Mato

  Mato awoke to the fluting song of a robiing the pre-dawn light through the open windows in his bedroom. This had been his room for as long as he could remember, even before his older brothers had moved out.

  Perhaps it’s time for me to find my own pce, he thought. Something out in the forest like his brothers would suit him fine, somewhere away from the ugliness of town life and a little more ected with nature. To be surrounded by the rustling leaves of the oaks, the st of earth, the calls of birds, and the forest animals – he sighed softly at the thought of such a peaceful image.

  Even though he had been sidered an adult for several years now, with the unlog of his css, his official status in the kingdom of New Daria had just taken a huge leap forward. He would be afforded signifitly more respect from here on out, and the freedom to choose his own path. At least, officially.

  This is still Myrin’s Keep, he reminded himself. There was not a whole lot of respect to go around in such a pce – and he had ied his father’s Beastkin genes, so he would likely always be viewed with some hostility or fear.

  That’s their problem, he thought, reminding himself that he didn’t care. He would fe his own path – with his strength if he had to.

  Still, he wasn’t about to let such things bring him down today. He dismissed the ive thoughts, returning to the reason he had woken up in such a great mood.

  I’m a shapeshifter!

  He ed up and dressed quickly, heading downstairs to the kit and opened his css status again, still not tired of seeing it. The huge oak he visited in his mind when he viewed his status had grown substantially rger, burgeoning with the growth of his css and experiehe branches were thicker, reag wider and higher, rooted in a swirling cloud of glowing translut green leaves. As it always had, the bark oree’s trunk rippled, drawing aside to reveal the glowing green writing within.

  Name: Mato BahrRace: Beastkin

  Css: Druidic Shapeshifter – level 1

  - Arboreal Sanctuary – level 1You emit a spherical Sanctuary aura of nature magitered on yourself. Range: 10.3 feet.Mana: You redirect damage from ao yourself. Range: SanctuaryNature, Domain, Area, Wisdom

  - Swipe – level 1Stamina: A sshing attack with your on that hits all enemies directly in front of you for on damage +24% [skill + strength]. Physical, Melee, Area, Strength

  - Brutal Restoration – level 1Mana: Enhance a Physical, Melee attack with additional nature damage. Gain +10.1% [10 + skill / 10] of the supported attack’s damage as health over 30 seds.Nature, Melee, Healing, Support, Wisdom

  - Bear Form – level 1Stamina: Shapeshift into a bear.Bear Form: Your hide provides +49 [css x 12 + skill x 12 + enduranbsp;natural Armranted Skills: Charge.Nature, Shapeshift, Buff, Endurance

  - Wolf Form – level 1Stamina: Shapeshift into a wolf. Wolf Form: Your perception attribute is increased by +42% [40 + skill x 2].Granted Skills: Hamstring, Pack Tactics, Trag.Nature, Shapeshift, Buff, Dexterity

  - Primal Rage – level 1You embody the primal aggression of nature. The more you are hurt, the more your Primal Rage takes over to destroy everything around you. For each point of health lost, your Physibsp;damage is increased by +1%.Nature, Melee, Mastery, Vitality- [Locked]- [Locked]- [Locked]- [Locked]General Skills- Identify – level 4- Cooking – level 4- Wilderness Lore – level 5

  Aptitudes- Languages: o- Mana (Affinity): Nature- Strong (Racial): +7 Strength- Tough (Racial): +10 Enduraributes- Vitality: 14- Strength: 23- Endurance: 25- Dexterity: 7- Perception: 6- Intelligence: 8- Wisdom: 14

  Equipment- on: Mace – level 1- Body: Leather Vest – level 1

  Evasion: 12Dodge: 30%

  Health: 140/140Stamina: 250/250Mana: 140/140

  I ’t wait to try it out. Leaving the cavern with its monsters aurning to town when all he had wanted was to let loose with his new skills had been hard – but was right, his mother had been so relieved to see him alive.

  He stepped into the family kit and inhaled deeply. The air itself seemed to carry a subtle hint of f aromas, a delightful medley of spices, herbs, and the lingering smell of roasted coffee beans.

  The heart of the home.

  With a small iion of mana, he lit the sces, filling the room with a soft warm glow, and then crossed the sturdy grailed floor with a spring in his step a over to peer into the oven.

  That looks just about perfect.

  He opehe oven, and the aroma of freshly baked bread billowed out to fill the kit. He disabled the timer aing entments he had set st night before he went to bed, and pulled the bread out, setting it on the rge oak dining table that domihe ter of the kit. Large enough for a family of seven, it was steeped in nostalgia and the memories of him and his brothers hanging on every word of his dad’s epic stories, while his mom sat smiling happily beside him.

  His father was out visiting his brothers, and so breakfast today would be a small affair – just him and his mother – and she would likely be up soon. If she wasn’t already stirring, the st of the fresh bread wafting upstairs would certainly wake her.

  He opehe pantry, remembering to refill the preservation entments with mana, before pulling out some eggs, fruit, cheese, and coffee. The coffee he set to brewing beside the hearth, and then, with the ease of years of practice, his hands automatically set the heating runes and he began preparing some eggs. Scrambled, with a sprinkling of grated cheese on top. Just as she preferred.

  Keeping an eye on the eggs, he sliced up some fruit onto the white ceramic ptter with the blue trim while his mind drifted back to his new css and the events of yesterday.

  Aliandra.

  It was thanks to her and her shrihat he had uncovered his powerful affinity with nature magid unlocked his Druidic css – but the fight to save her from the wolves had been brutal. Far worse than anything he had imagined. Monsters are something else.

  Any fight that you walk away from is a good one, he reminded himself, eg one of his father’s favorite quotes. The fight had been insane, but they had do. Malika had been a bit of a sti the mud, telling him off afterward, but she was no slou bat situations. Mato had known it the instant he had seeanding, retly beaten up, iown Hall. The way she carried her admittedly poorly fed body told him all he o know about her fighting skill.

  Maybe I should feed her, he thought, looking at the breakfast that was rapidly ing together in the family kit. She might loosen up a bit. His mom had always kept snacks in the house in case dad got grumpy, and for a long time he had been sure his dad would fake grumpio get extra. But will that work on human girls, too? She did seem half-starved, and that just wouldn’t do. He resolved to pae extra food when he headed out.

  He wasn’t quite sure whi he preferred. His css had offered him two shapeshifted forms: Wolf and Bear. Probably the wolf, he thought. Perhaps a little ironic, given his heritage. The bear was huge, heavy, and slow, but it had a lot of armor and an admittedly exg charge ability which would leverage his momentum for more damage. But the Wolf Form was sleek and powerful, and it looked like it would do a lot more damage to monsters. Damage is king, he thought, again recalling his father’s stories and aes about his old life as an adventurer.

  I’ll just have to try both – of course, the different forms could have advantages against different moypes. The status sheet and the skill descriptions had lots of numbers, and while would be all over that with his notebook and calcutions, Mato much preferred to ask questions with his fists, as it were. Or fangs and cws, now. He would have his ahe first time he fought with his new skills.

  Primal Rage, though, he already knew would be his favorite skill. Following in his father’s footsteps, his rage ability was a druidic version of one of the many variants of Berserker skills. And his version seemed exceptionally powerful – he was certain it would turn his shapeshifted form – whichever one he decided to use – into a powerhouse otlefield. All through his youth, he had been accused of having a temper, getting into fights too easily, and having a short fuse. Now he would turn that inner rage into his personal power.

  There seemed to be a great deal of implied synergy in his css that he wao discuss with . He assumed Arboreal Sanctuary would allow him to take damage on behalf of his friends, proteg them while at the same time fueling his Primal Rage. His personal heal – Brutal Restoration – was based on how much physical damage he dealt out – which again would be greatly from Primal Rage.

  He caught the creak of footsteps on the wooden stairs, and turned off the heat, pulling out a couple of ptes.

  “M Mato, you’re up early.” His mreeted him warmly as she came and sat down at the table. “Thank you,” she said as he set a pte in front of her and then joined her at the table. She pulled a ribbon from her pocket to tie back the thick red hair he had ied as part of the Human side of his heritage.

  “I’m going to meet up with in a bit and then we were pnning to go down and do some monster hunting to gain a few levels today.”

  “With the two girls you mentioned; Aliandra and Malika?” she asked.

  “Yup.” His answer was muffled by a mouthful of food, earning him the raised eyebrow of disapproval.

  “Mato,” she said, clearly switg to a more serious mood. “I want you to be careful with that rage skill of yours.”

  “I’ll be ok, mom,” he answered. “It’s not that different from dad’s skill.”

  “You fet, I was there all those years of adventuring, healing him when he screwed up. I remember just how long it took him to learn to use it well. He loves to tell a good story, but the truth was sometimes far rougher than he seems to remember. If he remembers at all.”

  Mato gnced up in surprise. He had never heard her be so blunt before. Typically, she never spoke of her days as an adventurer, preferring to let his father tell the stories.

  “Ok,” he said. “I’ll be careful.”

  “Good,” she said, and her smile returned, her green eyes kling, full of warmth. “You have a good heart, Mato. Here, I want you to have this.” She pced a thick greeher-bound book oable and pushed it toward him.

  An Introdu to Druidic Magic.

  His eyes widened. Books were generally quite expensive, but ones about magic were far beyond his family’s means – or so he had thought.

  “I earhis from a quest a long time ago, and it has helped me with my css more times than I t. I want you to keep it with you. It might not be useful right at the start whehing is exg and the skill levels grow fast, but as you advance your css and your abilities, it might be just what you o help direct yrowth. I know you’re not oo enjoy studying like , but please trust me on this, ok?”

  I’m not a kid! he wao protest, but something in her mailled that response. Instead, he simply nodded, pig up the book carefully. He was sure it was worth a fortune in gold. Easily worth more thahing in the house bined.

  “Thanks, Mom,” was all he could manage in the face of her extraordinary gift.

  “My pleasure,” she said. “Now off you go and enjoy monster-sying with your friends. And thanks for making breakfast.”

  Mato finished his breakfast and pushed his chair back, rising to his feet, pausing only to run the dishes through the sing entment and fill his pack with food.

  “Be safe, ok?”

  “Yes Mom,” he answered automatically, and gave her a goodbye kiss, before heading out the door.

  ***

  was already there when he arrived at their agreed meeting spot. It was the same sewer entrahey had used the first time they went down, and was leaning up against a wall reading his favorite book:

  The Unexplored Lands, by Lyeneru Silverleaf, Elven Pathfinders Guild.

  Mato k by sight, sidering must have read it about a huimes. Even though ’s unnaturally pale skin, slender build, and the pointed ears almost hiddeh his silvery hair were all unmistakable signs of his Half-elven race, his frielessly ignored everything about the Elven side of his heritage. Everything except for Lyeneru Silverleaf. idolized Lyeneru, the legendary pathfinder and Elven archer, and he voraciously ed everything he could fied to her adventures.

  It was said that half-breeds were universally hated by everyone, but had alked about it. His race had always been a mag for bullies and thugs, and Mato had earned a rge number of bruises standing up for his friend. Mato was not viewed much better, also being a half-breed but he was generally bigger and strohan most; he had his father’s Bear Beastkin geo thank for that. And while preferred to back down and escape, Mato approached all flict head-on. He had e to appreciate it was simply a differen approach betweewo of them.

  “Hi ,” he greeted, getting a nod from the shadows for his effort. “Did you get everything done?”

  put his book away in his pack with care and then answered. “My mom said she’d deliver the sword to the mayor ter today.”

  Mato frowned. He had always despised Donavan Asterford for his self-importaled itude, regurly getting into fights with him over his irritating habit of talking down to everyone. However, as much as he disliked him, he would never have wished for him to be crushed in a rockfall. A punch to the face was good enough. Maybe more than a few.

  He leaned down to help lever the grate up so that they could desd into the dark sewer below. As soon as they reached the bottom of the rusty iron dder, summoned his light, setting something scrambling off into the shadows. Alert for a moment, both of them waited, but nothing emerged to attack, so they headed off down the smelly, damp tunnels.

  “,” Mato began. “ you help with some of my skills?”

  His question immediately got a curious look from his friend, so he shared the details of his Brutal Restoration, Primal Rage, and Arboreal Sanctuary skills, expining his thoughts on how they might synergize.

  “Do you think it will work that way?” he asked, hoping that his friend would agree. preferred to downpy his intellect, but Mato knew from experiehat he was extraordinarily smart.

  remained silent for a while as they tinued down the dark sewer passage, with just the soft plinking of dripping water breaking the silence. Eventually, he answered. “Yes, it should work like you say. They should all be each other.”

  “But?” Mato could tell that had more to say, but probably wouldn’t share unless prompted.

  “Mato, I think your Primal Rage is a dangerous skill.”

  Mato sighed. Why does nobody like my most powerful skill? It’s really strong!

  Surprisingly, stopped walking and tinued. “It’s a passive Berserker skill, Mato. You won’t be able to turn it off. I’m just worried you will lose trol.”

  “I’ll be fine. I’m used to being angry in fights.” Mato pressed his lips and frowned, bristling a little inside. Everyohinks I ’t ha. So far, everyone he had shared his skill with had warned him about it. First his mother, and now too. “I know what I’m doing. Besides, it’s the same as my dad’s skill.”

  While didn’t seem to be happy about it, he didn’t press the issue, for which Mato was grateful.

  “What do you think of the bear and the wolf forms?” Mato asked.

  “Those both seem quite powerful,” said. “I think you should use the bear for now, until we have someone else to tank for you. Your wolf’s Pack Tactid Hamstring will synergize better with a bigger group.”

  They tinued in panionable sileheir footsteps eg through the dank tunnels as ’s magic held back the darkness. He guessed they were probably halfway to the rockfall before Mato finally broke the silence again.

  “How are you liking your css?”

  “It’s really strong,” answered thoughtfully. “Eclipse seems like a powerful stealth skill, but I’m struggling to figure out how I will use the rest of my skills with it. Everything I have involves Light magic, which breaks stealth obviously.” He pointed up at the mote of light that floated up he roof of the tunnel, silently following along with them.

  “I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” Mato answered. “You always do.”

  “That’s no help,” responded.

  “At least people will notice you with all the light magic,” Mato quipped. “You’re on your way to being as legendary as Lyeneru.”

  sighed, and Mato grinned.

  Mato couldn’t help teasing him, but in truth, he was happy had unlocked a css that seemed very powerful. It would do him good – and having a problem to focus on typically was what made him happiest in the long run.

  Mato was still chug to himself wheurned a er to find a lone spider roaming the tunnel, startling both of them.

  Giant Spider – level 1 (Hostile)

  “Spider!” Mato called out, alerting , while he triggered his shapeshift. His body twisted and ed, pulling his muscles while his limbs ged shape. It wasn’t a painful experience, exactly, but having your bowist and grow while still inside you wasly fortable either. His body grew heavier, pressing down upon the slick brick floor as the denser muscle and thicker bone of his new form settled onte, cwed paws. As soon as he assumed the form of his bear, he used his Charge. Heavy though he was, an exhirating sense of unstoppable power coursed through his body, accelerating him to an unbelievable speed as he tore across the broken, crumbling brick of the sewer toward the shiny, bck Giant Spider.

  It screeched as he smashed the spider into the wall using the full force of his weight and the momentum of his Charge. Pain burst through his shoulder as the spider shed out sinking its bck fangs into him, but he simply ig, his fur and heavy hide suffit to blunt the damage signifitly. He eled a little stamina into his Swipe skill and shed out with a heavy paw. Power and energy rushed through him, accelerating his cws into a horizontal sweeping attack. A satisfyingly loud crack echoed off the damp brick as his paw smashed into the spider with chitin-crushing force.

  A spray of dark ichor drehe side of his face.

  He shook it off, grinning as he shifted a little to the side to give a clearer shot and attacked again. This time, as he spent his stamina to power a sed Swipe, he also spent some mana on his Brutal Restoration skill, attag the healing support skill to the Swipe. He didn’t have a better expnation for how he did it, only that it felt intuitive, like asking the sed skill to enhahe first. A brief flicker of green light burst out from where his cws ected, lighting up the tunnel, and refleg off the shiny carapace. His cws tore through the chitin armor easily, ripping through it with sheer physical ford the additional burst of nature magic. As soon as the strike nded, warm magic flowed back through his body, beginning to heal the bite.

  Hissing loudly, the Giant Spider lunged forward and sunk its sharp mandibles into his shoulder again. His thick hide and fur preve from peing far, which was a little disappointing. It felt like he could sense a little increase in power from his Primal Rage, but it wasn’t particurly noticeable yet, and his restoration magic was quickly erasing the damage anyway. He frowned, looking for some way to use his Arboreal Sanctuary to power his Primal Rage. But wasn’t taking any damage, so there was nothing to steal.

  Doesn’t matter, he thought, thhly enjoying the feeling of power that came from stag his Swipe with Brutal Restoration, and how tough he felt with the additional armor a of his shapeshifted Bear Form.

  A blindingly bright streak of light shot down the sewer tunnel, followed rapidly by a sed and a third, as joihe fight, firing arrows lit with magic that punched into the side of the spider. It didn’t st too long after that.

  Yroup has defeated Giant Spider – level 1.

  Swipe has reached level 2.

  “That was much easier,” he said after shifting back to normal, recalling the first time he had faced one of these spiders.

  “Yes,” agreed, a hint of a smile pying across his reserved face.

  He checked quickly but found that his Brutal Restoration had tinued healing him, albeit slowly, and now that it was over, he was back to full health already. Well, that’s handy. It certainly would cut down on recovery time between fights.

  Curious about the ge he had seen with Identify right before the fight, he pulled up the description of his skill.

  Identify – level 4Mana: Dis information about a creature or item up to level 5 [css + skill]. Synergizes with any relevant Perception, Knowledge, or Information skills. Synergy (Languages): Identify dispy disposition for beasts.Knowledge, Perception

  That expins it, he thought, realizing it was his new beast ‘nguage’ that had e with his css that roviding additional information on his Identify skill. Spiders were beasts.

  Does that mean I could learn to talk to them? he wondered. Although, how intelligent could a level-one spider that lived in the sewer really be?

  That was far easier, thought, his eyes lingering on the ichor and crushed chitin of the bck spider before searg the darkness up ahead for anything that might have been attracted to the noise. Quickly, he extracted his spent arrows from the corpse, wiping them of viscous green goop before returning the undamaged oo his quiver. The rest he tucked into his pack for ter repairs.

  The trast between this fight and the st battle they had fought in the cave against the wolf pack stood starkly in his mind. Yesterday, he had barely survived, and today, with a new css, he hadn’t even gotten winded, let alone hurt. It was really no test.

  With Mato taking the front line and tanking, and even healing himself, all had to do was make sure his skills were all properly aligned and powered – and that he was using them correctly. It wasn’t even tough to use both Radiant Archery and Arrows of Brilliance simultaneously. The spider had died fast – faster than he had expected.

  One of those wolves was level five, though, he warned himself soberly. And it led a group. This had been a solo level-one spider. The true test would e ter when they faced a simir challeogether. But still, was excited. His css fit him; in some indefinable way he couldn’t really articute.

  Up ahead, Mato began to move on down the dark tunnel, but hesitated, frowning a bit. That berserker skill… It hadn’t seemed to be a problem in the fight against the Giant Spider, so perhaps Mato did know what he was doing. Still, it didn’t sit easily with him.

  He stepped forward, putting his unease away for ter, and followed his friend down the sewer turag the path by memory. It was a marvel: Explorer’s description simply said he had an enhanced spatial perception and perfect recall of the pces he had explored. But the experience of it was something else. He could ‘see’ the sewers as if he was studying a map in his head. A perfect map, with depth and color. One he could mentally traverse in an instant. If he had his notebook and pencil, he was certain he could transcribe it iail.

  So it was that wheurhe er, he kly where he was. The chamber with the cracked and crumbling floor that had colpsed out from uhem in the middle of the fight against the rats, dumping them into the undiscovered cavern below. With a simple application of his will, he sent his Mote of Light on ahead, diving down through the hole to illumihe rope still dangling there, and the trickle of foul sewer water p down onto the rock pile below.

  As he followed Mato down the rope, that same prig sense of uurned, only stronger now.

  What is that?

  He had dismissed the sensation before as simple ay or u the dark cavern, but there was definitely something uny or strange in this space that had not bee in the sewer above.

  Something like a premonition. Though he didn’t usually put much sto things like that. It must just be the sense of age and decay.

  His foot reached the rocks below and he released the rope. And on his step, the sound of a chime startled him.

  Explorer has reached level 3.

  “What’s wrong?” Mato asked, shifting alertly as if reag to some unseen danger.

  “I’m not sure,” he answered, “I have a strange feeling down here.”

  “Yep, it’s weird alright. Nature seems screwed up in here.”

  It’s not just me.

  Still, he saw nothing obviously out of pce, so dismissed it for now, iurning orag ability of his Explorer skill, happy to find their own tracks from before. Mato shifted into his Wolf Form beside him and then they headed out into the cavern with his magic lighting the way. He kept his bow at the ready, eyes searg the vast darkness beyond the light, always ready for monsters or danger.

  Explorer has reached level 4.

  He gaped at the notification. What’s making it level up so quickly?

  He stopped, sing his surroundings once more. But other than an enormous pile of bleached bones near a bed stump, he couldn’t see anything that might shed light on his drum. He scratched his head and studied the tracks. As expected, they had grown more detailed and clearer with his skill level rising, but other than the prig premonition growing simirly stronger, nothing seemed to be amiss.

  Just as he was about to tinue, his chime sounded again.

  [Explorer] You have entered a dungeon.

  He felt a sudden ice-cold chill as his premonition crystallized.

  “Mato… I figured out what it is. This is a dungeon.” His eyes darted bad forth, sing every single dark nook and y he could see, searg for the mohat surely lurked just beyond his sight.

  Mato’s body ed as he shifted back to his Beastkin form. “So?”

  stared at Mato bnkly. Does he not know what this means? “What do you mean, ‘so’? Dungeons are extremely dangerous.”

  “Yes, yes. They have monsters and stuff,” Mato answered, standing nearby and studying their surroundings before turning back to look at him. “I don’t see why you’re worried. We already know this pce has monsters. I’m not surprised it’s a dungeon.”

  pressed his lips together, keeping his thoughts to himself. There were some things Mato was simply not ied in, and whe like that, there was no ving him. In Mato’s mind, the terrifyiion that they were in a dungeon seemed to be a , and knew he would not be able to vince him otherwise.

  He probably just sees it as more moo fight.

  tinued, following the map in his head, and the tracks and ndmarks across that dark cavern, deep in thought. He g Mato, but the wolf seemed to move with a barely tained energy, almost like he was excited. Who I tell? Likely this discovery expined many of the frequent motacks in town – the Kobolds and spiders, and sometimes slimes or rats that would appear somewhere in town, or the outlying farmnds, and cause chaos aru until someone found a high enough level person with a bat css to extermihem. Nobody had figured out where they were ing from yet.

  Also, wasn’t there something about the excess mana from a dungeon affeg nearby people?

  He shivered.

  ***

  They approached the small cave where they had sheltered from the wolf pack without further i, but as they approached, could clearly see that it was deserted. The dirt by the entrance was busy with a multitude of crisscrossing tracks.

  That’s weird. There were quite a few tracks that must have been Malika and Aliandra ing and going. Aliandra’s ti were quite obvious, but there were also moracks mixed in among them, fresh cw marks from the rge Sewer Rats, and couldn’t figure out which was hunting which.

  “Looks like the tracks head to the shrine area,” said, letting Mato know what he had found. “Keep alert, there are some rat tracks, too.”

  His friend nodded and shifted back to his Wolf Form, and they headed out toward the shrine.

  As soon as they ehe Grove area that taihe shrihey were greeted with a hiss and a screech, and two monstrous Sewer Rats charged.

  Sewer Rat – level 1-2 x2.

  [Explorer]Category: Minio Level: NormalMoype: BeastDamage: Physical

  blinked away the additional notifications. Not now! He grabbed his bow, aiming at the rat while Mato growled and rushed forward.

  “Oh no! Sorry!” The light voice that cut through the immi battle had a strange melodic at and sounded familiar.

  To his astonishment, the two rats immediately stood down areated to fnk Aliandra who stood he shrine, her bare feet upon a new lush carpet of green moss and a chagrined expression on her face.

  stood on guard for a few moments, but the rats stubbornly refused to attayone. L his bow, he stepped forward.

  [Explorer] You have entered a dungeon.

  Why is this skill so noisy?

  “I’m sorry about that,” Aliandra said, allowing him to ect the source of the unusual at.

  How did she learn to speak so quickly? Must be a skill.

  “You talk now, little one?” Mato growled, as his form ged back to Beastkin, eg ’s thoughts.

  “Yes, I .” The reply was apanied by a frown. “And I’m not little, you’re just huge.”

  Mato simply burst out ughing – a respohat was so typically him that almost rolled his eyes. The loud belly ugh startled both girls, but soon they were grinning, too.

  “I like you. I’m Mato. Gd to finally be able to meet you properly.”

  had lost Identify when he had affixed his css, the general skill subsumed by Explorer, but he could still identify people by using the more advanced css skill.

  Mage [A] – Fae – level 4

  [Explorer]Race: FaeThreat Level: NormalDamage: Are, NatureMonk [Street Rat] – Human – level 4

  [Explorer]Race: Human (Ahhreat Level: NormalDamage: Physical, Soul

  Now, this looks useful, he thought, studying the new notifications. Must have happened when Explorer leveled up. There was some variation, the information his skill provided was a little different for the Sewer Rats – they had a ‘category’ and a ‘moype’. Hopefully, it doesn’t get too distrag in battle.

  put his pack down on the mossy ground and pulled out the two bundles his mother had given him when he left earlier. He handed oo Aliandra and theher to Malika.

  “What is this?” With a look of suspi flickering across her face, Malika ope to reveal the shirt and pants his mother had crafted from a dark bred cotton fabric. “I ’t accept this,” she said, trying to hand it back. “I have no moo pay you.”

  Aah. He had sort of expected something like this after his mother’s strange suggestion. Doesn’t like being i? Or just dislikes charity?

  “My mom is a Tailor, and she insisted on making you two something as a small thank-you gift for helping me survive the trial. She was very worried about me.”

  The hard expression on Malika’s face immediately softened and she looked again at the clothing in her hands.

  “I’m supposed to apologize that I ’t guess your sizes, so the fit is probably off. She wao invite you to stop by the store when you’re in town and she make a better set.”

  “This is really well made,” Malika said, running her hands over the stitg as she admired the craftsmanship. And then in a much softer voice, perhaps not inteo carry, she added, “Expeoo.”

  “It’s not like you have much choice,” Mato chipped in with his blunt direess. “What you’re wearing is about to fall off. And Aliandra’s shirt is more dirt and dried blood than cloth.”

  The st remnants of retice evaporated, and he and Mato turned around and sat on the moss so that the girls could ge behind the shrine.

  It was while he sat talking with Mato that he realized the strange disfort and sense of premonition he had when he had ehe cavern had somehow magically disappeared.

  It didn’t take long for Aliandra and Malika to ge. The fit was clearly too big, particurly on Aliandra, but they both emerged with smiles on their faces, happy to have clothing that wasn’t hanging in tatters. Aliandra had simply put a big knot in the shirt so that it didn’t hang below her knees, and Malika had turned up the hem on her pants to shorten the length a bit.

  Ouch. That’s why I am not a Tailor.

  “So, what happened?” asked, his curiosity burning inside him. At the surprised looks, he eborated. “How you trol rats? How you talk now? Where did all this e from?” He poi the moss they were sitting on.

  “And you reached level four already!” Mato added. He was smiling, but could tell his excitement for them was tinged with just a little jealousy.

  “Ali is a summoner,” Malika supplied, and Aliandra nodded.

  Ali? g Aliandra in surprise, w how the tiny Fae had mao bypass Malika’s impregnable defensive walls, getting on frieerms in such a short time.

  “I summohese two,” Aliandra said, patting the rat that was following her around like a puppy, albeit a giant ohat was nearly taller than she was. The and began to expin a little about her css, and all that happened, filling iails of how she had gotten here, which noticed Malika seemed to already know.

  timewalk