Chapter 26: 2.7 – Secrets of Wyndham Wood

Robin woke to the soft and rhythmic sound of Eli’s breathing. He hadn’t been asleep long. He didn’t need to be, with his ring. A single hour charged him up as much as sleeping for nine hours regularly did.

He carefully slid out of bed. His wounds twinged. Three were inflamed and looked to be in danger of hosting an infection. Eli was still working on his atonement piece for Vané. Some sort of large wooden sculpture. Though the cleric had only allowed him the smallest of glimpses while it was ‘in progress’.

Robin was hoping he wouldn’t have to hold out until then. He paused to make sure Eli was still deep in the meditative trance state he enjoyed instead of slumber. The elvish cleric didn’t so much as twitch. Robin slipped out of the room.

The stone beneath his bare feet was cool and smooth. Much smoother than the tunnels, actually. In searching the tower, he’d managed to find an old pair of shoes, cracked with age, but solid enough to protect his feet and large enough not to pinch, but he had no need of them right now. Besides, he kind of liked the feel of the stone on his feet.

The gentle glow of the runes in the hall guided him to the main chamber, not that he needed it. With a smooth motion Robin called up the Greater and Lesser Arcana interface. Though he’d not managed to find any mention of Rhyth in the files, nor managed to decipher any new spells to cast, it was still a treasure trove of knowledge.

He’d done this each of the last two nights. That first day they’d slipped out and retrieved a large cache of food, mostly edible plants that Eli was able to identify. Robin touched the ring on his finger. Again, not that he needed it.

The touch of the engraved runes on his fingertips was like cold fire. Robin savoured the sensation. He’d read up on a bit of the specialty knowledge needed to create these high level effects. Currently, it was well beyond him, but if pressed me might be able to turn a simple effect or two out of a hastily scrawled rune. Maybe. If it didn’t explode in his face.

There was a wealth of knowledge here and that was the problem. There was so much to sift through, and like any kind of advanced knowledge in his own world, a lot of it relied on a common knowledge base which he currently lacked. Still, that didn’t stop him from reading and learning. Especially once his interface had rewarded his self-edification with several notifications, all in a similar vein.

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