I brought up the list again and sighed.
Class Skill unlocked: Choose between one of three skills:
Rage of the Reaver (Passive): Grants a permanent +10% combat speed bonus. When Rampage is active, the bonus increases by an additional 5%.
Shivving the Shield (Passive): Mastering the use of shield combat, the Berserker can not only block incoming attacks, but make the shield into a weapon as well. Shield attacks count as blunt weapon damage. Shield Bash or other abilities increase effectiveness by 25%.
Grip of the Gladiator (Passive): Giving up the option to hold a shield, the player chooses instead to have the ability to wield a pair of two-handed weapons at the same time. -25% damage to both weapons. Damage penalty decreases with greater proficiency.
Like every other skill choice before, I wanted them all. But like so many choices I’d made in this world, I needed the one that made me feel strong. The frightened voice in the back of my mind was always there, calling me gimp, useless, broken. In EO, though, in this place that was so very real to me, I was Madi the Berserker, and I had a reputation to make and maintain.
I selected Grip of the Gladiator and smiled like a maniac.
Pulling out both of my oversized weapons, I gave Tejón a nudge and pushed my way through Alysand and Hana’s mounts.
“What is the meaning of this, Madi?” Alysand complained. “My poor horse is already frightened as it is of his travel companions.”
I charged forward and turned back to face my friends. I lifted both of my axes to the sky, my arms feeling stronger than ever as I spun the weapons easily. “It is more than your horse that should fear me, Alysand. I am going to destroy the next foe we face!”
The gunsinger looked at me like I was nuts, but Hana beamed at me with approval. With that single look of confidence, I knew I’d made the right decision.
I gave Tejón a mental command, and he turned. Then, my companions following suit, we raced down the open road side by side, relishing in the wind that combed through our hair as we made our way toward Gilsby.
Part II
Trail of Salt
Relevant Progress of Alysand Deschaney
Status: Gun of the Western Reaches of Mariandor. Nursing a limp. Aging.
Class: Bullet Bard, Gunsinger, Knight of Old Gil.
Items: Two old pistols, a bottomless bag, and more tricks than a port town when the tide comes in.
To Do: Recover. Keep up with the young bloods. File an inquiry.
1: “There will be water if God wills it.”
— Last Knight in the Line of Eld
HANA
The journey to Gilsby was downright pleasant. Ever since Madi had decided upon her skill and surprised the group by brandishing two weapons that I could barely swing, one in each hand, the mood had been set.
Watching the triumph shine in her eyes, Alysand and I had no choice but to laugh and join in her merriment.
With the aid of our mounts, we made tremendous time, the road seeming to streak past us. True, we were probably only going twenty or so miles an hour, but having been on foot since entering Eternal Online, it felt like flying.
Still, I had to ask, How does this feel to you, Pachi? Is it too hard to run with me on your back? My friend would probably run even if it was torment, so I needed to prod.
It is heavier than I am used to, but I do not mind. If that horse can do it, I will have no trouble.
Her stubborn pride was expected. I warned her to tell me if anything changed, and we continued our gallop.
The sun did not last as long as our joy. We slowed to a trot and held it for another hour. Alysand told us we’d be looking for a nice place to camp for the night.
“Somewhere off the road aways, but where we can also keep an eye on it,” he said. “I want to know if anyone comes from Benham.”
After another fifteen minutes, I spotted a hill to the left—it had a copse of trees lit with the fire of the sunset capping it. “How about up there? It looks like we should be able to see pretty far up and down the road.”
Alysand just nodded and prodded his horse off the road, where we climbed a gentle slope around the back of the hill. The road cut through part of the mound, leaving it bald on that side. That would be another benefit, as anyone wanting to come at us could only do so using the way we came.
I called ahead to Alysand, “Hang on a second.” Movement in the branches had caught my eye.
Sure enough, as I dismounted and crept forward, the distinct figures of rabbits hopped around beneath the trees. I retrieved my bow and told Pachi to watch for any that might try and escape.
I drew my bow and activated Vital Aim, not for any bonus to damage, but for the slow-motion effect it gave.
The arrow launched from my bow, the subtle twang giving the rabbit just enough time to look towards me as the arrow pierced its skull.
I drew and fired another, but the next rabbit turned suddenly, leaving my arrow sinking harmlessly in the soil.
But even as I cursed my aim, Pachi flashed beside me and snatched it between her jaws, then activated her ability once more and got a third. The rest all found the cover of a burrow they’d dug in the hill itself. In total, there must have been seven or eight of the creatures. That made me feel better about us cutting down their numbers. They were rabbits after all. They would replenish their numbers soon enough.
“This is a fine spot,” Alysand said as he staked his horse near a lush patch of grass.
