Book 2: Chapter 72

The good news was that [Purify] worked and had cleared Madi’s dizzy and fatigued statuses when it hit her 20 minutes after they started running. Orrin had purposefully not reapplied [Increase Dexterity] or [Increase Strength] to her and let the side effects hit while they were still close to the horses. A quick misstep from Madi and Orrin’s [Identify] had shown what he knew to be true. Daniel and Orrin were exempt from the overuse side effects of his increase stat spells. However, the dexterity wearing off on Madi gave a solid hit to her ability to stay upright.

The bad news was [Purify] worked. Orrin didn’t realize how much that would incentivize both Madi and Daniel.

“I hate running,” he complained for the twentieth time. They’d been at it for four hours. Daniel had convinced Orrin to tweak the numbers a bit more and pushed Madi’s dexterity to seventy. He had used [Utility Ward] as the base and reapplied an [Increase Dexterity] as needed.

Orrin knew Daniel was a good runner. He did the sports and moved the ball. He probably had an amazing sprint time back on Earth but with the increased stats, it was superhuman. Daniel kept running forward to check the trail. No matter that Orrin was running [Map] nonstop and would see anyone or anything that they would come across well before needing a warning. He’s such a show-off.

“I’m not fond of it either,” Madi shot right back. When they’d left Dey, her hair had been done up in a traveling bun. The sweat had destroyed the glamour of it all. “How is he quicker than us?”

Orrin did his best to shrug as they ran. He didn’t want to have to explain their theory that even with the boosted stats, it only unlocked potential. In a previous life, Orrin had gym class. He’d had to run a mile in under ten minutes for a passing grade. He’d barely made it. With his dexterity at one hundred points, his legs moved faster and landed steady despite the uneven ground. The increased strength made each push off the ground throw his body into the distance at greater speeds. He was holding back a little to stay with Madi but figured they had to be moving as fast as the horses at a full gallop. Orrin didn’t know the exact speed that people could run or even horses for that matter but Madi knew the landmarks leading to the border and assured them both they were moving fast.

“How are you doing?” Madi huffed. “Is your mana pool almost empty?”

Orrin checked again. He’d used [Utility Warder] and kept his will topped off the entire time but juggling all three of their dexterity and strength stats while also casting a [Heal Small Wounds] every once in a while to relieve their hard breathing was intense.

“I’m at about half but doing fine. Didn’t you say just a bit more like an hour ago?”

Madi slowed down to a walk and then stopped completely. She rested her hands on her knees and took deep breaths. “I’m feeling it more and more each time we rest. Sorry, give me a minute.”

Daniel picked his entrance perfectly. “Why are you two stopping? There’s a village about three miles from here. I saw the lights—”

“Shut up,” Madi and Orrin said together, ganging up on Daniel. His boundless energy was a bit much after no sleep all night.

Orrin threw a healing spell on Madi and walked Daniel up the road a bit. “We don’t have the same constitution that you do. We can run faster but it still hurts after a while. I’m not sure Madi or I can do much more tonight. Do you want to go ahead and get a room at an inn?”

“Does that village even have an inn?”

“That village is Stillrock, one of the main trading posts between Odrana and Dey. They have multiple inns but we can’t stay at one tonight,” Madi hobbled forward to join the conversation. “We left yesterday with horses. We should be traveling for four more days before we arrive. Maybe three days if we pushed the horses. Do you two realize we just ran a hundred and ten miles in just under five hours?”

“Good to know,” Orrin muttered, tallying up the math. Madi had slowed them down a bit but not that much. Knowing that he could run somewhere between 20 and 25 miles an hour was nothing to laugh at. Look at me now, Coach Steele.

“We can make camp for the rest of the night and then do some reconnaissance tomorrow,” Madi took the waterskin off her side and took a long sip. “Don’t forget, we have to attempt the Guild quest. I’m hoping Orrin’s [Map] finds something fast so we can keep moving.”

“We should only travel like this at night,” Daniel added. “Even with how slow you two are compared to me, it’s a weird sight seeing you jump ten yards a step.”

Orrin forcefully laughed and pushed Daniel into the tree line. “Go clear a space for a tent. No fire, we can eat when we wake up.”

Daniel saluted and walked off, not realizing Orrin had saved his life. Madi lost a little of her princess shine when she was tired and she hadn’t slept for almost 24 hours. She’d taken a deliberate step in Daniel’s direction at his light jab.

“Ignore him,” Orrin said as he nudged her with his elbow. “I’ll make sure to give him less dex tomorrow.”

Madi’s smile was positively evil. “Sounds good to me.”

Stillrock was much bigger than a village but Orrin could see why Daniel had thought it was smaller. The town was sprawling, with houses set far apart as they approached with their hoods up. As they traveled into Stillrock, the houses became shops before a barricade and gate blocked the more expensive homes and stores.

“Anything outside the wall is not really Stillrock,” Madi explained as they entered through the gate. No guards stopped them or even looked their way. “The town sits close to the Odrana border. It is a small river that separates the responsibilities of Dey and Odrana, about ten miles on the other side of the walls. People from both sides come here to trade and live before going back to their homes. Even Veskar has some semi-permanent businessmen who live here part-time.”

Orrin ignored Madi as she overshared information, something she’d started doing ever since she found out both of them were from another planet. Orrin assumed she must have thought he was filling Daniel in on everything at first.

“Madi, Madi, stop,” Daniel finally snapped. “We just need to know where these bandits are attacking and have Orrin count how many there are. That should be enough to satisfy Pritus, right? We don’t need to be in town or know anything about it right now. Which way is the fastest?”

Madi brought them down busy streets for the next hour, avoiding the worst rush of the morning and keeping as low a profile as she could. Some of the locals might recognize her and they didn’t need the required political dance that would ensue if that happened.

Luckily, they made it through Stillrock without a hiccup. Orrin felt a twinge of loss that they hadn’t been able to explore the charming town a bit more. We can rest here with Brandt. It might be within my [Teleport] range from Mistlight.

As they exited the gates on the eastern side, more carts and people filled the street, trying to get into the city. Orrin noticed more haggard faces on this side of the gates and pointed out a cart with a few arrows still stuck to the back.

“Might be the work of the bandits were looking for,” he offered.

Madi sighed and nodded. “You’re going to have to do it. I’m too well-known and Daniel… well…”

“He’ll find a way to have a feast thrown in his honor, I know.”

“Hey, you two are getting on—”

“Off I go, take care of Daniel for me,” Orrin said over his shoulder as he made a hasty getaway.

He approached the cart and waved at the couple riding up top. Only one horse was connected to the right side of the hitch. The left side was empty with a dark stain against the wood. The grizzled older man only growled but his daughter smiled and waved back.

“Did you two find trouble on your way in?” Orrin asked, pointing at the arrows on the side of the wagon. The old man muttered and reached over the edge. He yanked the arrow out and threw it on the burlap bags they were carrying.

“I don’t mean to pry,” Orrin said, holding up his hands. “I’m heading that way with friends and don’t want to run into anything pointy.”

The daughter chuckled. She was at least half the old man’s age with an easy smile. She slapped her father’s arm and whispered something to him. Then, she turned back to Orrin.

“There are always bandits on the roads but some have been a bit more aggressive in the last month or so. They killed one of the horses too,” she pouted prettily. “Are you with the Guild? Are we finally going to have someone save us?”

Orrin’s bullshit-meter spiked.

Daniel’s rise in popularity started in middle school. He always made time for Orrin but he was busy and had his own life. Orrin wasn’t unpopular at first. He’d been befriended by a new girl at the school. He hadn’t known that she was using him to get to Daniel. She wasn’t the last to completely blow him off once he’d made the introduction but she’d been the first. He’d learned to pick up the signs: over-the-top expressions and near-flirting, asking for help in subjects they were doing fine with, and snooping for information in a seemingly natural way.

“Me? With the Guild?” Orrin forced a laugh and watched her smile turn brittle. “I simply don’t want an arrow planted in my behind.” He pointed to the back of the wagon by way of explanation. “Thank you for the information.”

Orrin turned and walked away before they could respond. He caught up with Madi and Daniel a minute later.

“What did the couple say?” Daniel asked as they regrouped.

“Couple? I thought that was his daughter,” Orrin glanced over his shoulder but couldn’t see them anymore. “They said it was bandits but she was acting weird.”

Madi perked up. “Weird, how?”

Orrin tried to think of the words to explain it but shrugged it off. “She thought I might be with the Guild.”

“Damn it,” Madi cursed. “We need to get going then. If the local Guild chapter finds out we’re here, they’ll want us to report in on the state of the roads between Dey and Stillrock. Let’s go.”

Daniel’s stomach grumbled. “Lunch first?”

“Eat on the way,” Orrin said, fishing some raisin bread out of his storage.

They were able to make five miles before the sun started to dip again. Walking was much slower and the people passing them kept Orrin from increasing their stats again. He kept an eye on [Map] but saw nothing beyond the people they passed and the occasional deer. One bear had lumbered within view of his [Map] but it was moving southwest and disappeared within a few minutes.

“We can make it tonight if we run through the night,” Daniel said, pulling apart the chicken Orrin had pulled out for dinner.

“I think we should sleep a few hours then run,” Orrin suggested. “I don’t know about you two, but I’m still tired from last night.”

Daniel snapped a bone between his fingers. “We need to hurry.”

“We can [Teleport] back to Dey if we need to,” Orrin countered. “Brandt can wait another day. He’s not going anywhere.”

A choked-off sob from his side made Orrin close his eyes at his stupid words. “I mean, he’s held on this long. We need to be in the best shape we can be when we rescue his butt.”

Daniel tossed his broken chicken pieces into the fire. “I’ll take the first watch. Get some sleep, you two.”

Orrin and Madi crawled into their respective sleeping bags. Orrin tried to fall asleep but Daniel was still moving around, trying to find a comfortable spot to sit.

“Madi? Are you awake? I’m sorry for what I said,” Orrin whispered. “Brandt will be fine. He’s probably going to give us shit for saving him.”

Madi turned over and faced him. “Daniel thinks he’ll yell at me for rescuing him. I think he’ll yell at Daniel for letting me come at all.”

Orrin chuckled. “I’m not taking either of those bets.”

Silence swallowed the small camp again.

“Madi? Orrin? I think someone is coming toward us,” Daniel whispered. He kicked some sand over the small fire they’d built. “Orrin, what do you see?”

Orrin pulled up his [Map]. A dozen white dots were moving in their direction.