Path of Dragons

Book 4: Chapter 69: A Question of Priorities

Book 4: Chapter 69: A Question of Priorities

The winter sun hung high in the expansive blue sky, unobscured by even the wisp of a cloud. A hawk cried overhead, and a cold breeze cut across the grasslands. Elijah didn’t feel it. Even without his Cloak of the Iron Bear, which protected him from the cold, he wouldn’t have paid much attention to his surroundings. Instead, the whole of his focus was on the notification he’d received after killing the guardian boar. Not only had he reached level eighty-seven, but he’d also gained the opportunity to evolve one of his spells.

He'd done so once before, so he’d been looking forward to upgrading the rest of his spellbook. Still, it wasn’t as simple as gaining more power. It would be that. But it also represented a choice, and one that he knew would prove difficult. It was that decision which occupied the bulk of his attention. He focused on the notification:

Congratulations! You have satisfied the requirements for the evolution of the spell Touch of Nature. Please choose a path:

Mother’s Embrace

Nature’s Bloom

Spreading Roots

Through the Mother’s embrace, heal yourself far more efficiently than you heal others.

Each cast will plant the seed of regrowth. When that seed sprouts, additional healing will follow.

Each cast will cause an ethereal root to spread to an ally, casting a wide net of rejuvenation.

The options seemed pretty straightforward to Elijah. The first choice would make Touch of Nature more powerful when he cast it on himself, while Nature’s Bloom and Spreading Roots would give his heal extra effects. In the case of Nature’s Bloom, it seemed like each heal would have a secondary heal associated with it. By contrast, Spreading Roots would have an area of effect component.

The question was what sort of power increase he should expect. Each evolution meant that the primary effect of the spell would grow stronger. Every guide he’d read was adamant about that. However, the additional effects were based on his Legacy, which was something of a record of his actions.

Some people would only receive one choice, and in those cases, it was almost always just a mundane increase in power. Often, the name of the spell didn’t even change, and it gained no extra effects. Three choices was the maximum number the system would offer, which meant that Elijah had been doing something right in his progression. He’d never made choices based on augmenting his Legacy – in fact, he’d never even heard the word, at least in reference to the system, until quite recently – but it seemed that he’d done so anyway.

Regardless, he had an interesting choice before him.

The first option was clearly the best, so long as he only considered his own needs. Having a potent self-heal would help him survive against tough opponents. Elijah only had to think about Guardian’s Renewal to recognize that as a fact. However, it felt wrong to only think of himself. What would happen if Miguel was injured and, because he’d taken Mother’s Embrace over the other two options, she perished? What about Carmen or Nerthus? The others he cared about?

He would be emotionally destroyed.

Was a better chance at survival the right decision? Maybe. Then again, without knowing exactly what the difference was, he couldn’t be certain. What if it was only ten percent better than the other two? Logic suggested that, because it was more limited, it would be far better, but he simply couldn’t be sure.

The other two choices were assuredly better for healing other people, but in different ways. The second, called Nature’s Bloom, seemed to specialize in healing a single target, while the third’s description implied that it would be good for a large group.

As Elijah trudged through the plains, he discarded the third option. He had yet to encounter a situation where he needed to heal a large group of people quickly. Normally, when he was responsible for that kind of healing, there was no time limit. So, as much as he liked the idea behind the Spreading Roots evolution, he didn’t see very many situations where it would be required.

That left the first two.

Mother’s Embrace was more than tempting. Normally, he fought alone, and an ability to heal himself more quickly was very attractive. However, he’d survived as long as he had with the old version of Touch of Nature, hadn’t he? And he had Guardian’s Renewal to pick up the slack.

Besides, couldn’t Nature’s Bloom serve a similar function, but without the drawback of only really helping himself? Looking at it completely logically – or from his perspective, at least – Elijah’s choice seemed clear. After all, his archetype – and to a lesser extent, his class – was based on versatility. So, pigeonholing himself by limiting his options was antithetical to the idea behind his archetype.

“Thanks,” Elijah answered. It clearly worked similarly to the bags he’d used before the orc invasion, so he was familiar enough with what to expect.

“Do you need someone to prepare the hide? We have a couple of good Leatherworkers here,” the other councilwoman said. She was the same older woman Elijah had seen the first time. “Tsas is nearly strong enough to reach the power rankings.”

That was true of half the population, it seemed. There were so many people on the verge of reaching the ladder that the distinction only meant that they were competent. Still, that meant that this Tsas – which the system translated to mean Snow – was a viable option for his project. However, Elijah intended to prepare the hide himself, much as he had with the bear hide that had become his Cloak of the Iron Bear.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said. “I would also like to free the gambler in your custody.”

That decision wasn’t made on a whim. Elijah wanted to know more about the man’s organization. Was it a powerful group? Or was it only the possessor of an ostentatious name? He intended to find out.

“That...can be arranged,” she agreed. Likely, her quick agreement meant that he’d accepted less than the meat and bones were worth, but Elijah couldn’t take them all with him. So, he’d resolved to only take the best pieces, including most of the fat, the choicest cuts of meat, and the most intact bones.

And, of course, the hide, which was the most useful part for him.

In any case, once the deal was done, he accepted a transfer to his folio, and someone fetched the pack that would keep his portion of the meat fresh. After that, he supervised the loading of the pack while a small army of workers descended upon the rest of the pile of pork.

They’d finished loading it in only a few minutes, and Elijah started rolling the hide up. It only barely fit into his Ghoul-Hide Satchel, but that was alright. He intended to take it back to the grove soon enough.

Finally, the gambler – Wilhelm – arrived. Elijah shoved the Preservation Pack into the man’s hands, saying, “Carry this. You’re coming with me.”

The pack was filled with five-hundred pounds of meat and fat, and even though it cut that weight by a significant amount, it was still quite heavy. And Wilhelm clearly hadn’t worked on his physical attributes. He tipped over, with the pack landing on his chest.

Elijah rolled his eyes. “Seriously? Come on, man...”

Wilhelm grunted, kicking his legs as he tried to push the pack aside. Elijah took pity on him, reaching down to lift the pack himself. When he was freed, Wilhelm gasped for breath, saying, “I...I do not have much Strength...”

“Obviously,” Elijah muttered. “Follow me.”

“Perhaps you didn’t see, but night has already fallen,” Wilhelm said, pushing himself to his feet. Though he held himself with prim propriety, his stay in the jail had clearly taken its toll. His clothes were torn and dirty, and judging by the odor wafting Elijah’s way, his clothes weren’t the only thing in need of a good cleaning. Finally, his thin blonde hair was in disarray, and he bore a wisp of facial hair that made him look like a teenager who had yet to be taught to shave. “We should stay here. I know a fantastic inn next to the best gambling hall in town. And –”

“No. Come with me, or you can go back to jail.”

“Um...”

Elijah sighed. “I swear I won’t hurt you. In fact, I just want to know more about your organization.”

“Ah. I see,” the man said. Then, he looked at the two guards who’d brought him to the zahiral ger, and his complexion paled. “Right. I think I will take you up on your generous offer.”

“Great. Let’s go,” Elijah said. Then, he bade goodbye to the councilors before striding out of the building. Wilhelm hurried to follow.