The information that SJ and Carlito had discussed since she had returned to see him at the Griffin had been an insightful journey. They began by discussing the issue around the tower in detail and the increases in costs that it was suffering from. Carlito, being much more honest and forthcoming than he had been prior to the guardianship role, offered information and ideas on how to approach the problems. SJ had also confirmed General Crawford's comments about the freedom to act without repercussions with Carlito. This had intrigued Carlito, considering the statement about her not being alone and having support. With the manner in which the proxy system worked for assigning quests to the Assassin's Guild, Carlito had no idea if any of the work he had completed had ever fallen under their remit.
They had then spent the rest of that day and into the early evening working through all the documentation and details of who and where the various locations that were detailed on the parchments they had brought from the Sanction indicated. Carlito had maps of the districts and highlighted all of them. This allowed SJ to make notes on her map. Then they discussed the Sanction, of which they had already dealt with a substantial number of the members. Carlito estimated that apart from what he believed were three other beings of power in the gang, the remainder would be foot soldiers, and unless they got in their way, they weren't worth consideration. He knew the other three members by their names only but had never had dealings with them. The one thing that Carlito couldn't envisage was that the Sanction had been doing any work across districts. He was only aware of their internal district footing and that the Handlers run by Mascol were likely to be the prominent gang that, if any, from District 10 would be supporting whoever was inflating the costs of materials and labour, supporting the problems the tower was facing. There had to be a link somewhere that they would be able to find.
Carlito had been happy to offer his support in dealing with the matter alongside SJ. He had actually gotten excited by the opportunity and, on more than one occasion, mentioned that they would have to try to secure Samwell's stash and, if they dealt with the Handlers, Mascol's. Carlito wasn't precisely aware of the areas of District 10 where the Handlers may have properties as they were much more secretive than the Sanction. However, he did know where certain members frequented. None of these, he believed, played a deciding factor in the gang's hierarchy. He actually thought that several of the main gang members probably lived in other districts even though they worked for the Handlers. Their renown was known as a gang that would do anything for the right amount of money.
They then moved on to discussing SJ and how her level had increased. SJ hadn't improved any of her stats since the trigger with the realignment with Dave, and it wasn't until she explained to Carlito the advances she was getting that he almost choked on the drink he had been taking at the time. As soon as she spoke, his eyes went wide in shock and awe at her increase. Initially, SJ was concerned about discussing it, but Dave insisted that guardianship was such a strong bond that she could discuss anything with him; he wouldn't even discuss anything with Bob even if he asked, as it was above any racially based oaths. The whole process behind the oath system still confused her as to which held the highest protection and the inability to break. Dave had stated that the system development of oaths wasn't an area he had been able to relate to entirely, even with his ever-increasing access to areas of the databases as his code was further broken. His only assumption was that an oath by a god still held the highest protection rights. SJ had only made Carlito aware of her base stats and not of her equipment boosts.
Strength: 12
Dexterity: 35
Intelligence: 12
Wisdom: 13
Constitution: 21
Charisma: 15
The increases were significant, with +4 points automatically added to her dexterity, which had increased both her armour class and basic damage, yet she still had six attribute points to distribute. Never mind, considering the two added skill points that she had earned and a profession point to be able to specialise. For the profession specialisation, she would wait until she spoke to Nexis next before deciding what to spend it on.
Carlito had suggested that she place some of her points into her constitution, as she was now levelling again, and some of her future opponents would be able to deliver substantial damage if they hit her, although her armour class was already quite formidable and that was without wearing leather armour. SJ had forgotten that on reaching level 20, it also allowed her to wear leather armour if she wished, but she still wanted to wear the dress. It had too many perks, including the self-repair buff.
"I will add four points to my constitution and an extra point to my charisma and dexterity," SJ said as she made the adjustments. Her health increased substantially, and she opened her character sheet smiling. Her base dexterity of thirty-six now gave her a thirty-five-point bonus to both her damage and armour class, with the remainder coming from her equipment and skill bonuses. Dave also suggested she amend her main display to show her relationship status. After viewing the screen, she was able to adjust its settings. Now, without having to go into her Followers list, she was able to see the status that had been created with Carlito and show Kibble as her companion.
Legionnaire 25007077
Name: SJ
Age: 27
Race: Fae
Class: Assassin
Alignment: Neutral
Level: 21
Experience: 4790 of 19000
Hit Points: 147 of 147 (155)
Mana Points: 115
Armour Class: 72 (37)(35)
Damage: 86-88 (18-20) (13)(35)(20)
Attributes:
Strength: 17 (5)(12)
Dexterity: 45 (9)(36)
Intelligence: 14 (2)(12)
Wisdom: 22 (9)(13)
Constitution: 25
Charisma: 25 (9)(16)
Resistances:
Arcane Resistance 10%
Cold Resistance 10%
Magic Resistance 10%
Poison Resistance 10%
Skills
Racial:
Night Vision – you have improved vision in poor light conditions.
Flight – when in miniature fae form, you can learn to fly. Flying is not available in humanoid form.
Shapeshift – the ability to switch between fae forms.
Class:
Martial Arts –
Kata Level 10
Unarmed combat - Incapacitation Level 5 / Elimination Level 3
Armed combat - Melee Claws Level 4 / Ranged Darts Level 3
Clawed Avenger Level 4
Subterfuge –
Identification Level 10
Advanced Identification Level 5
Shroud Level 6
Shadow Discipline –
Shadow Step Level 2
Profession:
Tailor Skilled Level 8
Perks - Sure Stitch
Profession Specialisation - 0 of 1 available points 1
Symbiosis:
Dragon Sense – your senses, touch, hearing, smell, and sight are heightened.
Precognition – foreknowledge due to increased perception will allow you to evade a killing blow. (24hr cooldown)
Divine lightning – your blood is combined with that of a blue dragon, increasing healing speed while out of combat.
Malware: Waiver (Sandboxed)
Inventory: 84 slots (8 x 10 Bags of Holding) (2) (+2 strength) (10 special)
Relationships:
Guardian - Carlito
Followers - Brian, Charlotte, Terence
Companions - Kibble
"Do you mind if I identify you?" SJ asked after finishing making her adjustments.
Carlito grinned. "I am surprised you haven't already done so. I was expecting you to have done so at some point. If I had the skill, I know that I would have."
SJ hadn't tried, unaware of his wisdom level, and did not wish to chance to upset him if he had detected her doing it; she knew that only once reaching level 10 in advanced identification did it really give her as close as possible to full security from detection when triggering it. She triggered her skill.
Carlito
Level: 37
Class: Assassin
Hit points: 356 of 356
Mana points: 0
Armour Class: 125
Strength: 60
Dexterity: 75
Attacks: Slash, Thrust
Special: Swift Strike, Backstab, Execute, Shadow Step
Weaknesses: Nil
The named specials really interested SJ, but she mentioned his stats. "Wow. Your strength and dexterity are insane, never mind your health and armour class, but you have no mana?" SJ said, surprised.
"I think you forget that I am a dragonling. My basic attributes are much higher than a normal being. It is the one perk of my race that allows me to compensate for my slower levelling. Also, a downside of being a dragonling is that we can't use magic; none of my kind has an affiliation to it." Carlito said.
"The variation in races is quite dramatic," SJ said, still amazed that he couldn't use magic. When she considered the fantastical games and stories of her youth with dragons and even Bob in the meadow casting an identification spell on her, she would have expected all dragonkind to be magical.
"All the races vary in relation to their attributes and abilities. As a dragonling, there is no greater benefit than being able to hide my identity in plain sight. The most fun I have is when a being believes that I am a young serving girl and wants to try and grope me in the bar," Carlito said, grinning evilly.
SJ could imagine just how poorly that mistake may have been for the unfortunate drunken fool in the Griffin who thought they might get away with groping Carlito when he was in his female serving disguise.
"Have you decided what you are going to spend your skill points on yet?" Carlito said.
"I think I will select Charm as my additional skill as I was still undecided since it's a passive skill. It will benefit me when discussing proposals for my role as ambassador or general trading."
Carlito nodded his head in understanding. "And your points?"
"I'm still not sure."
"I would advise dropping your points into whichever base skill you have nearer to 10. That will offer you another skill once you reach it."
Her base skills were her Kata, Identification and Shroud. Kata and Identification were already at ten, having opened up new skills, so after listening to Carlito's advice, they should really be added to her Shroud skill.
"Should I not add them to Charm now that I am selecting it? Would that not offer a better benefit?" SJ asked.
Carlito shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea what the skill even does outside of what your explanation was. It's not something I know anything about."
"SJ. I wouldn't worry about your Charm skill since it is a passive, basic skill, and it will naturally be used and increase with every interaction. Over time, it will self-level, so don't worry about adding points," Dave said.
'Thanks, Dave,' SJ thought as she selected her shroud skill and added the two points. Her skill was now sitting at level eight, only two points away from opening the next stage in its evolution—the thought of what may open on it, reaching level ten, filled SJ with curiosity. At level eight,it would allow her four minutes of reduced damage when fighting. She only wished she had had the extra time with her recent run-ins with Malvon. She then selected and activated her Charm skill before reviewing her selections.
Subterfuge –
Identification Level 10, Advanced Identification Level 5, Shroud Level 8, Charm Level 1
"Okay, that's it. My points are all assigned," SJ smiled.
"Excellent. Now it's time for a lesson in assassinations," Carlito said.
SJ frowned. "What about them?"
"I think before we take our next step towards sorting out the trash of District 10 and investigating the matter further, we discuss your techniques."
"What is wrong with my techniques?"
"There is nothing predominantly wrong. It's more about understanding the anatomy of beings and the best way to deal with various races. Your general fighting technique, I have seen, is quite formidable, and your strike against Malvon, in miniature form before growing, was interesting, to say the least, and I was surprised that it didn't kill him outright. The problem you have, though, is that rather than going for neck or throat strikes, you should try to aim for decapitation, the heart or brain of a being," Carlito said.
SJ couldn't argue with his comments. She had habitually always gone for the throat of a being. She wasn't sure if it was a subconscious action from her days playing MMOs and playing rogues where they would sneak up behind opponents and slit their throats. The difference was that, in reality, this wasn't a game, and the anatomy of beings played a significant part.
"How well do you know the anatomy of the other races of Amathera?" Carlito asked.
SJ had never considered the anatomy of beings in general. "I always thought they were similar."
Carlito smiled. "This may be a rather enlightening conversation then. Most bipedal beings do have a similar anatomical layout, but not all. If you consider humans, elves, dwarves, goblins and the like, their anatomy is indeed similar. When you then consider some other races, there are some subtle changes in some cases and dramatic changes in others. I would assume that you believe an orc's brain is in its head?"
SJ looked surprised as she replied. "Of course? Aren't all beings brains in their heads?"
"No. An orc has two brains."
SJ's jaw hit the floor at the comment. "It what?"
"Yes. Orcs have two brains. Their main brain is indeed in their head, which controls their ability to speak and their general intelligence. They do have a second brain, though, which is situated behind a very thick bone plate in their chest, next to their hearts. This brain controls their bodily movement and actions. You can strike an orc in its head, which is exceedingly thick bone, and destroy its brain there, but it can still if it's not blinded, attack you. This is when orcs can turn savage as they lose the ability to think and turn into feral versions of themselves. A few centuries ago, a clan used to perform the act of 'tribal savagery'. They would deliberately select warrior cast members and destroy the brain linked to thought and speech, turning them into almost rabid and feral fighters. I am not sure if any of the clans still undergo the practice, as I discovered this on another continent and not this one."
'Dave. Did you know about this?' SJ thought, in absolute amazement at Carlito's revelation.
"Erm. I would be lying if I said yes," Dave replied, sounding embarrassed. "I suppose now that I know it does make sense from battles I have witnessed over my various Legionnaires. You have to remember that this is the first time that I have had a direct link to a being on Amathera's brain. I have only ever been able to cast my voice onto a previous Legionnaire, not actually interact with them as I can with you."
"Which other races do I need to be aware of?" SJ said, totally absorbed by the details from Carlito.
Carlito continued to explain about some of the various races. One of the most fascinating races she discovered was among those beings related to ents. Ents didn't have brains or hearts, their whole being was them. Each area of their bodies contained the essential biological control functions that they followed. Ents could still be destroyed through physical damage, if their bodies received sufficient to prevent repair and regrowth, but you could never actually kill an ent in a single strike unless you did massive damage taking all its health out in one go. They could lose limbs and regrow over time without the requirement of healing or mana due to their biological makeup.
"What you have explained to me is fascinating," SJ said. She had a completely different view of various races and beings. Carlito mentioned that many monsters and beasts also had various biological considerations but didn't go into any depth about them. "I can also understand why you suggested going for brain or heart strikes over their throats."
"The reason so many go for throats. It is usually one of the less well-protected areas of the body of a being. Very few beings wear encased armour, but do wear armour and helms. I would advise when attacking most beings that you strike upwards towards their brain rather than straight into their throats. This adds a level of certainty that your current technique lacks. As you saw with my preference, I perform decapitation when able, such as Malvon, and Samwell was a basic heart piercing."
"When would you be able to start considering going to District 10? I only have two more days before I need to go back to Killic," SJ said.
"There is no time like the present."
SJ checked her display, and it was currently 2100hrs, and the time had flown by.
"Where do you want to start?"
"I think we should visit the barracks in District 10. From the list of names, virtually all of the guard force in the District were being paid off in some way, particularly the leadership of the guard, and I think that may be the easiest way of finding out any links they may have had to the Handlers, if any. I will also get a message to my watchers to begin tracking the Handler's members' movements. If we find links, then that would be great; if not, then we will at least have resolved one of the current problems for the tower."
"Won't it be dangerous going to the barracks?"
"They never have the same number on watch at night. If anything, it will be the safest time to visit. It is unlikely the guard captain will be there at this time of night, but considering there were three lieutenant's names, never mind several sergeants on the list, at least a couple of them will be. Even taking out a couple of them will help."
"That's true," SJ said, pondering entering a barracks to perform assassination work.
"What is your quest reward for this, by the way?" Carlito asked.
SJ hadn't even considered it; the basic requirement that the chancellor had set was that of a five gold reward for information leading towards the problems that the tower was suffering, and as yet, there were no guarantees that these actions would indeed be linked.
"There is no direct reward," SJ said, feeling a little embarrassed.
"Oh well. It will be good training for you anyway," Carlito smiled.
'Dave. Won't performing these tasks outside of a quest affect my alignment?' SJ thought.
"There is always that potential, but considering that these beings are taking bribes or similar, I doubt very much that any of them will have anything higher than neutral evil alignment. Therefore, your transgressions shouldn't affect you."
'Saying they are transgressions really doesn't fill me with confidence.'
"Your actions," Dave said cheerily.
'A little late now,' SJ sighed internally.
Carlito had walked to his desk, and SJ watched as he wrote a note and placed it into a small cylindrical tube. He then pulled the cord by his desk, and Poppy entered. "Can you take this message to the orphanages, please?" Carlito asked.
"At this late hour?" Poppy asked.
"Yes, please. The heads will understand once they receive my message."
"Of course," Poppy said before leaving.
"Okay. Accept my invite, and we will get moving," Carlito said as SJ's display triggered.
