Just as SJ was about to ask about the reinforcements, a voice whispered in her ear. It was the disembodied voice of Nexis. Why he had chosen this very moment to speak was beyond SJ if he had been watching what had been unfolding.
"We need to talk," Nexis said. His voice carried a sense of urgency.
"Not now," SJ hissed.
"It's now or never."
SJ frowned. "I'll call you back, Cristy," SJ said, ending the call.
"What?" SJ replied.
"I need to make you aware I will not be available to support for a while," Nexis said.
Confused, SJ asked. "Why?"
"Erm," Nexis sounded almost embarrassed, "I broke the rules."
"What do you mean you broke the rules?"
"Well, you kept having a go about me being a god and not being able to do any godly things to help, so I did a godly thing to help, and the system discovered what I had done and has banned me from Amathera currently."
"Banned you?"
"Yes. I'm not allowed on Amathera. I've been kicked off the world for the better of a word."
"What!" SJ exclaimed, much louder than she meant, but under the circumstances, it didn't matter.
"You know the reinforcements that have just arrived? Well, I sort of helped them along."
"I don't yet, no. Cristy was telling me they had arrived when you spoke."
"Ah. Well, they have arrived a day ahead of schedule."
"How?"
"Only a tiny manipulation of air currents, I'm surprised they got so upset about it, to be honest, but the appearance of this new being has caused them serious problems."
"Sorry, air currents, why would that affect their travel?"
"You really have no idea who was sent to help, do you?"
"No. We haven't been told, just that reinforcements were on the way."
"Okay, well, I don't wish to spoil the surprise. It's just that until I get permission, I have been criticised for manipulating a conflict. It shouldn't take too long to resolve; these things tend to brush over in a decade or so."
"Decade! You're supposed to be my profession trainer, and what about the auction house and the tailor's shop?"
An orange portal suddenly opened up next to where SJ was standing on a branch, the brilliant light shining like a beacon, and a leather stachel started to appear.
"Stop that," SJ hissed, lying against the branch. "I'm currently miniature, and you are shouting my location to everyone with your beacon!"
"Ah, yes. Wait a second." The portal vanished, and a tiny orange portal appeared; again, a miniature satchel appeared. "There you go."
SJ took hold of the satchel, and the portal vanished instantly.
"What's this?" SJ said as she opened the satchel. Inside were several ledgers and various sheets of parchment. She picked one out, nearly falling backwards off the branch. "Deeds!"
Dave gasped.
"Yes. They are the deeds to my holdings on Amathera. I would like you to keep hold of them until I am available to return. I have also included my communication stone and a list of the gem codes for various contacts. I'm sorry I couldn't have been more useful to you."
SJ was speechless. She had no idea about the value of what she held in her hand, but it made her feel sick, knowing it had to be significant. "I don't know what to do with all this," SJ spluttered.
"Oh, don't worry. There are details of who to contact for each of the dealings. A separate message has already been relayed to all parties involved, so they will expect to hear from you in due course," Nexis replied nonchalantly.
"You're trusting me with your life's work here on Amathera?"
"Oh, it's a hobby, my dear SJ. I do it for fun."
"Isn't this breaking the system rules as well?"
"No. It's a standard business transaction. Nothing more, deeds change hands regularly."
"Yes, but..." SJ couldn't gather her words, eventually continuing as she stared at the stachels' contents. "What do I do with the money from them?"
"Whatever you wish. I have never needed coins. I have made arrangements for transfers to your bank account in Asterfal."
SJ's knees felt weak, and she crouched down on the branch.
"But..."
Nexis cut her off. "Remember what I told you when we first met: you have a unique gift and opportunity. You can bring change. Anyway, I'd better go, I will speak to you when I can." The air popped slightly as his voice vanished.
There was silence for several moments, and a voice came through the clip. "SJ. Did I just hear right?" Fas's voice sounded uncertain.
She had forgotten about the clip, and Fas was listening to everything going on. Her mind reeled, her focus on the battle below lost as it raced. Even Dave was in stunned shock; he hadn't uttered a word after an initial gasp.
"I'm not sure," SJ eventually said, her voice cracking as she did. The wad of deeds alone appeared to be at least fifty sheets thick. She slowly took out a ledger and opened it, flicking through the pages as she started to read numbers. The numbers on the pages swam before her eyes. The sums didn't just relate to wealth; they related to the GDP of a small country. Her hands trembled as she slammed it shut again and dropped it back in the satchel, as if it were white-hot. SJ removed her jewelled coin from her inventory. It was the one she had been given by the bank when she had opened her account.
Nervously, her hand continued to tremble as she held her thumb on the green gem for 10 seconds to activate it. The faint blue glow of the display flickered and then stabilised. She then held her finger on the blue gem to check the balance.
"I think I'm going to be sick," SJ said as she felt bile rise in her throat and then spent the next minute leaning over the edge of the branch. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she again looked at the figures on the display. This had to be a dream. The display was configured to show platinum, gold, silver and copper. When she had set up the account, she had deposited 6 platinum, 30 gold and 40 silver. The display read:
7518 79 86 12
The small yellow gem on the edge glowed, and SJ pressed it. A confirmation of the transaction appeared, showing the deposit of 7512 73 46 12 into her account.
SJ lay down on the branch, as her mind reeled and her breathing came in rapid breaths.
"Slow your breathing," Dave said. "You're having a panic attack."
The world was closing in on SJ. Her vision felt strange, and stars swam all around her in her adapted vision. She closed her eyes, trying to calm herself, her hands continuing to tremble violently. The jewelled coin gripped so tightly in her palm she could feel the small gemstones digging in.
"Breath. Listen to my voice. In one two three hold out one two three hold," Dave said, repeating the pattern. Slowly, SJ's breathing started to calm down. Her eyes were now closed, and her body felt strange, as though it weren't hers, and she was floating.
"Are you okay?" Fas said over the clip.
SJ's voice was a broken sound when she replied, all saliva having left her mouth; she swallowed before speaking again. "I will be."
"What's happened exactly?" Fas asked.
SJ didn't reply. 'Thank you, Dave.'
"That's what I'm here for," Dave said gently.
"Nexis has transferred his funds to my bank account."
"Oh!" Fas said, yet there was more meaning in that one word than any other he could have said. He didn't ask how much; he didn't need to.
SJ lay still as the trembling lessened, then slowly sat up. She looked at the display one last time before pressing and holding the red gem, turning it off and returning the coin to her inventory.
"Cristy said the reinforcements are here, we should head back to meet them. Especially since a beetle has been sent towards the crags," SJ said. Her thought process was all over the place.
"No. If the reinforcements are here, now would be the perfect time to strike, while they are battling each other. The sooner they can get here, the better."
"You're right," SJ said as she called the communication stone back to her hand.
Cristy answered almost immediately.
"SJ," Cristy said excitedly.
"The gnolls and draconians are fighting each other. Fas believes it would be the perfect time to strike. How long would it take you to get arranged to head to the town en masse?"
"Two seconds," Cristy said as she heard her call Lorna.
"What is it?" Lorna said, sounding distracted and her voice almost strange.
"The gnolls and draconians are fighting each other. Now would be the best time to mount an assault. They are near the Wandering Ogre. How long before you can move out?"
"Hold one," Lorna said. SJ couldn't hear the conversation. "We will head out now."
"What about the beetle?" SJ remembered it was heading towards the crags.
"It's fine, it won't be an issue."
SJ frowned. "Okay. I will update you if anything changes."
The fighting hadn't lessened in any way; if anything, the numbers were steadily increasing as more filtered from the town, as the news had spread. Several mounted lizards had joined the foray now, and SJ even spotted the foreboding red stinger of a scorpoid as it waded into the battle, striking out at a draconian or gnoll that got in its way. She hadn't seen any in the town until now and wondered if they were the ones that had been by the ridge that had made Lorna's party flee across the river. It made sense if one beetle had already returned to the town. That would mean that all the forces were together in one place. The disagreement had turned into an all-out fight to the death.
"I doubt the fight will last as long as it takes for them to arrive," SJ said.
"Unlikely, the draconians, now that they are getting more organised, are starting to get the upper hand. Even if the gnolls have the larger numbers," Fas said.
"We need to try to take any shamans out. As soon as we can, I can attempt to break Zigferd free. I'm guessing the shamanic shackles he is wearing will break once the shaman is dead?"
"That would be a good assumption," Dave replied.
"I don't know," Fas said.
"We can only hope," SJ said.
"I will go after the gnoll shamans," Fas said. It was still frustrating, SJ, that he couldn't help against the draconians.
"Okay. I'm going to see what I can do about the two supporting the chief."
There was a scream as SJ looked over and noticed Markisha charging into the fight. Her lizard mount crashed into the rear of the gnolls, snapping and biting at anything in its path. It looked now as though more lizards were getting involved, and if they did, it wouldn't be long before the battle ended. If it did, SJ may miss her chance to take out the shamans. Then she spotted her, the terrified expression on Holly's face. The poor woman had been on her way back with Markisha, and now stood behind the embattled parties, her face ashen and frozen in terror.
"Fas. Get Holly to safety, please. She is behind the gnoll lines."
"Understood," Fas replied.
SJ had to deal with the draconian guards who stood near the shamans. She wasn't sure what she could do. Perhaps she could draw them towards her, appear as a threat, and then, if they followed her, shrink and return to attack the shamans. She doubted that would work; they hadn't moved to join the fight since it had started, standing as sentinels around the shamans, who projected something towards the chief. All three draconian guards carried long spears, and their kaftans were trimmed with different patterns, distinguishing them as the elite guards.
"I wouldn't normally say this, but just attack them," Dave said.
'I doubt I can take on three of them!' SJ thought.
"If you can't, you retreat, but it's the only option you have. You don't have anything else you can use."
SJ triggered her identification skill on the spearmen.
Their levels ranged from 33 to 37, and hit points varied from 212 to 303. Looking at them individually showed that although they were all stated as draconian spearmen, they had selected different attribute choices as they had levelled. Each had a fundamental skill of thrust and pierce, each also had a specialist skill called extended strike, with the highest level one also having an additional skill called fast strike. Their Armour classes were similar, ranging from 100 to 112.
It wouldn't be an easy fight, whatever happened. With her basic damage ranging from 106-108 with a successful strike, there was a theoretical chance that she could take them out with a couple of successful strikes. The problem was that damage values weren't direct; the calculations during combat considered armour class, positions, and various other considerations that she had never managed to understand completely. Dave had never managed to explain the system to her in a way that allowed you to predict fight outcomes or damage being dealt. The only solid evidence was that critical strikes to vital organs could eliminate targets through assassination attempts when striking a being's brain or similar. Even apparent heart strikes wouldn't always kill a target.
Combat just wasn't straightforward.
If she were going to attempt this, she had to assassinate one outright from the start. That would be the only way she could compete against the remainder. Her dexterity was vastly superior to theirs, meaning that she would have initiative and a fair chance to dodge, but this again was not guaranteed. Her palms felt sweaty as she called her claws to her hands.
None of the targets wore a helm, although she could see that each did wear a mail shirt or similar armour under their kaftans; their legs appeared unarmoured as she identified weak spots. She wished her identification skill could identify combat tactics and analyse targets better than it did. Maybe if she did eventually increase it further, it may, but she wasn't sure, and now wasn't the time to worry about it. She took a deep breath and was just about to push off the branch when she remembered the satchel that was sitting on the branch. Quickly, she added it to her inventory and took off.
The strongest was her priority, as she flew over the area, before dropping directly down towards the top of its head.
'Here goes,' SJ thought as she triggered her Puncture skill and her claws embedded through its scaled skin, as she grew.
By the time her initial target had realised what was happening, it was too late as it collapsed limply underneath her. The movement unsettled her, and she staggered slightly as she landed. The motion was not going unseen by the two remaining guards, who immediately faced her.
These draconians weren't like the gnoll spearmen she had faced, and there was no hesitation as they immediately thrust their spears towards her. She rolled forward under their strike before leaping back to her feet. The distance between them wasn't very great, only being about fifteen feet, and SJ suddenly realised what their skill allowed them to do, as they stood rooted, not approaching, but instead both stepped forward, thrusting their spears out. It had to be the extended strike skill as the two spears shot towards her as though being thrown, before gripping the ends of the shafts and pulling back. One of the spears caught SJ in her arm, twisting her as she dodged the other, making her wince in pain. Thankfully, with her dexterity, her armour class was boosted significantly, improving the damage reduction.
SJ couldn't remain at a distance if she were to take them on and triggered Phantom Shroud as she reappeared behind a target, driving her claws down into the backs of its thighs. The left leg of her victim buckled as it fell to its knee, as its companion reacted, whipping its spear towards her. As her target had buckled, and with the momentum of her strike, her hand was pulled forward. This put her off balance again as the spear's tip slashed against her side. It cut deeply into her, the tip breaking through her dress's defence easily. She grimaced in pain as she pulled her claws free, driving her other fist at the draconians' backs. The strike was more desperation than anything, but luckily, it punctured the chain mail. The draconian arched its back as it grunted with pain. It wasn't dead, but she had to deal with the other, which had now hit her twice.
It was just moving to strike again, and as it did, SJ triggered her Void Grasp. The skill freezes her target's forward thrusting arm. The draconian wasn't off balance, so it didn't fall, but its eyes went wide as it realised. She only had moments and closed the short distance that separated them, thrusting her claws upwards towards its jaw.
"WATCH IT!" Dave screamed.
SJ had been so focused she hadn't been watching in her adaptive vision, and she had no time to react as her claws struck, and the ball of purple flame struck too. In the instant that the draconians' gaze hazed, so did her vision as she was thrown like a rag doll across the ground from the blast. Her health dipped substantially as her dress burst into flames, the purple fire eating it up like fuel.
"ROLL!" Dave screamed as SJ frantically continued rolling across the ground, attempting to smother the shaman's flames.
The draconian she had struck last, now lay still, the one she had injured in the legs, slowly pushing itself upright as she desperately rolled, as one of the shamans had redirected its attention on her. As the purple flame flickered out, dying, she sprang back to her feet. Her dress smouldered, her hair frazzled and singed. To any observer, she would have looked like a being who had walked from a blazing inferno.
A purple glow appeared on the shaman's hand as a lance of flame flew out in her direction.
SJ triggered her Shadow Step, immediately jumping into the shadow of a tree to the side. The injured draconian spearman whipped his head around frantically as he saw her again. SJ didn't pause as she sprinted at it. There was a twenty-foot distance to cover as the draconian brought his spear up to align. The shaman hadn't turned fully yet, and she needed to finish the guard before she could focus on the shaman. The draconian thrust his spear again, its extended strike streaked towards her as she pivoted, twisting her body sideways. It felt like slow motion as the tip of the spear sliced across her stomach. SJ grunted, ignoring the pain and continued her spin towards the draconian, bringing her claws around in a sweeping strike.
As her claws scored a hit on the spearman, the shaman completed his turn, his hands again turning purple as SJ saw the ball of flame start to grow. With less than eight feet between them, she had few options open to her; her skills were still on cooldown.
