Squirmie was full. So full!

His pet had been amazing. Every chance he had his pet had gorged himself on high mana foods. The dark mana was especially nourishing for him. And the battle! Giving his pet access to his own abilities while he was using it as an incubator had been the right choice. Not only was his pet adept at using his scything talons, but it had taken a special ability that synchronized with his own. This had led to a surprising message.

Congratulations! By working together, you and your pet have unlocked the ability Symbiotic. This ability will allow you to share similar skills purchased with Core Skill Points. Both you and your pet must buy this skill. Cost: 5/10/15

Both he and his pet had earned 18 Core Skill Points for defeating the stupid meat creature. Much thought would need to be put into how they spent these points. It helped that his pet was so agreeable to his suggestions.

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Rolly was ready for a nap. The day had been fun, but a lot of work. He'd helped Ozzy clean up the barn and then they'd grabbed the loot chest from the Daemon. He hid the 87 silver and 340 copper that he'd gotten from the chest. He'd learned long ago that you didn't keep money anywhere obvious.

Then he'd gone to the kitchen and talked to Bettie and Granya, presenting them with the big bag of rare spices. Their eyes just got bigger and bigger and they'd immediately started talking about what to make. It was a great trade. He'd never really use it all, and now they were cooking him special meals any time he swung by. Not today though, that barbeque had really filled him up. It was getting time to take a long nap.

First though, he wanted to spend his points. His character sheet was a bit lopsided. All of his skills were WIS based except for Weak Poison Resistance. He'd easily maxed that out with how much raw sedgebeast he had been eating lately. With Squirmie's help it tasted great and didn't really bother him. His EP had gone up with each bite.

With all of his EP in WIS and CON, and now another 1000 EP from killing the Daemon, which again had to go into WIS or CON, he was going to have to raise the cap on those stats. He tossed the full 1000 EP to CON. Then he spent 2 points raising the cap on the two stats to 6 each. The extra EP flowed in and both his WIS and CON went to rank 6. With his Heritage bonuses he was at 10 CON and 8 WIS. He was happy with that. Those were important stats for a Pet Breeder.

Next he took Symbiotic. This was a new skill he'd qualified for. He took the first level for 5 points. Hopefully that would help with keeping some of his Super-Shepherd powers. Squirmie was loaning him Mitigation, Melee Weapons, and Disguise.

Congratulations! By working together, you and your pet have unlocked the ability Symbiotic. This ability will allow you to share similar skills purchased with Core Skill Points. Both you and your pet must buy this skill. Cost: 5/10/15

Maybe he should take some of those skills? Good idea. Let’s start with Melee Weapons 2 for five points.

Symbiosis detected.

Both you and your pet have the skill Melee Weapons 2. Skill upgraded to Melee Weapons 3. Your natural melee weapons will do +40 points of damage in combat.

You have gained the Primary skill: Scything Talons. This is a DEX based skill.

Base attack chance is 30% plus 5% per point of DEX and 10% per class level.

Damage: 40 points plus 5 points per point of STR. You may make an attack with Scything Talons for each appendage used.

Hmmm, Disguise would be good. Really hard to hide big scything talons coming out of your arms.

Symbiosis detected.

Both you and your pet have the skill Disguise. Cost of skill reduced to 2 CSP.

Oh, so if you couldn't combine the skills, it might reduce the cost? Awesome. He was going to have some points left over after buying Mitigation 1. That was 2 Core Skill Points

Symbiosis detected.

Both you and your pet have the skill Mitigation 1. Skill upgraded to Mitigation 2. You negate 20 points from all attacks doing physical damage. This includes most elemental magical damage.

Five points left to spend. Probably good to get some STR to help with melee damage. So, two levels of Spirit of the Ox and he could toss the last point into Night Vision.

Symbiosis detected.

Both you and your pet have the skill Night Vision. Cost is decreased to 1 CSP

Perfect. Glad that’s done. So sleepy.

Rolly lay back in the nest of silk fibres he and Squirmie had made in their little hidey hole in the willows. It was very comfy. He pulled the matted silk around him like a blanket and went to sleep.

"Good night, Squirmie."

"Good night, Rolly."

System Alert!

The Major Quest: Help Squirmie Evolve had advanced to Stage 2.

System Alert!

The Regional Event: Blightfall! Pets for Everyone! has advanced to Stage 2.

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Suzette was up early the next day. She had to start several kegs of Blud Dark fermenting along with several other beers. Derek had pretty much turned over the work of brewing beer to her. He handled the Tavern in the morning and afternoons. She ran it in the evenings with the help of Ozzy.

Heading downstairs, the first thing she noticed was grain from one of the sacks of oats scattered about in the short hallway that connected the large room she brewed in with the storage area and the sub-cellar. Rats again! It seemed like once or twice a week several large rats appeared as if by magic, and she got a notification to offer a quest to players to take care of them.

Her brewing area was a mess. A mash barrel of sprouted malt was overturned. A half-emptied grain sack was on the floor with two large rats chewing away at the oats. Screw quests, these things are dying right now.

You have accepted the quest: "Rats in the basement." Kill all the rats in the basement of the tavern and report back to Suzette the Lonely Barmaid for a reward.

Damn! Maybe she should do this every day. Skip the players. Wonder how much EP she could give herself? But first, she had to kill some rats.

She cast Runic Burst, not bothering to try and use any specific runes. Ghostly sigils rotated around her, the inner set moving clockwise while another circle moved counterclockwise on the outside. The next second a rat took a Solar Arrow in its backside.

Giant Rat takes 80 points of damage.

You have killed a Giant Rat Level 1!

You have gained 20EP in RAD

Rats killed 1/3

One down. The other didn't notice it's competitor for a moment and that's all it took for another glowing arrow to kill it.

Giant Rat takes 80 points of damage.

You have killed a Giant Rat Level 1!

You have gained 20EP in RAD

Rats killed 2/3

Looking at the two rats, they seemed a hell of a lot larger than the ones she had seen down here before. She took a broom and shoved the corpses over to a corner and swept up the floor. Time to get some cats down here.

Looking at the trail of grain to the sub-basement, she figured there must be a one more down there. She was glad that Timmy had 'volunteered' to clean the place out. There were still some old barrels stacked at the end, but all the broken ones and trash had been removed. Moving into the room she looked around but saw nothing.

No, wait...one of the barrels at the end had been slid out from the wall a bit and there was an empty grain sack in front of it. She took a couple of steps forward trying to get a better look. Something furry and bipedal leaped out from behind the barrel and rushed at her.

It wasn't a rat. It stood about four-feet tall on crooked legs. She got a quick look at its sharp teeth and the rusty knife it held in one hand and wanted no part of it. She managed to get off one Solar Arrow before it was on top of her.

Solar Arrow deals 60 points of damage to Ratkin Warrior. Ratkin Warrior is blinded for two rounds.

It swung at her wildly with the knife, cutting her forearm. The claws of the other hand also left marks.

You are cut! Rusty knife does 20 points of damage after mitigation.

You are slashed! Claws do 10 points of damage after mitigation.

"Cheating human! You have blinded me, but I will be victorious! I can smell your breath! I can hear the beating of your frightened heart.

Suzette backed away from it, circling to her right to try and stay out of its reach. It seemed confused at first, but jumped more or less towards her, swinging the knife through air. She could hit it with her cantrip again, but that was sure to get her stabbed when it heard her casting the spell. Instead, she reached into the dart holder concealed under her shirt. Ben had made it for her after their ill-fated rabbit hunt. After moving again, she threw two darts at the hairy creature. Her first shot just missed, but the second took it in its pinkish snout.

Dart misses Ratkin Warrior.

Dart hits Ratkin Warrior for 10 points of damage.

Ratkin Warrior is poisoned!

"Aaargh! My nose! My beautiful nose! I will eat your gizzards raw!" The ratkin lashed out in a fury, jumping around and slashing wildly. Suzette tried to keep out of its way, but it recovered from the cantrip's blindness effect and ran at her. As it tried to tackle her, she activated Barmaid's Balance and sidestepped it. The knife raked along her side injuring her again.

Rusty Knife cuts you for 40 points of damage!

She launched another Solar Arrow at it, which hit, but didn't blind. It seemed to be slowing down a bit. The ratkin moved to the doorway and slammed the door shut. She realized that in trying to stay out of its reach, she'd let it maneuver her to the wrong side of the room. It started to advance on her and she hit it again with Solar Arrow just as it rushed her.

She failed to dodge and it bore her to the floor. This was bad. It had weapons in each hand and its teeth; she couldn't hold it off. It laughed her. "Who is smart now? Who is winning? I can kill you at will. I give you a chance to surrender. You are feisty and will make a good breeder.”

She stopped struggling and whimpered, "You win master. I surrender". The ratkin leaned back, pleased with itself. "Of course, you do! It was inevitable."

She stabbed it in the leg with three darts loaded with poison and blocked the descending knife with her arm. "Betrayal! Bad slave." The rat stabbed her three times in the arm with its knife; she stabbed it in the leg three times with darts. Finally, it quit moving and slumped. She pushed the foul smelling and still living ratkin off of her and got to her feet. Several kicks in the head ended it.

You won!

You have killed a Ratkin Warrior Level 3! Increased EP for fighting a creature above your level and killing it in solo combat.

You gain 50 EP in Darts

You gain 50 EP in Poisoning

You gain 50 EP in RAD

You gain 50 EP in DEX

You have completed the Quest: Rats in the Basement. You gain increased favor with Suzette the Lonely Barmaid and a free flagon of ale.

You are injured! Current Health 230/600.

She staggered up the stairs yelling for Ozzy. He took one look at her, picked her up and ran for the Alchemist's house. Luckily, they rose early, otherwise he'd have kicked the door in. No one asked questions until they had the bleeding stopped and a healing potion into her. Then she told them about the fight, emphasizing that the creature had been fairly cunning in maneuvering her around.

Ozzy added. "But stupid enough to be fooled by you at the end of the fight. Best to assume human intelligence though."

Aliester nodded. "Correct, the Ratkin are close to humans in intelligence. Clever and cunning, but also more prone to errors and over confidence. Treat them as a dangerous foe and don't underestimate them."

Everyone in the room suddenly received a message:

Quest: Rats in the Tavern Part 2 Accept? Y/N.

Those fiendish Ratkin are up to something! Find a clue as to where they are coming from and report back to Suzette the lonely Barmaid for increased favor and a free ale!

Suzette spread her hands. "Don't look at me. I have no idea what's going on."

Albinia turned to Ozzy and Aliester. "I suggest you two strapping men go take a look, I'll stay here and tend to Suzette."

No one saw Zephyr, bandolier of potions over her shoulder, head out the back door after accepting the quest.