Ar'Kendrithyst

There were many things to do before Erick rushed out into the Crystal Forest to kill a wyrm.

Firstly, he read up on wyrm hunting in the Adventurer’s Guild Library. Books upon books had been written up on the subject, of the wyrms’ unnatural biology, of how to actually kill it. First hand accounts told Erick of what he needed to prepare, and he needed to prepare a lot. This was not just a one-day, rush out the door, tackle a task, sort of thing. Not at all.

So Erick read about wyrm hunting, and when he started to read the same information over and over again, he went out to talk to people.

- - - -

“How do you hunt a wyrm?” Erick asked.

Teressa answered, “With days in the Forest, watching the skies, listening to the land and the air, always ready, always hunting! When you find it, you armor up, bash the beast, and let the mages tear it apart.”

Erick grumbled.

- - - -

“How do you hunt a wyrm?” Erick asked.

Poi answered, “You leave it to other people, but if necessary, find a good tracker mage. For the actual fight, you stay far, far away, and you let the warriors hold its attention while you do the actual killing.”

Erick hummed.

- - - -

“How are those gems working out for you?” Erick asked, genuinely curious.

Ulrick Ulrick stood behind the counter of his shop, and laughed, once. “The silver one is terrible in all ways. I suspected that if I could even get an enchant into the thing, it would hold well, like with a pearl. But nothing sticks, and I suspect you already knew that.”

Erick frowned. “Sorry, Ulrick. I was hoping that you’d find a use for them.”

“No bother. I still have my livelihood.” Ulrick grinned wide. “Now as for the silver-crusted flawless diamonds that the Army has? Those are driving the Stat enchanters in town crazy.”

Erick winced. “Uh. Whoops.”

“They’re all predators; don't worry yourself over their wellbeing.”

“If it’s any consolation, they’ll be able to do the same in a year.”

Ulrick nodded. “Maybe.”

“… Have you ever hunted a wyrm?”

Ulrick flinched. He quickly recovered, saying, “Demons and Angels, no! I have not hunted a wyrm! You’re not going out to hunt a wyrm, are you?”

“Well—”

Ulrick declared, “Don't go risking your life for some stupid grand-rads. There are easier monsters to hunt and kill to refill your stock.”

“I’ll take it under advisement.” Erick said, “Thanks, Ulrick.”

Ulrick looked at Erick, concerned.

- - - -

“How do you hunt a wyrm?” Erick asked.

Mage Guildmaster Sirocco Zago, smiled behind her desk, saying, “I’m glad to finally see that you’re up and about; well enough to give me a visit.”

“Good to see you, too.” Erick said, “And that reminds me. She wasn’t downstairs.” He took out Sizzi’s [Familiar] journal and put it on Zago’s desk. “This was a great help, but I haven’t managed more than 2 requirements.”

Zago laughed, then said, “I hope to never see a failure like I saw out on that stone platform, but these smaller failures certainly make the rest of you seem more real.”

“I hope to never experience that kind of failure ever again.”

Zago nodded, saying, “You’re carving quite an irreplaceable niche for yourself here in Spur. Rain was a large enough change on its own, and now I hear you’re enchanting special Stat items and growing diamonds?” She spoke a bit harder, “So it pains me to hear that you’re now going after wyrms… for what? The lark of it?”

“Ah.” Erick nodded. “It does make me seem like a reckless idiot, doesn’t it?”

Zago did not respond to that; she just waited.

Erick explained, “Champion Yetta came to me, asking for my help in clearing Odaali. I said I would, but only if she kills Planter.”

“A reasonable request for unreasonable times.” Zago frowned, but nodded. “So? You’re doing this wyrm business in order to understand what kind of fight you have pledged yourself to fighting?”

“Got it in one.”

Zago thought. She said, “A tracker from the Wayfarer Guild would get you near a wyrm in under a day. But if you want to hunt one yourself—”

“Which I do.”

“—Then you must learn some sort of long range [Scan] spell. I suggest…” Zago paused. She asked, “Have you tested to see how fast you can fly with your [Flight Aura]? Perhaps you only need [Scent Tracker], [Ultrasight], and [Perfect Hearing]; combine them into [Tracker’s Instincts]. They’re part of the Ranger line of skills. [Swift Movement] and [Silent Movement] combine into [Lightfoot]. [Tracker’s Instincts] and [Lightfoot] combine into [Hunter’s Instincts]. With that, and a starting point, you can find almost anything that isn’t covering its tracks; even if your prey is airborne.” She added, “Though that would be a Vitality build, so maybe only pick out part of all that.” She continued, “Have you considered [Defend]? It’s rather necessary for fighting tougher opponents. It costs a tenth of your HP every time you use it, but you take 10 to 50 percent less HP damage for 1 minute. HP damage only, mind you. It doesn’t work with [Absorption Ward], but its not a bad option.”

Erick said, “That seems… niche. I have [Teleport] and [Blink] already.”

“That is a better option, in most cases.” Zago paused. She said, “I have [Defend]. It’s saved my life more than once.”

“You do?”

“Rank 10: 50% less damage taken, and you cannot take more than 90% of your HP in damage in 1 hit.”

“… I should probably get that, then.”

"It's not perfect, at all. But if you can take the 1/10 HP drain necessary to activate [Defend], it does help when you're running away, or to absorb one stray critical hit. As a mage, you should not expect [Defend] to save your life. We already don't have much HP, and the skill doesn't function well when you're already low."

Erick nodded.

“For a [Scan] for your needs, [Force Wave] and [Scent Tracker] for carrion would probably do it. Or you could fly around with [Scent Tracker] and [Ultrasight], either combined or separately. Combining them usually turns out well, if you know what you’re combining toward. [Perfect Hearing] is nice, but you might get overwhelmed out in the Crystal Forest.” Zago added, “As for actually killing the beast: you want [Force Bolt] and [Force Beam] for [Force Beam Bolt], then alter that into Decay.” She stressed, “And if you’re flying around, the wyrm will go after you, no matter what your people on the ground are doing. Even one meter off the ground is enough to anger the beast to targeting you.”

Erick smiled. “Thank you, Sirocco.”

Zago nodded, saying, “And don’t be such a stranger! You can come in any time, you know?”

“Speaking of strangers… I’ve heard of other archmages in town. One by the name of Opal? She popped the [Ward]s surrounding the daydroppers in Kal’Duresh from at least three kilometers away… How do you think she did that?”

Zago said, “[Dispel] for sure. But you shouldn’t try to combine [Dispel] with Particle magic; people have been laid up for weeks recovering from Error messages when they’ve tried to get around the [Ward] restrictions of Particle spells.”

“… There goes that idea!”

Zago looked at Erick, saying, “Quite.”

- - - -

Erick bought [Scent Tracker], [Defend], and [Force Bolt].