Triple Strength

2. Identified: Wiremu

I got the Identify Skill about a month after I got the Hunter Class. That was the same day I started hunting people. I had been away from the village for four nights, checking and re-baiting my traps out toward the mountains. I was bringing a good load of pelts back along with some meat from the latest traps. Trapping was now level 6, and Skinning level 4. I had levelled my Hunter Class while away to 2, and the increase in perception was starting to be noticeable. I could see further and clearer and better in low light. Now that it had moved four points in a month, I could tell the difference and figured it might be about 5% better, which was great. It also enabled me to get the Talented Skill Tracking along with my relatively high Mental Agility. Mental Agility was how fast and quickly you could think. It was strong on creativity and imagination. Craftsmen were always strong in mental Agility. Tracking was an eye-opener. Suddenly I could see why some of my traps were more effective than others. I now had several of my traps in the backpack to redeploy in better places. I couldn’t wait to level it and see what further advice my Master had for me when I got back.

I put my two free points into Physical Strength because that was something I could measure easier to see how things increase. It also brought my Physical strength to over 10, which allowed me to get the Spear Skill. I had been practising with the spear but hadn’t been strong enough. I almost allocated those points to Mental Strength and Mental Agility as I had not yet found a wolf cub. I was starting to think I needed to lower my expectations with this bond and maybe try bonding with a bird to help with scouting. Of course, I was still thinking too big, as I was thinking of a majestic bird of prey. I had visions of standing on a rocky outcrop with a hunting falcon on my arm. I think my Mental Agility was working overtime. Maybe it was just youthful dreams.

My enhanced perception meant I smelled the smoke from the village first, and it didn’t smell right. I knew the smell of burnt flesh, and not just from my attempts to get a fire affinity. I found a place to stash my pelts and moved forward quickly but cautiously. The dread started to rise the closer I got. When I finally saw the village it was a smouldering ruin. I collapsed to my knees in horror. I had the sense to stay in the tree line and not rush in to find my family's house. It was obviously done by people. There were bodies left lying around, including my Master’s Timber Wolf, who had three arrows still in it. I couldn’t see my Master or my parents from where I was. I stepped back into the trees and threw up. Then the rage started to burn in me. I started moving around the edge of the village toward our house, taking in the scene, senses on full alert. Then I saw a strange body. Not a villager. He was lying face up. He had been stripped of all weapons and valuables, but he had on a tunic with the insignia of the Empire. Imperial slavers. I started being extra cautious if that was possible. I had heard stories they would leave men behind after a raid to catch the ones who managed to run off into the bush. At the time, I thought they were just campfire stories my Master used to tell us to try and scare us. I remember asking why they didn’t have hounds to chase them, and he said they did, but he said there would be less damage to the slaves if they came back on their own instead of being mauled by the hounds.

As far as I was aware, we were not part of the Empire. Our village traded mostly with the nearest town, Freebourne, which was part of something called the Free Republic. So I guess that is what we were, but to be quite frank, life outside the village didn’t mean much to me. I didn’t even know where the Empire was or where the border was or anything. All I knew was it wasn’t near my hunting grounds. I moved around the edge of the village toward my house, and when I cleared the corner, I just froze at the scene. I backed into the forest a short way and just lost it. I curled up in a ball in tears as my world collapsed. There were three dead foreigners who didn’t really interest me except that this must have been a very expensive village for them to take. The other dead bodies were my Master and both my parents and one of our neighbours. All my world is gone. The best-case scenario I had thought about was my parents escaping into the bush. Then if they were captured 15 years old me figured I could rescue them and be the hero. But now, there was no hope.

There might be a bit of revenge. The anger was building again. It took a while to get myself into some sort of order. First, I needed to know how safe the village was before I could go and bury my parents. I figured if they left one of their Scouts here, I was doomed. Their senses would easily pierce my weak stealth skill. If they only left warrior classes, I was probably OK scouting, but taking them down would be harder. Hopefully, they were just Warriors. The best-case scenario was that there was no one left there. I didn’t really believe that.

Wait up. I had levelled my Hunter class, so my Physical Perception was now at 15. I had in mind to get Far Sight, but that wouldn’t help me here. What other options were there? The skill list came up with:

Far Sight

Blood Hound

Hearing Aid

Tasty

Sensitive Skin

You could only have one dedicated perception skill for every ten points in Physical Perception. I wasn’t getting another one until I hit 20 Attribute points. Tasty had been available for a while, and a lot of cooks got it. Sensitive Skin always seemed useless to me. Touch-based sensitivity for what purpose? Did you have to wander around naked? In the close bush, the smell and hearing seemed to have more advantages than Far Sight, which needed open spaces. In the end, I went for Hearing Aid. The smell option was just a bit too foreign for me to get my head around. Maybe I needed to up my Mental Agility. That gave me a huge insight into why Mental Agility was needed for animal bonding.

The Hearing Aid skill came with both passive and active components. Passively my hearing suddenly improved. Sounds got clearer, and I could tell the direction easier. My own movements suddenly seemed loud. The active part of the skill meant I could adjust the sensitivity of my hearing to a moderate level, and I could focus on a particular sound, making it clearer. This was quite limited at the moment. I guess it would improve as I levelled the skill. I upped the sensitivity and headed back toward the edge of the village. The amount of sound I could hear myself making inspired me to move slower and more carefully to reduce it. Then Stealth went up a level. I stopped in amazement. It hadn't gone up in the last month, despite my best efforts. Hearing was only one of the senses. If I disguised my scent and look, would that also help? There was a Eucalypsical Tree nearby known for its fragrant leaves. I went and crushed some and rubbed it down my arms and clothes. Then I strategically placed some leaves where they weren’t in the way but would hopefully make me blend into the bush more. I had a feeling I would need all the help I could get.

When I got near the far side of the village, I heard voices. I focused on my Hearing Aid, and while I didn't make out what they were saying, I pinpointed their direction. I saw a tree which I thought overlooked where I thought their camp was and climbed it carefully. I could see through some branches into the camp, and suddenly I was regretting not getting Far Sight. Double Damn. I shouldn’t have changed the plan for getting Far Sight. I was not thinking clearly. The only weapons I had on me were my knife and my bow. If I got into knife range of these higher levelled and armoured warriors, I was dead. I would need critical hits with my bow, and they were armoured, so their critical areas were mostly protected. FarSight would have helped with my bow accuracy. I had really hampered myself in choosing Hearing Aid. Shit! There was nothing I could do about it now, but I was really beating myself up about that choice.

I stayed in the tree watching for a while. There were two people moving around the camp. There was a wagon with a cage, with three people locked in the cage. They were huddled on the floor of the cage, so I couldn’t make out who they were, but I thought they were fellow villagers. Tied to the Wagon were two hounds. Then a third person came from the direction of the village, and one of the others went out that direction. Change of the watch. Three Warriors. If I could get a look at their weapons, I might be able to figure out what type of Warriors and estimate of level. I might also get a look at the type of lock on the cage. If I stayed downwind I should be able to get close enough to see and hear without the dogs smelling me if I was careful.

As I got close into position, Stealth levelled to 4. I noticed it was easier and smoother to be able to move quietly. The two in the camp were men, and human, as far as I could tell. One had a sword at his waist, and a shield was propped up nearby. I was trying to get an estimate of his level when it happened. Suddenly I just knew he was a Level 12 Warrior. The how puzzled me for a while, then I checked my status sheet, and I had Identify 1. I knew I had enough attributes in Mental Perception to get it, but I had never figured out how to. Mental perception is basically insights into other people. It helps with seeing through illusions, but mostly it gives knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of people. In this case, it is just the strength. Will it tell me his skills too? Even just his highest one? No. I guess I would need to level it to get more information. What about the other guy with the beard? Level 14 Sentry. Shit! I froze. Sentry was a specialised Warrior, and they got bonuses to Physical Perception. Beardy had a war axe on one side, and I spotted javelins near the wagon. If he had some sort of throwing skill, I needed to stay well away from him. I very, very carefully backed away and made my way to where I had stashed my pack. What the hell was I going to do?

The sensible thing to do would be to pick up my stuff and hike it to Freeboune and raise the alarm. Freebourne was a week's hike away if you used the roads. I wouldn't be able to use the roads till I was sure I was away from the Slavers. There was also the desire for some sort of revenge and the idea of maybe rescuing the three in the cage.

My Master was always saying that Hunters often were going up against beasts stronger and higher levelled than we were. Traps were the great equaliser. That was why it was a core skill of the Hunter Class. Mostly when I went out, I used snares and box traps because they were easy to construct. Only once did I use a drowning trap near a river, and sometimes I used glue boards (when I didn't want the pelt). I once helped my Master dig a spike pit for a rampant bear, but that was a lot of work. Spring traps were not used much because the spring was very difficult for the blacksmith in Freebourne to craft. My Master was able to create something similar to a spring trap using his Spiritual Trapping skill. I did not have that skill yet, let alone at a high enough level. The village owned one spring trap, purchased when the bear evaded all our efforts. If it hadn’t been stolen, it would be in the Masters' hut.

I worked my way back to the village and around the edge until I could be sure where the watchman was. I was able to identify where he was by using Hearing Aid, specifically the sound of his snores. Maybe the Hearing Aid wasn’t a bad choice. Just not the best. I went back to the Master’s hut, which was just a pile of ash. Poking through the ash, I did find the trap. Do I set it near the watchman while he is asleep? What do I do now?