Mythica, book 1, Chapter 33+34

Chapter 33.

Sabine waited to try out her new weapon abilities until the others had more rest, but she needed to try things. The new cone of effect should make crowd control much easier. When she unleashed it, Stagger slammed into several nearby mushroom stalks, the power caused them to sway and for some of the stalks to shred away. It wasn’t a whole lot of damage, but it was improving.

Pushing mana into Reckoning to use its increased range was a bit trickier. The mana wanted to go into the damage-increasing ability first, then into Stagger. Sabine got frustrated, there would be times when she wanted to just reach out and hit someone with a regular strike. Many of her opponents didn’t need extra man infusion to stop them, and since her mana pool was in essence, her life, Sabine didn’t want to waste a single bit of it.

Trying over and over, Sabine started to notice something. The mana flowed along in a familiar pattern each time, almost like it was following a road. Given the still somewhat chaotic nature of her mana, it was easy to miss, but now that she saw them, she could track how the weapon used the mana. She decided to call them mana channels, and just like the roads she had thought about earlier, there were different ways to get to the destination she wanted.

Once again, Sabine pushed mana into Reckoning, but this time, she tried to nudge it along a particular path, one that led directly toward her new ability. Nothing was wasted and when she fully powered up this channel with mana, Sabine struck a nearby mushroom stalk. The head of the flail flew out, and the chain began to grow longer. Her strike was off, but the ability had worked without wasting any additional mana.

The aim felt odd, and she had to stand exactly fifteen feet away from the target to hit it accurately. Neither Sabine nor her opponent was likely to stand still during a battle, so using the ability during combat wasn’t turning out as she had hoped. A bit more experimentation revealed her problem. She was fully charging the channel with mana before she struck. By varying the amount of mana, Sabine could adjust how long the chain grew.

With that in mind, Sabine started on a mushroom stump-killing rampage. She struck repeatedly until she knew instinctively how much mana she needed to use to reach her target. The chance of a miss was still higher than if she was up close and personal with a foe, but now she had another tool in her arsenal. A new notification appearing told Sabine that whatever strange power that seemed to govern mana approved of her efforts.

You have reached a breakthrough in your understanding of mana. Continue the path you are on and master the mana inside you. The mana efficiency for all abilities is improved by 40%.

A new aspect of controlling her mana had been discovered, and when she had more time, Sabine wanted to confirm if the same type of mana channels inside Reckoning were inside her body. Sabine ceased her assault on the mushroom stumps for the time being. Her mana pool was now at 48% and she wanted to keep a sizeable amount in reserve in case they were attacked.

Orren and Skrix hadn’t woken up during her test run, which was a testament to how exhausted both had been. Only a couple of hours had passed and while Sabine was anxious to get moving, she would let them rest for a bit longer and wait to recover her mana. Keeping an eye on their surroundings, Sabine also directed a part of her attention to her mana. The ball of mana inside her was more orderly now, with most threads flowing in the same direction.

She began to work on the outliers, those mana threads that refused to follow their peers. It was strange, there was no rhyme or reason as to why some of her mana seemed to resist the flow. It didn’t seem to matter whether it was mana already inside her, or new mana she drew from the environment.

Gently nudging one thread after another, the ball of mana inside her started to tame. Now that she wasn’t trying to brute force it, the process was easier, but not very quick. More notifications popped up, as she slowly improved her efficiency, but Sabine kept working, refusing to pause her efforts to read the announcements each time the efficiency went up a single percentage point.

One outlier was her golden mana. It was currently clustered around the amulet she wore, protecting her from the damaging effects of the item. It was doing more than that, it was multiplying, using the energy of the amulet to replace her lost golden mana. They were close in color, which might have meant that they were of similar makeup. It wasn’t a huge influx, but with no other way to replenish her golden mana down here in the Darkrealm, she was glad it was happening.

Sabine began to practice pushing from her core into her abilities, watching the path it took. That was it, the mana inside her did see to follow channels, much like the channels inside of Reckoning. She practiced using her different abilities, making note of the mana channels inside her. The notifications on mana efficiency improvements stopped at 45%, but even without a numerical indicator to show her progress, Sabine knew that she had a better understanding of her new body worked and interacted with mana.

She was at the verge of a breakthrough, but something wasn’t right. It wasn’t a problem with her mana, it was something her eyes picked up, something was stalking them, using the stumps of the mushrooms as cover. Sabine pushed mana into Eyes of Undeath, but whatever was out there was outside of the abilities range. She stood from the rubble they were using as a camp and waited.

“Orren, Skrix, get up, something’s watching us,” Sabine whispered as she nudged the pair with her boot. Her two companions groggily sat up, taking precious moments to gather their wits.

“What Sabine,” Orren whined, a bit too loudly for Sabine’s taste. Whatever was out there knew they were aware of its presence.

“Quiet, something’s stalking us out there. It’s keeping its distance, and hiding well, but I can tell it’s there,” Sabine said, tightening her grip on Reckoning and strapping the buckler on her offhand.

“We need to go-flee now. I smell-sense this before,” Skrix said, his voice bordering on panic. The verminkin gripped his knife in both hands and his nose began to twitch as he smelled the air around them.

“What is it? Stay put for now, I’d rather face a threat here where we have some protection rather than out there in the mushroom stalks where it can slink up on us,” Sabine said, slowly scanning the area.

The verminkin work parties had already hacked off the heads and upper stalks of most of the giant mushrooms here, but the stalks were thick enough on the ground to provide a reasonable amount of cover. Why the verminkin hadn’t clear-cut them to the ground was a mystery she wasn’t worried about solving just yet.

“Bug-beast thingy, they stalk verminkin and eat-snack on any who aren’t paying attention,” Skrix said.

“I need more than that Skrix, describe them to me,” Sabine said, a bit annoyed at his vague answer.

“Big things, tall as Sabine-boss, but hard shell-like bug. Head is big mouth-trap that eat you up whole. It had four legs and can walk upright like we do. Hard to kill, not good-tasty to eat so’s we avoid them. Sometimes boss-leader will feed useless verminkin to them,” Skrix said.

“Sabine, I think that fits Skrix’s description quite nicely,” Orren said, pointing at a figure lurking in the distance.

It was about six feet tall and trying unsuccessfully to hide behind a mushroom stalk. It had an insect-like exoskeleton just as Skrix had described and the limbs it used for arms ended in large claws. Spikes covered parts of their bodies and its head was straight from a nightmare. Instead of the normal features that you’d expect on a humanoid, this thing’s head peeled open like a giant banana, and the inside was filled with teeth angled down to prevent whoever it bit into from pulling away.

With their attention on the creature that Orren had spotted, a second one began to move in from behind. These things were smart enough to set a trap, but they hadn’t counted on her Eyes of the Undead. Pushing mana into Reckoning, Sabine maxed out the damage and range of the weapon.

“Orren, get to work with your compendium. Skrix, watch his back,” Sabine ordered.

The shell hound behind them broke into a sprint as the others readied themselves for a fight. Sabine spun around, surprising the attacker who slowed his approach. The head of the flail struck true and smashed into the horrifying maw of the creature. Her flail easily crunched through the tough exoskeleton of the monster. When the mana that she had infused the weapon with released, the creature was split open from its head, all the way to its chest with a disturbing crack that echoed across the cavern.

Sabine turned toward the other creature, noting the blue glow as Orren worked to record the new beast in his compendium. Unlike before, he seemed a bit more aware of his surroundings and wasn’t stuck in his usual trance. The other monster had closed the distance a bit, but with Sabine killing its comrade in a single blow, it seemed reluctant to join the fight.

Sabine stared at the monster, who took a hesitant step forward before turning and running off into the dark of the cavern. None of them had been hurt, but Orren seemed disappointed that his entry for the creature wasn’t complete. He shared what he had already learned; every bit of knowledge could prove helpful if they ran into more of these things.

Shell Hound: One of the more common predatory pack creatures found in the Darkrealm, the shell hound typically hunts as a team, often in pairs, or small packs. Its tough exoskeleton is resistant to piercing and slashing damage but is especially vulnerable to crushing weapons. The shell hound likes to find easy prey, looking for lone stragglers to consume. If you spot one shell hound, beware, another is likely already positioned to strike.

The origins of the shell hound are…

“More information would be nice, but I think we’ve figured out what its vulnerabilities are,” Sabine said, handing the compendium back to Orren.

“Not want to sleep-rest here anymore. We go to surface world now?” Skrix asked.

“Yes, I’m still tired but I think I’d rather push on at this point. The Darkrealm seems to be a place better taken in small doses,” Orren added.

Skrix was able to lead them to the edge of the cavern near where they had initially entered. There were several small paths leading to random tunnels or small caves cut into the wall of the cavern, and it took Sabine a few minutes to remember which one they used to descend into the cavern. Orren helped, it turned out he had a great sense of direction and had noticed a few landmarks on their way in. Sabine had been so focused on avoiding another attack by verminkin that she hadn’t focused on the scenery as much.

They traveled the narrow, winding path up the side of the cavern wall, eventually reaching the cave they had entered this realm through. Sabine noted that the makeshift barricade of mushroom logs was still there, but as she suspected, it was currently unmanned. The bodies were gone, and even the bloodstains had mostly been scoured away. She didn’t want to know, or meet, whatever had scavenged the verminkin corpses.

“I’ll stay back and watch our trail to make sure we weren’t followed. Orren, see if you can catch Rawhead’s attention,” Sabine ordered. She doubted that Hammerhead’s orcish employee, Rawhead, was checking on the grate every hour as he had claimed, but he would probably check at least once or twice a day.

Sabine waited just outside the tunnel entrance, scanning their back trail. The location had a good view of the cavern floor, and once or twice, she thought that she spotted the other shell hound lurking about. It wasn’t keen on going up the narrow ledge where it would be easily spotted, which was fine with Sabine. The monster wasn’t too much trouble, but noise and combat in the normally quiet area would give them away to any verminkin scouts.

She also took the time to transfer some of the loot out of her storage pouch and into several bags she had inside her pack. After filling up a few, she brought them over for Orren to carry. Skrix didn’t have a bag or a pack to carry anything with, so she tied two of the smaller bags of loot together and slung them over Skrix’s shoulder. She filled her pack with the rest and bore the bulk of the heavier items.

Caution was used whenever Skrix came by to check on her, she wanted him to believe that she had been hauling all the loot in her pack the entire time. Magic like her pouch was rare, and she wouldn’t put it past someone like Hammerhead to want to snatch it. It wouldn’t do him any good since it would just reappear at her belt later, but it wasn’t good practice to give away your secrets when you didn’t have to.

“Sabine-boss! Ugly orc-man ready to open hatch,” Skrix said excitedly. Sabine had been keeping watch for nearly four hours and was ready to get out of this place. When they reached the grate in the ceiling, Sabine could see that it was open and Orren was getting frustrated with the orc. Rawhead looked at them with suspicion, pointing and shaking his head at Skrix.

“He’s part of the deal, Skrix is with us,” Sabine said, not exactly sure she would keep Skrix, but she at least owed him a chance to explore the surface world. Rawhead just shook his head no and made a shooing motion toward the verminkin.

“Oh, that’s how it is, you want to go tell Hammerhead that he missed out on several bags of treasure because you were afraid of one scrawny verminkin?” Sabine asked. Rawhead didn’t look happy, but he also didn’t seem to want to go get Hammerhead to sort things out. With a grunt of displeasure, Rawhead opened the grate for them. Orren began to climb first, with Skrix right behind him. She didn’t want the verminkin to go last because Rawhead was likely to just close the grate on him.

Sabine heaved her way up the crude handholds, giving their back trail one last scan. Climbing into Hammerhead's storage cellar, Sabine felt relief as the grate closed and Rawhead locked it down. Nothing was likely to try and force its way up anytime soon, but the metal grate seemed like a flimsy defense given some of the things that she had seen lurking down there.

Chapter 34.

“Where do you want me to unload Hammerhead’s treasure?” Sabine asked. She was ready to finish splitting the loot, collect her bounty, and begin the trek to find her sister. Rawhead waved them on, through the kitchen and toward another room at the back of the cavern where Hammerhead was waiting.

“Didn’t know if you were going to make it out of there or not. I was going to give you a couple more days and then hire some other fool of an adventurer for the task,” Hammerhead growled.

The room was a bit bigger than a guest room, but a good chunk of it was taken up by a large iron safe and the desk that Hammerhead was seated behind. Rawhead made things a bit tighter when he started dragging one of the inn’s tables inside.

“Glad to know you had so much faith in me. Do you have my bounty ready?” Sabine asked.

“That depends, do you have my loot? Oh, and I’m none too happy about you bringing pets back with you,” Hammerhead growled.

“Skrix was helpful down there, and don’t worry, I’m taking him with me when I leave. Besides, we needed an extra pair of hands to carry things. Also, you don’t have to worry about any unwelcome guests for a while. There was a large tribe of verminkin down there, but they’re now a small tribe if you catch my meaning,” Sabine said.

“I’ll take your word on that, never liked verminkin much, they tend to gum up the mines my people work in. Keep watch on this one, just as likely to stab you in your sleep as look at you,” Hammerhead warned. He pulled a small pouch from his belt and shook thirty gold coins onto his desk.

“I can handle Skrix well enough. Here’s the loot,” Sabine said, snatching up her bounty as she motioned for Skrix to empty his bags on the table that Rawhead had dragged in. It was a lot of coins, but most were copper with only a few silver and small gems mixed in. Sadly, most of the verminkin “gems” were just pretty pieces of colored glass.

Hammerhead grunted dismissively at the low-value loot, but they weren’t done yet. Orren started to unload what he was carrying, and the results were much better. Sabine had been in a hurry and hadn’t had time to sort through the loot that she had gathered from the new leader. This batch had more silver than copper and even a gold coin or two. There were just as many cut pieces of glass, but a few of the gems were larger and appeared to be real.

When Orren was done, Sabine unloaded the last of the loot. She had a few pieces of jewelry, more silver and gold coins, and a dagger in a jeweled sheath. There was also a simple wooden stick with runes etched in it, and now that Sabine had time to seriously look it over, she could sense the mana inside. Hammerhead’s attitude changed for the better when he saw the pile of treasure covering the table.

“How do you want to split this?” Sabine asked.

“The coins are easy enough, and so are the gems that are real. How about I take these, and you can have a bigger share of the gems and jewelry?” Hammerhead asked, reaching over to grab the wand and dagger. When he drew the dagger from its jewel-encrusted sheath, the blade gleamed like it had just been polished. With the blade out of its sheath, Sabine could detect a faint glow of magic on it.

“Those are probably worth all the coins in the pile. I may look young, but I’ve had more experience with this than most. Both of those items are enchanted, and I’ll take the dagger, you can have the wand,” Sabine said, calling Hammerhead out.

“No, I’ll take the dagger and you take the wand,” Hammerhead countered. Sabine would like time to examine both items, but the dagger called to her, and she loved weapons. The wand might be something she could use, but from what she knew of them, they were expended quickly and enchantments on weapons were typically permanent in nature.

“I’m trying to deal with you fairly, Sabine. Why don’t we try this? You take the dagger, but I’ll take its sheath and the wand,” Hammerhead suggested. That offer gave something away, Hammerhead didn’t realize the dagger was enchanted and thought the value was all in the gem-encrusted sheath. Granted, the gems on the sheath were valuable and looked to be of good quality, but the true treasure was in the blade itself.

“I could agree to that if you sweeten the pot a bit. Let me pick a simple sheath from your little shop, and also some gear for Skrix. Deal?” Sabine asked. Skrix was woefully unprepared for life above ground and with the stuff that Hammerhead had squirreled away, she might find something that fit him.

“You drive a hard bargain, but I’ll agree if you let me have another handful of coins,” Hammerhead said. They agreed and she left Orren with Hammerhead to get a final, accurate count of everything and she followed Rawhead upstairs to where Hammerhead kept his goods.

“Skrix, see if any of the armor fits you. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just close,” Sabine said.

“For Skrix? I get-take armor?” The verminkin said, his eyes going wide as he looked at the gear.

“That’s what I said, just remember when you pick, you’ll be carrying that weight for a long time,” Sabine said as Skrix immediately grabbed a comically oversized steel breastplate and tried it on.

Sabine shook her head and looked at what was there. Not much had changed since her last visit here, and she sorted through the leather armor. There was a light jerkin with some reinforcements in the chest and shoulder. It was on the smaller side, which after measuring it against Skrix, proved to be a bit large for the verminkin. Rawhead came through and dug out a smaller leather breastplate from a storage crate. It was well crafted and had a merchant’s symbol stamped into the leather. The armor was far too small for an adult.

“Did some merchant have this made to protect their kid?” Sabine asked. Rawhead nodded. The orc never spoke much, which is why Sabine could tolerate him well enough.

“I take it that their journey didn’t end well if it found its way in here,” Sabine said. Rawhead just shrugged as Sabine noticed a blade had punched through the back of the armor at some point. From the dark stains around the puncture, she didn’t want to dig further.

Skrix grabbed the leather breastplate and slid into it. The fit was still a bit off, but it was close enough and the armor had a few tie-downs that could be adjusted to fit the verminkin a bit better when they had more time to mess with it. It was a poorly fitted hand-me-down, but Skrix paraded about in his new armor as if he had just been crowned king of the tavern. There was a modest collection of clothing to go with the armor, and Sabine grabbed Skrix a few pairs of simple cotton pants and shirts that fit him well enough. He was going to have to cut a hole in the pants for his tail.

Sabine grabbed Skrix a cloak with a hood, trying it on to make sure it covered his face well enough. It had the added bonus of covering up his tail if they needed to slip past somewhere a verminkin would not be welcome. Skrix was happy with his dagger, but Sabine also wanted him to have a ranged weapon of some type.

The bows and crossbows were unwieldy for someone the size and shape of Skrix, but there was a set of small throwing knives that he wanted to try. His gear was rounded out with a sturdy pack, blanket, and some toiletries. Skrix insisted that shoes weren’t needed since he liked to go barefoot. She got him a pair of boots anyway. It was winter and they had a lot of frozen ground to cover. Sure, it got cold in the Darkrealm, but they didn’t have to deal with snowfall and ice in the winter.

For herself, Sabine found a sheath that fit her new dagger well enough. With everyone geared up, she returned to Hammerhead’s office, where he and Orren were just finishing up. Instead of counting each individual coin, the pair used the more expedient method of creating equal-sized piles.

“I think we’ve got it sorted, Sabine. It’s a lot to carry around and Hammerhead has offered to let us exchange the coins for gems. Do I even need to add that the exchange rate he’s offering is not a favorable one for us,” Orren said, looking a bit annoyed. He was smart to think about weight, but it wasn’t going to be a problem.

“We’ll be fine lugging it around, there’s three of us, so it’ll work out,” Sabine said. She wasn’t exactly sure that it was three of them, but they could sort out who was going where later once Hammerhead wasn’t around to overhear them. Now that he had his cut of the loot, Hammerhead rushed them out of his office. He had work to do in getting the tavern ready for the night crowd.

It was late morning and both Orren and Skrix still needed sleep. Reluctantly, Orren allowed Skrix to bed down in his room. Sabine went to her room, not to sleep, but to sort out her loot. Their share had been placed back into bags and now Sabine went through the task of depositing it all into the realm of the dead via her storage pouch. Something new happened this time when she started depositing the loot. A total appeared in the corner of her vision.

Realm of the Dead storage list.

1. Copper coins, 14,487.

2. Silver coins, 3,848.

3. Gold coins, 158.

4. Assorted small gems, 49 with an average value of 11 silver.

5. Assorted jewelry, 5 pieces with an average value of 29 silver.

6. Humanoid remains, 1.

7. Simple foodstuffs, 8 pounds.

8. Fresh water, 1 gallon.

The new accounting system for her storage had Hamish written all over it. It was time to summon him and bring her advisor up to speed on their adventures. Sabine pulled the remains from her storage and dropped the verminkin bones in the corner of the room.

“Hamish, you are summoned,” Sabine said quietly. It took only a few seconds for the bones to suddenly show some life. Hamish looked down at his current body for a moment before addressing Sabine.

“What have you clothed me in?”

“Sorry, we were in the Darkrealm and there’s not a lot of options down there for human remains. You’ll have to make do with the verminkin skeleton for this visit,” Sabine told him.

“I’m sure you’re enjoying this,” Hamish whined.

“Oh, I am. Tell me, my loyal and truthful advisor, with our new upgrades, can I reuse remains, or do I have to dig up fresh ones every time I want to talk to you?” Sabine asked.

“Bah, fine, I’ll tell you the truth. Yes, you can reuse remains provided they are not too damaged. Now that it appears that we’re safe for the moment, tell me all that has transpired,” Hamish said. Sabine gave him a rundown of their adventures, filling in things she hadn’t had time to explain back in the Darkrealm.

Hamish also had a bit of a tale to tell. He and the pair of spirit beasts held the throne room against a wave of Gnawtooth’s forces. One beast was destroyed, and Hamish was nearly there himself when a new faction of verminkin joined the fight. It was similar to what Sabine had observed outside the new leader’s cave, and the fight inside had devolved just as the outside battle had.

Gnawtooth eventually pulled through, mostly by having the largest army. With his rivals dealt with, Gnawtooth’s forces killed the remaining spirit beast and shattered Hamish’s body. After that, Hamish had been sent to wherever it was he stayed while he waited for a summons.

“You know about my upgrades, did anything new unlock for you?” Sabine asked.

“Indeed, not only have my already potent mental faculties improved, but the physical bodies I inhabit are now a bit more durable. You see, the mana you shared with me will work similarly to yours, repairing damage and keeping me in the fight for a bit longer. My mana will slowly deplete while I am in the realm of the living, but with each rank, my mana expands and I can stay longer. As it stands now, barring any additional use of mana, I can remain here for just under thirty minutes,” Hamish said.

“Too bad you don’t know how to fight,” Sabine said. She was glad to have Hamish help out, he could be sacrificed in battle with no real harm. He would be much more effective if she could train him.

“Oh, my dear Sabine, that may have changed as well. Our master’s favor smiles upon us, and we have unlocked an upgrade path for your wonderful advisor. Take a look and make a decision. Apparently, I’m not allowed to influence your decision.,” Hamish said with disappointment.

“Such a travesty, as I doubt your intellect can plan for my future in the manner in which I deserve.” He was getting a bit full of himself again, but she did have new choices to make, and some of them might even make him viable in battle as more than a distraction.

Choose an upgrade path for your advisor. Each path offers unique options, but once a path is selected, the others will no longer be available.

1. Path of the wise sage. This path will allow your advisor to use his wisdom to bolster your party’s knowledge.

2. Path of the warrior. This path will unlock combat abilities to enhance your advisor in combat.

3. Path of summons. This path will open new opportunities for your advisor and the remains he inhabits.

“I know you’re not supposed to influence the decision, but there isn’t a lot of information here. Can you at least give me a hint at what each path entails? These descriptions are a bit vague,” Sabine complained.

“Sorry, despite being the preeminent advisor in the realm of the dead, I have no information other than what has been already disclosed. I’m sure you’ll pick whatever is best for us all.”

“Great, an advisor that can’t advise. Oh, one thing, before I forget. My coin pouch now totals and inventories the treasure I’ve deposited, I take it that’s your doing,” Sabine asked.

“Of course, and I’m glad to see that even you were able to discern my genius at work. As we gain favor, it will even help to identify magical items, potions, and the like.”

“I’m not sure about the whole genius thing, but that storage list is somewhat helpful,” Sabine said, digging at Hamish a bit. He needed to be knocked down a peg or two since he had returned to his delusions of grandeur because of his new abilities.

“I suppose it’s to be expected that a lowly undead such as yourself would be ignorant of my true potential. You’ve done well under my tutelage, and I have elevated you above the level of a savage beast, which is the normal fate of a revenant. It’s a thankless job, but a burden I gladly endure to serve my master.”

“I’ve just about had it with your quips and insults,” Sabine warned. Her anger was getting the best of her, which was something she hadn’t struggled with as much lately. The anger seemed to rile up Reckoning, and she could feel the weapon seek to whip up her emotions. Calming herself, Sabine considered her choices, but not before giving Hamish a display of practice kicks. She hadn’t kicked his head off since their first encounter in the graveyard, maybe it was time for another demonstration.

Without any backup remains, she would have to leave Hamish’s head attached to his body for the time being. Back to the task at hand, Sabine considered the different paths. Path of the warrior would be a good choice if she needed another frontline fighter, but that didn’t fit Hamish very well.

Sabine would need to train him to fight effectively and their limited time together each day wasn’t exactly conducive to molding him into an effective warrior. There was the likelihood that Hamish would develop combat skills automatically due to the path, but she wasn’t going to gamble on that happening or the effectiveness of what the path granted.

The path of the wise seemed like the obvious option, but while she begrudgingly had to admit that her advisor was intelligent, he wasn’t exactly wise. If he had been some wise sage, he wouldn’t be in the predicament he was currently in, forced to serve a god of death. There could be some benefit to this path that she was missing, but like the path of the warrior, it was a gamble.

The path of summons was a complete unknown. If Sabine had to guess, it might have something to do with lengthening the time Hamish could exist in the physical world. Of the three, it was the one that was the biggest mystery. Maybe going with the unusual choice was the right way to do this.

Sabine had the physical combat aspect handled. If Orren stayed on board, he could handle something akin to what she figured the path of the wise would do. With his compendium and knowledge of the world, he would be a great support to any party they built. Skrix was, well, he was Skrix, and she wasn’t sure if he would stay, or how effective he would be. It looked like the path of summons was going to be the choice.

The path of summons has been selected.