Pieces of Sonder

Freya knew she could fast-travel to Einskin. But she hoped the long day’s walk to the neighboring town would help soothe her mind. 

Infamous Biscuit and Heilong offered to come, but Freya assured them she could handle this on her own. She was used to dealing with Shaman Calaren of Einskin. Plus, she wanted to keep this embarrassment to herself.

Soon she reached a small well alongside the side of the road. The stone well marked the halfway point between Safka and Einskin. Freya was surprised she didn’t feel tired.

Ah, but Infamous Biscuit did tell me to put those attribute points into stamina, she reflected.

Yesterday after their training session, the three of them did a small minor dungeon. In the end, Freya’s innate skill Sweeping Kick leveled up to level 4. Wanting to check her other stats, she opened her extended stat information.

Right before her listed skills, she saw some red text.

[4 Attribute Points Avaible]

She asked Infamous Biscuit what it meant.

“Ack! You haven’t even distributed your attribute points! Well, I should have realized that sooner; you wouldn’t have known,” he massaged his temple and shook his head.

“I don’t look through the game interface stuff that often,” Freya admitted. “The last time I looked was to see what my perception was in the dungeon with Strawberry Knight. I saw this at the time, but I felt like it wasn’t the time to ask.”

“Whenever you level up, you get attribute points. At first, you’ll get two or three per level, but you only get one attribute point after level twenty. The points will help whatever category you put them into. For your class, you probably want to put them into strength and stamina.”

Heilong broke into their discussion, “What are your current stats?”

Freya read them off from her screen.

[Vitality: 7]  [Mental Power: 2]

[Strength: 6] [Stamina: 5]

[Dexterity: 2] [Perception: 12]

[Charisma: 4] [Luck: 2]

“Your strength and stamina are pretty low for a close combat player at level 15,” Heilong said. “With your mental power and perception you seem more like a wizard or necromancer.”

Freya squinted at her stats again, “But I only have two points in mental power. Shouldn’t that mean I’m really stupid?”

Heilong covered her mouth and laughed, “No, mental power in the game is related to spell casting. Lots of players don’t put any points. It’s not related to intelligence. Well, it is in the traditional game sense. Usually, the intelligence stat in games-”

“Don’t make it confusing,” Infamous Biscuit interrupted. “Anyway, I’d put your points into strength and stamina for now. Maybe vitality in the future, so you have more health points.” 

…

Now, as Freya pumped water from the well, her desire to level up rose even more. With two points each into strength and stamina, the long trek to Einskin felt like a morning stroll. Usually, she would take a short break here at the half-way point, but she saw no reason to stop now.

It’s like I’m one of those mana stone-powered carts. If I keep raising my stamina stat, could I run from Safka to Einskin? 

Striding onwards, Freya continued down the road humming to herself.

The forest became denser as she got closer to Einskin. Sunlight only shone through patches of the canopy. Then Freya heard something whistle quietly through the woods.

A muffled melody floated through the trees. Calm and solemn, the sound rose and fell. 

Turning off the path, Freya followed the music. As she came closer the music became clearer. It sounded like the shrill noise of a string instrument, but much more soft and pure. 

Treading softly to not miss a note, she pursued the music until she came upon a meadow. At the far corner sat a man with a violin and bow.

His eyes were closed, but his hands moved precisely. The sonorous sound as he strung his bow on a low chord gave Freya chills.

Squinting to get a better look at him, a green text box popped up.

[K13]

[Lvl 15 Berserker]

He wore a simple orange and brown flannel shirt and dark blue pants. His black hair was messy and almost covered his eyes. The music he played seemed to dance through the meadow. Freya felt her heart lift up and down with the waves of the song.

She stood, entranced.

Then he paused. He adjusted his shoulder position and began playing a faster melody.

Freya shook herself out of her fascination. She wanted to talk to him, but it seemed rude to interrupt him. Besides, what would she say? 

Quietly walking back to the main road, she felt sad as the music faded. The forest suddenly seemed lonely and hollow. Freya dragged her feet as she continued to Einskin. Only the occasional rustle of squirrels in the trees broke the silence over the forest.

Finally, the town came into sight. Children played on the walls that marked the city limits. As Freya entered the town, the sounds of horse carts and chatting people hurt her ears. Townsfolk turned to stare at her black cloak and shaman staff as she walked through town. A few said hello. Freya politely returned the greeting.

Reaching the heart of town, she spotted Einskin’s shaman shop. Freya paused outside the entryway for a moment. She took a deep breath and pushed up the door.

Ting! Ting!

Stepping inside, the familiar smell of herbs and brewing potions hit her. Nobody seemed to be in. She rang the bell—still nothing.

Breathing a sigh of momentary relief, Freya sat down to wait. Shaman Calaren appeared to be out. The quiet of the shop made her mind drift back to the music she heard in the forest. She tried to replay the melody in her head.

Just as Freya started to relax, she got a rude awakening.

Ting! Ting!

“Oh! My beloved! It’s so good to see you my lovely Shaman Freya Evenkey!”