Once everyone was inford of the finer details of their mission by the knight-captain, they all began to gather supplies and equipnt. Michael found the knights of Hu's official blacksmith in town who started on so quick patches and repairs on Michael's armor and shield. While he was waiting for that, Michael took the ti to dig out his hand mirror and take a look at his Titles and Deeds.
Titles:
Michael Mann
The Restored
The Wound Man
Seer
Champion of the Gods
Knight of Hu
Aur Ma
Deeds:
Bridge Holder
Revenge Denier
Run Conqueror
Resilient Competitor
Fort Healer
Righteous Defender
Castle Taker
Baron Breaker
Rift Sealer
Warrior nder
Titan Slayer
Realm Firr
Village Protector
Blessings:
Cleansing Healing
Pain Transfer
Smite
Bless
Eyes of Love
Eyes of Judgent
He hadn't checked his list in so ti, and it was again becoming unwieldy even after he'd had so many of his Champion titles condensed. He'd noticed the Village Protector deed a week prior. It granted him minor durability and minor strength when protecting a small settlent. He noticed that he had also gained two other titles since he'd last checked. The Knight of Hu title was one he expected, having only just been knighted, but Aur Ma was not. He didn't recognize the phrase until he spoke it out loud and realized it was what the horned n called him when he fought them. Usually after he made Rend and Ruin light with golden fla.
He focused on it first.
Aur Ma
Grants
Middling Concentration
Minor Strength
Those bound beneath the banner of the Empire of Chitin feel the cold grip of fear around their hearts in your presence.
Empire of Chitin? That must be the na of the nation of rift monsters that appeared from the majority of rifts. Seras had told him that they were a conquering people that brought others beneath them such as the lizardfolk and he presud the horrible chitin monsters he'd fought were their vanguard. He would like more information about them, but given the language barriers and the imdiate attempts at murder when they encountered one another he didn't see that happening any ti soon.
He turned his attention to his new Knight title.
Knight of Hu
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Grants:
Middling Speed
Minor Strength
Minor Durability
Michael nodded. It was good to gain sothing that granted him a bit of extra speed. He didn't think he'd ever get to the sa level as Pyotr and Marcus with it, but having a middling boon in that direction was very helpful. It had seed so far that his Major Recovery from his first title had in a way shaped all of his subsequent titles and deeds in a more specific direction. It made him more willing to tank hits and exert himself, which led to more durability titles and deeds, which ant he was on the front lines more, which ant more strength titles and deeds. It all seed to feed into itself in a way that had pushed him into the specialized role he had developed. He rembered Pyotr and Davi's roles being very similar to his own at first until they gradually deviated. He guessed that it was their initial titles that put them on their separate tracks.
He took a mont to focus back on his Champion of the Gods title to see if there had been any changes.
Champion of the Gods
Grants:
Middling Strength
Major Durability
Major Protection
Middling Recovery
Middling Concentration
Minor Reaction
Minor Magicka
Minor Speed
Seras's Favor- All spells related to barriers and shields use less Magicka
Blessing- Eyes of Love
Blessing- Eyes of Judgent
All feats and actions are in devotion to the gods and can strengthen this title
These actions can still reward other Titles and Deeds
He blinked. Major Durability and Protection? It seed that Seras was very pleased with him. His Major Recovery had been the main thod by which he'd survived and grown since he'd arrived, and now he had two other Major boons in his favor both of which were keyed into keeping him alive.
Once he was done looking over everything, Michael went to help Lance with requisitioning horses, lances, packs, rations, and whatever else they needed. Their system wasn't too different from Stents, though it was a lot less formal. Stent preferred a much thicker paper trail for everything, which Michael preferred in so ways, but that was just his own sense of order trying to place itself over everything else.
Once they got everything requisitioned Michael went back to the smith to pick up his freshly repaired armor and shield, and picked up a bundle of seven javelins as well. With the flying monsters they'd been encountering lately he felt that he needed to make sure he had so ranged options for dealing with things so that he didn't need to rely on creating steps out of barrier spells that let him clumsily strike at them, or let them gouge into him just so he could assure himself of a strike.
By late afternoon Michael, Ollie, Blake, Laird, and Lance were all mounted and ready to get moving.
"Everyone ready?" asked Lance.
"Yes ser," said Laird with a salute.
Michael decided to copy the gesture sincerely, and Ollie and Blake did it with just a bit of a mocking edge, more in Laird's direction than Lance's.
They rode out of Greathollow with Blake, Lance, and Laird all waving goodbyes or trading salutes with the squires, knights, soldiers, and officers that they passed. Even on the road there was a steady trickle of n and won of martial bearing. So were injured, and Michael would pause everyone for a mont to heal them before they continued. None of them minded the diversions, seeing as it supported their brothers and sisters in arms.
They rode for hours without a break. Michael and Ollie were uncomfortable in the saddle, having not ridden in nearly a year, but the horses they'd been given were of good temperant and so they were able to regain so confidence as they rode without trouble. Michael had been concerned that he'd experience the sa discomfort he had the last ti he'd ridden, with painfully chapped and blistered thighs he'd need to routinely heal, but this ti he had no such issues. He attributed it to his increased durability making that kind of minor injury an impossibility for him.
The knights were, of course, consummate riders and so had already built up the calluses and toughness necessary to be on horseback for long periods of ti. Ollie had a more unique way of handling it, simply making himself float just a bit over the saddle. Michael was certain that if he managed to cast such a spell, which was a near impossibility, it would have only lasted for a few minutes before he was roughly deposited back on the saddle, but in Ollie's case he actually saw the man start to dose in the air on multiple occasions.
The first night, they all camped on the side of the road in a small clearing that seed to have been made for exactly that purpose. It was a quiet night with them shifting watch every two hours, and before long they were back on the road. Lataxia was about a week away on horseback and this pattern proceeded for the next few days. As they were travelling one day though, Michael felt the building dread in his gut that indicated a rift was nearby, and based on how it felt he was certain that it was one that contained the horned n.
"There's a rift nearby," he said, pulling his horse to a stop. "Horned n, about two and a half miles that way," he pointed slightly off the direction they were following the road.
Lance frowned. "Blake, who lives near here?" he asked.
She scratched her chin. "So isolated farms, nothing more."
"We can have the next soldier or knight we pass to give notice to the nearest village's militia. I believe it would be Bellsdale," said Laird.
He looked at Michael. "I've only encountered horned n twice. What threat would they be to the area?"
"An enormous one. They're part of the faction actually trying to conquer this world. They're also maneaters, so what they'd do at an isolated farmstead…" he left it in the air.
Lance nodded. "We're going to take care of the rift, then we'll keep moving. Eyes open as we move. If the rift is that close there could be horned n waiting along the road for us."
Michael expected so argunt from Laird, knowing his preference for orders and the fact that the man's wife was in Lataxia, but he simply nodded and pulled his horse into line as they kept moving down the road toward the rift.
Michael was glad that Lance had given the order he did. If he hadn't then Michael would've had to disobey and disagree with him, and he didn't want to challenge the fresh sergeant on his leadership if he didn't have to. Michael assud he'd want to take care of the rift right away, but they'd been separated for so ti and Lance was young enough that change happened quickly to him, especially with how volatile things had been for him.
They were nearly halfway to the rift when the ambush began.
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