After placing the newly acquired hide with the rest in the shrubbery, I follow the trail down. From the look of the map I should be nearly at the dot. So far, the trees are the only things I see, their tops level with the ones surrounding them even while growing on the side of a slope. After about half an hour of gradually walking downhill the trees blocking my vision clears and reveals something I didn't expect.

Several horse drawn wagons and tents form a row up against a giant wave of rock. Its as if a giant spoon scooped out half of a hill, the crest of dirt nearly curling under, frozen in place. On top of this ridge, trees grow, effectively blocking the top view from seeing anything but plain forest.

A movement in the bottom corner of my left eye causes me to rock back a few inches, bringing my off hand dagger in a guard postion. The sound of two metal objects colliding and rubbing against each other demands everyone's full attention.

I look over the spear in front of my face and watch the camp's eyes snap up to meet mine. I feel like a clumsy gazelle stumbling into a pride of lions.

"Pleased to meet you, too," I say through a smile, turning my head slightly towards the spear's wielder.

Her apprehensive scowl analyzes me, waiting for the next move.

"Um, Mika sent me," I stow my dagger and raise my palms, "I have a crate to deliver." There's a moment of hesitation in her eyes, before she withdraws the spear from my face. She flips her battle-short, strawberry blonde hair.

Dark brigandine armor, dog tag sized pieces of metal over leather, protects and doesn't restrict movement. Further preference for movement-over-defense is implied with the matching leather skirt reinforced with similar colored metal that falls to just above her knees. Her greaves are just leather, however, no metal. Her muscles are tone, but not bulky. I find her very pretty, the scar running down the left side of her face from forehead to jaw accentuating her air of beautiful bad-ass.

"Are you done appraising me?" She shoots me a look that's not angry, but more amused.

"Worth more than me, most likely."

[Reputation +5 with Victoria Grandersil]

"Don't you forget it, traveler," she says with a playful smile, "You have the crate?" I withdraw the small crate, hefting it onto my shoulder for transport.

"Follow me."

I tag behind her, trying to keep an eye on her and my surroundings.

She talks to me from over her shoulder, "My name is Victoria. This is the Linqs encampment. We're the unwanted and discarded refuse of Kes Rentas, cripples and undesireables. When Lord Bertrand was appointed three months ago he had us all cast out into the wild so we no longer placed a burden on his perfect city."

I remain quiet as we approach a firepit with a few other women of varying races surrounding it. It looks like you can tell if someone is an NPC or not by being up close, their names are a bold yellow while a player's name is white. Still, I like using my manners as much as possible especially with the natives "Hello, my name is Ardacen Winters."

They all greet me all at once and introduce themselves even though I can see their names clearly.

"Ramona Violetta, of the Indigoscale tribe," a lavishly purple Saurian hissed, the typical emphasis on the S one would expect from a reptilian humanoid. She appraises me with her diamond shaped irises. Small fins jut from the sides of her head where her ears would have been. The Saurians being a lizard and snake like people, have a natural scaly body that add to their Defense and a better unarmed combat base. In her lap, lay a battle worn katana scabard.

"And this, is Elsbeth Trusco," the woman to Ramona's right peers up at me with smoldering, pale blue eyes. She uses her dainty hand to move her hair, the same color as her eyes, behind long elven ears. With her hair and slightly blue tinted pale skin, her subrace has to be Lunas, very uncommon. She wears a simple hooded tunic and a bow slung on her back.

"Kona Cafe!" the half faunas practically jumped into my arms, grasping both my hands and shaking vigorously. Her pointy, wide brimmed hat cocked to the right revealing an orange furred cat ear poking out of red hair. Her faunus ancestry manifested itself as ears and patches of fur on her extremeties as far as I can see. She takes her place back next to Elsbeth, a staff laying unceremoniously next to her.

Victoria leads me over to another crate of bottles, these ones are all empty, "Right here, please." I set the crate right next to the empties. A system message appears as I straighten back up.

[Quest Complete!]

[Received: 30XP, 15C, 1*Minor Health Potion]

[Reputation +25 with Victoria Grandersil]

[Reputation increased to Acquianted]

Wonderful! That easily put me a third of the way to level 3. Also, a reputation increase is always good, especially with someone like Victoria.

I stare at the empties. "What about these?" I ask, hoping that question would lead to another quest. I don't mind being an errand boy for now, it looks like they have a hard enough time having to outsource potions from someone who could get into a lot of trouble if caught. Then again, I could get into a lot of trouble if I get caught too. It doesn't seem like Kes Rentas' new lord likes this group in particular. I recall seeing only high elves, with their platinum blonde hair and no sign at all of any race that wasn't mostly "normal" looking. Half faunus, too, were mainly canine or lupine for some reason.

Victoria put a hand on her hip, "That would be up to you, Traveler. We have no use for them and Mika doesn't ask us to return them."

[Minor Quest, optional Received: Recycle

[Bring the empty bottles back to Mika

[Reward: 10XP, 10*Copper]

That isn't much of an insentive to go back to town, but I have nothing better to do. I put the crate into my storage and get another idea. "Is there anything your camp needs at the momet?" My thoughts flash to the hides and pelts I hid and the meat in my storage.

Victoria points to my wolf poncho, "You got enough of those to spare? We have another Traveler working to help us, but she's still too green to meet her needs AND supply us."

"What level is everyone here?" I ask.

She sighs, folding her arms in front of her chest, "Most of the people in camp are either not leveled at all or leveled, but severely handicapped. All we're looking for right now is warmth and food." I nod my head, looking into the dirt, waiting a few seconds longer than I normally would for a request like that. Just kinda waiting for…

[Minor Quest Received: The needs of the needy

[Bring aid and comfort to Linqs Encampment: 1*pelt/1*meat

[Reward: 5XP per piece, 1*Copper per piece

[Max: 40 units]

It seems in this game helping the NPCs seems to be where it's at. So, the 200XP for the quest will put me well over the level 2 mark and hopefully at least half way to 3. "I'll go get what I have first."

I leave them be, for now. I do kind of wonder why the ones here don't go hunting, but it's none of my business. I relinquish the thirty four total pieces to her, leaving me with just a couple pieces of grilled boar and wolf in my storage.

[Received: 170XP, 34* coppers]

[Level up!: You reached Level 3!]

[You have 5 stat points to allocate!]

Yes! I may not be in a rush, but this is working out great! I put it all on Dex, bumping it up to 17. Dex affects Stamina a little, but the regen hops from 1 to 2 per second. Damage goes up too! Oh!

"You don't happen to have any equipment for sale?"

She shakes her head, "Sorry, traveler, we barely have enough for our own. These three here have artisan skills, but without the proper tools or supplies I can't ask them to craft anything." Kona shrugs and grins sheepishly. Ramona closes her eyes and nods. Elsbeth is fletching a plain wooden arrow.

"I'll see what I can do then. Any chance I'll be able to meet the other traveler?"

Victoria is grabbing bottles out of the crate, "Maybe. We don't know where she heads off to so we can't say when she'll be back." I nod and excuse myself.

One by one, I catch five wolves in a row, but for some reason only two pelts and three pieces of meat. With my increased Stamina, I still can't manage two Critical Stabs in one fight, but I can usually fire off two bolts before the wolves get close. I experimented with different combinations of bolt hand and weapon hand, signing, and calling out abilities. I can charge a bolt in my off hand by signing and ready a Crit main hand but i have to do both at the exact same time. I don't like the other way around since I would need to sign with the hand holding the weapon, not an easy task to perform in the heat of battle. There's a rustle in the bushes and I prepare my abilities. Another wolf! I dispatch it quickly enough and as it falls I get a new notification.

[Adaptibility Activated! You learned a Skill!]

[Wolf Senses (25SP) Self/ When activated, the caster's sense of smell, hearing, and sight are given a boost. Low-light vision. Lasts 1 hour or until dismissed. Works with other abilities.]

Yes, finally! I was beginning to forget about my Feat, when it suddenly pays off. The skill lasts longer than it will take to refill the SP used and that's good. I snag the loot bag and get another piece of meat and pelt. I wait the twenty or so seconds for my SP to refill and give my new skill a test run.

[Activated: Wolf Senses]

[Time left: 1 hour]

My head almost bursts with all the new information. I let out a low grunt of pain, grasping at my skull and try to keep it from exploding. I swear my HP dipped a little from this experience. Dropping to my knees, my vision starts to tunnel. On the verge of blacking out, I push myself up and close my eyes.

In an act of meditation, I take in slow, deep breathes through my mouth. I focus on my hearing first, it's become a sort of sonar map that previously overlapped my vision and I can get a sort of picture of my surroundings based on what I'm hearing. I force the new screen into a small frame in the bottom left of my vision. I flare my nostrils, smelling the woodland air. This one is different. With every breathe I take from my nose or short sniff, tendrils of different colors pulse in the darkness of my closed eyes. I open my eyes again and the tendrils form trails through the forest.

Two down, one to go. I look around, but I don't see anything different. Just the color trails and the little "radar" screen. As I try to look back at where Linqs would be found, I see the world come at me, as if someone took a hold of the world and tried to shove it in my face.

Zoom! I could zoom in and out times two! Cool. That's a lot of features to happen all at once, but it explains why the SP cost is so high. I get my eyeballs under control, they naturally want to zoom in and out at everything like some crazy chameleon. In front of me lies a green trail that I can tell will lead me directly to the camp. Its the most prominent trail, little pink trails here and there. My radar pings behind me and I whirl around. Slithering slowly up to me, a sizeable snake rears up to strike.

The snake is as thick as my head and about eighteen feet long. With dagger sized fangs bared, the green menace springs forward. I'm already rolling toward it, readying my weapons and barely dodging the bite. I stab my glowing shortsword at the body and feel no resistance as the snake whips it's body away from me. My body jerks sideways to avoid another attack before I can truly realize it's coming , but its not enough. It catches me with one of it's fangs and feel a burning liquid shoot into me.

[Green Cobra bites you for 4 damage]

[Debuff: Poison 2 per 2 sec]

[Time left: 10 seconds]

I grit my teeth as I feel the firey venom course through my system. (25/29HP) The cobra rears back and strikes again, but this time we trade piercing attacks as my shortsword stabs into it's side and my left arm catches it's fangs.

[Green Cobra bites you for 7 damage]

[You deal 37 piercing damage!]

I feel light headed now. (16/29HP) The green cobra slumps to the ground. My head is a little fuzzy and I walk toward the body on the ground. (14/29HP) Unfortunately for the creature, I heard a thing or two about supposedly dead snakes. I withdraw my dagger off hand and ready my finishing blow. I drive both weapons down and dig deep into the dirt as the cobra pulled back, albiet a little slower than it did before. (12/29HP) I scream into the dirt, "Bolt!" The second I took to stand back up is all it takes for the arcane energy to be ready. I hurl it into the middle of its body and watch it splash and crackle.

[You deal 10 arcane damage]

[You defeat Green Cobra!]

[You received 6XP]

I plop down next to the slowly evaporating creature and watch the loot bag reveal itself. I observe my HP to make sure it doesn't drop too low and kill me. It stops at 8. The inner pain ebbs away quickly, leaving not so much of as a memory of it behind. Interestingly enough, each poison hit reset the delay counter so after another eight seconds my HP starts its slow climb. I breathe a sigh of relief and pick up the loot.

[You received: 2* Green Cobra Fang

[5* Green Cobra Scale]

Not a bad drop, but a higher XP gain was the real prize. The fangs are the size of shivs and the scales are the size of my hands spread wide. The snakes are definitely a better XP farming creatures but the poison and the higher Agility are real deterrents If I had noticed the damn thing sooner I could've gotten some long range hits in before the close combat started. (333/350XP) Just 17 XP left before my next level. I weigh my options while I wait for all of my points to recover.

Withdrawing some skewers, I also mull over thoughts of snake meat and it's potential buff, acquiring more skills, and finding more quests. Just then, my skill times out and my view loses some information. My SP regen is double what it was before and it fills up sooner than my HP. I reactivate Wolf Senses, planning to keep it active as often as I can.

I manage to suppress the scent ability by breathing through my slightly parted mouth. Sniffing once where the cobra died, I observe a small red whisp. I look around and smell the air once more. There are at least four similar colored smoky tendrils moving around and I approach the closest one as quitely as I can.

What walks slowly through the brush is definately not another snake. Its a wolf, but there's something very off about it. I rub my eyes, look around, and check to see if maybe Wolf Senses is altering my vision enough for me to see what I'm seeing. This wolf in front of me, isn't grey, but subtely shimmering a rainbow of colors.

[Discovered: Variant Wolf

[Capture or Dispatch for bonus Reward]

Now that is different. I summon some rope and fashion a makshift lasso with it. With my own wolf senses I can tell if the rainbow canine notices me as I sneak as close to it as possible. I get to within twnety feet and dash at it, lasso ready. The wolf tenses but doesn't otherwise move as I slip the rope around its neck and pull. The rope passes through the wolf as if it is made of vapor and I fall hard on my ass.

"Shit!" I scramble to my feet as the wolf takes a leap away and turns to face me, rightfully snarling in anger. I withdraw both weapons and charge my skill.

"Come on, pretty puppy, don't you wanna come home with me?" It gnashes its teeth and readies to launch. "Guess not..."

I'm not that much stronger than the wolves and boars I orginally fought out here, but my Agility and higher damage output now make them markedly less of a challenge. This one, though nice to look at, is no different, and falls easily enough. The wolf's corpse explodes in a small shower of glittery light.

[Congratulations!

[Received Feat: Variant Hunter

[Received: 12xp, Unappraised Shoulder Armor]

With a renewed Wolf Sense, my vision isn't hampered by the setting sun. I check out my newly earned prizes. The description for the armor is just a bunch of question marks and I don't have any kind of appraisal skill so it'll have to wait. The other thing, however…

[Variant Hunter I: (Slain 1/3) Increase luck by 10%]

If that's not the strangest thing I've seen so far, I don't know what it is. First of all, Luck isn't a stat accessable from our menus. I check again and find nothing of the sort. Second, how rare are these variants if all it will take are another two to level it up? I shake my head, "Another 4XP until my next level. Guess I'll go back and use the quest to top it off." Finding my way back is a breeze. I barely notice that no other creatures cared to bother me the rest of the way back.