Safely back in the Treehouse, Trelain’s bucket on full display and posed for his return, I dug into my notifications.

  You have slain a common Gort Varaz.

  You have slain a common Gort Varaz.

  You have slain an uncommon Gort Varaz.

  You have slain an uncommon Gort Varaz.

  Congratulations! You have earned the achievement: Basic Human Decency. By burying the fallen, you have honored your ancestors… or something. Good job giving a fuck!

  It’s been a while since you’ve looked, would you like to see your character sheet to view these changes?

  Yes

  Gregory Zell

  Human Initiate

  Progression to Acolyte: 3/18 powers

  Disciplines: Mirror, Metallurgy, Fauna

  Power Suite Progression: 3/18 filled

  Current Power Suite: Mirror Door, Furnace, Spirit Avatar

  Passive Perks: Reader, Dimensional Traveler, Mirror Affinity

  Achievements: Literate, Basic Human Decency, Burning Body, So That’s Your Spirit, Portal Away

  Inherent Skills: Triage, Calm Under Pressure, Emergency Intervention, Identify, Polyglot, Quick Skill

  Satisfied with my character sheet updates, I moved on to examine the loot my first monster battle had yielded. I needed a weapon, other than my fists. I did have that sword I picked up from the camp, but considering that I wasn’t proficient in blades at the moment… I hoped for something better.

  The first space in my inventory was taken up by a stack of Gort Varaz pelts, which was apparently some sort of crafting material. I saved those for later; either to sell if I ever made it to a town, or to learn some leatherworking skills on.

  The next few items were even less exciting.

  I had a stack of guts, and a stack of boar hairs… both apparently used for alchemical purposes. From the uncommon monster kills, I received one common military pick and one kris. I equipped the military pick, and put the kris in my bandolier slot as a backup.

  Finding no other loot from the monster kills in my inventory, I looked through the camp supplies I had salvaged. There were a few days of rations, a small hurricane lamp, a chunk of wax, a bolt of green cloth, and a fork.

  I really needed to figure out my looting power.

  As I understood it, the ability came free to all Initiates and it directly interplayed with your chosen Disciplines. I wasn’t sure how alchemical ingredients played into that, but perhaps because I didn’t have my full power suite I got a more mixed bag… literally.

  Either way, I was pleased with my first foray into a magically charged fight and the results. I had gotten a weapon I could easily figure out how to use and some rations should I need to be away from the treehouse for a few days.

  I spent the next hour sorting through the glossary to try to figure out what kind of spells, passives, and skills I might want to pick up in the future. My Metallurgy Discipline seemed like a great space to acquire some crafting-based skills, but I didn’t want to miss out on some of the more offensive type spells like Furnace.

  Without it, today’s fight might have gone an entirely different way.

  The Mirror Discipline seemed to be pretty heavily focused on illusion-based spells and the skills had a sort of copycat feel to them. I liked being dynamic in life, and had seen that translate to the battlefield in my two fights so far. So, I was considering picking up a few skills that would allow me to change tactics midway through an encounter if necessary.

  Fauna was the most straightforward of the Disciplines. With my Spirit Avatar chosen, a lot of spells would serve as buffs and add-ons to that main one. There were some companion-based spells I was also considering. Having a bird follow me around and peck at my enemies sounded fucking hilarious.

  Just as I was getting tempted to go out and practice more, Trelain came back. He was in a bit of a mood, so I gave him a wide berth… or as much as you can in a tiny space. His expression changed for the better, however, once he saw his bucket on the table.

  “Oh GZelle, you remembered!” He picked up the wooden thing and hugged it to his chest with more emotion than I think I’d seen the man display. I still didn’t know when he was being satirical, serious, or just plain crazy. So, I stood there awkwardly with a smile plastered on my face until he turned around and stared.

  “What?”

  “No, you what.”

  “GZelle are you making fun of me?”

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  “I would never.”

  “Here… I brought you something,” Trelain said, and then pushed a satchel into my arms.

  “What’s this?”

  “Recompense! Payment! Exchange! For a job well done. I needed Bucket and you found him. That’s how quests work for the rest of us, you know. No H…U….D….” he spelled out the letters slowly, as if they left a bad taste in his mouth… “telling us what to do and depositing nicknacks into our inventories.”

  “You keep saying him… Why do you keep saying him”

  “What?”

  He kept mumbling about my quest system, but I stopped paying attention. Instead, I dug into the pack and pulled out a swath of red cloth bundled around something. It felt hard and box like. Thinking I knew what it was, I pulled it out from its red leather encasement excitedly.

  “Trelain… did you… did you give me a skill book for completing the world’s easiest quest?”

  “We can’t have you giving a burning hug to every monster you come across, boy. You need versatility!”

  “You saw that?!” I exclaimed.

  “Of course I saw that! We’re in my forest.” He said the last words with more gravitas than usual.

  “Your forest… You own the land, sure. But that doesn’t explain”— I stopped, and started again, “you’re saying you have some sort of connection to the land?”

  “No.”

  “Do you have drones?”

  “What are those?”

  “Nevermind.”

  Tre looked at me for a long moment, and then seemingly decided to be less of a pedantic old sage and answer my question for once, “My senses, GZelle. I could sense you using your spells. Good combo, by the way! Using Mirror Door like that! I dare say, if we get you trained up… you could be quite capable if you wanted to.”

  “…Thanks.”

  We stared at each other for a long moment. And then Trelain turned around and started fussing with his bucket.

  After thinking about it for a moment, I asked, “So, you’re saying you can feel what spells someone is using?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, I want to know WAY more about that, but I’m too fucking excited to see what skill book you brought me. Still seems way too high a price to pay for a bucket. Aren’t these things, like, crazy valuable?”

  Trelain had stopped paying attention and was puttering around by his desk, putting some herbs and something silvery into the bucket. He was muttering something under his breath as he worked. Fully engrossed in whatever he was doing, he didn’t respond to my question.

  So I turned my attention to the book.

  It wasn’t green and mossy like the Fauna Discipline one, nor cold and blue like the Mirror Discipline. It lacked the sparking red colored Metallurgy Discipline book’s aesthetic as well. If I didn’t know any better (and I really didn’t) it looked like Tre brought me a flex text. I turned it over to read the cover.

  'Ancient Means of Conjuration: Weapons and Wears'

  Congratulations! You’ve found a flexible power book! This is your first flex text. Would you like to read the text Ancient Means of Conjuration: Weapons and Wears? Doing so will activate the power within and give you the choice between three different skills, spells, or passives.

  These choices will be subject to flex to fill the power gap in whichever Discipline is available. If all Disciplines are available, one power choice for each Discipline will be provided. However, they won’t all be spells. Once you have chosen a power from the flex text it will immediately be applied, which is an irreversible and body altering decision.

  Would you like to read Ancient Means of Conjuration: Weapons and Wears?

  Yes/No.

  Yes

  You have chosen to read 'Ancient Means of Conjuration: Weapons and Wears'! Please place your hand on the cover. If you do not have a hand, you may also use a foot.

  I hadn’t moved my hand, which was still on the cover.

  Please wait while your Disciplines are being assessed. Success! Disciplines assessed. Please wait while applicable power choices are being generated. Success! Your choices are as follows:

  From the Fauna Domain:

  Summon Hide Armor: [Active] [Conjuration] [Domain: Fauna] Conjure hide armor that can take a beating. Resistant to cold damage. If in your Avatar form, your animal skin hardens and increases your general toughness and resistance to all elemental attack. Does not offer additional protection against stabbing, slashing, or piercing damage. Lasts a short time. (Mana cost: low).

  From the Metallurgy Domain:

  Summon Sledgehammer: [Active] [Conjuration] [Domain: Metallurgy] Conjure a 3 lbs high-carbon steel hammer that swings like a war hammer. This hammer can not be taken from you. If disarmed, the hammer reappears in your hand. If the hammer flies too far from your sphere of influence, you must resummon it. Hits with a combination of force and blunt damage. Hammer is resistant to effects of extreme heat. If you are in your Spirit Avatar Form, the hammer cannot be summoned. Can be used for crafting. Lasts a moderate amount of time. (Mana cost: low).

  From the Mirror Domain:

  Summon Aegis: [Active] [Conjuration] [Domain: Mirror] Summon a buckler with a highly polished mirror set in wrought iron. Chance to reflect elemental spells with successful block. Resistant to cold damage. Makes wielder resistant to any effects that might turn them to stone. This shield cannot be taken from you. If removed, shield will appear back in wielder’s hand until time elapses or mana runs out. Aegis cannot be summoned if in Spirit Avatar form. Lasts a moderate amount of time. (Mana cost: low).

  Each spell had its clear upsides. The Greek myth buff in me wanted to take the Aegis, just so I could feel like Perseus battling Medusa but I needed more means of attack rather than means of defense. The same was true for the Hide Armor. Another good option down the road, but not what I needed at this time. So, I accepted Summon Sledgehammer with a smile.

  Ever since the crusader in D2 expansion, I always thought it’d be cool to conjure hammers. This wasn’t a spell that cast hammers in circles around my head, but it would do for now.

  Congratulations! You have chosen Summon Sledgehammer. Because you are also a Fauna Discipline Initiate with a Gazelle Spirit Avatar, your hammer handle is made from a uniquely durable type of horn.

  I spent the next ten minutes, summoning and dismissing my hammer. Tossing it in the air, and releasing it to the magical void before it left my sphere of influence. I wanted to know just how far I could throw it before it disappeared. So far, it seemed like my distance was about the length of the treehouse. So, I cast Mirror Door and chucked the hammer through the portal. With the exit being within eyeshot just 100 feet below in the clearing, the hammer whizzed out and crashed into a nearby tree before fizzling away.

  I turned to Trelain, who was working away with something in his bucket. “Hey Tre… does my portal count as my sphere of influence?”

  “Of course! A general sphere of influence for an Initiate is roughly 50 feet but subject to change based off personal expression and talent.”

  “Personal expression?” I asked, dubiously.

  He just shrugged.

  I shrugged right back, and continued practicing with all my spells until I needed to rest and wait for my mana to recharge. I was going to drink a mana potion to keep training, but Trelain stopped me.

  “Eat.”

  He handed me a bowl of stew. It looked and smelled exactly like last night’s but I didn’t complain. Mutton stew, treehouse, magic… these were all things I had dreamed about as a kid. Okay maybe not the stew, but I was ecstatic.

  By the end of the night, I had portaled all around the nearby forest floor… running about as a flaming gazelle. When I got tired of that, I practiced with my hammer. I wasn’t the greatest at throwing it yet, but my aim was drastically improving. Casting my spells helped me familiarize myself with my power suite and develop a kind of synergy.

  Now, I vaguely knew where my gaps lay and what spells I should add should I get the chance to.

  But those were all problems for another day.