It dawned on Morgan that he had more points available than some of his total abilities. He should probably allocate those soon, but he wasn’t sure he knew the best way to do so. He was thinking about it when he realized his night vision was fading, and he was closing in on the lantern and Issa. “Morgan, are you all right?” Issa was leaning against the tunnel just as he’d left her, and her brows were furrowed in concern.

“Yeah, mostly flesh wounds at this point. It seems I heal quite a bit when I absorb the Energy of those bastards when they die.”

“You must have a high Energy Affinity. I’d hardly notice it if I killed such a lowly beast. You’re covered in blood, though. Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Yeah, I’m good. We should keep moving before more of them come along. So, Energy Affinity has to do with how much Energy you get for killing monsters and whether it heals you?” Morgan paused while Issa picked up her spear and grabbed his shoulder, and they continued walking.

“Not just monsters, but any creature that channels Energy. Yeksa are lowly beings that don’t have much base Energy. The fact that you healed so much from slaying some of them means your affinity must be high. Affinity does more than that, though. Energy Affinity determines how easily and how much you can channel Energy into skills, spells, and abilities. It determines how much you can draw on ambient Energy. Probably more than that, but our world is relatively new to the System, and my people are still learning.”

“So, yeah, my Energy Affinity is 9.2. Is that pretty high?” Issa’s hand tightened on his shoulder, and she stopped moving. She looked into Morgan’s eyes.

“Do you tell the truth?” Morgan nodded. “My Energy Affinity is 2.3, and that’s considered high among my people. What type of Core do you have?”

“Eh, Core? You mentioned that before, and I didn’t get a chance to ask you about it. I don’t really know what a Core is, to be honest.”

“You joke!” When Issa saw that Morgan was serious, she continued, “How much Energy do you have?”

“Ummm, 52 out of zero? It doesn’t make sense to me.”

“Ancestors! You haven’t formed a Core yet! That 52 Energy is vestigial Energy that resides in your body, leftover from what you’ve absorbed. You can’t make use of it or add it to your Core because you don’t have one! I’ll think about how to help you, but for now, I need to stop talking and focus on walking quietly.” Issa looked, pointedly, into the dark tunnel and nudged Morgan with the hand on his shoulder to keep moving. Morgan nodded, and soon, they were passing the scene of his battle. Issa inhaled sharply, “Five of them? You’re either very lucky or a stronger fighter than I thought.”

“Maybe a little of both? I found a lucky ambush site. I really didn’t think there’d be five; I was more hoping for two. Guess I’m lucky for my quick healing, too, ‘cause they fucked me up pretty good before it was over.” Morgan shrugged as he nudged the bodies with his foot, looking for the knife that one of the Yeksa had held. He found it under one of the bodies and realized it hadn’t been metal but rather obsidian, and it had broken when the creature fell on it.

“This word ‘fucked’ - you use it a lot. Does it mean the same as turjaa?” Issa was smiling faintly.

“Uh, I don’t know that word, and since the System didn’t translate it, I’ll guess maybe it’s similar!” Morgan laughed before he caught himself and slapped his hand over his mouth. Issa smiled, wanly, and held her finger to her lips. Morgan looked at her drawn face and the dark hollows forming around her eyes and knew they had to figure out something to do about her leg soon, or she’d collapse.

They continued on their downward sloping way, through the dark tunnel, for another few minutes before the ambient light began to change. Morgan frowned and lowered the wick on the lantern until it just emitted a faint amber glow. With the lantern dimmed, they could see that a soft, sporadically flaring, green-tinged light came from down the tunnel, where it opened into a larger space ahead. They crept, as carefully and quietly as they could, with Issa hobbling along with the spear haft, making faint wooden clicking noises with each step. As they neared the opening, they could hear a strange, keening wail. Morgan looked at Issa with a raised eyebrow. She leaned very close to his ear and breathed the words, “Yeksa shaman.”

Morgan frowned and motioned for Issa to back up to the tunnel wall. He set the lantern down and crouched low, carefully creeping up to the edge of the tunnel. As his eyes adjusted and he drew closer to the opening, Morgan could see that the space’s ceiling was very high, and the light was coming from below the tunnel opening. He crouched even lower and advanced. As he exited the tunnel, he could see that a rocky, sloping pathway led off to his left and downward, and just ahead of the opening was a ledge. Morgan very carefully crept to the edge and peered over. The source of the green light was a brazier that burned in the center of a cavern. The cavern was fairly large, about the size of a handball court onboard the Pilgrim. It looked to be about 20 feet below the level of the ledge on which Morgan crouched. Standing, with its back to Morgan, at the brazier, was a Yeksa that had to be two or three times the size of any he’d met so far. It was probably just a bit over six feet tall, but it had to weigh close to three hundred pounds. Loose folds of pale skin layered its back, and its naked haunches were the size of ham hocks. It wore some sort of iron or dark-wood crown affixed with a fat, white candle that burned with a red, sparkling flame.

Periodically the shaman, as Issa had named it, would reach into a pouch that it held in its left hand and throw something into the brazier while making that high, keening wail. Morgan noted that the Yeksa had a crude, wooden trunk next to it. He carefully and methodically studied the rest of the cavern and couldn’t find any sign of other Yeksa nearby. “All right, fucker.” Barefoot, covered in dark bloodstains, Morgan quietly snuck down the ramp, spear in a two-handed grip. The spear felt good in his hands; while Morgan carefully advanced, he could imagine several different thrusts that he could use to great effect on the back of that creature. He almost stumbled when he realized what he was thinking about. How did he know those movements? It was more than just being familiar with the spear after having fought with it - the motions felt natural to him like he’d practiced them as many times as he had the hip throw that he’d learned in basic defense training, and their instructor had made his unit do that throw many, many times. It must be the basic spear mastery the System message had mentioned. He didn't know how he felt about having knowledge dropped into his mind, but Morgan couldn’t dwell on it - he’d reached the bottom of the rocky ramp.

There wasn’t much cover, but the Yeksa shaman hadn’t turned around yet, and Morgan still couldn’t see any other creatures around. He had about 25 feet of dusty, rocky ground between him and the creature. Once more, he crept forward, spear raised over his right shoulder, ready to stab. Patience was the key here, and Morgan determined not to blow it, each step as slow and steady as a glacier inexorably inching its way toward civilization. Twenty feet, fifteen, ten. The creature reached into its pouch to throw a handful of some kind of dust into the brazier. This close, Morgan could see the green flames flare as the shaman wailed into the darkness. Three more steps and he was close enough - he bunched the muscles in his shoulders and sprang with his legs, driving with the full power of his body.

Morgan had envisioned this strike in his mind over and over as he approached, and he couldn’t imagine it going any better. The spear tip exploded into the Yeksa’s fat, broad back, right beneath its left shoulder blade. Morgan roared as he drove the spear forward, and he felt it sink at least a foot into the creature's thick body. The shaman shrieked, flinging both its arms wide. The pouch flew from its grasp, and it spun its body, ripping the spear from Morgan’s hands. Stumbling drunkenly, the huge Yeksa roared in pain and shock as it caught sight of Morgan. It reached a hand up to its neck and gripped a huge crudely carved gemstone that hung from a chain there. The fist that held the stone started to glow red, and the candle on the Yeksa’s crown began to flare like a Roman candle. Morgan’s eyes widened with panic, and he leaped forward, kicking the Yeksa in its fat belly and knocking it back into the flaming, green brazier. The yeksa shrieked in agony as it stumbled backward, its huge, bare ass landing square in the center of the flames. Its hands flailed for purchase, trying to stand up. Having let go of the gem and lost its concentration, the flaring candle on its crown died down.

The green flames were quickly crawling over the shaman’s body, and its shrieks turned more and more desperate. It managed to flail enough to roll to the side, but the Yeksa only made it a few feet before it collapsed. Either the wound from the spear or the flames had finally sapped it of the strength to keep fighting. Morgan moved around the brazier that was still sputtering with green, glowing coals and pulled his spear from the shaman’s back. It twitched slightly, so he drove the spear into it again. This time golden motes began to coalesce on the body, and Morgan braced himself. The layer of motes grew denser for several seconds before they streamed into his chest. Morgan couldn’t help smiling as the warm energy flowed into him. He watched as the last of his scabs and bruises cleared up.

***Congratulations! You’ve achieved level 4 base human. You have 15 attribute points to allocate. You’ve learned Stealthy Maneuvers - Basic.***

That was easy. Maybe that shaman wasn’t supposed to go down so quickly? Morgan smiled and said, “Status.”

Status

Name:

Morgan Hall

Race:

Human - Base 1

Class:

—

Level:

4

Energy Affinity:

9.2

Energy:

77/0

Strength:

6

Vitality:

8

Dexterity:

8

Agility:

7

Intelligence:

12

Will:

10

Points Available:

15

Titles & Feats:

Human Champion

Skills:

System Language Integration - Not Upgradeable, Spear Mastery - Basic, Stealthy Maneuvers - Basic

“Yeah, that fucker gave me 25 energy all by himself.”

“Who are you talking to?” Morgan jumped when Issa spoke up from the foot of the sloping path. “Sorry to startle you. I heard the screaming and yelling and figured I should come to see what happened rather than wait to die alone in a dark tunnel.”

“Yeah, I, uh, was just about to come to get you. Well, I managed to sneak up and stab him in the back; the fight was quick and dirty after that - feels like I got lucky.” Morgan gestured at the corpse. “You’re not looking good, Issa; I think we need to rest for a while.”

“I haven’t looked good since you found me, but yes, I’m feeling more faint.” She looked down at the corpse, “Ancestors! He was a big one.” She slowly hobbled over to the brazier and trunk that was next to it. “Shaman Yeksa have much more control of their Energy than the scavengers you’ve dealt with up to now. You are lucky to have caught it by surprise. Well, maybe lucky isn’t the right word - I think it’s more than that.” She shrugged and smiled weakly at Morgan as she nudged the crude wooden trunk. “I wonder if there’s anything useful in there.”

“Yeah, I hope so, but give me a minute to make sure we’re not going to have company imminently,” Morgan replied as he began to look around the perimeter of the room. It looked like the tunnel they had come through was one of two entrances to the room. The other was a heavy wooden door that was in the opposite wall. Morgan moved over to the door and could see that it was barred from inside the room. Apparently, the Yeksa shaman hadn’t wanted to be bothered. Morgan couldn’t see any light coming under the door, so he placed his ear to the wood. He listened for several long, slow breaths but couldn’t make out any noise. “Good news - looks like this guy enjoyed his privacy.”

When he made his way back to the brazier, the big corpse, and Issa, he found her sitting in front of the wooden trunk with her bad leg stretched out in front of her. Morgan inwardly winced when he saw her leg. It was a much darker shade of bluish-purple than the rest of her, and the wound looked angry, swollen, and just as life-threatening as when he’d found her. He knew that if the chewed-up area weren’t filled with dark, clotting blood, he’d still be able to see her bone. “Let’s see if there’s anything in the trunk we can use to bandage that leg up. I wish we could take that tourniquet off; I’m afraid you’re going to lose that leg if we don’t figure something out soon.

“My grandfather would tell you that before Energy came to our world, I would not only lose this leg but die from this wound. If we were back in my village, though, there are several Energy healers who could mend this wound without any trouble. If we can find a good Energy source here, I could absorb it and begin the process of mending my leg; I can’t absorb Energy as well as you, but with enough, that won’t matter.” Morgan nodded and lifted the trunk’s lid. Issa flinched back, holding her hands up, but sheepishly lowered them when nothing happened. “You should be more careful; that Shaman might have trapped that trunk.”

“Uh, yeah, I didn’t think of that,” Morgan couldn’t help grinning as he started lifting out various jars and burlap style bags and pouches from the trunk. He also found multiple bundles of herbs tied with string. At the bottom was a small leather pouch that was heavier than the others and made a clinking, tinkling sound as he jostled it. He opened it, and inside were maybe 50 little beads that looked like they were made of glass. They had a green luster and almost seemed to be glowing. “What are these?”

Issa looked up from one of the burlap bags, her hand cupping some sort of grain. When she saw the beads in Morgan’s hand, she smiled, “Those are Energy beads, attuned to nature. They’re valuable to Energy users, but especially those that use nature magic. I know this is your treasure, but I might be able to absorb enough Energy from a few of those beads to mend my Core and start my leg healing!”

“Seriously? That’s great!” Morgan tossed her the leather pouch. Issa smiled and turned away from the sack she’d been rummaging through. She scooted her back to the trunk and took one of the Energy beads from the pouch, resting it on the palm of her hand. Issa held it out in front of her and closed her eyes. Morgan watched, waiting for something miraculous to happen, but it seemed like she was meditating or something. After a few moments, he got bored with watching her and moved over to the corpse of the shaman.

The shaman’s crown with the candle had fallen off its head when it collapsed, and Morgan wanted to check it out. The fat, white candle had gone out, and upon closer inspection, Morgan could see that the crown was made of dark metal. Morgan reached out a hand toward it, but before he could touch it, he felt a wave of nausea come over him, and he pulled his hand back. Once his hand was away from the metal, the nausea passed. He decided to leave the crown alone. He moved instead to the silvery chain around the shaman’s neck. He found the clasp on the back and unscrewed it, allowing him to pull the chain away from the shaman. Affixed to the chain was a fist-sized, red and black gem. It was crudely cut, but when Morgan held it, warmth spread into his hand, and it throbbed with a dim orange-red light. He let go of the gem but held onto the necklace by the chain.

“Morgan, can you help me?” Morgan looked over at Issa and saw that she was still sitting against the trunk, but her face was less wan, and her eyes were brighter.

“You look better already!” He walked over to her and saw that she still held a green Energy bead in her hand and that there was a small pile of clear, empty-looking beads next to her.

“Yes, I’m sorry to use so many of your Energy beads, but once I gathered and solidified my core, I started to draw the Energy into my leg faster than I thought I would. I think it’s ready for me to take the tourniquet off. Would you help?” Morgan looked at her leg and was astonished to see that much of the flesh and muscle had filled in, and now there was a large, dark scab over the remaining wound. He nodded and walked over.

“This will probably hurt,” he said as he started to untie the knotted rope. Issa closed her eyes and seemed to focus on her breathing while he slowly unwound the tightly cinched rope. She gasped, and her breathing faltered for a moment when he finally pulled loose the last wind of the cord, and the blood rushed into her leg. Slowly, Issa managed to get her breathing steady, and Morgan marveled as the green energy in the bead drained into her outstretched palm. She exhaled one last time, opening her eyes with a smile.

“Thank you very much, Morgan. Without your help, I’d have suffered a terrible fate. I hope that I can repay you someday.”