"So, does that count as defeating a Tier Three Boss with my own two hands?" The question earns a punch to the arm and a kiss on the cheek. The XP is nice and Victoria trades her Simple Ring of Storage with the new one. I place it into my Pocket Dimension for now.

[Journeyman Ring of the Intellectual. Journeyman Accessory. Ring.

[+5Arcane, +35MP]

I really had to fight the urge to actually propose to her with it this time, the halo wouldn't have felt genuine and this didn't feel like the right moment. Although the location is gorgeous, and the gold band with a light blue gemstone in the center looked the part, it's only been a couple of months. Is that too soon? Don't some people wait a couple years and some people a couple weeks? Just the thought of actually dropping to my knee for her twists my stomach into an icy knot. I think I'll hold off for now. Maybe until we can get a shrine or church or something built in Linqs. We can be the first to get married in it and then--

"I see what you mean. He does daydream a lot, doesn't he?" Alima's face is suddenly quite close to mine, as if she's about to fall into my head. "Now, it may have been part of the deal, but I would like to formally request that I be allowed to stay in this valley with you and your people. There is something about this place that I find… comforting."

Odd word choice, considering she is a desert monster and this is more like a temperate, forest microclimate, but of course we agree. Pleased, the Sphinx asks if she could further assist us in any way. We thank her and politely decline her offer for now before realizing we should be getting back to the group to give them the good news.

"Speaking of groups, maybe you can tell me what lays further west down the stream?" I have a feeling that whatever it is isn't something as simple as another boss.

"Ah. The colony of Tlancalli. They tried to occupy the cave closest to the falls, but since I took a liking to the area around it, they had to make do with the dungeon at their current location. I don't mind them visiting the pond for water and fish, though. I just can't stand the clicking noises they and their Trias make."

I had thought we killed the group of Tlancalli in the plains during the Quest, going so far as killing their queen and even taking a few of the eggs. In storage, they'll remain in stasis and have no threat of hatching on board the vardo. I tell Alima what we did, except the egg part, and she dismisses me with a wave of a paw.

"That must have been the young queen. I wondered where she went off to. You see, there can only be one queen in each colony. So when another is born, as rare as that is, she is given training and a small contingent of guards, soldiers, and Trias to venture out on her own. If you killed her, I would suggest you not go near the old colony. A dying queen sprays a special pheromone that only other Tlancalli can detect. It sends others near you into a rage and lasts about a month. So, if she died recently you still have a long way to go before you are in the clear."

That would mean Vic and I are probably the last people who should explore that far down the stream, unless we want to raise the ire of an entire colony have half scorpion people. Already I'm glad to have gotten Alima on our side, or at least in an amicable state. I get an idea and ask if she had eaten yet or was hungry at all. She accepted some of our precooked meals, and as novel as they are to her, she didn't seem too interested. Disappointed, Victoria reminds me that Alima is a monster and a cat, so raw is probably how she prefers her food.

"I have some Dire Wolf, Dire Boar, and Dire Lupalion meat in storage and--" I'm interrupted by several hundred pounds of furry pressure shoving me to the ground, unintentionally knocking the wind out of me and doing a little under a hundred points of damage. Once again, I don't know how but she moved without notice and caught me completely by suprise.

"You have Lupalion meat?" Alima's wide and dilated eyes and equally wide smile are a foot from my face. I take a moment, coughing and gasping to catch my breath and signing to try out my new Spell, Fey Touch, to heal myself. I withdraw fifteen pieces of the meat and set it to the side for her. Her head snaps toward the pile, vanishes, and reappears hunched over and eating.

A hulking, Blink Stepping, psychic boss would have been a losing battle for just the two of us and, once again, I'm grateful that we don't necessarily have to fight every single creature that crosses our path. She continues to focus on her food, her ears flicking every so often at random intervals and we take it as a sign for us to depart.

Back on the road, we make sure to keep an eye out for more of Alima's favorite food so we have something to bribe/reward her with. It doesn't take us as long to reach the edge of the woods and get the Denagrin Plains back under our Nightmares' feet. With my Dark Wisp flying above to keep a watch over us and our destination clearly marked for Corsina and Avronette to follow, this trip lacks the tension of the one towards the valley. I ask Vic if she would mind if I read the book for a bit and she was all for it. Unsure of where Vic left off, I start at chapter one and skim right through.

******************************

"Wonderful, Chief Dola! You and the other kobolds are making excellent progress!" Conner exclaims, observing not only the kobolds, but Richter, Rachel, and Sonny during this morning's session. With Elsbeth's help, Conner created a quick course for the Dexterity-inclined based on military training and natural, Ranger wisdom. With a focus on short and longbows, daggers, and the elegent, yet deadly rapier, the two experts' lessons are soaked up quickly by their students.

The Stats may govern the amount of damage one deals and assist in the damage one avoids, but they don't necessarily teach one the "how" of doing either. If someone were to have 300 in Strength, but swing a club with wild and reckless abandon, they're not killing anything except through dumb luck.

That's why groups of all kinds created schools of techniques, hoping to fill in the gaps between tools and talent. Stats, like weapons, are junk in the hands of a total novice. So, places like militaries, guilds, temples, and even academies painstakingly gather well-known, retired soldiers and adventurers to teach in their halls, hoping to attract would-be-heroes with their thirst for knowledge and, or course, their pockets bulging with coin.

At first, the teaching programs were meant for just that, to teach the next generation of Fighters, Rogues, and Archers the best way to use their gifts. It was soon discovered how lucrative telling people how to spend their Stat Points and even selling Skills to those either too lazy to earn them or too greedy to settle for a single Skill at a time. It eventually got to the point where learning any practical knowledge was no longer the focus of the programs and they became glorified Skill shops that sometimes offered advice. Still, certain people would come along who valued the old ways and preferred that their soldiers knew the difference between a Power Strike and a Critical Stab and the proper time and place to use either.

"Power Strike uses Strength and can be used with any weapon, including unarmed. Critical Stab uses Dexterity and requires a piercing or slashing weapon, so you need a weapon like a dagger, rapier, or even a pointy stick. And, like, Skills don't need an activation word or phrase, so they should be activated at the very last moment. That way, your opponent doesn't get a chance to retaliate." Pleased with her rote recitation of the answer, Rachel twirls a pair of daggers in her fingers with unerring speed and grace.

"Perfect," Conner applauds her, "And that's something you don't learn reading a description screen or from buying a Skill. That's what we're trying to teach you all here. Richter, Rachel, and Sonny. You three have seen a lot of combat so far, but with a little more guidance you can be so much more effective."

"Bro, shouldn't Ardy be here for this? Isn't he a Dex class, too?" Richter asks, looking over the rapier in his hands.

Conner looks over at Elsbeth who is showing a kobold the proper way to aim a bow. She looks back with a shrug, signs something and resumes teaching.

"Yeah, Elsbeth and I agree that even though Blue Mages are often classified as Dex-Casters, Ardacen focuses primarily on his library of Spells. Blue Mages are such an odd Job Class because of the random Abilities they can learn, so even another Blue Mage wouldn't be quite the right teacher for them.

"Sure, we can give him a few pointers and teach him things like battle formations and tactics, but in the end, his versatility can become a weakness. Unlike Serenity, who specializes in Arcane, or a Berserker, who almost always puts all their points into Strength, he won't have any high tiered, power moves until later levels. He'll have to rely on combinations and the comprehension of his own Abilities and battle experience."

Dola waves a meek claw at the group, "Sir Ardy is Blue Mage? Dola hear story of old Blue Mage who live west of plains. Crazy hermit, people say."

"Thank for the tip, little bro." Richter pats the kobold chief on the head to which a pleasent grin spreads across Dola's face, "I'm sure Ardy would appreciate a chance to learn from a master."

"I don't know. The only Blue Mages I've ever come across weren't too keen on other people, especially other Blue Mages," Conner adds as he motions for everyone to return to their formation. "We had one in the circus, kept mostly to himself. He died trying to Adapt an Ability from an Incubus swarm that attacked the show at night. Wouldn't let the rest of us interfere, but not in a 'keep everyone else safe' kind of way. That's why I found it odd that Ardacen enjoys being in a group like ours."

"I think he's just as suprised," Richter mumbles in an aside to Rachel who giggles behind the back of her hands.

"Speaking of enjoying," Sonny begins, hefting the deceptively oversized Meteora onto her shoulder with ease, "It seems Lady Dawn is finally in her element. Deconstructing buildings. Craft schedules. City planning. She's a woman who likes to work."

"All work and no play…" Richter doesn't finish, the rest implied by a shrug of the shoulders. He gets into a combat ready stance, squaring off against Rachel. An explosion booms somewhere in the distance, followed by a showering of rocks and echoing, maniacal laughter. It startles the kobolds, but Rachel simply giggles and Sonny smiles.

Rachel calms down a bit to say, "I think she's having plenty of fun. Who would have thought that the Thunderstrucks would, like, turn someone into a wrecking crew?"

Conner gathers everyone's attention and brings up the general schedule written by Dawn, "Okay, everyone. Looks like we have a little time before lunch, so we're going to pair up and go over some drills." The reply is a round of excited murming from the kobolds and groans from everyone else.

*************************

Not needing to stop for sleep this time, Victoria and I press forward in the torch lit dark. Ghost, my Dire Wolf and a reference that I hope the others get, leads the way as our advanced scouting unit. He lets out an elongated howl if it encounters and kills something or a rapid set of howls if it's returning for assistance. With Zoom III, I can easily see him leading our way like a blue firefly in the distance.

Of course, from that far, sometimes creatures would approach us from the side without warning, forcing Vic and I to handle them on our own. Two such creatures pop out of the shrubs to our right, having been attracted by our torch lights, and suddenly turn hostile. I mean, one of creatures turns hostile. The other is laying wounded and bleeding in the mandibles of the angry one. The regular sized wolf slips out, hits the dirt, and scampers off, angering the hostile creature further over its lost meal.

Big beetle? No problem. Giant mantis? No sweat. Half dark elf, half monstrous spider? Okay, that one killed me, but she was already dead so it doesn't count. This horrible, hissing creature that crawled out from under some Lovecraftian garbage pile? It's compound eyes as big as shields, twitching feelers, oily chitin, and its six, barbed legs make every gentle touch of wind feel like a crawling nightmare making its way across my flesh.

>Scan[1313/1509HP, 76/101MP, 9/9SP

[Omnivorous, and infamous for eating anything available, including feces and dead bodies. Solitary creatures, their territories span for miles, but a social order has been observed when more than two are gathered in one spot.

[+Corrosive Spray, Bite, Claw, Whip, Stealth II]

I can't give who ever named the beast points for creativity, but they get full marks for accuracy. Nocturnal creatures on Arc are usually more aggressive than their diurnal counterparts and this mammoth roach is no exception. The two feelers are about fifteen feet long, as long as its body, and crack like whips in our direction. Right away, we return Corsina and Avronette back to their card forms and in storage for their safety. We draw the overgrown pest out of the shrubs and into the short grass to give us some fighting room.

"Divide. Go!" Vic commands and Dashes backwards. That means we're dividing its attention and for me to get on the opposite side. I Blink Step as far behind the Crawler as I can go.

"Of course I get the smelly end," I complain as I get us battle ready. With Vic in a party, everyone else gets a small bonus to their Armor and Agility derived from her base Stats of the same names. She may not get the bonus herself from her Class, but my Feat, Swarm Tactics II, works the same way in that I don't get the bonuses myself. Instead, it gives back a bit of Armor, Willpower, Agility, and even a small melee attack damage boost to others in my party.

That's all nice and good, but my boosts are in the single digits. If I add Hellbent Roar and Lesser Dragon Force, I can get a pretty good size increase to our combat related stats as well as lower my enemy's.

Just like a regular cockroach, however, the damned thing is hard to kill. Its Agility must be twice mine and it shrugs off any Spells I can land on it with its high resistance. Of course, as soon as the Crawler realizes the threat level of a Caster like me, it switches its full attention to me. Its mandibles briefly glow blue and a jet of acid shoots out. With little time to do much else, I Blink Step above it, landing on its oily thorax and finding purchase with much difficulty. The whipping antennas search for me from below, a couple swipes manage to land a some solid hits.

[Vile Crawler whips you for 82 damage!]

[Vile Crawler whips you for 86 damage!]

[Vile Crawler whips you for 31 damage!]

[Vile Crawler whips you for 29 damage!]

After dodging several fast attacks, I block the antennas with my forearms, letting them wrap around them so I can grab control of them. Yanking hard on them, the Crawler rears back, but suddenly shakes and hisses violently. I look back over my shoulder and see Victoria Dashing away from her handiwork. The back two legs have been sliced off in the moment of total distraction. Damaged, bleeding, and thirty three percent less mobile, the Crawler bucks as hard as it can to get me off of its back.

I look down at the creature's head and notice the Hedge Mage's Ring on my hand, getting a fun idea. "Bug zapper time," I call out as I send Shocking Touch through the line connnecting directly to the Crawler's head.

[You deal 79 lightning damage to Vile Crawler!]

"Shit!" I shout in sudden realization, stomping on the creatures head with each exclamation, "Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn!" The kicks do damage in the teens and the image of a much larger boot stepping on this bug flashes in my head, cooling my frustration.

"What's the matter, Ardy?" Vic calls out as she thrusts a glowing yellow spear into the Crawler's thorax, eliciting a wet crunching sound.

"Ugh, I'm such an idiot!" One of the antennas pops off and I toss it aside. The Crawler, now down to three legs, tilts to the side to roll on its back in the hopes of crushing the uninvited rider. I somersault off the rolling bug as it thrashes in the dirt, landing right next to Victoria. She inspects me for injuries, finding all of my bits in the right and proper places. She looks at me inquisitively.

"Look." From the Hedge Mage's Ring hand I conjure four balls of light the size of my head, each shedding as much light as the torch in our impromptu arena. "I forgot the ring had Dancing Lights. We could have been using this the whole time."

"Oh, Ardy." She shakes her head with a smile that tugged at a single corner of her lips, "You have far too many toys and tricks to keep track of."

We turn our attention back to the hissing, bleeding creature that's still floundering on its back. Like a can of industrial strength, magical bug spray, I use my hands and mouth to cast Trinity Stream. After all nine hits, the Vile Crawler is still twitching and I am sadly denied the death notification.

"Why did Kole have to create things like this?" Vic asks no one, simultaneously plunging four blades into the creature, finally getting the kill and turning it into a loot sack. "I am not touching that."

A little hesitant myself, I gingerly pick it up to see what's inside. "Well, when you think about the normal sized animals that eat the little bugs, I would hate to see the monsters that eat the big ones." Our bonus is minor since we only fought a single creature, but that isn't really what I was

[You received 47XP!]

[You received: 3*Vile Crawler Meat, 3*Vile Crawler Leg, 1*Vile Crawler Antenna]

I withdraw a piece of the pungent, oily meat, waving it at Victoria and soliciting a giggling shriek, "Don't you dare, Winters!" She readies all four of her weapons defensively and I calculate the best plan of attack. "No Blink Stepping!"

A few swipes of her wings tell me how serious she is about her warning. Normally, this is where I would stop teasing her, but something is telling me that stopping now would be worse than making her eat the rancid carcass. I ready Arcane Bolt in my hand, forming it into an arcane katar.

My first few jabs with the meat are met with full force. Even with my Agility, I can only parry and dodge so many attacks. Her stances are perfect, moving in and out of position and avoiding me with only an inch to spare at times.

[Victoria Grandersil slashes you for 42 damage!]

Ramona's Memory cuts into my arm, damage lessened only by my own reflexes and the leather of the coat. The grin on her face tells me she thinks she's won, that after seeing the lengths that she'd go I would simply call it quits.

My own grin and an outstretched arm tell her otherwise. She has yet to employ any Abilities other than Valkyrie Wings and I don't want to use any other Spells that would make this too easy. Lucky for her, I also don't have any Utility Skills for this little game.

"Come on, Winters. Focus." Vic stabs three weapons into the space I used to be in, my leaping into a backwards flip just in time to dodge them saves me some damage. "Again?"

Anticipating what I would do, she stabs her fourth weapon at me in the air. I block with my saber, spinning me and messing up my landing. My back hits the dirt, but not hard enough to earn damage from it. Her weapons come down and I roll out of their way.

"Advance, Winters. Press forward." Her grin is gone, replaced by a focus I've only ever seen in battle and never directed towards me. She has two sabers spreading like small, metal wings on her back. Ramona's Memory is in one hand and a rapier in the other. Her chest dimly glows like it did during the battle of Higo Wharf.

On my feet again, I change the katar into an iklwa and get into a stance Vic taught me in Kes Salomas. I grip the handle at about a third of the way up the shaft, arm bent slightly and right foot leading. My left hand is still holding the meat in a ready postion by my waist. I summon my shield, hovering it over my left arm. I charge forward, punching the wide-bladed spear with quick jabs. Attacks that I can't dodge bounce off my shield, draining MP fast.

Finding a weak point, her strikes come in harder, faster, aimed at my quickly depleting shield. Vic focuses the purple katana on body strikes, but the iklwa does well enough to defend against it. And then, the small window I have been waiting for appears.

I take the thrust of the katana into my side, accepting the damage of a shallow cut and trapping it under my armpit. I throw a punch with my shield arm, willing the shield to move up and horizontal to make room. A single saber chops down at my shield in the attempt to send it crashing to the ground, but I dismiss the shield right before impact. Vic shifts her weight backwards in suprise as the saber slices my arm off. The pain is excrutiating. I grit my teeth and narrow my eyes, letting go of and dissapating the spear. The momentum of the punch has my flying arm moving forward a couple inches in the air between us, but right within reach of my newly free hand. I grab it at the elbow and release the trapped blade just so I can jab my arm forward like I did with the spear, except this time I'm 'armed' with something else. The shocking and unexpected moves have Victoria's eyes and mouth wide open. That, or the fact that the disgusting flesh is pressed against the side of her neck.

I immediately cast First Aid on myself to stop the Bleeding and wait the six seconds for my MP to start regenerating. Then, I'll have enough to cast Fey Touch and return my lost arm.

Meanwhile, Victoria is using a wet rag to clean off her neck. A wide, toothy grin sits below eyes of disgust. It seems a part of her enjoyed the fight, the other hated the result of having to touch the Crawler meat, and both are battling to express themselves on her face, "You got me good, love. You got me good. Tell me, why didn't you try to disarm me? Excuse the pun."

"Because that wasn't the game we were playing. I didn't want to use any Spells or Skills against you." I'm watching the blue light of my Spell returning my HP and arm and I flex the fingers when it grows back.

"You made that rule up in your head, you know? I only mentioned Blink Step. Other than that, you really are doing much better in hand to hand." We resummon our Nightmares and head back out on the road. Almost automatically, we go into a debriefing over the Crawler fight and, eventually, over our own little duel.

"You could've extinguished the lights or cast Body of Smoke?" She asks, riding as close to me as she can.

"But where's the fun in that? That would have been too big of an advantage. Seriously though, we have to find a way for everyone to get some sort of Darkvision. Too bad we can't we can't use more than two rings. Why is that?"

"Without getting into a whole Bio Sorcerology lecture, let's just say there is only one ley line running through each hand and into one fingertip. That's why they're called the 'ring fingers.' The ley lines are what allow us to tap into equipment and cast somantic magic. Anyway, we'll think of something when we get back, love. For now, just promise me something?"

"Hm? Of course, what is it?"

"Don't give that meat to the kitchen?"