A pull string bag sat flat and empty on one shelf with the handful of jewels Cindra had noticed earlier. There were a few old books, and a wooden chalice.
“I’d love to know what’s back there,” I said, running my hand across the engraved pattern on the stone door.
Cindra lifted a handful of burning sticks from the urn she had lit. “Then let’s go,” she said.
“You go,” Vix said, a touch of resignation in her voice. “I’ll cook the damn bird. Now that we have fire that shouldn’t be too hard.”
“Thank you, Vix!” I said. Cindra and I opened the stone door at the rear of the temple.
A short corridor ended in a T-intersection. Long dark hallways extended to either side. It looked like they wrapped around the temple’s perimeter. We turned right, and after following the tunnel’s contour for some time, we found a set of stairs that led down.
We kept walking until I saw light ahead. There was a small room, but the floor was made entirely of sharp stone spikes. Cindra shrugged. Neither of us knew what this room was for.
“Look,” she said. “There’s a sign.”
Sure enough, a carving in the stone said, “Meditation Beds.”
“So people are supposed to lie on these spikes and what, think about how the pointy side of a stone spike is its least comfortable?”
“What a strange room,” Cindra said. “And there are a few pinpricks of light coming in from the ceiling, like the builders had almost carved right through the rock that forms the path to the temple’s entrance.
“Which would make the temple totally inaccessible,” I said. “Let’s head back. I don’t think I need a meditation nap just yet.”
We traced the tunnel back to the door we had come through first, then tried the other side of the long hallway. This one led to another door. Behind it was a large room with eight stone slabs. A carving in the wall said, “Recovery Beds.”
“Ha,” I said. “Recovery from what, meditation? I have a lot to learn about being a head priest.”
The smell of barbecued bird lured us back toward Vix. She had finished plucking and roasting the bird we hunted, and it smelled delicious.
“It doesn’t taste how it smells,” she said as we approached. “Not even by half.”
She was right. The meat was gamey and tough to chew. I was hungry enough to eat my share of it though, and I knew better than to complain after all of Vix’s efforts.
“I’m sure it was the most delicious a forest hen could be,” I said. “You outdid yourself.”
Actually, Nola said, it tastes much better if you burn berries in the fire while it roasts. It absorbs the evaporating juices and gets more tender. Fun fact!
You couldn’t have told us this when we brought the bird in here?, I asked.
Hey, Nola said, I’m still evolving. I’ll get the timing right one day.
“Sorry we still don’t have a door,” Vix said. “I thought I’d be well on my way by now.”
“On your way?” I asked.
“To the elven lands to look for work,” she said. “Humans don’t have enough paying jobs for a fox like me, and they’re a little… judgmental. Present company excluded, of course.”
“Mercifer was an elf,” Cindra said, “perhaps I’ll join you if you don’t mind company. I’d like to find my maker.”
“Let’s get some rest before we make future plans,” I said. I had just met these girls, but the thought of losing them so soon really bothered me. I felt like we all had a connection. “It’s dark now, and there are some stone beds in the back.”
“I’d rather sleep here,” Vix said, “by the fire.” She curled up next to the flame and wrapped her long tail around her body and across her eyes.
“And I’m not going anywhere alone,” Cindra said. “Not after spending years by myself.”
“Okay,” I said. “Here it is.” I lay on the stone floor and waited for exhaustion to do its thing.
+8
I woke up the next morning to something soft tickling my nose. It was Vix’s tail. Somehow, in the middle of the night, she had cuddled against me and I threw an arm over her. Her tail was pressed between our bodies and its tip brushed against my nose.
“You two are so cute,” Cindra said. Vix stirred at the sound of her voice, and I blushed. I quickly pulled my arm away, not sure how that contact would be received.
Vix just stretched and yawned. “Time to get started on that door.”
Good, Nola said. Two of Duul’s warriors are near.
What?!, I asked. How near?
More than a day’s trek, but they approach. They know not all of the gods reside in the cities. I don’t know where Duul himself is, but he has managed to assassinate two more minor gods while you slept. It’s only a matter of time before they find me here.
I’ll protect you, I said.
Not dressed like that you won’t, Nola said. Go to the city of Valleyvale, to the east. Equip yourself properly for the battle ahead.
“Cindra,” I asked. “You said you’re a negotiatrix, right?”
“Yes,” she replied.
“I was thinking about taking a trip to Valleyvale. With Meadowdale off limits, it’s the nearest city. I’ll need supplies for what’s ahead. Would you be able to help me get a fair price for what I need?”
“Perhaps,” she said, “if you were negotiating with cockroaches. I couldn’t even bend that brockerball’s sympathy, how would I help with experienced shopkeepers?”
“If you’ll allow me,” I said, “I can upgrade your skills and attributes so that you’ll be better equipped to do just that.”
“Oh,” Cindra said. “Do make the necessary adjustments then.”
I opened the menu before me. Cindra had clearly been created and then abandoned without any skill adjustment whatsoever, but years of negotiating with insects had provided her a lot of XP to work with.
My first thought was that it was odd that she had no last name, a situation I could empathize with. I still wasn’t sure my own surname felt real, having just discovered it yesterday. I got to work improving Cindra’s attributes and unlocking some skills.
Δ
Skillmeister View of:
Cindra
Base Attribute / XP to Next / Intended Change / Total XP Cost
-
1 Constitution / 25 XP to Next / 1 –> 5 / Total XP Cost: 250
-
1 Vivacity / 25 XP to Next / 1 –> 4 / Total XP Cost: 150
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1 Strength / 25 XP to Next / 1 –> 4 / Total XP Cost: 150
-
1 Hardiness / 25 XP to Next / 1 –> 3 / Total XP Cost: 75
-
1 Focus / 25 XP to Next / 1 –> 6 / Total XP Cost: 375
-
1 Resolve / 25 XP to Next / 1 –> 3 / Total XP Cost: 75
-
TOTAL BASE ATTRIBUTE XP COST: 1,075
Stats Affected by Change
-
[Constitution] Health Points (HP): 100/100 –> 500/500
-
[Vivacity] Action Points (AP): 20/20 –> 80/80
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[Strength] Phys. Damage Inflict Range: 10-12 –> 40-49
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[Hardiness] Phys. Damage Block Range: 5-8 –> 16-23
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[Focus] Mag. Damage Inflict Range: 10-12 –> 60-73
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[Resolve] Mag. Damage Block Range: 5-8 –> 16-23
-
Skills For Weapon Class: None
-
[Null]
Intended Change: None
Cost Subtotaclass="underline" 0
TOTAL SKILL XP COST: 0
Skills for Special Class: Negotiatrix
-
Locked.
Eye of Beholding 1.
Lock eyes with your target for 30 seconds to gain uncanny perception from which to base negotiation tactics.
[Passive] [Requires: Strength 4, Focus 6] [375 XP to unlock].
-
Improve to Eye of Beholding 2 to reduce gaze time to 26 seconds. [Passive] [Requires: Strength 6, Focus 9] [750 XP to improve].