I fired my first shot, aiming for the center of his chest. The target was so large that I couldn’t have missed even if I had tried. I had imbued my arrow with Swarm, hoping to inflict maximum damage, and both shafts struck true, lodging in the center of the monster’s chest. Unfortunately, they did little damage as neither one managed to penetrate deeply beyond the monster’s thick skin.

  As I nocked another arrow, Stel, Venna, and Broda engaged with the beast. They danced around his brutal strikes, landing blows in return whenever possible. However, the creature’s thick hide seemed to be an equal impediment for them as well. Glancing at the health bar over the monster’s head, I could see that, despite landing several clean hits, we hadn’t managed to inflict any real damage to him, and while it was obvious that we would have to land innumerable blows to take this thing down, it would only take a single swipe from his crude mallet to put an end to one of us.

  Drawing back again, I first thought to try Ignore Armor, hoping to pierce the creature’s thick skin, but quickly realized that even with the small increase in damage that it might provide, it was not going to turn the tide of this battle in our favor. So instead, I cast Blind, and let the arrow fly.

  The shaft struck the giant creature squarely, and he immediately let out a bellow of rage. As the creature cried out in anguish, he dropped his crude club and clutched at his face with both of his misshapen hands. My friends did not miss the sudden opportunity that his distraction provided and began pummeling the stricken monster relentlessly. Khorim even popped out from the concealment of the branches he had been using to sneak up on the monster and landed a brutal strike from behind.

  I used the opportunity to send a flurry of Elemental Arrows into the monster’s body. The burning shafts buried themselves in his hide, and I was finally able to notice his health slowly begin to dwindle.

  I sent another Blind enhanced arrow into the giant’s body next, just to make sure we maintained our advantage, but even lacking vision, the creature was still dangerous. While he continued vainly clutching at his face with one hand, the monster had begun flailing about wildly with the other, desperately trying to grab hold of one of us. Although the advantage was now ours, one false move could still result in disaster if the creature managed to get his massive hand around anyone.

  Despite the deadly seriousness of the situation, I had learned my lesson about passing over opportunities to advance my proficiencies. In between periodically reapplying the Blind effect, I shot the giant creature with every other arrow enhancement I had available. I paid particular attention after I used Stun, Hamstring, and Blood Price, noting that the monster seemed to suffer the full effect of each debilitating condition. If I ever encountered another one of… whatever this thing was, I knew the effects of my arrows would not be resisted.

  Slowly, inexorably, the creature’s health ticked down.

  As he weakened, and his attempts to fight back grew more and more feeble, I slowly advanced closer, continuously firing arrows into his failing body. I was now drawing from one of my reserve quivers, choosing to preserve the few Khelduin arrows I had left, now that the outcome was no longer in doubt.

  When the giant lay still on the ground and his health bar was nearly depleted, I called out to my friends to halt their attacks.

  “May I finish him?” I asked.

  Stel stepped aside and motioned for me to proceed.

  I had used nearly all my bow Abilities during the battle, but still had one particular spell left that I desperately wanted to use. Stepping into range, I cast Bolt, and watched as the giant’s body reacted when the arc of energy struck him.

  The creature convulsed wildly with the impact of the electric shock I had unleashed on him, and although the actual damage was not overly high, the overall effect was devastating. The uncontrollable seizures gripping the creature’s body would have spelled certain death for a lesser opponent caught in the throes of combat. I struck him with a second Bolt, and would have launched even more, but the battle had already significantly depleted my Aura, and I dared not exert myself any further.

  Advancing even closer to the now still form of the immense creature, I stored my spare quiver and put aside my bow. I had sheathed the Essence Blade behind my back in its dagger form, reluctantly replacing one of the blades Georl had given me. Now, I drew it forth.

  With just a thought, the blade elongated, taking the form of a full long sword. While my Aura had been depleted, my Endurance still remained mostly full. Standing alongside the fallen monster, I also drew one of my short swords with my off hand. Channeling my Blades talents, I began relentlessly hacking at the beast with both weapons. I used both Flurry and Achilles Strike as I slashed at his thick legs before moving up next to the monster’s deformed head and hitting him with a Hilt Bash.

  I recognized that my actions were brutal, but also knew that they were necessary as well. If I had not known it before, the last two days had served to warn me that my life was only going to be getting more complicated and dangerous with every passing day. I had to take advantage of every opportunity that circumstances, or my unknown benefactor, might provide. Failing to do so could very easily cost me—or even worse, one of my friends—their lives. With that heavy price weighing in the balance, I felt that the cost of a little brutality was a relatively small price to pay.

  The giant creature finally expired before my Endurance could run out, and I collapsed in a heap on the forest floor as I took a moment to recover. Venna came over to check on me and I assured her that everything was fine, and that I was just tired.

  “Does anyone know what that thing was?” I asked.

  “I’ve never seen one before, but it matches the description I’ve heard of a Forest Ogre,” Stel replied.

  “Aye, that’s what it was alright,” Khorim replied, speaking clearly again for the first time.

  I searched my mind, rummaging through the dead man’s faded memories for any helpful shred. He had some general idea of what an ‘Ogre’ was, but I found nothing that referenced a ‘Forest Ogre.’

  “An oversized, relatively stupid, homicidal manic that lives in the woods?” I surmised out loud.

  “That’s about it,” Khorim replied. “They had just dealt with one when we were passing through Khenton a while back. Took two entire squads to fell just one of them, and not all of them returned alive.”

  “So, we did well then?” I asked.

  “Yeah, we did an amazing job,” Khorim snickered.

  I smiled back at him, catching his implication. There was no hint of envy or jealousy in his jibe, just his familiar sense of humor that I always found so endearing.

  “Master dwarf,” I replied, invoking his faux title once again, “I’m ready to move on if we must, but I could use a minute to check some things if you think it is safe to do so.”

  “Go ahead,” Broda replied for him. “I’ll make sure master dwarf here keeps a better look out this time.”

  I chuckled as she proceeded to chastise Khorim for allowing the Ogre to get so close to us without being detected. Turning my attention inward, I opened my UI and inspected the notifications.

  I hadn’t realized it right away, but the quest reward I had received along with my title of Sintári had left me exact
ly one XP point away from my next level. While I was certain that had been no mere coincidence, I hadn’t decided whether it had been a boon or a jest. Either way, with the death of the Ogre, I knew I had reached my next level. If I hadn’t been so certain of that fact, I would have waited until later to process my notifications for the day. Opening the tab, I watched as they begin to scroll by.

  Quest Completed – Uniter II. You have located and joined the next part of the Ancient Symbol and have been rewarded 385 XP.

  You have gained a level! – You have earned sufficient experience to advance to level 13.

  You have gained three Attribute points. Two of your points have been automatically assigned to STR and CHA. You may assign the remaining point to any other Attribute as you see fit.

  With only three points to work with at each level, my decision regarding where to place my Attribute points was only getting more difficult. A decision made even more difficult considering the fact that two of those precious points were being assigned at random. Well, even that wasn’t quite true either, as I was certain that the continued placement of one of my points into Charisma at every level was anything but a ‘random’ occurrence.

  Without question, I needed to get stronger. Although I had already reached a plateau with Intelligence regarding its XP bonus, it still served as an unseen modifier for my proficiency gains, which meant that increasing that stat could help me improve all of my talents.

  On the other hand, gaining proficiency would serve little purpose if I was constantly dying. If I neglected Constitution for too long, I would soon find myself dying easily to the ever-increasing threats I was bound to encounter.

  The fresh memories of the battle swayed my mind, and I assigned the final point to Constitution. Not only for the increase to my Health but also for the added Endurance.

  The level-up window closed automatically, as usual, and the notifications resumed again.

  Quest Assigned – Uniter III. Use the three joined pieces to help you locate the next part of the Ancient Symbol. Once you find it, join it with the others.

  Experience gained – You have gained 1200 XP.

  Once I read the final notification from our battle with the Ogre, I closed the tab and opened what I used to call my ‘character’ sheet but had now decided to refer to as my ‘personal’ sheet. The old terminology referred to a fictional person in a make-believe world. I had long ago stopped clinging to either of those illusions, as none of that pretend fantasy applied to the harsh realities I now faced.

  Dreya Dae

  Sintári Female

  Title: Sintári

  Level - 13

  52784/61200

  Health 210/210 Aura 470/470 Endurance 210/210

  Sintári – Sintári interact with their surroundings in unusual ways. The effects of these interactions can be unpredictable

  Class – Warden – Wardens gain a 10% bonus to skills associated with nature or which have natural effects

  Specialization – Protector

  Mastery –

  STR - 24

  CON - 21

  DEX - 22 (+1)

  INT - 20

  WIS - 17 (+1)

  CHA - 28 (+1)

  Abilities

  Ignore Armor – Your next arrow will ignore a portion of the target’s armor. Cost – 20 Aura. – 28%

  Stun – Your next arrow has a chance to stun its target on hit. Cost – 20 Aura. – 25%

  Block – You may attempt to use your bow to parry a single melee attack. Cost – 20 Endurance. – 20%

  Swarm – Your next arrow duplicates itself in flight. Cost – 20 Endurance and 20 Aura. – 35%

  Flurry – Perform three rapid strikes with a bladed weapon. Cost – 30 Endurance. – 23%

  Parry – Chance for your blades to block next melee attack targeted at you. Cost – 20 Endurance. – 23%

  Hamstring – The next arrow fired has a chance to cripple your opponent. Cost – 20 Aura. – 24%

  Hilt Bash – Stun your opponent with a successful hilt strike from your bladed weapon. Cost – 30 Endurance. – 22%

  Blood Price – Your arrow inflicts a damage-over-time bleed effect. Cost – 30 Aura. – 26%

  Blind – Your next arrow has a chance to inflict blindness on a successful hit. Cost – 30 Aura. – 27%

  Achilles Strike – Cripple your target with a slash of your bladed weapon. Cost – 30 Endurance. – 22%

  Sintári Abilities

  Natural Affinity – The Sintári’s unique connection with the natural world may manifest itself in random ways at times. While these effects are generally beneficial, they are also typically outside the direct control of the Sintári. Modifier – Charisma.

  Protector Abilities

  See Truth – Once per day, the spoken words of your target become visible to you, allowing you to see the truth held within them. Strength and duration of this effect increase with proficiency. Cost – 60 Aura. Modifier – Wisdom. – 11%

  Spells

  Enhanced Sight – May be cast on self or ally. Improves visual acuity of the recipient in dark or obscured conditions. Cost – 20 Aura. – 36%

  Create Trap – Place a magical trap upon an area. Size, type, and trigger of traps is determined by your proficiency. Cost – 40 Aura. – 27%

  Elemental Arrow – Your next arrow is imbued with elemental energy and causes additional elemental damage accordingly. Cost – 30 Aura. – 22%

  Bolt – Release a Bolt of pure Lightning at your target(s). Cost – 40 Aura. – 22%

  Skills

  Bow – 36%

  Critical Hit – 31%

  Blades – 29%

  Long Sword – 27%

  Short Sword – 28%

  Dagger – 26%

  Critical Hit – 22%

  Two-Handed – 27%

  Pole Arms – 14%

  Spear – 23%

  Armor – 24%

  Medium Armor – 26%

  Perception – 31%

  Environmental – 33%

  Identify Enemy – 27%

  Identify Person – 28%

  Combat Dodge – 21%

  Subterfuge – 26%

  Stealth – 27%

  Find Trap – 5%

  Disarm Trap – 4%

  Set Trap – 10%

  Manipulation – 17%

  Persuade – 20%

  Barter – 17%

  Survival – 23%

  Tracking – 24%

  Identify Creature (Beasts) – 10%

  Skinning – 13%

  Field Dress – 12%

  Alchemy – 12%

  Herbalism – 21%

  Potion Craft – 12%

  My talents had advanced, much as I had anticipated. Disturbingly, my Manipulation skills seemed to continue to gain in proficiency despite the fact that I had not invoked them. Looking over my various talents, I realized that, although I had used the Essence Blade for the first time, I was unaware of its impact on my Encumbrance. Gripping the hilt, I brought forth the long sword blade before opening my Inventory page.

  Inventory

  Encumbrance – 67/264

  Clothing

  Recurve Bow, (54)

  Essence Blade (45), Soul Bound

  Fine Short Swords, (18)

  Dagger of Laceration (2)

  Daggers, Fine (3)

  Archer’s Circlet

  Fine Leather Chest Guard (10)

  Fine Leather Pauldrons (2)

  Fine Leather Tassets (4)

  Fine Leather Bracers (1)

  Fine Leather Armguards (1)

  Fine Leather Cuisse (1)

  Fine Leather Greaves (2)

  Fine Leather Boots (2)

  Fine Leather Gloves

  Hunter’s Cloak (2)

  Fine Padded Shirt (2)

  Fine Padded Pants (3)

  Scrolls, Resurrection

  Ancient Symbol, Soul Bound

  Minor Token of Grace

  Minor Token of Insight

  Minor Token of Agility


  Ring of Encumbrance

  Never Ending Quiver of Arrows, Soul Bound

  Camp blade

  Belt pouch, common:

  15 weak health potions, 14 red crystals, 2 cure disease potions, 2 cure poison potions, 2 purple crystals

  Coin pouch, Soul Bound:

  1 Talon, 44 Gold Bits, 123 Silver Marks, 52 Silver Bits, 154 Coppers

  Backpack 50 slot, 70% weight reduction

  Bringing forth the long sword blade and then letting it go a few times, I attempted to calculate the Essence Blade’s varied effects on my Encumbrance. Math was not my favorite thing, but if I had the numbers right, the hilt alone weighed two pounds, and in its long sword form, the Blade added five pounds to my Encumbrance outside of combat. However, to wield the weapon in battle, it would require me to account for its full impact of 45 points against my Encumbrance total. I could handle that.

  Closing the tab, I rose to my feet and let my companions know that I was ready to move on.

  10

  Still intent on following our earlier plan, Stel talked hopefully of meeting a second caravan on the main road as we resumed our march back up the path. Once we reached the main trail, we had decided to set up a discreet campsite and wait for the next caravan to arrive. Regardless of the direction it was traveling in, we would join up with them just for the sake of safety, and once we had a modicum of security, we would then decide how we would proceed. In light of the circumstances, I didn’t bother to check where the amulet wanted me to venture next, since I felt that discovering what course it plotted for us could wait until after we were more secure.

  The rest of that day’s journey was uneventful, and we made it back to our previous campsite without further incident. Since we had a bit of time before dusk, we took some time and prepared the area for a more comfortable night’s rest. Removing branches and searching out the small rocks that might work their way into the muscles of our backs while we slept, we did our best to ensure we got as good a night’s sleep as possible.