Our trip out was a hell of a lot more comfortable than our foray to the Cataclysm Dungeon. No sneaking through the forest at night on foot. No murder squads and ambushes. In fact, my only real complaint was this horse.

  “Seriously, how do normal people not get their asses pulped?” I asked, shifting my position on the saddle. The saddle was a custom job to accommodate Aerion, the lighter, smaller rider, in front while I rode behind her.

  Aerion turned and smiled. “You get used to it. I’ve not ridden in years, myself.”

  “Glad to hear it. Misery loves company, after all. Really hope our Vigor pulls through for us, because two weeks of this is going to be torture.”

  The caravan moved slowly on account of the sheer number of wagons they had. Ten wagons carrying six soldiers apiece, with the remaining three hauling supplies for the horses and men. Sixty soldiers in all. Most were Basecrest City Guard, but there were a few Boonworthy among their ranks.

  “Dunno if I ought to be impressed, or if this is par for the course for Dominion,” Richard said, pulling up next to us. “How many elves are they planning on killing?”

  “No one seems to know,” I replied. “But I doubt there’ll be any less than a few dozen fighters. Maybe twice that in overall population. They’ve had a hundred years to grow and develop the forest, and they’ve attracted elves from other areas, according to Elwend, the guy who gave us the mission.”

  “And you’re sure you’ll be alright?” Richard asked.

  I grinned at him. “What, having second thoughts about leaving us?”

  Richard snorted. “Believe me, there’s nowhere I’d rather be. Passion, though… Well, I don’t think any of us want her hunting me.”

  Shivers rippled down my back. Hunt was exactly the right word for what that crazy goddess would do.

  “Still, we’ve a week before we part ways, yeah?” Richard said. “Might not have any pubs, but your inventory’s got plenty of booze for the trip.”

  I chuckled. That it did.

  Richard left to make the rounds after a while, leaving me to watch the scenery pass us by. Thanks to Hollywood and games, I’d had it in my head that horses were fast—galloping everywhere at thirty miles an hour or more.

  It seemed horses didn’t last long at that pace. The pace they could sustain wasn’t much more than a human walking pace, and the addition of wagons only made things worse.

  Which meant the scenery passed by very slowly.

  “What I wouldn’t give for a console,” I muttered.

  “Console?” Aerion asked, turning around.

  “A type of computer. Those magicky things with the screens that I told you about?”

  “Ah,” Aerion said, scrunching her face. “Those.”

  Aerion didn’t like computers. Mostly because she struggled to comprehend the existence of such a thing. I’d tried using our HUDs as an example, but a machine that could be programmed to do just about damned near anything that was bound by computation and logic was harder to communicate. Let alone stuff like the internet and AI.

  We fell silent again—the range of things we could discuss was sorely limited given our proximity to the caravan. I was pretty sure that was why Aerion hadn’t spilled her heart about her past yet. I couldn’t say when we’d have a few private hours together.

  If only we had a chatbox…

  Luckily, Aerion had brought me all sorts of gold and silver goodies to distract myself with. Most were unadorned, though some boasted jewels or inlays. I’d learned early on that the fancier the item, the higher its rarity. Even if that fanciness was purely for show.

  That said, the difference between [Rare] and [Uncommon] stats and abilities was always significant enough to choose the highest tier I could afford every time.

  Even if that did make me look like a gaudy pimp.

  Luckily, my Essence pool constrained my decisions somewhat. At 432 / 530, I could either Initialize a couple of pieces of my [Rare] silk underclothing or about a half dozen of my [Uncommon] jewelry.

  Given that I didn’t know what stats these accessories would give me, and that I wanted to maintain a bit of reserve in anticipation of my Armor Set capacity going up to 2 sets at the half-rank mark, I opted for the [Uncommon]s for now. Easy enough to Uninitialize the next time I leveled up, and I diversified my risk. Plus, I could wear these all the time, even while asleep. Not only would I feel less terrible taking my armor off, I’d gain some valuable defense as well.

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  Gold Ring [Uncommon]

  A plain ole gold ring. And yet, it’s not a silver ring. Or a bronze ring. No, it’s gold. So it’s better. Ostensibly.

  Essence Cost: 8

  Condition: 40/40

  Stats:

  — Passion: 6

  — Cunning: 12

  Great. A dud. At least it didn’t cost overly much. At least its condition was decent for its rarity. I supposed rings, being small and made of metal, weren’t as easy to destroy as fabric.

  I tried again.

  Gold Ring [Uncommon]

  A plain ole gold ring. And yet, it’s not a silver ring. Or a bronze ring. No, it’s gold. So it’s better. Ostensibly.

  Essence Cost: 8

  Condition: 40/40

  Stats:

  — Vigor: 15

  — Order: 4

  Better! Still not great, though. I tried a bracelet next. Unlike most bracelets, this was closer to a Bracer, being made of steel, with gold inlays.

  Gilded Bracer [Uncommon]

  Oooo shiny! Maybe it’ll protect you, too! I wouldn’t count on it.

  Essence Cost: 11

  Condition: 50/50

  Stats:

  — Passion: 6

  — Cunning: 5

  — Dominion: 10

  Not bad. A few more of these and I’d look like a real pimp.

  Ignoring the useless stats, the gains to Cunning, Vigor, and Dominion were welcome, and given that I was currently under my max trained limit, those stats shot up immediately the moment I Initialized them. My awareness expanded, and the sounds of our wagons grew just a bit more distinct. I could make out words of conversations that were previously just mumbles, and my ass grew less sore.

  I kept the rest of my Essence in reserve. Not only did I now have good reason to always have a buffer with the Aural Siege Bolts, I needed to start thinking of my next armor suit build. With Richard leaving our party soon, our offense was going to suffer. Part of why we’d been so effective thus far was because our style focused mostly on hitting the enemy hard and fast before they could do anything.

  Richard dispatched low-level groups of enemies in an instant, and Aerion put the hurt on stronger foes, attacking them like mad while I moved around, attacking without being hit.

  Without Richard, that offensive potential suddenly dropped. That would make fights last longer and give the enemy more opportunity to hit back.

  Shoring up our defense felt like a good plan. Rather, the Soul Crystal I’d gotten kinda forced it. I’d be a fool not to take advantage of that ridiculous 25% Vigor stat. If I could forge some armor using the new exotic materials I had while incorporating that ability? I stood a good shot of becoming a kickass tank—someone who could attract the enemy’s attention and soak up hits while Aerion went to town Reaving on them.

  Having lost myself in levelup land for too long, I looked around to find Aerion had trotted our horse up to the front of the caravan.

  “Any reason for the change of position?” I asked. “Not that I mind. Honestly, what I'd give for an audiobook.”

  “I felt it would be prudent to have a chat with our expedition leader. The better we know him and the others, the better we will function when the time comes.”

  I groaned. Not that I disliked Grug. Or, Grugery. Just that thinking of him reminded me how someone had screwed up my name in the past. If only whoever was responsible was aware of how many names they'd fuck up through the centuries…

  I sighed. “Sure. Let's talk to Grug.”

  I'd never really interacted with the longmen during my time here. That was the somewhat more accurate moniker I gave to the skinny giants, considering they lacked any of the physique one would associate with an upsized human.

  That lack of interaction was partially due to their relative rarity here in Dominion’s lands, though I heard they were the majority population in Passion’s territory that bordered to the north. As for why that was, well, I had a guess. Passion was known to descend often from the heavens, disappearing with some unfortunate soul for the night.

  Which did make me wonder why she turned Richard into an elf instead of a longman, but on second thought, I really didn't care to know.

  “You sure you're alright with this?” I asked as Aerion trotted our horse up to the front of the caravan.

  “Yes? Why wouldn't I be?”

  “Well, because they're elves?”

  Aerion gave me a confused look. “Do your people have any qualms killing human criminals?”

  “A good point,” I said, wondering why I'd even felt that way. Humans certainly had no qualms murdering each other. We, and every other animal, had been doing that since the dawn of time.

  “Besides, I've no love for my people,” Aerion said. “I've no doubt at least a few of these elves hail from Order’s territory.”

  “What did they do to you?” I ventured, glancing at a nearby wagon. The soldiers inside were having a heated debate. Something about floating ducks, though I couldn’t make out everything they said. Regardless, their conversation made for some pretty effective white noise, drowning out our hushed conversation.

  “They abandoned me,” Aerion said. “Well before I abandoned them.”

  I waited for her to continue.

  “I was… driven out, with my mother. Exiled, though they were really trying to kill us both. Nothing would have made them happier than to see our heads on spikes. Despite being fed lies. I wonder what they’d feel, if they knew the truth. I wonder if they’d feel guilt if they understood our innocence…” Aerion barked a harsh laugh unlike anything I’d heard from her. In fact, this whole monologue felt very out of character. Or, the opposite. Maybe this was the true Aerion. The one she kept bottled up, either out of shame or a lack of trust.

  “Order’s elves can burn along with their god, for all I care. Maybe then, I’ll finally have a peaceful night’s rest.”

  I remained silent, refraining from asking anymore. Though the details had been light, it was clear there her grudge against Order was no small thing. The path to healing, if there was such a thing, would be long and arduous. One thing was for sure, though. I was definitely not bringing her anywhere near Cosmo. Not for a long, long while.