Chapter 30 Kaleo

We did not go straight to the quest, however. There was clearly a big jump from level six to level seven, and Kaleo wanted me to make said jump. We spent a few days hunting for horn and materials and cleared a side quest that involved challenging a local vandal camp. These vandals were brutal, led by the toughest son of a bitch I’d ever encountered.

The fight had been in what looked like an abandoned arena, which turned out to be an ambush. Mercifully, thanks to my Alert Feat, I couldn’t be ambushed. I had fired an arrow at the vandal chief, Shadowstepping and doing what I felt was a respectable amount of damage, but quickly fell into melee as he charged me. A single attack, even braced for, had taken off half my health. I felt the wind knocked from me, the pain like having a log felled on top of me. Instead, his hands tightening around my throat.

Guess levels really did matter. Kaleo had blasted him with shaman’s magic, and I’d gasped for air. I spent the rest of the fight juking, fading back into Stealth, and healing.

Kaleo was a one-man army. It was obvious that he could’ve done the quest alone. I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth however as days later I had reached level seven.

I felt miles lighter. I had farmed enough gear to outfit myself completely in hide armour. Not only did my AC improve, the hide armour was far lighter and gave no penalty to either Stealth or dexterity actions. This meant that my arrows would fly harder and truer, and my bone blade strikes would bite harder.

Without bone armour, I now lost the March of the Marrow perk. It had been useful, but a little inconsistent. With a full set of hide armour, my AC had jumped from eleven to sixteen. I also had a new perk due to having a full hide armour set.

[Perk unlocked: Comfort – Your hide armour fits you like a glove. You now feel protection from the elements and the comfort to move and fight longer and harder.]

[Tiredness meter – Reduced build up by 30%.] [Resistance to cold – 60%.]

I didn’t need to read the tooltip to see what it did. It felt comfortable, the closest thing I’d felt to wearing real clothes. Light and snug, I felt more like a Hunter than ever. I’d definitely miss bone armour. It had looked so damn cool, and had served me very well, but this was a real step up.

Likewise, I had traded my bone bow and spear for a horn spear and bow. The spear now did an increased 15 damage, and a 20% greater armour penetration. The bow did a flat 5 increase to damage, and had a greater elevation bonus of 20%, which meant casing the terrain would be more important than ever.

I kept the Vandal’s Shard. Didn’t synergise with a Stealth build, but ever since I’d multi-classed into Beastmaster, I’d been moving away from a pure Stealth build. Upon levelling, I’d actually taken a further level of Beastmaster and increased my strength.

We stood, overlooking the summit, and I had never felt so strong. My hair had grown so long now that I had to tie it back in a small ponytail. I had felt my muscles grow in size and definition, my endurance and stamina also growing.

Now I was truly a warrior, worthy of the savage lands.

‘Tell me,’ said Kaleo, ‘what do you see?’

We stood at what felt like the very centre of the Disputed Lands. The mountain dominated everything. Mist roiled around its base, and the endless plains stretched out below like a green sea. Thunder cracked somewhere in the distance as the first drops of rain began to fall.

The summit speared the sky above us.

Maybe it wasn’t truly that large. But here, in the Savage Lands, it might as well have been Mount Olympus.

‘I see the mountain,’ I said, peering. ‘Half a day’s journey at least. We’ll need to make camp before we reach the top.’ I checked the quest log and the mini-map. ‘Gate is at the top. Guarded by something powerful. The final boss stopping us from advancing any further.’ Kaleo nodded. There was something else actually, though I wasn’t sure why I was keeping it from him.

Atop that summit was a fragment of the Midnight Spear. Then again, if all went well I’d be through that Gate by the end of the day. I wondered briefly what happened then. Did I retain all my inventory? Would hide armour even be useful in the next epoch?

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‘Let’s move,’ said Kaleo, before I could dwell further. Something seemed to have changed in him in the last few days. The kindly man seemed to have disappeared somewhat, replaced by someone quieter, more introspective. He seemed tense, but I could understand that. Who knew how long he had been here, and if he were truly about to get through the Gate, to finally leave this place behind. Well, that was something I could understand.

We made our way to the foot of the mountain and began our ascent. At first I’d been worried that it would mean a literal climb, but I could see now how the terrain aligned with the quest. The summit was meant to be reached. Didn’t mean it would be easy, but neither would it be impossible.

There was a path through. It winded through the mountain, taking us higher and higher. The air grew colder, sharper, and the climb was exhausting. I was more grateful than ever for my hide armour. I didn’t even recognise the tier of armour that Kaleo wore, but he seemed unbothered by the elements or anything at all. He hadn’t spoken a word in an hour.

Right before reaching the summit was a wide, flat zone. It was a rest area, to prepare before the fight. It wasn’t strictly necessary. With my hide armour, I was nowhere near the tired debuff. But if this really was the final boss of the Stone Epoch, then there was no point taking any chances.

I checked my hotbar again, ensuring my weapons and heals, my arrows were all in place. I felt confident, more so than Kaleo himself, judging by the look on his face.

‘Hey,’ I said, nudging the old man. ‘Are you okay?’