บท 41: Born A Monster, Chapter 41 - Chains
Born A Monster
Chapter 41
Chains
Few things remind you to work on the social skills under Charisma like being chained to a wall by your neck.
I had time to peruse all of them. All of the social classes that gave perks. There were some bizarre ones, like Sexy Chains that gave a bonus if you were, for example, chained to the wall.
Somewhere, I'd gotten a single development point, and I was looking for anywhere to put it that would help me get free.
I had no plan to get past the locked door once I'd done that, but I'm pretty sure any escape involved … maybe with my new Might 3, I could break the chains?
Nope. Humans max out at Might 5, and these chains were meant to hold those people.
Don't try picking locks with your claws. Just don't. Actually, maybe your claws are sharp enough and thin enough. Mine? Not a chance.
Both the chain and the wall were tough enough that I'd just hurt myself if I tried to claw through. I could, over a mere year and eight months, use the chain to scrape enough stone loose from the wall to have a chance at breaking free.
I'd starve by then. Actually, what happened if I couldn't pay my biomass debt?
I let that loop of speculative worry cycle through my brain for about twenty minutes or so.
Okay, one way or another, I'd likely find out. Until then …
Actually, I'd been wanting some down time to explore my System.
There seemed to be no difference between spells I'd learned through practice and those acquired through the System. There seemed to be no difference between Spells, Abilities, Powers, Traits… the System treated them all the same.
Skills, as easy as they were to gain through use, seemed to possess Inherent. I could use them all day every day, with no danger of the skill just not being available when I needed it.
Statistics had substats which had skills which had subskills, and each was limited to no more than a 33% improvement on the larger level above it. Higher levels meant better skill performance when automated through the System.
Like foraging. For rats. Actually, there were no cracks in the walls, and they seemed to huddle in the corner, or explore the other walls. Wisely, they stayed well away from me.
"How did you guys get in here?" I mentally asked them, not really expecting and answer.
"Fell in through the window." The fattest among them replied. Crap. Aware. Okay, off the menu.
"Can you help us?" asked the smallest.
"I suppose. What help do you need?"
"Well, you're too small to reach the window, but do you think you can hurl us through?"
"I don't know. The angle isn't good… I might hurt you if I miss, or if you strike the bars."
"White patch! No! look at the scales! He'll eat us."
"Nothing able to ask not to be eaten is to be eaten." I said. It's some kind of creed among the Aware animals, although not all animals adhere to it.
I'll not go over each throw, but eventually three bruised rats thanked me and went about their way.
#
And thus, I wasted my entire food supply. Stupid moral code. It wasn't even in the System, why would I do that?
Because I could, I suppose. Even if I couldn't help myself be free of that place, it was worth it to know that I had freed others.
Okay. So I had time, if not development points. I had a tortoise shell with a shadow familiar. She could … cast Shroud.
I could send her with a message to the others, if I knew where they were. Could they hear her thoughts the way I could?
[Psionic class Telepath: 64/100 XP to unlock.]
Okay, that wasn't going to help.
Wait. I had an inventory. One knife, two stacks of grass (which I moved, mouthful by mouthful, to my stomach), and some level 1 bandages, treated with sage and garlic.
Hrm…
Well I had a 3% chance of picking the lock with the knife, and a 92% chance of lowering the Condition of the knife by trying. Maybe if I were more desperate.
Besides, knives are multi-purpose tools. I could use it to chip away at the wall.
Wait – why would the Whitehill guild put me here? It made no sense. Unless they really thought I'd sign myself into slavery…
What could Reynald do, if he decided it were worth fighting them on my behalf?
Well, three days of travel there, three back. I should probably just not count on any help from my guild.
Okay. So…
I had a linen shirt and pants, a straw hat, some bandages, a knife, and Black Snake's home. The cell had a few strands of rotting hay, and metal chains that wouldn't detach from the walls.
I had a bunch of biomass adaptions that made me a danger to rabbits and chickens, and maybe a match for an unarmored shield bearer. Any type of warrior would just overpower me.
I lacked the materials or mobility to make traps.
Magically, I had access to a variety of abilities, none of which seemed the sort of thing to help. The local mana was – was going to the guildhall's mystic barriers. I could risk tapping it, the same as you might try to grab the spoke of a wheel while a cart was in motion.
Again, something for later.
I had dream abilities – that I could use to reach the others tonight. Okay, that's some progress at least.
As for the chain – it was slightly rusty. I could at least clean it. Faster and easier using the bandages, which I could also use as rags to clean the wall and floor.
No. Let's not use my medical supplies to help my captors look nice and tidy.
But I did let my System start scraping rust from the chain with my claws. It was something to do.
I lacked an axe, and nothing other than the door all the way over there was wood. Wait. The door was wood, but without reinforcing metal bands.
Given enough time, I could get through the door.
#
Having come up with nothing better, I let Black Snake out for the night.
She flashed me CONCERN, and then flittered around the room before heading out the window to explore the town.
Okay, so all I had to do was stay awake long enough to know that one of the others was asleep. It wasn't as if…
Could I draw Metal mana from the chain?
[You cannot tap this object.]
Okay, it was worth trying.
When I felt like I couldn't stay awake longer, I cast Lucid Dreaming.
Adara was still awake, Philo was still awake, Gustavian-
Gustavian was dressed all in black, sneaking through well-crafted corridors of granite.
"Gustavian."
He swept me into a shadowy alcove between two torches. "Shut up. Stay there."
He snuck off along the corridor; I followed him.
"Gustavian, I need help."
"I pass on your optional quest line. Go away."
He ducked into a shadowed space between two suits of armor.
An armored guard rounded the corner, blinked at me. "Alarm! Alarm! An intruder is after the princess!"
He lowered his short spear and rushed to the attack.
I tried to grab a shield from one of the empty suits of armor. It shook me off. "How rude." It said. "Get your own shield."
Because dream logic.
I only needed to dodge once. Gustavian came out of the shadows behind him, stuck his sword under his helmet but above the gorget, and was back in the shadows. One motion, smooth, practiced.
"Gustavian…"
"Pairs, the guards travel in pairs."
"Oh help, help! I am all alone and weaponless, right here!"
"Protect the princess!"
I had the first guard's shield. "I don't understand. I've done nothing-"
He charged, clumsily. The trick of blocking with a shield is the angle. You don't try to stop the blow, you deflect it away.
Swoop, stab, glare. "What? You think we can fight them all."
"I do." I said. "They have nice equipment, but these aren't true guardsmen."
We made our way through the structure, homing in on one tower in particular.
I'd like to say we fought our way up that tower, but it was simple for him. He even knew which guard had the keys to unlock the door on the top floor.
"Princess? I've come for you."
"Daddy? Daddeeee!" She flew into his arms.
"Hey, princess. Daddy's come to rescue you."
She snuggled to him the way Kismet snuggled to me. "I knew you'd come, daddy."
"Hey, Princess. Do you know where you are, where you will be when you wake up?"
"Latla, Daddy. It's a farming village called Latla."
"Daddy's looked, princess. What else can you tell daddy about Latla village?"
"It's by a river, and has its own mill. It's run by a water-wheel."
"What are the nearby villages, sweetie?"
"Mommy won't tell me. She's already talked to the neighbors, they won't tell me either."
"It's okay, princess. You ready to get out of here and go to Gumdrop Valley?"
"Rainbow Falls." She said. "Daddy, Pooka Bear." She extended her arms, and a stuffed bear by the bedside summersaulted into her arms.
"You got the sheets?"
"Uh-huh, Missus sheets, if you please?"
The bedsheets obediently tied to each other's corners, opened the window, and tied themselves to the hinge of a nearby toy box.
"Okay, princess, let's go." One hand around his princess, the other around the sheets, and he descended into the night.
#
It wasn't hard to find Rainbow Falls.
"Look, Daddy, it's your friend again."
"He's not a friend, he's just like daddy's Pooka bear."
She looked at Pooka bear, who sipped from a teacup and nodded.
"If Pooka bear can have tea, he can, too. Sit down, mister, it's teatime."
"I thank you for your hospitality, princess."
"Kid, this really isn't a good time, you know?"
"Family time. I'm sorry, Gustavian. I need help."
Pooka bear handed me an empty teacup, poured me some invisible tea.
[You have converted 3 Dream mana into a serving of paltry tea (level 0).]
"Mmm." I tried to smack my lips. Reptilian lips just don't work the way human lips do. "Thank you, Pooka Bear."
Pooka bear nodded at me; I nodded back.
The princess cocked her head. "He's nice; I like him. Any night my daddy doesn't rescue me, you can."
"I'd actually like to help your daddy, princess."
"Why?" he asked.
"Because I need your help. I need you to remember I need your help after you wake up. Princess, I'd like you to help your daddy find you."
Princess looked at Pooka, who shrugged at her.
"Daddy really loves me?" She started crying.
"Daddy will always love you, princess."
She ran across the table to hug her father. Pooka bear raised both hands to cover his eyes, setting the teapot upright and dabbing with napkins at imaginary stains.
I tried to help, but Pooka had to point out spots that I missed.
"So mister, how can I help?"
"Can you envision Latla? What you've seen of it?"
The smile just popped off her face. "Why?"
"Maybe if we can see something, a river, a mountain, smoke from a nearby river. Perhaps then we can find you."
"I'm scared." She said.
Pooka bear stood, put his hands on his hips.
She nodded. "You're right, Pooka Bear. I've nothing to fear with both you and daddy with me."
We all held hands, Gustavian, the Princess, Pooka Bear, and myself. And with a hop, a skip and a jump, we were there. Because dream logic.
The people there couldn't see us, because they weren't really there. They went about their day, talking to each other. In highly accented goblin.
"Uruk" I said.
"God Hand tribe." Gustavian said.
"Princess, do you speak the goblin tongue."
"She's been learning." Pooka said. "But you sound like some kinda hick."
"Yeah. You speak funny, Mister."
"Gustavian. Come to the ridge, here."
"Daddy, don't look."
"Why not, princess?"
"Mommy says as long as we don't look at them, they can't see us."
"It's okay, Gustavian. It's a long distance view on the south side of the city of the Crimson Hand."
#
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