Why had I not expected there to be gay people in Elysium? No, it was not that I had not expected there to be folks who had all the sexual proclivities of home, it was simply that I let myself assume that 'Stacy' was a woman's name. Chuckling at his own ignorance, he ran a hand through his hair and followed Stacy to the table. Sitting down across from Eugene's partner, on one of the handcrafted wooden chairs, he looked over with a smile.

The larger man quirked an eyebrow. Then a grin appeared on his his face before he spoke.

“Did you really try to pick plants all day with no aptitude for Herbalism?”

Sighing, Cire nodded. He tried to keep the aggrieved look from his face, but failed. There it is, I am never going to live that one down. Well, better to be the butt of a small joke in exchange for knowledge and hospitality than living in ignorance. Knowing my aptitudes, better yet, knowing that they can be assessed, is worth the slight humiliation. Brush it off Cire, brush it off. Sliding an absolutely ridiculous matching grin onto his face Cire responded.

“Damn right I did. I am one determined bastard. Those ferns never had a chance.”

Frivolity was a welcome respite from what his activities had consisted of recently. Joking, light conversation, and much-needed information filled the next hour while they waited for Eugene to return. Turned out that the burly gentlemen was not a warrior, logger, miner, or other profession that generally relied upon such a hefty frame, he was a class upgraded Ranger.

In a lecturing tone, he informed Cire. “You best not think that here in Elysium that someone's physical traits, race, or their alignment is the true measure of a man.” He paused. “Or woman for that matter.” A knowing grin crossed over his lips.

Cire was a little shocked to hear this put so intelligently and plainly. Chastising himself for yet another lapse in judgment, his cheeks flushed. He had not only let the man's size lead him to think he would have a profession related to it, but also to dismiss the man's intelligence. Back home, he would have never have made that sort of assumption. Something gnawed at the back of his mind for a moment, but a warm relaxation washed through him. Cire blinked and spoke up when he realized he had been silent for too long.

“I won't Stacy, thank you. I am in your and Eugene's debt. I know I have a lot to learn if I am to survive, and your advice is priceless. Traveling alone in these wilds was perilous to say the least. I would happily have taken two or three more arrows to meet you both again... non-lethal of course.

“Besides, I probably would have just died again up on that mountainside and I do not want to...”

Words halted abruptly, Stacy's chair fell backwards with a crash. In a blink, the Ranger was towering over the elf with his axe drawn. He was positioned so that a single chop would bring it cleaving through Cire’s neck.

Cire gasped and froze, something he was becoming rather good at. His eyes locked on the towering figure above him. He dare not speak, he went rigid. There was no air of exuberance that had permeated the man before, now he radiated a killer instinct. Words much colder than snow cut through the space between them.

“Do not move. Do not speak until I expressly tell you to. If you move one muscle in an aggressive manner, utter a single word of power, or activate a single item you will die. Nod once if you understand.”

Still in shock, Cire slowly nodded. What the hell is going on? What did I say? Everything had been so friendly, calm, and safe. He had no hint that this amount of violence could have erupted from the man.

Creaking filled the air of the cabin as the door swung inwards showing Eugene. He stood in the night air, holding a small cask under one arm. A sharp expression shone on the old farmer's face as he looked between the two. His tone was calm, there was even a slight warmth to it, but it was also deadly serious as Eugene addressed the room.

“So... not what I expected to come home to. Stacy, dear, why do you have our guest at the edge of your blade?”

Without turning his body, the larger man tilted his head an almost imperceptible amount towards Cire. “He causally mentioned dying.... again on the side of the mountain. I am trying to ascertain if it was a jest or if he has come to threaten us and the hamlet.”

Eugene stepped into the room casually. He pulled the fallen chair up from behind his lover. Gene reversed the piece of furniture so he could sit and rest his arms on the back of it. Then he took his time looking between the two of them.

“Stacy, put that damn axe away. But if you are that worried... stay standing. Cire, relax and take a few deep breaths. Stacy most likely over reacted, he is rather protective. I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt. How about you tell us a little more about yourself.” His tone made it clear that he wasn’t really asking a question, but offering a solution.

“Also, dear, cast a Know Alignment spell on him. That won’t hurt anybody, but it should at least put you somewhat at ease. That’s all fine, right Cire?”

With the weapon stowed Cire breathed a little easier and nodded. I understand Stacy’s reaction a little better if coming back from death is uncommon. It would freak me out pretty bad if someone offhandedly mentioned doing something like that.

His memory was still pretty fuzzy, but he could recall most of the rough details. It would be nice to get some of this off his chest and share. Perhaps I can get some answers.

“It is actually pretty simple, but not at the same time. Like I told Eugene before, I am not from around here. I do not know how I got to this world actually. When I woke up, I was falling and landed face first naked in the snow over on the eastern ridge.

“Shortly after that I am fairly certain that I died of exposure, because the next thing I remember was falling through the air again. I landed in the same hole I had made before.”

Pausing his ramble, Cire took a deep breath, leaning into his chair. Stacy had let his muscles relax, no longer ready to pounce. He had found a stool and was now sitting across from Cire. A nod from Eugene was all the prodding Cire needed to continue.

“This time, I managed to crawl into the tunnel I had dug from the time before and I passed out. Sometime later that night, I was able to make it out of the hole and down into the trees where I collapsed again.

“After that, I spent a day or two walking down the side of the mountain. To be honest, I am not sure how long it took. I took a few blows to the head during that whole mess. Anyways, after making it into the valley and sometime that morning...”

He paused blinking for a second and corrected himself. “This morning, I spotted the light from your cabin, along with the smoke from the chimney. It wasn't hard to miss. What was easy to miss was you...”

His head nodded towards Eugene, “taking aim at me and letting loose an arrow. I am pretty sure you both know the rest of the story after that.”

Laughing erupted from Stacy as he threw his head back, letting loose a truly impressive display.

“It is true, Gene. All of it. I cast Nature’s Sincerity on the cabin. While he may have been light on a few details, there was no deceit. Sounds like Hades himself was playing with the poor lad.” Stacy’s words were choked out between bouts of uproarious laughter.

Cire looked confused and bewildered. He would have guessed that beings coming back from the dead was more common in a world with magic than not. Responding, with frustration at being the butt of another joke Cire inquired, “What, pray tell, is Nature’s Sincerity?”

Eugene spoke up this time, after giving his partner an exasperated scowl. “It is a spell that lets you see the truth to someone's words and, more importantly, intent. When I told Stacy here to cast a Know Alignment spell, he did more than that. Good on you lad. If you had lied to us, maybe Stace here would have gotten to actually use his axe. Glad we didn’t need to find out.”

There was a big grin on the old farmer's face now. “Most folks in this world only live and die once. At least, in the same body. Resurrection is rare and mighty expensive. Reincarnation is rather re-occurring though.”Gene winked at his pun and continued.

“There are exceptions of course, but those are higher level beings. Like gods, demons, fae and such. You having the ability is curious indeed. You are not evil, though, or Stace would have picked up on it. So, you just need to learn how to keep such important personal information, personal.”

He stopped speaking and gave Stace a considering look, after seeming to make up his mind, he resumed his pseudo-lecture. Tone made to match.

“What you need to know, is that each time any creature with such a power is reborn... it takes a toll. Almost all legends and tales warn of this. Do not take the gift of life for granted.”

“I would never do such a thing. As I told you before, I have experienced great loss during my life. I know how to savor what time I have in this world.”

Cire got the distinct impression that he was receiving a piece of advice that was significant, yet he couldn’t quite put his finger on why. Regardless, he let a huge smile slide over his face as the tension eased from the room.

“Besides, there is no way in hell that I want to have to trudge through the snow naked again, when it gets warmer I can think about it.”

Both of the other men chuckled kindly at that, and with the tension dismissed, they settled down to a more cordial conversation over bowls of boar stew. Each of the hosts took turns filling Cire in on the basics of his new world. Cire learned much over the next couple of hours, and was thankful for every piece of rather mundane information.

Stacy tackled the other sensitive topic at hand in between bites. “It’s not too common place for folks to be transported to this world from others, but it isn’t exactly rare either. There are plenty of portals to other planes and realms on the island, but they tend to be in rather dangerous or guarded locations. The gods have the power to summon folks to our world as well. Not sure about your case though.”

Cire nodded, while eagerly shoveling carrots, potatoes, and stewed boar into his mouth. Residual hunger encouraged him to eat more than was prudent, he could feel the onset of stomach pains.

“That explains why my situation isn’t all that surprising to you at least. I guess I will have to get lucky to stumble across any information on my situation. I don’t have much to go on. Mind telling me a little about where I am?”

Eugene responded with an understanding tone, giving Cire the lay of the land. “Not at all lad. This world is named Elysium, at least here. That would be the Island of Belleria. You’re in the seasonal Hamlet of Sunset. Which is in the heart of the Chimera’s Mane Mountains. They span the east coast of the island.”

Stacy chimed in while Eugene refilled his mug of ale. “To the south are the Stymphalian Swamps, truly a cesspool infested with foul creatures. Myth tells that it is home to a portal to the Unseelie, or the dark inclined fae, Court. Avoid that area of the island, you don’t want to get caught up in their politics.”

Stacy cracked his knuckles and let his voice drop to a more guarded tone. “Directly to the west is a great swath of unclaimed territory referred to as the Shadowed Forest. Frighteningly dangerous monsters lurk within it's woods.”

Gene cut in. “Don’t scare the lad Stace. Plenty of civilized folk live on the island too. Across the forest, on the west coast,is Meadow. Most folks around here hail from there. It’s surrounded by rivers and vast plains, it’s the breadbasket of the Corinthian League. The League is the collection of city-states that controls this region.

“North of the mountains is the closest friendly city. Gearspoke is a mixed community of fae, mostly Seelie, the more friendly of the faerie-kin. It was built primarily by gnomes, it is a marvel, but keep your wits about you if you visit. Gnomes sure do like to haggle and the fae don’t exactly see things the same way as normal folk. They are the main consumers of goods from Sunset though. So there are regular caravans to transport materials back and forth, about once a quarter.”

Cire’s imagination started wandering when Eugene spoke of fae for the second time. He was in a world of wonder and danger. I need to get my feet under me so I can survive this place.

Stacy refilled Cire’s mug and gave the elf a pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry son, you’ll get to see the rest of the island soon enough. If you stick around the area you may even catch the Tradewinds. They are a set of islands that float in with the currents. Typically they’re here in the Spring, but it varies. It’s the only neutral trading post not aligned with the league that’s easy to get to. Best place to find or sell rare goods you could hope for.”

Cire was very curious about visiting the islands now. He had heard of floating islands on occasion at home. Those had been Mangrove trees interwoven together. They couldn’t have possibly supported a community. He had a sneaky suspicion that these islands would be entirely different than anything he had seen before.

Eugene chuckled and polished off his mug. “We are in Sunset for the same reason that the Tradewinds make a good trading post, no taxes. At least, no league taxes. This hamlet is remote enough that we haven’t seen an official from Meadow in decades, if not longer.”

Silence took hold for a comfortable moment in the cozy confines of the cabin. Stew bowls laid empty on the table, and the trio lounged contentedly. Cire roused himself to speak up as he remembered the task he had been set for the day.

“Eugene, I had almost completely forgotten... Having an axe in your face has a tendency to do that. I took care of those boars you wanted dealt with and thinned them out quite a bit.”

Cire tossed a pouch onto the table. Once Eugene opened the pouch, he had one of those classic reactions. He looked to Stace, then to the pouch, then to Cire, then back to the pouch, then back to Stacy, and then he shook his head. Cire felt like he was watching a scene from a movie, it was fantastic. It appeared that he had done better than expected, so his dry unassuming, “What? Not enough of em?” elicited just the reaction that he was looking for.

“By Demeter! Son, I expected you to be able to put down at least five of the small ones, but two dire boars!” Brown curls tumbled as the farmer shook his head in exasperation.

“You can keep the borrowed gear. I figured I would give you the whole set if you made it through the day anyhow. Stacy and I cannot have you on the property defenseless. Since you will be here for a few days you will have to help out a bit more. Your job will be to help keep any wildlife out of the crops. Think you can handle that?”

Cire had not expected the logjam of notifications to fill his vision, but he should have. Ack! I still need to get used to this.

You have received 1,500 experience for Down the Dire Boars I.

You have received 3,500 experience for Down the Dire Boars II.

You have received Steel Longsword & Light Linen Armor Set for Down the Dire Boars I & II.

By fulfilling the quests given to you by Eugene, whether you had accepted them already or not, your relationship with the couple has improved.

You have gained +1,500 Relationship Points with Eugene.

You have gained +1,500 Relationship Points with Stacy.

Your relationship with Eugene has improved from Neutral to Friendly.

Your relationship with Stacy has improved from Neutral to Friendly.

Level 3 & 4 Acquired!

Received per level

Points

Health & Mana Points

You receive 5 – 10 hit points per level + constitution modifier (4)

You receive 5 – 10 mana points per level + intelligence modifier (3)

18

17

Skill Points

You currently receive one skill point per level.

4

Ability Points

You currently receive one ability point per level.

3

Racial Bonus

You receive an additional skill point per level that is restricted to a martial skill of your choice.

4

Quest Title: Down the Dire Boars III

Condition(s): Help Stacy protect the farmstead for the next 5 days.

Rewards: Increased relationship with Eugene, Stacy, and the Hamlet of Sunset.

Penalty for failure or refusal of Quest: Wearing out your welcome. Decreased respect by Eugene and Stacy.

Do you Accept? Yes or No

“Gladly my gracious hosts. I would rather fight with Stacy at my side than against me. I have already had plenty of axe-tion for the day...”

Cire paused expectantly, looking between the two other men. All he got in return was a deadpan stare. Then after about half a minute of silence, success! An eye roll from both of them almost in unison.

Eugene gave him the remaining pieces of the linen armor set as the humor from the pun spread across his face. It was nice having people to joke with. The set was not a grand full plate collection, but he felt far more secure once it was in place.

Light Linen Armored Gauntlets

Armor: +2

Rarity: Common

Quality: Average

Light Linen Armored Boots

Armor: +1

Rarity: Common

Quality: Average

Light Linen Armored Helm

Armor: +1

Rarity: Common

Quality: Average

Additional Effects: Prevents critical strikes to the head.

Armor Set Bonus – 5/5 pieces: Light Linen Armor. Armor increased by 1 per item.

He was even more excited for the ability points than he expected. He could practically taste himself becoming more substantial. Both of the other men left him alone to make his allotments. He unfocused his eyes and began to make decisions.

Ability

Level

Points to upgrade

Shapechanger: Can change into a small black bat once per rest for a duration of 2 hours. Bats are considered a tiny creature. You will have reduced stats in many areas, but increased stats in others.

1

1

Bite: You can savagely pierce your enemies' flesh with sharp fangs to drain their health and experience. HP drain is currently 150 per minute and experience drain is 2% if the target is killed by the action. This ability renders you helpless. This ability is synergistic with Regeneration and will boost it by 1 ability level.

2

2

Regeneration: You can heal from small wounds with ease and heal faster than most sapients. At your current level you regain 1 HP per turn.

1

1

Following his previous pattern, he dropped the two points into Bite. Cire was revolted by the actual process, but it was the most effective route for quick advancement. Sadly, I cannot ignore it’s potential.

You have chosen to increase your ability: Bite to level 3. HP drain is currently 200 per minute and experience drain is 5% if the target is killed by the action. This ability renders you helpless. This ability is synergistic with Regeneration and will boost it by 1 ability level.

With reservation, he moved on to review his skill points longingly. Cire would take the warning Eugene had imparted to him seriously. Having idle points would help him in a pinch and they were functionally worth a lot more if used at higher levels.

He didn’t have the most variety in his skill set so far, but at least he had abilities. It appeared that having abilities at an early level was not a given for most folks. Is it because I am a vampire? That would make sense. I doubt there is a “Bite” skill. I will have to think about this more as well.

Lastly, before he turned his attention back to the two gentlemen in the room, he looked over his status page with a deserved sense of satisfaction.

Biographical Information:

Name: Ciresil

Level: 4

Experience: 10,626

Race: Vampire – Sun Elf

Class: Unavailable – Requirements not met

Alignment: Neutral

Languages: Divine Elvish, Common

Stats:

Health: 54/54

Mana: 44/44

Armor: 13

Strength: 14

Dexterity: 19

Constitution: 14

Intelligence: 13

Spirit: 9

Charisma: 19

Luck: 7

Resistances:

25% Enchantment

20% Weather

-50% Holy Magic

Aspects:

Indefatigable

Skills:

Wilderness Survival 3, Natural

Martial Combat 1, Natural

Blades 3, Natural

Sub-skill: Large Blades 3, Natural

Armor 2, Average

Sub-skill: Light Armor 2, Average

Herbalism 1, None

Abilities:

Shapechanger, Bite (3), Regeneration

Traits:

Child of Night: Vampiric abilities, Darkvision. If noticed by others, your true nature may have drastic consequences. Other elements of this trait may reveal themselves over time.

Child of Heaven: You have retained a divine soul. Reduced susceptibility to Holy Magic, vampiric light vulnerability negated, vampiric hunger reduced. Other elements of this trait may reveal themselves over time.

Elven Heritage: 25% Enchantment Resistance.

Inventory:

Basic Set of Clothing (Body)

Steel Longsword (equipped)

Light Linen Armored Cuirass (Chest)

Light Linen Armored Pants (Legs)

Light Linen Armored Gauntlets (Arms)

Light Linen Boots (Feet)

Light Linen Helm (Head)

Simple Shoes (unequipped)