Honour Rae
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B3 Ch14: A Stealthy Card
🕑 Added 2023-04-22 06:17:04 +0000 UTC**Re-edited Nov '23**
Brixaby darted forward.
Instinct made Arthur catch his dragon in mid-air as he darted toward Chablis. He didn't think Brixaby was going for her heart cards – at least he was pretty sure – but the effect was striking.
Chablis and the three human councilors who’d gathered next to her backed up hurriedly. Even Laird moved a step to the side, giving Brixaby a hard look.
"You blocked my rider's powers and then set him up to be assassinated!" Brixaby bellowed. He was so angry that he vibrated in Arthur's grip. “Arthur, let me go. I’ll show them what happens when they betray us.”
"No one betrayed you, that is absurd," Chablis said. "Young dragon, we would never allow your partner to be put in danger.”
"Not even for free Legendary cards?" Laird asked, dryly. "Utility Legendary," he said, with emphasis.
The other councilors pretended they did not hear him.
"This is ridiculous," one of the councilors, a male, said, "we gave this Kingdom rider permission to be among us only if he kept the card-locks on. He’s broken our one request: The locks must stay on!"
Brixaby inhaled as if to bellow, but Arthur got there first.
He kept his voice measured but stern. "I had the right to defend myself. That assassin came out of nowhere. You are lucky that I was able to break the card locks." He looked down at Brixaby, meaningfully. The dragon looked like he would happily tear out the cards from all their hearts.
"Is that a threat?" the counselor asked.
"Don't be a fool," Laird said, "a dragon who loses his rider and survives– one who is so young that he hasn’t even developed a secondary core – would go insane with rage. A Legendary would be near unstoppable. I think this is less of an assassination attempt on Arthur and more of an attack on our hive."
That visibly deflated most of the councilors. Chablis, especially, seemed thoughtful. She looked at Arthur.
"For whatever it's worth, you have my personal guarantee that this attack was not ordered by our hive. We're not sure of your value to us, but we certainly were not plotting your death."
Arthur nodded, though he wasn't sure that he believed her.
"And you have my guarantee," Laird rumbled, "that we will interrogate this man and get to the bottom of it."
"That, I can agree with," another one of the councilors said.
The third remained silent and troubled as he looked at the assassin, but he did not object.
"That’s not good enough," Brixaby said, "I need guarantees that my rider will stay safe. I can't look out for him forever. I have crafting to do."
"Brixaby," Arthur sighed. Deciding the dragon had calmed down enough, he adjusted his grip and allowed him to stand on his shoulder. Thankfully, Brixaby didn't take this as an opportunity to dive for the councilors.
"Yes, interrogate the man," Arthur said. "But Joy needs a healer, now – the best healing you can get for her. And I expect it to be at no cost."
Chablis leaned back as if she had been slapped. "Of course, we wouldn't charge you for that. Healing is free here at our hive."
That wasn't always the case in Wolf Moon. Another difference between the two. But her attitude annoyed him. "So far I have been brought here against my will. Then a pair of the ones I’m responsible for has been convinced to leave my hive. Now this man attacked me, resulting in the injury to a retinue rider and a friend. So forgive me if I don’t expect the best out of you."
"You're lucky that I'm so forgiving," Brixaby added with a sniff.
There was an awkward silence. Arthur got the impression he hadn’t made any friends with that last speech, but he had made a point.
"We will let you know what our investigation uncovers," Laird said. "But, as we have no mind mages here, it may take some time."
Arthur filed that gem away for later, though he had no way of knowing if his statement was true or not.
Laird looked to Chablis. "Have someone gather up this assassin… Though I don't know what use he will be to us. You only took his cards?" he asked, looking at the downed, twitching man and then at Brixaby. "This isn’t the result of poison?"
"No, he is simply weak,” Brixaby said without pity. “He’ll come around when he finds a way to live without his cards.”
"Very well then. Chablis put this man under custody and send for a healer. I'll escort our guests to the visitor's quarters.”
Interesting. Larid wasn’t just one of the councilors. He was comfortable ordering the others around.
It looked like one of the human councilors was going to object. The old man got as far as saying, “Wait just a moment—"
Laird turned his back to him. Since he was a large dragon, it was effectively like putting a wall between himself and Arthur.
The old man fell silent. This conversation was apparently over.
Carefully, Laird moved Cressida aside from the unconscious Joy, and gently scooped her up within his claws.
"Come," he said simply, crouching down in a signal for everyone else to climb on his back.
Arthur exchanged a look with Brixaby, but did as Laird asked.
Despite the grim circumstances and his worry for Joy… he allowed a part of himself to feel amazed. His twelve-year-old self would never have imagined riding the red dragon who had changed the course of his life forever.
He just wished it was under better circumstances.
****
The guest quarters in the Free Hive was a small cave filled with basic furniture. It carried a musty scent as if no one had lived there for some time and it had been long neglected. Arthur was glad that Brixaby didn't say anything snarky about it. He only buzzed in and around as if scouting for danger.
Laird gently laid down the limp Joy on the balcony and flew off, presumably to check on the status of a healer. Instantly, Cressida rushed to her dragon’s side.
"How is she, really?" Arthur asked, after looking around to ensure they were alone. He hoped that there was nobody with an eavesdropping card monitoring them.
"I don't know," Cressida said. "The link is still strong between us, but…"
He finished for her, "You're only connected through her quest and linked cards."
"Yes."
"She's breathing, and..." Cressida placed a hand on the base of her neck. "Her heartbeat is strong. But I can’t tell anything else. Arthur," she looked at him, a well of emotion in her eyes. "The last thing I did before leaving Moon Hive for the class was to lecture her about collecting disgusting rodents for a quest…”
She trailed off, eyes brimming with tears. Unsure what to do, Arthur rested his hand on her shoulder.
“I love Joy,” Cressida continued. “Even when she’s so enthusiastic about everything she drives me up the wall. What if taking those cards has changed her?”
"We'll deal with that as it comes. And if she is… different, I’m sure you’ll still love the new Joy."
Because he knew that Joy would most certainly be altered by this; there would be some change, small or great, he wasn't sure.
Rising grief threatened to swamp him — he was fond of the little bubbly pink, too. But it was better for her to change, be altered, rather than to die.
He hoped.
There came a knock at the door. Arthur rose to answer it, letting Cressida and Brixaby sit next to Joy.
It was a middle-aged woman with a healer badge. She nodded to him and then all but brushed by Arthur to go inspect her newest patient.
Amused, Arthur closed the door after her. He’d gotten so used to being constantly scraped and bowed to at Moon Hive being treated as a nobody again felt odd.
The healer took one look at Joy’s ravaged forelimb and tsked under her breath. Instant green light started to spread over Joy. It wasn't too different from her newly green skin under the scales on her poisoned limb.
Finally, the healer spoke. "I was told to expect poison, though… It seems to be neutralized now. This is all necrotic damage, not too different from gangrene."
"Can you save her limb?" Cressida asked.
"Yes," she said, still brusque. Everybody let out a breath of relief. "But I'll be managing it for the rest of the day, rebuilding all this muscle and tissue. She will wake up ravenous, so be aware of that."
"Yes," Cressida wiped at her eyes, clearly relieved.
“No, girl. I mean, she will wake up literally starving. So while I work I want you to go fetch her meal. There are sheep in the lower paddock…"
While the healer spoke, Brixaby buzzed up to Arthur's ear. "Arthur, we need to speak. In private."
That was by far the quietest he had ever heard Brixaby before, and proof that he could whisper when he wanted to.
With a glance towards the balcony, Arthur left Cressida and the healer speaking and walked to the back of the room. "What is it?"
Brixaby, though, had a devilish look in his eye.
From nothing, or specifically, from Brixaby's own Personal Space, the dragon pulled out a card.
"The assassin had a third card. And I think it's one you'll like."
Arthur read the card.
A Stealthy Class
Rare
Utility
This card grants its wielder instant Stealth Class as well as a 50% boost to natural and skill-based stealth.
Stealth Class Skills:
Silent Movement – Level 10
Heightened Awareness – Level 10
Camouflage – Level 10
Evasion – Level 10
Deception – Level 10
Concealment – Level 10
When Equipped:
+ 3 to Luck
+ 5 to Perception
Comments
TheRNGenius
When they go talk „somewhere private“ i dont understand, why they don‘t do it in the personal space. I would abzse the hell out of that time stand still phenomenon. Do regular meetings with brix in there, practice more skills. Doesnt need to be for so long, that arthur gets a headache but just a couple of hours.
> then whom I’m responsible for, has been convinced to leave my hive. This sentence seems to be missing a word.
Chad Hagner
That cards going to be nuts! Great chapter glad I found this story after Azarinth healer finished!
Telewyn
I assumed skill gains were blocked by the suppression cuffs.
Honour Rae
Funny you should mention that... this book started with kind of an action arc with no real gains but we'll be back to that shortly :)
Skrublorde
Those are three extra beefy rare cards
Are skill level gains no longer being written into the story? Seemed like they were written in all the time previously.
Reaper
Spells have been mentioned and don’t seem to be card related so long as mana is unlocked. So I’d agree with that idea.
Corpse Garden
The Hives full name is Wolf Moon I beleive. Sometimes they abbreviate it.
Aren't they from wolf hive? It mentions moon hive multiple times
Doug Wills
I've loved this arc. It's been amazing.
Håvard
Magic might also be an area of natureal skill. Would not suprise me if it's posible to be an mage with just mana unlocked. Very hard? Yes... does anyone do it? Dont think so. Do they know how to go about it probably not, at least in this kingdom.
Gopard
Thanks for the chapter!
Reaper
Arthur’s second deck is linked to his heart deck.it’s less intuitive access but it should still be available to both of them. This utility class and skills will be copied by his legendary card so the card can be removed afterwards. He potentially might need to use the skills once each to copy them first.
Reaper
A rare card might make a class where legendary cards would combine them into one skill. Arthur did practise aspects but gained the full stealth skill. A skill he combined into a stronger class. - the interesting question is how will they interact going forward.
Reaper
Natural skills aren’t automatically measured but when Arthur was gaining a throwing skill previous proficiency was added. It’s possible lesser cards will use the level given by the card or previous proficiency, whichever is higher. I doubt any card can remove natural proficiency.
Reaper
If it’s in the form of full chapters then a Legendary tier would be appreciated. ;)
Undead Writer
Sneaky Charlie~! You have to be Sneeaky Charlie~! Yeeess~. Sneaky Charlie~! Sneaky~~~! Sneaky~~~~~~!!
Undead Writer
Thanks for the chapter! Can’t wait for more!!
Reaper
People have had suspicions about this hive in the comments section. Now he has a means to investigate once he decides to. Can a rare card concealment skill block Brix’s legendary skill copying? Would the skill lvl make a difference? If not then the assassin could still have something of interest.
Chris
Theoretically he could be considered to be learning 10 skill ranks ( if its a new skill). If that is affected by the 25% acceleration it could turn to an extra 2.5 levels. On top of the 3 lvl base start he would be lvl 15.5 (except partial levels have not been tracked) so 15. Thats I guess a best case interpretation... just throwing out the possibility
Reaper
Stealth card has lvl 10 and MOS has lvl 3 so any new skill will start at 13. If he is over lvl13 already then I doubt it will help. I guess the 50% and 25% also stack as long as the card is in one of his decks.
Flabiano Castillo
a little stealthy stealth... sneaky... i like
Thaldor
Right, so; When Arthur linked with the dragon, he felt a choice in his heart. 'How much of myself do I share with the dragon? How deep is our bond?' and he chose to hold nothing back. A deep deep bond. This seems to have given them increased access to each other's heart/core decks of cards. They can use each other cards at will if they are in those decks, but it's not as intuitive as using your own cards that you are always aware of. The only thing I'M a little fuzzy on is whether or not everyone gets this kind of choice, or if it was something special because Brix linked with BOTH of Arthur's legendary set cards. I hope that helps!
Chris
Wonder how this will be affected by his master of skills card. "Learns skills at a base 25% accelerated rate" or "newly learned skills automatically start at base level 3" Does equipping the new card cause him to "learn" the skills? Theoretically master of skills could jump him to like skill lvl 15 or something on all of those skills if there is a positive interaction
Leonard Bukowski
That is what i dont understand…. I thought that Brix could only use the ones that he linked to in Arthurs heart deck and not all of them correct? Unless Brix uses a stealth card in his heart deck and then Arthur couldn’t use it… is this correct?
Salvo
Big question that card brings up: The previous wording of classes from 'master of skill' said you could only equip 1 class at a time, so does that apply with this card? Some of the skills also sound like body enhancement skills, so more stat training. I would like to know what 'class' cards would slot into spirit/mind/body/magic/ or wild.
Thaldor
Brix is GIVING A CARD AWAY. Granted.. if this goes in the heart.. he would also have access, right? 🤭
Victor
Yay, it’s nice to see Arthur more assertive and not putting up with people’s nonsense.
Michigo
I mean natural skills had to be a thing. Otherwise regular folks without cards would have trouble in their everyday life. It will be really interesting to find out how natural and card skills actually interact with each other.
juno
I feel like synergy is a big thing in this world, so classes that go well together probably can combine into something better like a set of cards? Arthur has Thief and now Stealth, so maybe they will combine into a higher tier class like Spy or Infiltrator. Rogue or Ninja would be a good option too but I think without Master of Combat he cannot get combat focused classes.
Is the stealth class related to the stealth skill? (rogue/thief)
Sári András
In my understanding natural skill could be something that is not tied to the cards, so it could be something that remains even in a mythics's aura, or when a cars is removed.
Rubeno
I think I'm on the roll. I wonder whether there is possibility that Shadow betrayed Arthur because his shadow step card would pair very nicely with Joy's Assasin setup ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Rubeno
What I wanted to add is that because Joy has new cards in her heart deck Cressida may need Stealthy card to link her with her dragon additionally because there may be consequences if she does not do that or SteLthy card is part of the Joy's new cards deck.
Rubeno
Ohh. But if Card Skill and Natural Skills are different then doesn't that mean that natural skills aren't measured as that feature belongs to Card Skills?
Rubeno
Obviously Arthur needs to free cards being taken hostage by definitely evil owners! I'm sure many villains are just waiting for defenders of justice to come and liberate them out of their possessions ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Rubeno
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Don't tease, don't tease. Wouldn't it be more interesting trying to get you to do it without a price, bwhahaha! It reminds me of my stupid university years and prank we had done to a arrogant friend who couldn't stop whining about his great bed prowess when we made a bet that he is supposed to make prostitute pay hmm. Ahh, that was... Glorious ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Rubeno
Why sell it when Cressida has use for it? She is now Assasin Girl with her partner Assasin Good Girl (yes, my naming sense is fabulous, thank you very much!) she needs her hidey powers y'know!
Honour Rae
To be fair, I'm happy to spoil if the price is right. (Kidding! Kidding!)
Honour Rae
I'm so pleased someone picked up on the natural skills wording. :D
Nathan Sto
I don’t know if this was a settled debate or not, but look at the wording on that card “… natural AND skill based …”. We finally have 100% confirmation that these are two entirely different things. Not only that, but natural skills can be effected by cards as well as capital S Skills. Suppose Arthur got a card that increased his learning of natural skills - would this be additive on his Skills? Multiplicative? Also, might that not indicate that the special card for his set helps him learn natural skills, assuming that they have a mathematical relationship with the effectiveness of Skills?
Flopmind
Loved the chapter! Thanks again Rae!
wilfredo zurita
Thank you for the chapter, hope they "recover" a few more cards before leaving
Rubeno
The last note about author keeping himself from spoiling made me chuckle and sent my mind into spiral how to guide author over course of weeks to spoil the story in the comments more often. Now, wouldn't be that a fun challenge!
FlawlessMovement
Oooooo skills that he will keep just from equipping it. Like literally equip then instant de equip. And he keeps ALL the benefits and can sell the card
