After a little bit more small talk and a brief conversation with Clorid and Madren, I left to look out over the Garrison wall. It was nearing sunset, and the view from atop its parapets was stunning, but as the sunlight faded over the mountaintops, a lone soldier came running towards the walls.
“Help!” He cried as he got closer. “They’re all dead!”
The gate was quickly lowered, and the panicked soldier was escorted inside where he broke down and could only repeat the same phrase over and over for quite some time.
“All dead.”
“All dead.”
“All dead.”
We got nothing else from him before he was finally led away to the infirmary.
“He was part of the patrol from the outpost,” Evans noted as the crowd that had gather around dispersed. “I’ll need to send out a squad to investigate what happened to them.”
“I’m going with them,” I told him.
“Forgive me, Empress, but no you’re not,” he replied firmly. “You have soldiers for a reason, and there is still the issue of the attempts on your life.”
“I could probably take out any squad you could put together myself, First Marshal,” I reminded him of my power. “It’s too late now, but I will speak to my Ministers and see which of them wishes to join me and we will handle this in the morning.”
“I cannot allow you to do that,” he stood firm in his opposition.
“You can’t stop me,” I replied as I glared back at him.
“No, I probably can’t,” he conceded. “But I can make sure that you have company. I will assemble my squad and they will join you when you set out tomorrow.”
“I can accept that. I have one small item to handle in the morning, and I will depart as soon as I attend to it,” I told him as I remembered the interviews I had scheduled with the other secretaries.
“You’re not going out there without us either,” Aiva added forcefully.
“I wouldn’t dream of it, Aiva,” I lied to her.
“No, I’m sure that you wouldn’t… Empress,” she replied dryly.
“Tana, could you run ahead and see if you can get my Ministers together for me?” I asked one of the guards as we started on our way back.
Without saying a word, Tana shot forward and rushed ahead to summon my companions to my chambers for me. Hopefully, they would be waiting there by the time I got back, and we could all go out on another adventure together the next morning. Something simple and straightforward like back in our old days—well at least the old days several months ago.
“Are you out of your mind?” Tási scolded me incredulously when I told them what I intended to do.
“You. The Empress. Going out to hunt who knows what that’s already apparently wiped out an entire patrol? Are you fucking insane?”
“I have to agree with you rather animated Commander, Dreya,” Stel chimed in. “You are far too valuable for something so dangerous.”
“How valuable were the people we lost, Stel?” I countered angrily.
“Priceless,” he replied. “But that doesn’t change the facts. You cannot do this.”
“Are you intending to try and stop me?” I challenged him.
“You know that I cannot,” he gave in. “But it’s my hope that you’ll see reason.”
“Not likely,” Tási huffed.
“Completely out of the question, I would say,” Venna added as she rolled her eyes.
“Good, so now that that’s settled, what time do we leave?” Khorim broke in.
“I have one quick thing to take care of after breakfast, and then we go,” I told them. “I’m heading out, regardless. Whoever is here with me can come along.”
“Then I guess we’ll all see you in the morning, Empress,” Broda said as she got up.
“It’s foolishness, but I will be here,” Stel added.
One by one they all left, and as they did, each of my companions promised to join me in my search for the unknown killers who’d apparently slaughtered an entire group of my soldiers. When they were gone, I retired to my bedroom, wanting nothing more than to fall asleep and forget the awful day I’d had, but as I stripped off my armor and tried to crawl beneath the covers, Tási just couldn’t let it go.
“What is wrong with you?” She continued to badger me. “First Líann, now this. I don’t understand wha—”
“Can we not do this every fucking night?!” I screamed at her.
“You keep coming after me night after night. I can’t take it anymore!” I raged at her. “Do you know how difficult this is for me? Can’t you leave it alone for once? Gilfri, Líann, Nentai, something killing my soldiers, and now you too. I need a fucking break, dammit!”
“I’m sorry,” she managed after a moment. “I didn’t realize all you’d been through today.”
“It’s not just today, Tási, its every day,” I softened my tone. “Every day something else seems to hit me. Maybe it’s not fair, but I need to be able to count on you to support me, not criticize everything I do.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No, honestly, I don’t,” I replied as I sunk down on the bed. “It’s all such a mess and I just want to go to bed, leave here in the morning and go kill something.”
“Alright,” she said as she climbed in bed beside me. “Will you let me put you to sleep?”
After stupidly rejecting Nentai’s offer earlier, I had learned my lesson and rolled over on my stomach for her gratefully. As she started working out the bundle of tightly knotted muscle in my shoulders, I apologized to her.
“I’m sorry for yelling at you, Tási. Between the all the bad news and how much I screwed up today, I lost my temper.”
“Shhh,” she whispered to me. “You said you didn’t want to talk about it.”
“I lied, at least a little,” I admitted reluctantly. “I know how long humans live, and even dwarves and elves, but I have no idea how long halfling’s lives are.”
“That’s an odd thing to bring up,” Tási replied.
“Just tell me.”
“Well, if we make it to old age,” Tási responded, reminding me just how cruel this world was to her people. “We can live almost as long as humans do. But we age quite differently. Humans and the other races grow old gradually, while we do so quite abruptly. Up until we reach almost sixty, the aging process is very slow for us, but then it comes on rapidly. Once it starts, it only takes a short while before we die of natural causes.”
“So, I still have about forty years with you?” I whispered.
“Why are you even thinking about this?” Tási asked in complete confusion.
“Nentai told me that I’m going to live for hundreds of years, if not longer,” I explained. “I’m going to have to watch you and everyone else I care about die, while I just keep going on.”
“We may have forty years or only forty hours,” Tási replied. “Shouldn’t we make the most of it?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out how to do,” I admitted. “But knowing the truth only makes it more difficult.”
“You can have Líann when I’m gone,” Tási joked.
“Please don’t say that.”
“Venna, Ella, Líann, or someone else then,” she persisted more seriously. “If you can find comfort with one of them when I’m gone, I want you to. If this is bothering you so much, then you should know how I feel about it.”
“Can we talk about something else, please?”
“Sure,” she replied. “Gilfri, Líann, or the mysterious killer?”
“I have no idea which is worse,” I lamented.
“Líann,” she teased. “Definitely Líann.”
I let her comment lie and tried to relax as best I could, and her gentle probing fingers and the warm, flowing impulses that she sent in to my shoulders soothed me to sleep before long.
21
Something nagged at the back of my mind the next morning as I got up and slipped into my armor. It wasn’t any of
the issues that had concerned me the day before—none of those were quite so subtle as this. It felt like… I’d overlooked something, something important that I should have remembered. After a moment, I decided to check on my notifications, since it was the only thing I could think of to do.
Quest, The Uniter, Advancing
Sintári Quest, Control, Advancing
Your actions have Advanced the paths of two quests simultaneously. By forging a link with the Queen, you have not only increased your control, but also furthered the cause of your Empire. Bringing Líann so close to you so quickly was a bold, or possibly unfortunate choice—only time will tell. For your hasty, yet decisive actions, you have been rewarded with 5500 XP and a bonus to your Protector Ability.
You have gained a level! – You have earned sufficient experience to advance to level 33.
You have gained three Attribute points. Two of your points have been automatically assigned to DEX and CHA. You may assign the remaining point to any other Attribute as you see fit.
Well, that certainly qualified as something I shouldn’t let slide. While the Quest reward notification wasn’t incredibly surprising, the increasingly taunting and sarcastic tone of my notifications was a bit annoying. Even more disturbing was that the note was clearly tailored to me, and not some generic quest reward left over from whatever remained of the game messages. I had meant to ask Nentai if she knew anything about the odd content of the notes, but whenever we talked, something more important always seemed to take precedence, and pushed the issue from my mind. This definitely bumped up the priority for me, and I resolved to ask her about it the next time we spoke.
The level-up menu only took a second for me to deal with, and when I placed my single Attribute point in Strength, it vanished from my sight and nothing else followed. I knew my stats pretty well, but with the notification telling me that I’d received some bonus to my Protector Ability, and the dangerous mission ahead of me that morning, I decided to pull up my personal sheet for a quick review.
Dreya Dae
Sintári Female
Titles: Sintári, Empress
Level - 33
463209/491200
Health - 341/341 Aura - 258/858 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
Specialization – Protector
Mastery –
STR - 40 (+4)
CON - 29 (+2)
DEX - 26 (+2)
INT - 25 (+2)
WIS - 24 (+2)
CHA - 48 (+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. – 57%
Protector Abilities
See Truth – Twice 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. – 39%
Spells
Enhanced Sight – May be cast on self or ally. Improves visual acuity of the recipient in dark or obscured conditions. Cost – 20 Aura. – 50%
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. – 20%
Bolt – Release a Bolt of pure Lightning at your target(s). Cost – 40 Aura. – 26%
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. – 40%
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 – 49%
Environmental – 52%
Identify Enemy – 48%
Identify Person – 49%
Combat Dodge – 25%
Subterfuge – 30%
Stealth – 35%
Find Trap – 11%
Disarm Trap – 8%
Set Trap – 10%
Manipulation – 51%
Persuade – 62%
Barter – 37%
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%
I had spent so much time governing that there was virtually no chance for me to advance any of my talents over the last few months. The little I had gained was mostly in See Truth, and the slow trickle of my Manipulation tree. So, I was overjoyed to not only gain a level, but also with the boon I’d received in See Truth.
The ability to cast it twice a day would be really
useful, as I’d often hesitated to use the Spell. Only having it available once a day made me reluctant to spend it too hastily. With its frequency doubled, however, I would feel free to cast the magic much more often.
The quick review of my sheet also reminded me that I had a slew of useful bow talents that I simply couldn’t use with my new Quiver. As powerful as its God-forged arrows were, they would not let me apply my skills to them, and limited me to using only their powers. Admittedly, those powers were quite awesome, but were mostly restricted to dealing direct and almost exclusively deadly damage. So, after closing my UI, I pulled my old Never Ending Quiver of Arrows out and strapped it across my shoulders next to the Quiver of The Elements. Between the two sources of ammunition, I felt that I was ready to handle any situation we might come across.
I had also forgotten about the many traps I’d placed around my residence, but seeing my depleted Aura pool reminded me of all the power I’d been holding in reserve. With the guards that would be stationed in every room while I was gone, I felt confident enough to dismiss nearly all of them, leaving only the one that I’d laid across the grand entrance in place. That one in particular I felt was most important, as it would snare anyone who sought to enter by subterfuge and truly intended to do harm. Once all that I’d forgotten was attended to, I left to have a quick breakfast before conducting my morning interview—after that, I’d finally head off to seek out whatever had slain my people.
My appetite was rather meager, so I only took a few bites before leaving the antechamber and entering my old office, where Talína had been relocated once Rhia had finished hauling all the necessary furniture up the stairs. I smiled as I looked around at the four heavy desks she had to drag in due to her inability to keep her mouth shut. Rhia had become one of my favorites, and I wasn’t sure whether it was because she was unable to contain her thoughts or despite that fact, but I looked forward to the days that she was assigned to my guard detail since I never knew what I might hear slip past her lips.
“Good morning, Empress. Rhone is here for his interview, if you are ready,” Talína greeted me.
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