CHAPTER 9: The Jackal

The shock of being woken up by this wolf-like predator doesn't last, and I find myself slowly standing, gripping smooth curved wood in my right hand. The noise from deep in the throat of the jackal is joined by the sound of several other creatures. The chorus of rumbling growls causes my heart to sink. There must be at least two or three more of them. I can't see the one in front of me exactly, but I sense it as it dives towards me. An instinct that I didn't know I had taken over, and I find my hand reaching out towards the beast. Something flashes from my hand and the creature is lit up – the whole area in front of me is – like lightning in the sky during a storm. This is the power of the 'Warding Flare'. I'm a Cleric of Light, after all: a title that I inherited from the late Priestess Tyrna. The Warding Flare is a natural defense that I have, but it's one that I can't depend on again in this fight. I won't be able to do that again until I've had a good night's rest. Thankfully, the blinded beast misses with its snarling jaws, shooting straight past me. It doesn't get far, however: my axe has been in my hand since I woke up, and when the jackal moves past me, the keen blade finds purchase where I know its exposed belly is going to be. I hear it yelp and fall, and I somehow know that it's fallen for good. That's when the other jackals attack. I hear jaws snapping like they're within an inch of my ear. Then tension tugs at me as something fastens on my left arm. It hurts, but not as deeply as the first time I was bit by a jackal. I have another moment of shooting pain when a second set of canine jaws finds my leg. The pain might not be as intense as the first time I fought one of these creatures, but the sensation brings back the memories. The horror and the helplessness that I felt so many weeks ago come flooding back to me, and just as quickly it changes to something else. Im not the girl lost in the. woods that didn't know how to use her ace. I'm the scourge of these mangy bastards! Suddenly I know what's going to happen to these wretched beasts.

They're dead meat.

"FAERIE FIRE!" I cry. Unnaturally colored green flames lick up the sides of the beasts around me, and a smile touches my lips. I'm not the same girl who fought for her life against one of these creatures. The small wolf like forms don't burn, however. I can see them illuminated clearly, and it's more like they're glowing than anything. A familiar text is displayed above the heads of the jackals. "ENEMY". In the dim light around the glowing wild dogs, I can see one member of the pack who isn't affected. He's the one who attacks next. The smile that had been on my face a moment ago changes to a snarl as it bites deeply into my leg. It lets go and dodges away – giving me time to swing at it, but I miss. The other two try the same tactic, and the light coming off them doesn't help me dodge their attacks- but by the glow of their bodies, it helps me land my own. Four swings, so far, and three damned dogs down. The light from the dying jackals fades as they take their last breaths, and I'm facing where I think the last one is standing. I swing my axe before it can make its move, but the blade whistles through thin air. I prepare myself to feel the piercing pain of another bite, when the creature runs to the side and its ENEMY cursor disappears. I'm relieved that it would just run, but I suddenly realize that it hasn't gone too far. With my eyes wide open in the darkness, I'm looking wildly around, seeing nothing but inky black woods. I can feel the hairs raising up on the back of my neck. That thing could be anywhere. I raise my axe high, ready to swing down at the last second, and suddenly I realize what I need to do.

"LIGHT!" I cry, clutching the holy symbol around my neck. My eyes adjust quickly to the new brightness around me, but not fast enough to dodge the gaping maw of the jackal that attacks me from the left. His teeth find my arm, and they're still there when the body rolls away. I've swung my axe down as hard as I ever have, but by some freak chance, I hit the creature just right. Decapitated, its eyes are as surprised as mine – and they'll be that way forever. I take in the scene around me. There's an excitement built in me, and whether it's truly from fury or relief, I cry out in triumph. The system chimes, accenting my roar with its own sounds.

*ting!* "Level 1/4 titles are now available. Congratulations on earning a new title! Congratulations on earning a new title!"

There are two new titles, and I feel like I've earned them both in every sense. And their rewards are amazing.

Level ¼

Name. Requirements.

Acolyte. Acolyte or Background

REWARDS; One cleric cantrip (at will), One Cleric spell, 1st level (1/day)

Apprentice Wizard. Sage Background.

REWARDS; One wizard cantrip (at will), One wizard spell, 1st level (1/day)

Accept rewards? YES / NO

"YES!" I nearly scream. Being out here alone, it's pretty obvious that I don't have the self-sufficient as I'd like to be. That's why I know what to ask for. "Guidance", I say. That's the name of the cleric cantrip that I want. The system describes it as a sort of divine inspiration that lasts for about a minute and helps with certain skilled tasks. The list of Wizard cantrips is dizzyingly long, yet I think I know what I'm looking for. "System?" I ask politely, "Would you please show me if there are any cantrip that are good against a group of enemies? Anything that's good when I'm surrounded?" As usual, the system doesn't let me down.

ACID SPLASH

Conjuration Cantrip

With a word and a gesture, you hurl a bubble of acid up to 60 feet at one creature or choose two that are within 5 feet of each other. A target must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take 1d6 acid damage.

As for '1d6', the system has explained that it could be anywhere between a 1 and a six, in terms of damage. I don't know if that is on a scale of one to ten or not, but when I first got the system, my health was at 4. Acid Splash could do more than twice that much if I hit two creatures. "That's the one." I said. "Thanks, System." I heard an appreciative little *ting!* in my head and continued with my selections. I already had my eye on the Cleric spell that I want. I should say, the one I desperately need. Same with the Wizard spell, though I don't plan on using it until it's dark.

I was panting for a moment, after my run in with the jackals, but I've since caught my breath. I'm wounded, that's for sure. It could be worse, though, and I can tell by the dim light over the trees that the sun is going to come up in about an hour. I might as well get the day started. It's not like I'll be able to relax after what just happened. Before I get moving, though, I have some business to handle. I spend the next minute casting 'Cure Wounds', my new Cleric spell. It does exactly what you'd think, and I feel immediately better. Now for something I was too stupid to de earlier: wear armor! The leather armor is comfortable to wear, even over my clothes.

I've spent a good day's travelling in the flexible leather when the sun finally sets, and a few hours into the darkness of night, I finally decide to doff the armor, make camp, and sleep. It's time to use my new Wizard spell. As I concentrate, I feel my awareness spread across the ground. The 20-foot cube around me doesn't have any animals in it. If that changes, I'll know. I'll even wake up from a dead sleep. The name of this wonder is "Alarm", and it's exactly what I've been missing. I go to sleep resting easier than I have since I left Mirtulfield, and I wake up two hours before dawn early and refreshed. I must not be the only one, though.

Something is moving slowly through the brush about forty feet away. I mentally reach into my Inventory in the system, and crossbow suddenly silently appears in my hands. The big gray elk moves its head to the side, though, and for a moment, I don't move. I don't blink. I don't even breathe. I can't take the chance of trying to stand for the shot. Seconds pass as my finger slowly … slowly squeezes the trigger of the crossbow. Moving a hair distance every second, time passes agonizingly around me. I've been holding my breath for long enough that I suddenly feel as though I can hear my heart beating in my chest. Still, slowly, my finger continues to squeeze.

*TWANG!*

The crossbow fires, and the elk immediately starts to move. The bolt is already in flight, though, and it's faster that the creature will ever be.

I don't miss.

…I miss SPECTACULARLY.

The bolt sails high above the big elk and far to the side. By the time I get up to take a second shot, the majestic animal has jumped and trotted so far away that I don't even think the crossbow can even shoot that far. Damn. I guess it was too much to hope for. I have plenty of meat with me, but even as bad of a cook as I may be, burnt elk would have tasted better than burnt jackal. I'm certain of it.

I'm staring blankly at the spot where the elk disappeared into the woods for a long time. Maybe too long. Maybe if I had just chased the thing, they wouldn't have caught up with me so quick.

"Drop the weapon, in the name of the law!", a gruff male voice says from the side. I slowly start to turn so my right, when the gruff voice shouts another warning. "My bow is drawn, criminal! Don't move!"

To be shouted at is one thing. But that someone should presume to call me a criminal is quite another. This voice says it has a weapon. Damn! If only I'd spent the time suiting up in my leather armor instead of daydreaming about that stupid deer! There is no way I can beat this guy to the draw, so I'll listen for now, if I can. My testiness creeps into my voice, "Which is it? Drop the weapon, or don't move?" I ask, annoyed.

The voice is a little bit closer, and instead of shouting, it is only speaking loudly now. "Drop the weapon first", the man says. "Then slowly turn show me your hands. No tricks or my arrows might be the least of your worries. If you try to run, Oak here will catch you."

Suddenly, I realize who it is and why he's here. I turn slowly, and a massive dog growls as we meet eyes. My own eyes then flick to the man that has been speaking to me, and the system chimes.

*ting!* "New class available!"

About forty feet away, next to his mastiff named Oak, is a bounty hunter and tracker. A man that had tracked and killed humans and beasts alike for the king. A man that, right now, probably didn't care about anything except for bringing me back to town, dead or alive.

It was the bounty hunter Dorn Mattock. The man they called 'The Jackal'.