Chapter Sixteen — Ready Check
My backpack was nearly completely packed with everything I thought I should bring. It didn’t amount to all that much. Some provisions, a few tools, and some extras, but not as much survival gear as I would have wanted to have before setting out for a long trek through an unfamiliar forest.Before anything though, I had some points to assign. Insight and Jumping were both at rank D and had enough experience points-or whatever was used to fill their meters-to rank up. I had a suspicion that skills were not supposed to grow as quickly as mine did. A side effect of using non-combat skills in a fight? Makeshift Weapons Proficiency certainly wasn’t growing quickly.Oh well. I leaned against the headboard of the bed I had picked for myself, a silver spoonful of honey in my mouth. The sweetness helped calm the grumbles in my tummy. Those weren’t helping me think much.I had two general skill points, earned from the Dungeon, and three class skill points. The class skill points were uncommon, but came fairly steadily. The general skills points, if they all required blowing up a dungeon, were not nearly as easy to get.That meant using one on Insight was a big risk. But it might lead to a big reward too. My other options right then were a weapon’s skill and Archeology or any future skill I might or might not obtain.It was worth it, I thought. Insight was handy already. Having it be better seemed like a good idea.Getting Jumping to Rank C, on the other hand, was a choice so brain-dead easy that I didn’t even really need to think about it.JumpingRank C — 00%The Ability to jump. Your reflexes and timing for jumps has increased. You can now jump higher and farther. You may now expend Stamina to increase the power of your jumps.“Oh, shiny,” I said. So Rank C unlocked a secondary ability yet again. Was this a pattern? Two was too few to know. But three results...InsightRank C — 00%The Ability to know something. The knowledge you gain is further increased. You may now expend Mana to discover hidden knowledge.“Oh, now that is beautiful!” I said before rolling off the bed. I rooted around in my backpack while licking at the spoon still in my mouth like a very hard lollipop. Soon, I had a row of objects on the crumpled mattress awaiting inspection.There was the collar from the Dungeon boss, my hat, the soul ring I had found in the next room over, the magic wand I’d been flinging around, and the tea set from Maddy.“Insight!” I said as I pointed at the collar and pushed some mana... somewhere. It somehow felt right to pull it towards my head, which was a little strange, but the information I got spoke for itself.A enchanted Cheshire Cat’s Collar of Rare quality, new. Allows the user to summon a spirit cat once a day.“A what?” I asked aloud before shaking my head. No, that was for later. A glance at my mana status showed that it was down a good ten points. A fair bit, but not too much. I had noticed my magical cleaning costing less and less over time, so maybe that would decrease with experience.Next was my hat.Shelled kettle hat of Uncommon quality, new.“Well, I like it regardless of its quality. It’s fashionable.” I picked up the hat and plopped it onto my head. Only four points of mana this time. A correlation between magical items and plain ones?Bronze ring of Cleared Soul of Uncommon quality, old. Protects the wearer’s soul from minor to mild soul manipulations.I put the ring on in a hurry. “Thank you, mister Ghost,” I said as I felt the ring shift to fit just right on my left middle finger. It was plain, just a rough bronze ring, but a bit of a rub and some cleaning magic and it shone quite prettily.Vibrating Magic Wand of Cure Hysteria of Common quality, old.I tilted my head to the side as I examined the foot long magic stick. It was made of old, smooth wood with a gnarl at one end and some runes or glyphs carved into it. Maybe the owner suffered from hysteria? Was it a common sickness around here? Well, I wasn’t going to throw the wand away. I’d try to sell it if I found anyone interested. In the backpack it went.Enchanted Tea Cup, Uncommon quality, new. Keeps tea warm as long as a small amount of mana is fed into the cup.Enchanted Tea Kettle, Uncommon quality, new. Will boil water rapidly if mana is fed through the handle.Tea! I liked tea, and the set looked fairly robust for what they were. I would still wrap both in cloth when I packed them away. This meant that I could boil water anywhere! Very handy. Maybe I could check my herbology book later for some local plants that made good tea.Smug satisfaction radiating through me, I packed all my stuff away and hiked my backpack onto my shoulders.I had two more stops for the day, then I would be off for real. The storage room that I couldn’t figure out how to enter, and the second tower to the ‘North’ of the city. I was hoping for a nice view of the surroundingsI stuck my head out of the inn before exiting because I was a clever girl and remembered my lessons-especially when I nearly lost my head to learn them-then I hiked over to the storage building.It was as I remembered it. The door was tough, not even shifting when I kicked it. I considered ramming the wall in with a long log or something, but that was just silly. Then I noticed that a few of the roof's tiles had gone missing.No time like the present to test a new skill!Stamina was a resource my class seemed to like. I got a bunch every other level up. I didn’t know if that meant something or not, but it seemed important. I would need to find out if a magic class gave heaps of mana and stuff every level to compare.This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.Licking my lips, I set my backpack down, then tensed the muscles of my thighs and squatted to jump as high as I could. I paused before launching myself into the air as I felt a sort of... question from my own body, a sense of it asking me ‘how much’ that was at once utterly bizarre and somehow completely natural. It was like sitting on my hand for a few minutes then trying to pick my nose.Or something.I noticed my stamina dropping to nearly half a bare moment before I took off.Then I screamed as my leap took me over the lip of the roof and almost sent me flying over the other side of the building. I was lucky, and a foot caught on the very tip of the roof. Then I was unlucky because that arrested my momentum too quickly and I ended up slamming into the roof. I slid down along with a few loose tiles until I crashed unceremoniously on the ground on the opposite side of the building. I barely got my feet under me before going splat.“That,” I said to the open sky. “Was a bad idea.”I groaned as I got to my feet and huffed when I saw that I had just shaved half a dozen points off of my health. No injuries, but maybe I’d get a nice bruise for my silliness.“Nevermind this place. It’s a stupid storeroom anyway,” I muttered as I glared at the building.My next attempt, because I was apparently unable to give up on something once I started, had me using a whole lot less stamina, just enough to land on the very edge of the roof. After that it was all carefully shifting across the top until I gave up and tore some tiles out to peek within.Even with the sun at my back there wasn’t much light to see with. Still, I could make out big boxes, shelves covered in dusty knick knacks and some barrels. Nothing really inspiring.“Dang it, Broccoli,” I said. “Do you really need to sneak into the room just to see what’s in it? You have places to be!”Despite my own protests against myself, I was soon tearing a hole through the roof and jumping down. It was a good thing I was so skinny or else it would’ve been tricky to squeeze in.The storage room was a dusty mess that had my Cleaning skill itching to get to work, but I wanted to save the mana and didn’t want dust all over while I snooped. And I found... nothing. Empty crates, barrels that sounded hollow, rotten remains of sacks that had been chewed through by generations of mice.The door, at least, could be unlocked from the inside. It was the only thing that prevented my pout from being absolutely devastating as I stomped out of the silly storage shack and picked up my backpack with a huff.Spade in hand, I stomped away, not even closing the door behind me to save the next poor idiot like me the trouble of climbing in. It wasn’t fair. The heroine was supposed to find some hidden treasure while looting the last remaining place, it was just good storytelling.But then, this world didn’t work on storytelling rules. Or maybe it did and I wasn’t the heroine.Well, if that was the case I’d find the hero and be their best friend.I reached the last destination I wanted to explore in good time and slowed down to be sure I wasn’t going to be surprised by a wandering ghost. The final tower seemed smaller than its twin, a little thinner on the sides.Not that that was a bad thing. Ancient towers were to be enjoyed regardless of size.The large wooden door at its base creaked open with some prying, revealing a small corridor that led into the walls and a stairwell at the end. A few barrels were sitting around, but some snooping revealed that they only held rotten sticks that might have been torches.The second floor had a row of jail cells, iron bars completely rusted through. There were glyphs on the walls and floor, but I didn’t want to go poking at the symbols inside a cell in case they were meant to hold a prisoner. Accidentally locking myself up in a tower and waiting for some prince to save me was not my style.I climbed up another floor to a small room with a few chairs and a table. Maybe a lounge area for the guards on duty? A breakroom? A ladder in the corner led to a trapdoor in the ceiling. I was a little wary of the rungs of the ladder but they held my weight with only a lot of creaking.The trapdoor required some banging and moving before it finally opened with a squelch, decades of rotting leaves pouring down onto my head and face until I had it completely opened. Cleaning, of course, was the greatest skill and fixed the facefull of rotten leaves with a tiny burst of magic.I clambered out and stood up. The wind was stronger above everything and without the protection of the town’s walls. Still, it meant I had a beautiful view of the surroundings.There were forests all around, but I could see the winding line of a river to the south. The forest continued to the south for a long, long way, a sea of undulating green as far as I could see. The north was a whole lot more interesting. The horizon to my right was dark with a large spot where all the trees seemed almost black. It looked very far away though. To the left was a distant series of plateaus over a lake, or maybe a swamp. I made a note to avoid that because it was mosquito season.Directly in the direction I had dubbed north was a mountain that rose to a flat top as if some giant had smashed it with a hammer. There was a city there. Big enough that I could see it from what must have been half a hundred kilometers away. There were even tiny shapes floating in the sky around it. Airships.I grinned.I had a destination now!
Chapter Seventeen — The Road Untraveled
What was left of the road wasn’t all that great. I suspected that the road had once been compacted dirt with cobbles above it, but nature and time and a complete lack of maintenance had taken their toll. Now that path was torn apart by younger trees, roots, fallen branches and more bushes than you could shake a stick at.There had been a few homes close to the road and some paths leading off into the forest, but they were worn far worse than anything within Threewells and I didn’t think it was worth snooping around them.Navigating through the woods would have been, if not impossible, then at least very hard.So I cheated.“Hup!” I said as I spent a trickle of stamina and burst from one branch to another. I wasn’t using the branches near the top, but instead the much thicker ones by the base of the trees. Fortunately, most of the trees along the road had grown horizontally to catch the sunlight pouring over the path instead of growing upwards and competing with the other trees. It made for much easier travelling.Plus, I got to feel like a ninja.My mood was riding pretty high. The air was fresh, the sun was shining, I got to bounce from tree to tree and I felt like I was making good time for someone that wasn’t too used to travelling through a forest.I paused on my next leap and looked down. Something red had caught my eye off to the side of the road.There was a bush. Well, there were lots of bushes, but this one had big plump red berries growing out between its branches. Big berries that probably didn’t taste like honey.I let myself drop from the branch I was on and landed with a crunch that didn’t carry over the birdsong and the rustle of wind across treetops. I hiked up my backpack to make sure it was on snug and moved over to the bush. A few of the lower berries seemed to be missing, so something was eating them, and a few friendly bees were buzzing around.“Hello, mister Bee,” I told one that buzzed closer to my face. “No worries, I won’t disturb your bee-sness.”I giggled as I used insight on a berry.A red berry.“Wow, thanks,” I said before I tried again with some mana.A red berry, common, fresh.“Wasted skill that one,” I muttered. I set down my backpack, then rooted around until I found the cloth-wrapped book. I hadn’t really read anything out of the herbology book yet, but this seemed like the time for it.I hopped up-because using my Jumping skill as much as I could was not only smart, it was fun-and found a spot to sit on a low hanging branch before cracking open the book. The hand-drawn pictures weren’t coloured, but they were very pretty, and the notes next to them hinted at what colours the flowers and berries and roots within were supposed to be.Flipping through the pages to find berry bushes took a few minutes, but the prize was worth it.Red ChokerberryThese berries, which grow on Red Chokerberry bushes, have a few interesting qualities. Mashed and mixed with sugar it is a perfectly palatable snack and can be used to feed pets and woodland animals. Turned into a paste and left to dry, the berries will darken and if consumed can affect the eater’s respiratory canals. In low doses can assist those with specific breathing problems while exacerbating others.I read the rest of the page, then read through the warnings and preparations that could turn the plant into a poison or a cure for some specific ailments. It was at once interesting and kind of scary. Still, the book said they were safe.Hopping down, I ambled over to the bush and plucked a couple of the juicier looking berries, then popped them into my mouth.They were bitter, but also tangy, like ripe oranges.And they weren’t honey!Ding! For doing a Special Action in line with your Class, you have unlocked the skill: Gardening!“Whut?” I said, bits of red berry juicy spitting out of my mouth. I swallowed. “But all I did was eat berries!” I said. “Delicious, delicious berries.”I brought up the menu for my new skill while I ate more berries.GardeningRank F — 05%The ability to find, identify, and cultivate plantlife.It wasn’t Fireball or Magic Missile or anything that I really wanted, but it could come in handy. Especially if it meant more food!I packed the book away, but placed it near the top of my backpack for easy access. Then I found a cloth and wrapped a few berries for later. It was time to hit the road again.Time passed in a comfortable haze. Other than the occasional jump that I almost missed, there wasn’t much to make the trip exciting. I kept jumping over the road, made sure to keep the distant mountain in sight, and generally fell into a sort of meditative pace where trees passed and time sank away.I saw chipmunks and squirrels and the occasional daring rabbit. There were big paw prints that probably belonged to bears in the mud, and I heard a howl from afar once, but it didn’t worry me too much.The road curved as it climbed up a hill and I found myself without trees to jump from. I landed and stretched a little. My legs weren’t cramping, but they were a little stiff from the constant jumping.The sun was starting to set above, but it was still a few hours until sundown and I still had plenty of time to find a spot to camp.I started hiking, the steep incline of the road harder on my legs than the constant jumping had been. I was going to have great calves by the time my adventure was over.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.Reaching into one of the pockets on the side of my backpack, I pulled out the Cheshire Choker and fiddled with it as I walked.A enchanted Cheshire Cat’s Collar of Rare quality, new. Allows the user to summon a spirit cat once a day.I had mana to spare. I pushed some into the collar and... and nothing happened.Maybe I was supposed to wear it? I wasn’t the kind of girl that wore collars though. I tried wearing it as a bracelet, but that didn’t work.“Stupid Cheshire Cat,” I grumbled as I undid the latch on the collar and placed it around my neck. It fit nice and snug, with the smiling kitty mouth dangling over my sternum. I probably looked quite silly.A bit of focus and some spare mana pushed into the collar and I felt my reserves draining, more and more until they had dropped nearly seventy points in one go.I slowed down as a sparkly cloud formed before me at chest height. It twisted, spun, then was sucked in as if a blackhole had opened up in the world. I felt myself being pulled in, and the ring on my finger grew cold, but nothing changed in the world around me.A popping sounded out from the spot before me, like someone pulling a cork, and a cat appeared. No, not a cat. A kitten. It was a ball of semi-transparent fluff and cuteness that dangled in the air and looked around with the kind of lack of interest that was common among kitties.It took one look at me, then walked through the air in my direction.“I-Insight,” I said before reaching for it.A spirit cat companion, bound to Broccoli Bunch.“Holy granola muffins, I have a kitty summon,” I squealed as I picked the kitty out of the air. It was soft, there and yet not. Like the ghosts I had touched but warm instead of cold. I spun around once, then saw the unamused look the kitty was giving me and hugged it close instead.This was the best day ever.“Oh, you’re a cute little thing aren’t you? Yes you are,” I told the kitty as I rubbed my nose against theirs. I bit of a peek under its tail that earned me a very indignant look and I had solved one small mystery. “Do you have a name, miss kitty?”The kitty made a meowing motion, but no noise.I hummed as I started walking again. “You’re not very noisy, huh?” I asked it. “Okay, then I’ll give you a name! For free!”The kitty started at me, so I cradled it against my chest and started rubbing against her tummy.“How about... hrm, can’t go with the classics here, they don’t have Saturday Morning cartoons. Unless they do. Ah, I know. I’ll call you Orange. Because it’s your colour and it’s a fruit while my name is a veggie and no one can make mean rhymes with your name.”The newly dubbed Orange seemed completely ambivalent to her name.I got to the top of the hill I was walking on and took in the sights before me. The road wasn’t taking a straight path towards the mountain but was veering off towards what I chose to call the West. Towards the swampy areas. I wanted to take a straight path towards the city, but that would have meant trekking through untraced paths.The road might reconnect with another at some point, which might mean people. No one spent as much time building a cobbled road as the one I was on only for it to lead nowhere.Still petting Orange, I tried to take in the whole world out ahead of me, but there wasn’t too much to see. Then I spotted smoke way off in the distance to the West, way too far for me to reach it in a day, but still present. People!Or a random brush fire, but I was hoping for people.“Come on, Orange!” I said as I continued my trek.An hour or two later the woods turned darker and darker and I was beginning to look for a place to rest. Staying out in the open was an option, but not one I was fond of. I soon found a small clearing with a stream running downhill through it. A stone bridge crossed the rocky rivulet, being in the same rough condition as the road running across it. The place sounded nice, the constant flowing murmur of water a sort of quiet lullaby that made it seem nice and peaceful. A good place for a rest.I placed Orange on the ground and watched as she trampled around and sniffed at the grass and stuff around her. I could almost pretend she was a real cat until a bug spooked her and she floated a meter into the air and stayed there.Shaking my head, I let my new friend have her fun and explored a little while I collected branches and whipped at the grass next to the road to make a decently sized clearing. Then I stacked the branches and found some rocks from the edge of the stream. It was like camping again, only without a tent and without parental supervision and with a much greater chance of running into zombie bears at night.Hopefully they were afraid of fire.The sun was setting for real as I sat down on my blanket next to the fire and pulled my herbology book out and started reading through it while eating supper. Supper being more berries and some honey.Orange took a nap hovering a centimeter or two over my chest curled up in a little ball. It felt as if I could unsummon her at will, but keeping her around didn’t seem to cost anything so I enjoyed the company without complaint.I searched for flowers and plants that the book said made for good tea and left leaves in the pages that had good candidates. Then, while a small fire crackled merrily next to me, I let the warmth of the flames and the exhaustion of a long day overwhelm me at last.
