1.13 It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

I’m not too proud to admit I had soiled myself. I was also exhausted from maintaining [Serenity] during the visitation. I felt the mounting System Notifications, but was in no shape to check them out. I was fairly certain that the mere Presence of the Horned Bear would prevent any other predators from roaming the immediate area, so I at least had a reasonably safe place to rest.

I needed to clean up. There is a reason why babies cry. Uncomfortable doesn’t even begin to describe it. There were practical matters too. The |Filthy| Flaw increases all Durability Loss when active. Besides, I stunk. Any beast with half a nose could smell me coming. This was a matter I had been thinking about.

I had found a small creek not too far from the Glade. It wasn’t deep enough to bathe in, but the extra water let me roughly wipe myself off, and kinda clean my clothes. I had a total of three shirts, two pants, five pairs of socks and an equal number of undergarments. Better than the single set of everything I had started with. Tolkien never really mentions the plain difficulty of spending weeks on end in dirty clothes while in the wilderness.

Unlike Mages, Druids, and Clerics, Rangers do not receive extra Spell Points in addition to their Skill Points. They either need to spend their limited Skill Points on Spells, or learn them from a Class Trainer. There is a First Circle Spell on the Ranger Spell List named [Clean Gear]. It’s not as powerful as the Second Circle Spell [Cleanse] that Clerics get, but it would be enough to clean my clothes. I didn’t want to spend my limited resources to buy the Spell before, but if it didn’t require a six hour Long Rest, I would have spent the Skill point immediately back then.

I had two other choices. The first required me to remove my clothes, and then use [Summon Gear]. I had found I could only summon items at least ten yards distant from my current location. The second was to try and learn how to cast [Clean] without spending a Skill Point.

Scholars do not have an extensive Spell List, but they do have the {True Study} Class Feature that applies to all Skills and Spells. Basically they get to use their Full Class Level as a bonus when learning any Skill or Spell from a Trainer, Manual, or Embedded Pattern. That was the primary reason for [Retrospection]. I had been subject to the purifying flames of the Altar several times, and I had been trying to recapture the feeling. I had turned Robert Frost’s words into one Spell, I was looking to adapt another poem into a cleaning chant, although I had hesitated actually using it. That was before the situation I had found myself in, I couldn’t stand smelling and feeling like that. This chant borrowed from a poem every Comic Store Manager knew by heart, adapted to the feel of those flames. My left hand wrapped around my Amulet tightly, my right hand holding the Staff, I spoke with convindence and recklessness.

“In Brightest Day and Blackest Night,

No Filth shall escape thy Sight!

Cleanse the Body, Refine the Soul,

Purge the Wrong, Make it Right,

Holy Radiant Purifying Light!”

A halo of Silver White Light appeared over my head, and then fell slowly downward. I could feel the dirt and grime stripped off me. Then the sensation of scalding lye dripping down my exposed skin. It hurt, not permanent injury hurt, but bad enough. I knew in that moment that this was not a Spell meant for Flesh. My right arm felt a burning sensation, like a branding iron was marking me. As had become normal for me, I passed out.

My Watch said I was only unconscious for an hour. I had lost almost all my Health, but I was clean. Just below my right wrist, was a brand of the Arrow of Light, a basis arrow design with an arc rising over the shaft and seven lines radiating out like rays of sunshine. I rested for another hour and a half, enough to recover some Health and all of my Stamina, and then checked my Notifications:

Attention! You have been Challenged by a Representative of the !

You have Called upon your Ancestors, Mascots, and Totems to Acknowledge You by [Invocation].

You have Named Powers of Nationality, of Academia, and of Calling.

You have Named Powers not Recognized by the System of Triquetra.

Proxy Authority to Equivalent Counterparts Instituted..

You have Named Fallen Powers...Fallen Powers can not Consent to [Invocation].

You have Named True Powers of the Realm...Consulting True Powers…

Acknowledgement Pending...

You have been Recognized by Named Powers of Nationality…

Ancestry Acknowledgement ...

Mascot Acknowledgement ...

Totem Acknowledgement .

You have been Recognized by Named Powers of Academia…

Ancestry Acknowledgement , ...

Mascot Acknowledgement , ...

Totem Acknowledgement .

You have been Recognized by Named Powers of Calling…

Ancestry Acknowledgement , ...

Mascot Acknowledgement , , , ...

Totem Acknowledgement .

Mascot Acknowledgment of has been Challenged!

[Invocation] has been Appealed.

New [Invocation] has Named a Precursor Power of the Realm...Seeking Acknowledgement

Acknowledgement of Dormant Power Restricted at this time…

Calculating Probable Reaction...83.7% chance of Favorable Outcome…

Probationary Mascot Acknowledgement Recognized.

Personal Totem Acknowledgement .

+1 Reputation with Beasts of Briarwood

24 hours of [Sanctuary] granted on behalf of

New Skill [Invocation] acquired...Level 5

Congratulations! Hidden Class Ordeal Resolved!

Totem Classes can not access full potential until Ordeal Resolution.

Eagle Scouter subclass now Active,

Totem Acknowledgement Requirement met.

Named Personal Totem Acknowledgement Requirement met...

New Class Features Available

{Mascot}: {Favored Companion} choices restricted to List of Acknowledged Mascots. Additional bonus granted. {Favored Enemy} choices restricted, Mascots removed from possible {Favored Enemy}.

{Totemic Trainer}: Named Totems can Train User in Class Abilities through use of of a while resting. Each lasts 8 hours, no Resting benefits accrued. Each counts as a Standard Training Session under an Authorised Class Trainer. Once a new Ability is Acquired, Feature can not be used again for 7-28 days, depending on Will of Totem.

{Totemic Familiar}: Using a Medium Rest Length Ritual, User may [Summon Familiar], based on Named Personal Totem. User may [Mind Speak] and [Share Senses] with . It will last for Class Level days, or until Dispelled/Disrupted by hostile attacks. Once Expired or Dispelled can not be Resummoned for 24 hours. can be fully healed with a Short Rest Length Ritual. If suffers Class Feature is Lost.

New Skill [Invocation]: User may boost Ability Power or reduce Ability Cost by calling on Names of Power. [Invocation] is dependant on Acknowledgement of Entities whose Names are called upon. Rejection results in severe Backlash and possible Forfeiture of Soul Force/Experience/Personal Abilities/Life. Excessive use of [Invocation] may result in Termination of Acknowledgement.

Class Skill [Invocation] Level 5 Acquired.

Congratulations! New Sacred Spell [Cleansing Light] Level 1 Acquired.

+1 [Spell Craft] Skill Level earned.

+1 [Spell Chant] Skill Level earned.

New Talent [Tolerance: Radiant] Level 1 Acquired.

Soul Brand/Honour Mark: Arrow of Light Acquired.

Smokey, the name I used in my own mind for the Angry Horned Bear, was trying to pull a fast one. He was more than strong enough to kill and eat me, but wanted more. [Invocation] backlash could have allowed him to [Devour] my Soul.

My attempt at creating a new Spell had the unexpected side effect of changing my Badge of Honour into a Soul Brand, making it much more difficult to hide from others. The Soul Brand had a physical mark on my arm, whose nature would be revealed from a simple [Identify] Spell. A Badge of Honour required the higher Circle [Analysis] Spell. The Mark itself could be recognised by anyone who knew what it meant.

I couldn’t stay waiting all day, having wasted several hours dealing with Smokey and its aftermath, I decided to press forward and try and locate the second Ley Line obstruction. Hungry, tired, angry, and hurt must be the right combination to remain alert, because I was able to avoid anymore encounters. Or maybe it was the [Sanctuary] effect, I guess I will never know.

The woods changed slightly, more pines and less walnuts, as I slowly moved forward. The scent of cloves being replaced with that of bathroom cleaners. The trees were less dense, and while still huge, were smaller than before. It was late afternoon when I found the clearing created by the burnt stump of a truly massive tree. From the damage, it looked as if a single tree had exploded, opening up a portion of the wood to the sun. The ground was full of flowers, every color of the rainbow and a few more only found in particularly vibrant hallucinations. In the middle of the flowers was a truly giant golden beehive, partially buried in the ground, but the part I could see was at least three stories tall. The bees flying around the flowers were only the size of my fist, big for bugs yes, but not anywhere near enough for the goliath structure of golden wax.

[Examination] provided more than enough information:

Attention! You have found a Bronze Ranked Tier 2 Dungeon: Apiary of the Golden Hive.

No, non, nope, nada, not going to happen. The second Obstruction was a freaking Dungeon!