Chapter Sixty-One: Plans

Chapter Sixty-One: Plans

Go on, take it, Scriber said with a small smile. Its no good to me.

Tom stared at the tiny essence. The very last one he needed for his ritual familiar from Silence. He drew his wisp over with a thought, and checked the skill once more.

Skill Three (Complete): Quiet Under Moonlight (Ritual (Familiar)).

Mana cost: Extreme.

Cooldown: Extreme.

Requirements: Sixty life essence, ten hunger essence, ten blood essence, two sound essence, two silence essence, two dark essence, and two wild essence.Read latest chapters at novelhall.com Only

When summoned: Familiar can make moderate damage physical attacks. Familiar has an attack that deals low magic damage up to short range, and trivial damage up to moderate range. Familiar has a channelled ability which causes trivial magic damage while channelled.

When subsumed: The casters movements are completely silent. Caster can see in the dark. Extreme buff to casters sense of hearing. Moderate buff to casters coordination.

He reached out and touched the essence. It disappeared, and his fingers caused a distortion in the air as if his finger were a stone and the air a still pond it had been dropped into.

His tattoos felt as though they tightened on his skin briefly. They covered both his hands in intricate, flowing lines, extending all the way to each elbow. At certain points the lines stopped, recurving at a sharp angle. Other lines were broken by small dots or dashes.

The tattoos seemed like a halfway point between Sesames and Seres. They were not as thick, as sturdy looking as Sesames, nor did they evoke the same sense of brutality. They were not as fine or as dainty as Seres, and were certainly more definitive. Seres tattoo had an almost ephemeral quality to it.

Quiet under Moonlight was elegant, and bold without being brash. Tom had been reminded of the script that the traders from the Rust Sands used when hed first manifested the skill. The only difference was that the tattoo was clearly meaningless, purely artistic in a way that script could never achieve whilst still having to convey concepts.

He would never tell Sesame or Sere, but just as far as the tattoos went, he thought it was his favourite. He had been eagerly awaiting finding the last silence essence for a long time.

Come on man, dont leave us hanging! Cub said. The big man was perched on the very edge of the charred timber beam theyd sat on, wearing an eager expression. Scriber just raised one eyebrow and gave him a mild smile.

Tom briefly checked his mana reserves, noted they were full, and pulled mana through the skill structure for Quiet under Moonlight.

This time, there was absolutely no noise at all. Not even a whisper. But he felt something. Two somethings, actually.

Claws prickled his shoulder and chest. Tom found his head bracketed by two large birds.

Thoughts and impressions stuttered and began to flow, the bond with his new familiar rousing to wakefulness. After a moments vertigo, Tom began to make sense of them.

Bright! Ouch! Why so bright!? Ouch!

And,

Tired Too bright. Sleeeepy. Why..?

On each of his shoulders sat an owl, though it was hard to see them properly with them so close. The new bond seemed to quiver slightly, a very peculiar feeling. It felt like there were actually two new bonds, but only one at the same time.

It was nothing like Sesames bond, which was one, single, strong link. It was wholly unlike Seres bond too, which was one intelligence, but separated into many fine threads.

This bond had two distinct intelligences, but the bond felt braided, intertwined, though each of the owls was sending him thoughts from two different directions. It was bizarre and unsettling in a way he couldnt explain.

Tom grinned at them both. They were magnificent. He pulled his other familiars over to meet them. Scriber made way as Sesame ambled over. Sere flitted in from all around.

Eck! So little! How confusing! The female told him, as Sere swooped and circled around her. Her head turned around almost the whole way, fixing one of Seres bodies with a glare.

The male flapped briefly over to Sesame and sat on his back. Soft he sent, and promptly closed his eyes and went to sleep.

Sesame gave him a smile, his tongue lolling out one side of his mouth. New friends! he sent, excitedly.

Seres impressions were slightly less coherent. Although Tom was getting better at parsing them, and Sere was steadily growing more intelligent, the sparrows still seemed perpetually berserk with exuberance.

Cool! Big brother! Big sister! Cool! Wow! Cool!

Tom sighed. It was starting to get crowded in his head. He was slightly relieved that his new familiars didnt seem like the talkative types.

Goddess, Tom, whered you find the last silence?

Tom started slightly. Hed been so engrossed with his familiars he hadnt noticed Val approaching with the Lord General. He shot to his feet with Cub, both sketching sloppy salutes. Scriber merely gave the General a respectful nod.

No need for that folks. The Hunters arent under the Guards jurisdiction, technically, the massive man said. Tom still felt it hard to read him, with his bluff face. The ridiculous amount of metal he was plated in made it just as hard to read his body language.

I confess, Im curious too. Are they one ritual? he asked, nodding at the owls.

Tom gave a brief explanation. Val was riveted to the owls, seemingly trying to suck them inside her through her eyes. The Lord General gave a long, low whistle. It dampened their enthusiasm somewhat when he mentioned the silence essence had likely manifested due to the discrepancy between the usual, bustling village noise, and its current state.

Thought twinned familiars were an old wives tale. Ill be damned.

Just in time too, Tom. Were heading back out, Val said.

I have a plan. Just a rough one, at this stage. The bastard orcs have given me even less time to prepare than I thought. We need information. We need to know where theyre gathering and where theyre going to hit. We need to know how theyre making Idealists, and if theres any way to stop them.

They made the difference in these raids theyve carried out. Our people were woefully unprepared. We cannot have them assault Wayrest directly with so many Idealists. It would be an unmitigated disaster.

We need two things more than anything else: information and time. If you can give us any of either of them, Wayrest will be eternally grateful. I will personally ensure that the Council doesn't just pay lip service to that.

Scout the orcs as best you can. Disrupt them at any opportunity you get. Pass the word along to other Hunters. Any that are still loyal, that is.

I cant stay, unfortunately. Five villages were attacked, in total. I have places to be. I still need to convince the Council theres an actual threat from a Hunter rebellion, and strengthen our defences against the orcs at the same time! For a moment, the Lord Generals bluff facade cracked, just slightly. He suddenly looked much older, much more worn than he had before.

I cant say what the future holds. We will have the Watch keep an eye out for you, for any information you might bring back for us. Goddess be with you all, he said, gazing at them intensely, before marching back to the portal. His personal guard unit flowed in from around the square, following.

Tom felt stony determination rise in him. The orcs had taken his mother and Rosa, and so many other captives. He could think of one way to disrupt the orcs: freeing the captives. With Scriber to help, and the orcs on the move, it might even be possible.

He glanced around at his fellow Hunters, and saw the same conclusion in each of their eyes. They were with him. They were united.

Tom hefted his new spear. His familiars gathered around him.

It was time for some payback.