Second Skin Omnibus

by M Damon Baker

  Thank you, Sintári. Bane sent to my mind, grateful that I had decided not to share his revelation.

  I couldn’t respond without giving things away, but silently thought ‘you’re welcome,’ back at him.

  I heard you, Sintári! You spoke to me!

  Ding!

  I heard a chime! Was that another Deathless message?

  ‘Hold on, let me check,’ I thought back to him excitedly.

  I quickly toggled my UI and brought up the notifications.

  Sintári Quest, Control, Advancing — Your bond with your companion has greatly advanced, forging a direct connection between your two minds. As this bond grows, so too will the distance over which it will carry. You have been awarded a bonus due to the method you used to create this bond, something that has not been done for many ages. You have been rewarded with 18,970 XP.

  As I read the words, I sent my thoughts to Bane, letting him know just what we had accomplished together.

  This sounds quite momentous, Sintári. Is it common for you to receive messages like this?

  ‘Only about once or twice a week on average,’ I sent back to him, hoping that my sarcasm would come through.

  Tási had obviously noticed my vacant stare and interrupted our mental dialogue.

  “What are you looking at?” She asked.

  “Sorry Tási, I didn’t mean to ignore you,” I responded. It was true—between the alert and discovering the ability to communicate with Bane, I had been completely overwhelmed and simply forgotten about her for a moment.

  “An alert popped up. I thought it might be about the orcs,” I lied. “Fortunately, it had nothing to do with them.”

  You lie well, my Sintári.

  ‘Shut up, Bane. You aren’t making this any easier.’

  “Alright,” Tási responded skeptically. “It should be a busy day tomorrow, are you ready for bed?”

  “Yeah, I don’t think I can take too much more today,” I replied more honestly.

  For the first time in what seemed like weeks, we had real security for the night. With an actual watch on the wall, I finally felt like we could relax and have a comfortable night’s rest. I took off my gear and peeled myself out of my armor and simply tossed it all into one of the corners. I didn’t even bother sifting through my backpack for my night dress, opting to simply strip down to my undergarments before curling up in the blankets.

  Tási laid down beside me and we snuggled against each other. Neither of us had forgotten our intention to hold off any intense interactions until after our other companions returned and the risk of an impending attack was over. So, despite feeling the enticing warmth of Tási’s body through the blankets, I made no move to reach out to her. Instead, remembering the notification I’d just received, I pulled up my personal sheet.

  Dreya Dae

  Sintári Female

  Title: Sintári

  Level - 25

  281199/281200

  Health - 319/319 Aura - 648/748 Endurance - 319/319

  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 - 32 (+3)

  CON - 27 (+2)

  DEX - 24 (+2)

  INT - 23 (+2)

  WIS - 22 (+2)

  CHA - 40 (+4)

  The quest reward had once again left me exactly one point shy of the next level. I had originally thought this was something that occurred for ominous reasons, such as an impending difficult encounter. Now it seemed more likely that some of the quest rewards might be restricted, unable to award enough XP to reach the next level. Whether that was a boon or a limitation, I could not be sure, but I could only imagine how frustrated I would be to get a reward like that when I was already close to gaining a level on my own. Seeing an epic quest that only granted a couple hundred XP would be demoralizing.

  I closed the window and shut my eyes as Bane crawled on top of me. He settled into the blankets and began to purr softly, lulling both Tási and me to sleep with the soothing sound of his contentment.

  6

  The next two days passed by in a flurry of hectic activity. During that time, Hilgreth and her apprentices worked almost non-stop forging spearheads while Dellon and his sons carved and hardened the wood for their shafts. Neither group was overly proud of the rough quality of work they had done, but the weapons they produced were more than adequate for the task. Considering the circumstances, just finishing the construction of so many weapons in that time was nothing short of a miracle in my mind.

  Ridge completed the excavation of the dwarven barracks as well. The facilities were somewhat spartan, as they were designed, but the dwarves were more than happy to have quarters in the comfortable underground structures.

  Each of the two barracks he carved into the mountain were meant to house a company of approximately one hundred, with separate quarters for sergeants and officers. The dwarves were able to spread out among the two separate barracks, affording them plenty of space to alleviate any potential strife. And while the large communal barracks areas were in desperate need of furnishings, the dwarves were happy enough with the change in accommodations and made the most of the situation.

  As soon as he finished with the barracks, Ridge began clearing away the forest again. Dellon scoured the rapidly growing lumberyard that Ridge was accumulating for us, seeking out any timber that he found suitable for the many projects he seemed to be working on. While Ridge focused his efforts outside the wall, the stonemasons continued to chip away at the fortifications themselves, constantly improving on Ridge’s rough, but incredibly solid construction.

  “These stones are joined in a way I have never seen before,” one of the masons had commented to me as I surveyed their work. “It’s as if the blocks are fused together as one—the entire thing is like one giant rock, solid and without any seams in it.”

  “I’m assuming that you did notice the architect stomping around these last few days?” I replied to him.

  “Yes,” the mason said wistfully. “I never dreamed I might see the spirit of the mountain with my own eyes, let alone have the honor of lending my meager skills to one’s creation. You have brought great honor to all of us, Lady Dreya.”

  I chafed at the title but despite my protests, once they observed Ridge following my every command, the dwarves steadfastly refused to address me any other way. The only concession they had been willing to give me was to continue to include my name in the honorific. I had thought it odd that Broda only referred to her uncle as ‘King’ or ‘uncle,’ and never by his name. When I asked her about it, she told me that dwarven rulers gave up their names when they assumed their leadership roles. The sacrifice demonstrated their devotion to their people, marking the end of their time as individuals and serving to demonstrate their selfless dedication to their people. A dwarven King was no mere individual—he was the embodiment of an entire nation.

  Bane’s scouting continued to reveal no sign of the orcs’ approach, and I was beginning to hope that their earlier defeat may have discouraged any further attempts. Unfortunately, during the afternoon of that second day, he spotted our green skinned foes lurking among the trees.

  They are coming, Sintári. His voice called to me from the sky before he came to rest on my shoulder.

  ‘How many and how soon?’ I sent back to him.

  Hundreds. I cannot get a more accurate count than that, as they are rushing quickly through the forest towards us. At their current pace, they will be here before midday tomorrow, though their scouts will arrive much sooner than that.

  I took a moment to process his dire report. Though our defenses were much improved, it seemed that we would be greatly outnumbered yet again. After a moment, I hurried off to find Khorim and Broda and give them the bad news.

&nb
sp; “We need to finish as much of our preparations as possible today,” I told them once they were aware of the impending assault. “I don’t want anyone outside the wall once night falls. Double the watch tonight as well—we can’t let the orcs’ scouts sneak up on us either. Spread the word. We all need to be prepared to fight at a moment’s notice. See to that for me while I tend to a few things.”

  Both of them simply acknowledged my orders before hurrying off to see them carried out. I was still uncomfortable with my role as leader of all these people, but having such loyal companions willing to help me made it much easier to bear the burden.

  I knew that I needed to reassign Ridge—his work outside might place him in harm’s way once the orcs arrived. While we needed as much forest cleared as possible, the effort wasn’t worth sacrificing him. But before I headed outside, I first paid a visit to Hilgreth. She would need to be prepared for the upcoming battle as well. While she had finished her work on the spears the day before, she was still busy repairing some of the lesser quality armor that some of the dwarves had brought with them.

  “Hilgreth, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news,” I said as I entered her forge. “The orcs have been spotted, and they will likely be at our door sometime tomorrow.”

  “Ungh,” she grunted as she swung her hammer down one more time.

  “I suppose I should show you what we’ve been making in our spare time,” Hilgreth replied as she put aside her work.

  “I wasn’t aware that you had any spare time?”

  “Ha! True enough,” she smiled. “But I’ve managed to find some anyway. Mind you, the work is not pretty, but they’ll do the job.”

  Hilgreth brought me to a large tarp-covered pile hidden away in the back of the forge. She grabbed a corner of the heavy canvas and hesitated a moment before revealing what was hidden beneath it.

  “We put a lot of extra effort into making these,” she began, and her voice took on an odd tone as she continued. “I want to ask you to let us be the ones to set them up, Lady Dreya.”

  “Consider your request approved,” I smiled at her, despite not knowing what exactly she had planned. The woman had proven invaluable to us over the past days, and I was not about to deny any request that seemed so important to her.

  Hilgreth returned my smile with a broad one of her own as she whipped the tarp away from the odd shaped heap it had been covering. What it revealed was a mystery to me, looking at first like a mismatched jumble of short, sharp spikes randomly welded together in places. Hilgreth’s grin seemed to only widen as she noticed my confusion.

  “Caltrops, Lady Dreya,” she explained, as she pulled one of the devices free from the pile and handed it to me.

  The barbed metal contraption had four sharp spikes, welded together in a rough pyramid-like shape. I had never seen anything like it, but the dead man’s memories recalled what it was used for. Spread across the ground, the caltrops were designed so that one of their spikes would always face upwards. Placed over an area where an enemy might approach, the devices would impale the foot of anyone who was unfortunate enough to tread on one of them. Considering the number of the devices that Hilgreth had fashioned, we would be able to spread them over quite a large patch of ground.

  “I have already ordered that all outside work is to be halted at dusk today,” I told her as I continued looking over the device. “You have until one hour before then to finish placing them. You and your apprentices are too valuable for me to allow you to risk yourselves any further than that. I also want two guards accompanying each of you while you work. Go find Broda ask her to get you the protection you require. Once you have it, you may begin.”

  Hilgreth’s eyes lit up and she thanked me profusely before rushing off. As I left the forge, I heard her shouted commands as she ordered her apprentices to load up the caltrops while she set off in search of Broda.

  On my way to find Ridge, I stopped for a while to speak to the members of the watch that were on duty. They were already aware of the orcs’ approach and despite the dire news, were in good spirits. The dwarven people had been in near constant conflict with orcs for longer than anyone could remember. Battles between the two races were such a common occurrence, that an attack of this nature was certainly not unexpected. Several of them even seemed to look forward to the coming conflict, viewing the occasion as an opportunity to avenge a fallen relative or comrade.

  With morale not an issue, I left the guards behind and sought out Ridge. He was far from difficult to locate, as all one had to do was follow the sound of crashing timbers to find him. As soon as he had finished the barracks, Ridge began working tirelessly to clear the forest as quickly as possible. Although he had built up an incredible pile of lumber inside the canyon, the dense forest yielded itself slowly to his efforts and only a relatively small area had been cleared of its thick cover. As soon as he noticed my approach, Ridge halted his efforts and we spoke.

  “I have some bad news, Ridge,” I informed him. “Bane has spotted the orcs. They will be here in force sometime tomorrow, but some of their scouts may reach us much sooner than that. For your own safety, I need you to stop working out here before sundown. Make sure everyone else is inside as well and then pull in the bridge.”

  “I will do as much as I can before then, Mistress.”

  “I know that you will, Ridge,” I replied. “The wall you built is quite high, but offers little protection for those who will be fighting on top of it. Do you think you can add some battlements to it before our enemy arrives?”

  “I should be able to do that during the night, Mistress.”

  “Thank you, Ridge. Your efforts have been critical to our safety and I cannot tell you just how grateful I am for your help,” I told him sincerely.

  “It is my honor to serve you, Sintári.”

  His use of that title startled me. He had never before addressed me as anything other than ‘Mistress,’ and I was certain that I had not revealed my true nature to him, yet somehow, he knew. I felt Bane tensing on my shoulder as he also realized the implication of Ridge’s disclosure.

  “How long have you known, Ridge?” I simply responded.

  “I have always known, Mistress, though I understand your need to keep the truth hidden. But there is no need for such secrecy between us, Sintári; the people of stone have awaited your return for a very long time.”

  Having said his piece, Ridge returned to his work, uprooting the trees and clearing away the dense forest. As I turned back towards the wall and made my way back to the canyon, Hilgreth and her apprentices were already beginning to place her wicked caltrops. I watched as they seemed to take great pleasure concealing the devices with small branches or in shallow depressions. The vicious spikes might not kill any of the orcs outright, but they would certainly take them out of the fight for a while.

  The three of them seemed to enjoy the task, and even their guards appeared to be eagerly helping them search out the most treacherous locations to hide the barbs, so I left the blacksmith and her apprentices to their work.

  Once inside the wall, I could see that preparations were continuing in earnest. While one group of defenders fired our few precious crossbows at targets set up against the canyon walls, another drilled with the spears that Hilgreth and Dellon had crafted. Others busily lugged heavy rocks and other makeshift missiles up the stairs, piling them along the entire length of the wall. I found Tási among the hectic bustle and dragged her off with me.

  “Your time will be better spent working on your spells rather than carting rocks up those stairs,” I said to her as I led her away.

  “I was just trying to help,” she protested.

  “I know you were Tási, and I appreciate that,” I replied as I took her hand and began walking towards the valley. “But I need to spend some time with you, and this is the only way I can justify that right now.”

  The last few days had been difficult for me—the stress of suddenly having so much responsibility thrust upon me was practicall
y suffocating. The only peaceful time I had were the fleeting moments before I fell asleep each night, and although I found Tási’s presence with me during that time reassuring, I missed spending my days with her.

  Tási smiled back at me in understanding. She too had been frustrated by our forced separation. Not only that, but I knew the unknown nature of the secret she harbored deep within herself weighed heavily on her conscience. But uncovering that mystery would have to wait until the orc threat was eliminated and the rest of our companions returned, Venna in particular. We would be relying on her healing talents to rescue us if anything went wrong during the potentially difficult process of unravelling the threads of Tási’s past.

  Once we reached the valley, Bane left us alone. His feigned excuse was that he wanted to scout the approaching orcs one last time before dark, and even though his reason for departing was a good one, I knew that he wanted to allow us at least a little time alone as well. Although we did manage to practice our talents, we wound up spending most of our time sitting in the soft grass together.

  “It’s waiting for you,” Tási said abruptly during one of our many breaks. “Whatever it is, it has stopped trying to emerge. I can feel it inside me, and it knows that you’re coming.”

  “You have that much awareness of it?” I said, astounded by her revelation.

  “No,” she replied. “I can’t sense it at all. The only things I can feel are what it wants me to know.”

  “That’s a bit disturbing, Tási,” I confessed to her.

  “I thought that you were confident that it could only be something helpful?”

  “I was,” I replied before correcting myself. “And I still am, but the fact that it seems to have an awareness of its own is at least a bit unusual, don’t you think?”

  I was startled when Tási burst out in laughter in response to my concern.

  “Let me see if I understand you correctly,” she said in an amused tone when she finally regained herself. “You’re both a Deathless and a Sintári. You have a Rhastoren for a companion, and an Earth spirit has bonded to you. You rejoined all the pieces of an Amulet that has been lost for millennia and are currently building a base from which you intend to conquer an entire continent, but this is the one thing you find unusual?”