Second Skin Omnibus

by M Damon Baker

  In addition to providing excellent defense against attack, the Nightwalker’s Leather increases the Stealth Skills of the wearer and silences all sounds the wearer makes while in Stealth. This Artifact is self-repairing and has no effect on Encumbrance.

  “Take this from me, master dwarf,” I smiled broadly as I walked over to Khorim. “It practically has your name written all over it.”

  He awkwardly tried to accept the bundle from me while he was still on his knees, and I gently chastised him.

  “You don’t accept a gift from the Gods on the floor, idiot,” I scolded him in a friendly manner. “Get the fuck up!”

  There wasn’t a sound in the room, but I recognized Nentai’s laughter echoing inside my head as Khorim hastily rose to his feet. But it wasn’t the mocking laughter of someone who saw humor in Khorim’s unease; instead, it had the ring of a shared sense of humor, an inside joke, perhaps. As if she had simply been delighted to hear me echo so closely the admonishment she had previously given to Venna.

  “Let him look that over while you see what’s next,” Nentai called to me aloud.

  I glanced at her as I returned to the chest, and the Goddess favored me with a knowing wink. She knew that I had heard her laughter in my mind, and that I had caught its subtle meaning. What I still didn’t understand was why Nentai was doing any of it.

  But my thoughts on the matter vanished as she directed me towards the chest once more, and while I knew that it had been a square container just a moment before, the ornate box in front of me was now a long rectangular shape.

  I hesitantly peeked inside the opening, uncertain of what I might find there, and saw a sheet of gleaming metal. When I reached inside to grasp it, it came out freely, and I held the solid wall of Khelduin in my hands in utter amazement.

  Bastion’s Reckoning – God-Forged Artifact – This shield was crafted for Dreya Sintári by Hirstus, God of Crafting, Bratus, God of Festival, and Chrestis, God of Alchemy. While the Shield is irrevocably bound to the Sintári, it is intended to be used by one of her companions. The Shield will temporarily bind itself to whomever she bestows it upon for life, unless the Sintári revokes its use. Upon the death of the wearer, or if the Sintári chooses to reclaim the Shield, it will return to Dreya Sintári’s possession.

  Bastion’s Reckoning provides nearly impervious protection against almost all forms of attack that it intercepts. In addition, the Shield will reflect a portion of the damage that would have been inflicted on the user back to the enemy who launched the attack. This Artifact is self-repairing and has a reduced effect on Encumbrance.

  “Stel, get up,” I said to him softly when I reached where he knelt.

  Stel rose to his feet steadily, and I held his gaze as he stood in front of me.

  “You deserve this,” I told him as I passed the Artifact to him. “And there’s no one who I want to have its protection more than you.”

  I watched Stel’s eyes light up in amazement when he took the shield from me. When it was clear that he was thoroughly enthralled, I turned around again to regard the Goddesses.

  Set was still ambivalent, but Nentai was watching me with a look of… curiosity, with one eyebrow raised questioningly. I wasn’t quite sure what had piqued her interest, so I approached her cautiously.

  Later.

  Her single word filtered into my mind. There was no cautioning undercurrent like last time, only the promise of a meeting between us yet to come. So, I nodded in affirmation, and stood before the two Goddesses.

  “We are done for today,” Nentai said as she rose from her seat. “But we are not finished.”

  Nentai flashed me a conspiratorial look as she spoke the last few words, and her meaning was clear to me.

  “Broda,” Nentai quickly continued once she knew that I understood. “You have not been forgotten. You will receive your boon on our next visit.”

  The Goddesses then vanished in a shimmer of light, and we were left alone with our newest Artifacts. Everyone rushed to their feet to examine what we had been gifted with, and while they were distracted, I snuck upstairs.

  You leave so soon, Sintári? Bane called to me as I ascended the stairs.

  ‘Say nothing, Bane. I’ll explain later, if I can.’

  He sent me nothing more, and I didn’t look back as I shut the door behind me. As I expected, Nentai was already waiting for me when I stepped inside my room.

  “I don’t understand,” she began bluntly. “You have such a profound sense of love for that man, yet you do not take him for your own.”

  “He’s already been taken,” I replied somewhat confused. “And I think you know that my preferences lie elsewhere.”

  “He may be taken, little one,” she observed. “But he would be yours if you wanted him.”

  “I… I don’t even want to think about that,” I stuttered.

  “You don’t have to think about it,” she smiled.

  “Is this all you wanted to talk to me about?” I snapped at her angrily. “Because if that’s it, then we’re done.”

  “No,” Nentai said as she stared into my eyes intently. “I didn’t want to talk to you about anything, really. I just wanted to see how many of your buttons I had to push before you would stand up to me.”

  “One,” I replied coolly as I held her gaze. “It only takes one.”

  “I see that now,” she said with admiration. “It seems that I only need to find the right one to press.”

  As soon as she finished speaking, Nentai’s form shimmered and vanished from sight, and I was left alone in the room. I found the little drama she had arranged for me highly irritating, but there was nothing that I could do about it, so rather than let it bother me, I headed back downstairs.

  Fortunately, everyone was still marveling over the two new Artifacts, and my brief absence hadn’t even been noticed. I was able to quickly sneak back into the room and join in on the excited conversation without arousing any suspicions.

  “We have a lot of work and planning ahead of us tomorrow,” Venna finally said as she tried to end the night. “I hear there’s even an inn going up.”

  Her reminder of all the difficult tasks we had ahead of us served its purpose, and we each headed off to our rooms.

  “I have a notification I need to check,” I told Tási as we lay down together.

  “I’ll be right here, fast asleep when you’re done,” she teased.

  “You probably will,” I smiled back at her as I opened the tab.

  Quest, The Uniter, Advancing – You have increased the population of your fledgling Realm beyond its initial level. Although you still have a long way to go, this is an important step on your journey. You have been rewarded with 2200 XP.

  You have gained a level! – You have earned sufficient experience to advance to level 32.

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

  The level-up menu came as a surprise—I had forgotten that I only needed a single point to reach my next level. I’d intended to go on a hunting trip, or anything just to get that one point, but so much had been going on, my attention had been focused on the work in the valley, and I’d never gotten around to it. Now that it was in front of me, I put my lone discretionary point into Strength, and the window closed.

  I couldn’t even remember the last time I had so much as glanced at my personal sheet, so I pulled it up to see how things looked after my most recent level.

  Dreya Dae

  Sintári Female

  Title: Sintári

  Level - 32

  433399/461200

  Health - 341/341 Aura - 647/847 Endurance - 341/341

  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

&
nbsp; Specialization – Protector

  Mastery –

  STR - 39 (+3)

  CON - 29 (+2)

  DEX - 25 (+2)

  INT - 25 (+2)

  WIS - 24 (+2)

  CHA - 47 (+4)

  Abilities

  Ignore Armor – Your next arrow will ignore a portion of the target’s armor. Cost – 20 Aura. – 36%

  Stun – Your next arrow has a chance to stun its target on hit. Cost – 20 Aura. – 35%

  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. – 47%

  Flurry – Perform three rapid strikes with a bladed weapon. Cost – 30 Endurance. – 25%

  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. – 32%

  Hilt Bash – Stun your opponent with a successful hilt strike from your bladed weapon. Cost – 30 Endurance. – 23%

  Blood Price – Your arrow inflicts a damage-over-time bleed effect. Cost – 30 Aura. – 37%

  Blind – Your next arrow has a chance to inflict blindness on a successful hit. Cost – 30 Aura. – 37%

  Achilles Strike – Cripple your target with a slash of your bladed weapon. Cost – 30 Endurance. – 25%

  Penetrator – Advanced Ability – Your arrow pierces through armor easily. With increased proficiency it may penetrate through even greater barriers. Modifier – Strength. Cost – 60 Aura. – 20%

  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. – 20%

  Shockwave – Advanced Ability – Your arrow explodes on contact, dealing minimal damage but generating a stunning Shockwave in a radius around its detonation. Size and scope of this effect increase with proficiency. Modifier – Strength. Cost – 120 Aura. – 20%

  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. – 45%

  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. – 21%

  Spells

  Enhanced Sight – May be cast on self or ally. Improves visual acuity of the recipient in dark or obscured conditions. Cost – 20 Aura. – 48%

  Create Trap – Place a magical trap upon an area. Size, type, and trigger of traps is determined by your proficiency. Cost – 40 Aura. – 53%

  Elemental Arrow – Your next arrow is imbued with elemental energy and causes additional elemental damage accordingly. Cost – 30 Aura. – 28%

  Spike – Launch Ice Spike(s), delivering bonus cold damage on a successful hit. Cost – 40 Aura. – 1%

  Bolt – Release a Bolt of pure Lightning at your target(s). Cost – 40 Aura. – 24%

  Find Weakness – Highlights vulnerable points on the target. Modifier – Intelligence. Cost – 80 Aura. – 20%

  Summon Elemental – Summons an Elemental creature. If you succeed in binding it to your will, the creature will serve you faithfully until the spell’s expiration. Modifier – Charisma. Cost 100 Aura. – 35%

  Shield – May be cast on self only. Manifests a forward-facing barrier against incoming projectile attacks. Duration and resistance of the barrier are based on proficiency and modifier value. Modifier – Constitution. Cost – 80 Aura. – 20%

  Skills

  Bow – 54%

  Critical Hit – 42%

  Blades – 34%

  Long Sword – 37%

  Short Sword – 29%

  Dagger – 26%

  Critical Hit – 29%

  Two-Handed – 30%

  Pole Arms –14%

  Spear – 23%

  Armor – 35%

  Medium Armor – 39%

  Perception – 46%

  Environmental – 48%

  Identify Enemy – 48%

  Identify Person – 39%

  Combat Dodge – 25%

  Subterfuge – 30%

  Stealth – 35%

  Find Trap – 11%

  Disarm Trap – 8%

  Set Trap – 10%

  Manipulation – 45%

  Persuade – 57%

  Barter – 33%

  Survival – 24%

  Tracking – 26%

  Identify Creature (Beasts) – 19%

  Skinning – 16%

  Field Dress – 15%

  Alchemy – 19%

  Herbalism – 31%

  Potion Craft – 27%

  Lore – 7%

  Identify Magical Item – 12%

  It seemed that, outside of large-scale combat, levels were going to be tough to come by. The XP requirements were rather steep, and I had been fortunate enough to be involved in several decent-sized fights after I had broken out of the lower levels.

  I did notice that my Identify Person talent was just about to hit 40%. It was something that I hadn’t been focusing on while surrounded by all the familiar people, and I hoped that all the new faces might help me get there soon. My control was also increasing, along with the trickle I continued to receive in both my Manipulation talents and to my Summon Elemental Spell.

  All things considered, since I hadn’t actually been working on anything for months, I couldn’t really complain.

  15

  After breakfast, my companions and I set off together and headed for the Garrison to begin the task of settling our new citizens and adjusting our plans to suit their needs. Although they seemed comfortable with the fortification’s new name, even to the point of repeatedly emphasizing it, I couldn’t bring myself to call it anything but ‘The Garrison.’

  As we wound our way through the valley, I began to see many of the new faces, and it reminded me to focus in on my Identify Person talent. With so many new people in our lands, it wasn’t long before I noticed a difference.

  Just like with Identify Enemy, when I closely examined the people passing by, I not only saw a health bar floating above them, but directly beneath it was a small line of text that revealed their race and profession to me. So, instead of having to guess at their various jobs as I spoke to them, I would know from then on whether I was addressing a farmer, herdsman, or miner, for example. Even more interesting was the fact that as I encountered the people I already knew, their names were included in the tiny descriptions—a very helpful perk for someone trying to establish a new realm.

  Once we reached the Garrison, we took over the headquarters building and set up a room for our planning. I left most of my companions to arrange things while I went to find Evans, and Broda set out in search of Travis and Annia. I had a proposition for the Drill Master, and also wanted his insights on our plans. Travis and Annia would be joining us so that they could have some input on the location that we chose for their inn.

  Evans was easy to locate—we had housed him and his men in one of the barracks for the night, and they were fencing with each other on the Garrison’s grounds just outside the building. When I asked him to join me for our planning sessions, Evans was more than happy to accompany me back to the headquarters building. Despite how easily I was able to find Evans, Broda was already back in our planning room with Travis and Annia when I returned with him.

  “Alright,” I began as I took my seat around the large table we had commandeered. “We’re here to plan the next few steps for our little Realm. Specifically, where we’re going to house all our new ci
tizens, where we will be building the inn, and hopefully, deciding what we should focus on going forward.”

  “Forgive me, Sintári, but I believe you misspoke,” Stel broke in. “While we are certainly here to help you to the best of our abilities, this is not our Realm. It is yours.”

  I loved that man dearly, but sometimes I really wanted to strangle him.

  “Yes, well, as far as housing the new citizens,” Venna said before I could offer any objections. “Broda and I have agreed to handle that task. I plan to have each of the newcomers meet with Ilvain and I, and we will assign them to the available housing that best suits their needs. If we have to build more for some reason, Ilvain will be able to see to it right away.”

  “I’ll be there as well,” Broda added. “I’ve been keeping track of what’s available in the barracks and in both of the caverns. I should be able to get everyone who wants some good, sturdy rock over their head a comfortable place to live.”

  “So, that leaves the inn,” Khorim brought up happily.

  “It needs to be somewhere safe,” Evans said as he continued to review the set of plans in front of him. “If I understand correctly, you need this inn to serve not only your people, but the needs of any caravans that stop by. We’ll not only have to ensure the safety of those caravans if we want them to come here, but we will also have to consider our own security as well.”

  “What do you mean?” Tási asked.

  “I mean that this Realm is still new. Weak,” he responded bluntly. “There will be those who seek to take advantage of that. Even after we are more secure here, you simply cannot invite large groups of unknown people into the heart of your defenses. It’s only asking for trouble.”