Alera just stared at her; pleading in silence.

Cassidy continued. “We talked about you manipulating people. What would happen if I asked you to manipulate me?”

Alera looked down and whispered, “I can’t.”

Cassidy leaned in to hear. “What?”

Alera seemed to shrink in on herself. “I can’t manipulate you.”

Cassidy waited. When Alera didn’t speak up she asked, “How do you know you can’t manipulate me?”

Alera looked pathetic and seemed to be trying to be anywhere but there as she looked around. “I already tried but it didn’t work. It doesn’t work on people that have a higher Willpower than I do.”

Cassidy breathed in through her nose, processing this. It's not to say she ever trusted Alera but this was a bit much.

An idea occurred to her. “Is that what happened with your ‘boyfriend’ then? He didn’t die; his Willpower just outgrew yours?”

Alera just looked at the ground and didn’t move.

Oh, the viper. This little viper. Cassidy was shaking her head. She was fairly certain this was grounds for murder in this world. But when it came down to it, she just couldn’t make that choice. Maybe it was her lack of understanding fully what Alera had done, but she couldn’t hold any malice for this pathetic woman. Alera was just too pitiful. That would make her pitiful too.

“Alright Alera, what happened to YOU when you tried to manipulate me.”

She looked up in confusion, expecting something other than a question but Cassidy just waited so Alera tried to catch up. “When I? Um…It hurt a lot. Like my brain was exploding. I didn’t want to do it again.”

Cassidy tried to remain peaceful. “But did you notice it do anything. Did it raise an Attribute? Did a Skill Level increase?”

“Skill Level?” Cassidy was glad there weren’t any trees near the fire pit or she’d be bludgeoning her head on one. “Just say a Skill’s name and ask for Skill Level.”

Alera coughed a few times before muttering, “Whispering Thoughts Skill Level?”

Cassidy stared up at the sky and counted clouds as they passed, giving Alera some time to digest this information and realize she really needed to be talking about now. Cassidy had gotten to five before Alera chimed back in. “It says I’m at 9. Is that good or bad?”

Cassidy droned on in her best Bertold impression. “The average is 5. 9 is very good for the average but Initiates are usually higher.” She looked back at the girl. “Just what have you been doing all this time? Do you have any Skill that should be higher? You’re an Initiate!”

The girl looked away and tried again. “Song of Sleep Skill Level?” Eyes a little wider she looked back to Cassidy. “It says that one's 13!”

Cassidy too a step back. Her highest had been 11! But that was weeks ago, she calmed herself. It’s surely risen since then. She’ll have to check herself when she’s done with Alera.

“Good, Good. But you never answered me about Attributes.”

Alera scrunched up her nose in a behavior Cassidy expected from someone far younger. “How am I suppose to know if it changed anything? I never checked before or after.”

“And you didn’t feel anything rise?”

Alera just looked at her.

Cassidy was not in a generous mood this morning. “Then check your Attributes now.”

“You want to know those too!” Clearly outraged. The girl must be picking up on some things being privileged information.

Cassidy stared down at her. “You’ve already betrayed me once. You’ve relied on Shakira and me to give you an easy time. You’ve hidden yourself for three days and I’m about to take you on a two-week journey, trusting my life to your hands. You’re damn right I want to know your Attributes.”

Angrily, Alera said, “Attributes. Show Cassidy.” All the while glaring at her.

A box popped up. Nifty. Cassidy didn’t realize you could do that.

Strength

6.5

Resilience

6.5

Reflexes

7.5

Speed

6.5

Perception

9.9

Stillness

6.5

Willpower

8.0

Intelligence

8.5

So, Alera was smarter than her, Cassidy tried to not let that get to her. Though it was hard to believe this sniveling ball of petulance had anything on her. But Attributes weren’t what mattered. Which was good. The rest of Alera’s sucked. Cassidy finally understood what the voice claimed when it said she was in the top 10%.

She already knew Alera would be weaker. And she already knew the only thing that mattered were results. Now she had to figure out how make Alera get results of her own.

She focused back on Alera. “Try manipulating me now.”

“But it won’t work.”

“That’s not what I asked. I said try, so try.”

Alera frowned before whimpering in pain.

“Again.”

“It hurts!”

“I. Don’t. Care.”

Alera looked at Cassidy, remembered the rough brunette dragging her throughout the house and decided she was scarier than the pain. So, she tried again.

“Again.” Said Cassidy as she saw tears forming. Only to watch as Alera fell to her knees after whispering her Skill. Cassidy stepped forward till she was looming over the woman. “Again.”

By the time Alera had cast it she lay passed out in the grass. Now Cassidy couldn’t guarantee she hadn’t done permanent damage but she was damn sure Alera had at least raised Resilience. And maybe, just maybe, a small part of her felt better about the whole betrayal thing.

Cassidy looked back down at the tear stained woman on the ground. She once again felt that desire to be her, kept safe and protected. And she crushed it. She finally killed it. She was done. She had to be in charge. She needed to step up to it. There was no one to get them South but her and her dogs. No one to rely on but herself; just like in the early days. So, she’d do it just like back then. Making this painful choice because that's the one that held life at the end.

Her own thoughts wandered briefly. That moment at the inn. Rubbing her hands down her dress and staring down anyone who wanted to comment about it. She’d keep her dresses. Killing the softness didn't mean she killed her femininity. She just needed to keep her confidence with them too. There would be no time to be shy when she went South.

She looked down at Alera. Maybe that was why she was keeping the woman alive. Too make sure she had no choice but to stay strong when she faced those tall walls with its mass of people. It was one thing to be overwhelmed yourself, it was another to let the ones you protected get overwhelmed too. But there was no point in this psychological drivel. She already knew her job. Get Alera strong enough for the trip. Resilience high enough to travel at Cassidy’s pace and strong enough to hold her own watch during the night. Then figure out what Skills she had watching her back.

All she had to do was strengthen the woman without breaking her. It looked like she was already walking that line and the sun had just risen. Cassidy looked to its bright streams of light filtering through massive trees and back to Alera. The woman stirred and moaned. Hands went to cradle her head. Cassidy thought back to that line she worried about and had to shamefully admit, she’d never treat her dogs like this. As she tried to adapt to the situation, she lit the fire and went to get some tea. Willow’s bark with a little bit of Alchemic strengthening for Alera’s headache.

She’d set the kettle to boil by the time Alera stopped moaning. She just lay there holding her head as if she were dead.

Admitting she had no way of knowing the actual damage she’d done to Alera, Cassidy decided she’d just wait till the woman seemed capable of speech again. She was good at that, waiting. Her dogs came over and she remembered she needed to feed them so she left Alera alone, again. As she was coming back a second time, she handed her dogs a stick to keep them busy and they sprinted off through the garden, one holding each end. The kettle wasn’t whistling but Alera was ready to speak.

“Is that what it takes to survive now?” Alera rolled onto her back and stared at the sky. Her eyes disturbingly dry given a few moments ago. “Is this living?” The whistling sounded and Cassidy got the cups. She filled one for Alera and one for herself. Alera didn’t even look over.

Cassidy considered the question. She knew what it took to survive in these woods, but there was a whole world out there and most of the people didn’t live like this. They lived other lives. She looked at the cup in her hands. Fine China. Shakira had talked about people who lived their lives surrounded by the stuff. “No. I don’t think it is. But it’s the only way to survive these woods and get to the place that will offer different lives.”

Alera turned on her side to look at her. The steam rising from her untouched cup.

Cassidy continued. “That’s what I promised you isn’t it? To get you down South where you could have a different sort of life?”

Alera was crying again. Cassidy just began sipping on her tea.

“Try the tea. It’s willow’s bark. Should help with your head.”

By the time Alera was sitting up again, the tea had run cold. Cassidy went to get more water and found Alera staring vacantly off into the woods. “I hate it here.”

Big surprise, thought Cassidy. She sat down again. “Look at your Attributes again. Tell me what’s changed.

Alera didn’t bother she just said, “Attributes, show Cassidy.” And the window popped up.

Strength

6.5

Resilience

7.2

Reflexes

7.5

Speed

6.5

Perception

9.9

Stillness

6.5

Willpower

8.2

Intelligence

8.5

A 7 degree change in Resilience and 2 degree in Willpower. Not bad. She doubted Alera would go through that again though. She was still sipping her tea when an idea came to her. It was cheap, would probably stunt Alera’s growth so she would never move past Tier 1, but would Alera care? Most people in the city had never broken into a Tier before anyway. As long as it got them to the city faster, did the stunted growth really matter? Cassidy didn’t want to bring it up. Not until she learned more about Alera’s Skills.

“Alera.”

Sunlight lit up her features like a creature from heaven. She looked over, becoming reconciled to her fate.

“I won’t put you through something like that again, but we are going to need those Attributes to go up and there’s no easy way to do that.” Except the one she was pretending to forget about. “I know this information is private but would you be willing to tell me your Skill Sets and read off the Skills and Skill Levels for your main 3?”

“You mean 4?”

Cassidy coughed to hide her embarrassment. “Yes. 4. And if it really matters to you, I’ll even do the same.”

Alera looked at her suspiciously. “Why?”

“Because I know how tough this trip will be and how closely we’ll have to rely on each other. To do that we need to know what there is to rely on.” Cassidy was busy kicking away the thought that kept screaming ‘This is a stupid idea!’

Alera leaned forward, her tea cup left to the side—ignored. “I have Voice, Flute, Forestry, Cooking, Sewing, Dancing, and Daggers. My Four main Skill Sets are Voice, that’s where all my Songs come from.” Cassidy just nodded her head. “Flute, Sewing, and Dancing.” Alera paused. She’d given half; she wanted half in return.

Cassidy felt a growing headache. She needed more tea. Never could she imagine such a useless set of skills for living in the woods. The girl may have Forestry and Daggers, but they weren’t even main Skill Sets. Just absolutely useless.

Alera remained unfazed as Cassidy just kept rubbing the bridge of her nose. She took a breath and shared her own. “My Skill Sets are Archery, Forestry, Animal Mastery, Cooking, Jury-Rigging, Daggers, Alchemy, and…” She had decided to be honest but she’d also determined Void Mastery wasn’t anything she could share with anybody until she knew something about it and could, preferably, control it. “and I have one more I don’t really know about so I’m hoping to find something to help in the Southern City.” Alera nodded her head, accepting this. Finishing up Cassidy added. “My Main four Sets are Archery, Forestry, Animal Mastery, and Daggers.”

Alera looked back down at her cup. She didn’t seem to care that it had grown cold. “Is there anything we can have besides tea?”

“No.” Cassidy said adamantly. “We’re working and a clear stomach is a clear head. Now, Skills and Skill Levels.”

Alera frowned but continued. “Voice: Song of Sleep—13, Song of Subdual—7, Whispering Thoughts—8, Song of Guidance—4.

Flute: Call—8, Command—9,” Images of the pied piper flashed through Cassidy’s head. “Spread Peace—3, Spread Joy—2, Song of Rest—7, Recall Memories—5.

Sewing: Patch—12, Seem—5, Hem—9, Alter—5.

Dancing: Graceful Movements—12, Attract Attention—4, Heron’s Leap—7, Monkey’s Tumble—9, Sure-Footed—10.”

Ok, Cassidy was sure some of that worked in their favor. At least now she understood how Alera’s clothes always seemed so well cared for. A useless concern now solved. Hurray. Alera was looking at her expectantly again.

“Alright, Well in Archery I have Precision at 17, Far Shot at 13, Eagle Eye at 14, and Boring Needle at 9.

Forestry has Blend-in at 19, Plant Identification at 21, Tree Climb at 7, and Leave no Trace at 2.

Animal Mastery has Training at 15, Animal Husbandry at 2” Which she had achieved so far just by keeping her dogs from mating with one another. “and First Aid at 10.”

”Daggers has Lacerate at 17 and Bleed at 19.” Cassidy rolled her eyes in the back of her head as if rummaging through the cobwebs of her brain. “And that should be about it.” Alera nodded to this too.

Cassidy sat back and sifted through the information in her head. “Does your Forestry have Ease-of Movement?” Alera shook her. “That’s where we’ll start then. After that I want to hear more about Song of Guidance and see Song of Sleep in action, then we’ll work on Song of Subdual and your Flute: Command. We’ll see if dancing gives any help while your running around the woods.”

Alera hesitated. “Running?”

Cassidy just got up. “How else do you expect to learn Ease-of-Movement and raise those Attributes?” Alera just frowned but followed after her.

Cassidy took Alera to the trails. The woman hesitated as she stared into the place that had become the source of all her fears these last few weeks, but then the dogs arrived and Cassidy was urging her forward.

“Try to remember the terrain as we walk. You’ll be running over it in just a little while.”

“But what about the animals?”

“You’ve got an experienced hunter and two hunting dogs running with you. Don’t worry. Nothing will get near you.”

Alera didn’t like it but she couldn’t find anymore excuses.

As they walked, tree trunks grew into the path that had to be avoided. Roots grew out of the dirt that had to be watched for and rocks covered in moss would make her slip. That wasn’t even to mention the bushes that had overgrown the trail and you had to leap or run straight through, branches tearing at your legs.

Cassidy walked for a mile before stopping and turning to Alera. “Good. Now run back. If you start slowing down, I might just trip you up.”

Alera turned and ran. She didn’t need Cassidy to trip her up. The first rock did that. It appeared Graceful Movements only led to a graceful fall and Sure-Footed had nothing to do with rocks. She saw Cassidy coming for her and got up and ran. No more crying.

She was haggard by the time she made it back to the house. Her hands and knees were scuffed and covered in dirt, branches had torn holes in just about everything, and she could barely breath. Cassidy just strolled up beside her like she’d been on a relaxing walk.

“Its time we walked back.”

“What!” Alera wanted to scream but it came out as a wheeze.

“Did you get Ease-of-Movement?” Cassidy asked, curious.

Alera just stared.

“Right! Back to the woods.” She grabbed Alera’s shoulder and dragged the woman behind her.

Besides a break for lunch. That’s how the day ran until dinner. That’s how everyday ran until dinner. A different path every morning. Alera was feeling hopeless as she sprinted down the trail. Unwilling to give into the feeling, knowing Cassidy was right behind her and would make good on her threats. When an immense crash came from the bushes to her right, a massive boar, covered in blood came running past with Sugarbear on its heels, aiming to bring it down. Alera let out a startled scream as she failed to stop and slid forward into the bloody trail left behind. Cassidy appeared behind her as if magic. “Are you going to lay there all day?”

Alera got up, pushed past the broken bushes and started running. This time when she made it back, she heard that sweet, sweet voice she’d been waiting for.

~Congratulations! You have gained a Skill in Forestry: Ease-of-Movement—the forest rarely hinders you.~ She let out a whoop and turned to tell Cassidy, who was as always, already there.

Cassidy had a grin growing on her face as she asked, “You did it then? You got the Skill?”

“Yes!” Alera nearly screamed as she punched the air. Not nearly as out of breath as she’d used to be by the end.

“Well then, what about your Attributes? Did you grow any?”

Alera just said “Attributes, show Cassidy.” Which earned her a frown.

“You really should be keeping track of this yourself.”

“My memory's bad. I’d never remember if it had grown or always been like that.” Alera waved dismissively as the window popped up in front of Cassidy.

Cassidy was still frowning but she looked it over.

Strength

6.8

Resilience

8.0

Reflexes

7.7

Speed

7.5

Perception

9.9

Stillness

6.5

Willpower

8.8

Intelligence

8.5

Damn. Cassidy didn’t know she would grow that fast. She didn’t know how you could grow that fast. It was a little late to blame it on the mana influx she thought as she glanced around nervously but told Alera her gains anyway.

“You’ve earned 3 degrees in Strength. 8 degrees in Resilience. 2 in Reflexes. 1 whole point in Speed! And 6 in Willpower.”

Alera stopped her stretches to stare at her wide-eyed. “Wow that’s a lot. Do you think that’s normal? It’s only been 6 days.”

Cassidy thought, she’d grown this fast during Initiation. Maybe it had something to do with that?

The mana influx made all the Initiates weird. If Alera didn’t try to build all her Attributes and bought them instead, where would all the mana from the influx go? Is that it? Because she used credits the mana’s just been waiting to change her body? Cassidy eyed her suspiciously before shaking her head. “Well it doesn’t matter where the windfall came from; we should be making the best of it!”

Alera flat out rejected it. “No. I have the Skill now. Why don’t I just buy the rest of the Attributes with credits and we can learn about my Skills on the road? We have to get to the South eventually.” She looked over at Cassidy’s two-stories longingly. “I want my own home.”

Cassidy was frowning again. “Aren’t you worried about bottlenecks?”

“Well I was.” Alera admitted. “Then I realized the only Attributes that mattered to me wouldn’t be raised by credits and I could easily train them in the city, I think.” She bent down with far too much flexibility to touch her toes. This girl had to have converted previous talents because that did not come in any of her Skill Sets.

Cassidy didn’t want to admit it but the weather had to change soon and Alera’s Skills and Attributes were her own. She had the final say, so all Cassidy asked was, “Ok, but do you have the credits to pay for them?” Bertold and her little venture had pulled in a pile of credits, that and what was left of 3000 reward set her at 2351. Plenty to share, which gave her a thought. “I’d be happy to help you pay but I’d need some help from you too.”

Alera was looking at her in suspicion. “What?”

“I need to collect some plants to sell in the city. I’ll even give you 20% if you help me gather them.”

Now Alera was beaming. “That’s perfect! I have the Forestry: Collection Skill. I’ll even share it if you raise it to 30%.”

“25%” Cassidy said flatly.

“Oh, alright then.” Alera then told Cassidy how many credits she’d need to raise her Strength, Speed, and Resilience to 9.0 and Cassidy passed them over.

When Alera was done, she’d be even stronger than Cassidy! But only by a little. Cassidy calmed herself with that knowledge.

“I’ll let us break for today but we better be busy tomorrow. Now that you put me in a hurry, I’d like to leave in 3 days.” Alera just stuck her tongue out as she passed by. “Altar’s in the basement!” Cassidy shouted after her before turning back to face the woods. She felt like doing a run to check the major points of interest they’d be gathering from and make sure no beasties had set up shop. But first she had to feed her dogs and snack a little herself. With a whistle they trotted after her.

the sun had only just set when the three of them got back. She fed her dogs and saw Alera had claimed the cold steak for herself, so Cassidy fired up the stove to cook another. As she thought about it she got out the Alchemical Healing Recipe. She was anxious about the sudden decision to travel and thought she'd experiment. She had 2 jars that weren't broken or filled with poultices. That was 2 health potions, if she succeeded.

The next day had come all too quickly and she was in utter misery. Cassidy felt like Alera was getting her payback for the days of torture. If Cassidy had to listen to one more monologue about root systems or leaves, she might just… but no she had far too many to go. She just had to keep reminding herself. This meant credits. She was earning credits. And all these plants went into her own ‘special bag.’ She’d had to use a shovel for the fire rocks though. No pick axe here, now it's just a ruined shovel. She didn’t know what 'cat’s whiskers' were so she just left it at that.

All the animals that popped up were Tier 1 and her dogs took them down on their own initiative. Really, unless she wanted to play with one, there was no action here. That’s why she looked forward to the road. Once they left the property things bumped up to Tier 2 and then the fun began. She just had to wait. It was almost time.