Triple Strength

53. Shake Up: Wiremu

So I didn’t get to go fishing. Tabitha went to see the healer at Sølv Emporium. She got another potion and the wound rebandaged with a herbal pad to help the healing process and to fight infection. It was a very deep wound and would take well over a week to heal. She would have very limited mobility in the arm during that time. She is not happy and mutters about how much I owe her. A nice warm bear skin cloak would be a good start apparently. I might have enough left over bear pelt for another one.

Tāoke and I had spent our time exploring our bond further, while looking after Tabitha. Tāoke had actually been stabbed in the fight we had as well as Tabitha. Most of it had been mitigated by a combination of the Shakeskin, and Granite Bones, along with the difficulty of stabbing something that is strangling you without stabbing yourself. He had managed to pick up Regeneration through the bond. I was really pleased about that as I don’t really know how to treat his injuries.

I really wanted Snakeskin, but it was different from a Skill. It wasn’t a Skill for Tāoke, it was a natural ability. I knew it could be done as Koza had a Tough Hide Skill from Velikan. I was thinking it was more like getting Bond Senses, which also wasn’t a Skill of Tāoke’s but a sharing of a natural ability. When I got Bond Senses Tāoke was mapping a building with his Scent and when my scent matched one of his then the Skill kind of snapped into place. We tried scraping my skin across rough surfaces while concentrating on the Bond connection. It felt like the right idea, but there was something more needed. Maybe a stressful situation?

It was clear from our fight the other night that with the effect of our affinities and bonds we could fight at twice our levels quite effectively. You might almost say three times our levels with two against six. It is not a direct comparison, but is certainly an indication of our abilities. It is one reason why people with affinities are so sought after. The surprise factor had a big effect on the outcome. If we were attacked without warning it would be very different. That is why our sensing abilities are so important to our survival and why we shouldn't let their full extent become known.

We decided to test the stress factor. I was also looking for a Skill that would affect an area. I had the feeling from Identify that there was a Skill that could do that. I was thinking along the lines of a tremor or shake Skill. I figured a tremor skill was going to be a function of Spiritual Strength alone. I had ten ability points available so I put six of them into Spiritual Strength to bring it up to 35. I hope I didn’t waste them.

We went out to a Granite formation that afternoon. I brought some basic mining equipment in case I sensed some gems. Let's see if we can test a full range of abilities. I started with Granite Sense to get to know the rock and where the weak points and cracks were. Treasure sense indicated the presence of a couple of small gems. Can I crack this granite open? That’s probably a bit ambitious. Let's see if we can widen the biggest crack. I focused on the crack and tried to force the rock to move wider using my Spiritual Strength. No effect after several tries. I tried to slide the rock against each other in different directions, that was a definite no. I realised I had myself confused. I was going to just shake it like a tremor. Vibrations. Start small and let it build. I got a bit of vibration going and Granite Sense showed the crack was marginally wider, maybe. Now let's try a go all out approach and slam everything into it from the get go. Success. Unfortunately I was standing at the bottom of the cliff and all the loose material on the top came free and down on top of me.

I avoided the initial slam but got caught and rolled down the hill in the rubble. I was bruised and scraped. This is what I was going to try in order to get the SnakeSkin skill, but in a more controlled manner. Thanks Granite Bones for no breaks. Tāoke was with me and went for a tumble too and I had to dig him out. I think what saved Tāoke from serious injury was his use of Granite Shield. Fortunately Rocky was not in the path. That was actually quite dangerous, especially if I had ended up buried like Tāoke.

Snakeskin 1, Granite Quake 1 and Bond Senses to Journeyman level. Regeneration might get a level too, we will have to see when it completes its work in an hour or two. Maybe longer if these bruises are as bad as they feel. Snakeskin was like the other body modification skills with an active and a passive part. It wasn’t actually what I was expecting. I was expecting increased resistance to scrapes and cuts, but it was more than that. The passive effect was resistance to scrapes, or more correctly resistance to friction and a sensitivity to temperature. I think it was this temperature sensitivity that tipped Bond Senses to Journeyman level.

The active part was much more fascinating. I activated it and as you would expect a layer of scales appeared on my skin. They were small and relatively soft at this point, getting bigger and harder with the level of the Skill. What wasn’t obvious was the layer under the scales that secreted a light oil. I instinctively knew from the Skill this would help me adjust the friction against the scales. Adjusting the friction was what helped Tāoke move along the ground. This would grow with the skill. The Snakeskin was a whole body affair at the moment, but it would become more flexible in Apprentice and Journeyman levels. Although it was over my whole body I could adjust the friction levels in different parts. Strong friction on my hands for grip, but slick on my legs etc. This has big possibilities. The most obvious is in Unarmed Combat. I guess that would have to be naked unarmed combat, so probably not a frequent occurrence.

Granite Quake was quite a strong Skill from the start. I got the impression from Identify that we had skipped over the Tremor Skill because of my 35 in Spiritual Strength and the effort I put in. It produced a quake, in rock. It was most efficient in Granite, but also in other rocks as less efficient. Size, and severity were a function of Spiritual Strength, but with more efficiency as the Skill levelled. Shape was a function of Spiritual Agility. Damn this would have been handy in those goblin tunnels, especially after I get a feel for the effects in different rocks and can be assured I don't bury myself. I might need to spend some time with Snøfrid the Gnome Engineer and get a handle on structural strength.

I went back up to look at the Granite face. At least the part that wasn’t buried. I felt like an idiot. That rock slide could have seriously injured or killed Tāoke or myself, all because I did not look up. I really do feel like a Rock Brain. I applied Granite Sense to the rock and could see a number of additional cracks. A few more applications might break it apart. The earth above didn’t look stable so I would leave it for now.

I moved to a different set of Granite, with nothing above it. First I practised climbing all over it with my Snakeskin. Increased friction in my hands did make it easier. I sensed the whole rock with my Granite Sense working out where the cracks and weak points were and what gems were in there. Then I chose my spot and started practising with Granite Quake. I started soft and worked it up, sensing what the effects were. I was trying to get to a particular gem which seemed quite large. It was really just for practice. I tried limiting it and focussing it into certain areas but with limited success. I think it was the low level of the Skill hampering me. So I pushed it. I tried to put strong controls around it to focus it. A moderate Quake which was focused was more effective than a general area Quake. This levelled the Skill very quickly. I tried general area quakes as well as that was the initial reason for the skill. But the Skill would be useless to me underground or in unstable areas without focus.

I had to take several breaks and it wasn’t interesting, but it is what I needed. I kept at it until it was at Apprentice Level as that gave me a much greater level of control and a greater strength.

In my breaks I practised with Snakeskin. I stripped right down to the buff and climbed the rock with hands and feet with high friction and then slid down in oily skin trying to control my speed with the friction. I have quite a few more bruises to demonstrate my lack of success, but it was quite fun at times. The Skill mitigated the scratches and scrapes. I got it to level 4