It didn't get any easier.
I thought with some time I'd bounce back but it's proven harder than I expected to get it out of my head.
We are almost two days into the trip back now. Deep in the middle of the Dominion Woods. It rained for most of it but today it finally let up and the sun is shining bright in the sky. But it's been getting cold. A whisper of an encroaching first cold snap for the Harvest season. But thankfully the gambeson is pretty well insulated.
Thorpe and I have had brief sporadic conversation but nothing really substantial.
It's not ideal. It's not like I'm mad at him either. After what he explained to me about bandit, killing the Archer was the best call.
But even that still hasn't taken the memory out of my head. And even worse it's all that flashes into my mind when I look at him. Which becomes apparent on my own face and he notices. Which just makes his mood even worse. Which just makes ME feel worse.
Suffice it to say. It's been awkward. We've lost a lot of the comradery we had before.
And that has not coupled well with our shared paranoia about Dreyfus's group possibly trying to track us. But Thorpe says with how large their group is and how far away they were from their camp when we left, it's unlikely they'll be able to catch up if we keep rests to a minimum and cover our tracks. But that hasn't exactly given me confidence.
Thorpe explained a bit more about Bandits and just how much of a danger they were. And he is definitely worried we showed them skills they'd be interested in trying to attain.
Apparently, like monsters, Bandits don't have levels. But what they do have other than gaining sub-classes are Ranks. Bandits have a chance of evolving their class sort of like we do but by 'Ranking up'. Becoming a stronger version called a [Highwayman]. He says it boosts their stats as well so Highwayman are pretty dangerous and are usually the leaders of Bandit Clans.
When I asked him what a Marauder is he didn't look too happy talking about it but he did explain.
Marauder is the Rank above Highwayman and the highest any Bandit can go as far as he knows. But Marauders are so rare that only usually one exists at any given time and for good reason. From what Thorpe says they are supposedly akin to a Saint in terms of strength. Meaning absurdly powerfully.
But he also said that a Marauder hasn't been known to exist for atleast 300 years and it's very difficult to become one. The last one that existed was 'King Atreyu' who even I had heard of from stories my papa used to tell about the old Saints.
Thorpe says Atreyu was the leader of the Urka, the oldest bandit clan, and was a terror on the entire continent. It took the combined effort of the Saint of Blades and the Saint of Rogues to kill him. But those two lost their lives in the process.
Given what had been revealed to us a couple days ago, I asked Thorpe right then if he thought what the Archer said was true. That a new Marauder existed. And he just seemed skeptical of it but didn't give a solid answer.
I didn't push it anymore than that. At that point I just wanted to go home and we ended up walking throughout the rest of that night. It's a wonder we didn't run into any monsters that gave us trouble. Anything that showed up Thorpe handled before I could even react.
But we still have about 4 days worth of traveling still ahead of us and I wish we could just have a normal conversation. But I keep getting caught up on that stupid night.
I need to stop being such a coward about this. I know he said he understands and that I'm reacting appropriately…but he did it for our safety and I feel like I'm punishing him for it.
I glance over to Old Guard ahead of me. Our foot steps crunching in the grass. His head turned to watch a small group of young Jackelopes hopping away as we get near to them. The thumps of their legs scaring a few birds from the trees.
We both watch one of the young monsters bump it's shoulder into a tree mid stride when it's kin collides with it in the escape.
My interest perks as my mind flickers back to the fight with the Kite. As well as some of the aspects of its abilities. Now that it's been pretty calm compared to the chaos that ensued a couple days ago, there has been something bugging me about it.
I clear my throat. "I've been thinking…" I start quietly, seeing Thorpes head turn slightly as we continue to walk. "The Kite…it definitely had [Leap Stride]…but I don't think I can blow up trees like that but leaping into them."
That does seem to grab his interest. Atleast I see his shoulders relaxing.
"Yeeaaah I was thinking about that." He answered passively. "Your skill…which I'm assuming all Jackelopes have…does definitely soak up most of the impact when you land…which I guess simply just activated when you hit another solid surface. But it lets you not worry as much when you use it." The old man continues, musing on the specifics. "But it doesn't defend you against piercing attacks. My spear was cutting into it just fine even when it was mid stride."
I nod along. "And my first kill, the jackelope impaled itself on my sword while leaping."
The old man chuckles. "Yeah that was a risky call but it certainly worked. But I don't think I've ever seen jackelope melt through trees like that…not even adult ones." He admits while adjusting his pack. "Maybe it's relative to its size. Maybe even its strength. But I don't think even a Kite would have the strength to destroy a tree like that."
I purse my lips as I consider it. "Maybe…" My brows furrow. A memory of Leone passes over me. "Actually…"
The old man is continuing on a decent pace but he has his head somewhat cocked to the side to hear me.
Running through the fight again in my head and how the skill works for me and even remembering how it worked for the adult jackelope that almost killed me.
"Wait…let me try something." Stopping and setting my pack down on the ground. I can see Thorpe stop and turn to watch me in my peripheral.
I walk up to the nearest tree and give a feel of the bark on the trunk. And despite how much leaner the Emperor trees are they certainly are sturdy.
I take a few yards worth of steps back, bend my knees, angle myself towards the tree, and do what I usually do. Let myself fall forward before I activate the skill. Immediately sending me sailing at speed towards the tree. Turning into my shoulder and striking the tree with it.
My impact resistance soaks up most of the force but it definitely does sting a little. And I basically just bounce off the tree, flipping over past it and into the dirt.
"Whoa! You alright?" I hear Thorpe call out and start to rush over to me but I am already picking myself up.
"Yep! I'm fine. I'm fine." I assure, giving a deep breath while I dust myself off before running back to the tree to assess the damage. And just as I expected there is little to nothing. The cushioning effect from the skill basically just bounced me off of it.
Thorpe steps up beside me. "Doesn't look like it did anything."
I give a nod as I start stepping back again to a few yards away. "Exactly…that's how I usually do it. But I think the Kite did it slightly differently."
This time I set myself up exactly the same as before. Angling myself, bending my knees fully, locking in and leaning forward. But then I simply leap forward under my own power. Which with a strength stat of 2 is pretty decent. But right before my feet leave the ground I activate [Leap Stride].
And the change in speed is IMMENSE because before I know it I'm having the wind knocked out of me. A stinging pain wrapping over my body. The sound of wood cracking and now I'm tumbling to the ground even further before.
But surprisingly. It didn't hurt anymore than it did when I hit it the first time. I just hit it at an odd angle out of surprise. That increase in speed was alarming.
Before I can even get up the Old Man lifts me up by my under arms and I finally meet his gaze. Of course he looks panicked at the moment "Are you alright!? You hit REALLY hard!"
Taking a few breaths and then smiling up at him as he pats me over to find any damage. But I just end up breaking out into giggles. "I'm fine I'm fiiiiiiine. The skill cushions me….but it did give me quite a wallop."
Thorpe snorts at that before sighing. "You got that right. For a second there it looked like you got THROWN at it." He states, still with some apparent concern in his eyes.
I chuckle at him before breaking away to speed back over to the tree. And sure enough there is a pretty sizeable crater in the trunk where I must have hit. The wood splintered and shattered. White fluids leaking from the cracks. The smile on my face starts to hurt the corners of my mouth with how wide it is.
A low impressed whistle sounds from behind as Old Guard scans over it. "Hot damn Liore. What did you do different?"
I spin around and beam at my mentor. "I figured it out!" Probably looking pretty pleased with myself. "The skill specifically states that it lets you do standing leaps and bounding strides and cushions your fall. But it doesn't say how MUCH it cushions."
Thorpe nods and folds his arms over his chest. "Right. So I just assume it takes a percentage of an impact every time."
I nod. "Exaclty! Which is why the Jackelopes don't get hurt much when they inevitably ram into things when they miss."
The old man smirks. "Other than sharp points of course."
I smile back at that but keep going. "The Jackelopes use the skill constantly, it's how they move, so it's like second nature to them. They only use their legs for angling their direction. Which is what I always do. Just angle and then let the skill do the work."
The old man furrows his brows and takes on a pensive expression, letting me continue without interjection.
I take a deep breath first and then continue. "But the Kite isn't used to that. So it was still jumping under its own strength and THEN the skill activates right before its feet leave the ground." My hands emphasize with two fingers on my opposite palm to mimic the jump. "And I remembered that Leone's [Flash Strike] skill always sent him forward the same distance every time. So it had a set momentum. So I'm assuming that [Leap Stride] does too!"
Thorpes face brightens up. "Ooooh. So the skill is basically just adding momentum onto you even if you are standing still. So if you are already in the process of gaining momentum it stacks onto it."
I nod quickly. "And sending me faster and further than it normally would on its own. But you are right about one thing. I think it does have to do with size and weight." Pointing a finger to the tree I hit. "When I hit something during a leap it cushions the impact and the resistance stays for a couple of seconds after the initial hit because I think it's accounting for me bouncing off. And it cushions the same percentage of an impact every time. I am smaller and less dense than the tree. The tree is rooted and I'm not. So the cushioning effect bounces me off of it because the force of the impact still has to go SOMEWHERE. But if I'm going faster and hitting something harder, it becomes more difficult to just bounce me off of it."
I tap my foot on the ground. "Say I'm falling from a great height after a leap and my momentum is too strong to bounce me when I hit the ground. Judging by what just happened with the tree, when I hit the ground the skill should cushion the same percentage of the impact even if I hit it harder and can't bounce as easily." And then I clap my hands together. "BUT if it can't bounce me then where does the impact go if not into me? Cause it has to go somewhere."
Thorpe snaps his fingers. "It would go into the ground. And depending on how dense the dirt is you'd probably shatter the earth and because of the skill you'd still be fine afterwards." His face contorts in one of sheer bewilderment. "The bird was too big to just bounce off the tree. And with that much weight going at that speed, the cushioning effect basically has no choice but to send triple the force of the impact back into the tree. Completely obliterating it." Shaking his head and rubbing his temples. "God that is insane. And jackelopes just HAVE that?"
I can't help but giggle at the thought of a young jackelope head butting trees to make them explode. "Thankfully I don't think their big enough to do that. Even the adults. And I'm certainly not big enough either so I won't be felling trees to splinters with my forehead anytime soon."
Old Guard snorts and ruffles my hair. "Well let's not make a habit of testing that." He then scratches the short dark red beard hes been growing over the last couple weeks. "I guess that does also explain why it could charge into a person without us exploding. Because unlike a tree we are not rooted to the ground and the cushioning effect just bounces us off of it."
I nod, grabbing my pack back up and brushing the dirt off of myself. The two of us return to a traveling pace side by side. A smile on my face as the tension that was prevalent before has faded mostly. Finally going back to enjoying each others company as we discuss theories on other skills we saw.
I can still feel that lingering fear from what happened. And I'm not going to pretend it isn't there. Infact it probably will be for awhile.
But I can't move past this if I don't try. And the last thing I want is to form a gap between me and Mr. Thorpe.
So I'll just have to keep at it.