CH6 - Will it Blend? (Patreon)

Evening time was drawing near when I entered the woods once again, aiming to visit Naevys and turn in the quest. The woods were alive with birdsong and the sun was drawing orange shades towards the horizon as I spotted the large trio of oaks that Naevys called her home and couldn’t help smiling as the tones of a flute whispered up from below. I decided to give her a small surprise and brought out my violin, listening attentively to catch the fleeting melody before slowly joining in. I started almost imperceptibly, slowly  increasing in volume. I could tell when she noticed my presence, a single note drawn out for just a tad too long, before she dove back into it, adding a joyous undertone to the melody. I slowly approached while our melodies mingled and merged, diverged from each other, meandering on their separate paths before once again embracing and becoming one. While I had yet to have a conversation with Naevys where my mind didn’t feel like it was scrambling to keep up, right in that moment I believed that I’d found one place where we were exactly the same - the ability to lose ourselves in the music and let ourselves get carried away. 

When I peeked down into her abode, an involuntary smile spread on my face. Naevys was halfway up the wall, lying cradled in the embrace of two massive roots, eyes closed and surrendered to the music. Impressive how she could make such a silly posture seem completely natural. I made my way down the arboreal stairs, still playing, and walked over to  her, where I promptly realized that there was no way to get to where she was, five meters up the wall. I stood for a moment, at a loss for words, when Naevys’ eyes fluttered open, and she gracefully leapt down and gave me a large hug. My natural aversion to hugs had a short fight with the rest of my mind and lost. The close proximity of a stunningly cute girl can do that to you. 

A moment later, she took a step back and looked up at me with a dazzling smile, “You did it. Thank you ever so much.” 

I was momentarily taken aback. “How…how could you possibly know that?”

Her affable character turned serious and she replied, ”My bond with nature cannot be broken. As I share with the forest, so too does it divulge its secrets to me.” Her eyes glittered, and she pinched her nose with two fingers, “also, you reek of snakes.”

Nonplussed, I burst out in laughter and bowed, “I apologize for subjecting you to that. I wanted to give you the good news right away.”

She waved away my concerns, “Never mind, Arcangelo. Tell me how you managed to get away with the eggs.”

Fifteen minutes later, I’d related the entire encounter to her, and learned that she was an amazing listener. She oohed and aahed at all the right moments, commiserated with me on Lyle’s recklessness and held her hands in front of her mouth upon learning that he had almost died. 

She wasn't entirely satisfied though. "Why didn't you just take the eggs and run to begin with instead of killing the poor beast? The poor Mother was getting up there in years, and likely would not have been able to produce another clutch of eggs. Well, I suppose it's all for the best - your people in the village are an impatient sort, and probably would hate having to wait another five to ten years for her to reach her natural end. But what did bring her to move as far south as she has? Her kind usually reside in wetter climates."

Her brow furrowed pensively, and I quickly sidetracked her before she went off on a tangent by removing the eggs from my backpack, one by one. Her eyes widened, and she hared off without a word, returning a couple of minutes later with a large wicker basket filled with mulch, and proceeded to line it with old rags. She then investigated each singular egg, listening closely to each one, marked each one with a dab of paint at one end and placed them with meticulous care in the basket. Two of them, she placed next to the basket instead.

Watching her actions, I couldn't help myself, "You aren't going to...keep them, are you?" In my mind's eye, I was picturing her walking the forest with a couple of the vipers on a leash.

She tittered, "Of course not. Picture the mess they would make of my home." 

I nodded in relief, right until she continued,

"I'm just going to keep them around for a bit until they can fend for themselves, and then release them back into the wild." and continued puttering around with the basket until she noticed my expression. "Oh, Arcangelo - have a little faith." She smiled, "When I let these beauties out into the nature where they belong, they will feel no desire to ever attack a person and will only do so if attacked. Also, I plan to release them a ways north of the village, where a family of cairn bears have been getting comfortable lately - we do not want those any closer to the village, terrors that they are."

Apparently, I looked suitably mollified, because she patted my shoulder, "Good of you to think of the village - it speaks well of you. Now, to business. The vipers in these two eggs," she indicated the pair that she'd set aside, "will not survive to be hatched. Would you carry them along to Gillem and thank him for his assistance last week? I'm certain he can use them to make some sort of delicacy."

I assured her I'd take care of it, and she nodded, turning her back towards me and starting to rummage around in a full-sized wardrobe that stood out among all the selfmade equipment and furniture. Over her shoulder, she said, “You have been on my mind a lot lately. Lyle is easy to figure out - but you are a tougher puzzle. Oh, there we go.”

She turned around, and tossed a small pouch towards me, balancing a small cloth pouch, a rolled-up scroll and a much larger bundle in her hands. “This is for both of you. Now, Lyle, as your story clearly shows, needs protection - from himself as much as from the world. Please pass him this cloak along with my compliments. It should go well over his armor and grant him some extra padding for when you get yourselves into the next mess. You, on the other hand, have a choice to make.” She dangled the cloth pouch in front of me, which gave off a tiny clinking sound. “This is my emergency stash of various potions. With these tiny beauties in my life, I should not be wanting for protection until I can find a new stash.”

My eyes were lashed onto the dangling pouch like a hypnotizing pendant and I might just have been salivating a bit. If the past weeks had shown me anything it was that an ace in the hole could mean the difference between life and death here, and she was toting an entire bag of them. Fat chance I was going to choose whatever else she was going to - 

She interrupted my thoughts, “The other choice would mean increased responsibility for you, but I believe it might be the better choice for you as a person.” She unfurled the scroll for me, and I read the title. “Establish Animal Bond.”

I swallowed, “Is this - does this mean what I think it does?”

She nodded, deadly serious for once. “You will need to establish a friendly relation first, but that is easily done when the egg hatches for you. Taking care of the growing viper and protecting him until he can, in turn, protect you will not be as easy, however, and the connection comes at a cost.”

I’d already forgotten all about the pouch with its instantly accessible goodies - this was the real deal. I could vividly picture leading my own razortailed monstrosity into battle - maybe even growing it large enough for me to ride it? “Could you tell me more about these vipers? How large do they grow? Will he or she understand what I’m saying?”

Naevys beamed a brilliant smile at me, and promptly launched into an explanation on the characteristics and behavior of the razortailed viper. I kept up with the deluge of information - barely - but couldn't help glancing at the scroll before me.

Establish Animal Bond

This scroll allows the bearer to form a permanent bond with an animal, allowing for a telepathic connection to grow between the two. The form and connection depends on the animal type and level of intellect.

Requirement: Friendly relationship with the animal.

Cost: 20 mana allocated to maintaining the bond.

"...as you can see, nature meant for him to grow even larger, but keeping themselves fed is a real issue. I do not expect you to go into this empty-handed, dear Archangelo - I will guide you along the necessary paths." She looked at me, waiting for an answer.

I really hadn't caught the entirety of her lecture, because another idea kept intruding on my train of thought and plain refused to go away. "Naevys. Erm. This might be an impertinent question, but would this, " I indicated the scroll, "work on any animal?"

Her eyes widened and she immediately riposted, "Oh no, Archangelo, this is not a path that you want to tread. Thousands before you have embarked on perilous journeys to capture and tame giant eagles, dragons or floating dreamers. They almost always fail - even those who, unlike you, have trained for the purpose. Either they are slain outright trying to capture a dragon egg or something goes wrong in the training process and the poor animal is ruined. Oh, and the hunters often die."

I spent a brief moment allowing myself to luxuriate in the thought of flying on a giant eagle and then squashed the thought firmly. Also, a floating dreamer - what the hell? Shaking my head, I tried to gather my thoughts and present them coherently, "Oh no, you misunderstand me - and I would not want to disrespect this gift in such a manner. It's just - there are plenty of reasons why Lyle and I keep getting in over our heads. Part is Lyle’s recklessness, part is the sad fact that  I often don’t think far enough ahead and these are things we can and will work on improving. There are probably other factors I’m forgetting, but the last, major, fault with our partnership is this: We’re loud and obvious. Neither of us know how to sneak or spy worth a damn and we tend to crash straight into things. A bond with one of these vipers would only exacerbate the problem - and I believe I have a solution.”

Naevys listened while I explained, and bit by bit the frown that had appeared on her brow was replaced by a grudging nod. “Your reasoning is sound, and don’t worry about your viper - I will make for a good surrogate mother. Now, let’s get out of here and go introduce you to your future partner - I can tell you are just about trembling with excitement. The transition will come with its own set of questions, and I had better be your teacher in this.”

I can count the number of times I’ve initiated a hug on the fingers of one hand - but still I enfolded Naevys in an embrace, thanking her awkwardly. On the way back to the village, I was practically skipping. If my plan worked, not only would Lyle and I be able to work stealth and subterfuge into our outings - something entirely new to us - I’d also have another set of eyes to watch my back for enemies, be they in-game or from real life.

We made good speed and a short while later arrived at the back of The Warlock’s End. We didn’t enter though, but walked behind the building, past the service entrance to the kitchen and into the tiny cluster of pine trees that always kept the worst of the afternoon heat away from my room. Naevys had insisted that the primary introduction to the capital-b Bond was rather straightforward - I just had to get the recipient in a good mood and then read the scroll. When we had arrived, she stayed in the background. I tried to center myself for a while, but had to give up - I was way too excited to relax - and instead calmed down the best way I know. My old teacher would’ve been ashamed of me and the way I without preamble launched into a piece by Strauss - Frühlingsstimmen (Spring Voices) and maltreated most of the introductory part. Shortly thereafter, my mind let go of most of the tension, and my thoughts retreated to the back of my mind while my fingers reveled in the joyous, lilting melody. A while later, I opened my eyes while the final triumphant conclusion spilled from my fingers, and felt like myself again - and then I spotted it. My chameleon friend was right there next to me, eyes closed and head raising and falling in time to the music. As I softly let the music die down, I whispered, afraid to scare it away, “Hi there. How would you like to be my friend?” Keeping the animal firmly fixed in my vision, I raised the Establish Animal Bond scroll before me and read the incantation out loud. 

The scroll crumbled to dust in my hands, yet nothing happened. Had I been wrong? Did the spell fail? I stared at the chameleon, noticing nothing new - and then I was hit by the strangest sensation. Within my mind, new sensations blossomed - those of content tempered with the slightest feeling of unease. I concentrated harder on the sensations and soon was able to single out even more. I could feel the full belly of the chameleon and the lingering heat within the body from the past couple of hours spent on a roof in the evening sun. Then I got the pop-up:

Congratulations. 

You have bonded with a Veiled Dawnlight Chameleon. 

Named for their general habitat, this species has adapted to the temperate climate and environment in the Dawnlight Forest. They have developed poison spitting abilities in order to defend themselves against the dangerous local species. As a whole, the species persists both because of their impressive ability to blend in with the background and inoffensive demeanor.

The Veiled subspecies have evolved their camouflage abilities even further to work optimally in a forest environment. They receive a bonus to stealth in forests and a penalty in all other surroundings.

Info:

Name: ????

Race: Veiled Dawnlight Chameleon, Level 1 - experience towards next level: 0/1000

Stats and Attributes:

Health: 70/70 

Mana: 20/20

Stamina: 70/70 

Racial Abilities:

Color-changing skin

The chameleon is able to control its color and thermo regulation via two layers within its skin. These layers allow the chameleon to alter its pigmentation and affect which wavelengths of light are absorbed and reflected, resulting in an incredible ability to blend in with the background. It can also be used to to create colorful, clashing displays - mainly used for for impressing female chameleons or scare away easily impressionable animals. The ability is triggered either consciously or via pheromones, activating when the chameleon is agitated and slowly defaulting to regular coloring when it relaxes again.

Ability type: Active.

Cost: 5 Stamina/Minute.

Arboreal Movement

The body of a Dawnlight Chameleon is optimized for climbing trees and traversing rough terrain, both horizontally and vertically, and it can maintain an impressive movement speed even on almost impassable terrain. Each foot can maintain an almost tong-like grip on whatever it is holding on to due to the design of the foot and the sharp claws on each toe. Additionally, it has a long prehensile tail to help maintain both grip and balance.

Ability type: Passive

360 degree vision

The eyes of a Dawnlight Chameleon are a wonder of nature. Each eye swivels independently of the other, allowing for a full 360 degree vision with the animal able to focus on two different objects simultaneously.

Ability type: Passive

Sensitivity to heat and cold

While the adaptation of the chameleon's body to the forest climate grants a number of advantages, it also comes at a cost. Gradually upon exposure to heat, the animal becomes increasingly lethargic. The same applies for cold. Prolonged exposure to either heat or cold can result in lasting damage or death.

Ability type: Passive

Ballistic tongue

A Dawnlight Chameleon mainly catches its prey, primarily insects and small animals, by means of its highly-elastic tongue which it projects from its mouth at extremely high velocities. Once hit, the tongue stays in place by means of both suction and wet adhesion while exuding a movement inhibiting poison that can incapacitate tiny animals.

Ability type: Active

Cost: 20 stamina

Poison spit

Apart from providing poison to the tongue, the chameleon can use its poison glands to project a wad of poison and neutralize targets at a distance. The liquid substance disperses slightly over distance, and accuracy is hard beyond 15.0 meters. The mechanisms needed to produce the poison wad are very taxing to the animal and it can only be used sparingly before needing recovery.

Ability type: Active

Cost: 35 stamina

Cast time: 1.0 seconds

Wow - I’d definitely need a little time to process that wall of text. For now, I dismissed all the pop-ups and just stared at my new animal companion, really taking in its appearance for the first time. 

It didn’t look exactly like a chameleon as I remembered them- that was my first impression. Sure, the head looked the exact same, as did the eyes with just this weird little hole for the pupil to look through. The skin also looked similar, visually something like a blend between tiny scales and actual skin, as well as its long, prehensile tail - but that’s where the similarities stopped. When I think of chameleons, they’re these spindly animals with stick-like legs that would be just the thing for a non-conforming artist to sling around her neck in order to look fashionably outré. This fella - because I just spotted that he was definitely a he - was anything but spindly. In actual fact, he looked to have more komodo monitor in his ancestry than actual chameleon, and his body gave off a definite sense of danger. The twin ridges of ragged spikes extending from one end of the neck to the very start of the tail didn’t look like they were just there to impress the female chameleons either.

I tensed, as a hand landed softly on my shoulder. 

Naevys stayed partially behind me, taking in the sight of the animal. She spoke softly, almost in a whisper, “Ooh, Girelle has blessed this one. You chose wisely, Arcangelo. Now, keep your mind on the task at hand. You have befriended him by means of your music, correct?”  I assented, and she continued, “Good - now you have bonded each other, you need to affirm to him that you are still his friend and that this will continue unchanged.” 

I wasn’t entirely sure how to do this. Should I maybe…

She swatted the back of my head with a low laughter. “Play something for him. My, but that human blood must be slowing down your brains.”

Ears burning, I launched into the first thing that came to mind. A beautiful mood piece with a flowing, relaxed vibe to it that had often been spinning through my loud speakers when I was relaxing. What brought it to my mind, though, was the title, “The Dragon Charmer”. As I played, I could tell, the dragon was well and truly charmed. His eyes rolled, head nodded in time to the music, and once or twice his hindquarters even twitched as the rhythms flowed over us. 

From behind me came a whisper, “Good. Now close your eyes and feel for him.”

Without asking, I did as she said and focused on the newly-arrived presence in my mind. He was there instantly. I could feel the unease disappearing from him as I continued playing, and kept focusing on that new little node of emotions, attempting to take in every little detail. Before long, his presence felt less intrusive, more like something that was meant to be where it was. Even with my eyes closed, I was beginning to be able to get a feel for his relative physical location and believed I would be able to spin around and still point straight at him without fail.

Naevys’ hand returned to my shoulder, along with her pleasant voice, “Wonderful. Now, you will teach him that you will be a larger part of his life, helping him provide for himself. The mayor has a small vegetable garden, fenced in to avoid any intruders. Right now, a large squirrel has taken advantage of this placement and is dozing in an apple tree, completely sated. Try to nudge him in the right direction.”

I did as she said, attempting to convey the mental image of food and him finding easy prey. At first, I was met only with mild confusion, but shortly thereafter, I found myself trailing my companion, watching his swaying walk as he slowly stalked along the side of the tavern and crossed the town square. Urgh - I’d need to come up with a decent name for him soon - calling him “my companion” felt weird already. His coloring and camouflage were beyond impressive though - I let myself fall back a little, and even knowing where he was, it was hard to pinpoint him with the muddy earth of the town square as background. When he reached the fence, his coloring changed fluidly, adjusting to the new background, and he effortlessly climbed the wooden structure. At the top, he paused for a moment, before traversing the enclosure proper and moving from my vision.  I moved a bit closer, trying my best to look unobtrusive, standing as I was right next to the mayor’s house. Closing my eyes again, I found I could follow his progress. First the silent crossing of the garden. Then the careful climb, cautiously avoiding any noise - and finally, the thrill as he attacked, knowing beforehand that the target was doomed. The ensuing bombardment of sensations was a mixture of triumph, joy, ferocity, and ultimately, satiation as he finished eating the squirrel.

Either Naevys was following all this by some ancient druid mumbo-jumbo, or she was getting really good at reading me, because she clapped her hands joyously, “Oh, you did it, Arcangelo. From here on out, you two just need to get to know each other better and learn to work together as a team.” 

She then launched into an explanation of the variety of his diet, how often I should feed him and - hell if I knew what else. Most of my attention was firmly fixed with my companion, following his mood, his presence, and most of all, the wave of content and gratitude that oozed through the bond. 

A moment later, she punched my shoulder and said, not unkindly. “I know what it feels like to have opened your eyes for the first time. Go, with my blessings, and those of Girelle. One final thing.” She lifted one admonishing finger. “You will spend the entirety of tomorrow together. A fledgling bond needs nurturing.”

I quickly agreed and Naevys was off, happily whistling her silly tune from earlier. From my friend, I could feel a growing sense of sleepiness, and decided to call it an early night myself. I shelled out for some cold left-overs from Gillem and went to my room to eat, opening the window wide. Afterwards, I allowed myself the pleasure to sit at the window and just let my thoughts drift, thinking of nothing and everything. After a while, I got out my violin, and let my fingers flow alongside my thoughts, calmly and light as a feather. At some point, my companion drifted off, right above me somewhere along the ridge of the roof, and I decided to join him. Sleep was a long time coming though - my mind was awhirl with half-formed plans and schemes for us to start in on the following day. We could get to know each other better, learn to work together, maybe track down whatever had been taking off with bodies from the cemetery. Hell - who knew - It might even be time to get to work on figuring out who was the culprit behind the murder on Gillem’s mother.