Sharp

57. High Priestess.

I didn’t sleep late because the bunk rooms were busy. I got up, had a good long wash, and put on the new clothes Melor’s father had made for me. They were quite nice.

I then went out to treat myself to a nice breakfast. I had a leisurely breakfast and watched the city wake up. I let Kai finish my pastry. I need to find a way to treat Ardisia as well. She does feed on blood, so maybe I will get an ox heart from the butcher and see how she likes it.

Time to update my skill list. I am halfway to bronze.

Sharpen [Speed attribute] Level 5

Razor Sharp. Level 7

Iron rank: Sharpens any cutting or piercing object to a razor edge. Bonus penetration and cutting through material up to Iron Rank. Cost mana, Varies.

Resistant Fur {Hair Stone} Level 6

Iron Rank: Fur becomes resistant to cutting and piercing.

Pierce {Hand stone} Special Attack Level 5

Iron Rank: Use melee weapons in a piercing strike to penetrate, especially through armour.

Quick Sharp {Flick Stone} Level 5

Iron Rank: Boost movement speed for high mana/sec cost.

Cutting Web {Web stone} Level 5

Iron Rank: Produce strands of thin, sharp web. This is hard to see, but it has iron-rank strength. Designed for cutting. Low Mana

Hunt [Spirit attribute] Level 5

Senses of the Hunter [Perception]. Level 6

Iron Rank: Improves Sight, xxxxxx senses.

Hunter’s Step {Foot stone} Level 6

Iron Rank: Move swiftly, lightly and quietly through the terrain. Muffles movement noise. Cost low mana/sec.

Hunters Feast {Feast Stone} Level 5

Iron Rank: Consume what you kill or harvest to replenish health, mana and Stamina.

Blend {Chameleon Stone} Level 5

Iron Rank: Changes skin and fur to blend in with surroundings. Changes are slow, restricting movement. Low mana/sec

Hunters Tether {Trap Stone} Level 5

Iron Rank: Create a rod that sends out tethers, restricting movement and stopping stealth. The tether rod binds enemies, dragging them to the centre, and explodes if destroyed.

Plant [Recovery] Level 5

Blood Root Vine Summons - Ardisia Level 5

Iron Rank: Summon a Blood Root vine. Resides in the skin may produce thorns from the skin. When it manifests, it entraps with piercing and bleeding effects. Feeds on blood to heal. Can move through the ground as roots emerge and entrap. Can’t move through non-earth or non-plant material.

Tranquil Garden {Divine Stone of Peace} Level 6

Iron Rank: A small garden in a dimensional pocket. Increased growth rate. Summons can enter and heal.

Shield {wood stone} Level 5

Iron Rank: Create solid wooden shields of various sizes at the current Rank.

Resin {Pine Sap Stone} Level 5

Iron Rank: Create and manipulate a sticky resin that hardens over time. Hardening can be sped up or slowed to a small degree. Hardening control improves with level, as does volume and manipulation. Manipulation is more difficult the harder it is. Resistant to impact, water and corrosion, weak to heat and light.

Mighty Oak {Mighty Stone} Level 5

Iron Rank: The power of the oak increases Strength - High Mana/sec

Reaper [Power] Level 4

Reapers Aura Level 7

Iron Rank: Increases allies' Spirit attribute in aura range, Increasing perception and judgment. Helps keep a calm mind.

Devourer Rat Summons (Kai) {feast stone} Level 7

Iron Rank: Summon four devourer rats. Chew and claw through any material of the same rank or less given time. Absorbed in summoners' claws and teeth, strengthening them. And enabling them to boost them up a level. Can breed to replenish numbers over a week.

Rend {Claw Stone} Special Attack Level 4

Iron Rank: Use claws to rip open things. Claws reach beyond the physical to rend the incorporeal.

Reaping Magic {Reaping Stone} Level 6

Iron Rank: Collect the magic from recently killed monsters to form relevant natural objects. Magic will dissipate quickly. The amount collected depends on the Level and Spirit Attribute.

Reaping Power {Preparation Stone} Level 5

Iron Rank: Damage caused by using weapons created or enhanced by a Skill creates the Blessing of the Reaper - Boon, Stacking up to a limit defined by Spirit attribute.

Blessing of the Reaper -

Iron Rank: Syphons a small amount of health from the one damaged to create instances of the blessing. Bestow the blessings on a skill to increase its power, proportional to the instances used.

I did remind myself that was the easy half. Levelling gets harder the higher you go. Rend was letting me down. I am going to need to use my claws more often.

It is time to go and see if Nia and Anada were at work today. On the way there, I passed a butcher shop that had several blood-filled organs cheap. I will take them into my Garden for her when I get to the Temple.

There was someone I didn’t know serving in the front office. I hadn’t been here for a year, so I suppose people will come and go.

“Can I help you, sir?” the elf looked to be about my age. She was dressed smartly and looked professional, if very young. Like me, I thought.

“Yes, I was wondering if Nia or Anada were available.”

“Do you mean High Priestess Nia? Do you have an appointment?”

“She is the high priestess? That is awesome. When did that happen?”

“She became high priestess about a month ago after achieving gold rank.”

“Wow, gold rank. That is impressive. What happened to Lady Glaynor?” I asked.

“She is stationed permanently in Ironwood as there is much to do there. You didn’t say whether you had an appointment, sir.”

“Ah, no, I don’t. If you just tell her Theo is here, she might spare a few minutes for me.” Her frown indicated I was not going to get her to do so. She could tell I was an iron ranker trying to see a gold ranker who was also the high priestess. “Wait,” I said, “here, this might help.” I fished out my token and handed it over.

“Oh, I didn’t realise you were a Cleric, sir. I am sure the High Priestess will have time for you. If you want to come through, we can get you some refreshments while you wait.”

“Thank you. I am fine. I have just finished breakfast. Is Priest Anada around?”

“I am sorry, sir, he is currently at Ironwood and is not due back until next month.”

“I see, that’s fine. I will wait.”

She scurried off, and I realised I didn’t even get her name. While she was gone, I raised my arch and slipped the organs into Ardisia. I felt a wave of thanks and then, “No. Kai! They are for Ardisia. You can only have them when she is finished.” The Kais slunk back to their den but stayed at the entrance, their noses twitching, looking like I never fed them. I left before I was sucked in. Ardisia is made of sterner stuff than me.

I had barely closed the arch when I heard footsteps hurrying to me. Nia and the elf came in, and my smile grew wide.

Nia stopped, “Who is this imposter!” she said, and the elf girl's face looked shocked. “You're not Theo,” she declared. “The Theo I knew never wore a shirt, let alone trousers. What have you done with Theo?”

“You are going to give the young lady a heart attack,” I said as she grinned and came to hug me.

“Sorry, Kiri,” Nia said, “You can go now. I will look after this guy.” She turned to me and handed me my token back, “A Cleric, huh?”

“You can talk, miss High Priestess. Congratulations on the Gold Rank.”

“Thanks. We have to take everything we can from the undead.” her face sobered a bit, “Fighting them put me over the edge to gold. So what about you? Tell me about your year and how you became a Cleric.”

“The Cleric bit is all new. I haven’t told anyone yet. In fact, this was the first time I used my token.”

We ended up chatting and catching up for two hours. Kiri brought us refreshments, and when I queried if Nia had other duties, she waved it off. “Meeting with a Roaming Cleric is important church work, didn’t you know!”

She told me what was happening in Ironwood. “Fighting that gold-rank Undead Priest beside Lady Glanor was what pushed me over to gold. My Death essence was the last to level.”

“Death essence? Do you have the death essence? I thought it was restricted?”

“It is restricted, restricted to the Goddess of Death and those to whom she wishes to give it. It is a powerful essence against Undeath. The Goddess does not have many who want to serve her at the time they get their essences. I am kind of an exception. Once you get to Bronze Rank and higher, it is too difficult to change. You know I had a Death essence with me when I came to your Essence ritual.”

“Really?”

Nia nodded, “I thought the Goddess might want you to have it, but she didn’t.”

“How would that have worked?”

“However, the Goddess wanted it to work. I gave up my confluence essence, and she gave me the Death essence instead. I have never regretted it.”

I shook my head, “No, it is not for me.”

“Even I could tell that. I saw the joy and relief when you got Ardisia, then again when you got Kai.”

“They have been great. I never found out if you had any familiars. I am sorry I was pretty self-focused back then.”

“I do have a Familiar, but I don’t bring her out often. She scares people as she is a Spectre of Death from my Death Essence. She boosts my aura, and I like her.” She grinned at me. “She helped me with quite a few pranks over the years.”

“And that is why the death essence is restricted, no doubt,” I said. Then I saw the time, “Oh, I was going to meet some fellow candidates for lunch. They wanted to do some shopping. They can wait.”

“Hey, shopping. Shopping can’t wait! I can come with you. It will be fun.”

“Are you sure you don’t have High Priesty things to do?”

“It is called delegation.”

“Ok, Kai will go ahead and locate them for us.” Two Kai’s slipped out of my feet and dashed off. I heard an exclamation of surprise from Kiri in the front office as they dashed out.

Nia chuckled at that. “You know I could always send Azrael to find them.”

“Azrael, as in your familiar, the Spectre of Death?”

She grinned wider.

“Better not,” I said. “I do still want some friends after this.”