《Penitent》


 Chapter 1 - Goat’s Milk and Goblins

    I forgot to milk the goats.


    Funny that¡¯s going through my mind right now, with the whole bleeding out one would think I¡¯d have more important things to deal with.


    I can still see the body of the little bastard responsible for this, well one of the little bastards anyway. His dark green corpse is prone in its own black blood lying by my knees. Only three feet tall and with just a stone axe he managed to carve out a piece of my stomach before I managed to cave in his skull. I¡¯m not sure if I got the better part of the deal, not with his buddies gibbering a few feet from me. Goblins aren¡¯t particularly known for being kind to things they plan on eating; especially since it¡¯s not uncommon for them to get the whole order of kill first, eat second wrong.


    I force myself to push my back up against the bush behind me. I may not be able to stand at this point, much less move or feel but I have absolutely no intention of letting myself die like this.


    ¡°Come at me you green jabbering shits!¡± I hoarsely screech at them while I try to wave my short sword. My hand shudders while grasping the hilt slick with blood and the sudden movement only adds to the nausea I¡¯m feeling. Gritting my teeth I try to bear it, focusing on my breathing seems to have pushed it back for now. How the hells did I end up like this! I used to be an adventurer, never goblin bait. Thinking about other things seems to help keep me awake and I can¡¯t help drift back on what happened only this morning.


    ¡°How in the nine hells did you fools end up down there?¡± I¡¯ve seen some odd things in the sea of trees but this is a first for me, to find what could only be green horned adventurers facing an entire tribe of goblins. Goblins are notoriously territorial creatures and are common enough that even unranked adventurers would be taught to avoid their regions marked by animal bones, well unless you were prepared. Yet my curiosity caused me to ignore those same totems while creeping up a small hill so I could get a better view of who was shouting around here.


    Cresting the hill led me to see five youths facing off against what might be at least forty goblins. The two males in front seemed to have Warrior jobs as they struggled to hold the line with a mix of swinging their swords and shouting at the goblins to give them pause in charging them en masse. The man behind them seemed more collected as he shot arrows at those who got too close to the line. Judging by the corpses littering the ground in front with arrows jutting out of them, he was more than a good shot and probably the reason the line held in the first place. Unfortunately his quiver seemed almost empty and the deadlock would soon break. The last two were huddled behind him at the base of the hill, I could only make out their heads but it seemed it was a girl bandaging the arm of another boy. If I don¡¯t step in soon none of them would probably make it.


    I was only planning on checking my traps today and maybe hunt something depending on my luck, now instead I¡¯m facing off against a horde of goblins with just a small hunting bow, rope and a short sword. Not the best idea I¡¯ve ever had but you learn to make do in a pinch. Tying one end of the rope around a redwood beside me I gave it a quick perfunctory tug before dropping the other end over the cliff face.


    I¡¯m not sure if it was my hissed question or the rope bobbing to a stop over her head that got the girl¡¯s attention but for whatever reason she looked up. ¡°Get your friend to grab the rope and tell the others to fall back as I pull him up.¡± It wouldn¡¯t much matter to me if she didn¡¯t listen, I comforted myself, but it seems she heard me, and better yet, she obeyed. Supporting the young man she pushed him up enough so she could wrap the rope around his good hand. That was my cue and I started to drag him up towards me. At least I wouldn¡¯t have to lie to myself later about not feeling guilty if they died. While hauling the young man I gave him a once over. I have to admit he¡¯s tough, he doesn¡¯t make a sound as his body scrapes against the cliff, not even when he bumps against his bandaged wound.


    As he stares up at me I wouldn¡¯t believe he¡¯s injured or even in danger with that calm look. I¡¯ve seen blue eyes before, but his, his are different¡­ strange. Grabbing his hand I yank him up beside me.


    ¡°You alright?¡± I ask as I unravel the knot on his hand.


    ¡°I¡¯ve had better days.¡± I can¡¯t help but look up at his face when I hear the unadulterated amusement in his voice and just catch the hint of smile.


    ¡°Your friends probably have as well.¡± I note as I look back out towards them while readying my bow.


    ¡°Well we seemed to have found ourselves somewhat at odds with the locals here.¡± The amusement still apparent in his voice he continued. ¡°Diplomacy has broken down somewhat with their whole stab things protocol.¡±


    Huh, I¡¯m not sure how seriously I¡¯m supposed take him or what I¡¯m guessing is his sense of humour, but as long as he chooses to die quietly without interrupting me saving their lives, who am I to complain.


    Having launched two arrows while letting him talk, I nock my third arrow and draw the bow in one easy practiced motion. As I ground myself and choose another target, I let my mind wonder to how exactly did this happen.


    The guild¡¯s presence here isn¡¯t particularly strong as the current family head of house Juvleim was a progressive man who created and maintained constables to enforce the law and safety of the land, and even went as far to give them monthly wages to ensure their loyalty and effort. It wasn¡¯t a perfect system, but it was more than good enough that most people didn¡¯t see the need for hiring guild members in help with blood feuds or even monster culling. This doesn¡¯t mean they weren¡¯t any dangerous elements here, the sea of trees was plenty dangerous on its own, it¡¯s just everyone here knows that the deep and dark things in this fey touched forest liked to stay that way, deep and dark. No guild would send unranked adventurers, which they clearly had to be, into the sea of trees.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    The third arrow had already found its way into another goblin sweeping it off its feet in a tumbled heap as the shaft appeared in its chest. That should give the goblins a reason to stay back for a little while longer and us a bit more breathing space. With it I could take a better look at the rest of the group.


    The girl was already more than half way up the rope herself; her feet braced against the wall as she pulled herself up surprisingly quickly for one so small. The shoulder length blond curls were a halo around her head that couldn¡¯t be held down even by the sweat and dust on her face, a mask of pure determination. Her blue robes, impractical I couldn¡¯t help think, had three crests over her small chest, one I recognised with an old twinge of envy I thought died long ago. So she¡¯s a mage.


    The other three were now around the rope, the archer had switched out his short bow for a dagger which he held in front him as the other two looked up, their faces mirror images of the other with just a different in the frame, one with long flowing red hair and the other with it cut close to his scalp.


    My attention is brought back to the girl as she reached the top and I hoist her up and unto the grass beside me.


    ¡°Now that we have the chance to talk, could one of you tell me what in the nine hells are you doing out here?¡± I growled as I fail to modulate my tone. None of them could be past fifteen, they could be my grandkids, if I ever had children that is.


    I narrow my eyes as I stare them down, ¡°One of you start talking.¡±


    I didn¡¯t bother to continue staring after I saw the girl recoil and placed my eyes back on the three still at the bottom with my bow at the ready.


    ¡°Ah, yes, well if I may say Miss¡­¡± the young man started, I could see him pulling himself together in the corner of my eye. With his short black hair and the baby fat still on his face, I couldn¡¯t help but smirk at this man child. It was hard to think of what I saw before as anything but a trick of the light.


    ¡°It¡¯s Ariadne, Ariadne Belladonna.¡±


    ¡°Yes of course, well Ms. Belladonna, my name is Felix von Juvleim and these are my wards. We were here to gain experience on our own and were informed this part of the fey forest was more than safe while being adequate for our needs.¡± A wry expression crossed his face as he continued.


    ¡°If we had but known of the true dangers we would find here, I assure you Ma¡¯am, we would be much more prepared than just this.¡±


    Well no wonder he didn¡¯t stumble over my name and acted the way he did. It¡¯s because he¡¯s bloody nobility and I all but cursed at him and gave him my actual name, I can¡¯t help sigh at this. Well I did save his life, that should hopefully be enough to convince him to leave an old lady alone; but you could never be sure with nobles. They had a bad habit of being the worst mix of idiot and dangerous.


    Well at least I had my reason now, it¡¯s the reason I bet the world had most of its problems. The reason was because of the folly of nobility, who else would send their children into this place. Well maybe that wasn¡¯t a fair assessment, it was the children who walked into goblin tribal territory all on their own so let¡¯s amend that to the folly of young nobility.


    I had to shoot twelve more goblins before the twins managed to join us. The tribe was getting antsy watching their prey, who came out of nowhere and kill tens of them just waltz out of their grasp. The archer boy needed to hurry it up, I could only shoot so fast and it¡¯s not like I had that many arrows left.


    As soon as I thought it, he had already grabbed the rope and began to what I can only describe as run up the wall face. In all my fifty two years I¡¯ve never saw anyone so young do anything even close. I myself couldn¡¯t even come near to doing that, not even in my prime. No way could a human do that, not without a Skill and he had to be too young to have one of this calibre, maybe he had elvish blood in his veins.


    Whatever the reason, he was already at the top and standing beside me before I had the chance the loose my second last arrow. The thirteenth goblin fell over with it now in his eye and I release my Sure Shot and roll my shoulders to ease the tension built up.


    I quickly unsheathe and cut the dangling rope before the rest of goblins got any ideas. It may take them some time and hopefully some more lives, but I know that they¡¯d scale the cliff face and be after us if we don¡¯t move now.


    Turning to face the children I tried not to show any fear on my face as I explained the situation.


    ¡°We won¡¯t have much time, maybe ten minutes tops before the tribe can follow us. It¡¯ll take at least twenty minutes to get out of their territory. Without a means to slow them down we¡¯re going to have to fight our way out and hope to the Gods that they¡¯ll leave us be once we leave their area.¡± I gave them a hard stare, trying to judge their reactions, especially when they hear the end of my speech. ¡°If none of you have any useful Skills that can be of some help, we all can¡¯t expect to leave here.¡±


    I watched as the fact I told them some of them were going to die sink in. The tanned skin of twins and the girl blanched as they failed to meet my gaze but the young archer didn¡¯t even shrug. I guess with his abilities it¡¯d be unlikely he would be staying. Felix on the other hand merely lowered his head as if he was merely mulling it over.


    ¡°What skills would be of use?¡± well the boy had his head on.


    ¡°Any Skill with the potential for entrapment or distraction would be useful. Intimidation may prove valuable as well. It¡¯d be best if they can affect groups.¡± I list off the conditions.


    He looks up at me with more confidence than expected, I guess they do have something and we might live to see our way out of this.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have any Skills which meet your requirement but I believe we can still meet them and give us all more than a fighting shot to survive this.¡±


    Oh? Well I¡¯ll bite, not like I have much of a choice, ¡°So what¡¯s this plan of yours.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s quite simple really¡± he says with a smirk. ¡°We just have to prepare a distraction large enough to cause them to not climb the cliff. A distraction such as a live target much closer at hand.¡±


    His eyes, now I know what was so strange about them. I could still see them as I fell, he never broke eye contact with me as he lowered his arm. He muttered something and the girl started to gesticulate. In it all the smirk never left his face.


    The reason his eyes had looked so strange was quite simple. It was because they were lacking something, they were simply lacking humanity.

 Chapter 2 - Run Away Girl

    The nobility are scum.


    What other words could I possibly use to describe what happened to me? Here I am, bleeding out under some mutant rose bush or whatever this hells damned huge flower bud is. Goblins watching over me like a bunch of mocking carrion eaters waiting until I just give them the chance. Well at least I¡¯ve frightened them enough to make them keep their distance until I actually do bleed out. Looking back I can see how I did.


    When Felix pushed me off the cliff he must have used a Skill of some sort, otherwise I can¡¯t explain how I flew behind most of the goblins. The Gods haven¡¯t abandoned me yet though, as my rolling landing was enough to cushion the fall to the point that I didn¡¯t even break anything, or least to the point I didn¡¯t feel like I broke anything.


    I dared to spare a single glance back at the shocked goblins before I grasped my sword in hand, turn tail, and run. Of the three Job slots the Tapestry deigned to bless my birth with, only one Job I chose over the years was combat oriented; that Job was Hunter. If I had more arrows maybe I¡¯d have more of a fighting chance, but all I have now is a sword and my Sword Mastery Skill never made it past journeyman.


    Three of the stragglers were still in front of me and unfortunately reacted fast enough to be a risk. I threw my bow at the closest one on my right. I was lucky enough to hit exactly where I aimed, right in the legs. Caught in the bow he went tumbling across the ground where I decided a punt to the head was worth the risk of slowing down slightly enough to time it.


    I more felt the rewarding crunch through the ball of my right foot than heard it, I didn¡¯t even bother to watch his now unconscious body flail away from me, instead I took my last arrow into my left hand and kept running. Experience had taught me that an arrow could be just as good as any other impromptu stabby thing when it came to the fine art of stabbing; sure it¡¯s no knife and it¡¯ll likely only work once before shattering, but a broken arrow in one of my enemies was better than none at all.


    This time I charge the goblin directly in front of me, he waves his spear and seems pretty determined in taking out my groin. I sidestep and smoothly follow up with a stab to his neck lifting his body off the ground. I allow myself to keep pivoting on my leg as I throw his body behind me, in hopes of entangling those nipping at my heels. I keep my momentum as I release him to turn me back on track, not being able to wait and see if I succeeded and keep running. Only the last one on my right remains between me and the deeper forest.


    The third is no issue as he only has a knife, it¡¯s enough for me to use my speed and let the blade carve away most of his neck from the force as I run past, some of the blood splatters on me but I don¡¯t have the time to worry about it.


    The problem with goblins weren¡¯t their fighting abilities, with just my Sword Mastery alone I outclass any one of them. No, the problem with goblins were their numbers and endurance. It¡¯s probably been only twenty seconds since I started running, but Goblins can run almost as fast as an average person going all out without Skills. The issue is they could maintain that top speed for a least five minutes without tiring. This makes the question not if they¡¯ll catch up to me, but when. There¡¯s no way for me to fend off all of them attacking at once; I wasn¡¯t even wearing a shred of armour just my green hunting clothes, stone weapons would be more than enough to end me.


    I scan quickly through the large trees as I continue sprinting forward, I need to find a choke point and fast; running much longer at this pace may slow down my reactions to a deadly point. I can¡¯t help but mutter a prayer under my breath to whomever was listening. I grew up religious but the blood thirsty howls behind me is making me all new kinds of pious than I usually feel.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°Thank the Gods¡±, I can¡¯t help but gasp out, there¡¯s a patch of large briars just ahead to my right. I immediately swing towards them and in the next instant tumble my way in without care. Whatever scratches they gave me were far better than the alternative behind. When I found a particularly thick set of thorns I turn to face whatever fate has for me. It¡¯s true when they say the tapestry curses good and bad with an interesting fate, I only hope I survive this one.


    Sweat pours down my face as I wait for the goblins, I can only spare it one precursory wipe in my tunic, not daring to take my eyes away from in front of me. While willing myself to breathe freely, going from short gasps to a more in control albeit shaky breathing, my mind dregs through all of my experiences up to now in hopes of finding a sliver of a chance.


    I¡¯ve been in rough patches before, fought and bled in wars not of my choosing, hunted by and escaped monstrous things only because I wasn¡¯t as appetising as others near me. Hells I¡¯ve even looked Redcaps eye to eye and lived to talk of it. All of this only reinforces one thing in my mind. I¡¯m no fighter, I never was one.


    My very first job was a Farm Hand, it came with the territory as my father was a free tenant which our family has always been due to services rendered to the Lord before, though I¡¯ve no idea what those services were. I thought the goal of my life was to transcend to Farmer or something higher; that is until I met a young travelling mage. He showed me many things, one of them being I could touch the Tapestry, I could be a mage. Well that led to a whole new dream and I even managed to convince my father to let me go. My two older brothers would be more than enough to inherit the farm, and I even took up the Hunter job by apprenticing to an old family friend just to show I could keep care of myself as I travelled to the closest common born academy. I made it too, even managed to pick up a mage class with no small effort, Cunning One. Yet, no matter how hard I tried, no matter what I did, I couldn¡¯t learn anything more than a few simple cantrips and sense the weaving of the Tapestry. As if mocking me, my Skill in sensing the Tapestry has always been stronger than most common mages, yet I could never do anything with what I saw; fully aware of what would never be mine. I chose to not let any of that crush me, instead I chose to see and interact with everything I could, thus I became an adventurer and chose any option that would let me see and touch what others never knew even existed. My wits and determination had been my weapon from since then up to this moment, never my strength of arm. I need to find a way to play to my strengths here as well.


    I have maybe a few seconds so I hack and throw as much of the bramble unto the ground in front of me. Goblins don¡¯t wear shoes so hopefully I can bloody them to give myself more of an advantage. I also leave my entry point open, it¡¯s best to know where they¡¯re coming from than give them a chance of flanking me. I¡¯ve nowhere to run or retreat to thus all I can do now is wait.


    The fight had been bloody enough, if I couldn¡¯t counter, I deflect, if I can¡¯t deflect, then I block, and if I couldn¡¯t block, well I made sure they bled more than I did. It was easier to manage at the beginning, almost like a routine, but with my stamina draining I had to start sacrificing more and more flesh to gain a kill. I had whittled them down to five before one of them managed to pull my away my crushed left hand from my side, letting another bury his axe in my stomach instead. Both them of died for it as I crushed the skull of one with my sword and the other I impaled on the bramble with my body weight. This was all I could manage before I collapsed.


    Now I¡¯m back where I started, propped up against a bush under a flower and the remaining goblins have apparently at last worked up to courage to approach me. I must admit they¡¯re moving much more cautiously than one would expect from their kind, but that slowness is something I plan to make fatal for at least one more of them. All I simply have to do is whip my sword unto one of them, if I bring my upper body down as a fulcrum, it should make up for being so drained.


    The first stepped within range and I strike, yet he isn¡¯t dead, why? I look up and see my issue is the flower bud, it blocked my blow and seemed to be shaken slightly open. Well damn.


    I look back down and instead of death I see the goblins backs running, and then pain and nothing.

 Chapter 2.5 - The Logic of Altruism

    Felix once more adjusted his suit, the enchantments to remove stains and wrinkles were working quite fine but he still couldn¡¯t help himself. Facing his father, especially after what could be deemed a failure was never good for the nerves.


    Steeling himself he stepped forward to knock on the study door.


    ¡°Come in Felix.¡± Could be heard from inside the room, slightly muffled by the heavy oak.


    Felix allowed a somewhat derisive smile to flash across his face before lowering his hand to push the door open.


    His father, a mountain of a man sat behind an intricately carved wooden desk, head lowered as he shuffled papers. Mother said he shared his father¡¯s looks but he just couldn¡¯t see it. His father looked and even felt like¡­ power. It wasn¡¯t just the muscles that threatened the integrity of his shirt with every slight movement, or even the slight scars one could see trailing from under his trimmed greying beard to other parts of his face. No, what made it was simply his personality, his father expected creation to bend to his will and more often than not, it did.


    Raising his head, Baron Basileus von Juvleim placed the papers to side. Flashing a disarming smile he motioned for Felix to take the seat in front of him.


    ¡°How¡¯s your arm?¡± asked Basileus, the concern in his voice bellied only by the look of slight amusement on his face.


    ¡°It¡¯s already been taken care of. The healers assure me there¡¯s no lasting effects.¡± Felix replied as he sat on the proffered chair. He was well aware his father knew the state of his arm, as well as anything else in his domain. No, the question was likely less pleasantry than it was an acknowledgment for his failure.


    ¡°Well these things happen, what¡¯s important is that we learn from our experiences.¡± Came the easy-going reply. ¡°So tell me how your scouting trip went. I promise I won¡¯t get bored of the details, so be as lengthy as you like.¡± And with that Basileus shifted in his chair as to make himself more comfortable and gave Felix his full attention.


    Felix understood his father well enough to know that he was not a man who left things to chance, he likely had other sources of information and knew everything already.


    With his father¡¯s attention on him, Felix didn¡¯t hesitate anymore and calmly as he could, repeated everything that occurred. Starting from him collecting details on the lay of the land from the closest villages, to securing a guide who¡¯d lead them to a safe part of the forest, down to the moment him and his wards had been ambushed by an entire hoard of goblins and how they only survived by sacrificing the old huntress they met.


    The trek home had been mostly uneventful even if shameful as no goblins had followed them. The details from when they met his father¡¯s men waiting in the city would already be explicitly known so Felix saw no need to repeat them.


    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s ignore how you all managed to bumble right into a goblin¡¯s den for the moment. You mentioned some helpless old woman whom you literally threw to her death. Let¡¯s hope it was to her death, surviving to die under an angry pile of goblins would be¡­ worse. What I want to know is, why?¡±


    Felix couldn¡¯t help but wince with how blunt his father had been, the huntress wasn¡¯t helpless in the least, and besides, he had Aubrey help her too.


    ¡°It was the best option, if we all left together, we would never had outrun the goblins and none of us were in our best condition to fight. For that same reason sacrificing anyone but her would be just a waste of resources a no one would be a distraction long enough to ensure escape. Also with the Feather Light enchantment from squire Aubrey, she shouldn¡¯t be injured in the fall and may even be able to outrun the goblins. This method would give everyone the best chance to survive.¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    With now steepled hands, the joviality disappeared completely from Baron Basileus¡¯ eyes, leaving only the echo of the smile on his face. ¡°That; that is complete sophistry if I ever heard it. What you mean to say is you and yours gained the best chance at survival at the cost of the old woman¡¯s.¡± Now even the echo of the smile was gone as he leaned back in his chair, eyes never leaving Felix.


    ¡°Tell me son, do you truly believe the value of your life, or those with you was worth more than that old woman¡¯s?¡±


    Felix fought back the urge to squirm. What exactly did his father want him to say?! Felix believed he did the best he could, he had no illusions in thinking his party would have escaped without casualty, even with the huntress¡¯ help had they faced the goblins. He could only grit his teeth and be honest with his thoughts.


    ¡°Yes. Yes I do, she was only an old commoner while I and all with me are part of the peerage. Am I supposed to believe that blood of nobility is so weak as to be compared with a mere commoner?!¡±


    Felix could feel beads of sweat form and drip down his face after his outburst, some of it threatened to enter his eye but he made no move to wipe it under what felt like minutes under his father¡¯s steely gaze.


    The mettle faded from his father¡¯s eyes and was replaced with something he couldn¡¯t define.


    ¡°Nobility means nothing child. Blood is blood, life is life. But; but you are not wrong.¡± Baron Basileus seemed almost to be reminiscent as he gazed away from Felix. ¡°Let me tell you, the most important life to man is his own. To you, your life and those you care for will naturally carry more weight than some stranger you¡¯ve only met. Yet to that stranger, her life would be the most precious, do not lie to yourself that she would agree to throw it away for yours.¡±


    Now, the Baron¡¯s gaze refocused on his son¡¯s, ¡°Of course your life is also much more precious to me than some stranger. I do not fault your decision, but I do find issue with your reasoning. Never lie to yourself, it will only haunt and destroy you in the future. Always acknowledge your actions and their consequences, at least to yourself.¡±


    Whatever impact the Baron looked for on his son¡¯s face he seemed to have found it as his smile and gaze returned to their jovial state without hint of any change, ¡°And what will you do now?¡±


    ¡°Now? I, I don¡¯t understand.¡± Felix saw the matter as finished, unless, ¡°Do you mean ensure her death? I could have some of your men confirm her death, with your support that is.¡±


    ¡°Although that¡¯s a possibility, no that¡¯s not what I mean. Consider Felix, our family have had a barony awarded to us by the royal family. Most of our manors are also connected and in this area. We were given the right to stand above the people with no actual power or connections to ensure it. So what our ancestors did was simple, we gave the people reason to keep us on top. It¡¯s why our name is so well spoken of here, and also why we place more of our wealth into our cultivated villages than other nobles. It¡¯s also why you do not want to be known as a noble who mistreats his people. If this hunter survives, she could speak of what you¡¯ve done and the villages already know you¡¯ve been in the area and came back injured.


    No, what you will do is change the narrative, you will call this woman a hero who intentionally stepped in to save your life. You will speak of her willing sacrifice and offer her a sizeable reward. If she survived, she can either take the reward as her acceptance of the story and the reward itself will ensure no one doubts our story, or she can reject and tell the truth where it¡¯ll be our word against hers, and with our reputation and your offered reward, it will seem like a commoner who became greedy and wishes to blackmail a noble through his good intentions. If she died, we can afford to give a small reward to her family and cement you as a young noble who took after his father¡¯s good nature and is willing to humble himself for the people.


    All in all, this will give us a favourable excuse to search for her without raising suspicions and yet still benefit our name. You just have to ensure your wards speak of these matters to no one. Cary them with you in your search and have them vocally agree with your story. Their involvement will likely help control any pesky consciences.


    It pays to be kind you know.¡±


    In all of this, the joviality never left his father¡¯s face. This was why Felix always held some level of discomfort around his father. He¡¯s heard priests mention that the eyes were the window to the soul and Felix agreed, most people betrayed their intentions with their eyes. His father was not most people. To everyone, his father was a saint, approachable and honest if only a bit stiff, a man with clear eyes and intentions, none of it was true.

 Chapter 3 - You Are What You Eat

    I awaken to darkness. I see nothing. I can¡¯t feel anything. Am I hyperventilating? I think I might be hyperventilating; I¡¯d know if I was if I could at least feel or hear my breathing.


    I need to calm down, need to think. I¡¯m not in pain, or in anything really but at least that means no pain. I don¡¯t think I can move and none of my senses seem to be working. Well, I might have one still sense available.


    I reach for that familiar part of my mind, it takes more fumbling than usual but then the world comes into view with a palpable snap.


    [You have learned the skill Sense Vaki]


    Light suddenly swathed unto the black canvas of my psyche. No longer blind I allow myself the brief reprieve of enjoying sight, or at least a form of it, once more. The Tapestry is said to encompass the world and vaki are the threads it¡¯s weaved from. The academy I attended argued if vaki was just the will of things or the life of the thing itself. To me it didn¡¯t matter, vaki was just another way to see the world.  All living things have vaki within them, and it usually stayed there, radiating outwards minute amounts and interacting with their bodies; it¡¯s what allows us the ability to use most skills. If you could see and influence the vaki without, you had the basic qualifications to be a mage.


    I can currently see a white silhouette of the world with varying levels of brightness, this view won¡¯t show things like rocks as they¡¯re not vaki infused, but it¡¯s enough. I could concentrate to see the ambient vaki but that requires some manipulation of your internal reserves and I don¡¯t see a reason to risk tiring myself in my current position.


    As I take in the white world around me it becomes clear I wasn¡¯t moved, nor is there any living creature nearby. This means I can focus on answering some questions, especially one which I didn¡¯t expect I¡¯d have to ask. Why would the Tapestry tell me I¡¯ve now learnt a skill I already knew?


    Skills are crystallizations of vaki infused techniques aided by the Tapestry, the rationale behind their workings is still being better understood but we at least know that Skills, like Jobs can never be truly forgotten once they¡¯ve been embedded into our very essence. Only, unlike Jobs, there¡¯s no definite limit to them.


    Come to think of it, what¡¯s the state of my Jobs? I look inside myself to find¡­ nothing? What?


    How?!


    WHY?!?!


    I can¡¯t have lost my Jobs, that¡¯s impossible!


    No, I need to be calm; I¡¯ll make do.


    Let¡¯s look again, thoroughly.


    I once more allowed my sense to permeate through my spirit, this time much deeper. It¡¯s naturally easy to feel the difference between your own spirit and the parts touched by the Tapestry which include Skills and Jobs. Both allow for impressions and instincts to be gained which were never truly your own and in a certain sense could be considered as foreign to one¡¯s self. I think it¡¯s because of how ¡®natural¡¯ this particular Job felt that I missed the fact I actually still had one. Delving into it I feel an unfamiliar name emerge, Ya-Te-Veo.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    Lovely; I go from a peaceful life to not at all peacefully being beaten half to death and left comatose, then to wake up all but blind to the world with all my Skills and Jobs from before impossibly erased and now I¡¯m laden with some unknown thing which does who knows what and came from who knows where; it better be damned good.


    I probe at it cautiously to see what it entails, to only meet what could only be incomprehensible gibberish. I know I may have not the most knowledge on Jobs but never have I heard of one which speaks of acting like a plant. Sinking deeper into the impressions leave me with the sweet taste of the sun and the fresh feel of the loam underneath, the joy of spring rain brushes past leaving the quiet respite of a cool breeze.


    I break free and feel the world begrudgingly start to turn once more. Not good. A Job will change a person¡¯s inclination to a certain extent, but not to the extent of mentally crippling you! Yet my new ¡®Job¡¯ seems to do just that, and worse I think I know why. Along with the taste of nature came the understanding of what type of Job I now had, or more accurately what type of plant I was to be.


    The Ya-Te-Vo was a roving meat eating plant and was apparently the same bramble patch I had found myself in. The largest problem is that these plants have specific periods where they actively hunt and thus behave more like a beast than plant. These active periods were not even controlled but instinctive, one dealt with pollination and the other with food shortages. Since I didn¡¯t seem particularly desirous for male plant parts (if that¡¯s a thing), I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s the food issue.


    This in itself wasn¡¯t problematic, what was is the fact that the plant would go back to being, well plant-like if it encountered better soil or, could not find meat. No meat would lead it to ¡°hibernate¡± until resources came along. I can¡¯t believe going back to my roots (heh) would end well for me, just the feel of the Job had been too dangerous; a plant would naturally survive but who knows how much damage this would cause to my already injured body.


    Speaking of, I really need to get a better understanding of my physical condition. I can¡¯t let myself forget what¡¯s most important here, I can always sort out other details once I know I¡¯m safe.


    I refocus my ¡®sight¡¯ once more to the outside and see a body slumped underneath me. Is this one of the goblins? I¡¯m pretty sur- wait. Oh Gods no.


    Impossible.


    How¡­


    It¡¯s me, I¡¯m under myself.


    I¡¯m too tired for this crap; too tired to care at this point.


    Well I looked pretty good for a person obviously losing their mind as they die, all things considered.


    No, I take that back. Even I can¡¯t admire my beauty when there¡¯s a bloody stake driven straight through my head, my hair must obviously be a mess.


    I get it now, the stake is mine. I¡¯m the damned plant that¡¯s killing me, or I¡¯m just hallucinating as I die from a branch through the head; either way I can¡¯t say I¡¯m liking this.


    Well if I¡¯m dying, that¡¯s it but if I¡¯m the plant then maybe I could stave off my end, after all I literally have the solution in my mouth (or tuber?). I¡¯ll eat myself, either I¡¯m mad and nothing happens, or I¡¯m now a sentient plant who now full, shouldn¡¯t go into hibernation.


    I force my spirit into the stake and I already feel a connection there, I can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s my head bleeding into the plant or vice versa, either way I¡¯m going to widen this bond and hope for a miracle.


    My spirit breaks through, and I feel it widening, inexplicably strengthening, it¡¯s almost euphoric, ripping the link open and made me feel strength in a way I hadn¡¯t in years. I swear the world stopped, or at least my mind did soaking in how delicious this all felt. It almost made me miss the sound of the Tapestry whispering in my soul.


    [Awaken kin of Ouroboros. Die by your Transgressions and Live for your Atonement]


    [You have earned the title Ouroboros¡¯ Kin]