Chapter 19: Armoured

Kaius pulled up his new skill, eager to take his mind off the gory wound that dominated his peripheral vision.

Light Armour Mastery:

Level 1

Uncommon

The best defence is never getting hit in the first place. Unfortunately, it is sometimes unavoidable. Would you prefer cloth, or reinforced leather, when that occurs?

Skill that increases the defensive efficacy of worn light armour, and increases agility while wearing it.

Each level slightly increases the integrity of worn light armour.

Each level minutely increases ease of movement while wearing light armour.

Kaius nodded as he read the description, careful to avoid jostling the grievous wound to his shoulder. Increasing the durability of his clothes would be valuable. Though they barely counted as light armour, and even if he capped it out he doubted it would have made much difference to the lion that had savaged his shoulder.

Luckily, chain would, and as soon as his shoulder was healed up he planned on throwing the chain shirt he had scavenged on and never taking it off outside of the church.

With nothing else pressing, he decided to simply wait until he was healed. His eyes drifted over to the lion, his sword still standing proudly where he had embedded it in the creature’s skull.

“I should probably grab that. No point leaving myself undefended, even if I would be in pretty dire straits if something else turned up.”

He pushed himself to his feet slowly, relying on the muscles in his leg and his core to do most of the work. Despite the smooth rise, he had to stifle a pained scream as his shoulder protested at the shifting movement.

He walked over to the lion with slow measured steps, taking care to avoid hurting his shoulder as much as possible. Grabbing hold of his sword, he pulled it free and groaned as agony tore through him. He stumbled towards the treeline where he would be less exposed.

Death was tied closely to life, he knew that far more than most having grown up in the wilds. The Arboreal Sea was a wild place, more untamed than even the frontier. This was not his first brush with his own mortality, not by far. Even if it was the closest.

He would be okay. He knew something like this would happen eventually. It happened to all delvers. Even if he had landed up in the Depths a few years too early, and far less prepared than he would like, it had always been his dream.

Growing up in the forest had lit a fire in him. One that burned to see the sights his father regaled him with stories of. To forge his own stories. Both deep down below and in the wide world above. If he wanted that he would need to be strong, and with strength came danger.

He needed to be prepared to live with his life on the line. Both if he wanted to escape the depths, and if when he eventually returned as a Delver in truth.

Leaning his back against a tree trunk to take some of the weight of his feet, he settled in to wait for his shoulder to heal.

After leaving the site of his battle with the lion, Kaius had managed to make his way to the spring that fed the stream he had been using for water. It had been a welcome respite. A way for him to wash off the blood, refill his water, and cleanse himself from the ardour of battle. The tonic he had taken during the fight had lasted him almost the whole walk to the water source, the better part of an hour. At his best guess, long enough to refill his health pool three times over.

He slung off his bag, throwing it down roughly onto the ground beside him, his extra water skins that he had tied to its exterior sloshing from the impact.

Ahead of him was another small cave that wound its way into the rock of the cavern. They seemed to be fairly frequent, as he passed them reasonably often in his journey around the cavern. This one however, was slightly different. A small stone shack was built into the cave wall next to it, with a handful of undead lingering outside.

These ones seemed fairly similar in makeup to the ones that had guarded the church, and he doubted that such a small structure would host a Guardian, so he wasn’t too worried.

Perfect enemies to focus on a little skill training, and to help him gain Medium Armour Mastery. He could already feel his excitement rising at the prospect. The more time he spent down here, the more he craved the violent clash of steel and the explosive growth it brought.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Hurriedly unbuckling his belt, Kaius reached into his pack and shrugged on the set of chainmail he had scavenged from one of the churches.

It was poorly made, poorly preserved, and even more poorly fitted. While his reinforced tunic did well to prevent any chafing, the armour constricted his arms slightly and pinched horribly in the armpit. It was worth it. It was armour.

He’d been lucky. The clean sightlines of the clear strip at the edge of the glade had let him see the undead far before they had seen him. It gave him time to prepare. For a moment he considered trying a stealth approach, but the even lighting and lack of cover quickly disabused him of that idea.