Beastborne

by James T Callum

  They were following a river as it bent toward the south through the wide-open fields that didn’t seem to have a name. Not even Hal’s magical map was able to tell what the area was. The river bent around the southern leg of the Barrier Peaks. A place that Angram assured him was a narrow pass into the Shiverglades, though from their camp he couldn’t tell.

  “One more day,” Angram said, looking southward with a nod.

  58

  Empowered by Convergence, Hal quick-stepped to the side, narrowly avoiding Mira’s countering thrust. The elven Dragoon choked up on the handle of her wooden spear and pivoted faster than Hal had ever seen her move before.

  With a twist of her hips and a levering force on the pole, she had Hal in her sights again. Hal brought his sword up and around in a wide arcing swing to bat the spear out wide but he was slower than Mira’s thrust. He only managed to make it a non-lethal blow.

  But he was learning, and that was this was all about.

  His shoulder throbbed with pain as the blunted tip jabbed him. Mira retracted again and set her feet wide to lunge even deeper but Hal grimaced through the pain and stepped within her reach.

  Lacking the time or proper coordination of a skilled swordsman, Hal got in close and headbutted Mira hard. She was a little taller than Hal but not enough to make a difference.

  The elf staggered back, her long hair flopped to the side of her face covering one eye. With a jerk of her head, she put her hair back in place with a bloodied grin. “Good!” she cheered.

  Hal recognized the sudden shift in demeanor and was already trying to get out of range. But Mira was too fast. Even with his Convergence assisted movements, the Dragoon was a force to be reckoned with.

  Out swept her spear at an awkward angle that never would hit him. At the last moment, Hal saw it for what it was. A trap. She swept the spear out wide, meaning to herd him into place. Just as she pulled the spear back to pen him in, Hal dropped to the ground and rolled back out of range.

  But he was slower than Mira and the woman was keen on getting some payback. She lunged forward, stabbing down at Hal but missed with enough force to bury the blunt side of her spear into the earth nearly a foot.

  Hal got up and before she could extricate the spear, came around in a sweeping horizontal cut at her neck. At the last second, he pulled the wooden blade and rested it gently on her shoulder.

  Mira glared at him a moment then lit up with appreciation. “Well dang, dude.”

  There was honest kindness in her violet eyes. With a savage tug, she pulled the spear from the ground. Hal held out a hand for the spear as he removed the blade from atop her shoulder.

  A look of confusion crossed her face before she realized what he was doing. This was the first time Hal ever beat her in a sparring match. His body was mostly covered in bruises and minor scrapes from the past week of constant training.

  Hal swiped away at the training complete notification, he’d deal with that when he could sit down. His legs felt like sacks of sand.

  Together, the unlikely pair struck up an arrangement that suited them both. Mira, skilled as any with a polearm, would spar with him - using only wooden, blunted weapons so nobody took any real damage - in exchange for Hal teaching her Bonecrafting.

  Taking her spear, Hal walked over to a small Guild Chest and deposited them within. It was the duty of the bout’s victor to clean up and get something to eat. If either of them were hurt, it was also their role to make sure they were taken care of.

  Ten minutes later, Mira and Hal were shoveling a bowl of [Koblin Stew] - surprisingly good considering it was vegetarian - into their mouths and discussing the latest match.

  “If I had my Dragoon powers I would have stomped you,” Mira said, as was often her refrain.

  “I still don’t think it’s fair that I’m allowed to use my Convergence ability,” Hal countered, as was his usual rebuttal.

  Mira snagged the last of their shared bread and scoured the bowl clean with the heel of the crusty loaf. Around a mouthful of food she said, “Yeah, we already tried that. You’re slower than my grandma. And she’s dead.

  “Besides,” she added once she swallowed another bite, “are you ever going to go into a battle without using that? I mean you’re like three or four times faster than you usually are with that. At least. Why would you ever give that up?”

  Hal conceded the point with a nod. He remembered well enough the sound beating he got when he tried to “level the playing field.”

  It had been one step too far, he realized. And only then did he come to understand just how much he relied on his Beast Magic.

  Maybe that was why he felt like he was stagnating lately. He wasn’t doing much to improve Beastborne or his Beast Magic. The few creatures that came at the caravan were usually dispatched before Hal ever heard of them.

  The dwarves may have once allowed him the honor of dealing with threats first, but after they joined the Guild they became protective. They wouldn’t stop him from fighting but they also wouldn’t hold themselves back from a scrap. The closer they came to the Shiverglades - and especially after the events of the Glimmerwood - the more aggressive the dwarves were about protecting the caravan.

  Those rare times he managed to be part of a few kills, it was more in a role of assistance than leading the charge.

  That’s the problem with a large defensive group, Hal thought. While they allow me to focus on other matters and defend the Guild as a whole I don’t get as much experience.

  It was only a problem he would need to worry about for a short time, he tried to remind himself. They weren’t going to be on the road forever. And when they finally made a Settlement, Hal would be one of the first to go exploring for new materials and resources.

  He would have to work hard to make sure nobody thought he was going to turn into some idle leader that delegated all his tasks. Hal wanted to get his hands dirty, he wanted to be on the front-lines.

  Making sure that he established that early on was of paramount importance. He didn’t want to be like Luda, where everybody tried to protect her and shelter her from the world.

  “Yo, Hal! I’m talking to you,” Mira said, flicking her finger against his forehead and pulling him - rather painfully - from his thoughts.

  “Ow!” Hal rubbed his forehead, snapping back to reality and looking up at Mira. “What? Oh. Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking.”

  “About Luda, or about Noth?” she said, waggling her eyebrows suggestively. “Don’t try to act like you haven’t been playing the field a little. Though, to be honest I thought you’d be into Ashera. She definitely has a soft spot for you.”

  Hal was glad for the dim light of the descending darkness that fell upon the caravan. He ducked his head and regarded the last few spoonfuls of his [Koblin Stew]. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

  “Don’t give me that,” Mira said, leaning back and - as usual - kicking her boots up onto the table. The dinnerware rattled but nothing spilled more than usual. “I’ve seen you sneaking off at night with Noth and Luda. Though I didn’t think you liked ‘em that young. Still not sure how I feel about that.”

  Hal colored deeply and looked up at her. “It’s not like that, not with Luda. She just wants somebody to talk to. The girl’s lonely, Mira. We’re the closest people to her in terms of age in the entire caravan and our group and hers couldn’t be more different.”

  “Aha, so you admit you got a thing for Noth,” Mira said, keeping on track.

  “You’re like a dog with a bone,” Hal said, shaking his head and finishing his bowl. “And Ashera doesn’t like me. We’re friends.”

  Mira’s answering snicker was anything but convinced. “Yeah, all right. So, you and Noth huh?” She leaned back a bit more, balancing her chair on two legs and lacing her hands behind her head. “Why haven’t you ever asked me out on one of your ‘evening strolls’, eh?”

  Hal bit back the snide retort he had at the ready and instead said, “You’re too much for me to handle.”
It was the most diplomatic way he could put it.

  In truth, Mira was somewhat terrifying. And there was still the question of her unusual vernacular and surprisingly modern - by Earth’s standards anyway - word choice.

  If Mira suspected anything, she didn’t let it show on her tan elvish features. She nodded as if she never would have expected anything less. “Besides, as much as I’m sure your… tentacle bones are totally cool and - not gonna lie - frightening in a fight, they give me the heebs. That and, well you know. The other thing.”

  Hal tried to stay resolute in face of her smug smile. She was baiting him, obviously so and he wasn’t about to fall for it. But as the seconds wore on and Mira’s smug expression only deepened, Hal’s willpower began to falter.

  It wasn’t so much that he wanted to know, it was the way Mira said it. As if she had some secret Hal didn’t know about. Which, she very well might, but that was beside the point.

  She wanted him to ask.

  I can’t believe I’m going to fall for this. Again. With a deep, soul-weary sigh, Hal asked, “What ‘other thing’?”

  Mira pulled her feet from the table in a flash and leaned in, placing her elbows on the tabletop and inviting Hal to get closer.

  I’m going to regret this.

  Leaning forward, Hal turned his questioning expression on Mira who was clearly enjoying the drawn-out attention.

  “I like ‘em thicc. That’s t-h-i-c-c. Two c’s, Hal. That’s how thicc I like ‘em. And while you’re a handsome sort, you ain’t got that cake.” Her violet eyes roamed one of the nearby dwarves and she gave the dwarf a lewd and suggestive look.

  One, to Hal’s mounting horror, the dwarf returned.

  59

  Suddenly serious, Mira turned her attention back to Hal. “So,” she said, and her tone drew Hal’s attention back to her and away from the receding dwarf who continually looked over his shoulder at Mira. “Luda’s lonely?”

  “Don’t start with that again,” Hal warned, but judging by the look on Mira’s face, he didn’t think that was where she was headed.

  “Are her ‘disciples’ or whatever they’re called, treating her poorly?”

  “Not really,” Hal answered. “The opposite, if anything. They revere her and seem to think that she needs protecting and care above all else. The world is filled with wondrous sights and adventure at every turn. I’ve not even been on Aldim for half a year and already I’ve learned more and experienced more than the last twenty-plus years of my life.”

  Mira nodded, lacing her long fingers together and cradling her chin upon them. “I get you. You should invite her to spar with us.”

  That made Hal raise his brow. “Are you sure that wouldn’t have the opposite effect and make her want to leave?”

  The shrug from Mira was telling. If it did, that meant Luda wasn’t serious about wanting to get stronger or being able to fend for herself. As she so often expressed as her desire.

  If instead, she wanted to join in then it would give her the opportunity to properly train herself. It would allow her to see first hand how fighting actually is. Not the romanticized version she may be thinking of. Though, Hal realized she probably understood the realities of battle all too well.

  “I’ll let her know,” Hal agreed.

  “Good,” Mira said, surging her feet suddenly. “Now, I’m going to get cleaned up. Which, around here means dunking my head in a barrel of water because we’re all a bunch of dang heathens ‘roughing it’.”

  She rounded on Hal, pointing accusingly at him. “I don’t give two pobul farts if my new home is a shack with only three walls. But heaven help you Hal, if I don’t have indoor plumbing. When I get back, you’ll hold up your end of the bargain?”

  “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

  With a snort, Mira left him in peace to similarly get cleaned up and deal with his notifications. That, and he needed to set up the table with Mira’s latest Bonecrafting supplies. Hal took a look at his nagging notifications while he set everything up.

  Training Complete: +500 Experience Points.

  Your Sword Skill has risen to Level 20.

  +1% Sword damage (+20%).

  -0.25% Sword durability loss (-5.0%).

  +5% Sword armor penetration (+10%).

  You learn Goring Blade.

  Goring Blade

  Sunder your enemy's defenses, breaking through and dealing severe bodily harm. Inflicts gored status on the target if more than one point of damage is dealt.

  If no damage is dealt, armor durability is reduced by 18%.

  Gored Status: Suffering deep wounds, resulting in doubled bleed duration and damage.

  Cost: 120 Stamina

  You have 1 Sword Skill Perk point awaiting assignment.

  Mastery 0/5

  By gaining mastery over your weapon, you increase your damage and unlock more damaging weapon skills. Most of which require a level of mastery to attain.

  Lv1: +5% Sword Damage | -1% Stamina Drain

  Lv2: +7.5% Sword Damage | -1.5% Stamina Drain

  Lv3: +10% Sword Damage | -2% Stamina Drain | -10% Weapon Skill Stamina Cost.

  Lv4: +15% Sword Damage | -3% Stamina Drain | -12% Weapon Skill Stamina Cost.

  Lv5: +25% Sword Damage | -5% Stamina Drain | -15% Weapon Skill Stamina Cost.

  Cruel Blade 1/5

  You learn how to better bleed out an enemy, forcing them to take extra damage. Each strike you land has a higher chance to inflict the bleed status affliction. An enemy under Cruel Blade's bleed affliction takes standard bleed damage for the duration of the effect. Upon the end of the affliction, the enemy takes additional damage equal to a portion of the bleed damage suffered.

  Lv1: +20% Bleed Chance (10s) | 15% of total Bleed damage once the effect ends.

  Lv2: +30% Bleed Chance (15s) | 20% of total Bleed damage once the effect ends.

  Lv3: +40% Bleed Chance (20s) | 25% of total Bleed damage once the effect ends.

  Lv4: +55% Bleed Chance (25s) | 35% of total Bleed damage once the effect ends.

  Lv5: +75% Bleed Chance (30s) | 50% of total Bleed damage once the effect ends.

  Blood of My Enemies 0/5

  Each successful kill grants a temporary 5% Damage Boost for the next 10 seconds. Effect stacks.

  Lv1: +5% Damage (10s).

  Lv2: +7.5% Damage (10s).

  Lv3: +7.5% Damage (15s).

  Lv4: +10% Damage (15s).

  Lv5: +10% Damage (20s).

  Your Parry Skill has risen to Level 9.

  +1% Parry success (+9%).

  -1% Stamina cost (-9%).

  It wasn’t much of a choice. Considering his latest weaponskill, Hal’s use of Cruel Blade would be even more effective. While Hal laid out Mira’s workpieces, he picked up the second Level of Cruel Blade.

  With the synergistic effect of Goring Blade, Hal would effectively quadruple the damage from Cruel Blade’s bleed effect.

  Something that, as his Beast Magic continued to grow and improve, he felt was falling behind in terms of both utility and strength. Why get close to an enemy and risk harm when he could keep at range?

  With Convergence, he was able to get in and out of that deadly close-range easier. At the same time, Convergence would allow him to hit harder if he timed it right.

  Altogether, he was rounding out his abilities, shoring up his weaknesses instead of fully relying on his strengths alone. He was determined not to be a “glass cannon.”

  While Convergence regrettably couldn’t bolster his VIT, it did allow him to dramatically increase his other physical stats. With proper application, he could significantly boost any stat.

  In practice, it was like trying to hold two or three conversations in tandem. Add in spellcasting and the whole thing fell apart which would leave him suddenly much slower and less nimble.

  For the first time since they left the Mirrorlands, Hal felt the absence of pain.

  Having higher HP gave him yet another resource to pull from for Assimilation. Moreove
r, with more HP he could use Assimilation for both SP and MP. Converting to HP was by far the most inefficient of the three, and the longer he could hold off on healing himself, the better.

  And while there was merit in killing something faster so it dealt less damage, that didn’t hold up much in practice. Not only because with lower VIT everything hurt more, but because a single attack that he could take now would have knocked him out cold before.

  Even his sparring would have been much less effective without the recent gains in VIT. While VIT didn’t appear to directly reduce incoming damage, it did have an interesting effect on minor damage.

  It was all about the percentage of total damage. If a person sustained 10% of their total HP, that would be most certainly be a wound or even an injury. If Hal’s HP was 100, taking 5 damage would be keenly felt even if it didn’t break something.

  Taking 5 damage at 500 to 600 HP was an entirely different story. It still hurt, but he was able to shrug off the blows with little more than a bruise later. And at his regeneration, the minor loss of HP was healed in minutes.

  The biggest difference was the pain. At 100 HP that 5 damage would really hurt, enough that it would interrupt anybody’s focus. But at Hal’s HP, it was easy to shrug off.

  While STR increased his muscle mass and definition, VIT gave him a healthy appearance. Hal looked much more physically built than he had a month ago. In fact, he largely didn’t recognize himself the few times he caught a glimpse of his longer hair and healthier features in a mirror or reflective crystal.

  He may not be as chiseled as a dwarf, but he was far more built than most men back on Earth, barring professional bodybuilders. He didn’t want watermelons for biceps, not that such a thing seemed possible even on Aldim.

  There were dwarves among the caravan that could literally benchpress a wagon. Their arms, while nearly double the size of Hal’s, weren’t colossal by any means. Certainly smaller than several bodybuilders he knew about back home.