Base Class: Support
Skills:
-Natural Regeneration I
Outside of combat, you will naturally heal 1 HP
& 1 MP every ten seconds.
(This skill can be leveled up)
Spells:
-Heal Self I
Heal yourself for 25 HP
Cost: 10 MP
Cooldown: 2 minutes
(This skill can be leveled up)
-Heal Other I
Heal someone else 25 HP
Cost: 10 MP
Cooldown: 1 minute
Range: 20 feet, LOS
(This skill can be leveled up)
-Deflect I
Cast a temporary shield over yourself or an
ally that will decrease all damage received by 35%
Cost: 20 MP
Duration: 4 minutes
Cooldown: 2 minutes
Range: 20 feet, LOS
(This skill can be leveled up)
Secondary Class: Necrotic Healer
Skills:
Siphon Lifesource
Pull lifesource from any plant, creature, or sentient
being that you can touch to convert into Necrotic Healer spells
Spells:
-Replenish
Refill a mana pool by siphoning lifesource
Cooldown: 5 minutes
-Give and Take
Heal self or other
Range: touch
(requires lifesource)
Kate stared at the list, dumbfounded. “Wait. Why doesn't this second new spell have a cost? Heal Self needs ten MP. So how do I know how much lifesource to use for this Give and Take spell?”
There is no set cost. The amount of lifesource you take will convert into whatever power is needed to do the spell. Let's say you briefly touch a...
“Tree,” she said quickly, afraid Io was about to suggest a person.
You touch a tree briefly, only pulling a small amount of lifesource, and use it heal an ally. They may gain only 20 HP or so. But keep your hand to the tree and drain it, and you could fill your ally's health to the brim. This is why this one cautioned that it would be easy to kill someone. If it were not a tree but a person, you could kill one to save another from the brink of death.
She flinched slightly, then firmed her resolve. No. She had already promised not to do such a thing. Trees and monsters surely had plenty of lifesource. Over-powered class indeed! To think she could take all the life out of a tree and heal a party member and still have all her base mana left for her base spells... It was incredible. The one downside was the range; she had to be close to her target and had to keep her hand on whatever she was drawing lifesource from. She couldn't hide way in the back and hope to heal a tank ten feet away with this ability.
“There's only two new spells.”
The Necrotic Healer's list of spells is small but powerful. You will eventually gain new ones as you level up.
The door opened abruptly, and Kate jumped.
“All done, then?” Gren demanded, lingering in the doorway with his customary scowl.
Kate opened her mouth to answer, but all that came out was a jaw-cracking yawn.
We will have to continue your Basic Training tomorrow, it seems. You have had a long and trying day.
“We're done for now.” Kate held out her leg, grinning proudly. “And look! All fixed up.”
Gren stepped closer, studying her leg with gruff approval. “Not a scratch. How long did it take?”
“I don't know, thirty seconds? Less?”
“You see? You humans are able to channel healing much quicker than we can.” He rubbed thoughtfully at his jawline, eyes wandering towards the darkness just outside the window. “I suppose you'll be wanting to set out in the morning to find your own kind.”
“I think so. I mean, I can't hide out here forever.”
“No. You'll be safer with other Heroes. And a healer's too valuable to waste out here in the sticks.” His gaze slowly swept back to her. “I suppose I can help get you a little closer. Show you the way to the closest road. But for all my help, I expect something in return.”
Kate stomped on the first scary thought that popped in her head. Gren was grumpy, but he had been more or less decent so far. “Such as?”
“I'm not the only one who lives in these parts. Even someone trying to avoid other people has neighbors. There's a large family that lives not too far from here. It's on the way to that road I was speaking of. They're in sore need of a healer.”
Kate was quick to agree. She could definitely use the practice. And there was a reason she'd gravitated towards the support class. If someone needed help she could give, she couldn't see a reason not to offer it.
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A little tension she hadn't noticed he'd been carrying seemed to ease out of his broad shoulders. Had he been expecting an argument? He definitely didn't trust humans much. Remembering Io's warning, she decided to keep her secondary class choice to herself.
Gren motioned towards the bed. “You can take the bed. I've slept in front of the fire more than once for the warmth.”
She thanked him and stumbled over to the bed in the corner. She hadn't realized just how exhausted she was until that moment. The mattress rustled and was scratchy as if it was filled with straw, and the quilt was musty and smelled a bit too much like body odor. But she'd no sooner pulled it up over her than she fell fast fast asleep.
~*~
Unfamiliar sounds awakened Kate the next morning. For several long moments she lay still, her brain foggy with sleep. Who was that making all that racket? Not her roommates, they both had later classes than her. Ben? No. She'd kicked that idiot to the curb for good a month ago. And she'd taken his spare key, so who--?
She sat up quickly, fearful that someone had broken in.
Gren looked up from where he was banging around in the tiny kitchen area. He scowled as he met her wild gaze. “Finally awake? The sun's been up over an hour.”
She stared at his golden skin. Right. Gren. The cabin. The whole horrible ordeal from the previous day came rushing back and she groaned. “I was hoping everything had been a bad dream.”
Not all bad! Io zipped over to bob in her face. Remember, you can do spells now!
Ah. Fair point.
Shoving the quilt aside, she got to her feet. “Io, I'm almost afraid to ask, but I do get to go home at some point, right?”
Io wavered. Short answer: yes. The longer one will have to wait until later. Our new friend seems quite impatient to eat breakfast and get going.
Gren frowned as she came over to join him at the table. “So it's true. You can actually hear that thing speak in your head?”
“Yes.” She glanced at where Io hovered by her shoulder. “I'm still not sure what to make of... it. I'm not even sure what it is, except that its name is Io and it calls itself a Guardian.”
“They're vassals of the gods.” Gren put a plate down in front of her covered in what looked like some sort of greasy meat and poorly scrambled eggs. “Messengers or spies depending on who you ask. They only ever talk to Heroes. That's how we know another wave of you lot is due; the little firebugs show up everywhere.”
Firebug, Io grumbled. This one is not a firebug. This one is the esteemed vassal of-- It stopped abruptly.
“Of?” Kate prompted.
It is no matter, Io said, trying to sound lofty. Eat up, regain your strength. We have a long day ahead of us.
Kate poked the meat cautiously with her fork, then risked a bite. It was a bit like sausage, but with a stronger taste. And very greasy. She was afraid to ask what animal it came from. Still, she was hungry and it would be rude to refuse it. She ate half the meat and all the eggs, and even managed to finish the bland tea-like drink offered because at least it was hot. She longed for sugar, but there didn't seem to be any. No salt for her eggs, either. She tried hard not to think achingly of pancakes and bacon.
Once breakfast was over, Gren went to rummage around in his trunk for something other than a robe for her to wear while Kate tried to ignore all the grease sitting in her stomach. She was dying for a bath, especially after spending so long in the tree, but a surreptitious glance around revealed exactly zero bathtubs. The thought brought on another rather urgent need.
“Um, I need to use the bathroom.”
Gren looked up at her. “What?”
“I need to pee.”
He sighed, pointing towards the door. “It's out back by the water barrel. Might as well wash your face while you're out there and do something about your hair. You look awful.”
“Gee, thanks.” Wrapping the robe tighter around herself, Kate stepped out into the brisk morning air. “It was warm enough when I arrived, but last night was cold, too,” she complained to Io and she minced her way through the dew-wet grass. “What season is it here?”
Early in the season you consider autumn. You will need to find warm clothes soon. Winters can be a bit brutal.
“I'll add it to the to-do list.” She went around back and came to a stop. “I don't know what I was expecting,” she said glumly, staring at the obvious outhouse. “Io, I know you're not, uh, corporeal or whatever, but do you mind waiting out here while I hold my breath and run in there?”
Very well, if you insist.
She took a deep breath and hurried into the cramped little outhouse to do her business. It was somehow worse than a port-a-potty, but she survived the experience.
She came out and let out an explosive breath. “All right, now for cleaning up.”
The barrel Gren had mentioned was nearby, as was a squat three-legged stool holding a straight razor, a chipped mirror, a slimy grey chunk she assumed was soap, and even a yellowish comb that she suspected might be carved from bone. She washed her hands, scrubbed her face, and did what she could with the comb, wincing as she teased the tangles out of her hair. Feeling marginally better, she ran on her tiptoes back inside.
She wiped the dew off her feet on the rough mat just inside the door, eyeing the clothes Gren had draped over the back of a chair for her.
“They were my son's,” he said shortly. “They won't fit, but they'll have to do better than any of mine. You'll have to just deal with the pants.”
Kate barely caught the question before it left her mouth. This was the first she'd heard of a son, but somehow she sensed the subject was deep in None of My Business territory. Gren stepped outside so she could have some privacy, and she quickly slipped out of the robe and her dirty nightshirt, bringing the clothes over closer to the fire to dress in its warmth.
“Won't fit, no kidding,” she muttered as she slipped on the plain trousers. The material was soft with age and wear, but she was definitely going to need some sort of belt, and she had to roll up the bottom hems twice. The shirt came down almost to her knees and she was swimming in it, but at least it too was soft and comfortable. She rolled up the sleeves and then had to hold onto the loose waistband of the pants to keep them up. “I'm decent,” she called.
Gren came in, then stopped, taking her in. For the first time his mouth wavered in what looked like an amused smile threatening to break free. But all he said was, “I'll find you a belt.”
He had only two belts, both far too large. In the end he cut a bit of leather cord from a much-patched bag and had her tie it tightly as a makeshift belt instead.
“Not sure what to do about shoes, but you can't go walking barefoot.” He looked around for a moment, then reached up towards a rack overhead that Kate hadn't noticed before. It had several small animal skins hanging from it. “I was going to make something with these, but I suppose I can spare one. Sit.”
She did, and he took rough measurements of her feet with his big hands before pulling out a knife and cutting the skin in half. He punched holes in a circle around the edges, wrapped each of her feet in the skin like a pouch, then pulled twine through the holes and tied it off tightly. “They'll feel odd to walk in, and you'll need actual shoes sooner or later, but at least you won't be stumbling through the woods barefoot.”
Remembering how much her feet had hurt last night, she nodded in thanks. The puffy “shoes” looked ridiculous, but he was right. It was better than nothing. And they were even a bit comfortable once she got used to walking back and forth in them. He'd put them on fur-side in, which felt nice on her feet. Glancing up at the hanging skins reminded her of something.
“Io, you had me loot those wolves last night. Where did that stuff go?”
Say 'Inventory' to access your supplies. Any loot you collect will go into it automatically so long as you have room. This one will explain it more in depth later.
“Inventory.”
The window that popped up showed a grid, five by five. The first row was already full of little pictograms of the loot she'd gotten from the wolves. 5 wolf furs, two wolf fangs, and one wolf eye. Gross. In the upper right were the words Buds: 0. Seriously? Did it count how many friends she had or something? She brushed it aside. “Hey, Gren, do you want the furs from those wolves last night? After all, you killed them.”
Gren looked at her with a puzzled frown. “I didn't have time to skin them.”
“Well I did. Kind of. And I don't think I need them. Io, how--?”
Simply focus on what you wish to take out.
She did so, and tried not to jump when what had a moment ago been a small picture of a stack of furs suddenly landed heavily in her arms full-sized. “Oof! Oh, gross!” The smell hit her like a punch to the face. Putting them in her inventory had not magically scraped or cured them. The skin side felt slimy. The greasy sausage in her stomach roiled, threatening to come back up. She tilted her head back, trying to avoid the ripe stench and wagging them at Gren. “Here, here, take them. It's not much payback for you saving me, but it's pretty much literally the only thing I have of value right now.”
He took them with a strange look on his face. “How did you get these? Are you telling me you extracted these from the wolves in the time it took you to catch up to me in the woods?”
“Um. Yes? It's a Hero thing, I guess.”
“Loot,” he repeated blankly.
“I'm not sure how to explain it briefly, I'll be honest.”
“Never mind. It's an incredible ability.” He examined each skin closely. “I'll bring them with us; I can trade them with my neighbors.” He rolled them all up tightly and stuffed them into a bag. Then he retrieved his woodcutter's axe and the bow hanging over the door.
Shrugging on his quiver, he grabbed a small satchel off the table. “We'd best get going. It will take at least two hours to get to my neighbors. If you're going to jabber at your little firebug the whole way, do me a favor and keep some distance between us so I can tune you out.”
