“Hey!” I called out, pounding my fist against the wall. “Mayor Trent, I need to talk to you!”
“Are you ready to go out and hunt for us?” asked an unfamiliar man’s voice on the other end. It was rough and coarse, most likely one of the guards. “The mayor will only talk to you if you’re ready to take some kind of oath.”
“Yes,” I said without hesitation. The lie came so easily that I almost believed I was ready to make some kind of deal. “Go tell him I’ll do what he wants.”
“Stay there,” the voice replied. “And I’m warning you, if you try anything when we open this door, we will put you down.”
Chapter 24
The surge of self-confidence that came along with the increased charisma score was almost intoxicating. I couldn’t believe how easy it was to develop approaches and strategies in conversation, anticipating questions and developing answers in advance. I felt sharp, crafty and ready to win over my opponent with ease. All I needed was for him to actually show up.
I waited ten minutes, leaning against the long wall blocking me off from freedom. I rehearsed my lines silently over and over again, until there came a call on the other side. It was Trent, his voice gruff but shaky.
“My guard tells me that you’re interested in making a deal,” Trent said, his words slightly muffled by the door in between us. “Let’s hear it.”
“Trent,” I said, keeping my voice calm and neutral. “I know why you’re doing all of this. Why you’re trying so hard to get that meat.”
There was silence on the other side. I wasn’t sure if he was still there or not, but I kept speaking, hoping that these mystic insights were actually true. “You’re afraid of what your son is going to have to do when he’s in charge,” I continued. “So you’re trying to make the hardest choices now, so he won’t have to face them later. Including stealing and attacking other villages.”
Still no reply. I heard a slight cough, though, indicating that someone was still on the other end. “You’re on your way out, and while you joke about it, I know you actually mean what you say. And when Higgins is finally put in charge, he’s going to be in a much more desperate position than ever before. So you’re trying to buy him time by becoming the bad guy. You don’t want to threaten and extort us, but if it’ll spare your son the decision, you’re willing to do it, aren’t you?”
“I’ve served this city for 75 years, doing as good a job as anyone could do,” Trent finally said, his voice quaking. “And I never did anyone any harm, unless they brought it upon themselves. I’ve lived a good life. If I have to get my feet a little dirty at the end, to spare Higby from the guilt and the shame, so be it.”
“Exactly!” I said, relieved that my insights were correct. The man’s desperation was driven by a desire to protect his son from the harsh reality of what was to come. “But you’re not really thinking it all the way through.”
“I’m not?”
“No! Listen, there are major repercussions for making enemies out of your neighbors. Repercussions that will last his entire lifetime. You might die tomorrow, or the next week, but our hatred will burn towards you for a long, long time. Until a week ago, we didn’t know each other’s village was even around. Now, we’re at odds with one another. What if, next week, it’s war? Is that what you want to leave your son?”
“We have metal, we would win the war,” Trent muttered, his voice weak and ashamed of his actions. Now that things had slowed down and I was forcing him to hear his plans out loud, he was starting to realize how foolish he had been.
“Maybe. And then you’ll have quite a few human bodies to eat,” I said, pushing a little forcefully. “And that’s the legacy you’re going to leave your son. War. Murder. Cannibalism.”
“And what’s the alternative? Hmmm?” Trent shouted, slamming his fists against the stone, causing it to shake. “We just…we just stop living? I keep exiling people for no other reason than to feed the rest of the people?”
“The alternative is that you stop fighting us. You start working with us. With me.”
“And what do you have to offer? No doubt you’ve had time to stare at that terrible creature in the tapestry. When it arrives, you’re gone,” Trent said. “You won’t convince me to let you out of here for your own sake.”
“Then what about the sake of building a relationship with our village?” I said. “You have the means to dig to us. Rather than bring war, you can bring your tools to help them. We can share our medical supplies and knowledge. We can unite and double our chances of survival.”
There was silence for a long time and, for a moment, I worried that Trent had walked away in anger. “Perhaps our villages could work together,” he mumbled in deep thought. “But…you’re just trying to convince me to let you out. You don’t actually care about what happens to my village. To my people.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” I said. “I do care. Because you’re the same as me. The same as the rest of the people in my village. You’re human. We’re all human and in this together. We found one another, finally, after so many years of isolation. Why can’t we work together?”
“You need food in order to work together,” Trent whispered. “There is no order when stomachs are empty. And when order breaks down, violence comes all the same. Survival takes over. All those things you fear, war, murder and cannibalism, they happen when people get desperate from hunger. I’m standing on the brink of that right now. How can I think about cooperating in this time?”
“Because cooperation is the only thing that will save us from that fate,” I said. “You have to trust me on this. We are stronger together.”
“Stronger together,” the old man repeated. “Then perhaps we can come to an arrangement then. A deal of sorts.”
Perfect! He was now willing to negotiate, that was a very big step to take. “What do you have in mind?” I asked.
“Kill the beast in the apartments,” came the reply. “There were food reserves in those buildings. Specially prepared and preserved goods. We lost a great deal of scouts going in to get the food and, lately, I’ve been thinking about sending more people in. But what if you killed it for us?”
I shook my head, remembering Rashar’s admonition about taking on Ur-beasts. I wasn’t even close to being ready to take on a creature like that. But I’d need to find a compromise in order to get out of this place.
“I cannot,” I said. “Such a beast is not so easily slain; you can thank your imposter for that. But, if you give me a map to where the reserves are, I will retrieve as much as I can for you.”
“One person will not be able to carry enough food for it to be worth the danger,” Trent said. “Making multiple trips would be suicidal.”
“It’s the best that I can offer,” I said.
“It’s not enough,” the man whispered. “We have…oh why must I admit this to you? We have days’ worth of food in our reserves. Days. Half of us are already past two weeks without having had a bite to eat. The meat you gave us was enough to give to the guards, who must be prepared for the unrest that is to come, but…the end is coming soon. Anarchy will tear us apart.”
Those were pained and harsh words; the reality was overwhelming. The old man was practically on the verge of tears, so ashamed of what he had done and what he would be forced to do.
“How much food is in there?” I whispered, my own voice slightly quivering. The thought of those people who had watched me with such curiosity, forced to fight for their own survival, turning on each other in order to live…it was too much.
“Enough to make all of our problems go away,” Trent whispered. “At least, for a few months.”
“If I secure the food, will it mean peace between our villages?”
“Yes,” the mayor said. “I swear on my life.”
“Send for my bow and bring the monster corpse down here,” I ordered. “And have a runner go to my village and bring Dette back here, with my alchemical supplies.”
“You’ll
fight the beast?” Trent asked, his voice surprised that his strategy had worked.
“I might not be able to kill this monster, but maybe I can relocate it. Lure it up to the surface.” Perhaps I could even figure out a way to get the Ur-beast to attack Mulrand. After all, there were points to be gained by luring one creature to kill the other. That food chain bonus I had received fighting that beetle creature had given me some thoughts and maybe now was the time to try out my new theories. After I harvested from the Fylk beast, of course.
“You swear it, on your honor as a Venator, that you’ll get the food?” Trent asked.
“On my honor, I will try as hard as I can to get rid of the Ur-beast,” I swore, both to him and myself. As a Venator, I was supposed to be above the petty and the political. My job was to protect mankind from monsters, all of them, if I could. While Hunter’s Hope needed me to hunt on their behalf, they weren’t the only people that my kind was supposed to protect. I had a duty to everyone. At least, that was what a few Hunter Journals had spoken about.
The door slid open and the old man stood in front of me, his face pained, as if he were expecting me to stab him to death. But I took no cruel or harmful actions. I merely shook the man’s hand. “I’ll have a list of things I need,” I said. “And I expect full cooperation from this village.”
“It’ll be your home until the Ur-beast is gone,” Trent said. “Or until the Dread Beast finds you.”
Chapter 25
With an arrangement met with Trent, it was time for me to begin my work. The underground workshop had a more sophisticated set of alchemical tools, and it took me a few hours of cursing and fumbling to get the alembics and crucibles to function properly.
As I worked, distilling the strange, half-oak half-flesh organs of the Fylk, I noticed that the alchemical tools were beginning to glow. High Quality Laboratory floated above my vision, letting me know that I’d be receiving a 50% yield bonus just because of the tools that I was using.
“Looks like I found my new alchemy bench,” I said, wondering what Dette would think about suddenly being relocated here. I frowned, realizing that I’d be constantly going back and forth between two workshops, one for crafting and the other for alchemy. It would be better to consolidate by moving one to the other. Such a thing would only be possible if tunnels were dug to connect the two territories.
As I pondered who would be moving to where, the distillations began to complete and the total yield of the harvest was calculated in front of me.
Distillation Complete!
Fylk Yield:
Firnin: 0 points
Estoan: 200 points
Kaos: 1 point
Lab Bonus: +50%
Weakness Revealed:
Senseless: The Fylk cannot hear or smell, relying primarily on vision and vibration in order to seek their prey.
Voicebox Parasite: Speech and spellcasting are not done by the Fylk itself, but rather a parasite living within its mouth. Fire attacks to the mouth will kill the parasite, rendering it unable to use magic or speak.
My eyes went wide at the single yield of a Kaos point. Such things were rare to have and I couldn’t even access the Kaos section of the Hunter’s Sight without having one. I felt a jolt of excitement shoot through me as I eagerly focused, looking to see what potions I could make with Kaos.
Kaos Elixirs:
Brewing a Kaos Elixir costs 1 point and takes 8 hours. Consuming the elixir will grant you a permanent class upgrade. You may only do this once. Future Kaos Elixirs will offer new abilities or upgrades in your chosen field.
The Trickster:
Clever and capable, the trickster upgrade improves your natural charisma, gives you the ability to deploy traps quickly and an exclusive Skill Tree.
Stat Bonus: +1 Charisma
Trait: Quick Trap: Small traps can be deployed 90% faster
Skill Bonus: +1 Acrobatics, +1 Trapping
The Ranger:
Stalwart and nimble, the ranger upgrade grants you better dexterity, fleet of foot and an exclusive Skill Tree
Stat Bonus: +1 Dexterity
Trait: Longstrider: Significantly improves running endurance and stamina
Skill Bonus: +1 Ranged Weapons Acrobatics, +1 Navigation
The Assassin:
Stealthy and deadly, selecting the assassin upgrade will give you precise perception, the ability to target vitals and an exclusive Skill Tree.
Stat Bonus: +1 Perception
Trait: Vital Strike: When hidden from a monster, you may disable a targeted weak spot with a successful surprise attack
Skill Bonus: +1 Stealth, +1 Tracking
The Spellbow:
A spellcasting class upgrade, grants you mana, a spellcasting resource that allows you to perform magic.
Stat Bonus: +1 Intelligence
Trait: Magician: Gives you 50 mana and allows for casting Minor Enchantment spells
Skill Bonus: +1 Alchemy
My eyes swept across the options in front of me. I was a little stunned to find that I would be able to continue progressing my class itself. Four subclasses, four different ways of hunting. I had to admit, the one that seemed most practical was the Ranger, but the one that caught my attention the most was the Spellbow. The power to use actual magic…wouldn’t that be interesting? But at the same time, I didn’t know much about the specifics of spellcasting. Perhaps I could look to a journal before I made a decision.
As I checked the other subclasses, I could not help but continue to focus on the Spellbow’s options. Ranger was nice, for sure, but I was already skilled at movement, acrobatics and shooting my bow. Magic would give me some versatility. I glanced at the pendant that was hanging around my neck, the polished wood glistening in the crystal light. Enhancement magic and illusions. I could empower my bow on the spot and could perhaps even trick monsters with false images and sounds.
I probably should have waited, but the curiosity overwhelmed me. Pouring the thick, black ooze from the Kaos vial into a beaker, I grinned. In eight short hours, I’d possess actual magical power.
***
I held the black brew up to one of the crystals, inspecting the murky brown liquid with curiosity. The scent was that of cardamom and burning wood; a curious combination of smells that wasn’t entirely unpleasant. Within this bottle resided the power to become a Spellbow. Brewing hadn’t been too difficult and now it was time for the moment of truth. What secrets did magic hold?
“Bottoms up,” I mumbled to no one as I tilted the bottle back, drinking the lukewarm liquid as quickly as I could. The taste wasn’t as bad as I had been expecting and I was able to finish it off without retching (a plus when it came to potions.)
Immediately, I felt a spark run through my mind, a jolt of energy as if some things were beginning to fall into place. Memories became crystal clear, ideas that were hard to grasp were easily understood, and in an instant I was able to recall almost every medical textbook I had studied over 10 years ago. The images were so clear that I could quickly remember even the most obscure of medical facts.
Boosted intelligence. The potion was working as intended. Spellbow Upgrade Unlocked appeared in front of me. 50 mana added. Minor Enchantment Spells unlocked . Spellbow Skill Tier Unlocked.
I grinned widely as I watched a new tab appear in the Hunter’s Sight. Spells , it read. My stomach fluttered a little, both with excitement and anxiety of what I was about to learn. I really hoped there weren’t intense side effects to spellcasting.
Enchantment Spell List
Minor Enchantment Spells:
Returning Arrows:
Casting Time: Instant
Duration: 1 hour
Mana Cost: 10
Memorization Cost: 50 Estoan
Description: Arrows that miss their target will return to the bow instantly.
Weak Elemental Affinity:
Casting Time: 5 minutes
Duration: 8 hours
Mana Cost: 25
Memorization Cost: 50 Est
oan
Infusion Slot: 1
Description: Grants your Bow the qualities of Lightning, Fire, Water or Earth.
-
Lightning : Weapon attacks faster, causes small jolts of electricity
-
Fire : Weapon deals extra fire damage, will ignite on command
-
Water : Weapon has a higher stun chance, can douse fires
-
Earth : Weapon deals greater knockback, reduces chance of being knocked down.
Summon Quiverling:
Casting Time: 12 Hours
Duration: Until Slain
Mana Cost: 50
Memorization Cost: 50 Estoan
Description: Summons a Quiverling, a tiny creature that rests on your shoulder and hands arrows to you automatically. Quiverlings are semi-autonomous and respond to the thoughts and whims of the caster.
Bow Trick:
Casting Time: 1 minute
Duration: Until Activated
Mana Cost: 10
Memorization Cost: 50 Estoan
Description: Imbues your bow with arcane power to be released later. Can do one of the following actions on your command:
-
Come: Bow appears in your hands, regardless of its distance to you
-
Shoot: Bow will manifest an arrow and fire on its own at a target of your choosing within 20 feet
-
Stab: Bow will become iron short sword for 1 minute
-
Hide: Bow will become invisible for 1 minute.
Force Arrows:
Casting Time: 1 Hour
Duration: 4 hours
Mana Cost: 50
Memorization Cost: 50 Estoan
Description: Bow will create force arrows without needing to be reloaded. Force arrows affect incorporeal, mystic and unarmored monsters the most.
Monster Hunting 101: A LitRPG Fantasy Adventure (Titan Termination) Page 16
