Beginner's Luck: Liminal 5

Fluke's body was screaming in pain after two continuous hours of chopping at the tree. Sweat was soaking through his clothes, streams of it ran down his back and arms. Luckily, his mask seemed to keep the sweat from burning his eyes, though when he exerted himself, he felt the hot air build up behind the mask, threatening to suffocate him. With shaking arms, he set the axe against the tree and walked to the stump to sit for a few minutes in the shade of the clearing. Looking down at his shaking hands he noticed that blisters had already formed and broke on each of his palms. The sweat threatened to slide into his open sores and burn him, but he rolled his sleeves up and let the cool breeze wash over him. His shoulders ached, his back ached, his thighs and calves burned, and he steadied his breath enjoying the cool forest air.

Slipping the mask down he looked at the tree:

819.2/1000

The lack of substantial progress in the number was enough to demoralize him; let alone the way he physically felt now. Looking down at his arms again, he saw both his good and bad luck markings were almost full. Rolling his eyes back into his head, he felt frustrated with himself. Letting out a frustrated yell he hit himself in the head several times.

"Idiot. Stupid. Dummy. If only you had literal Luck on your side to help you!" Shaking his head he pushed himself back to his feet and wobbled unsteadily back to the tree. Picking up the axe, with his shaking weak arms, he pushed a thumb onto the head of the axe, leaving a lucky brand on the tool. Using his mask and Insight, he saw that the axe now:

Lucky Axe Head: Increased Harvest 50% sharper

This made the boy curious. Pressing the same thumb on the handle of the axe, he checked it again this time it read:

Lucky Axe Head: Increased Harvest 50% sharper

Lucky Axe Handle: Improved weight distribution and aerodynamics

Sure enough, when he held the axe to swing, he felt it easier to use and giving an average swing down at the tree he saw the number change.

817.7/1000

Gritting his teeth and closing his eyes in frustration with himself, he walked over to an older, gnarled tree that was easily three times the size of others and the most weathered tree in the area. Whispering to the tree, "Sorry ancient one this is just a test."

He placed his other thumb leaving an unlucky brand on the tree. Examining the tree he read:

Marked Pine: More resilient and will yield less materials.

"Interesting." Fluke spoke out loud to himself. Then decided to leave the rest of the bad luck in the tree, before turning back around to rest on the stump. Looking through another menu in his mask, he noticed another change:

Mind: 1.0

Body: 0.99

Resonance: 1.89

Mask: 1.01

The number for his body and resonance had decreased! Anger and frustration washed over himself out of confusion, but when he lifted his hands in the typical 'why me' pose he understood. The amount of pain he was feeling from his feet up to his neck was obviously negatively impacting him. That's when an idea struck him like a bolt of lightning.

___________________________________________________

The Librarian hiked through the forest at a leisurely pace, chewing slowly on a strip of venison jerky, making his way towards the sounds of an axe meeting a tree. The older man nodded to himself appreciating the hard work and dedication that the boy was exhibiting. Over his shoulder he brought Fluke's bag with supplies. He had stopped in and gathered fried fish and a loaf of bread from the fisherman, as well as some cold water from a nearby stream in a leather flask. The hunters had smoked some venison from a day or two ago and had sent him with enough to share. The non-sentients were always so generous and kind, never asking any questions. They labored and provided supplies meant to be shared by all, and they did so happily.

The Librarian had managed to get the Outsider to eat some wild carrots, berries, and smoked fish, though the prisoner still refused to eat the boar meat and venison. And despite his bondage and captivity, the warrior now seemed to be recovering from his defeat. Q the automaton kept a vigilant watch over the creature, not looking away for a moment while the Librarian worked. They were Lucky to have the golem, but the enemy was lucky to have him too. For if it were not for Q, the Outsider would more than likely already be dead.

The Librarian now thought back to how long it had taken him to cut down his first tree. It had taken him a day and a half the first time, and he could still remember how sore he felt from that experience. Smirking to himself he knew that Fluke would be exhausted, especially now that it had already been almost four hours of work. But it would be perfect to have him stop now and recover some strength. Eating was vital for building muscles, regaining some energy and recuperating some lost morale. In his exhausted state the boy would be acutely aware of his body and the energy in and around it. Later that night the Librarian planned to pass down the teachings his master had taught him. Chopping trees would simulate the pains of combat, and tonight before bed the boy might get to experience slightly faster healing and recovery.

His mind began to wander to his fallen lieutenants, and a wave of sadness washed over him. The stolen potential now gone from his lieutenants angered him. Thinking of the task of teaching another generation of child warriors about the energy and aura around them, made him exhausted. He wished he could have been there for them. He promised himself that he would not let Fluke or anyone else fight the enemy alone. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he pushed his frustrations and anger away. Just then, a loud series of noises broke through his deep emotional contemplations.

CRACK... CRACK... CRACK... CRASH!

The older man felt himself start running towards the clearing, suddenly worried for the safety of the young boy he had left behind. Coming around the final turn in the path, and cresting a hill, he looked down into the clearing. There before him he saw Fluke laying on his back in the wild grass, laughing like a mad man. A tree now lay across part of the clearing; with the undeniable signs it had been chopped down!