114, 2/2

Erick looked away from Quilatalap to see a large orcol man, stepping up the stairs that led to the orchestra down below. His hair was black and skin was brown as bark, and thick, like tree bark. All he wore was a kilt made of leather, and a very displeased visage. His eyes were bright white; he was a Shade. And he was walking right at Erick.

Quilatalap spoke before the interloper could, “Hello, Treant.”

Oh? So this was Treant? Erick had wondered what the reclusive Shade had looked like. Killzone had said that Treant was usually a tree in the middle of the Garden, but he wasn’t sure if Treant was a person turned into a tree, or a tree [Familiar] that outgrew its master. Bets were that Treant was a former orcol, and those bets looked to be correct.

Treant scowled at the archlich, but he turned his displeasure back to a low simmer, and stopped two meters from Erick. He stood there, silent. Unblinking. Angry, and yet unwilling to speak.

Killzone’s main advice regarding Treant was not to go into the Garden and otherwise avoid the man, for Treant was a strident misanthrope of the worst kind. He absolutely hated civilization, organized thought, people of all kinds, and especially politics. But he loved plants. Killzone had given Erick an edge to dealing with this Shade, but Erick needed to wait for the right time, and to see how Treant actually felt before he opened his mouth and spoke of his advantage.

So Erick waited.

Eventually, the bark-skinned orcol spoke, “I am torn.”

Erick successfully resisted the urge to say, ‘Hi, Torn! I’m Erick.’

Treant continued, “On one side, you have created a World Tree, and you have created many new plants. But on the other side, they are farming plants. Lives created to CODDLE—” Anger exploded, but was successfully restrained. Treant forced himself to speak through his anger, “To coddle the people of this blasted world. But on yet another side, I have been ordered to offer you your pick. So pick: Sundrop, Rockdrop. Foamdrop. Stardrop.”

Erick sharply inhaled. Those were the names of the Stat Fruits. He collected himself, and said, “No thank you. I don’t want any of those.”

For the briefest of moments, Treant smiled. It was a wicked thing to see on this man. And then his smile was gone, replaced by his perpetual frown, which turned a hint darker, as he spat out, “If you don’t pick one, it’ll be a hunt through Kendrithyst with forty of us and one of you, and when we find you, you’re getting all of them. I hope you turn shadeling and everyone in your life leaves you. It’ll make you much easier to control.”

“… Ah.” Erick tried an evasion, saying, “Charisma is a death sentence according to the Mind Mages.”

“Then this is good news for you: the Charisma Tree has been altered. I’m debuting the Perception Stat Tree in a few hours. I’m still calling it Foamdrop.”

Erick felt a chill. He deflected, “I need to know: Have you made these yourself, or did—”

Treant sighed. “Stop. Stop this. Stop vacillating. You are trapped by your own actions, so make a decision. Either cut your leg off and try to run and have the yoke forced upon you, or put the yoke over your own head, of your own volition.”

Erick did not instantly answer. He was still trying to think of—

Treant growled out, “Tania. This is going too slow. Help me.”

A shadow stepped onto the ground to the left, and peeled away, revealing Tania Webwalker, in her white dress. Her spider was on her shoulder again. She opened her mouth—

Another dark shadow stepped onto the grounds to the right. Fallopolis entered the conversation, saying, “What are you trying to do here, Treant?”

The man said, “I have been ordered to force a fruit upon Erick. That is what I am doing.”

Tania said, “You were ordered to offer him a fruit.”

“I know what I was told to do, and I am doing it, and then I am leaving. Don’t you play these games with me, Tania.” He looked to Fallopolis. “Don’t you try this shit, either.” Treant looked to Erick, and pulled four fruits from the air. “Choose.”

The first was a fuzzy orange peach that glowed with an inner light. The next was a gold sphere with a tiny green leaf on the top. The third was a small bunch of green grapes; maybe seven on the stem. The fourth was a black apple with white dots, half the size of Erick’s fist.

Treant demanded, “Pick one. Or all four! The only interest I have in this scenario is my curiosity demanding to know if you’d turn shadeling, or not. Choose!”

Tania looked to Erick. “Take all four.”

Fallopolis said to Tania, “None. He shall have none, for he does not want them.”

Tania leveled her white eyes at Fallopolis. “Two.”

“None,” Fallopolis retorted.

Tania smiled. “Impossible.”

Fallopolis frowned. “One.”

“One,” Tania agreed.

They all turned to Erick. He could fight this, if he wanted. But that would just end in pain and hardship and then they’d get their way, anyway. Directly fighting this decision was not an option. So he rolled with it, and decided that he wanted the power offered to him.

Erick asked, “What do they even do?”

Treant gave a groaning sigh, like a tree being pushed around by the wind, then said, “Dexterity improves your ability to move and reduces Health consumption by giving a percentage reduction to all Health costs. Constitution gives you a percentage damage taken reduction. Perception increases your ability to notice the world and people, but the exact nature of the Stat is different for each person. That’s bleed-through from when it was Charisma.” He frowned at Erick, saying, “But you’re going to take Intelligence, so why even bother with this act?”

“I might not!” Erick said, and it was the truth, but only in the moment that he said it. When a second moment came along, Erick realized that Treant was probably right. Intelligence was the one Erick wanted. Obviously.

Treant said, “Intelligence improves your ability to fight with magic, and also reduces Mana costs by a percentage. It also makes you smarter.” He sternly said, “You could use some of that. Maybe if you were smarter you wouldn’t get involved in godly problems ever again, and I wouldn’t have been dragged out of my Garden.”

Erick deployed his Killzone-gifted idea, “Don’t you want the Crystal Forest to be turned into a real forest?” He added another, more personal touch, to try and get out from under Treant’s, and now Tania’s demand, saying, “Don’t you want forests on new worlds, too, Treant?” Erick asked. “Forests without people?” He looked to the Stat Fruits, saying, “I’m not ready to experiment with my own body like that.”

Treant’s white eyes shone fractionally brighter, for several seconds, as he breathed in, and his massive, bark-skinned body seemed to flex outward, into the light, ever so slightly. He came down from that high, and said, “The gods sent people to kill all the World Trees I ever made. Even when I was a plain, misguided orcol, trying to work for the betterment of the green, and the wild. They won’t let the forests fight for themselves. They wouldn’t let anything of that level of power be born unless it’s under their control, and now they got their wish.” He tossed the black apple to Erick, saying, “So forget about your stupid fleshy body.”

Erick caught the apple with a grip of light.

Treant said, “Eat up. You’re going to need some smarts to survive the evil they’re going to throw your way.”

Erick stared at the dark fruit in his hands, and words failed him.

Treant spoke to Tania. “My part is done. I’m not enforcing this.” He stepped away, his feet flashing dark, and then he was gone.

Tania looked to Erick, saying, “Eat it, and this will go easier for you.”

Erick frowned.

Fallopolis said, “Sorry, Erick. You should probably eat that, and then get good and sloshed so that you can go back to having a good time.” She added, “If it makes you feel any better, if you don’t increase your Intelligence with points, then you won’t have any mental changes.”

Erick gazed down at the black apple-like fruit in his hands, with its star-pattern of white spots. He looked to Fallopolis, saw the writing on the wall, and lied through his smile, “That does make me feel better.”

He bit into the apple. It tasted like how he imagined stars would taste; a cold vastness, full of light. Tania watched. Fallopolis sighed, then stepped away in a dark flash. Erick got to what he assumed would have been the core of the stardrop fruit, but there was nothing there. The fruit was flesh throughout; no seeds. Erick got down to the last bite, just as Fallopolis stepped back into the space, carrying three white and black drinks; three Vivid Glooms. Erick finished the fruit.

A blinding, ripping headache turned into a riot of color and darkness, as something intangible zapped through his body. He breathed hard, catching himself from falling onto the ground. His drink had spilled, and somehow that seemed the most awful thing in the moment.

Thoughts occurred, only to be drowned out by other ideas. An ocean of memory flooded through Erick in that second. Time flashed, and then went still. Ideas plinked against his brain like raindrops. And then, he was slightly himself again, but also very much not.

He looked to his spilled drink. Ah, whatever, Fallopolis had brought three, that meant that one was for him, right? As a consolation prize? Right on cue, Fallopolis handed him a Vivid Gloom.

He took it, saying, “Thanks.”

She asked, “What’d you get?”

Erick glanced at his Status. “Some number.”

It was 20. They didn’t have to know that, though.

He did ask, “What’s the name for the bonus at 20, though?”

Fallopolis snickered, saying, “I knew you were a smart one.”

“There is no 20 Intelligence bonus.” Tania said, “Not yet.” And apparently that was enough conversation for her; her job was done. She stepped away in a flash of black.

Erick looked to Fallopolis, “Is that true, about not putting points into it?”

“Well.” Fallopolis sat down on the stone amphitheater seating, next to Erick. “I think so.”

Quilatalap, from Erick’s other side, said, “The first point does give some change; tests have confirmed it.”

“What sort of tests?”

“Adventurers of this city who were captured and used in sapient experimentation,” Quilatalap said.

“Who made the trees?” Erick asked. “I heard that they were made of souls. It was Treant, right?” He looked to Quilatalap.

The archlich said, “I’m pretty sure it was Treant.” He looked away, thinking. “And a few others. Tania was directly involved. Not sure who else. I’m not privy to a lot of the things that happen around here.”

Fallopolis said, “Tania, Treant, Rodel, a few others you haven’t met yet. Lapis, for sure. She’s the Shade of Enchantments.”

“Now there’s a good topic!” Erick asked, “How do enchantments work?”

Fallopolis looked to him, asking, “You’re moving on from this forced Stat rather fast?”

“I moved on rather fast when you tried to do that rhyme at me, too. And that reminds me! How do blessings and curses work?” He looked to Quilatalap, saying, “Got any tips, teach?”

Quilatalap looked to Erick, up and down, then said, “Are you feeling okay? You seem off.”

Erick was feeling fine. Better than fine, actually. “Maybe a little worked up. There’s nothing better than getting over the horror and the awfulness of Shades than by learning something new!” He added, “And I hope they all heard me say that, too.” Erick shot to his feet, deciding, “I need to work on some Stat enchantments for Intelligence!” He glanced from Fallopolis to Quilatalap, saying, “I bet I’ve messed up my rings and my belt and am thoroughly harming myself with these unbalanced Stats.” He looked to Fallopolis, saying, “Give me a moment and I can help you kill some more Shades.” He held a hand out and channeled mana through his Intelligence, producing a manalight of palest violet. “Making new jewelry should be easy enough!”

Fallopolis glanced from Erick to Quilatalap, as she set her drink down and sat a bit taller. Quilatalap leaned away from Erick, regarding him. Erick, for his part, produced a maskward for Intelligence, combining it with a maskward for all the other stats, making a dense sphere of bright purple where all other light was denied.

Tania stepped back onto the lawn, not five meters away.

Erick waved to her. “Oh, hi! I’m going to make some magic!”

She frowned at him, but said nothing. After a moment, Bulgan appeared at her side, like some dark, male shadow a full half-meter taller than her, and with his arms crossed, he glared at Erick.

“An audience!” Erick cheered, “Fantastic!”

Fallopolis mumbled, “Shit. You guys. I think you broke him.”

“I’M NOT BROKEN!” Erick said, “I just have 20 Intelligence now! And some things are much clearer than they used to be! In fact. I think I can do THIS. It should work. It makes sense, anyway.”

Erick had an Ophiel conjure a [Prismatic Ward] to the side, where he then proceeded to have another Ophiel copy the ring on his finger, and while the copy would be non-magical, the metals of the surface would be conductive to magic, for that was the necessary thing. He then took the ring and put it into the Intelligence and All-Stats maskwa—

It was not a true All-Stats maskward. Erick would have to fix that, next.

He scratched the metallic surface of the ring, and pumped all of his Stat light into the break. When he knew it couldn’t handle any more, he Shaped a [Mend] onto the scratch, leaving the rest of the ring untouched by that ‘fixing’ magic.

He took off a ring, and then put on the new one. Success!

He smiled, “Fifty Intelligence! That was simple enough.”

He repeated the process with a second ring, while three more Shades stepped onto the grounds around Erick. He greeted a few of the ones he recognized from Killzone’s primer, naming each one as they appeared. It was so much easier to remember everything with all this Intelligence. By the time he was finished with the second ring and was sitting pretty at 81 Intelligence, there was a dark-skinned human woman over there, who was sort of muscular and also androgynous. She was Lapis, the Shade of Enchantment. She was watching Erick with keen eyes, as Erick watched her. He had been waiting for her to appear, because obviously she was going to appear when Erick was working on enchantments out in the open like this.

Erick invited her over, “Hey, Lapis! Got the colors for the other three Stats?”

Lapis broke into a wide smile, but that smile quickly vanished as she looked to the right.

Erick turned to see. Ah. Tania was eyeing him, and then Lapis. Bulgan was eyeing him. He looked around. A lot of Shades were eyeing him. Ah! Whatever. He turned back to Lapis, saying, “Don’t mind them! We’re making enchantment progress! Don’t you want to help?”

Lapis decided something in that moment. She decided to ignore the silent, brooding, thinking Tania. Lapis walked right up to Erick, saying, “I have those colors. Here, let me help you.” She held out her hand, and produced a yellow light.

“Constitution.” Erick waved a maskward into the air of the appropriate color. “Have that one.”

Lapis smiled, and it was greedy and malevolent and yet, Erick didn’t care. “But can you combine it with the others?” She held up one hand, and produced a light of orange make. She held up her other hand, and produced green. “Dexterity and Perception, though I appreciated it more when it was Charisma.”

“Of course you did.” Erick said, “You’re using it on me right now, and though my dick is hard, my mind says no, so I am glad to see that Intelligence has some sort of a natural counter to Charisma.”

Lapis laughed. She wasn’t the only one, though some of the laughs were more nervous than indicative of mirth.

Erick said, “Oh, drat. How do you change the color of your magic?” He looked around for an answer, saying, “I still haven’t figured that out.”

Lapis said, “Mana Altering for color. Do it often enough and it becomes second nature.”

“WHAT!” Erick said, “It’s that easy!?”

Lapis said, “It’s easier said than done—”

Erick was already conjuring other colors of mana from his hands. “Easy.”

With a concentrated thought, Erick combined all eight individual maskwards into something that let all eight colors through, and none of the others.

An oddly-white maskward appeared in the air. It wasn’t actually white. It was more… iridescent. Pearlescent. Shimmery.

With another copy of his rings, Erick set them into the new oddly-white maskward, and channeled mana into scratches in the rings. A pair of [Mend]s later, and Erick had two nice rings. He put them on.

He briefly saw his Status.

He mumbled, “Oh hey, look! I unlocked all of them! That was easy.” But it probably came out rather unintelligible because half his face was numb, and drooping. And then his right arm flickered out, uncontrolled. He accidentally slapped himself. He yelled at his arm, “Stop that!”

And then he collapsed.

– – – –

Erick floated above white clouds, in a blue sky.

“Oh. Hello, Rozeta.” Erick said, to the endless vision. “Are you around here, somewhere?”