The Exile's Hand: Chapter 4

Hi all, 

Here’s the next chapter. 

Chapter 4

The broad-leafed plant sat safely in Myles's pack. He'd found it growing along the forest's northern edge, exactly where Nestor had promised. Now the spirit led him deeper into the trees for several minutes before the forest opened into a clearing. 

Myles stopped at the treeline, taking in the sight before him. A lake stretched across the clearing, its surface dark and still. Reeds clustered around the edges, and the water held an unsettling opacity that prevented him from seeing more than a hand's depth below the surface.

"Is the monster inside the lake?" Myles asked.

"That's right."

Myles tightened his grip on the spear. "Whilst I've got better at dealing with my fear of the water, it doesn't mean I want to dive into the lake. How am I supposed to fight the monsters effectively?"

"You don't have to fight them in the water,” Nestor said. “Once you approach, they'll be sure to attack. They can fight outside of the water as well."

"Just what are these monsters?"

"Turtles. They aren't fast, but their armoured shells make them hard to deal with. There's a strategy you can employ, though. If you manage to flip them over onto their backs, you'll expose their soft underbelly."

Myles considered this. "That doesn't sound too bad. But what if they attack together?"

"That's your problem to solve. I can't think of everything."

Myles spun his spear, mind working through possibilities. He needed to lure the monsters out one at a time, but that would prove impossible depending on how many turtles called this lake home. Anything he did to draw one out would likely attract more.

His gaze fell on the scattered stones on the ground. He gathered several, depositing them in his pocket except for one. He hefted it, testing the weight, then threw it carefully. The stone struck the water with a soft plop.

Myles held his breath.

A form exploded from the lake in a spray of water and landed with a thud on the ground. The turtle was easily as large as his torso, with a thick, dark shell lined with ridges. Its head turned toward him, showing a hooked beak and small, beady eyes.

The green aura surrounding the monster burned brighter than any of the boars he'd faced. It must be a few levels above his own.

The turtle hissed and began advancing—neither too slow nor too fast.. 

"Do me a favour," Myles said, not taking his eyes off the approaching monster. "Keep an eye out. Keep an eye out and make sure no other turtles get in the way of our fight."

"What's in it for me?"

"You want to see more cards, right?"

Nestor didn't respond.

Myles readied his spear. The turtle covered half the distance between them. He adjusted his stance, preparing to circle—the turtle's mouth gaped open. A jet of water erupted forth with startling force, aimed directly at his chest. 

He threw himself sideways, hitting the ground and rolling. The water jet carved through the air where he'd been standing, striking a tree trunk with enough force to strip bark.

Myles scrambled to his feet. Standing at a distance would get him killed. He charged forward, closing the gap whilst the turtle's head tracked his movement. Another water jet lanced out. He ducked beneath it, feeling the spray of droplets against his hair, and came up inside the creature's range.

The turtle snapped at him with that hooked beak. Myles danced backwards, the beak clicking shut centimetres from his thigh. He thrust the spear at the creature's head. The turtle pulled back into its shell, and the spear point skittered off the surface.

He circled right. The turtle rotated to follow, its shell providing nearly complete protection. Myles jabbed at an exposed leg. The creature withdrew the limb before the strike landed, and in the same motion, its head shot out. Teeth scraped against his leather armour, tearing a strip free.

Myles backed off, reassessing. Nestor's suggestion echoed in his mind—he needed to flip it over. But how? The turtle had surprising manoeuvrability, turning to snap at him whenever he attempted to get behind it.

He feinted left, then darted right. The turtle committed to the feint, its bulk shifting. Myles wedged the spear's tip under the shell's edge and heaved upwards. The turtle twisted mid-lift, its beak clamping down. Myles yanked the spear back..

The turtle lunged. Myles sidestepped, and as the creature's momentum carried it past, he saw his opening. He drove the spear's butt into the ground and used it as a lever, wedging the tip under the shell's far edge. With a grunt of effort, he threw his full weight against the shaft.

The turtle teetered, legs scrambling for purchase. Myles pushed harder, and the creature tilted past its balance point. It toppled with a heavy thud, landing on its back.

Immediately, the turtle thrashed. Its legs churned air, head straining to right itself. But the shell worked against it, leaving the pale underbelly completely exposed.

Myles didn't hesitate. He drove the spear down into the soft flesh, feeling resistance give way. The turtle's thrashing intensified. He withdrew the spear and struck again, then again, until the creature's movements stilled.

"Not a bad effort," Nestor said, appearing beside him.

Myles leant on his spear, chest heaving. It was a short but intense fight. If he planned to fight the turtles, he should invest some points in Strength. Nestor was right, these monsters were perfect for gaining experience. Once you flipped it, the fight was over. After he gained some experience fighting them, he felt confident that beating them wouldn't be a problem.

Instead of immediately transmuting the corpse, Myles wedged the spear under the turtle and levered it back over. He crouched down and rapped his knuckles against the shell. If he'd tried using the spear on it directly, he would have likely broken the weapon.

The moment he saw the turtle, an idea began to take shape. If he could harvest the shell, he could fashion a makeshift shield. Not every monster had to become a card. He should have realised this earlier. The boars had materials that could be made into useful equipment.

"What are you doing?" Nestor asked.

"I'm going to harvest the turtle for its shell."

"You should discover what the card is first. It may even be more useful than the shell."

"You're right. I'm getting impatient." Myles glanced at the lake. "How many turtles are in there?"

Nestor shrugged. "A lot."

Myles nodded. It gave him plenty of opportunities to harvest some shells later. He reached down and pressed his palm against the turtle's side. "Card Transmutation."

He still had enough mana left to transmute the card. After levelling up once more, he had recovered some of his mana. 

The corpse dissolved. To his surprise, a card materialised on his first attempt. It wasn't the first time that had happened—was the first card guaranteed?

He inspected the card. The image showed a bottle filled with blue liquid, nothing like what he had expected. Puzzled, he read the description.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

[Armoured Lake Turtle]

Type: Item/Consumable

Rank: Creature

Cast: Instant/Hold

Prerequisite: None

Level: 1/2

Effects:

Level 1: Mana Potion (Creates a potion that restores 25% of maximum mana instantly when consumed.)

Level 2: Propagation II (50% chance to spawn a new Armoured Shell Turtle if transmutation is successful)

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Myles stared at the card, barely able to believe a solution to his mana problems had appeared right in front of him. If he could collect enough of these, he wouldn't need to worry about keeping Bacon summoned.

"This is exactly what I need," he said.

"No need to thank me," Nestor replied.

Myles activated the card. It dissolved in his palm, replaced by a small glass bottle filled with blue liquid. He opened the bottle and drank it all in one gulp. The taste reminded him of mint, cool and refreshing as it slid down his throat.

He stood, rolling his shoulders. The turtle was proving ideal in more ways than one. He would spend the next several hours here, grinding for experience and cards until he reached level five.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Myles crouched behind his makeshift barricade. The crude ramp he built from stones and branches had worked well for him over the past few hours. The structure angled upward at a steep incline, allowing him to lure turtles up and flip them with far less effort than wrestling them on flat ground. The raised position also offered cover from their water jets when he ducked behind it.

But he'd made a mistake by luring two turtles from the lake.

They advanced on him, the first circling to the left and the second shifting to the right, trying to flank him.

Myles gripped his spear and darted from behind the ramp. The left turtle's beak snapped at empty air as he rolled past, coming up between both creatures. He couldn't let them pin him against the structure.

The right turtle unleashed a water jet. Myles twisted, feeling the spray graze his shoulder. The force was enough to throw off his balance, and he stumbled. The left turtle charged. Myles barely managed to sidestep, the creature's shell scraping against his leather armour.

He needed to separate them, break their coordination. Myles feinted toward the right turtle, then sprinted for the ramp. The turtle on the left climbed, its claws gripping the sloped surface. Perfect.

Myles stood at the top of the ramp. The turtle struggled upward, its weight working against it on the incline. He jabbed with his spear, forcing it to withdraw into its shell. The momentary pause gave him the opening he needed.

The right turtle fired another water jet. Myles dropped flat against the ramp, and the attack passed overhead. He heard the wet thud as it struck the climbing turtle's shell.

The left turtle reached the ramp's summit. Myles planted his feet and drove his shoulder into its side whilst it was still off-balance. The creature teetered, its legs scrambling for purchase. With a heave, Myles sent it toppling backwards.

It landed on its back with a heavy crash.

But the second turtle had circled the ramp. Its beak clamped onto Myles's calf before he could react. Pain lanced up his leg as teeth punctured leather and found flesh. He swung the spear's butt down, striking the turtle's head. Once, twice, three times before it released him.

Myles limped back toward the overturned turtle. Blood seeped through the torn section of his armour, but he couldn't afford to stop. The creature's pale underbelly lay exposed, legs churning uselessly in the air.

He drove the spear down. The turtle thrashed. He struck again, and again, until the movements stilled.

The second turtle had begun climbing the ramp. Myles yanked his spear free and positioned himself. 

The turtle reached the top of the ramp. It opened its mouth, preparing to fire. Myles threw himself to the side, the water jet scoring a line across his shoulder. He came up inside the creature's guard and wedged his spear under its shell. 

He pushed with everything he had, using the ramp's angle to his advantage. The turtle's front legs lifted off the ground. Myles adjusted his grip and shoved harder.

The creature toppled, landing on its back beside its dead companion. Myles didn't give it time to struggle. His spear found the soft underbelly, and three precise thrusts ended the fight.

A chime rang, and he let out a sigh of relief.

Myles leant heavily on his spear, a bone-deep weariness settling over him. His calf throbbed where the turtle had bitten him, and his shoulder burned from the water jet's impact.

It had taken longer than he'd hoped to reach level five. The clearing near the lake showed signs of his work. Dark stains marked the ground where turtle blood had soaked into the soil.

He must have put a significant dent in the turtle population by now. Still, the effort had been worth it. He now had fourteen Armoured Lake Turtle cards, enough to fully restore his mana more than three times. The security it provided couldn't be understated.

Myles glanced up. The sun had begun its descent toward the horizon, painting the sky in shades of orange and gold. He needed to leave soon.

But first, he needed to harvest a shell. If he left now, the corpses would be gone by tomorrow, taken by other monsters.

He looked around the clearing, frowning. When did Nestor disappear? The spirit had been offering commentary on his fights earlier, but at some point during his focused grinding, the boy had vanished. Myles shrugged. He'd see Nestor again eventually.

He summoned the notification card that had been hovering at the edge of his vision.

=-=-=-=-=-= 

Armoured Lake Turtle (Level 6) defeated—24 XP earned. 

Armoured Lake Turtle (Level 5) defeated—20 XP earned. 

Level Up! You have reached Level 5. Endurance +1, Intelligence +1, Wisdom +1, Free Points +2

New Trait Unlocked: [Ability Transmutation] - Unlocks the Ability Transmutation ability with all applicable cards.

Ability Level Up: [Card Transmutation] has advanced from Basic to Skilled. The base success rate increased to 60%. 30% chance for successful transmutations to produce Level 2 cards. 

=-=-=-=-=-=

Myles dismissed the notification, satisfaction warming his chest. He'd achieved his goal—reached level five and gained a powerful new trait. Ability Transmutation would let him expand his repertoire, giving him more options during combat.

He opened his status screen and saw five free points ready to assign. Endurance, Intelligence, and Wisdom would keep increasing with each level thanks to his class bonuses, so he decided to focus on other attributes.

After considering his options, he allocated two points to Strength. Since he relied on his spear for now, the extra power would help him deal more damage and control fights better.

Another point went to Agility—speed had saved him repeatedly today. One more to Vitality for improved healing and durability. He immediately felt the attribute helping to heal his wounds.

The last point he kept in reserve.

Myles dismissed the status screen and looked at the nearest turtle corpse. Time to claim his prize.

Myles pulled out his knife and approached the nearest corpse. The blade felt inadequate for the task ahead, but it was all he had.

He started with the connection points where the shell met flesh, working the knife into the seam. Blood welled up immediately, coating his hands in warm slickness. The work was harder than he'd anticipated—the shell had fused to the turtle's body in ways that weren't immediately obvious, requiring him to cut through thick bands of tissue and muscle.

His arms ached by the time he managed to pry the first section loose. He had to brace his foot against the corpse for leverage, pulling whilst sawing through the remaining attachments. The shell came free with a wet, tearing sound.

His arms were soaked to the elbows in turtle blood. The metallic scent filled his nostrils, and dark stains covered his leather armour. He wiped the knife clean on the grass, then did the same with his hands, though the blood had already begun to dry in sticky patches.

He grunted as he hefted the shell. The weight was substantial, but manageable with his increased Strength. He'd need to trim it down and shape it into something more practical if he wanted to use it effectively as a shield. But that was work for another day.

His gaze fell on what remained of the corpse. The thought occurred to him suddenly—he'd been operating under the assumption that he needed fully intact corpses to transmute them into cards. But what if that wasn't the case? What if partial remains would work?

Myles touched the mutilated corpse and activated Card Transmutation. Nothing happened. 

He frowned. Was the failure due to the percentage chance or because the system required complete bodies? Without more experimentation, he couldn't be certain. But evening was approaching, and he had no time left today.

He moved to the remaining intact corpse and tried again. This time, the transmutation succeeded, the body dissolving into another Armoured Lake Turtle card that joined the others in his inventory.

Myles stood and hefted his pack onto his shoulders, then balanced the turtle shell on top. The additional weight made his shoulders protest, but he'd manage. He took one last look around the clearing, then turned toward the trees.

Nestor's warning echoed in his mind. Whatever emerged after dark, he had no desire to encounter it. He'd achieved a lot today. Tomorrow was another day.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Myles made it safely across the stepping stones and reached Barrier Island. He followed the narrow trail back to where it met the main path. The familiar junction appeared ahead, and he was about to turn toward the cove when he heard footsteps pounding down the path from the village's direction.

Before he could react, someone slammed into his back.

The impact wasn't enough to knock him over, but whoever had hit him wasn't so fortunate. The person tumbled to the ground.

Myles turned and found a girl sprawled in the dirt. The fading sunlight made it difficult to see clearly, but she appeared young—perhaps ten or eleven years old. 

The girl looked up, scowling. Then she froze, eyes widening.

Myles sighed. She'd recognised him. That explained the frightened rabbit expression that had suddenly replaced her initial annoyance.

He held out a hand. "Are you okay?"

The girl stared at his offered hand for a long moment. Then, surprisingly, she grasped it. He pulled her to her feet, noting that she barely came up to his chest.

She patted dirt from her trousers whilst Myles studied her face. Something about her features struck him as familiar, though he couldn't place why. He'd never met her before—she would have been an infant when he was exiled from the village.

The girl tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear. "Watch where you're going, mister."

"Excuse me?" Myles raised an eyebrow. "You were the one running without paying attention to where you were going. I'm the innocent party."

"Hardly." She lifted her chin. "I know who you are. You're that exiled boy."

"Then why haven't you run away? Aren't you afraid?"

The girl's chin lifted higher. "Nothing scares me."

Myles rubbed his temple. He didn't have time to deal with this. "You should get back to the village."

He turned to leave, but her voice stopped him.

"Aren't you going to introduce yourself?" She'd planted her hands on her hips, all traces of fear gone from her posture.

"No, I think I'm good."

"If you don't, I'll tell the villagers that you left the cove."

"You do that," Myles said, turning away again.

Small fingers grabbed his hand, forcing him to turn back. 

"I'm Amber." Her eyes dropped to the spear in his other hand. "I can see that your spear has seen better days. It's going to break soon."

"What's it to you?"

Amber grinned. "I'm training under Samson. He's going to visit the cove tomorrow. If you ask nicely, I can bring you a replacement spear to trade."

"Samson needs an apprentice?" Myles frowned. "I'm the only one he trades with."

"He's getting on in years."

Myles studied the girl more carefully. "Can the spear match the quality of this one?"

"It will be even better."

"What do you want in return? I don't have much to trade."

Amber pointed at the shell strapped to his back. "Give me some of the scales from that shell. I won't ask how you obtained it."

Myles winced. He'd forgotten about the shell. "You have a deal. Nice meeting you, Amber."

He turned and walked away, her voice following him down the path. "You still haven't introduced yourself!"

Myles didn't look back. He'd met an interesting girl—bold, unafraid, and apparently free from the animosity that defined most villagers' attitudes toward him. Perhaps Samson's influence had something to do with that. The old trader had always been fair in their dealings, never treating Myles like a pariah despite the exile.

Myles entered the cove and made his way to the hut. Candlelight flickered through the windows—his mother was alert, at least. Relief flooded through him as he hurried to the front door and pushed inside.

Nerissa sat at her alchemy table, her back to him as she ground ingredients in a mortar. She turned when he entered and offered a weak smile. The fever still flushed her cheeks, but she looked no worse than this morning.

"I'm glad you're back safe," she said. "How was your day?"

"Productive." Myles set the turtle shell down with a thud. "Why aren't you in bed?"

"Never mind that. Did you get the ingredients? I have everything prepared for the potion."

Myles nodded and rummaged through his pack, pulling out the vine with its purple flowers. He held it out to her.

Nerissa frowned. "Where is the broad-leaf plant?"

"Make the potion to treat your fever first."

"Myles, I need to prepare another potion first. This is more important."

"What's so important about this potion?"

Nerissa opened her mouth to answer, but Myles seized her hand. Something had caught his eye—a symbol etched into her skin that hadn't been there before. A System Mark. The image showed a cauldron, clear and unmistakable.

"What the hell is this?" Myles growled. "You're awakened?"

Nerissa tried to pull her hand back, but his grip held firm.

"How long?" Myles demanded. "How long have you been hiding this from me?"

So, what do you think? In the next chapter, Myles attempts to uncover his mother's secrets and receives a few visitors.

Thanks for reading.