[SD:FS] Blade Gang - Chapter 3

The paperwork is quickly taken care of and the two pairs find themselves left with each other. Gem smiles wide, “Well ello there! Who might you two be?”

One, a human man with blond hair, steps forward. “Well, hello to you both as well. The two of us are only sort of a group. You can call me Samuel. Or rather, call me Sam, everybody does.”

Gem’s fur darkens a touch, as if a cloud had passed over. “Are you actually fine being called Sam, or is that simply what people call you?”

Samuel shrugs, “Well, I would prefer my name. It just seems like a bit of a bother and Sam is quite the common nickname, nothing offensive about it.”

Gem shakes their head, “Nope! Samuel it is. Nicknames are as much your name and if it isn’t what you want, it’s not what We’ll call you! This isn’t grade school.”

The other guy, a foxkin with green hair, nods. “You should have told me! Someone else just introduced you the one way, so that’s what I used. We might have only met recently, but I hope you would consider me a friend and so the least I can do in return is call you Samuel.”

June nods, “There’s nothing wrong with Samuel. It isn’t even that long of a name.”

The foxkin shakes his head before smiling. “Anyway, now that Samuel has introduced himself, let’s get my introduction out of the way! My preferred name is Emrys and I go by he/him.”

June, “Like from Merlin?”

Emrys grins, “Got it in one! Mom was into those sorts of myths, but wasn’t cruel enough to actually name me Merlin directly. And yes, it is my irl name. Don’t really feel right being called anything else. Which honestly makes that previous nonsense feel even worse.”

Gem crouches down in a thinking pose. “Hmm. Hmm. I think I once read a series that called Merlin that. I guess I didn’t consider or connect that it might be his actual name.”

They spring back up and shrug, “Eh, whatever. Now that we know your names, how about a little something more to go on? I’m Gem, they/them, and I’m a wind mage.”

June steps forward, “And I’m June, she/her, and I’m a buffing mage. Right now targeting dexterity. Though hopefully I can extend beyond that soon. Oh, and I’m the one focusing on leveling the Assay skill so if you need gear checked, I can check it for you.”

Emrys smiles, “We’re going to be a little magic heavy then. I’ve been focusing on a spell blade sort of build. Though at the moment, most is going towards my illusion magic. No, I’m not a kitsuné and I’m not going to suddenly gain extra tales.”

Gem slaps Emrys on the shoulder, “Oh, I wouldn’t be too sure about that! You’re not a kitsuné, Yet! Lock in an alignment and we’ll see how that goes.”

Emrys shrugs, “I feel the extra tails would be burdensome.”

Gem shakes their head, “Nah man, you’re looking at it wrong. They’re Magic tails! Sort of like those irl deities with all the arms and not like a hydra. Besides, you’re into illusions and I’m pretty certain that should skew things.”

Samuel, “I doubt you’d get that option if you aren’t at least partially chaotic when you lock your alignment. Going by irl myths, kitsuné tend more towards the trickster archetype.”

June, “I will note that the game isn’t beat for beat based on irl mythology. And even when it is, they don’t just pick one source. Best currently known example is that they have swamp trolls and mountain trolls.”

Emrys, “I hadn’t heard of that. Or rather, isn’t where a troll from simply defining what their regeneration is weak to?”

June shakes her head, “Nope, swamp trolls are modern RPG trolls with the Regen and what not. Mountain trolls are the mythological ones that turn to stone if touched by the rays of the sun.”

Gem’s eyes go wide, “Ooooh! I always liked the idea of the classic trolls. Though I guess given the popularity of SoulDive, they’ll end up being mountain trolls from now on. Why mountain though? While some do live there, it is more that they live away from civilization.”

June, “You’d have to ask the SAI who put them in. Though I’m sure you’ll be happy to know that mountain trolls aren’t all ugly, some can look just like humans as described in the myths. Though they cribbed from some other entities from the region and gave them all cow tails.”

Gem crosses their arms and nods, “Yes, good. We’ll have to go out adventuring at some point to see the mountain trolls.”

June, “Anyway, we should be heading out soon. Do you two need to change into your gear? Me and Gem aren’t doing much, but I don’t want to assume for the two of you.”

Emrys sighs, “Can’t exactly go tromping through the wilderness with a wizard’s robe. At least not when using low level gear.”

Samuel, “And actually, I just realized, but I didn’t say what I do. Bit boring, but I’m a sword and board fighter. My stuff is on Silverwhiskers’ wagon right now. Good stuff! Had to borrow a little from a friend who started early, but they’re worth it!”

Emrys nods, “His sword and shield are quite effective.”

June nods, “A good starter weapon can jump start your progress. Make sure you pay your friend back later. It probably didn’t cost them much, but the worth to you is so much higher than not.”

Samuel shrugs, “Got to pay your debts at some point. Anyway, I won’t suggest we share our specific stats, but maybe we could give just our level and the letter grade of our Stamina. That way, we can pace ourselves properly.”

The others all feel that sounds decent enough, so they go around and share.

Samuel, “Since I suggested it, I’ll go first. I’m level five and I have an A for Stamina.”

Gem raises their hand, “Me next! Level 4, Stamina C.”

June shrugs, “Ditto.”

Emrys, “Then I’ll take up the read. My level is 6 and I have a Stamina of D, but I will note that it is a plus.”

Samuel sighs, “Looks like I’m going to be walking for most of the trip with you guys cycling through.”

Gem laughs, “That’ll teach you to have a high Stamina! Though yeah, I’m going to try and walk as much of it as possible to train my own. How are you supposed to maintain it?”

June shrugs, “Stats tend to plateau at E minus. To hit F in Stamina, you’d need to basically ride around on a palanquin all the time or some such.”

Emrys, “Just have to point out, that says nothing about maintaining what we have. Samuel isn’t going to have a problem to start, but even his A might start slipping at higher levels.”

Behind him, a boisterous laugh makes him jump. Merchant Silverwhiskers pats him on his shoulder, “Well, my young friend, you’ve got a few options.

“Walk everywhere keeps you in the D range. It also trains when being struck, even if you aren’t damaged. Even the feedback from hitting something can help. Oh, and you can evolve into a race that has an inbuilt minimum.”

Gem grind, “Well, that last one sounds interesting! Might the chaoskin have good minimums?”

Silverwhiskers shrugs, “I don’t know, do you? After all, it isn’t like something called a ‘Chaos’kin is going to follow some sort of Order. Though I’m going to guess your Mana minimum will be up there. Maybe even a low B. Though most times even the best races cap at C plus. Anyway, you can yap more on the move. Time for the caravan to move out!”

Samuel and Emrys rush over to the wagon to grab their gear. It isn’t much, but they’re at the front of the caravan and so won’t have time when trouble happens. Then they wait at the side of the wagon for another ten minutes as everyone gets into position.

Gem does not handle this wait quite as well as the others. By the time the caravan starts moving forward, Gem has paced around the wagon ten times, tried three aborted attempts to play “I Spy”, and was told to stop petting the giant lizard being used to pull the wagon twice.

Samuel sighs as they finally begin moving. June, however, rolls her eyes, “You think this will make things better? We aren’t exactly fighting non-stop.”

Gem pouts, “Come on June! You should know I can handle my walks! I even told you about my IRL hiking experience.”

June shakes her head, “I hope our trip won’t be exciting enough to hold your attention. This isn’t a curated path through a forest.”

Emrys, “I think it will be fine. New scenery, even if not some fun woodland scene, is still new. I’d be more worried if we’d walked this way before.”

Gem puts their hands on their hips and with chest puffed out, strides forward a bit more forcefully. “June, look at that! He believes in me. Why can’t you?”

Emrys, “Hey now, don’t drag me into this mess.”

June, “Besides, I’m the one that knows you better. We’ve been hanging out for a few days compared to their having just met you minutes ago.”

Gem shrugs, but doesn’t really have much to offer and so their section of the caravan falls quiet. Of course, the rest of the caravan is anything but that. Draft animals grumble, the wagons squeak to various degrees, and the adventures are rambunctious.

The path takes them parallel to the forest over much of the morning. And while the plains are covered in quite tall grass, that is cut a decent distance back from the road. This is maintained even as they travel with various people throwing out spells to chop anything sticking up.

Though the peaceful ride through the plains doesn’t last and right before noon, the forest curves towards the trail and envelopes it. This signals the caravan to take a quick rest. Well, it might have been the whole “noon” thing.

Gem ignored these considerations. They smile at June, “Love a picnic under the shade of a tree! Nice and relaxing after a short walk.” Though the last two words are said with a bit of cheek. Their smile a bit lopsided.

Samuel frowns, sat leaned up against the wagon. “I have an A in Stamina!”

Gem fakes a yawn, “Hoo boy, a bit tired after that!”

Samuel rolls his eyes, “An A! I get Emrys and June being fine. They took regular breaks. You? You matched me the entire way without breaking a sweat.”

Gem, who was leaning up against a tree sits up and shrugs. “I’m just made different? Maybe literally. Random seems to take more of who you are into account.”

Emrys speaks up, “Also, keep in mind that Gem is already an aligned race. That has to provide something. I’m sure that if the two of you sparred, they would tire well before you. However, for something like walking around? Well, it should be even less tiring than for others. At least, in theory.”

June, “Aligned races, in being bound, are closer to what the developers consider ‘freedom’. You can check some of their posts on the subject for a more in-depth, but they basically mean free from base needs.”

Gem shrugs, “Whatever, we should probably take care of those shadows stalking us over there.”

June, “Well, it hasn’t attacked up yet.”

Gem jumps up and bounces on the balls of their feet a few times, all while throwing some punches at the air. “OH, I DOUBT THEY’RE CHICKEN! You don’t just wait around the obvious rest stop for caravans and leave it be.”

And Gem’s “prediction” turns out accurate enough. Even without their provocative words, this would have been the case. The bandits would have simply been more prepared. Not that it would have changed things all that much.

From behind the trees all around the caravan, a large group of people, mostly humans, rush out. Their armor is all pretty basic leather gear, some of it is still the new player special. About the only matching element, is that they all seem to be wielding blades.

Though even then, it is a mismatch of various styles of blade. From short blades up to slabs of metal. Some so out there that calling them blades is more about the fact they are being swung around like one.

Oh, and they have a battle cry, “Blade gang, rise up!” It’s uh, a choice. Gem does notice that they all seem to be using a similar method while wildly swinging their blades around. Though they aren’t kind enough to call their attempts at slicing the air a style or technique.

Pay To Guard - Chapter 2

Barbarian Upbringing - Chapter 4