Does a Bear Sit in the Woods 1 (1/2)
Threadbare never left Celia’s sight for the rest of the day, even when she bathed. Which was weird, because he hadn’t known that her clothes could come off. (She’d been too shy to change in front of him before and he had never been in Caradon’s bedroom, so he had just thought that humans could shapeshift.) But now everything made more sense, and it explained why she and Caradon looked different every day. That was worth an intelligence point.
And later, as he slumbered in her arms, cared for and loved after a long day of playing and hugging, his reverie was interrupted by a chime. His Toy Golem level had reached six, and once again, he felt a little better in every way.
The next morning, he found that he could follow Celia and Caradon’s conversation a bit better. “Yes” and “No” made a lot more sense, he caught the occasional one or two-syllable word, and he practiced nodding and shaking his head at appropriate times. His charisma ticked up a few times when Celia talked with him, but Caradon scarcely took notice… the old man was too busy assembling a quick lesson.
Dusty books came out of the study, as did a notepad, and Caradon showed Celia pictures of trees, plants, and animals, and made her read and copy down words from the books.
And Threadbare stood there stunned, as he realized that hey, those words on the papers matched the squiggles he kept seeing in front of his face.
INT +1
There it was! There it was again! That was the one that meant he could think more easily! The squiggles MEANT something!
INT +1
In fact, those letters were on the page too, just usually not in the order that they were in his vision. Fascinated, he watched Celia write. It had never occurred to him that you could draw pictures of what the words you saw looked like!
INT +1
Gleefully he reached out for a quill-
-and toppled ink across Celia’s notes.
“Threadbare! Be more careful.” She scooped him up before the spreading puddle could stain him. Caradon sighed, and got water and rags.
“In any case, I think this is enough for now.” Caradon glanced at the sun’s angle through the windows. “He’ll be here soon. So I suppose I should do this formally…” He finished scrubbing, then sat down in his chair.
Once more, words scrolled across Threadbare’s vision, then stopped.
CARADON GEARHART HAS OFFERED A PUBLIC QUEST!
DETAILS: GO WITH MISTER MORDECAI TO OBLIVION POINT AND FOLLOW HIS INSTRUCTIONS
REWARD: 1000 EXPERIENCE
COMPLETION: RETURN TO CARADON FOR REWARD
DO YOU WANT TO ACCEPT THIS QUEST? Y/N?
“One thousand experience?” Celia’s already pale skin went paler. “Daddy, are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“Then yes.” Celia beamed. “And thank you.”
Threadbare’s mind worked overtime. Now that he knew the words meant something, he thought that he might want to know what they said. But he didn’t know how to read them, like Celia and Caradon did. Maybe if he copied what they looked like his family could read them?
INT +1
He reached out for the quill again… and Celia pulled him away, again. “No Mister bear, that’s quite enough of that, I’m sorry.”
Fine, fine. Threadbare sulked a bit, crossing his arms like Celia did when she and her Daddy argued, and Caradon snorted laughter. “You’re teaching him bad habits.” He teased.
“Normally he’s not this fussy.”
Grudgingly accepting the fact that he couldn’t try his idea right now, Threadbare sighed, and thought “Yes”. The squiggles-that-weren’t-just-squiggles disappeared.
Half an hour later, a knock came on the door. Celia answered it, and gave Mordecai a happy hug.
Caradon just looked him over, rubbing his goatee. “Run silent,” he greeted his old friend.
“Run deep. Ya ready, Celia girl?”
“I am!” Celia gestured at her pack, about half the size of her.
Mordecai winced. “Give that ‘ere.” He sorted through it without mercy, ignoring her wails as he pulled stuff free and sat it on the dinner table. “No... no… no…” He pulled out Beanarella the doll and looked to Caradon.
“Yes on those.”
“Guess you’ll need some backup. Yes, then.”
Practically dancing on the balls of her feet, Celia reached for the doll. “Okay, just let me animate her-“
“Nah.”
“No? Then what’s the point of bringing her?”
“I seen how yer animated toys move. Where we’re going, they’ll just slow you down. If you need 'em break'em out. Otherwise keep them in tha pack.”
“I can carry them.”
“You ent gonna carry that one?” Mordecai pointed at Threadbare, who pointed back.
Your Adorable skill is now level 8!
The old scout fought to keep his face straight.
“…yeah I’m gonna carry him.” Was Celia’s subdued reply.
“Good.” Mordecai cinched up the much smaller pack, ignoring the books, writing supplies, snacks, changes of clothes, and rock collections that Celia had lined up for the trip, leaving all those behind on the table. “Here yer go. Come on. Gi’ yer Daddy a hug and let’s be off.”
Threadbare found himself smushed between Celia and Caradon, and then it was out the door and off through the woods.
“So where are we going? The quest says Oblivion Point,” Celia said, following Mordecai’s even, long strides as he strolled through the pine bluff.
“Tha’s where. Ya never heard of it?”
“No. It sounds… dangerous?” There was just a hint of excitement in her tone. Mordecai chuckled.
“Only if ya get really stupid. And I know you ent stupid.”
“Oh that’s a relief. So Daddy showed me a book today, and I learned how to tell trees apart, and-“
Mordecai stopped, turned on her, knelt down to her level, and put his finger on her lips. “Shhh.”
“Buh-what?” She froze, staring at him with hurt eyes.
“Look around, Celia girl.” Mordecai’s voice went low. “Do you know this place?”
She did. “It’s the pines. Just a hill or two over. I think, right? I’ve lost track.”
“Yeah. Tha’s why yer here. Scouts don’t lose track. Scouts look and remember. Can you do that?”
“I… oh. Oh, sure!”
“Scouts also know to keep quiet when they’re in strange lands. So things don’t know they’re coming. Can you do that?”
Celia opened her mouth, and he shushed her again. Instead, she nodded, and he smiled for the first time since he’d turned around. “Good. Come. If you have to speak, keep it quiet and short.”
She followed him, chastened, but with excitement growing in her chest. She was going to be a scout!
So instead of talking, the little girl held Threadbare tight… except when they came to a steeper grade, and she had to put him down to clamber on all fours. The bear followed, doing pretty well as he went.
AGL +1
Your Climb skill is level 6!
They moved through the pines and down into a small valley, filled with rambling streams, wildflowers, and different sorts of trees.
“Oak,” Celia whispered to Threadbare as they went. “Sycamore,” she named another, as they passed it, leaves just starting to grow from its buds. “Willow,” she pointed at a mass of tangled branches over one of the creeks they splashed through. And though the old scout’s ears twitched under his hat at her every whisper, he tolerated it. This was good. He’d have less to explain, later on.
Then it was back uphill, up a rocky slope, to where a moss-green boulder jutted out over the path they’d just taken. “C’mere,” Mordecai said, scrambling up. “We can talk up ‘ere. Time for a break.”
Celia nodded. She’d long since stopped whispering, conserving her breath for puffing and panting as she climbed. “I just… got… a con up,” she said, dropping to her rump and dangling her legs over the edge of the boulder.
“Good. You’ll get more afore the day’s through. We’re a quarter of the way there.”
“What?” Celia’s jaw dropped. “I, I need a snack! My stamina’s way down! There’s no way I’ll make it all the way there with what I’ve got.”
“Yes, you will.” Mordecai sat down next to her, pointing across the way. “See over the little culvert of woods we just came through?”
“Yeah. It looks so small, but it seemed so big while we were in it.”
“Now stand up and look over it.”
Celia did, and blinked. “Is… is that our house over there?”
“Yeah. Only two miles off.”
“It looks so small. And I just got a perception up.”
Threadbare caught most of that, and he turned in her arms, trying to see.
He DID see the house!
PER +1
But he turned too quickly, and wiggled right free of Celia’s grasp! He tumbled toward the slope below as Celia shrieked-
-And Mordecai’s hand shot out like lightning, snagged him, and deposited him back on the boulder.
LUCK +1
“Careful there. Don’t wanna lose yer toys.”
“Oh! He’s so naughty sometimes!” Celia backed away from the edge, knelt, and picked up the trembling bear. “Oh, he’s frightened. Come here.” She hugged him, and Mordecai chuckled.
“Anyway, that’s why yer out here. Eleven years old and ya never been two miles from yer house. We’re gunna fix that, today. And you’re gonna rake in bonuses you ent seen in a long while, unless I miss my guess. You’re worried you can’t do it, because every time before when you lost stamina you went and ate to get it back. And you didn’t bring no food.”
“No. You took it out of my pack!”
“So yer gonna rest here and get it back the old-fashioned way.”
“But that takes so long…”
“What else are ya gonna do?” Mordecai shrugged. “Scouts have to travel hungry, sometimes. Key there is to pace yerself. You don’t not have the option of going where you need to go.”
Celia parsed the sentence, then looked at him. “Okay. Fine. Whatever.” She flopped down, and played with Threadbare, but eventually, the vista got to her. It really was a nice view, and she found herself staring off in the distance, watching the birds, following the leaping forms of deer from afar, and studying the river as it wound on its way.
Then she blinked. “I just leveled up?”
“Weren’t an animator level, was it?”
“No. How’d you know that? It was a human level. I haven’t gotten a race level since… wow.”
“Humans are built to wander. S’called exploration experience. Like a built in quest wi’out words. The more you explore, the more you see, the higher ya get. Key is followin’ yer instincts. Ya do that, then the better a human ya are.” Mordecai frowned. “A course, sometimes it’s bad if you foller your instincts. Got ta find a balance. Use yer intelligence AND yer wisdom. Like me wife. Level 9 half-orc, she is, and couldn’t be happier. Mostly cause she’s got wisdom ta match her strength.”
“I don’t have any jobs that get wisdom boosts. Well, human does, I guess.”
“A little bit. But Scout gets more.” Mordecai stood. “And now since ya leveled up, yer stamina’s full again, ya?”