Acorn of Ice Lance

Throws a sharp lance of ice at a target.

Damage: 4

Quality: Poor

I sat under the tree, waiting for the sun to rise. From my previous trek through the woods I knew I was not particularly skilled at moving through forest. So waiting for better visibility would hopefully make my travels less of a cacophony. While I did not know for sure if anything was out here looking for me, I saw no good reason to draw attention by hurrying at this time.

I looked down at the acorn in my hands, they had been very difficult to enchant, and I had gained a discovery of 184 experience for Ice Lance and 98 for Fire Burst, as well as an increase in my enchanting skill. Having spent a fair amount of time waiting for morning and enchanting acorns, I now understood what it was that made them so difficult to enchant; the structure of an acorn was very unhomogenized. Admittedly, it was also possible that its organic nature had an effect. Which made me wonder if it was possible to enchant something that was alive? Was that merely a question of skill, if an acorn was possible?

I ended up pondering other things as I sat there under my tree: How come I could activate enchanted objects, despite not being able to feel them with Sense the Flow? It could just be happenstance that the range of Sense the Flow lined up with the range at which I could use something enchanted, but I doubted that was the case.

It was not so long ago that I had assumed that I activated an enchantment by having it impact something, which had proven to be a misconception on my part. What if I was making assumptions here too? I closed my eyes to see what I could sense, which was nothing from the acorn.

I sat there for some time, my eyes closed. I knew where the acorn was, which was not that impressive as I had it in my hand.

But was that it?

I threw the acorn over my shoulder. It flew to bounce against something nearby, before landing on the ground; I knew what had happened, despite having my back to it.

I smiled as I waved my hand, and a lance of ice came shooting from behind me to slam into a nearby tree.

The theatrical gesture truly only helped my mood, but that was as good a cause as any I thought. I could not feel the Mana in my enchantments, but it seemed as if I knew where they were.

I had not even considered that as something special, or even given it thought. I had never lost sight of an enchantment I had planned to use, giving me an illusion of the series of events, once again.

I could not help but wonder how long this would keep happening, me thinking I knew how things worked, only to find out that I was wrong. This realization did open the door to new possibilities when fighting, if I had the opportunity to prepare.

Quest!

Find the source of the Undead and destroy it.

Reward: 8000 Experience, Sense the Flow: rank 2.

I took in the quest I had brought up once more and sighed. I would not be asking anyone for help at this point. The things I lacked knowledge of made my life harder; I did not know what set me apart, as an Aberration or an Enchantress, something made painfully obvious in my last conversation with Charles. I seemed to stand out even when I tried not to. As such, working with anyone unknown, who would take coin, was not a consideration.

I did not trust the Guard for obvious reasons. I did not trust Charles either, while I was unsure if it had been his intent to leave me with the undead, he had been acting way too strange. If he had not been in on the plan, he was simply inept, which was just as bad in someone I considered relying on.

Taking care of myself was hard enough, I did not need another to care for too. If those Guards were what they seemed and Charles had no clue, then he was not particularly proficient at his duties. I could come up with a long list of reasons for why he might fail to realize what was going on, but none of those made him appealing as someone to have at my back.

As the light of morning began to shine through the trees, I got to my feet. First, I would deal with my hunger and thirst. I had never hunted and did not know much about it, but as long as it was not undead, it was probably safe to eat. Not willing to use copper beads, I had enchanted a few stones of Ice Lance during the night, granting yet another discovery.

**

Over the past few hours I had hunted, and found myself a small pond to drink from, where I now sat tending a fire. It was circled by what was probably an excessive amount of stone, but I did not want to accidentally start a forest fire.

I had also circled my small impromptu encampment with enchanted beads, in case I was attacked.

Killing a normal rabbit with Ice Lance had been messy, but rather easy. Cleaning it out, had been disgusting and difficult. I knew how to do such things in theory, but had no real proficiency. The dagger from the man who tried to rob me might not have been well suited to the task either.

For a time I had considered if it was possible to melt and drink the water from an Ice Lance. They did not seem to dissipate the way most magic did, but I was not confident enough about that. If it did disappear, what would happen to the water or me if I had drunk it?

Though my opportunities to grill meat had been rare, it was at least mildly familiar and it gave me a moment to relax and consider my options further.

While I could gain experience by enchanting, there seemed to be a rather definite end to that path, both in terms of coin and variation. No matter how I looked at it, at some point I would have to take risks. I would rather those be ones I chose, if only for the illusion of control.

I did have the option to be more intelligent about what I did. I looked out over my encampment and the enchanted beads that lay all but invisible. There were things I could do to manage the risks I took. One thing I had noted was that the undead seemed rather slow both to move and react.

**

As the day progressed through the afternoon, I stood at the gates of the small village, in which I had now spent quite some time. I had found that staying away from the burnt house and its Domain was enough to let me move about unimpeded while I completed my preparations.

While my plan was more than a bit risky and relied on my observations during my first encounter with the burnt man, I thought it feasible.

I took a deep breath and went over everything once more, making sure I had not forgotten anything. Not for the first time today, I wondered if this was the life I wanted for myself. My conclusion, yet again, was that I wanted to have the power to stand on my own two feet rather than bend over for someone else. This was the best choice I could come up with; everything else I had thought of had been ways of delaying action and putting faith in others, which to my mind was not really a choice at all.

I was a bit worried, I did not know how many potential enemies there might be nearby, but if they were all undead, running should still be an option. I had prepared a route that should let me get away, but hopefully it would not be needed.

I had learned many things in the last few hours, like the fact that I knew what enchantments I had in my satchel, but not how many; If I spread them out on the ground though, I knew how many I had, and where, if they were within my range.

It was as if they interfered with each other when too close. Perhaps they distorted the ambient Mana even when inactive. Or perhaps they contained some other Power, which Sense the Flow could not discern. I had, for the most part, carried Stones of Fire Burst in my pockets. It was quite reasonable that I had never understood that I had any knowledge about them, when everything had played into my preconceptions. Of course I knew what I had in my pockets, since I had put it there. It was easy to dismiss that as obvious and fail to make the connection, or so I told myself at least.

I was more than a bit worried about what might happen after my fight with the burnt man, when it was time to get out of here. I had spotted nothing so far: living, dead, or undead. The rows of dead people were gone, the rabbit, and the horse along with them. A village this size should have had pets, probably some other animals too, yet I had not found anything. The idea that I could finish my quest only to get attacked by an undead cow was not amusing.

The burnt man had not reacted to my presence in the village yet, just like the day before. Then he had only moved when the fire had hurt him badly enough it had seemed. My plan for this part was that if he still was a reasoning creature, the fire should now be a way to get his attention, and so I began.

The damage the acorns of Fire Burst did to the already burnt building was negligible, but it was far easier to get them inside the building than last time, so they should still have the effect I hoped for. While it took a few minutes, the Domain did start to move; the burnt man was coming my way. I took slow breaths to keep my calm while I waited.

The monstrosity that came out of the building was frightful to see, even compared to last time. Chunks of him were missing and the damage done by fire and acid made it sickening that he was still upright and moving. I honestly hoped he could not feel what he had gone through. I did not assume him weak though, despite the horrendous wounds. The moment I judged he was close enough, I began activating the Copper beads of Ice Lance that were spread out between us.

I sent them at him in groups of four, using them as quickly as I could manage. As soon as the last four of the sixteen I had prepared struck the burnt man I quickly shuffled backwards, carefully judging distance as I watched the undead Champion of Truth turn into a pincushion, but not go down. I had not expected that to end him, hoped, but not expected.

With something between a growl and a moan he began a stumbling shuffle forward, as sharp lances of ice stuck out of his torso, legs, arms, and neck, hampering his already graceless movement.

For this last part I would have to be within the Domain of this creature, something I was not looking forward to. When I had thought about my previous fight, I had suspected that both the painful voice and the magical attack required me to be within the Domain, as I had not been struck in the back when running away.

The assumption seemed to be correct, as the undead creature kept approaching me at a slow lurch, which I saw no reason for if it could have attacked me already.

I crouched slightly, preparing to dodge, if possible. This time I had several active Minor Shield enchants spread out on my person. While it was uncomfortable to have one bead in each boot, if it improved my chances of coming out of this unscathed, I could put up with it. All in all I had one in each boot, one in each of my pants pockets and one in my left hand. I hoped the shield could absorb ten damage, but it was probably less. I suspected it was not possible to stack enchantments without any reduction in effect, considering how they had reacted to proximity so far.

The burnt man shuffled forward slowly, the whole thing was surreal; even the rabbit had seemed more alive than this creature. The undead Champion of Truth seemed more like a thing than a person.

I held my breath as the purple line passed me, and I found myself within the creatures Domain.

OBEY ME!

I stumbled, but quickly caught my balance, I could not move too much or my plan would fall apart.

The undead Champion waved an arm at me, though with its horrible injuries it was more akin to a half body shrug than a wave. The dark light that sped towards me gave me a sense of dread I had not expected. This had been a very likely outcome when I had considered what might happen. Apparently knowing a thing might happen, and experiencing it was very different, who would have thought. I cut my mental ramblings short, to focus on what I was doing.

I tried my best to dodge but still got hit on my shoulder, as a flash of blue light all but blinded me. The hit caused me to spin in a circle as I half stumbled, half fell to a knee, before quickly pushing to my feet. The creature did not have much further to move.

I could no longer feel the beads in my boots and the one in my hand had fallen apart, I was without a shield.

Health.

The next attack from the undead Champion took me off my feet just like during our last fight, and I had a panicked moment where I wondered if I would die here.

Health.

The Order not responding to me intensified my fear. I wiped tears and snot as I got to my feet, watching the undead creature take that final step I needed. I swiftly retook the ground I had lost during the last attack, as the burnt man started its lurching arm wave once more.

Beads of Acid Splash exploded around the undead Champion in a cascade, twenty beads going off in a swift sequence, one after another, forming a veritable cloud of acid in the air.

I crouched down, ready to run. The damage done each second by the acid was enough to kill me in heartbeats, even with my now impressive Health, and I hoped it would do the same to the undead Champion. But even though he was already burnt, been skewered by ice lances, and was now all but drowned in acid, I was still preparing to flee if that turned out not to be enough.

As the creature was still in the cloud of acid, I quickly replaced the beads in my pockets and in my hand; while not as much of a shield as what I had earlier, a reduction of six damage was far better than nothing. I also began sidling backwards, towards the edge of the Domain.

I let out a small gasp of fright, as the undead Champion stumbled out of the acid cloud. Other than a few pieces of flesh here and there, all that remained was a skeleton, even the resilient tabard was now gone. The creature's bones where coated in acid and breaking apart even as it tried to move.

I watched in horror as the skeleton took one more step, before the creeping dark light from its forehead went out, and the whole thing collapsed into a pile of dust, bones, and acid.

I waited for the Order to tell me that the quest was complete, but my unease increased as that did not happen. In a mix of fear and confusion, I threw and used some of my remaining Stones of Fire Burst at the pile and it exploded into black sparkles and flame.

Why had I not gotten any reward for killing such a powerful creature as the burnt man, and why had there been no information from the Order?

Was this still not over? I was down to three Copper beads of Ice Lance, five stones of Fire Burst and thirteen Copper beads of Acid Splash, going by my count, and some of those were hidden away along my planned escape route.

I felt something watching me, and I spun in panic, searching for an enemy ready to attack.

Health: 240/320

You have been victorious! You have slain an enemy! You gain 0 Experience!

You have defeated an Undead: Vessel, you have been awarded 1717 Experience!

You have completed a Quest! You have been awarded 8080 Experience!

Congratulations! You have advanced to level 10!

You may choose a class Ability!

Sense the Flow, rank 2

You can perceive the flows of Power around you. Limited to the World Powers.

Cost: N/A

Cast Time: Instant, Instinctual, Intentional

Range: 3 meters

Upkeep: N/A

Why had the Order not responded earlier? Was it due to the Domain, which was now hopefully gone?

The increased range of Sense the Flow would be very useful. Expanding the powers I could sense made me curious though, if this was a natural development of the Ability, or if the Order had meddled with it to make me more useful. I supposed it did not really matter in the end.

I looked around, as new sensations started to bombard me, it took quite some effort to push them all aside, I would have to deal with what I assumed to be the change to Sense the Flow later.

Most houses were undamaged, some were a bit singed, but only the one I had put on fire was truly burnt. I should look around for things to enchant to make my trek out of here as safe as I could manage. I should also see what other things I might acquire.

I brought up the class Abilities I could choose between, as I moved towards the nearest house.

Creation: Golem Core, rank 1

You can coalesce and support a single Sentience Core.

Cost: 575 Mana.

Cast Time: 45 minutes, Intentional

Range: Touch

Upkeep: N/A

Manipulation: Telekinesis, rank 1

You can telekinetically move a number of your own enchanted objects, limited by Willpower and Intelligence.

Cost: Variable, nonlinear increase for each object.

Cast Time: Instant, Intentional

Range: 3 meters

Upkeep: Variable

Oh, that was downright informative.

**

Mission complete!

Defeat the invading undead.

Reward: 35 Essence.

Eric drew one of his, now clawed, hands across his forehead. Not that he was sweating, that had seemingly gone the way of other things, but it was something familiar to do as he sat with his back against the cave wall.

At some point he had lost track of how many times the rabbits, rats, and raccoons had attacked his cave. The raccoons were the worst, and he had been bitten several times, which was very unpleasant and he had still not regained all the Health he had lost.

He fumbled a bit, trying to get his character sheet to show.

Eric

Rank: 2

Tier: Cave

Essence: 46/125

Race: Dweller - Human origin

System: Dweller

Strength: 3

Dexterity: 4

Agility: 2

Constitution: 2

Endurance: 2

Life: 626.25 (-0.25/hour)

Intelligence: 9

Willpower: 6

Wisdom: 4

Spirit: 1

Genius: 0

Domain: 1

Appearance: 1

Charisma: 1

Health: 12/20

Mana: 10/10

Stamina: 11/20

While he had gained a fair amount of Essence from the attacking undead, none of them gave Life, which annoyed Eric to no end. But something good had come from this, Eric looked down at his clawed hands with a grin. The two Ranks he had earned gave enough trait points that he had gained his claws, using fifteen, and even had five left over!

More than anything now though, he just wanted to sit down and rest.

New mission!

Defeat the invading undead.

Reward: 33 Essence.

Eric swore loudly as he scrambled to his feet.