The scent of sweat and sweet grass was sharp in Robin’s nostrils as he slowly crept through the wood. Eli moved next to him on soundless feet, rippling through the bracken as silent as light on water. Robin really, really, wanted to get his hands on some kind of cleansing spell. He’d hated the feel of deep long-lasting grime growing up on the farm and that fact hadn’t changed, though the world around him certainly had.

They weren’t far from the bladebeaks’ clearing. Robin could see the gentle swell of the hill through the trees around him. The day was clear and just growing past morning.

The two of them had spent time watching the bladebeaks and consulting both Eli’s spotty knowledge of the creatures and the records in the tower interface. Neither were extensive repositories of lore, but they had provided enough of a base to refine their plan.

Eli gestured to Robin before slinking off to circle around the hill. Robin headed in the opposite direction until the bladebeak’s nest was just in view. Then he proceeded to haul himself up a convenient tree and wedge himself into a position with excellent line of sight but hopefully out of reach of the large and violent birds.

He had some time before Eli would be in position, but it was time to set the scene. Robin was of the opinion that illusions were like ghost stories—they worked best if the audience was in an appropriate frame of mind. And if they weren’t already there, you needed to create that state.

Robin twisted his hand through the motions of [Lesser Phantasm], chaining several castings together in a row as he concentrated. This would be better if the cantrip had longer range, but he’d just have to make do with it as it was.

The sound of a hollow wind and the rustling of leaves rushed through the clearing. There was no motion of the grass or branches accompanying it, but Robin was banking on the bladebeaks being too animalistic to notice that little out-of-place detail. They did have bird brains, after all!

Faintly, the sound of wolves howling in the distance threaded through the wind. Robin could see the bladebeaks suddenly tense, their heads perking up. The sharp edges of their beaks turned this way and that as they moved their heads to follow the sound.

So far, so good. Next step. Robin conjured the illusion of wolfish scent. Not too strong, not yet. Just enough to reinforce the illusion and the mindset he was creating in the birds. The smaller of the bladebeaks squawked a challenge as the larger drew back to hover over the nest.

Robin frowned. Something wasn’t quite right. He wasn’t sure how he knew, but those were the howls of arctic wolves, rather than the forest variety, and the scent needed to be earthier, loamier, to really trigger the bladebeaks’ instinctual responses. He passed his hands through several more castings of [Lesser Phantasm], correcting the sensory details.

There. Both bladebeaks were uneasy, their feathers ruffling out in an intimidation display. If they hadn’t looked big enough before…Robin shoved the thought away. They were still birds.

A flash of blue caught his eye. Eli was in position. Robin increased the volume of the wolf howls and the intensity of the scent. The bladebeaks made a chuffing sound deep in their throat, like the roar of a car, and slashed the air a bit with the blades on their faces.

Time to start in with [Chronicle of Infinite Visions]. The fact that he could cast it at will, with no need for words or gestures or anything else was so amazingly useful. It allowed him to both keep his grip on the tree and reinforce the overall illusion with regular [Lesser Phantasms].

Robin concentrated and a shadow dashed through the underbrush near the bristling birds. Though the leaves didn’t move, it sounded like they did.

It was enough. The bladebeaks went berserk, trilling out a great, honking battle cry and whipping their heads around to look for the enemy.

Robin sent another shadow dashing through the trees, further away this time, nearer the larger of the two birds. He followed it quickly by some more howling and more dashing shadows. Slowly, the birds were drawn apart from one another and, more importantly, further from their nest.

Small flashes of colour kept him appraised of Eli’s progress. The cleric was as close as he could get without stepping out from his cover and into the clearing.

But he couldn’t safely do so while the bladebeaks remained so close to the nest.

‘Come on, bird brain,’ Robin muttered. ‘Take the fight to the wolves.’

Bladebeaks were territorial, especially around nesting time, and had a habit of attacking or rushing potential threats to their eggs or young. It was equal parts scare tactics and equal parts just pure, lethal aggression. After all, if the birds managed to catch the threat, that was dinner they didn’t have to otherwise hunt or scavenge for.

He had to take a risk. Robin mentally mapped out the series of steps he’d need to take, estimated the timing, then put his plan into action.

A deep, guttural growl—almost a roar—came out of the wood, and a wolf dashed out to nip at the larger of the two bladebeaks. As the image snapped and snarled around the bird’s legs (courtesy of [Lesser Phantasm]), Robin shouted out an insult, reinforcing it with [Cutting Words].

‘If your beak is as dull as your brain, I’d be surprised if you could even cut cheese with that thing!’

He wasn’t expecting it to do much. The bird couldn’t understand him. It should be able to understand pain though, and the most obvious cause of that pain was the illusory wolf nipping at it.

The bird squealed in fury and lashed out at the wolf. Robin sent a knife of pain through his left eye, focusing hard to make the wolf dodge that blow. His Concentration skill was getting a serious workout. He needed to invest more points in it the next chance he got.

The wolf darted away, back into the forest and behind a tree. Robin was already rushing up against the movement limitations on [Visual Phantasm], though he could get around them a bit by chain casting.

The bladebeak shrieked in fury and pursued, crashing through the bracken. Before it was too far out of Robin’s range of sight (the trees were not his friend here), he conjured another illusory wolf just ahead of the bird, keeping it running away.

One down, one to go. Robin refocused his attention into the clearing but didn’t see the other bird. Eli was crouched by the nest, hefting the massive eggs into specially-prepared bags padded with dried grass and strips torn from the leftover bedclothes in the tower. Robin trusted the priest to know it was safe to go after the eggs, but if he was there, where was the other bladebeak?

A screech of rage tipped him off. There is was! Sprinting right towards him!

Somehow it had sensed or spotted him. The bladebeak charged through the edges of the forest encircling the hill, dodging around the trees. That thing was fast. It was at the base of Robin’s tree before he could come up with a plan, and it ended its mad dash by slamming itself wildly into the trunk of the tree.

The whole thing shook. Robin felt his centre of gravity shift, felt himself begin to fall. He grabbed for the nearest branches to steady himself.

He missed.

Robin tumbled out of the tree, limbs flailing wildly. Fortunately, he managed not to land on the ground in a vulnerable position Unfortunately, the place he did land was arguably more dangerous.

He landed right on the bladebeak’s back. Habits honed over the years of riding bareback on the farm kicked in and he hooked his legs around the bird and clung to its back for dear life.

Literally. If he fell off this thing, it would kick him to death with its powerful legs, slash him to ribbons with its wicked beak, or worse. Of course at that moment, a blue notification box chose to blaze across his vision.

Congratulations! Ride proficiency unlocked! All Physical Proficiencies Unlocked!

The bladebeak froze for a moment, staggered by the unexpected weight on its back. It was still for only a moment, however, before its brain took over and its instincts screamed out against the alien sensation of a rider.

Robin was saved from immediately being flung from the bird only by virtue of the beast only having two legs. It’s very hard to buck off a rider with only two legs. The bird had to resort to other means of ridding itself of its unwelcome passenger.

Luck was with Robin, as the bladebeak wasn’t so flexible it could turn to slash at him with its razor-sharp namesake. That didn’t stop the bird from trying. Its body lunged left and right as it tried to swing its neck around enough to slash at Robin.

Robin’s legs clamped down hard, keeping him in place even as his body swung from side to side. His arm flashed up, counterbalancing the movement and reminding him of the time he and his friends had gotten far too drunk and spent far too long riding the mechanical bull at Flamin’ Saddles.

Congratulations! You have successfully integrated your own experience in riding horses and mechanical bulls, along with your experience in driving motor vehicles into the Pilot proficiency! This will replace the Ride proficiency. Pilot proficiency advanced to 4!

Robin willed the notification screen away. He didn’t have time for this! He had to survive this encounter. Though even as he had the thought, he settled even more firmly onto the bladebeak’s back, aided by the skill changes his interface had just informed him of.

His mount—if you could call it that—went berserk. The bladebeak began running madly through the trees. It didn’t seem smart enough to try and sweep him off using low hanging branches, but Robin had to do something before it flung itself into a tree to try and dislodge him. It had already rammed into one trying to knock him down.

Leaves whipped him across the face, drawing stinging lines of pain. He ducked beneath a large branch that might have knocked him off. It was not a smooth ride. The bird’s loping, uneven gait tossed him up and down, in spite of the grip his legs had on it. Worst of all, he was without briefs, and the small clothes he had made himself weren’t great in the support department.

Robin swore as his bollocks were caught between his pelvis and the bladebeak’s spine. He needed to get off this ride and fast, preferably in a way that left him intact and not bleeding from a fatal gash.

The bird suddenly lunged left, nearly dislodging him. Robin looked forward as his mount picked up speed. There was a massive oak looming closer and closer by the second. If he didn’t do something now, he was going to be paste.

Left or right? Right. More ferns, less trees, less chance of a concussion. Robin only had a split second to make his decision before the bladebeak flung itself at the tree.

Robin relaxed his legs and pushed himself off the back of the bird as it exploded into the oak with a battle cry. He hit the forest floor—the soft loam cushioning his fall to an extent—and rolled into the bracken.

As soon as he stopped, he cast [Lesser Phantasm] to hide himself in the illusion of a log, quickly followed by a [Visual Phantasm] of himself sprinting away at a ninety-degree angle.

The bladebeak loosed a furious screech and set off in pursuit. Robin cast [Visual Phantasm] after [Visual Phantasm] in a chain as long as he could maintain line of sight, leading the bird away from him and deep into the trees where it would hopefully lose itself in its fury.

The bladebeak was quickly out of sight, and the sound of it crashing through the forest was swiftly lost. Robin stayed exactly where he was, though he renewed the illusion masking himself. The bird hunted more by sight than anything else. He should be safe here for a little bit, catching his breath.

Slowly, his breath slowed and the pounding blood in his ears quieted. The forest was calm once more. Of course, no sooner had he got his mind settled, something else leapt to mind.

🎶Rowan tree, red thread…🎶

This time, the snippet of song was accompanied by flashes of insight, fragments of memory. Hadn’t he read something about rowan being a wood that resisted or dispelled evil enchantments? Something about binding spells cast with red thread for protection? He could almost see the pages in his mind’s eye…

Before Robin could bring it into mental focus, it hit him. That was it! He could make a charm of rowan wood and red thread that would shield them from Cherry’s and the pixies’ enchantments! With that, they could scry out the best path and just walk out of the wood. He could see how to do it, clear as day in his mind.

Hopefully his carving skills were up to the task. Not to mention applying what he remembered to this world’s magical system! But further thoughts were scattered as a blue box appeared before Robin’s eyes.

Would you like to—

The message box fuzzed, blurred, and was immediately replaced by another.

Congratulations! Your insight has resulted in an advance! Arcane Lore and Learning increased to 4. Concentration and Crafting advanced to 5.

The message sent a spike of pain through his mind. His body, already trembling and bruised, felt like his life force was leaking out of his pores. That agony only lasted a moment, however, before it was replaced with a worse one. Knowledge and skill blazed into his mind, searing itself upon his soul in a mnemonic overload. Like a brain freeze if the freeze was fire and lighting.

What was that? What happened? His stomach clenched and he nearly threw up.

He’d have to be careful raising multiple stats in the future. If it was going to be like that every time…Robin suppressed the urge to groan.

Robin willed his character sheet open, to see what the effects of that strange little episode had been. There was no hope now of knowing how close he had been to levelling up, but he could at least see how much he had left to work with.

ROBIN PARKER Heritage: Shadeling, Mature Profession: None Tier: 0 (Progress to Tier 1: 69%) Properties

Free Ranks Available: 1 Physical Mental Social Strength: 11 Intelligence: 17 Charisma: 15 Dexterity: 14 Cunning: 19 Manipulation: 13 Fortitude: 11 Resilience: 14 Poise: 15 Proficiencies

Free Ranks Available: 2 Physical (9/9) Mental (9/9) Social (9/9) Athletics: 1 Arcane Lore: 4 Animism: 0 Brawl: 0 Bureaucracy: 0 Deception: 5 Dodge: 4 Concentration: 5 Empathy: 1 Melee Combat: 2 Crafting: 5 Expression: 4 Pilot: 4 Healing: 0 Gossip: 0 Ranged Combat: 0 Insight: 3 Intimidation: 3 Sleight of Hand: 1 Learning: 4 Persuasion: 3 Stealth: 4 Natural Wisdom: 0 Socialise: 1 Survival: 1 Perception: 4 Streetwise: 0 Peculiarities Blessing of Rhyth Tongue of the Fallen Tower Mark of the Trickster Chronicle of Infinite Visions Perks

Wayfaring Stranger

‘Red? Are you all right?’ Eli’s voice disrupted Robin’s contemplation.

He dismissed the interface and groaned. He was alright. Bruised and a bit lacerated, but all right.

‘I’m fine,’ he called. ‘Over here.’

Robin heard the sound of footsteps through the bracken. The cleric wasn’t making much effort to hide his approach. The bladebeaks must not be anywhere near now.

Eli looked down at him where he lay, sprawled on the soft moss and loam of the forest floor. Robin looked up at him.

‘I think I know how we can get out of this forest.’