224. Core: Wiremu.

I really wanted to follow Tabitha. Not just because she tends to get lost but to examine the changes happening to her bond. But there is no way Mosey could keep up with Dusk on his best day. I would give them a day and then go looking and hope they weren’t mad or dead.

Ruku insisted on the morning training. Then, after getting the horses' packs done, I helped Mayakku set up the ritual for the other Monster Core. Fortunately, Tabitha had left that with Mayakku. We would start with spiritual items in the environment. A stick of Ironwood, some sap, some dirt, and a piece of bone from the creature. I don’t think the Ironwood growing here is an accident. It could just be the enhanced spirituality from the decomposing monster or more directly from the core. The Lore Society was filled with debates of that sort.

Mayakku performed the ritual, “They all have some connection to the core. The strongest is the Ironwood stick and the bone.”

The creature did have a lot of bones. We did the ritual again with a worm and other plants in the area, along with a piece of my Granite.

“These plants are as strong as the Ironwood and the Bones,” Mayakku said.

“Do you think it might have a dual affinity, like me?” I asked.

“Plant and bones don’t seem compatible,” Mayakku commented.

“No, but Plant and Ironwood do.”

“I wonder where the bones come in?”

“I have Granite Bones. Maybe it had Ironwood bones?”

“Maybe,” Mayakku said hesitantly.

The core is worth a fortune regardless of the affinity. We spent the rest of the day gathering materials to take back with us. We only took small samples of the less valuable things. Runa wanted one of the large flat bones as she wanted to find someone to make a shield from it. The bulk of the load was Ironwood and bone.

My Prospecting Class had levelled with the discovery of the core. Sense Treasure had levelled to Journeyman. I had a lot of spare attribute points. I needed to support my Lava Skills with Spiritual Strength and Agility, but I would keep some for new Skills.

Kelda prepared another lovely meal. I was worried about Tabitha. I looked at Modrica, and she looked calm. She always did, of course, but I figured if Tabitha were in trouble, she would be the first to know. I would give her until the morning.

We were just starting our Mental Training when Tabitha and Dusk rode in. She looked exhausted. Dusk looked wonderful. A powerful fast horse didn’t describe it well enough. She was by far the biggest horse I had ever seen. She looked sleek and fast. And big.

One more day, and we will be on the road again. Rodion’s dogs were mostly mobile, courtesy of Astrid Aura and Ruku’s Mist. I scouted around and filled in more details of the map I was producing.

Rodion and I spent the afternoon erasing evidence of us being here as much as possible. We would cover our trail in as we leave. We wouldn’t want another tracker to find this place until it is secure or sold. People will start hunting for the source when we turn up with these goods. We can’t hide the Ironwood Tree but can lay out misdirection. I was producing a second map to mislead people. Both the true and false maps were created with my Mapping Making Skill to be recognised as legitimate by a Cartographer. The false one also had input from my Deceive Skill, which pushed it over to the Master level. I am now a Master Deceiver. Wow, that has come a long way from the quarry where I used it to hide Tāoke.

This triggered a new specialisation for me. From my Spy Class, I received Forger. It was a four-point class with three assigned, one to each Mental Agility and Perception and one to Spiritual Agility. This was the first time Spy specialised. Forger came with Copier. Copier used all three attributes the Class gave me Mental Perception to understand the style of the writing, Spiritual Agility to copy it and Mental Agility to change things in the same style. As the Skill Levelled, this would become easier with longer texts or more complex drawings. At Novice Level, I could copy a writing or drawing style if I had a document in front of me. It was also painfully slow, even at my attribute levels. I could be freer at Apprentice if I knew the person or style. At Journeyman Level, it was much quicker and more convincing, even being able to copy some Spiritual Signatures. This was on documents only.

A false map was not enough. Treasure Hunters are notoriously difficult to mislead. Kelda’s Skill to Seek Hidden would eventually find it. We will be careful dealing with our goods. Fortunately, those seeking skills are rare. Treasure Hunting is a valid path for Kelda when she levels a bit. Maybe we could team up and go treasure hunting together when this is done. Even I knew I was fooling myself. It was a nice thought, though.

We headed out the next day after training. Rodion, Ruku and I all took turns hiding our trail. We took hard turns, and everybody was single file. We kept at it for three days until we hit the main road two days out of Skog.

Tabitha had prepared papers for us as we travelled. Now, she used her Adjusters Skill to change them, so we were a prospecting team from the Elemental Traders. It will help explain the goods we picked up at various places on the way, or so the story goes.

We won’t be entering the city together anyway. Modrica and Težka will not enter it at all. Rodion and I will stay out with her for now, with a lot of the goods. Tabitha took both maps into the city with her. I borrowed Kelda’s only drawings to level my new Copier Skill. She would stock up on new drawing materials for us both. In a couple of days, Rodion and I would swap with Runa and Astrid. Then we would go drinking as Wild Bill.

Wiremu Hunter

Level

Physical

Mental

Spiritual

Totals

Free

Strength

Agility

Perception

Strength

Agility

Perception

Strength

Agility

Perception

Base Attributes

9

12

11

9

12

11

10

8

10

92

Earned Attributes

11

5

2

12

3

1

3

2

5

44

Hunter

B

12

2

14

24

5

2

2

6

5

60

0

Monster Hunter

S

5

5

5 5

5

5

25

0

Scout

S

6

6

3

6

1

6

8

30

0

Assassin

S

4

1

4

5

5

1

16

0

Bond Master

S

3

2 3

3

3

1

12

0

Quarry Worker

B

11

22 11

33

0

Prospecting

S

5

5

1

2

3

3

6

20

0

Spy

B

11

1

4

3

11

15

10

11

55

0

Forger

S

1

1

1 1

3

1

Warrior

B

6

12 6 8

2

28

2

Metal Shaper

B

5

5

2

5

3

15

5

Totals

70

44

51

46

47

42

50

41

42

433 Constitution

165

135

133

Resistances: Poison +21, Crushing +22, Cold +29, Pain +32, Heat +34, Fire +13, Disease 1, Acid 1, Mental 1

Skills:

Novice:

General

Lock Pick 4, Disarm Spiritual Trap3, Copier 1, Spiritual Trapping 4, Sprint 4, Venom Vapour 4, Granite Mind Armour 3

Fighting

Heavy Armour.

Senses

Lore

Metal Alloy Lore 4, Gem Lore 3, Spiritual Metals 3

Apprentice:

General

Sewing 9, Cooking 8, Animal Care 8, Butchering 7, Weapon Repair 7, Repair Leather Armour 8, Dwarvish 9, Slight of Hand 5, Analyse Bonds 8, Elemental Bond 7, Hunters Mark 6, Molten Rock 9, Disarm Traps 5, Detect Traps 5, Detect Spiritual Trap 6, Metal Shaping 5, Bond Care 6, Interrogate Status 6,

Fighting

Granite Quake 7, Granite Wall 6, Petrification 7, Triple Shot 8, Marksman 6, Granite Sand 8, Sudden Strike 8, Lava Dart 6, Granite Armour 7,

Senses

Thermal Sensing 7, Telescopic Sight 7

Lore

Plant Lore 9, Mineral Lore 8, Monster Lore 9, Sapient Lore 8, Elemental Lore 7, Metal Lore 8,

Journeyman:

General

Mapping 14, Tutor 13, Identify 14, Map Making 10, Manipulate Status 12, Trapping 14, Tracking 11, Skinning 11, Hide Armourer 12, Riding 11, Veneer 12, Roleplay 11, Thermal Manipulation (Mineral) 10, Snakeskin 13, Regeneration 13, Orcish 13, Camouflage 12, Fishing 10

Fighting

Hammer 13, Granite Spike 14, Granite Bones 14, Granite Shield 13, Granite Manipulation 12, Bow 12, Small Blades 13, Unarmed Combat 11, Throw Weapons 12, Spear 13, Quick Strike 12, Power Strike 11, Imbue Venom 12, Venom Arrow 10

Senses

Darksight 14, Sense Treasure 10, Bond Senses 12, Truth Sensing 10, Sense Spiritual 12

Lore

Animal Lore 12

Master:

General

Stealth 17, Animal Bond 17, Far Sight 16, Hearing Aid 16, Deceive 15

Senses

Granite Sense 15

Affinity: Granite, Lava

Monster Kills: 9

Bond: Tāoke, Venom Serpent.

Resistances: Crushing +22, Cold +30, Heat +34, Fire +13, Pain +22, Acid 1

Skills:

Novice: Granite Sand 4, Venom Vapour 4

Apprentice: Granite Shield 7, Granite Sense 7, Granite Manipulation 9, Molten Rock 6, Sudden Strike 8, Hunters Mark 6, Lava Spit 5, Thermal Manipulation (Mineral) 5, Thermal Senses 5,

Journeyman: Strength Boost 12, Power Strike 12, Venom Spit 11,

Regeneration 14, Granite Bone 14, Granite Spike 10, Grow 12

Master: Venom Bite 16, Quick Strike 17, Camouflage 15

Affinity: Granite, Lava

Bond: Puia, Lava Elemental

Resistances: Cold +30,

Skills:

Novice: Granite Spike 3

Apprentice: Thermal Manipulation (Mineral) 9, Thermal Senses 5, Granite Manipulation 5,

Journeyman:

Master: Molten Rock 11

Affinity: Lava, Granite