“He resists,” Ambry said.
“We threatened to leave,” Lily continued, “which of course would leave Valleyvale unprotected. He didn’t care. He said if we were going to leave, we shouldn’t delay. So we asked around to see who wanted to come with us, and here we are.
“Will you take us in?” There was real worry in her eyes, like I might decline. She and her sister had defied their father, the very ruler of Valleyvale, and led two dozen women and men here seeking safety and freedom.
“Life here isn’t easy,” I said. “Duul and his army will find us. We’ll need to fight, all of us. And we don’t have many amenities.”
“We’re not afraid to fight,” Lily said.
“Or work,” Ambry added.
“Then welcome aboard,” I said. “As long as Nola accepts your pledges you’re all welcome at the temple.”
Yay, more fealty pledges!, Nola said. And it’s more than just a temple now, it’s a settlement. You’re doing it, Arden, you’re building me a city!
Cindra and Mamba came down from their towers.
“Welcome to our humble settlement,” I said to the group as the last member emerged from the trees and crowded around me. “Here we serve and protect Nola, the goddess of clever insight.”
Tell them that I’m the goddess that sparks the idea to mix one good thing with another good thing, like energy potions with alcohol, or bacon with ice cream!
“Nola is the goddess of mash-ups, among other things,” I said.
Everyone murmured their approval.
I never thought of it that way, Nola said.
“Starting with Lily and Ambry, I will train everyone’s skills free of charge. All I ask is that you use your talents to improve our settlement. We have a full day of building ahead of us, but tonight, we’ll have a feast inside the temple to welcome you all here.”
Mamba sidled up to me and asked, in a quiet voice, “Does that mean we can finally open the wine?”
“Yes,” I said so that only she could hear, “but I can’t drink too much. I need to focus on how we’re progressing here.”
“Just enough to dance with me,” she said, “that’s all I ask.”
Lily stepped forward. “Do me first.”
I quickly upgraded my own Precision Training skill to the next level. This would save everyone I trained today additional XP that we could invest in making them even stronger later. Then I cracked open Lily’s skills menu in the glowing blue writing that only I could see.
Δ
Skillmeister View of:
Lily Ingriss
Base Attribute / XP to Next / Intended Change / Total XP Cost
-
5 Constitution / 125 XP to Next / 5 –> 6 / Total XP Cost: 125
-
5 Vivacity / 125 XP to Next / 5 –> 6 / Total XP Cost: 125
-
7 Strength / 175 XP to Next / none / Total XP Cost: 0
-
7 Hardiness / 175 XP to Next / 7 –> 8 / Total XP Cost: 175
-
7 Focus / 175 XP to Next / 7 –> 8 / Total XP Cost: 175
-
7 Resolve / 175 XP to Next / none / Total XP Cost: 0
-
TOTAL BASE ATTRIBUTE XP COST: 600
Stats Affected by Change
-
[Constitution] Health Points (HP): 500/500 –> 600/600
-
[Vivacity] Action Points (AP): 100/100 –> 120/120
-
[Strength] Phys. Damage Inflict Range: 70-85
-
[Hardiness] Phys. Damage Block Range: 38-53 –> 43-61
-
[Focus] Mag. Damage Inflict Range: 70-85 –> 80-98
-
[Resolve] Mag. Damage Block Range: 38-53
-
Skills For Weapon Class: Battle Axe
-
Locked.
Guillotine 1.
Activate for 1% chance to decapitate any enemy with lower Hardiness than your own.
[50 AP to cast] [Requires: Hardiness 8, Focus 8] [125 XP to unlock].
-
Improve to Guillotine 2 to increase chance of success to 2%. [52 AP to cast] [Requires: Hardiness 10, Focus 10] [250 XP to improve].
…
Intended Change: 0 –> 1
Cost Subtotaclass="underline" 125
TOTAL BATTLE AXE SKILL XP COST: 125
Skills for Special Class: Ice Queen
-
Battle Cryo 4.
Freeze enemies in place for 10 seconds.
[14 AP to cast] [Requires: Strength 4, Resolve 4].
-
Improve to Battle Cryo 5 to increase immobility duration to 12 seconds. [15 AP to cast] [Requires: Strength 5, Resolve 5] [1,875 XP to improve].
…
Intended Change: 4 –> 5
Cost Subtotaclass="underline" 1,875
TOTAL ICE QUEEN SKILL XP COST: 1,875
Summary
-
Available XP: 2,712
Cost of Intended Changes: 2,600
Precision Training Discount (2%): 52
Total Adjusted Cost: 2,548
Total Projected Remaining: 164
Confirm?: Yes / No
∇
I explained the changes I was making for Lily, then confirmed them. Next I trained Ambry’s skills.
Δ
Skillmeister View of:
Ambry Ingriss
Base Attribute / XP to Next / Intended Change / Total XP Cost
-
5 Constitution / 125 XP to Next / 5 –> 6 / Total XP Cost: 125
-
5 Vivacity / 125 XP to Next / 5 –> 6 / Total XP Cost: 125
-
7 Strength / 175 XP to Next / 7 –> 8 / Total XP Cost: 0
-
7 Hardiness / 175 XP to Next / none / Total XP Cost: 175
-
7 Focus / 175 XP to Next / none / Total XP Cost: 175
-
7 Resolve / 175 XP to Next / 7 –> 8 / Total XP Cost: 0
-
TOTAL BASE ATTRIBUTE XP COST: 600
Stats Affected by Change
-
[Constitution] Health Points (HP): 500/500 –> 600/600
-
[Vivacity] Action Points (AP): 100/100 –> 120/120
-
[Strength] Phys. Damage Inflict Range: 70-85 –> 80-98
-
[Hardiness] Phys. Damage Block Range: 38-53
-
[Focus] Mag. Damage Inflict Range: 70-85
-
[Resolve] Mag. Damage Block Range: 38-53 –> 43-61
-
Skills For Weapon Class: Battle Staff
-
Locked.
Concuss 1.
Whack an enemy in the head for a 10% chance at rendering them unconscious.
Failed attacks cause dizziness instead. [25 AP to cast] [Requires: Strength 8, Resolve 8] [125 XP to unlock].
-
Improve to Concuss 2 to increase chance of causing unconsciousness to 12%. [26 AP to cast] [Requires: Strength 10, Resolve 10] [250 XP to improve].
…
Intended Change: 0 –> 1
Cost Subtotaclass="underline" 125
TOTAL BATTLE STAFF SKILL XP COST: 125
Skills for Special Class: Flame Dame
-
Holding Fire 4.
Conjure a single wall of flame up to 20 feet in perimeter that damages anyone or anything that crosses its path.
[14 AP to cast] [Requires: Hardiness 4, Focus 4].
-
Improve to Holding Fire 5 to increase perimeter of flame wall to 28 feet. [22 AP to cast] [Requires: Hardiness 6, Focus 6] [1,875 XP to improve].
…
Intended Change: 4 –> 5