“It strains him,” Stacia murmured sadly. “Iffin ya do nay need me, asthore, I will go join the others for a massage of me own.”
“I have a feeling you’re plotting something, Kitten.”
With a ‘Who, me?’ grin Stacia stepped to the door, “Me?” She didn’t wait around but ducked out quickly with a laugh.
Standing there in the room alone, Alburet wondered if he should stop Stacia. She was obviously going to go talk with Marysue about Gerald. Shaking his head, he opted to go see Stewart about training his new ability instead. He found Stewart at his normal table and made his way over through the growing crowd. “Hey Stewart, it’s been a bit.”
Looking up from his mug, Stewart nodded, “Been busy, I see. Here to train your next ability?”
“That was my plan, yes. You good to help me?”
Standing, Stewart led the way to the back room and down the tunnel to the room. As they got to the desk Stewart nudged the book to Alburet, “Take your time, you have a lot of choices to make if you go the one way.”
Alburet turned the book around to see his first option, Lasting Haze. Lasting Haze took Demonic Haze and turned it into a thirty minute buff instead of a five minute buff but at five times the mana cost. He had wanted a way to extend the duration of his buffs, so that was a decent option.
He glanced at his next option, Infernal Upgrade. Infernal Upgrade gave him the option to pick one of his minions and give them an extra ability. The book had him flip to the back to see all the options, so he did.
Blinking, he skimmed through all the options then went back over them slowly again. Each minion had four options he could choose from. Bob could get an AoE spell, the ability to remove a debuff from an ally, a passive one that turned his fire into Infernal Flames which cut fire resistance by 50%, or a spell that doubled an opponent’s mana cost for a short time.
Tiny’s options included an AoE taunt, which would be really useful in groups. There was also a single target stun with his shield, like Gerald had, an AoE interrupt, which hadn’t really been needed as of yet. Finally, there was also a damage mitigation ability that would stop seventy percent of all damage for five seconds that had a two-minute cooldown, perfect for tanking big boss abilities.
Stacia’s options included mostly control abilities. First was one that would confuse all enemies in an area, making them attack random targets with a chance of the effect breaking each time they were hit. Next was an ability that made a creature view her and her party as allies instead of enemies for two minutes, but with a ten-minute cooldown. The next ability was different in that it healed a target by taking life from the succubus, with a five-minute cooldown. Lastly was an ability to help with the healing ability, a life drain attack. The drain attack would siphon five percent of the target’s life and mana to the succubus, but also had a five-minute cooldown.
Mulling over his options, Alburet glanced at Stewart, who was watching him with an amused smile. “Lots of good choices here with the minion upgrades.”
“Yes, indeed,” Stewart replied as he put his feet up on the desk. “It is the choice that takes the most time. You’ll get the chance to upgrade a minion at each ability level for a while. So, it’s not the end of the world, but pick wisely.”
Alburet didn’t take long, selecting an ability for Stacia. Ally would cause her target to view her and her group as its ally, turning on its friends to help her. “I think Stacia needs an upgrade. I might have done differently, but it seems I’m part of a group now so I don’t need the Destroyer abilities as badly right now.”
Stewart stood up, nodding as Alburet touched the book confirming his choice. “Good pick. But why not get the area spell for your imp?”
“That was my next option, but we rarely engage more than two at a time that aren’t under control by Stacia and her double. So, it wouldn’t be nearly as effective as a better control spell that turns my foes into my allies.”
“That spell can be removed. You do realize that, I hope.”
Alburet nodded, “I’m sure it can. That’s kind of true of the Daze though, as well. An interrupt or stun on Stacia breaks the effect. With all that said, I chose what I did. Next time I will more than likely take something for Bob or Tiny. Though the heal and drain abilities for Stacia look really nice.”
Stewart laughed, “Now you begin to see one of the issues facing our kind. Not only are those options available next time, but also another ability plus the ones you’ve set aside before. A lot of people look down on our class as one that isn’t as useful as others. Truth of the matter is we’re more a jack-of-all trades than they could hope to be. We can’t tank, but our Destroyer can, at least for a bit. We can’t do the raw damage of others, like Elementalists, but between our own spells and our Imp we do okay. We also bring control into the equation with our Succubus, not many classes even have that option. Add in the ability to Copy a minion, plus the ability to upgrade them and we’re suited for filling any gap that needs it.”
“I couldn’t agree more. When I chose this class, I was thinking I would end up alone more often than I have. Even if I had, I could still progress just fine thanks to my minions. However, as a part of a team I can enhance my friends and help fill any role we need at the time.”
“Are you going out hunting again tomorrow?” Stewart asked with a thoughtful expression on his face.
“Probably not,” Alburet replied, “none of my two-souled friends will be around. The bridge between our worlds is due to come down again for a day. When it comes back up, a number of the two-souled will be like me. They’ll be here full time for a month, not coming and going as they used to. That’s requiring them to make concessions on the other world, which is taking them a few days. I was thinking of staying in the city and enjoying the married life.”
“Would you mind me coming by tomorrow?”
“Feel free. We’ll probably sleep late though, so please try to make it in the afternoon.”
“I will do so. I wish you a goodnight then, Alburet,” Stewart said, shaking hands with Alburet. “Oh, and thank you. You have done right with Stacia, she’s been happier than I can ever remember her being since she met you.”
“Truthfully, she’s made me just as happy,” Alburet replied, then used the portal in the room to teleport to the graveyard outside the inn. As he stood there for a moment he wondered if Stacia would be done soon. He sent her a message telling her he was headed home, but to take her time and enjoy the massage.
He had just pulled a pot of tea off the stove when Stacia walked in the door. “Faster than I thought you would be, Kitten.”
“I be eager to curl up with ya, master,” she crossed the room as he set down the pot and hugged him. “Ya make me happy.”
“You make me happy as well, my darling Kitten,” Alburet told her as he breathed in the scent of vanilla oil that had been spread on her skin. “Shall we have some tea then retire for the night?”
“We can do that, but me thinkin’ be tha’ sleep will be a bit off yet,” Stacia said, letting him go to pour their tea.
“With you, I do not doubt that,” Alburet laughed, accepting the cup from her before she sat down in his lap with a cup of her own.
Alburet
Human Summoner
Level 20
Strength: 25 (20)
Agility: 25 (20)
Constitution: 30
Intelligence: 75 (45)
Wisdom: 115 (60)
Charisma: 35
Health: 1300
Mana: 2150