Chapter 4: Chapter 4 – Rock Hard; Hot and Steamy

The rock—it was a tiny pebble no longer—was not being thrown at enemies. Neither was it being dropped on enemies. Or even rolled…

Wasn’t that the whole point of being a [Rolling Stone]?

No, instead the rock was sweating. Well, not actually sweating, but it was growing hot, then being cooled by a spray of water in periodic intervals. That was close enough, right?

Yes—it had gotten stuck again.

The stone had been ready to lay down its arms and retire once more from a great career of adventure—even if its quest was yet to be completed. But... there was just one issue.

This was no comforting rest. The rock was being tortured.

It lay in a heap of its kin, the largest rock of all, centerpiece of the display. Above a stove constantly stoked with fresh firewood, which kept the rocks heating up.

Until a spray of water cooled them again.

The rock cursed the inventor of this infernal torture device, which some may have recognized to be a sauna. The [Ranger] had stripped down from his gear, and now stood there, skin white and furless, exposing himself indecently before the rock.

Of course, it didn’t care about that, per se.

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If anything, the dangling bits shifting about before it were a fresh point of interest, something for the stone to discreetly observe. Some twisted kin of its? For two small pebbles sat hanging down behind the trunk. Were they trapped too, in torture as hellish as the rock's?

It swore to free them, for this stone was a true hero. And so… the rock began to plot. How could it escape this fiendish situation, and exact vengeance on its captor?

It began experimenting.

The [Velocity] vector was a flat zero, and the stone was wedged tightly between its kin, so escaping through [Steer] seemed doomed to fail. One plan out.

The only plan, if it had still been the humble pebble of before, capable of only slightly changing course. But it was a grown stone now, level 3. A mighty warrior, truly.

With a new skill.

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