A Record of Ash & Ruin: The Grieving Lands

Book 2: Chapter 8: A Chance Encounter

The words on their tongues are not always the thoughts behind their eyes.

- Attributed to the playwright Vlan di Panoli.

Golds and browns were in full riot across the boughs of the trees in this part of the forest, coloring the leaves with the last warmth of summer. The weather had grown cool and crisp with the changing of the season, the loamy scent of the woodland filling the air. Here and there, either Elwin or Kidu would point out a fruit, nut, or edible herb and, as a party, we would stop to gather some.

One of the fruits, which I was told was called a Sasan, tasted sweet and tart at the same time. I swore I tasted an end note of aniseed as I gobbled one down. Sasan was not as delectable as Snap-Honey, but it came in at a very close second. Elwin informed me that people near woodlands on this continent would gather the berries and make an aromatic pie at the turning of the season.

The animals of the forest, too, were busy with gathering food. Here and there, small creatures of feather, fur, and scale competed with one another to stock their larders or put on enough fat for the coming winter. The larger denizens of the forest were also out and about. More than once or twice, Kidu had us skirt around the spoor of what he considered to be a wild creature that was best left undisturbed.

Checking over my Status in the corner of my vision, I was pleased to note that I was in good condition. I could have done with a bit more Mana, but thanks to my Mana Regeneration skill I had gained a few points passively without having to rest.

Health283/283 Stamina57/62 Mana7/15

I considered using the Drain spell but concluded that the Mana gained would be far less than the Mana expended when used on lesser organisms.

What would happen if I used the spell on my companions? Could I Drain them of their Mana and Health? Would using a Heal spell on them later to repair the damage result in a net gain? After all, it was not like they had any use for their Mana. It was certainly a line of thought worth pursuing at a later date, albeit with my companions’ permission of course.

The forest was beginning to thin now, the undergrowth becoming more sparse as we pushed on. The beast trail that we were following was slowly evolving into a muddy path. In the far distance, I could see the city of tents, Ansan, growing ever closer.

Then, suddenly, it happened. The sounds of the forest stilled for a moment before a bush arose in front of me to form the shape of a man. The cool rasp of drawn steel rang in the air, as blades were removed from their scabbards.

“Hold up there, friends,” the man said, his voice cultured and at odds with his rough appearance. He removed the hood that hid his features with his left hand, revealing a weaselly face. His other hand held a war cleaver with a wicked serrated single-edged blade. He was clothed in what I could only describe as a proto-ghillie suit, with odd bits of the local vegetation attached to dark brown gambesons that made him resemble nothing more than innocent plant life. Around us, similarly clad men popped up like new and unwelcome growths.

Glancing at my companions, I saw that Kidu and Elwin looked completely stupefied, having been completely taken unawares. Quickly trying to assess the threat we were facing, I looked around. My eyes darted this way and that as I hurriedly equipped my shield from my back. We were surrounded by five men in total, that I could see, perhaps more in hiding.

This was the second time my group had been ambushed and I could feel a swelling frustration that was swiftly growing into a rumbling adrenalin fuelled anger. This would not be a repeat of my encounter with the elves.

Unlike the elves, this group did not exude an air of tangible menace. By their dress and demeanor, I surmised this group to be the common garden variety of bandits. Just out of the forced and scripted slavery stage, and with the open world of the game now available to me, I was a little disappointed to already be facing such a cliche ‘fantasy’ enemy.

The enemy began to encircle us and one of the men, equipped with a staff and displaying obscenely obese girth, whispered into the leader’s ear. Seeking a measure of my foes, I hastily cast an Identify at their exchanged words. I was fully prepared to do whatever it took to live. These common garden variety bandits would not find my group easy prey.

“...take alive…” was all the meaning I could glean with my spell before the portly man waved his fingers in my direction causing me to lose control of magical energy.

“None of that,” the fat man wheezed, turning his beady eyes towards me as he smiled.

The bastard had interrupted my cast with a ruddy counterspell or similar skill. Still, the spell was not at a total loss, as the words ‘take alive’ were revealed to me… Meaning that this group had to fight within certain constraints. We, on the other hand, were under no such restrictions.

“Now, now there is no need for this to be any more difficult than it needs to be. It is just like the dream! Providence, after all,” the obese man exclaimed between labored breaths, “As expected from her Champion, you have some gift with the Control… untrained though. Ahh, forgive my manners. My name is Amon Vanes, Priest of the Church.”

My mind was confused by Amon’s rambling words. Champion? Divine will? As these thoughts ran rampant in my mind, Amon continued, “I will, of course, have you all put your weapons down and come with us peacefully. Peacefully…”

“Wait!” I half shouted, my stomach turning to lead as a sinking feeling overcame me, “You come on behalf of the goddess Avaria?” I questioned, tamping down long-suppressed memories.

Amon visibly blanched as I used the goddess’s name, and his left eye ticked in annoyance, “Yes, yes of course. She chose me to deliver you unto her loving and caring bosom. Be not afeared, for you are her chosen, and all of us here will be but your humble escorts,” he delivered, the lie obvious in his oily tone.

I pretended to be at ease, lowering my weapons a fraction, even as cold rage boiled inside me. Sneaking a glance at Kidu and Elwin, I feigned compliance and surreptitiously took a step forward.

Hurriedly, I tried to take stock of the situation. On the face of things, these people were technically on my side. Perhaps there was a way to talk myself out of this situation, even recruit these people to my cause. On the other hand, I had a pitiable Charisma, so I doubted that going down that road would be the wisest move. Also, did I even want to go through the hassle of negotiating with such obviously low-level scum? If I could do something about Amon‘s magic, the rest should fall like dominos. Sometimes the simplest solutions were always the best, and in this case, probably more rewarding in terms of experience. I hoped that my companions would follow my initiative.

“Where are you planning on taking us?” I asked, doing my best to keep my voice calm, and even.

“Why, to the holy city of…” replied Vanes cordially, seeing that I was receptive.

As he was finishing his sentence, I moved another half-step forward, lowering my weapons close to the ground as if relinquishing them. I was just a few steps out of measure now. There was only one way to deal with the threat of violence. Real violence. Taking the initiative, I rushed at the bandit leader with a snarl. Kidu, drawn in my wake, started to engage the bandits to the side with his serpent-swift spear.

Even through the rush of my charge, I saw that all of the ambushers, except the leader, had various blunt instruments and nets, confirming the leader’s words that they were here to capture us. This meant that they would have to take care in how they engaged us. For some reason, these men wanted us alive. The thought that they wanted to possibly make us slaves once more gave strength to my resolve as I closed the distance.

Channeling the internal energy of my own body, I swung out at their leader with the edge of my shield. The sensation was much akin to using a Power Strike, but subtly different.

You have learned Shield Bash (lvl.1)

The notification crossed the bottom of my vision and I dismissed it.

Snarling guttural invectives at me, he dodged my blow and drew his weapon in a single motion before swinging the war cleaver in a swift counterattack.

I raised my kite shield in defense, angling my shield, more to deflect the leader's weapon than to absorb the blow outright.

I was still a novice at the art of war and made a fool’s mistake. My own shield blocked my vision as I raised it high to intercept the oncoming blade. Had I known better, I would have launched an attack of my own to make up for my temporary blindness, instead of taking turns at defense and attack.

The heavy blade crashed against my shield and caused a shock to go down my arm from the impact. Upon deducing that he was fighting a beginner, the bandit leader charged in and placed his forward leg behind my rear leg, and pushed me to the ground. The world changed angles as I crashed onto the soft forest floor. Looking up, I saw him reversing his grip and the blunt back of his weapon began its descent.

Luckily, the weapon was deflected by the haft of Kidu’s lightning-quick spear. There was a grace and speed to his movement that spoke to more than just raw talent. It was a water-fluid dance, borne of a thousand repetitions and driven by a spirit that was determined to remain free from the shackles of slavery. The hunter formed a flashing circle with his weapon that drove off the attackers on my right, creating a null zone around its length as he fended off the bandit leader and his men.

I looked around for Elwin, but of the Rogue, there was no sign. Where could he have gotten to? Soon enough, however, I heard a scream that was not his. I could only assume that his knives had claimed another life.

Awkwardly, I scrambled to my feet as quickly as possible, adrenalin running flush through my system. Amon had retreated a small distance and had begun to chant, his face furrowed with concentration as he gripped his staff with both hands. The fat man looked triumphantly in my direction as he finished chanting, and a pall of exhaustion fell over me. My eyelids grew heavy, my limbs leaden, and my weapon and shield felt like sinking heavy weights in my hands.

The voices, the echoes of the void that had always been in the back places of my mind, clamored in rebellion against this arcane intrusion. Still, it was not enough to stop the insidious effects of the magic until I felt an impact in the flesh of my upper right arm. This was quickly followed by a sharp stab of pain in my leg and I looked to see that an arrow had dug into my thigh. The arrowhead had lodged itself a few centimeters deep, having punched through the mail, and had dropped my Health by around thirty points.

The blossoming pain filled me, sharp and insistent, but it stopped the progress of my magically induced stupor. It was time to fight magic with greater magic. Entropic Aura begged to be released, promising a swift answer to my current predicament. Who was I to deny so faithful a friend?

Black waves pulsed from me, and the dark energies began to eat away at Amon’s debilitating curse. He narrowed his porcine eyes and spoke a few arcane words and wiggled his fingers in my direction again, and I could feel something trying to cut the connection to my Aura. The man looked absolutely stupefied when his attempt to counter my spell failed.

Just as the realization of this failure truly began to settle, from behind him a dark shape arose and stabbed him in his corpulent gut. He screamed in a girlishly high pitch as he fell to the floor in agony, holding his sides with his flabby hands.

The spellcaster must have been an intrinsic part of their group because, in no short order, the Leader disengaged from Kidu, pulling one of his men with him before shouting, “Retreat!”

Roaring in rage and frustration, Kidu made to give chase but grunted in pain as an arrow hit him, piercing through the mail that covered his dominant arm. Like the wildman, I wanted to run them down and so I began to hobble after them. I made little progress, however, thanks to the lingering effects of the fat man’s magic and, equally debilitating, the arrow sticking out of my thigh.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and spun around to deal with the new threat, only to see that it was Elwin.

“Hey! Hey! Calm! Calm! We’re in no shape to go for a chasing through the woods, lads. Best we start running in a different direction… They could have friends, after all, somewhere nearby,” he said to me in a cool voice that cut through the haze of my battle rage.

I drew in a deep breath to reign in my anger, but Kidu, having caught up to us, yelled at the retreating brigands. A seething frustration at having been ambushed again demanded satisfaction. I kicked at the forest floor, sending up clods of humus and fallen leaves in anger as I turned back. I needed to vent, and as luck would have it, I laid eyes upon Amon who was struggling and whimpering as he tried to hold in his life fluids. I needed to control the flood of emotion that threatened to overwhelm me. As a symbol of control, I reined in my Entropic Aura.

“Hold him down,” I barked, ordering my group. My two companions looked at each before they moved to restrain the fat man by his corpulent limbs.

He screamed and struggled, but in his current state was no match for the two. His jowls quivered in fear as he looked up at me, his piggy eyes wide with powerless fear. Looking deep into his eyes, I searched them for answers. How had the goddess found me? I would get to the bottom of this. These were no simple bandits led by a Friar Tuck.

“Who sent you?” I asked in a flat tone, mimicking the Overseer Degei’s neutral and uncaring inflection from the slave pits. The man just stilled his whimpers and grew suddenly silent. It was not like I was looking for an answer at this point anyway. This was simply the beginning of the dance.

Seeking answers, I cast Identify on the reticent man. This time there was no counterspell, but there seemed to be resistance, the magic having difficulty in finding purchase on the subject. To my dismay, the spell’s energy simply dissipated, which proved to just vex me further.

“Use us,” the voice of the deep magic within insisted. I felt no urge to resist Entropic Aura’s call and power that bloomed from within, the pulse of the raw decay of the universe. The sibilant voice assured me that the dark energies would make short work of the mage’s magical resistance.

In hindsight, I should have just kept channeling the spell. It would have saved me two Mana from not having to recast it again. Oh well, I guess that was the price of learning.

“Now, let’s try that again…” I said, a wolfish grin growing ever wider as I showed the fat man my teeth, my eyes filled with cold promise. My companions looked at each other for a moment, before their faces settled in grim determination.

It was time to have a few questions answered.