219. Seeker: Wiremu

Two weeks later, it was Kelda who found the wild dog tracks we were seeking. Her Trackers Inspiration told her they were on the hunt. My higher-level Tracking Skill told me there were eighteen adults, and they were chasing a gazelle. We set off in pursuit, with Kelda anticipating where they were. That was a powerful skill, almost prescient.

I leaned over to reach into the bags Mosey was carrying. I pulled out two nets I had weighted the edges of. I had been thinking of using them in a trap for the dogs, but Ruku suggested I add weights to throw them. I practised and was surprised that my Throw Weapons Skill combined with my Trapping Skill made me very accurate.

I cut off from the other two. Kelda was riding, but Rodion was on foot. I hopped off Mosey and crept forward roughly at right angles to the other's approach. Hearing Aid confirmed they had made the kill and were feasting.

The dogs heard Kelda and Rodion approach and moved to defend their kill. I used Bond Care on Rodion and then the pack. The Pack leaders stood out under the Skill. A male and female. I might get them both with one net if I am lucky. If I cast my net, do you think my Fishing Skill will kick in as well?

I cast the net, and something alerted the female, and she moved. I got the dog and grabbed my other net to get the bitch. Rodion rushed forward before the dog could get loose, and several others of the pack moved in to attack him. I tracked the bitch, and when she moved to attack Rodion from the rear, I cast the other net.

Rodion had a tough hide, but the dogs were still tearing at his flesh, and he had several open wounds. He growled at them as only a wolf could do, and several backed off, marking him as a dangerous predator. If Rodion had been fighting them, he would have torn through them, or more likely, they would have let themselves be driven off. He was trying to bond, and the Pack Leaders were not making it easy for him. The Pack continued to hound Rodion, and more wounds appeared on him.

I was watching with Bond Care and Anaylse Bond, even though the bond hadn’t formed yet. Bond Care was adamant these were the right bonds, but the Pack Leaders were fighting it with everything they had. Rodion kicked one of the attacking pack members away, and it whined and retreated. It must be a show of dominance that is required. I had to trust Rodion knew what he was doing. I indicated to Kelda to back off. She lit a small flame before she left, and they rode away. The flame did not expand. It was Kelda’s flame that she could use to sense through.

Rodion was bleeding quite a lot now, but he was still fighting for control of the Pack. I felt it when the bond snapped into place with the male. The female redoubled her fight, but Rodion could now focus everything on her, and she was soon belly up, and the bond formed. I watched with Analyse Bond, and the connections strengthened. The two pack leaders were bonded to Rodion, but there was a much weaker bond connecting all the pack members with the pack leaders. I wasn’t sure that would happen, but these weakened bonds with the pack leaders are an extension of Rodion’s bond. He is now truly the Pack Leader.

The pack had stopped attacking, and Rodion untangled the leaders. He led them to the downed gazelle, and they all ate, including Rodion.

Rodion looked at me, “I am going to run with the pack for a while. I will catch up tomorrow.”

I tossed him a healing potion. He rubbed some on his wounds and then sculled the balance. We didn’t have that many positions anymore. Astrid was not a Herbalist like Ört was. She had more direct healing skills, but you had to be near her. I waved him an OK and left him to it. Both Bond Care and Analyse Bonds had levelled. Bonding with a pack was new and different. Then I checked, and the Bond Master Class had levelled as well.

I joined Kelda, and we continued to scout. “Tell me about this Trackers Inspiration. It seems almost Predictive in the way you used it.”

“It went to Apprentice level back then. It seems to link my Tracking Skills, my sight skills and my Sharp Mind Skill to work out what is happening. I think I only got it because of my Sharp Mind Skill. Even when the skill is not active, it has an influence.”

“Sharp Mind boosts your Mental Agility, right?”

“Yes, one point per level when I activate it. It is mid-apprentice now, and even when it is not active, I can feel it has some sort of passive effect on the other skills.”

“How did you get it?”

“It was not long after we left Jern, and I was working through the training you gave me, particularly the fact the army was working against me and the political influences. I made a link back to my father. It was a jump or maybe inspiration, but I got the Skill then.”

“So it is not easily repeatable.” She shook her head. That was disappointing but not surprising. “That the Skill has a passive effect is unusual. Classes have passive effects. Now that you bring it up, Farsight gives bonuses to ranged attacks, Hearing Aid blunts sonic attacks etc. But I hadn’t thought about it before. I probably should have, as it relates back to the Spiritual Flavour Mayakku is figuring out.”

Kelda got out her pad and sketched and drew maps as we rode. She was determined to level her skills and wanted the Scout Class with the mapping skill. I used to rely on my Mapping Skill and draw maps after I was back at camp. Kelda drew on the go. We would occasionally stop to give her time, but she was getting good at drawing and riding. The skills levelled faster than mine did. I will blame her Sharp Mind, not my laziness.

I followed Kelda up a rise, and she stopped at the top. “Wow.” was all she said.

When I got there, she was drawing furiously, and the scene was incredible. We could see the grassland stop and the jungle start, and the jungle went on as far as the eye could see, and that included our Farsight and my Telescope Sight. We dismounted and just admired the view. Kelda sketched it to take back with her. She was using a charcoal slither, and I couldn’t see how she could represent this in a monochrome drawing, but she did and did it well. We sat there for about an hour after she completed her drawing, just relaxing in each other's company and admiring the view.

I was focussing on different areas with my Telescopic Sight, and it levelled again. Mid-journeyman, and I was becoming aware of its passive effect. It was making my sight clearer. Even though there might be pollen or a heat haze, it was not affecting me as much. I activated my Sense Treasure, and my eyes were drawn to a number of different points. Sometimes, the sense was stronger than others. I marked as many of the points on my Mapping Skill as possible. We needed Spiritual Material and Monster Cores. I couldn’t tell what treasure I sensed, but concentrating on what I considered treasure was becoming increasingly effective. I know at least one of those treasure marks was moving. Sense Treasure also levelled.

This jungle was new to me. Using my sight skills, I identified a lot of different plants, and my Plant Lore was eager to explore them. Our route would take us along the edge of this jungle to the small city of Skog. That was still almost two weeks away. Some jungle exploring sounded good to me, and I know Tāoke fully agreed.

I looked at Kelda, and I saw her eyes light up. She was using her Fire Eyes. “What do you see?” I asked. The Fire Eyes Skill was good against illusions, but now she has it at Apprentice level, and it is also working against camouflage-type skills.

“My farsight is not high enough yet, but I am pretty sure something is hiding at the edge of the jungle and watching us.”

We were a couple of kilometres from the edge of the jungle, but we were sitting on top of a hill and being obvious. From the jungle edge, we were probably silhouetted against the sky. I am getting careless again. I use my superior Farsight to scan the edge of the jungle and zoom in on a couple of places. A movement caught my eye, but I wasn’t quick enough to see what.

“There is something there. We should move off the hill and watch our backs for a while.”

As we picked up our small picnic and mounted up, Kelda said, “I think I just got my equivalent of the Scout Class. It is called Seeker, but there is no mapping skill. It has five points, one for each of the Perceptions and two free. The Skill that came is called Seek Hidden, and it pretty much lets me do just that.”

“Congratulations. Where are you going to put the free points?”

She smiled, “Spiritual Strength. I am going to fly.”

She had made explosive leaps in her progress. Her Tracking Class and her new Rider Class were both now level 3, and her Warrior Class had gone to 8. She wanted to put most of her points into Spiritual Strength, but we also strongly recommended Mental Strength as well.

As we rode back, I asked how her Seek Hidden differed from her Fire Eyes. “At novice, it is very compatible by highlighting clues to where something might be hidden. This could mean actively camouflaged or just tucked away. From the apprentice level, it will help with something I am actively seeking, giving me an increasingly accurate sense of direction and distance. I have to know what I am seeking, though. From the Journeyman level, if I know someone is hiding something from me, that would be enough for me to seek it out. At that point, it might not be a physical object but information or similar. When I looked over the jungle with it, I had a couple of clues of where something might be hidden.”

That was good for a Level 1 Skill. “You will never lose anything again, and as it levels, you will be a terror in an interrogation. Is Inquisitor one of your specilaisations?” I got a dirty look for that one, and not the good kind.