The Gryphon, an esteed creature native to the wilderness near Misery's Reach's mountainous terrain, has long been associated with the mountain tribes. These tribes, across generations, first tad and ultimately dosticated these formidable beasts. Through the passage of comrce, their presence has extended throughout the mortal realms, often taking residence in the nageries and stables of affluent nobles who possess the ans to satiate their ravenous appetites. Though dosticated breeds are re echoes of their untad counterparts, they remain formidable, albeit temperantal, aerial steeds.
- Monsters of the Mortal Realms by K. D. Fidditch.
I woke up under the thick branches of the trees, rested and ready for a new day. Once again I had slept in full armor, which was beginning to beco a habit. A part of despaired at my slovenly behavior.
Back on Earth, sleeping in the clothes I had worn during the day had gone against my modern sensibilities. Every day there would be a change of underclothes and clean socks, all at the press of a button. However, that comfortable and civilized life was, to all intents and purposes, a galaxy away. This caused to marvel at how well my mind had adapted to my strange circumstance. Compartntalization was probably what had enabled to retain my sanity. I would need to unpack all of these emotions and thoughts at a later date when we returned to so form of civilization.
The familiar sll of at cooking on the fire was in the cool morning air, causing my stomach to rumble in anticipation. The aroma was piquant. Elwin had probably used so of the sundry spices we had bought in Ansan.
Slowly rising to my feet, I removed my gloves and hooked them to my belt. Patting my hands around my waist, I panicked a little as I noticed the leather pouch with the Karilla hatchling I had captured the previous night was no longer on my person. For a few monts, I thought that my companions had started to cook the poor thing for breakfast.
Elwin cocked an eye at at my predicant, a wry smile on his face as he cooked a few pieces of at over our campfire. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kidu diligently maintaining his equipnt.
“You was tossing and turning a bit in your sleep. Mumbling about so real odd stuff. Kidu thought you were having a religious visitation. I noticed the pouch moving at your side. You would have crushed it, too, with all your flailing and moving about,” explained the Rogue, almost as if he was rely comnting about the weather.
My night terrors and general flailing must have been caused by my dark dreams. Becoming so inured to their visitations, I barely noticed them anymore, and simply forgot their imparted ssages upon waking. A part of had simply accepted them as an annoyance to be suffered, like the buzzing and bites of a bloodsucking mosquito.
The Rogue's explanation drew a grunt from Kidu as he sharpened his spear, but the taciturn man, choosing to not join in the one-sided exchange, never even looked up.
Elwin, seeing that I was still at a loss, gestured to the tree I had slept against. “Behind you, mate. You’ll find your little pet still in the bag,” explained the Rogue, answering my unspoken inquiry and going back to his cooking.
“Thanks…” I murmured, half-groggily as I turned around, sleep still soaked into my bones.
Slowly gathering myself, I muttered as I began checking my things. Looking into my bag, I checked to see if the healing potions I had bought from the eccentric alchemist were still alright. As my hands tested their seals, I was reminded of the Broomshead mushrooms I had collected for their maker. Hopefully, the collected fungi would help in so way to perhaps earning a permanent discount at his store.
Now that focus had finally won over the last dregs of sleep, I found myself standing fully upright and my thoughts grew steadily clearer. Looking to where the Rogue had indicated, I saw that my tied leather pouch was hanging from a low-lying tree branch. My experint was still safe for the mont. Edging closer, I opened the bag and was greeted by a foul sll. The creature was alive, but it had defecated in the night. The sll of fecal matter and the pervading scent of animal fear overpowered the pleasant aroma of the at cooking on the fire.
Grimacing, I prepared to do what I had to do. All in the na of science. Focusing on the contents of the bag, I cast an Identify on the small lizard before reaching inside.
Karilla Hatchling - (Great Lizard lvl.2) Health 3/3 Stamina 3/4
Mana 1/1
Seeing the na of the creature, I had to restrain myself from crushing it there and then, unwilling to let such a creature grow into another dangerous monster. The adult Karilla had been a most fearso opponent. However, I needed to continue my experint, so it would have a stay of execution, for now at least.
Focusing on summoning the divine magic of Greater Heal, I began to harness power from within. Golden motes of light seed to gather around , drawn first to before transferring in a slow trickle to the poor creature. A soft song of angels seed to stir in the back of my mind but I refused to give it voice, focusing on performing the spell silently. Without the vocal component, the spell seed to take longer than usual to complete. The magic built up like water in a dam, before rushing out in a sudden deluge to infuse the lizard with raw healing.
Before , the scars on the small lizard’s hide faded, and new scales ford in their place. Miraculously, the nub of what was left of its severed leg grew out into a new limb as more and more energy was channeled into the baby monster. I knew that so reptiles could regenerate their limbs but what I was witnessing before was on another level. It seed that, in re seconds, the feeble creature had been fully restored and was now positively glowing with vitality.
In my wonder, I had let my guard down and loosened my grip on the reptile. The now vibrantly healthy creature, seeing an opening for an escape, suddenly shot out of my hand. Before I could even react, it had scuttled into the undergrowth.
“Well, can’t say you’re… much loved by your pets,” comnted Elwin in amusent, his mouth half-full of lizard at.
I sighed at this and sat down next to him. It was not like I needed the creature any longer, I justified to myself. Honestly, it was more the surprise than anything else that irritated .
“Doesn’t stop from liking them,” I huffed in a weak retort, making an uncontested move to skewer a piece of at with my knife.
No longer fresh, the at had grown a little tougher, but it was still flavorful under Elwin’s culinary ministrations. Not being a great chef, I could appreciate soone who can cook.
Kidu, finished with the maintenance of his gear, ca to join us and added so more chunks of at. The pieces sizzled on the fire and added to the delicious aroma.
“So Kidu, old boy, whatcha you planning to do with the payout from this job?” Elwin asked of the large man.
“This skin of tal makes too much noise. Can’t move as one with the wild,” reported Kidu, his voice gruff with his constant annoyance at the world in general. Far from his own ho and in a strange land, I could not really bla the big man.
“Perhaps we can ask Cillis to make so adjustnts, so soft cloth here and there to soften the noise on movent?” I added, rembering my brief ti at her shop.
“First na terms with the lady smith? You work fast. Married too,” insinuated Elwin, chuckling a little when he saw I had all but frozen in embarrassnt.
The human mind is a wonderful thing that constantly parses all sorts of mundane and esoteric data. A supercomputer capable of changing and evolving. A true marvel of nature. My mind now was hit by what Elwin said. ‘Work’ and ‘fast’. Speed and experience. The connection between them had been an idea that my mind had been trying to analyze subconsciously for a long ti. Triggered by Elwin’s words, my thoughts went off on an unexpected tangent. Why did I gain Status, Skill, and experience points quickly initially before the rate rapidly started to drop off?
Experience. I theorized that I needed to experience new and challenging things to benefit from maximum rates of growth. Sure, repetition could work in a fashion but there would be limits, a plateau of sorts. This was a classic chanic of rapidly diminishing returns. When trying to gain more experience or improve Skills through the sa, actions, the amount of experience gained and the chance of improving a Skill would be dramatically reduced.
That was probably why I stopped gaining points when I was stuck behind bars. A shudder passed through as I briefly relived the mory of that ti.
But then why did I gain a similar amount of experience when I killed sothing? A cold echo answered . The logical conclusion was a silent judgnt on my soul. Murder. Every life that I took was different. But were their lives even real in the first place. More importantly, did I care?
Then there was my rate of growth in comparison to the denizens of this world who lived almost all their lives here…
My bleak thoughts on the nature of the world were, however, rewarded, and it confird to that I was perhaps on the right track.
You have gained 1 Wisdom
I lost focus of the world around . Guilt, and the ramifications of what this world was trying to make do, were shaking to the core.
“Hello, Gil! You there? Did you eat sothing funny? Or are you just rembering all of the fun tis you had with the smith? I heard from Devon that she had quite the nice rack! By the Dark Lady, you can be a bit of a loon staring off into space all of the ti!” laughed Elwin at my stunned silence which drew an annoyed look from the man mountain, Kidu.
Realizing that I had been staring out into space for a long while, I laughed in awkward good humor. I replied to the wiry man, “No my good man. I’ve just been hit with a flash of inspiration!”
“That sounds a wee bit dangerous, coming from you. Will it involve us having to kill a few more local monsters that can chop us in half?” Elwin said in return, a hint of suspicion laced in his voice.
“No, not at all,” I said, a new idea coalescing in my mind, “Got a mont Kidu? I wish to test my Strength against you,” I finished with these magic words, perfectly designed to get the massive man’s attention.
Pausing in his current chore, he waited a long mont before answering my challenge.
“It would be an honor,” he rumbled like an avalanche from the cold frozen north.
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