In sharp contrast to the dwarf’s hygiene, his barn was tidy and well kept. It smelled a bit musty, but would be a lot more comfortable than sleeping outdoors. Tools in pristine condition lined one wall between shelving and a couple of workbenches. Some of them were obviously for wood-working and farming, but most Raith had no idea what they might be for.
He fished the bedrolls out of his satchel and handed them out. There was plenty of room for everyone to spread out and they took advantage of the space.
“I thought dwarves and elves got along. Has that changed?”
Silas’s question wasn’t directed to anyone in particular, but Thea shook her head.
“If that had changed, the whole world would know. They’ve been allies since the Age of Giants ended. Probably the most ancient alliance on Tela. Dad always said it works so well because dwarves and elves don’t want the same things. Dwarves want their deep stone fortresses and elves want the sky. Dwarves covet rare metals and elves hoard their pretty gems.”
Silas nodded in understanding and laid back on his bedroll.
“Wonder what his problem is, then.”
Raith didn’t think it was likely any of them would ask the surly dwarf. After everyone settled in, he took a peek at his pattern and was pleasantly surprised.
“Did anyone else level up?”
He’d made it to level three in both [Rope Dart Wielder] and [Thief Acrobat]. That gave him two new [Skills] to stitch while he had some time to kill. He also gained two levels in [Rare Tome Procurement Specialist]. It was nice to discover that using his [Mnemonic Library] for something other than sleeping actually helped with level progression in his [Scholar] class.
“I earned enough to make the third braid after…” Silas trailed off and dropped his head, frowning at the ground. Raith felt another pang of guilt. Silas shook it off and looked back up.
“Anyway, I’m going to put off braiding until I can review the patterns and make sure they’re fresh in my head. Don’t want to mess it up out here in the middle of nowhere.”
Thea nodded at the good sense of that.
“I’ve gained a few, as well. Enjoy the easy levels now, because after the third braid it’s much slower going.” She took her round ironwood shield off her back and began wiping it down with some oil and a rag as she spoke. “I know my [Shield Adept] and [Sylvan Aegis] [Skills] well enough to stitch, but I’ll hold off on [Seedvine Druid] till we visit the grove.”
Raith had forgotten about her [Quest] to check in on the druid grove and was glad the party had a normal mission to accomplish. Accomplishing an easy, non-criminal, [Quest] should be good for morale after his debacle.
Nyhm was already meditating, but Raith had no idea if he was stitching [Skills] or just avoiding conversation. Tollvier had found a corner as far away from everyone else as he could get and was lying on top of his fancy bedroll with his eyes closed. Following suit, Raith shut his eyes and examined his pattern.
After watching his dart glance off of those emerald shells, he was really tempted to stitch [Piercing Shot] as his next [Warrior] [Skill]. But as much as he hated to admit it, he needed [Lesser Strength]. There had already been too many situations where it would have been extremely useful, and there was no sense in putting it off. That meant upgrading another [Skill] to free up an unbraided slot, rather than stitching something entirely new like [Piercing Shot].
He again eyed [Lesser Speed]. Not only was running fast useful, it was incredibly fun. But much like [Lesser Strength], he had to admit that good ole reliable, boring endurance would be a lot more useful to start with. Exhaling a long suffering sigh, he decided to upgrade [Lesser Endurance] to [Enhanced Endurance] and then stitched [Lesser Strength] in the empty slot.
Look at me, growing as a person. Oh well, maybe I’ll upgrade speed next time.
Then he remembered what his dad had said and his heart soared.
Wait, I can upgrade speed with my [Rogue] class!
That would leave him with an empty unbraided [Warrior] slot, though. Which meant no trap [Skills] and no [Lesser Evasion] upgrade. One of the [Rogue] patterns on his short list was the trap equivalent of [Distinguished Guest] called [Trap Trammel], which would disarm a non-magical trap with a one hour cooldown. It would be an invaluable [Skill] for the team. Especially since his trap detection training with Silas had included exactly zero disarming training, which is an entirely different skill set.
With a heavy heart, he again made the decision to wait on speed. After reviewing the pattern in his [Mnemonic Library], he upgraded [Lesser Evasion] to [Acrobatic Evasion] and stitched [Trap Trammel] in the empty slot.
One of these days I’ll get to take the fun [Skills]. Actually, [Acrobatic Evasion] might be fun. Maybe I can get one of these guys to attack me in a little while.
***
Thea glared at her friend as he worked on his pattern and thought about attacking him. First, he’d infuriated her by nearly turning the entire team into fugitives. Then he had the nerve to scare her with all those damn beetles. Not that she’d been scared for herself, but watching them swarm Raith like that had nearly sent her into a panic.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Thank the Weavers he’s such a nimble little bastard. He probably could have gotten away fine if she hadn’t rushed in like an idiot. She cursed herself, angry that Raith had to be the one to tell her how to use her magic effectively in the fight. Although to be fair, he probably used his [Divine Skill] to give it more thought than she’d had time to spare.
While skirmishers had been great for helping her hone her shield skills, it had done nothing to train the tactical use of her magic. As the [Druid] in charge of the city gardens, her mother hadn’t had much advice to offer on that subject, either.
In fact, both of her parents had actively discouraged her chosen classes, as well as her love of playing skirmishers. They’d thought her roughness and aggression was just a rebellious phase, not understanding she sincerely wanted to be an adventurer and not follow in their boring, stodgy footsteps. A sojourn to the Fae Wilds was not a journey for the faint of heart.
Speaking of my parents.
She made her way up a ramp leading into the loft of the barn to have some semblance of privacy for a bit. Nobody had made her feel uncomfortable about it, but it wasn’t always a joy being the only girl in the group. She opened the scroll case on her belt, glad that it hadn’t sunk to the bottom of the Pruxling with the rest of her gear.
That stuff wasn’t cheap. We need to find a way to earn some gold.
Thea pulled out the sympathetic scroll her father had given her to keep in touch. She hadn’t checked in since a few days after they left, and her parents were likely to be worried. A message was waiting for her as she unrolled the scroll, written in her father’s perfect, elegant handwriting.
“Something has occurred. Please respond immediately.”
Her stomach clenched at the words, thinking the worst. Had one of her parents been hurt? Did they know about the kingsmen?
The latter seemed unlikely, since Tolliver said even the noble families were unaware of their connection to the attack. She fetched the companion quill from the scroll case and scribbled a response. Her handwriting looked like an ogre’s after her father’s careful penmanship.
“Are you and mom alright?”
She worried that she would have to wait a long time for a response, but breathed a sigh of relief as the words faded away as a reply began to immediately scrawl across the paper. Although the fact that someone was monitoring to answer so quickly was not particularly encouraging, either.
“Yes, we are both fine, sweetheart.” It was her mother’s writing this time. “Your father had some questions about the team you are traveling with. Something related to the Order. Do you know anything about this?”
Thea cocked her head at the page in sincere bafflement. Why in the world would the Order care about a copper ranked adventuring team? She was about to reply with her confusion and paused, quill hovering just above the paper.
Was this related somehow to the river attack? Unless it was about Raith’s [Divine Skill]. But how could they know? She hadn’t breathed a word of it to anyone.
Thea knew a great many curse words, and they all ran merrily through her mind as she tried to figure out the best way to respond. Eventually, she decided the only way to play this was to feign ignorance.
“Why would the Order even know our team exists? What did dad say?”
“He suspects it is related to the noble who travels with you, but the sect leaders will not divulge their reasons. Are you alright? Have you located the Fendrey Druids?”
Fucking Tolliver? She knew they shouldn’t have trusted a noble. She looked down to see she’d written ‘Fuc…’ and quickly scribbled it out.
“I’m fine. We are all doing quite well, but haven’t made it to the grove yet. I will let you know when we arrive. Please update me if you find out anything about what the Order wants.”
“We will, honey. I love you. Stay safe.”
“Love you too. Tell dad the same. Also, please tell him not to leave any more terrifying cryptic messages for me.”
Another mess to deal with. Why couldn’t they just complete a couple of simple [Quests] and go level up at the tower like a normal team? Recalling that Raith was their captain, she gave up any hope of ever being a normal team.
Now that she’d had a chance to check in, it was time to stitch a couple of [Skills]. Thea got comfortable and closed her eyes.
Unbraided Patterns-
Class One: [Druid: Seedfriend]
Level One Skill: [Identify Plant]
Level Three Skill: [Verdant Ally]
Level Six Skill: [Seed Whisperer]
Level Nine Skill: [Moss Hoof]
Class Two: [Warrior: Shield User]
Level One Skill: [Deft Block]
Level Three Skill: [Shield Bash]
Level Six Skill: [Shield Throw]
Level Nine Skill: [Ricochet]
Class Three: [Warrior: Guardian]
Level One Skill: [Bearhide]
Level Three Skill: [Lesser Agility]
Level Six Skill: [Resilient Spirit]
Level Nine Skill: [Stand Firm]
First Braid Patterns-
Class One: [Druid: Seedvine Druid]
Level One Skill: [Enhanced Mental Strength]
Level Three Skill: [Unstitched]
Class Two: [Warrior: Shield Adept]
Level One Skill: [Enhanced Strength]
Level Three Skill: [Unstitched]
Class Three: [Warrior: Sylvan Aegis]
Level One Skill: [Enhanced Endurance]
Level Three Skill: [Unstitched]
After the frustrating beetle battle, she was torn between wanting to improve offense and the need to keep herself from getting torn up by pincers like that again. After some deliberation, she decided to split the difference by getting a defensive [Skill] with [Sylvan Aegis] and go offense in [Shield Adept].
Upgrading [Bearhide] to [Barkskin] should go a long way towards cutting down on healing potion expenses. In the open unbraided spot, she stitched [Minor Reflect], which would return a small portion of the damage from a blocked blow back onto her opponent.
The [Shield Adept] decision was a bit more difficult. There were several good offensive abilities she wanted. Upgrading [Ricochet] to [Doublestrike] would allow her to hit two opponents with a [Shield Throw]. All the upgrades on that rare [Skill] path were excellent, and she intended to stitch them. It was just a matter of when.
It would also be nice to improve [Shield Bash]. The upgraded version added width to the concussive force, and the cooldown was quicker. With that, she could have taken out a few of those insects at a time, instead of bludgeoning them one by one.
In the end, she decided that the team was probably not going to be facing swarms like that very often. She’d decided a long time ago, in the face of much ridicule on the skirmisher field, that she wanted to perfect the [Shield Throw] for combat applications, and had some good ideas about how to synergize that with her druidic abilities.
After upgrading [Ricochet] to [Doublestrike], Thea stitched [Friendly Intervention] in the empty slot. It provided a battlefield rush like [Shield Bash], but to block an attack meant for an ally.
Satisfied that everything was stitched correctly, she allowed her eyes to remain closed and began to drift off into a nap. At some point, she would have to figure out how to get Raith off to the side so they could talk about the Tolliver problem.
But not right this second.
