A warm breeze flowed across the late night training field as Blackthorne stared openly at the most ridiculously attractive site he had seen in the dream world to date. Jackie, rather Sonja as she wanted him to call her, solved two concerns that he'd originally had regarding the armor that he'd given her.

Those concerns were conceptual modesty, which he was not certain she would be concerned with at all, and chafing. The latter concern should theoretically have been handled by equipping the chainmail as an accessory, but it still did not sit right in his mind. Metal should chafe bare flesh. It should be a rule or something.

Her beauty and strength of will could be added to the armor's innate magic, and thus allow bare flesh to deflect arrows or axe blows like she was made of metal. It made sense, somehow. Wear chainmail against naked flesh without chafing, however? Madness! It was simply inconceivable despite all of the magic in this world. It was a silly holdover bit of Earth logic that had gnawed at his brain, an outside concept that tried to force him to balk at the logic of the dream world.

"So, you're just going to wear your apron over it?" he asked her curiously.

Sonja smile coyly at him then bounced up and down a little. Her chainmail rattled out a shkk-shkk noise as a companion to her delightful motions. "Why not? It's not like it can harm me since it isn't cursed, and enough of it is still showing for me to get the bonus."

She untied her apron and swirled it around behind her back like a cape. Blackthorne's eyes widened perceptibly in order to take in the glory of it all. Her pert pink nipples poked resolutely through the central hole of each mail breast cup. The bikini bottom arched downward between her thighs like and avenging arrow, but barely concealed her feminine mystery by any stretch of the imagination. It certainly did look more like erotic medieval bedroom attire than functional armor.

Unbidden, she twirled in placed and pulled her apron back around to the front. A chainmail thong rode brazenly through the center of the deep ravine that separated the bountiful mountains located in her Southern expanse. It was a shining bridge of mighty steel which closed the gap between two lonely sisters long separated by a darkly yawning chasm of no return. A family reunited was indeed a thing of beauty.

"Staring costs extra," she said with a grin.

Blackthorne reached into a bag and snatched up a handful of coins then tossed them into the air without so much as looking away from the glorious image which lightly swayed before him. Sonja laughed in response then turned around and took an artful bow. "The next show is at dawn, dear customer. Please enjoy the venison."

He chuckled at her then suddenly came to his senses and started to scoop up his coins. None could be missed! All were needed to pay the toll on the path to his future.

"You know, I made that thing and I still don't get how it won't chafe," he said after collecting his errant currency.

Sonja waved him off. "The bonus defense, obviously."

"How's that obvious? I have some of that stuff downloaded into my brain, and I still don't believe it," he replied.

She tapped her chin briefly then took a moment to retie her apron while she answered. "Well, think about it. When you equip an accessory it fits perfectly, right?"

"Right, resizes and everything," said Blackthorne.

"Good. You know at least that much about things, Mr. I-can-make-impossible-armor," she said before rolling her shoulders to lightly flex her stiff muscles.

"That, and bonus armor applies directly to the entire body including things like the eyes," he replied.

"Then you already know the answer, don't you?" she asked him in a light tone. She thrust her chest forward then gestured to the two small points poking through her apron. "How is a piece of metal going to injure or chafe me when even my nipples are as damage resistant as steel plate?"

"In hindsight that makes sense," he said in a thoughtful tone. "It's just so different than what I've always known."

"Well, if it helps I'd still chafe if I did not equip it," she replied lightly.

"Actually, that does help... but what if you had other items equipped that gave bonus armor?" he asked.

She shrugged. "It'd be no different than if I wore padding under it. Bonus defense cares not for what is worn atop the flesh. I have always found it to be stranger that bonus defense can make you more resilient than steel, but still allow you to be soft and supple."

"That did cross my mind as well..." admitted Blackthorne.

"Enough banter, time for training!" she decreed. Sonja marched over to a nearby rack and retrieved a wooden sword. She slashed it imperiously through the air then looked askance at him. "You recently increased your level, I believe."

"You can tell that?" he asked.

"Of course," she said. "How high is your strength now?"

"Still, thirteen. Why?" he asked her.

She groaned loudly at him. "You... Did you even upgrade your attributes?"

"Intellect, yes..." he said.

Sonja blinked at him. "Oh, I would have thought that if you did not choose strength you might have chosen vigor or charisma since you are a mage..."

"I wanted more skill points per level," he admitted candidly.

"Ah," she said while wrinkling her nose and acquiring an expression of distaste. "You're one of those people."

His visage darkened as the tone of her voice made the little hairs on the back of his neck stand up. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

Sonja waved him off. "Nothing, really. It's just a waste to spend all of your early attribute points on intellect."

"How can it be a waste? I get five more skill points per level permanently for every positive modifier and extra skill slots on top of it," he asked, a hint of an edge in his tone.

"Oh, so the big bad dreamer knows more about it than someone who has lived here since birth?" she asked him in a frosty tone.

"Certainly not. I would like a little more explanation and much less attitude, however and if you please," he said with a bit more heat in his words. "Remember, I don't really understand the logic of this world, yet

She blew out a disgusted breath then sighed. "I did not mean to offend you. I do forgot at times that you are ignorant of how the world works."

"Well, I did ask you to train me," he replied in a slightly softer voice. "I need to know these things."

"Right," said Sonja. "First, tell me how high your intellect is at the moment."

"Sixteen, with an extra two point modifier," he replied.

She quirked an eyebrow at him then nodded. "Please tell me that is not your highest attribute."

"It's not," he said lightly. "Charisma is also sixteen with the same modifier boost."

"You haven't been training at all, have you?" she chided him. "All this time and you have only been developing your attributes with points, right?"

"How else would I gain them?" he asked. "I thought that was the only way. I mean, I think I was actually told that it was the case."

She gripped the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. A slight hiss escaped her slips as she sighed. "Of course you did, you silly little man..."

He grunted at her, but she did not apologize this time. Instead she put the wooden sword away and gestured for him to come closer. Once he drew near, she said, "The ones who have informed you of the nature of the world have failed to instruct you properly."

"How so?" he asked.

"You weren't born here, so I guess they decided to allow your kind to gain levels much faster than the norm in order to compensate," she replied.

"Ah, yeah. That's true I think," said Blackthorne. "I remember that much."

"You are human, so training will be of limited use to you in the grand scheme of things but your lesser attributes can probably be increased by a point or two through intense training," she explained.

"How long do you think it would take?" said Blackthorne. Left unsaid was the memory that he probably only had a limited time in this world before whatever change was supposed to come to Earth.

"In a hurry?" she asked.

"My time is spread between two worlds," he replied. "I have to ration it well."

"Good point," she said. Sonja took a deep breath then said, "Well, honestly you could probably earn one, maybe even two points of strength in about a year if you train hard."

Blackthorne stared at her. "A year?"

"Well, the first point would come much sooner. I could see it happening after three or four months," she said.

"I think I understand why I had the impression that developing attributes outside of attribute points would not work," he said dryly. "Though, if I can gain a few points a year alongside my attribute point upgrades—"

"No. It doesn't work like that," said Sonja. "Whenever you upgrade a stat with attribute points your training in that attribute is reset."

She held up a finger and wagged it at him like a nagging mother. "You will absolutely not be able to gain multiple points in strength in a given year after the first few, not with your current ability."

"You said I could though... unless you mean it gets harder to develop them through training as they go up?" he asked.

"It does take longer, yes," she admitted.

"How long to get from say sixteen charisma to your twenty-four?" he asked curiously.

"Impossible. You're human. Your race can't train past twenty in any stat..." she said. Her words trailed off briefly then she lightly reached over and caressed her chainmail, "But if you could train at the normal human rates? Hmm... Let me think..."

She stabbed at the air for a moment then clicked her tongue. "Uhm, probably a good four hundred thirty to five hundred sixty years."

Blackthorne closed his eyes then slowly opened them again. "Seriously?"

"Well, yes. For a human already at sixteen points? I'd say it's a good three or four years to reach eighteen, then another twelve to sixteen to reach twenty," she said.

"People start training young here, huh?" he asked her.

"Usually right after puberty if not before," she said. "A six year old human from a warrior clan might max out a stat, or even two, before they reach age thirty. Though, in another few years old age will steal their gains and they'll wither as humans generally do.

"So, how is it that you expect me to develop my attributes without points again?" Blackthorne offered her a wry smile. "I mean, half of mine are at sixteen already, and I don't have a few decades to train before I fight your husband."

"You can still train your weaker ones," she said. "How many stats do you have below sixteen points?"

"Three of them," he said.

Sonja sighed, "I see."

She offered him a defeated look then nodded. "Well, you only need five levels to get your strength to sixteen points... so, I guess—"

He interjected, "Why five levels? I mean, it's only five points. I can do that in three."

"Three? You get two attribute points when you gain a level?"

"You don't? I thought that was normal," he said.

"For me? Yes. Humans don't usually get more than one unless they're some sort of special lineage like nobility or the child of mixed parentage..." she said. "Guess that's part of being a dreamer? Faster leveling and greater point gains."

"Seems so. I know from checking the forums that everyone else gets two points as well," said Blackthorne.

"Hmm... How many skill points do you get?" she asked.

"Forty? Twenty from my intellect modifier, and twenty from the standard amount for every level," he said.

"I see. I see," she said thoughtfully. "You really shouldn't be able to make armor with scaling stats, but those bonuses are still really good."

"I knew dreamers were blessed by the gods, but you're like someone with the skill point bonuses of an elf, but the attribute upgrade potential of a Valkyrie..."

He shrugged. "I had no idea. I was just told that my world was going to change and we were given starting bonuses to help us adapt."

Sonja took a breath then slapped her fist into her palm. "Regular intense training is a good idea if you want to get a point or two into some of your stats, but with bonuses like that you'd do just as well through leveling once you hit fourteen or so in any given attribute."

"I have ten points in luck? How would training that go?" he asked.

She shrugged at him. "It's luck. It goes up randomly over time, when lucky things happen. Don't bother trying to find a way to train it like gambling or guessing a coin flip. It doesn't work."

"So, luck only goes up if I spend points or... get lucky?" he asked.

"Yes," she said simply. Blackthorne waited for a moment, but she did not seem to understand what he was referring to and merely looked at him curiously.

"So, I'm mostly stuck using points to increase luck," he said upon giving up on his little joke. Blackthorne scratched his cheek then performed a minor bit of math. "If I trained strength and agility to fourteen then I'd save points from about six levels."

"Given how fast you're growing, you could probably get those levels in the same time it takes you to gain those points through training," said Sonja in a thoughtful tone. "Not bad... for a human at least."

He looked at her, "Why do I get the impression that all of your stats are much higher than mine?"

"Because they are?" she asked lightly. "Intellect's my lowest, and it is still higher than yours."

"Your entire race is just unfair..." groused Blackthorne playfully.

Sonja grinned at him. "Not my fault that I was stronger than you are now when I was a mere six years old."

He groaned at her. "You're making that up."

She laughed at him then spread her hands wide. "Sorry, but it's true. Even as little toddling warriors in the making we are as strong as the average human male. By the time we're five or six years old we have already surpassed the common ones."

"Even if the twenty point attribute training limit for humans were lifted, they would have to train a thousand years to be the equal to one of our newly blooded warrior maidens," she said haughtily. "Gear and attribute points gained from levels aside, of course."

"Do you adopt? I could stand to be a Valkyrie," he replied.

Sonja's laughter pealed beautifully through the warm night air. Her misgivings about her soon-to-be master were assuaged. He was little more than a child, and far weaker than she had been when she was first captured by her husband. Yet, he held potential. It was a start.

"So, you've got me curious," he said. "Is there an attribute training cap for Valkyries?"

"Yes, thirty," she said with a grin. "Do you want to know how many thousands of years that would take you to reach it?"

"Uh, no," he said with a self-deprecating laugh. "How much faster can you get to twenty, than a human though?"

"Depends on the stat," she said with a shrug. "We typically build Strength and Charisma around a hundred times faster than a human, but other things can take longer. Luck, for instance."

"Seriously? You're being serious with me right now?" asked Scott. "You can train strength a hundred times faster?"

"Well, yeah... We're descended from a goddess. Celestial race, remember?" she asked.

Blackthorne slapped the side of his face then sighed. "How the hell can any man beat one of you? You can train for a few years and have stats in the mid-twenties, and that's without using attribute points!"

"They usually win us when we're young..." she said while somehow managing not to flinch, "By the time we're a little older than I am now, most humans really don't stand much of a chance. Unless they are venerable warriors of high level and even greater skill, it's practically pointless for them to try."

Her tone changed to a lighter one a moment later. "Though, we generally don't bother to spend our attribute points until we hit a wall in our training. Thirty points in charisma and strength, and around twenty to twenty-six in everything else."

"You must have a ton of points..." said Blackthorne.

This time she did flinch. Sonja sighed then shook her head. "I've deteriorated a great deal since my enslavement. I'm only a few levels higher than you. I've lost much skill and most of my attribute points went into trying to shore up my stat losses from the bond penalties..."

Blackthorne looked at her for a moment, then reached out and put his hand to her shoulder. "Well, that all stops now. I'll pay off the debt tomorrow afternoon."

"You have the money?" she asked, excitement shining in her eyes.

"No, but I will after my next run through the graveyard," he said.

"You sure?" she asked him warmly.

"Yeah, I doubt I'll have much trouble," he said with confidence. "I mean, it's only zombies. What could happen?"

Sonja took a deep breath then slowly released it. She acquired a warm and hopeful expression. "For a human, you're almost tolerable."

"Thanks. You'd be surprised how rarely I hear that," said Blackthorne with a nod of the head.

"Oh? I would be, would I?" she asked in a light and friendly tone.

He grinned at her. "Yeah, you go ahead and keep me on my toes."

"Yes. Yes. Know your place, human." she said, before she turned her head to the side and waved the back of her hand toward him imperiously.

They both shared a laugh at her antics then finally set about the task of training. She showed him a proper method to train both his strength and agility. On Earth it would have been called gymnastics or acrobatics, but in the dream it was called, 'Stop whining like a petulant child, and roll like a barrel! What? Well, then take your armor off if it's lowering your agility, you great ungainly fool!'

A robust education in the fine art of rolling like a barrel was had that night. Come the morning, Blackthorne might well have considered a change of careers. Life as a barrel had become ingrained into the very fiber of his being.