“I am honored that you shared yourself with me, Sintári,” Stel said as I finally let him go.
“The honor is mine,” I replied.
With a sudden inspiration, I turned to Broda.
“With your permission, I would like to share something with Khorim,” I asked her.
She nodded slowly, not quite understanding, but trusting me, nonetheless.
Approaching him, Khorim looked at me skeptically.
“Master dwarf,” I said without a hint of the sarcasm that usually accompanied the words. Reaching out, I grasped his hands and let my true feelings for him flow between us.
I let my love and sincere respect melt into Khorim, and I felt his shock as the emotions flowed through him. I let the feelings linger with him, making sure he sensed the truth behind them before letting go.
“I never knew such a thing was possible,” Khorim said in amazement as I released him.
I smiled back at him as I turned to face Broda.
“You are the only one left who has yet to experience my true feelings,” I told her. “Will you allow me the honor of showing you the Broda I have come to know?”
She hesitated, and I thought she might refuse me before she gave me a quick nod. Instead of taking her hands, I spread my arms wide, and offered her an embrace. Broda let me take her in my arms and I wrapped myself around her. Summoning the deep sense of respect she had earned from me, I sent it to her, along with my feelings of love and admiration.
My image of the strong woman flowed into her body. I felt her doubt at my admiration and respect, but the sincerity of my feelings was undeniable. Her own self-doubt crumbled as she saw herself for the first time through the eyes of another. The perpetual feelings of helplessness that had haunted her for so long were finally countered by a more powerful picture—the picture of a strong woman, an incredible force of her own. The images had a profound effect on her, and I let her experience them for a long while before finally pulling away.
Broda stared at me blankly for a moment after we parted before she finally spoke.
“Is that really what you see when you look at me?”
“No, Broda,” I replied. “That’s not what I see; that’s who you are.”
Broda seemed about to cry when Khorim swept her away, escorting her back to the privacy of their tent. I had given her an entirely new perspective on herself, and I didn’t begrudge her the time she needed to absorb all I had shown her.
“Your abilities seem to have grown quite a bit, Dreya,” Venna mused.
“As I am only now discovering,” I replied, taking a seat by the fire again.
“It is easier, more controllable,” I explained. “I was able to send only what I wanted, and the contact didn’t feel like anything extraordinary.”
“You haven’t been able to check your progress recently,” Venna prompted me. “Perhaps you should do that now. When you are finished, there is something we have been waiting for you to decide.”
I didn’t like the way that sounded and looked at her suspiciously. Venna just waved off my concerns before turning to speak with Tási and Stel. Since they were obviously not going to explain anything to me until after I had tended to my own affairs, I opened my notifications and started scrolling through them.
Experience gained – You have gained 550 XP.
You have gained a level! – You have earned sufficient experience to advance to level 20.
You have gained three Attribute points. Two of your points have been automatically assigned to CON and CHA. You may assign the remaining point to any other Attribute as you see fit.
The level up notification caught me off guard. With all that had happened, I had completely forgotten that the Uniter quest had left me a single point shy of level twenty. Shaking off my surprise, I hesitated for only a moment before putting the point into Strength and watching as the menu was instantly replaced with another.
You can now choose a new Ability. You must choose one of the following:
Rapid Fire – After firing an arrow, your follow-up shot take half as long as normal to be fired. Cost – 10 Endurance.
Seeker – Your next single shot has an increased chance to hit. Cost – 10 Endurance.
Body Blow – Your next dagger attack, if it lands, will cause your opponent to suffer an Endurance penalty. Cost – 20 Aura.
Impale – Your dagger inflicts a damage-over-time bleed effect. Cost – 20 Endurance.
Focused Fire – Your next arrow causes increased damage if it hits. Cost – 20 Endurance.
Long-Range Shot – Increase the effective range of your bow. Cost – 30 Aura.
Disable – Advanced Ability – A successful strike of your blade to an extremity renders the affected limb completely useless until healed. Modifier – Strength. Cost – 60 Endurance.
Your choice is final and must be made now. Choose wisely, as you will now only gain a new Ability every five levels.
I had so many useful bow talents, but only a handful that I could use with my Essence Blade. Even though it had some overlap with Achilles Strike, I chose Disable. The ability it offered to incapacitate an opponent was just too enticing for me to pass up. Immediately, another menu appeared.
Having reached level 20, you can now choose a new Spell. You must choose one of the following:
Muffle – May be cast on self or ally. Dampens sound in a radius around target. Cost – 20 Aura.
Detect Life – Casting this spell allows you to detect the essence of nearby living creatures. Cost – 20 Aura.
Restore Health – May be cast on self or ally. Heals a small amount of damage. Cost – 30 Aura.
Silence – Surround target with and aura that cancels all sounds. Cost – 40 Aura.
Stone Skin – May be cast on self or ally. Hardens skin, increasing effective armor against attack or certain effects. Cost – 30 Aura
Flare – Throw a ball of fire at your enemy, which may set combustible items ablaze. Cost – 40 Aura.
Shard – Hurl Shard(s) of rock against your foes. Cost – 40 Aura.
Spike – Launch Ice Spike(s), delivering bonus cold damage on a successful hit. Cost – 40 Aura.
Summon Creature – Summons a creature to aid you or fight by your side. The type of creature summoned depends on the environment. Modifier – Charisma. Cost – 100 Aura.
Find Weakness – Highlights vulnerable points on the target. Modifier – Intelligence. Cost – 80 Aura.
Your choice is final and must be made now. Choose wisely, as you will now only gain a new Spell every 10 levels.
Although it wasn’t specifically stated, the fact that my two newest Spell choices had modifiers led me to believe they were advanced, like some of my Abilities now were. This made my decision even more difficult.
Summoning appealed to me almost innately, and with Charisma as its modifier, it was sure to be a powerful Spell, but the ability to discover a target’s weakness was not something I could easily dismiss. Knowing your enemy’s most vulnerable points could easily turn the tide of any battle.
While I really wanted Summon Creature for my own purposes, I knew that Find Weakness would be better suited for working with my companions. I wouldn’t hesitate to take the summoning spell if there was no better option, but for now, I put the safety of my friends ahead of my own priorities. The window closed, and I was prepared for the XP notifications to begin again when a menu I had never seen before popped up instead.
Having reached level 20, you have earned your first Sintári Bonus.
As the world’s first Sintári in many millennia, your journey thus far has been one of isolation. You have made friends, but none who can truly understand the uniqueness of your nature. The fates have smiled upon you and granted you the boon of a companion to share your journey. Look for him to come to you in the days ahead.
What the fuck!
I had all the companions I needed! What I didn’t need were the ‘fates,’ whoever the fuck they were, deciding who I needed to share my d
amn journey with. This was some serious bullshit, and I was not happy. Not at all. Whenever this guy showed up, he was pretty much destined to be left behind. Fortunately, I didn’t have too much time to simmer in my anger, because the XP prompts finally resumed again.
Experience gained – You have gained 550 XP.
. . .
Experience gained – You have gained 550 XP.
Experience gained – You have gained 660 XP.
Quest completed – You have completed the optional quest Protector’s Retribution. You may not always be on time; vengeance is sometimes the only remaining option. While every victim is a tragedy to be mourned, it is never too late to strike down evil. For eliminating the bandit threat and sparing untold misery, you have been rewarded with 5500 XP. This Quest is repeatable.
Sintári Quest, Control, Advancing – You have gained the first measures of control over your powers. Mastery over both your positive and negative emotions is a powerful tool. While you still have a long way to go, you have made significant progress. You have been rewarded with 11,000 XP.
You have gained a level! – You have earned sufficient experience to advance to level 21.
You have gained three Attribute points. Two of your points have been automatically assigned to INT and CHA. You may assign the remaining point to any other Attribute as you see fit.
The massive XP reward from my Sintári Control quest had boosted me up another level. After I slid my lone stat point into Strength again, the notifications finally ground to a halt. Now, the only thing left to do was pull up my personal sheet again and look over all of the changes.
Dreya Dae
Sintári Female
Title: Sintári
Level - 21
186059/201200
Health 260/260 Aura 610/610 Endurance 260/260
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 - 31
CON - 24 (+2)
DEX - 23 (+2)
INT - 22 (+2)
WIS - 20 (+2)
CHA - 36 (+3)
Abilities
Ignore Armor – Your next arrow will ignore a portion of the target’s armor. Cost – 20 Aura. – 35%
Stun – Your next arrow has a chance to stun its target on hit. Cost – 20 Aura. – 33%
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. – 44%
Flurry – Perform three rapid strikes with a bladed weapon. Cost – 30 Endurance. – 24%
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. – 30%
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.– 34%
Blind – Your next arrow has a chance to inflict blindness on a successful hit. Cost – 30 Aura. – 33%
Achilles Strike – Cripple your target with a slash of your bladed weapon. Cost – 30 Endurance. – 24%
Penetrator- Advanced Ability -Your arrow pierces through armor easily. With increased proficiency, it may penetrate through even greater barriers. Modifier – Strength. Cost – 60 Aura. – 9%
Disable – Advanced Ability – A successful strike of your blade to an extremity renders the affected limb completely useless until healed. Modifier – Strength. Cost – 60 Endurance. – 1%
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.
Control – Effect varies, applies to all Sintári Abilities – 22%
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. – 17%
Spells
Enhanced Sight – May be cast on self or ally. Improves visual acuity of the recipient in dark or obscured conditions. Cost – 20 Aura. – 44%
Create Trap – Place a magical trap upon an area. Size, type, and trigger of traps is determined by your proficiency. Cost – 40 Aura. – 45%
Elemental Arrow -Your next arrow is imbued with elemental energy and causes additional elemental damage accordingly. Cost – 30 Aura. – 26%
Bolt – Release a Bolt of pure Lightning at your target(s). Cost – 40 Aura. – 22%
Find Weakness- Highlights vulnerable points on the target. Modifier – Intelligence. Cost – 80 Aura. – 1%
Skills
Bow – 46%
Critical Hit – 37%
Blades – 32%
Long Sword – 33%
Short Sword – 28%
Dagger – 26%
Critical Hit – 27%
Two-Handed – 28%
Pole Arms –14%
Spear – 23%
Armor – 28%
Medium Armor – 32%
Perception – 42%
Environmental – 43%
Identify Enemy – 37%
Identify Person – 39%
Combat Dodge – 23%
Subterfuge – 29%
Stealth-31%
Find Trap -11%
Disarm Trap – 8%
Set Trap – 10%
Manipulation – 31%
Persuade – 42%
Barter – 28%
Survival – 23%
Tracking – 25%
Identify Creature (Beasts) – 16%
Skinning – 13%
Field Dress – 12%
Alchemy – 17%
Herbalism – 25%
Potion Craft – 21%
Lore – 3%
Identify Magical Item – 5%
While my Strength and Charisma numbers were practically gaudy, I realized I was letting my other stats fall behind. Unless circumstances dictated otherwise, I decided to begin to distribute my points more evenly in the future. Meanwhile, my proficiencies continued to advance, and the new talents were there, so I was excited to begin training them and test out their effects.
“Venna,” I called to her as I closed the screen.
The three of them were waiting for me patiently as I turned to face them. Apparently, they had concluded their little discussion and had been waiting for me to finish doing my internal housekeeping.
“I’m ready,” I said, stating the obvious. “What is it that you need me to decide?”
“You understand why we refused to use these buildings,” Stel spoke for them. “There is a similar issue regarding the spoils we uncovered while exploring this camp.”
“What did you find?” I asked.
“I think it might be better to decide what you want to do with them first,” Stel replied thoughtfully. “Lest your decision be swayed by the nature of what we discovered.”
“That’s not exactly helpful, Stel.”
“Yet it is still my advice to you,” he answered unhelpfully.
I considered the situation carefully—the buildings were clearly befouled by the vile acts that had taken place in them. They were unfit for use by any decent person, but what about the bandits’ treasure?
Most of it had likely been looted from their victims. Though they had obtained it through their brutal savagery, it had once been the product of honest labor. Would I be willing to leave i
t behind or even destroy it because of that? Would that truly be the ethical thing to do? I didn’t think so.
My own personal quest was to rid this land of barbaric animals like these bandits, and using their own spoils against them seemed like poetic justice. Even more poetic since those spoils had been stolen from their victims. Putting the rightful property of their victims to use fighting against their evil seemed like the right thing to do regardless of any temporary stain the bandits’ possession may have put on the spoils. Making my determination, I told them my decision.
“Whatever you found,” I said, “Belonged to their victims, not to them. We will take anything of value and use it to defeat even more of their kind. The money and treasure of the innocent people they tortured and killed will be the means by which we will continue to pursue justice against these animals.”
“We hoped you would see it that way,” Venna smiled. “Come, let us show you.”
They brought me to a tarp-covered heap I hadn’t noticed before, and pulling back the cover revealed a mountain of equipment, trade goods, and sealed money boxes. The sheer volume of wealth gathered there was incredible.
“How much is it worth?” I asked.
“There are hundreds of Talons in coin alone, Dreya,” Tási replied. “We haven’t even bothered to add up the value of all the other items. Its far more than we could hope to carry.”
“Take as much as we can,” I decided. “Hide the rest. If we have the chance, we will retrieve it. If there is any way we can make use of this, we owe it to all the innocents that have suffered to make the effort.”
“I will do as you ask, Sintári,” Stel replied solemnly.
I was about to chastise him, but the smirk on his face let me know that his formality was more humorous than genuine. Seizing on his joke, I let out a mock huff of indignation before turning around and leaving him to his work.
“Leave him to it,” Venna said as she and Tási joined me. “He actually enjoys the challenge of sorting loot. You’ve made him very happy with this assignment.”
Second Skin Omnibus Page 81
