A Salamander, but Mighty

Tamara shuddered inwardly, her mouth remained closed with her big black eyes fixed on Velen… was she about to make some speech to her with an offer Tamara couldn't refuse like Lyndvrath? Logic told her that it was unlikely that she was in any way limited within the confines of the guardian spirit area of influece, since when she was escaping the cat monster Velen had implied that she had no way of stopping her from leaving if Tamara so chose.

“I figured you didn't save me out of the goodness of your heart,” Tamara began to say, “come on, let's see what the conditions for my rescue are…”

“N-no! There are no conditions, you are free to leave whenever you wish!” Velen promptly replied, “mine is more of a request than an order, a favor I would like to ask you in return for saving you.”

Tamara didn't interrupt her, if she could, she would have sat with her arms crossed over her chest.

“How can I say… I would like you to help me get my freedom.”

If she could, Tamara would have frowned. “Aren't you free already?”

“Velenaria is a tributary of the Ulyender River, I can't even reach the sea,” the guardian spirit explained, “guardian spirits are confined to the natural limits of the places or objects that fall within their jurisdiction. I'm lucky, considering that some guardian spirits can even be limited to the surroundings of a particularly important stone or pond.”

“So you are more powerful than the other guardian spirits?”

Velen chuckled, “some guardian spirits can inhabit entire mountain valleys or hilly areas in the middle of some plains, I'm lucky in the sense that it could have been worse!”

Tamara moved her head a few times, nodding thoughtfully.

“I've been trapped here for centuries, and I can't stand it anymore,” Velen confessed, “I want to be able to go wherever I want, I want to be able to see things, meet new people, have adventures…”

“Ok, but how can I help you?” Tamara asked at one point, “can I carry you on my back with me?”

“Well… no, it's not that easy, but I'm sure there is a way to allow me to leave this place,” although judging from her voice, not even Velen herself was sure of this, “what I'm asking is that if you find a way, you find out what it is and come tell me.”

It didn't seem so impossible to Tamara, not to mention that unlike Lyndvrath, Velen wasn't even bossing her around! Taking into consideration that she had saved her life - even if she had become a salamander monster -, helping her try to realize her wish seemed the minimum to Tamara, "ok, I'll do it... I just have a problem..."

"And this would be? Maybe I can help!”

“I can't speak, and any person who meets me will probably see me as a food source or a monster to be killed.”

“Oh…” Velen said, discouraged. How had she not noticed that problem before??

“Yup,” Tamara said.

For a moment the two, guardian spirit and monster, remained silent contemplating each other. The day was cool and a light breeze blew over the bubbling waters of the Velenaria river.

“We could go to Stanbroodge. It's a city located where the Velenaria flows into the Ulyender, I can get up there,” Velen proposed hopefully, “I could assist you, at least in stopping people from attacking you on the spot.”

“And for talking?” Tamara cocked her head to the side, “I think you are capable of appearing in front of other people, but that is somehow out of the question.”

“Exactly, I could, but if I communicate with an intelligent creature without receiving any order from the higher ups, the Divine Court would be alerted to what I was doing.”

Tamara glared at her, at least to the extent that a salamander monster might glare at someone...

“The system considers you a monster rather than an intelligent creature! This is why I can communicate freely with you!” She hastily justified herself, “I wasn't implying that you're stupid!”

“Okay, okay… I accept your apology,” she thought for a few moments, “what if you can get away? Wouldn't the Divine Court notice it?”

“I don't know... maybe? At the moment I don't know what method could untie me from this place, so I have no idea what its side effects could be. Maybe it's some ritual that has no effects that can be noticed by the deities?”

“It all seems very up in the air and left to the odds,” Tamara sighed, “I don't know this world and at the moment I'm not capable of thinking of better plans, let me distribute the points and we can go. Maybe once we get to Stanbroodge we can think of a plan that isn't just wandering around randomly hoping something happens.”

___

[Tamara Parker][Salmadrer][Monster (lv.2)]

[Health: 28/40 (40)][Mana: 30/30 (30)][XP: 4/150]

[TRAITS MODIFIERS]

Nourished

[TRAITS]

[2 points to place]

► Dexterity: 12

► Faith: 6

► Knowledge: 6

► Resilience: 8

► Speed: 10

► Strenght: 6

[FEATS]

► Scale Armor (Lesser) I

[1 Feat slot free to use]

___

Uh, Tamara had lost more Health than she had expected with that single blow that the walflie had managed to inflict on her, and yes she had spent the only Feat point she had to improve her damage resistance... well, in this case it means saying that she would distribute both points in Resilience, which allowed her to raise her Health points to 38/50.

SYSTEM: [2] Trait Points have been distributed on [Resilience]. Your maximum [Resilience] score is increased to [10].

Satisfied with becoming a little tank, Tamara moved on to selecting the new Feat; she concentrated on the [Feats] box and the menu opened in front of her as if by magic.

___

FEAT LIST:

► Growth (Lesser) I

Increases user’s size by 5%

► Nocturnal Habit (Lesser) I

Increases user’s ability to see in any non-magical darkness by 5%

► Scale Armor (Lesser) II

The skin of the user becomes harder to damage by 5%

► Scratch I

Strengthens all claw attacks by 5%

___

Apparently the Feats were different based on the level reached, Tamara concluded that perhaps the Traits she hadn't chosen in the first level would have reappeared in the future and so she dismissed the thought by focusing instead on the question at hand: [Scale Armor (Lesser) II] was tempting, but after choosing a defense Trait, it now made more sense to select something that would allow her to do a bit more damage.

[Scratch I] seems like the best option, she thought to herself, but if [Growth (Lesser) I] makes me grow in size, it should also make my claws, teeth, and tail grow in size , and therefore obtain the same result.

She was about to select [Growth (Lesser) I], but a spontaneous doubt came to her: she was about to go visit a city... was it really the case to select something that would make it bigger, and consequently, more threatening?

No, [Scratch I] was the best choice. Growing in size would have to wait for Tamara to develop a plan of action for navigating the world of Tala.

SYSTEM: [Scratch I] added to your Feats list. All slots are occupied, it's not possible to choose another Feat.

A pinch on defense, a pinch on attack. Tamara nodded with satisfaction and returned her attention to Velen, “good! I'm ready for the journey!”

"Great!" Velen seemed full of hope and expectations again, "we have a two-day walk ahead of us, I will warn you if we encounter obstacles or dangers along the way."

“So…” Tamara gulped in horror, “am I going to have to fight and eat another one of those giant bugs?”

“Yeah, that's inevitable, what were you thinking? To arrive in the city, sit in an inn and order the dish of the day?”

The pain that the sting of the insect monster had inflicted on her was insignificant compared to the torment dictated by the knowledge that in the next few days she would still feel that disgusting taste in her mouth.