B13

Bronwyn jogged out the northern gate heading out toward the plains. Before she left, she’d used the UI on the Colony Stone to give Olivia permissions to purchase and place structures. She hadn’t wanted them to be unable to keep working on the settlement while she was gone. Surprisingly, very few arguments had come up about whether or not she should be heading out to ‘gain levels,’ as she had put it. People were beginning to understand this world, and when Olivia had made a report about the creature in the cave, even the non-violent types had understood the need for people to grow in strength. She tried to clear her mind and think about only the task at hand; the rest could wait. Some of the hunters from the colony had reported seeing some ruins about a couple of miles to the northwest; she figured it would be a good place to start.

There were no roads through the plains, but the grass was short, slightly below her knee at the highest. Occasionally a flash of movement and the sound of feet would sound from the nearby grass, and Bronwyn caught sight of a white-furred little animal that reminded her of a rabbit as it bounded away. Birds were plentiful, and the long ribbons of their tails would stream up into the air as she startled them away from their nests. Once she stopped to investigate a clump of high grass where two ribbon-birds had erupted, and she found a nest, about the size of a picnic basket, and it had cradled four pale-blue eggs speckled with yellow. They were about half again as big as a chicken egg. She left the nest and continued her run.

Bronwyn found herself lost in thought as she ran. She knew she wanted to be at least level ten before she went after that demon in the cave again. She hoped that obtaining a class would give her some sort of power jump. The problem was, she couldn’t plan too much; she had no idea what a class did for you exactly; none of the colonists had leveled up enough yet. She assumed it would give her special abilities and maybe a stat boost if she was lucky. She started to imagine what kinds of classes she’d be able to choose from and what they might do. She was so zoned out she hardly even noticed when something whizzed past her face, lightly grazing her cheek.

The tinge of pain as the small cut opened across her cheekbone thrust her back into the present. She dove to the ground; the ruins were roughly thirty yards off to her left; had she run so far already? A low stone wall surrounded a dozen or so small buildings. She could hear whoever had thrown something at her somewhere ahead and a bit toward the ruins; a low, growling voice called out, and she presumed there were multiple attackers. She wasn’t sure if they could see her in the grass, but she certainly didn’t want to provide them with target practice. She brought her right leg up underneath herself and launched forward toward the western-most portion of the wall. She heard a dull thud behind her and assumed they’d missed her with another projectile but didn’t turn around to check. She reached the wall and crouched low, using it for cover from one direction and hoping the grass would hide her from the other. She could hear loud footsteps approaching among the ruined structures; whatever they were, they definitely weren’t the diminutive Yeksa.

She braced herself to fight her unknown assailants as she heard the footsteps grow closer and closer. She was hoping to surprise them by vaulting over the wall. She quietly summoned her stone armor, covering her arms and chest in a second layer of rough, gray skin. She listened intently and heard a heavy foot crunch into the grass about ten feet away on the other side of the wall. Bronwyn took a deep breath and, in one smooth motion, reached up and pulled herself over the wall toward her quarry. The sight that met her was monstrous: a giant fur-covered humanoid wearing leather armor studded with black metal spikes and wielding a massive, hook-shaped, rusty blade with a jagged, notched edge. He was cautiously approaching the wall, but Bronwyn's head-on assault caught him by surprise. The bestial man fumbled, swinging his blade up and snagging the tip on the corner of a crumbled wall. Panic opened his eyes as he tried to jerk it free. Bronwyn saw her opening and threw a wild haymaker at her opponent’s right temple, the impact letting out a thunderous crack. He fell in a boneless heap to the ground as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Bronwyn shook her hand, wincing and glad for the protection of the heavy gauntlet. Wanting to keep her advantage of surprise, she ducked behind a collapsed stone building that vines and dark blue moss had long overtaken.

She wasn't sure how many of them there were, but there was at least one more sprinting toward the sound of conflict. Bronwyn edged her way around the outside of the building, hoping to sneak up behind him as he came upon his downed companion. She heard the thudding of his heavy steps as he ran past the building, and she turned the corner, fists raised. Immediately in front of her was a large, round, wooden shield held together with thick metal bands.

“Thought you was sneaky, didn’t you, littl’ rat?” He let out a hoarse laugh as he spoke. “Could smell yer coming a mile away. You and yer little fairy pet have the sweetest scent I’ve smelled in years. But I’ll bet you taste even sweeter.” He was practically drooling, eyeing Bronwyn from behind the shield. He raised his axe and pointed it toward her shoulder. “I’ll even cut yer a deal, ya hand over that fae of yers, and I’ll let ya walk on home. Ya ‘ave my word.” He shot her a toothy grin full of yellowed fangs. “Ol Grimjowl hain’t tasted fae in far, far ter long.” He howled with laughter as he spoke.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, you prick, but no one here’s getting eaten tonight.” She heard a soft chirp and some rustling from her backpack and knew Hops had climbed in there when the fighting had started. “Stay in there, buddy; I’ll keep you safe.” Hops let out another nervous chirp and scrabbled deeper into the pack. “You scared to fight me, Grime Face? You talk a big game, but your eyes look scared. I can’t blame you, I suppose. I mean, just look at your friend on the ground there. Barely even had a chance to move.” Bronwyn gestured at the ground behind him.

“Grimjowl!” He shrieked. “Not Grime Face, you little rat!” His eyes bulged with fury, darting left and right. “Ripfang was a fool anyway, deserved to die.” His scowl deepened, and he briefly turned his gaze back towards his fallen compatriot.

Bronwyn lunged into action, willing raw Energy into her fist until the node there started to burn physically, and she slammed her gauntlet into the bear-like man’s shield. The wood exploded into a dozen pieces, and the metal band snapped away like springs being let loose. The beast-man howled in pain as his arm hung limply at his side, his forearm bent at a grotesque angle. He furiously swung his axe down at her head, but Bronwyn deflected the blade with the armored back of her gauntlet. She grabbed his fur-covered arm with her other hand and pulled it toward her, slamming her shoulder into his face. He reared backward, dropping his axe as blood gushed from his shattered nose. Scrambling away from her and wiping his face with the back of his good hand, his eyes darted about for a place to run. Bronwyn slowly closed in on him, backing him into a corner of a ruined stone wall. “You’re gonna tell me who your people are and what you know about Hops. If you're lucky, I might even let you leave.” She tried her best to sound threatening, though she didn’t really like the idea of executing an unarmed foe.

She was closing the final distance between them when a searing pain erupted from her lower back. She spun around and locked eyes with a leaner, slightly shorter beast-man, the tip of his spear dripping with blood. Grimjowl, who had been cowering before Bronwyn, took his opportunity to lunge forward and wrap his good arm around her neck, attempting to choke her. As she struggled to release his grip, the spear wielder leveled his weapon at her stomach and charged forward. Bronwyn shoved herself backward toward the wall, slamming Grimjowl’s spine into the stone and eliciting a howl. His grip loosened, and she spun to her left, burying her face in his chest fur while punching up at his elbow. She created just enough of a gap to yank her head free, her ears burning at the friction. The smaller beast-man’s spear grazed along her leather armor and sank deep into Grimjowl’s stomach.

Grimjowl’s  heavy body slumped forward and pinned the spear to the ground. The last beast-man frantically pulled at the spear haft but gave up as Bronwyn circled him. He roared and charged forward, tackling Bronwyn. His sudden charge was enough to catch her off guard, and he pulled her to the ground. She found herself pinned beneath him while he sat on her stomach, both hands wrapped around her neck, shouting in fury, spittle dripping out of his grimacing mouth down onto her face. Instincts from Jiu-Jitsu classes she’d taken to improve her VR MMA skills kicked in, and she thrust her left fist up between his outstretched arms, popped her hips up to make a space, and then rotated out from under him while looping his arm up with hers. She forgot all safety sparring rules and dropped the full weight of her body onto his elbow joint, distending it with a loud pop. He screamed in pain.

She didn’t waste any time and began to alternate blows, left then right, onto the back of his head with her gauntlets. Panic and fury at feeling helpless, even for just a moment, fueled her barrage, and the creature was long dead before she stopped punching.

Bronwyn sagged her shoulders down, relaxing her posture. She sat there over the body of the beast-man for a minute, too tired to move. Her breath was ragged and heavy, her throat hoarse from where he had held it. She took a deep breath and held it briefly, “Fuck!” she let out an explosive breath of air with her shout. “First other people to talk on this fucking planet, and I killed all three of them.” She grumbled in a ragged croak. “God damn it!” She knew she should have left the last one alive to question, but her temper had gotten the better of her again.

Stiffly, she planted one of her feet and stood; the Energy was just starting to coalesce around the three bodies and fly towards her in heavy streams of light. She took a few deep breaths as she could feel the Energy closing the puncture wound in her back and restoring a portion of what she used during the encounter.

***Congratulations! You’ve achieved level 8 base human. You have 5 attribute points to allocate.***

Almost without thinking about it, Bronwyn focused inward and spent her points, three in strength and two in agility. Just like every time before. She thought of her character sheet, and it appeared before her.

Status

Name: Bronwyn Tallow, aka “Blodwyn”

Race: Human - Base 2

Class: —

Level: 8

Core: Amber Class - Base 2 - Tri-Node, Earth Energy Attunement

Energy Affinity: 5.6, Earth - 6.6

Energy: 50/110

Strength: 34

Vitality: 11

Dexterity: 9

Agility: 25

Intelligence: 9

Will: 11

Points Available: 0

Titles & Feats: First Colonist

Skills: System Language Integration - Not Upgradeable, Unarmed Mastery - Basic, Stone Warding - Basic, Tracking - Basic

She knew it would be a while before her Energy recovered again; it didn’t recharge as quickly for her as it did for people like Olivia. She raised her arms above her head and took a few deep breaths before checking the bodies for anything of note.

The weapons they carried were weighty and pockmarked with rust. Bronwyn threw them in her pouch just to drop them off in the colony; maybe some of the aspiring smiths could attempt to improve them. The armor the first had worn, on the other hand, was masterfully crafted. It was treated dark brown leather with black metal spikes on the front, and the back was covered in small metal discs, about an inch wide. She unbuckled the straps on the side of the vest and pulled it away from the beast-man, noticing faint golden runes sewn into the edges. She held it in front of her and let a small trickle of her Energy flow into it.

***Breastplate of the Berserker: +2 strength***

Bronwyn set her backpack down and practically ripped her old leather chest piece off. She lifted the spiked breastplate to her nose and gave it a good sniff. It had a musty odor, but it also smelled like oiled leather, like it had been treated well and cleaned regularly. An unbidden memory of a catcher’s mitt and her dad showing her how to rub oil into the leather came to her. She shrugged, slipping the new armor down over her head. She tightened the straps; the armor melded itself to fit her body as though it had been made for her. She was moving her arms around, making sure none of the half-inch-long spikes on the armor impeded her movement when Hops poked his head out of her backpack, cocking it to the side quizzically as he stared at her.

Bronwyn noticed her audience and let out a small chuckle, “Don’t worry, little buddy; there’re no spikes on the shoulders.” She patted it for emphasis. “You might have to be a little more careful climbing up, though.” She smiled and reached down her hand so he could climb up her arm. After he was situated and done inspecting the armor for himself, she slung the backpack on.

Bronwyn moved to pull the spear out of the impaled Grimjowl. He let out a soft burbling chuckle as she reached for it, blood spilling from his mouth. “More are coming, more than you can imagine; they’ll burn all you have to the ground. Run while you can, littl’ rat.” He coughed up a stream of blood, and the light left his eyes, his last bit of Energy flowing into Bronwyn. She wrenched the spear from his gut, and his body collapsed onto the floor.

Bronwyn’s thoughts raced; it could be an empty threat, but why would he lie with his last breath? She had to follow their tracks and see where they came from. If there were more of them out there and they knew about the human colony, it could be a threat to all of them. She activated her tracking skill and quickly found their stomping footprints glowing faintly red in the grass. A grey text window appeared next to them: “Urghat.”