“Help me! Help me!” someone screamed as they ran through the gate.
The guards stopped the frantic looking woman as she ran in. Atlas joined them to find out what was happening.
“But you have to help me. You can’t sit around and do nothing.” The woman pleaded with the guard.
“Ma’am, please calm down. We can’t send out people to rescue others without the proper authority.” One guard told her.
“What’s going on?” Atlas asked the group.
The guard who spoke before looked at him for a few moments before something seemed to click, “Ah, Master of the Wood. I’m glad you’re here. This woman has a dilemma that seems to rest in your area of influence.”
Atlas turned to the woman and finally inspected her. She wore a tattered dress that looked more like an undergarment than a true outfit. Minor cuts covered the garment and the bottom edge was frayed from brushing on the ground. Mud stains and spots of what appeared to be blood marred the white surface.
“What’s wrong?” Atlas finally asked.
“They stole my sister! We were out in the woods hunting for herbs and a group of bandits ambushed us. She told me to run for it while she confronted them and bought me time to escape. You have to save her!” she wailed.
Quest - Damsel in Distress
Requirements
• Master of the Wood
• Level 15
Quest Rarity: Uncommon
Quest Reward: 1200 experience, 40 silver, unknown rewards.
Description: Find the woman’s sister and rescue her from the bandits.
Unknown rewards? Interesting premise. That and an Uncommon level quest. Maybe it means I can find some decent gear during this trip.
“I’ll go find her,” Atlas told the woman in a soft and reassuring tone and turned to the nearest guard, “Go with her back to her home and allow her to get cleaned up.”
When the young guard escorted her away, Atlas turned to the original man at the gate, “Have one of your men monitor her. I don’t want her roaming around causing panic in the town. If you have to, keep her confined to her home until I come back.”
“Yes, sir,” the guard said with a salute across his chest.
Atlas watched the man scurry over to another guard at the post and relay the instructions. The woman saluted with her arm across her chest and followed the initial guard and the woman.
With the issue currently in hand, Atlas turned toward the gate. I guess this is my job after all. You got this.
He lifted his head high and strode from the city with a confident gait. The duty of his position offset all thoughts of delaying to work on his crafting.
The path into the forest was clear, and he headed for the quest outline it showed on the map. It wasn’t far from one of the main paths through the forest, so he kept to the trail until he neared the border.
Once in the quest area, he skirted the edges of the quest zone and tried to find clues. The forest floor was relatively clear, and the lack of recent rain made it impossible to find any tracks in the hard-packed dirt. He strained his minimal skills in tracking to find any hint that someone traveled through here. Recalling every TV show or random video he’d ever seen, he tried to look for broken twigs, rustled leaves, foreign objects scattered anywhere, but found nothing.
I’m not cut out for this type of work. Why did I even accept this position without skills to use out here?
The sound of a low growl cut his self-pity short. He froze in place and slowly turned toward the sound. The bushes rustled and slowly parted as a sleek feline emerged.
Red fur covered its face and the hair gradually faded to black as it traveled farther down the cat. It stood four feet tall at the shoulders and large ivory teeth glistened from its mouth. A glance showed what he was up against. Blood Hunter - Level 15.
Atlas gulped and scrambled to get his staff out and ready. The cat sensed his panic and dashed in for the kill. His weapon came around just in time to knock the animal to the side and deflect its attack. He breathed a quick sigh of relief, but it was premature as the agile creature had already turned with the attack and dashed back in. His reflexes weren’t fast enough, and it raked claws down his side. It didn’t stop there and continued to maul and swipe at him with four attacks.
The pain from the claws staggered him as the cat watched with a wicked gleam in its eyes. The pain faded quickly, but his health had taken a significant hit.
Blood Hunter dealt 32 damage to you with Savage Strikes.
With a roar of fury, Atlas retaliated. The speed the cat showed made him all too aware he’d need to Anticipate its action. His staff came around in a wide swing and he focused on the cat. He saw the animal tense as it readied itself to move and smiled. The position it took clued him in, and he adjusted his swing. The animal leaped from its place and soared high over the staff as it whizzed by through empty air. The feline immediately dashed forward and clawed Atlas in a three-strike combo before backing off and watching him again.
Blood Hunter dealt 24 damage to you with Rend and Tear.
How the hell am I supposed to match that kind of speed? His jumped launched him so much farther than I expected that I wasn’t even close to hitting him. I guess I can Entangle him but with his speed I might not catch him that way either.
Then it hit him. He had a spell he could use. One he’d recently learned and hadn’t yet used in combat. With a grin, he activated Nightstalker Transformation.
Power surged through his body, and it shifted. Hair sprouted along his hands and arms as his body fell forward to land on all fours. Luckily,
