Though he'd known the name of her Occupation, TJ was surprised to see how efficient and focused Zig was as she gave directions to the little hunting party. She knew where they were moving, how to ensure they moved safely, and what the terrain was all around them. Something about the Occupation or one of her Skills helped them to move more efficiently, something that TJ only now realized had also been present the other times he'd been out on the hunt with her. The pine needles underfoot crackled less obviously, each step taken was a little easier, and TJ could feel and see that the hiking was far less draining, his Stamina only barely reducing. Finally, as they left the safety of the bounds of the ever shrinking safe zone, TJ bit the bullet and distributed the four Free Points he had sitting in his Status. With as many levels as he'd gained in the past day or so, TJ felt he could be at least moderately confident in this hunt. He looked briefly at the Status.
Status Sheet
Name: TJ (Thiago Jorge) Harris IV
Race: Human – lvl 9
Class: Neophyte lvl 8
Occupation: Savage lvl 10
Level of Divinity: Dirt (0)
Divine Bloodline: Kukulkan
Health Points (HP): 610/610
Mana Points (MP): 440/440
Stamina: 600/600
Attributes
Strength: 29
Agility: 28
Endurance: 60
Vitality: 61
Toughness: 52
Wisdom: 34
Intelligence: 44
Perception: 42
Willpower: 53
Fixation: 43
Free Points: 0
Skill List: Hidden
Titles: Irregular
Elite Hunter
Current total maximum Divine Transformation time: 54:15
(End+Vit+Will+Fix)/4 Current cooldown: 0:00
Status Sheet
Name: TJ (Thiago Jorge) Harris IV
Race: Coatl – lvl 9
Class: Neophyte lvl 8
Occupation: Savage lvl 10
Level of Divinity: Dirt (0)
Divine Bloodline: Kukulkan
Health Points (HP): 1220/1220
Mana Points (MP): 440/440
Stamina: 1200/1200
Attributes
Strength x2: 58
Agility x1.5: 42
Endurance x2: 120
Vitality x2: 122
Toughness x2: 104
Wisdom: 33
Intelligence: 44
Perception x1.5: 63
Willpower: 53
Fixation: 43
Free Points: 0
Skill List: Hidden
Titles: Irregular
Elite Hunter
Divine Trial Records
2 Minor, 0 Moderate, 0 Bitter, 0 Celestial
Looking at his Status, TJ felt more and more how much his Strength and Agility were falling behind. There was, however, one of the people whose Strength was the highest in the Tutorial with him, so he stepped near Sarah as they walked and asked, "Can I ask you a couple questions about your Status?"
"Sure." Sarah shrugged as she continued to watch their surroundings. Her shield had been dismissed, though TJ knew it didn't cost anything to keep it summoned. In her right hand, a hatchet wholly made of steel flashed with every step. Farid and Zig too kept their eyes peeled, their weapons at the ready while Rebekkah stood between Sarah and TJ, trying to stay as safe as possible.
"What's your Strength, Agility, and Vitality?"
"56, 51, 57." She rattled off without having to consult her Status. TJ felt his jaw begin to drop. Her physical attributes were so much higher than he'd expected, even compared to his Divine Transformation.
"And what two bonus attributes do you get from your Bloodline?"
"Agility and Perception."
"And what level are you?"
"Zealot 6, Guard 7. Why?"
TJ couldn't help but chuckle to himself, laughing at his inflated sense of grandeur. He began to wonder if continuing to spread himself thin with the lack of specialization of Savage was going to make him weaker than everyone else in the long term. Then, remembering he didn't really want to ascend the Throne, he chuckled again at his needless worrying.
"What?" Sarah asked, obviously a bit offended.
"I'm laughing at myself. I thought that, with Divine Transformation, I would be so much stronger than everyone else, but I look now at you, and see that I was just full of myself for no reason. I could only begin to compare to you, and that's with my Divine Transformation."
Now assured he wasn't looking down on her, Sarah grinned and spoke, still keeping her eyes peeled. "Yeah, but I bet your other attributes are way higher. My Wisdom, Intelligence, and Willpower are just barely at 20. The only reason my Perception is as high as it is comes from my Bloodline."
Before TJ could respond, Rebekkah spoke. "Can we focus on the hunt?" She didn't say anything else.
Before the atmosphere got too tense, Zig chimed in. "Here's what I think she meant. I'm glad you're talking. For now, though, only talk about plans about this hunt. We're taking risks, so be as safe as possible."
"My bad." TJ apologized as he went back to paying attention exclusively to their surroundings. Zig was right, of course. Though he'd spent his life working together with other people and never really minding it, he'd spent the formative very beginning of the Integration alone, forced to fight for himself and himself alone. With that as his foundation of the Tutorial, he was slightly resistant to the very necessary teamwork that came as a part of, you know, working together.
It wasn't long before they arrived at the site of the fight. As they turned the corner of the sharp turn, there it was. On their left, a nearly sheer dropoff, large red stone patterning the way down at least 100 feet. On the right, the ponderosa pines towered over them, thick brush growing more and more dense by the day. It was hard to remember when you saw it every day, but as TJ looked at the scene of the ambush, he could see how nature was reclaiming itself. Asphalt cracked and grass grew where it couldn't possibly have only a week ago. The forest, though still in a desert in the winter, was greener and fuller than before.
Then, TJ looked not at the surroundings but at the location of the ambush itself. The remains of his backpack had been mostly blown away, only a few tattered shreds of nylon remained. Beyond that, though the bloodstains were difficult to pick out on the worn gray asphalt, they still remained, and TJ felt his blood boil remembering what his friend had gone through. Then, he remembered something.
"Has anyone been talked to by the pukwudgies?"
A chorus of "No"s answered him. "Why do you ask?" Farid questioned, keeping his eyes on the forest that bordered their position.
"On the first day they appeared, they spoke to me, trying to get me to give Stanton up for safe passage. I didn't think about it again until now, but I realize that I haven't heard any of them speak since."
"I haven't heard of any of them speaking." Zig answered, Rebekkah and Farid nodding in agreement. Sarah had stood herself between the forest and their party with her now summoned shield at the ready and wasn't paying attention to the discussion.
"Ok. Maybe we'll find out why today. Maybe we won't find anything. I don't care too much either way, I just was wondering."
"Well, I think we're ready to go in. Is that right?" Zig asked. The hunting party agreed, and so they followed her into the forest. As soon as they entered, though, Farid stopped and the rest with him. Though he didn't know why, TJ watched with the rest as Farid, with supernatural speed and efficiency, dug a hole about a foot in diameter and depth. As soon as he finished it, gleaming, magical spikes appeared at the bottom, and as Farid stood up, it faded into a nondescript patch of dirt, just like the rest that surrounded it.
"Here is the first trap. As you watched me create it, it will be much easier for you to spot on our way home, and if we need to run, it will be best that you recall its exact location. You should have a bonus to your ability to spot it en route, but be careful. I will make a couple more on our path, so make sure to take note and follow my steps if we flee."
The party nodded and TJ was reminded how impactful having a team with him would be on this hunt. He redoubled his focus, and they walked onward. Though it was still early afternoon, the more and more primeval forest consumed the light that fought to trickle to the ground. TJ had loved these pine forests as a child, the few trips he'd taken here remained fond memories of sitting near a campfire with Gramps, his mom and dad sleeping beside him in a tent.
This forest, though mere miles from where those memories took place, was almost a twisted version of the lands he remembered. The vegetation choked all light from the air, and with each step they took deeper, the shadows seemed to loom darker and longer until much of the light of day was stolen from the environment. Worse still, though they walked farther for ten minutes, they saw no enemies. No ravening coyotes, no charging javelinas, and no ambushing pukwudgies. TJ felt the hairs on the back of his neck stick up, the wind whispering that something was nearby.
Before he could speak, Zig whistled low and pointed to both sides before pulling out her bow and drawing it all the way back to her ear. Farid turned to the other side, his two pronged spear, a bident, held at the ready. Before TJ and Sarah could decide what to do, though, two silhouettes leapt from the bushes towards Rebekkah. Supernaturally quickly, Sarah charged and intercepted the ambush with her shield, one, and then two of Zig's arrows lodging themselves deep into its ribs. On TJ's side, the mountain lion was faster than he could react and bore Rebekkah to the ground.
Different from the few he'd seen before, this massive mountain lion was nearly pure black, and its form seemed to billow in the darkness that surrounded it. Its every movement was nearly inaudible, and TJ struggled to see it, even as he watched it. The only flash of color on the monster was its pink mouth and white teeth. It bit towards the Disciple's face as she struggled back and forth.
He activated Divine Transformation as Rebekkah screamed. TJ's jaws sought the cougar's face, hoping to pull it away, but Rebekkah was faster. Though she continued to thrash, she opened her mouth and breathed a gout of fire into the beast's face. It hissed and reeled back as it swiped at her face, trying to get her to stop. TJ got there in time, and with it being temporarily blinded, his jaws found its face. Its paws continued to claw at what it couldn't see, cutting long but shallow gouges in TJ's scales. TJ didn't care, instead wrenching it back away from Rebekkah. As he did, Farid's javelin found its flesh, the crescent moon sliding up the shaft until it cut deep into the beast.
It roared and TJ felt its body phase to become somewhat incorporeal. A beat later, and his coils fell through its silhouette. Nearly immediately after, the mountain lion returned to a physical form and turned to attempt to escape. TJ immediately sent a foot-long blade of wind at its legs. It made contact, making the beast falter. TJ pursued it, wrenching it back towards the party where TJ, Farid, and Rebekkah whittled it down until, after its third failed attempt to escape, it succumbed to injuries with a pathetic cry.
Tezcatlipoca-Blessed mountain lion, 7 Slain. Experience gained.
On the other side of the group, Sarah grunted with exertion as she pulled back her hatchet, it glowed with supernatural light, and she cleaved straight through the mountain lion's skull. It fell, dead, a dozen arrows and half as many deep cuts from the hatchet covering its body. Sarah panted, her legs covered with deep lacerations from the mountain lion's back legs. TJ waved off Rebekkah's ministrations, so she went and healed both herself and Sarah for a moment.
This first fight was complete, and they'd already sustained injuries. Even so, they pressed on.