The village of Tiaston was a sprawling collection of wooden huts, longhouses and crafting-related buildings. The cheap building materials, dirt paths that meandered between buildings, and open fire pits showed the prosperity of the rural village. None of the occupants would call it wealthy, but the number of skilled people that it housed was a source of pride, as the expanding skills of its occupants and the rapidly growing population almost guaranteed that in time it would reach Town status, providing benefits to all. Reaching the next size bracket meant that they could support a larger Guard roster and upgrade their stationary guard-posts to connect with wood or mud-brick walls. They might even be lucky enough to establish a Mage Guild, if a Mage or two were sent by one of the smaller, agricultural noble families.

The mass of wooden buildings, porches, railings and criss-crossing fences were now a tangle of smoking wrecks. Most of the buildings had escaped complete destruction, but the vast majority had been singed or featured collapsing walls or roofs. The only moving bodies to be seen amongst the destruction were opportunistic bandits, still looting the more respectable-looking homes, and a pair of bloody Warriors who scampered wearily from house to house, alert for danger.

A blade erupted from the chest of a ragged figure, blood spurting from the wound with a wet, slurping sound. Lung pierced, the surprised bandit sank to the ground, his legs collapsing beneath him like over-cooked noodles. His attacker wiped his blade on the corpse's shirt, before stepping passed it with a harried look on his face.

You have defeated Warrior (level 18).

"We're almost at the guard point," Silas muttered to Katai. This was the third bandit they'd come across as they made their way through the village. They hadn't seen anyone alive, other than the occasional stranger rummaging through a building or fighting with their comrades over spoils.

Katai silently followed his brother-in-arms, leading his mare with his sword drawn. He’d expected surprise attacks to come from enterprising bandits. Instead, they’d been the ones attacking the distracted Warriors. The bandit group seemed more intent on ransacking buildings and gorging themselves on the food and cheap spirits that some of the villagers distilled, than they were on searching for survivors. Perhaps they knew they’d destroyed the majority of the resistance and weren’t too concerned with a couple of angry Warriors roaming the area.

The pair hadn't stopped once they left Katai’s home, quickly wrapping up Salah’s body and tying her to his mare. Setting their course for one of the lightly-fortified platforms on the perimeter of the village, they had aimed for speed over stealth, more than willing to cut down any of the invaders they came across. It had quickly become apparent that the band that had attacked the village was much larger than anything they’d seen before, enough to overwhelm the sentries that were on duty. They wouldn't be able to make much of a dent in the band's numbers by themselves, they’d be lucky to even escape the village alive if they caught the attention of one of the roving gangs that were slowly moving from house to house.

Flames moved up the wooden post, ascending the length with a speed faster than was natural. Once the fire reached the top however, instead of spreading across to the awning, it sputtered and died.

“Gods-darn it! Friggin’ useless piece of…” the Fire Mage stamped his feet angrily as he continued to rant at the flame-retardant hut. He crossed his arms and frowned at the wood angrily, the young man’s face sullen at his lack of fire control. It was a failure he’d regularly been punished for back home.

Tapping his foot, he seemed to note the passing of something. Raising a hand, he pointed at the hut, watching as a small ball of flame seemed to material in the air. With a sharp motion, he sent the ball crashing into the post, the flames splashing over the already-scorched wood. With a satisfied smirk, the Mage concentrated once more on expanding the flames across the roof of the hut.

“You know you’re meant to be supervising the supply retrieval Aleksander.” A feminine voice called out, sounding exasperated. A slim figure appeared behind the Fire Mage, an annoyed expression crossing her face. Her dark hair was loose, blowing across her face in the gentle wind, as she unsuccessfully tried to tuck it behind an ear.

“Yeah, well… I got bored, they’re bandits for crying out loud! They know how to loot without me watching them the entire time. Besides, you said I should practise my fire magic!” Aleksander whined at the older woman. With his spiky, blond hair and short stature, it had been difficult for the former bandit leaders to take him very seriously. That had changed of course, when the Fire Mage decided to make an example of one of them.

Probably only just turned fifteen, and just coming into his magic. Still a child really, thought Maja wearily. It certainly feels like I’m his mother, having to tell him off whenever he does some stupid shit. “Not when we’re in the middle of a raid, idiot! Set some fires, sure, but keep your mana levels high. Otherwise you’ll be left defenceless if there’s anyone hiding away in this shit-hole with a half-decent combat class.”

Aleksander groaned loudly, drawing out the sound as long as he could, before letting go of the flames. He turned towards her and kicked at a stone, sending it careening towards Maja’s shins. She reacted without batting an eyelid, calmly raising her hand and clenching it, as if catching a thrown ball. The stone froze in place, and then shot back towards the Fire Mage just as quickly as it had been sent. The boy, not being an Earth or Stone Mage himself, had to jump aside, rolling in the dirt in his haste to avoid the projectile.

Maja sneered at him condescendingly. “Seriously, how dense can you be Aleksander? Kicking a rock at a Stone Mage is about as dumb as me trying to light you on fire. Get your dumb ass off the ground and stop fooling around. Check on your men and make sure they’re looking for useful stuff, like food and coin. If I see anyone trying to carry a ‘fancy’ rug or some other useless crap back with them, there will be consequences.”

With that, Maja stomped off, leaving to check on her own men before she did something she’d regret. The fool boy was useful and she needed him to keep the men in check. If it was just her, she wasn’t sure they’d be able to keep their hands off her, regardless of her ability to crush a handful of them before she was overwhelmed.

Aleksander stood up slowly and brushed himself off. He sneered at Maja’s back as she walked away, his youthful face twisted into an angry scowl. She’s such a stuck-up bitch, he thought, no wonder she never gets her hands dirty with the rest of us. I bet that’s why she ran away from her rich old family. Can’t imagine her building walls and mining like the rest of her crusty family does. Rich bastards.

Muttering away, he loped off towards the closest sounds of destruction, hoping there would be something interesting to see on the way. Anything to cure his boredom. These backwater villages are just so… so… eurgh! Carefully he stepped over a pile of excrement and looked around, hoping he’d spot the animal that had left it. To put it out of its misery of course, he though sardonically, a grin returning to his face.

Silas eased back slowly, careful to keep his movements as smooth as possible. Ducking behind a battered wall, he turned and hurried back to Katai, who waited impatiently a couple of houses away. Thanks to Katai’s Sense Blood skill, they’d been able to avoid several skirmishes, gaining him a skill level in the process. This time however, they’d both spotted the next threat because of the ball of fire shooting into a building in the distance.

“There’s no way we can take on these people, they’re nobility, they have to be!” Silas whispered urgently. “We need to get out of here, Katai. This isn’t something we can deal with on our own.”

Katai’s gaze darkened as he looked in the direction the Fire Mage had left towards. “Those Mages were probably in charge of the attack. They’re responsible for all of these deaths! All this destruction.” Katai angrily gestured at their surroundings. “How can we just let them go when they’re right here!”

Silas flapped his hands frantically at Katai, trying to quieten him down as his voice rose with anger. “They’re too powerful Katai, they’re Mages. Uncommon class, remember? Probably the most dangerous individuals on the entire Western coast!”

Katai’s eyes glinted dangerously, causing the worried frown on Silas’ face to deepen. “We could ambush them, take them out before they get a chance to retaliate.”

“We might be able to take one out if we’re lucky. But I’m not willing to throw my life away on such a foolish plan. I wouldn’t even call that a plan, it’s just a fools gamble.” Silas shook his head slowly, keeping his eyes trained on Katai, willing him to see reason. Silas could see the temptation for vengeance warring with his sense of self-preservation, he felt it himself to some degree. He too wanted revenge. But he was a realist when it came to their chances of surviving a clash with a Mage, especially in an area filled with the enemy.

Katai broke eye contact first, looking angrily at a section of smouldering wall. He crossed his arms and huffed, looking everywhere but at his erstwhile friend, trying to get his thoughts together. He frowned and shook his head. Finally, he turned back to face Silas.

“Fine.”

His shoulders were hunched, his face tight and unyielding. But Silas knew his friend well. Giving him a nod of appreciation, Silas turned and started walking.

The pair of men looked on with concern as the armoured Warrior turned and glanced around, casually surveying the village behind him. Satisfied that all was well, the bandit returned to keeping an eye on the surrounding forest, alert to the prospect of a counter-attack from the fleeing villagers. Perhaps this duty was the reason he sported a heavy breastplate, one of the few bandits they’d seen in anything other than furs and leather armour. This also was the reason for their concern.

“We can’t just sneak past, the clearing before the woods is too wide.” Silas whispered, peering through a gap in the buildings wall. The pair of men were sheltering in the remnants of a hut that had one side almost completely demolished. Whatever had crashed into the wall had left them a hole sizable enough to fit themselves and their mount through, who was now happily resting on the floorboards in the next room.

“Well, we don’t have any skills that will let us take him out silently. My skill won’t do it quickly enough, or from this distance.” Katai replied.

The two men watched and waited, neither coming up with an idea that they liked. Finally, impatient with the waiting, and without a better idea, Katai decided to look at his status to see if that might help trigger an idea. There was a list of messages that he’d been ignoring since he left home.

Sense Blood has reached level 3 …

Sense Blood has reached level 4 …

You have defeated Warrior (level 14).

Congratulations! You have gained 1 Blood Mage level.

3 attribute points awarded for reaching level 10 Blood Mage.

A class skill is awarded for reaching level 10 Blood Mage …

Sense Blood has reached level 5 …

You have defeated Warrior (level 23) …

You have defeated Warrior (level 18).

Congratulations! You have gained 1 Warrior and 1 Blood Mage level ...

Sense Blood has reached level 6.

Katai was floored by the results. Four levels in a skill, and three levels in his classes – as well as the thirteen levels he’d gained from defeating the high-level Warrior in his home. That was astonishing progress in such a short amount of time! Not to mention the new skill selection he had waiting for Blood Mage, and the attribute points to distribute. As often as they were warned by Hiram to never get distracted during field exercises, he was definitely going to take some time out to sort through these. This wasn’t a measly single attribute point from a Common class level up. No, this could make a huge difference in the next fight.

Katai looked over at Silas and saw that he was keeping an eye out. Resting his head back against a wall, Katai got comfortable and closed his eyes.

Allocating the points didn't take much time. As much as he would like to sit and ponder what he would like to improve, he knew that they were in the middle of a battle zone. Looking over both his classes, he used the class attribute Bonuses as his guide to how he would allocate. The Warrior class gave a one-off bonus to Strength, Dexterity and Constitution, while Blood Mage gave most of its bonus to Constitution, with a point going to Wisdom. He allocated four points to Constitution and one point each to Strength and Dexterity.

The last point he put into Wisdom. The class bonus for Blood Mage seemed to indicate it was important, even if he didn’t really understand what Wisdom was supposed to do. He knew Intelligence was important for most Mages, but he didn’t seem to have a mana pool like they apparently had. The only skills he had took their cost out of his health, which made sense since he was a Blood Mage. Constitution was definitely going to be his main focus for now.

He’d been tempted to put some points into Charisma, as that was the plan he and Hiram had designed around his goals – every second attribute point went to Charisma until he hit a total of twenty points. At the moment though, that didn’t seem like a wise choice. He needed more health, strength and dexterity.

When he’d reached the age of thirteen and the class selections started appearing, his status had finally become accessible. Surprising himself, he’d been above average in several attributes – the average being fifteen. Charisma had been the highest at seventeen, the highest in his age group in fact, prompting excited discussion amongst the Elders. When questioned, he’d professed a desire to become a Warrior, disappointing some who had hoped he would become a Trader, or even a Musician, a sorely lacking talent in the village. Katai, however, had neither the talent or inclination for either role.

He still planned on adding some points to his Charisma attribute. Hiram was of the opinion that focusing on the skills and attributes that fit the class you wanted would lead to a class of the next Tier that was at least similar to the one you wanted. His goal had been to become a Commander or General. Maybe even a Knight if he was lucky, though they seemed to all occur in the ranks of Nobility. He simply hoped that when he eventually reached level fifty in his Warrior class, he’d have some kind of leadership-based Warrior class to advance into. For that, he’d put some attributes into Charisma and give priority to any skills that affected his companions.

His Blood Mage class did complicate things though. If he had to escape into the wilderness and run for his life… would skills that help his companions really be a good choice? He’d have to talk to Silas or Hiram about it, without giving too much away. If that were even possible. A problem for later - for now he was finished with his attribute distribution.

Attributes

Strength: 17 (+1)

Dexterity: 17 (+1)

Constitution: 24 (+4)

Intelligence: 15

Wisdom: 16 (+1)

Charisma: 17

Changes flooded through his body. Energy re-invigorated his muscles, tightening and lengthening the fibres as his blood cells mutated into stronger forms. His body became noticeably denser and the changes in his blood made it much more efficient and resilient to damage.

The changes to his constitution now placed him in the top echelon of all Warriors in the village. Even if one of them had placed all their attributes into Constitution, there was just no comparison. He had too many class bonuses and too many points to sink into his attributes for any of them to compete with him. Blood Mage giving him three points every five levels was a massive increase over one point from his Warrior class.

The changes happened in a rush, over before Katai had a chance to react to the sudden discomfort. Usually, adding a single point was hardly even felt, but the addition of seven all at once definitely made an impact.

Warily, he got to his feet, getting used to the subtle changes the changes had made in the way his body moved. His balance had improved, and he felt more graceful in his movements. He felt like he could run countless miles and still fight a battle at the end of it.

“All good?” said Silas. He threw a questioning look over his shoulder, most of his attention focused on the area surrounding their temporary shelter.

“Almost, just need to check one more thing.”

Katai sat once more, his body responding more fluidly than he remembered. Bringing up the class skills, he looked over the newly available options.

Blood Mage Skills - available selections: 1

Bond of Blood - Create a bond forged in blood. You may access the blood from the bonded to power skills. The bonded has slightly increased health regeneration. Maximum 1 bond.

Rage - User may sacrifice a portion of their health to temporarily increase their strength and dexterity. Wisdom, Intelligence and Health are greatly reduced whilst under the effect.

Infection (Miasma) - Spread a virus to the target, on touch, that may cause a range of effects, including; confusion, rage, drowsiness, sleep, nausea, and diarrhoea. Maximum 1 effect per use.

A decent spread of skill types, but nothing that looked like it would help in the immediate future. He’d have to take a look at these when he had more time. Choosing a skill with limited time and under pressure was never advised, a fact Hiram liked to remind them all of. He had a lot of sayings when it came to choosing skills. When to do it, why make a certain choice, who to ask for advice… He was a ‘font of ancient wisdom’, as the rest of the Guard liked to say, often quite seriously.

“Ok go ahead, I’ll keep an eye out.” Katai swapped positions with his friend, moving to keep a watch out.

Half an hour later, the two of them had still not come up with a plan. However, their patience and lack of ideas soon paid off when Katai spotted movement coming from within the village.

A white shape bounded between houses, bleating anxiously. The nimble goat navigated rubble and collapsed fences with ease as it fled the village centre, its knobbly legs working overtime to keep it ahead of its pursuer.

“Is that Betsy?” Silas asked, his eyes wide with disbelief.

The two watched as Betsy dodged a fireball, the missile slamming into an unburnt house instead. The goat put on more speed, bursting out of the village perimeter and sprinting across the open space towards the safety of the woods.

The pair watched the bandit in the guard-post scratch his head and shift uncertainly.

“After it!” screamed a young male voice. The Fire Mage ran out into the open and gestured towards the goat, a fireball zipping through the air and exploding against the trees. Luckily, the fire wasn’t strong enough to sustain itself, quickly dying out before catching the forest alight.

The guard, hesitating for a second, looked around wildly. To his dismay, there was no-one else around which meant the Mage had been talking to him. Resignedly, he hefted his sword and jogged out into the open.

Katai looked at Silas and grinned. “Good ol’ Betsy has given me an idea.”

Quickly, he detailed the plan and cut his palm open, wiping some of the blood on Silas’ face. His friend grimaced but didn’t object, knowing he needed to look the part. Their preparations complete, Katai ran between the remaining houses until he reached the lightly fortified guard-post. Moving into position within, he knelt next to the entrance, keeping himself below the height of the wall.

A short time later, Katai sensed the man returning to his post. Unlike the Fire Mage, this man knew he had to take his job seriously.

Before the man reached the entrance however, he stopped, the red haze overlaying Katai’s vision matching the movement of the Warrior.

“Hah, poor sod! Looks like it’s your unlucky day.”

Peeking around the corner, Katai smiled when he saw Silas. Blood dripped from his face and splashes of it covered his clothes. He limped as he continued to approach the armoured bandit, hardly even pausing to acknowledge his opponent. His sword dragged in the dirt, presenting an easy target for the overconfident bandit.

Before the bandit decided to attack, Silas raised his sword wearily, preparing for an overhead strike. The bandit chuckled as he raised his own blade, easily deflecting the blow to the side.

Unfortunately for the bandit, this was also the moment Katai decided to make his move.

Activating Lunge, he moved out of the doorway and took a step towards the bandit. He still didn’t know Katai had snuck in behind him, probably assuming that Silas was on his own, a lucky survivor of the initial assault. The skill took effect when Katai was in range, expertly cleaving into the bandit’s skull, the blade punching through the soft area at the back of his head. The only instant-kill weak point for a heavily-armoured Warrior.

You have defeated Warrior (level 31).

Congratulations! You have gained 1 Warrior and 1 Blood Mage level.

Lunge has reached level 5.

A short time later, they continued on through the forest with greater confidence. Both had gained substantially from the previous few battles. Silas rubbed the heavy breastplate he now wore with appreciation, the first and only Guard to have worn such an expensive piece of equipment. It was not high quality, but it still afforded much greater protection than the leather hauberk’s the other Warriors wore. Katai, figuring he had much higher constitution than his friend, had happily conceded ownership of the heavy plate.

Moving closer to Tolman’s Hill, they slowed down and looked for signs of passage. They began to see more and more signs of people fleeing the area, trampled grass and snapped twigs along the forest floor giving away their hasty travel. Skirting the base of the large hill, they quietly circled the area, until a voice called out to them.

“Stop right where ya are and lower your weapons.” An unknown voice called out to the pair. They exchanged a questioning look with each other before sheathing their swords, trusting that they’d found their goal and not run into some particularly devious ruffians.

“Alright, start walking forward, slowly now.” As they walked forward, a shape emerged from the darkness.

“Ah good, I thought I recognised you two.” The figure strode towards them, revealing himself to the two young men as he stepped out of the shadows.

“Hiram!” Silas called out with a sound of relief, glad to see their old Captain alive and well.

Katai's Status

(In brackets indicates what was gained this chapter, or pending skill/attribute selections)

Katai D’Castro

1st Class: Warrior – level 23 (+2)

2nd Class: Blood Mage – level 12 (+3)

Skills (+1)

Lunge (Expert) – level 5 (+1)

Parry (Expert) – level 3

Bash (Proficient) – level 3

Sense Blood (Novice) – level 6

Lacerate (Novice) – Level 3

Attributes

Strength: 17 (+1)

Dexterity: 17 (+1)

Constitution: 24 (+4)

Intelligence: 15

Wisdom: 16 (+1)

Charisma: 17

Magical Aptitude

Blood (Life): 62%

Water: 9%

Resistances

Spirit: -16%

Void: 31%

Blood (Life): 62%