Nascent (The Stork Tower Book 1)

by Tony Corden

  She looked over her shoulder just as another claw darted out to grab her leg. Kicking back with her free leg, she knocked the pincer away. She kicked again and hit the first claw, it shifted a little but ripped her boot and tore into her calf. She kicked again and then finally was able to slip out of the boot. She rolled out of the way just as a spiked tail skewered into the ground where she had been. She kept moving, the spike struck again, grazing her arm. She was now on her back and lashed out with both feet, slamming the spike off to the side.

  Sitting-up, she shuffled backwards away from what she could now see was a huge scorpion. Its eight legs held the carapace at least half a metre above the ground, and its claws had pincers at least half-a-metre long and the segmented tail ended in a venomous spike as big as the pincers. The barb was quivering high above the body on a two-metre-long tail. Leah was terrified but quickly stood. Her foot and arm ached yet she was still able to reach behind and grab the fighting stick from her pack. She had dropped her other stick when the scorpion attacked. The scorpion darted forward, lunging with a pincer, Leah stepped to the side and brought the stick down hard on the top of its eyes, causing it to screech loudly and rear backwards. Unfortunately, Leah’s step brought her weight down hard onto her injured leg, and it buckled. She turned this into a roll and regained her feet several meters away with her back against a rock. She pulled a knife from her belt.

  One of the Scorpion's principal eyes had shattered but the other was fixed on Leah, all the smaller side eyes were still intact. It moved forward, opening and closing its pincers and swaying its spike side to side. She felt herself watching the spike and almost missed the claw which suddenly darted out and made a grab for her leg. She stepped aside just in time, and the pincer threw sparks as it crashed into the rock. With the Scorpion a little off balance, Leah stepped toward it and this time purposely allowed her leg to crumble as she rolled under the spearing spike and came up behind the scorpion. As she moved past, she slashed at one of the joints in the tail and was relieved to see the whole tip become flaccid. As the scorpion turned to face her, she brought the stick around hard aiming for the now unresponsive spike. The scorpion shrieked again and was driven off to one side by the weight of the spike. Dropping her knife, Leah grabbed her other stick and attacked again, slamming the pincers over and over and slashing at the tail. Finally, she had an opportunity, and with one stick she came down hard, driving the pincers into the ground and then ramming the other stick straight into the scorpion’s mouth. With a shudder, it collapsed and went still. Leah stood there for a few seconds before falling to her knees: quietly sobbing. It was several minutes before she was able to gather herself together and stop crying.

  After taking a few deep breaths, she grabbed her water bottle and had a long drink. Gèng said softly, “Have some bread as well. Your stamina is almost empty.”

  “Gèng, please show me my health and stamina. I’ll look at the messages in a minute.”

  Statistics (Available, Capacity)

  Health - 100+(S+C)xPL - (25, 110) HP (Reg 5 HP/min @ Level 1)

  Stamina - 100+(C+A)xPL - (4, 112) SP (Reg 5 SP/min @ Level 1)

  Mana - 100+(W+I)xPL - (104, 104) MP

  Ki - 100+(W+[S+A]/2)xPL - (99, 109) KP (Reg 5 KP/min @ Level 1)

  She grabbed some bread and sat to watch the statistics change with her back against a rock and the scorpion as a backdrop. She ate slowly, chewing deliberately until the bread almost dissolved then swallowing and having another bite. As she ate, her stamina climbed at a faster rate than the other statistics. She sat there until her HP rose over fifty-five. Then she placed her hand on her leg and said, “Let the waters of healing flow”. Again she felt a tingling but this time she saw the mist flow into her leg and the pain began to ease. Her MP plummeted, but her health rose by fifteen. Her statistics now read:

  Statistics (Available, Capacity)

  Health - 100+(S+C)xPL - (70, 110) HP (Reg 5 HP/min @ Level 1)

  Stamina - 100+(C+A)xPL - (100, 112) SP (Reg 5 SP/min @ Level 1)

  Mana - 100+(W+I)xPL - (4, 104) MP

  Ki -100+(W+[S+A]/2)xPL - (109, 109) KP (Reg 5 KP/min @ Level 1)

  “Ok, Let me see the messages now. And please hold them whenever I’m in a fight. I don’t want to be distracted.”

  You have been attacked by a Mountain Scorpion (Level 3)

  A claw is crushing your leg.

  Damage 1: 30 HP (HP 80/110)

  Damage 2: 5 HP/second while being crushed (HP 75/110)

  Damage 3: Your agility is reduced by 5 until your HP is fully restored (SP 107/112, KP (105/109.5)

  Kick (Pincer) causes 4 damage to Mountain Scorpion (296/300)

  Damage: 5 HP/second while being crushed (HP 70/110)

  Kick (Pincer) causes 4 damage to Mountain Scorpion (292/300)

  You have damaged your own leg

  Damage 15 HP (55/110)

  Mountain Scorpion has cut your arm

  Damage 1: 10 HP (HP 45/110)

  Damage 2: Loss of 1HP per second for 30 secs or until healed

  Kick (Tail Spike) causes 8 damage to Mountain Scorpion (284/300)

  Hit (Large Eye, destroyed [1/2]) causes 30 damage to Mountain Scorpion (254/300)

  Knife Slash (Tail, damaged) causes 70 damage to Mountain Scorpion (174/300)

  Hit (Tail, damaged) causes 15 damage to Mountain Scorpion (161/300)

  Hit (Pincer) causes 4 damage to Mountain Scorpion (157/300)

  There followed some twenty further messages all detailing the gradual decline almost HP by HP until the final message:

  Stab (Brain/Death Stroke) (0/300)

  You have killed Level 3 Mountain Scorpion

  Experience Points Received 302 (+0.5%) (552/1000)

  There had been a few other messages about skills gained; she didn’t read them.

  Finally, she stood up and walked over to get her boot. It had a slash in it, but it went back on her foot all right. She walked over and picked up her knife and sticks. The knife went back on her belt, but the sticks were ruined. She’d keep them but doubted they’d last long if she had to use them on anything else. They were all cut up and had deep grooves where they had connected with the claws.

  She was about to move on when Gèng said, “Leah, you should take the loot dropped by the Scorpion. The easiest way is to go over and place your hand on the carapace, and I will harvest everything. Or you could take your knife and do the honours. The forums say you get more doing it yourself.”

  She walked over and laid her hand on the scorpion:

  You have harvested:

  1 Mountain Scorpion Stinger*

  2 Vials of Mountain Scorpion Venom

  1 Mountain Scorpion Carapace*

  2 Mountain Scorpion Claws*

  * Note: A skilled Smith may be able to use these items.

  The battle had only lasted a few minutes, but it had taken Leah almost twenty minutes to recover. She stood slowly and then continued up the mountain. Her eyes were searching as she looked for danger and another straight branch or two.

  An hour later and Leah had left the rocky ridge behind and was scrambling up a moderately steep rock face. Although there were sufficient handholds, the surface was slightly damp and therefore somewhat slippery. She was making her way beside a small series of waterfalls. They were only a few hands-breadth in width but released a fine spray which covered the surrounding rock. At the top of the rock face, if her reckoning were correct, there would be a small alpine meadow which accessed the next part of the climb. She had seen the path when at the base of the mountain but had lost sight for a while travelling along the ridge; she hoped she hadn't made a mistake. She had four more branches stored in her backpack: she needed her hands to climb. Two of the sticks were slightly longer, and she had whittled them into sharp points.

  She was almost halfway up the rock face when she came to a small ledge just wide enough to stand on. She turned and pressed her back into the rock face and looked out over the valley. She could see First Bridge and the
forest. She tried to make out more distant details but was only sure of the Beyaz River as it exited the forest on its way toward a far distant sea. She thought for a moment of her grandfather who had often told her the family poem.

  Along the mountains sink the last rays of sun,

  Towards the sea, the Yellow River does forward go.

  If you would fain command a thousand miles in view,

  To a higher storey, you are expected to go.

  The higher you climbed, the further you went, the more you could see, the more you could do. Now here Leah was, hanging on a mountain and looking farther than she ever had before. She stood there for several minutes before turning to finish the climb. As Leah turned, she noticed the ledge she was standing on continued along the rock face almost like a trail. She hesitated, should she look, or was it too dangerous? Leah had read only a small amount about the game but one thing she did remember, ‘you had to follow the leads’. The ‘game’ helped by pointing toward new experiences and treasure but it never forced you down a particular path. If she wanted to succeed here, then she had to face the challenges, and maybe even more importantly she had to search for them.

  She reached behind and grabbed two sticks and carefully made her way along the ledge. She’d travelled only a short distance when a narrow crevice appeared in the rock wall, the trail leading into it. The fissure was barely wide enough for her to squeeze through sideways. She slowly inched her way in, keeping one arm extended and the stick moving up and down in case something was waiting. The gap soon opened, and she was able to walk normally along the passage that was now a little wider than her shoulders. She was thankful for her elven night vision as she peered into the tunnel ahead. After about 100 meters she saw what could only be a shining portal.

  “Gèng, any suggestions?”

  “I do not have enough information to make a suggestion. You might take the advice however of your grandfather, ‘step up and look out!’”

  Leah smiled and stepped through the portal. On the other side a message shimmered into existence:

  Level 3 Dungeon Achievement: First 1 (1, Ruby)

  Atherleah (Level 1), you have discovered a hidden Level 3 Area: Orumeck's Cavern

  You are the first player to access this area. This is your first, 'First 1 (Ruby)' achievement.

  Reward 1: 1000 x 1 = 1005 (+0.5%) Experience Points (1000/1000)(557/2000)

  Reward 2: + 2% to all future Experience

  Reward 3: 1 x 1 Platinum = 1 Platinum

  Reward 4: Increased probability of valuable drop. Luck is increased by 5 whenever you are in this Cavern. During your first time in the Cavern, the probability of all drops is increased to 0.5.

  Fame: 500 Fame Points (525)

  A Commemorative Plaque has been placed in your bag.

  Note: This achievement will be published on the Dunyanin achievement forum. Do you wish to retain your privacy?

  [Yes] [No]

  “Yes.”

  Personal Achievement: You have reached Level 2

  You require 1443 Experience Points to reach Level 3

  You have an additional 5 Character points to distribute.

  You have an additional 1 Skill/Spell point to distribute.

  Looking around Leah saw nothing to indicate she was in danger and decided to distribute the points immediately. Her hits on the scorpion had been almost negligible in effect, so she knew she needed to add to strength. On the other hand, she only won because of her ability to dodge the attacks. In the end, she added two points to Strength and one point each to Constitution, Agility, and Wisdom. She used the skill/spell point to increase the level of the healing spell.

  ATHERLEAH (Level 2) (557/2000) (+2.5%)

  Characteristics - Points Total, (Assigned, Racial, Location) 0 Undistributed

  Strength (S) - 7 (7)

  Constitution (C) - 6 (6)

  Agility (A) - 8 (6, 2)

  Wisdom (W) - 4 (2, 2)

  Intelligence (I) - 1 (1)

  Luck (L) - 8 (3, 0, 5)

  Statistics (Available, Capacity)

  Health - 100+(S+C)xPL - (126, 126)HP

  Stamina - 100+(C+A)xPL - (128, 128) SP

  Mana - 100+(W+I)xPL - (110, 110) MP

  Ki -100+(W+[S+A]/2)xPL - (123, 123) KP

  “So, who or what is Orumeck?”

  “There are multiple references in the forums to ‘Orumeck’: he is considered to be an evil Mage. There are already references to this Cavern being discovered near First Bridge. The topic already has 6,243 views.”

  Leah looked around again, this time trying to take it all in. She was in a small alcove within what appeared to be a medium-sized cave. Numerous lichen grew on the wall and gave off a dim, patchy light. Glancing behind, she saw the portal had disappeared. She had no choice now but to move ahead. Leah stepped warily out of the alcove and advanced deeper into the cave. She noticed a slight shimmer in the darkness just in front of her. Stopping, she brought a stick forward and gently swiped it in front of her. The shimmer, Leah discovered, was the remnants of an old spider web attached to the roof. She very carefully moved forward, gently clearing ahead before each step. Hearing a sound like dry leaves blowing across tiles, Leah slowly turned around to see a huge spider creeping slowly toward her. Its abdomen was an intense purple the size of a beach ball. It had thick, hairy, meter long dark legs with bands of red and orange, each leg ending in a sharp serrated spike. She knew it was watching her although it was hard to tell as swirling violet filled all eight eyes.

  “What is this thing?” she asked Gèng silently.

  A small title appeared above the spider with a full purple bar.

  Orumeck’s Worker Drone (Level 3) 300HP 250EP

  “The bar represents its HP” Gèng shared.

  Leah slowly edged to the side, but the spider scratched around to follow her. She could see several drops slowly forming on the end of its fangs. Each fang was twenty centimetres in length and curved down from just below the eyes. The spider edged forward slowly. Leah held one of the short spears in her right hand and a regular fighting stick in her left. She raised her left hand slightly, prepared to block and brought her right hand back for a thrusting attack. The spider slowly lifted its front legs off the ground, raising its fangs to attack. Beneath the fangs, she saw an open mouth with two lower fangs. The spider was resting on six legs and its abdomen, the rear four legs shifting backwards slowly, preparing to spring forward. Jimmy Loo’s trainers had always told her to concentrate on the whole opponent, not eye, not muscles but to see it all. She breathed deeply, calming herself. The attack was going to be fast, like most real fights. As she calmed, she felt her body quiver slightly. Though before she could try and make sense of the feeling the spider lunged forward, driving its frontal leg spikes at her and bringing its fangs forward and down. Leah exploded to the left using the stick to press the spearing leg down and away from her body. Simultaneously she turned side-on and thrust her right arm forward to drive the spear deep into the mouth and through into the abdomen. The spider collapsed, its momentum knocking her over.

  As they fell, the spider’s legs began to curl inward. Leah was stunned in the fall, and it took several moments before she was able to move. She was lying on her left side with the spider draped across her legs. One of the fangs had pierced her thigh, and several of the curled legs held her tightly around her knees, the pain was agonising. The bar above the spider’s head was now empty. She reached behind her neck and grabbing the hidden knife severed the fang and several of the spider’s legs. She rolled out from under the spider and gingerly removed the fang from her leg, tears streaming down her face.

  “How's my health?”

  “Fifty-five and slowly dropping, most likely from the venom.”

  Leah cast Healing on her leg and breathed deeply with relief as the pain eased.

  “I can't deal with all those messages again. Just summarise what happened?”

  “I think you should read some of them as just before you attacked you
apparently did something to activate your Ki. That, when added to the critical attack destroyed the spider with one hit. You were hurt by the penetrating fang and venom. You received 256 Experience Points.”

  “Let’s harvest the spider and then I’ll look at the Ki message.”

  You have harvested:

  1 Vial of Orumeck’s Worker Drone Venom

  1 Orumeck’s Worker Drone Fangs*

  3 Orumeck’s Worker Drone Serrated Spikes*

  * Note: A skilled Smith may be able to use these items.

  You’ve used a new active skill: Ki Attack (Novice Level 1)

  Current Skill Level: Novice Level 1

  You have activated your Ki for use in Attack. It is vital when seeking to activate your Ki automatically that you be both calm and focused. This is measurable by an analysis of your brain activity and your simulated rate of respiration. Alternatively, you may activate your Ki manually by saying ‘Ki Attack’.

  Cost Automatic Activation (Novice) : (Your Level) KP/sec

  Cost Manual Activation (Novice): ((10 / Ki Level) x Your Level) KP/sec

  Effect: At Novice level 1 you will receive a 10% increase to the base damage of a given move.

  Please note that this is both a freeform and a manually activated skill. Your repeated freeform use will modify its success rate. For more information on activation and use, please read the detailed explanation.

  Do you wish to receive further notifications concerning this skill?

  [Yes] [No]

  “No.”

  Leah sat for a while and considered the best way to deal with the spiders. She needed some way to attack from a distance, from above or from behind. Leah wasn’t keen on being impaled on any of the spikes. From her bag, she removed one of the spider’s leg spikes. Using her knife to split one end of the longest stick, Leah inserted a spider spike into the groove and tied it with a strip of cloth cut from the canvas sheet Goll had given her. She was ready to hunt spiders. As she put away the cloth, she noticed the scorpion venom. Carefully she opened a vial and put a drop on the end of the new spear. “Let’s see how they like it,” she thought.