“Pitch black. This isn’t good,” he muttered.
With a start, Lanie realized it was true. There was no source of light in the cave. Shadow Sight again proved its worth. She pulled off her sunglasses and stowed them in her bag.
Lanie took a minute to get her breathing under control. Keeping her voice low, she said, “We’re in a cave. It’s not very big. Where are we, Nips? Where did that portal take us?”
“Fairy. Or the local equivalent, anyway. Same realm, but it goes by different names in different places. I think in this part of the world it’s called Ergenekon. If I remember right, it’s a mountainous labyrinth of towering peaks and fertile valleys.” Nips paused, turning to peer toward the sound of her voice, but unable to see her. His eyes settled somewhere to the left of her face. “You can see?”
“Yeah. Not well, but enough to make out shapes. It’s my one and only party trick. Ta da!” Lanie joked to take the edge off of the flutter of fear in her belly, but the snark wasn’t enough to hide the slight waver in her voice. “Hang on a sec, I should have a little pen light in my bag.” Lanie awkwardly tried to rummage in her bag one-handed. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled, but with her attention on the bag, she was caught off guard.
A weight dropped onto her back, nearly knocking her to the floor. She instinctively took a half-step forward and threw out her hands for balance. Nips cried out in surprise as he was dislodged from his perch and sent tumbling. Lanie’s right shoulder erupted in searing pain as her attacker bit into her. She reached up with her left hand and tried to grab the creature, getting a grip on a chitinous leg covered in coarse hairs.
She pulled with all of her strength and managed to dislodge the beast. Its mandibles ripped out of her skin as the creature went flying. It landed a couple of yards away and quickly scrambled back to its feet. All eight of them. She could see its shape now, but in the pitch blackness, her Shadow Sight wasn’t enough for her to make out any details. It was a giant spider of some sort, about the size of a Cocker Spaniel.
Lines of fire spread out from the wound on her shoulder, and her right arm felt weak. The spider turned back toward her. It crouched down, preparing to jump. Lanie shrugged her bag off her shoulder and wrapped the strap around her right hand a couple of times to give herself a good grip. The spider jumped, and Lanie swung her bag, catching the spider in mid-air and sending it farther away this time. The blow wasn’t as hard as she’d intended. Whatever venom the spider had pumped into her was sapping the strength from her limb as it burned its way deeper into her. The arachnid scrambled back to its feet and showed no signs of losing interest in having Lanie for its dinner.
The spider charged at her again. This time, when it jumped, she stepped to the side. She turned as it flew past her, keeping it in sight. It hit the wall feet first and immediately jumped for her again. She was too close; there was no time to dodge. With a scream, she threw up her left arm to protect her face and chest and lunged forward to meet the creature earlier than it expected. She continued forward to pin the spider against the wall.
Its fangs plunged into her forearm, pumping in more burning venom. Lanie grabbed one of its legs and slammed it into the wall, screaming in pain and panic all the while. She slammed it again and again until the leg broke off and the body dropped to the floor. Then, like the gremlin in the alley, she stomped on it until its carapace cracked. A couple of messages flashed across her sight and disappeared, unread.
The pain in her shoulder and arm continued to grow, spreading through her body like a tidal wave of fire. She backed away two steps, but then her knees gave out. The pain overwhelmed all thought and sensation, and she screamed. Her whole body was in agony. Her limbs felt weak, and she could barely move them. She forced herself to stop screaming as she reached for her bag. Ragged whimpers escaped her with each breath.
Nips was out there in the dark somewhere, unable to see. She couldn’t let herself pass out until she was sure he was safe. The pain was running rampant through her. It felt like her entire nervous system had been replaced by magma. Her hand found the strap of her bag, and she slowly pulled it toward herself. “Nips. It's dead. Nips, are you…” Her voice was hoarse. It was hard to force the words out against the pain.
She found the flap of her bag and fumbled her hand in, seeking out her toiletry bag and the little flashlight that should be in it. Her fingers were clumsy. The pain was making it hard to think. She was shaking and sweating now. Her fingers couldn’t feel what they were touching. She moaned in pain, her vision going white with dizziness.
“I’m here, Lanie.” Nips' little brown hand touched her arm. “What happened?”
“Spi…” She clenched her jaw mid-word against a spasm of pain. “Spider. B… Bit me.” The pain was so bad that she was nearly sobbing. “Hurts. P… poi… ungh.” She curled into a ball and tried not to scream again as the pain ramped up.
“Oh, no… no, no, no. This isn’t good. Poison… I… Lanie, I’m not sure if this will work. I can clean things…” Nips' voice was uncertain, on the edge of panic. “I may be able to clean out the poison, but I need your permission. I don’t know if I’m strong enough, but I can try…”
Lanie tried to make her mouth move, force her voice to work, but all she could do was lie there and shake. It felt like it took a supreme effort, but eventually, she got out one word, “Please.”
The whole world had collapsed down to nothing but the pain. It was white-hot, melting, squeezing into all the cracks of her body and mind. It was all—until it wasn’t. Two little points of cool relief started on her arm near the bite. The coolness spread outward, slowly, meticulously washing away the venom.
The soothing relief petered out before it reached her shoulder.
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“Dian Cécht, help me help her, oh, great healer. Tá mé beag agus lag, ach aisíocfaidh mé tú ar bhealach éigin.” Nips’ voice was barely a whisper, and some of his words were in a language Lanie didn’t understand, but she knew a prayer when she heard one. The cool sensation stopped as Nips moved to her shoulder and put his hands near the bite there, trying again. The cool wave of power started again, washing through her shoulder and neck, clearing her thoughts just a bit. It helped, but just as with the first time, it only spread a little way before the venom became too much for it. Less this time. She could feel Nips’ hands trembling. In his agitation and fear, his posh British accent slipped into something less refined, “…poor repayment for saving my life if I get yeh killed like this. Hang on, girl, don’t yeh die on me, now.”
The venom was still raging through her body. She fought to stay conscious. Nips’ efforts did help. His power washed away the worst of the venom and gave Lanie a calm spot in the storm of agony. Time lost all meaning as she lay there, shivering, curled into a ball, listening to Nips mutter and worry. Just knowing that she wasn’t alone helped. Eventually, gradually, the storm passed.
As the pain eased, Lanie’s muscles unclenched. She rolled onto her back and groaned. Her entire body ached, and occasional spasms of pain still rocked her. She felt like a wrung-out dishrag. A little scroll icon flashed at the corner of her vision, indicating unread notifications, but she ignored it for now.
At first, she just lay there, too worn out to even think. As her mind began to clear, she tested her body, wiggling her toes and fingers. She could move, but every movement was painful, as if she’d strained every muscle in her body. Her breathing evened out from her earlier ragged panting.
“Lanie?” Nips asked.
“I’m alive,” she whispered. “I just… I need a few minutes.”
“OK. I’ll, um… I’ll just pop into your bag and find that torch, shall I?”
“Yeah, good. You do that. I’ll be right here.” Lanie groaned again. “Yeah, not going anywhere for a bit.”
While Nips rustled around in her bag, Lanie focused on her breathing. She scanned the cave as best she could from her place on the floor, but she saw no sign of more spiders. When she felt like she had herself steady and under control, she opened the blinking scroll.
You have entered a higher Realm. Sakti will be easier to gain while you are in this Realm.
You have gained the Gift: Realmwalker. Passages between Realms will be easier to sense.
—————
You have been poisoned by a
Juvenile Attercop
—————
Foe defeated: Juvenile Attercop (Lesser beast)
2 sakti gained
————
You have gained the skill: Pain Resistance (Novice)
+3 Willpower
————
You have gained the skill: Poison Resistance (Novice)
+3 Vitality
————
Due to the magical nature of the venom, you have partially tempered your body: +10% progress to next tier.
All physical stats increased by 10.
———
You have absorbed 1 sakti from a natural treasure:
Lesser Attercop Venom
Lanie’s eyes went wide at the messages. She couldn’t believe she’d gained so much from a spider bite. She was glad to discover that she could gain sakti without killing things, but she wasn’t sure if it was worth that level of sanity-warping pain. She had more sakti to spend now, though. She’d been in this place for less than five minutes and had already almost died. She needed more tricks if she was going to survive.
Lanie Manovich
Rank: Seeker
Body: Mortal (F) 26%
Mind: Mortal (F) 14%
Soul: Mortal (F) 10%
Past incarnations: 157 (viewed - 0)
Dharma: Way of the Thief
Sakti: 6
Attributes:
Strength - 26
Dexterity - 28
Endurance - 25
Vitality - 29
Perception - 17
Willpower - 14
Intelligence - 14
Wisdom - 9
Charisma - 10
Health: 47/280
Stamina: 33/240
Prana: 140/140
Chakras:
Muladhara: Path of Shadows
Shadow Sight 1
Gifts:
Improved Recall
Intuition
Realmwalker
Skills:
Computer Science (Apprentice)
Locksmith (Apprentice)
Electronic Security (Apprentice)
Observation (Apprentice)
Acrobatics (Apprentice)
Melee: Hand-to-Hand (Novice)
Ranged: Handguns (Novice)
Stealth (Apprentice)
Disguise (Apprentice)
Mental Resistance (Novice)
Pain Resistance (Novice)
Poison Resistance (Novice)
Languages:
English (Native)
Spanish (Functional)
French (Poor)
German (Functional)
Her physical stats had taken quite a leap forward, but it was hard to feel it with the awful condition she was in. She had lost 80% of her health to the venom, and she shuddered to think how close she’d come to death.
The first two times she’d looked at this screen, she’d been pressed for time, but this time, she couldn’t do anything but lie here and recover. She needed something to keep her mind off the aches and weakness, so she took her time and considered the numbers and what they meant.
The bump in her physical abilities was nice, but it was starting to get lopsided. If this were a video game, she’d be well on her way to being a straight warrior class, but that wasn’t her. She was a thief. She preferred to work in the shadows and avoid a stand-up fight. She’d always believed that a fair fight was for suckers.
If the stats worked like game stats, then what she needed was Dexterity, Perception, Intelligence, and Vitality. Min-maxing was fine for games, but this was real life. She needed to be more balanced. Wisdom and intelligence would help her judge risk and make better plans. She couldn’t just ignore them as dump stats. Besides, if magic were real, she wanted to learn some. It looked like her Health was ten times her Vitality, and Stamina was ten times her Endurance. It seemed likely that her Prana was ten times her Intelligence stat. If Prana was this system’s equivalent to mana, she’d need that.
Charisma could help her talk her way into and out of places she shouldn’t be, Perception would let her see dangers more easily, and Strength would let her climb and lift. It was the boost to Strength that let her undo bolts with her fingers in her cell, and Endurance let her hang from the pipes far longer than she would have been able to before. All of her stats boosted something she used. Balance was what she needed.
Maybe she could go a little Dex-heavy, though. The idea of bouncing around like Spider-Man was kind of appealing.
She’d gotten a lot more stat points per sakti by opening a Chakra than she could get by buying them point by point. The problem was, she didn’t know what stats she would get for each Chakra. ‘Gah, I really need an internet connection,’ she complained to herself, ‘I wonder if Fairy has Wi-Fi.’