"Alright, let's plan this out. I don't want to delay too long." Daggat said. He and Elyndris were in his office.

"The longer we prepare the stronger we are. But, I agree. We need those souls." Elyndris said. They had decided to carefully plan out the feats. Rather than letting each person try and fail, a more thought out approach would be better.

"Right. Let's get the easy ones out of the way. Obviously, mine will be fairly quick. I just have to stay put in the hearth for a day. I need to find a metal chair."

"Anath's won't take much time. But, I am more worried about any psychological damage we might incur." Elyndris said.

Daggat smiled like a cat. "Oh, that one will be fun. We just have to keep her angry for an hour. Klaw and I could do that."

"AND stay alive. She will try to kill you eventually."

"Us, I will want your help. Besides, we can handle it. Now, Zuss will be easy as well. But, that's a full week. Very inconvenient."

"If we decide to get hers out of the way we would need to stockpile a week of food, or come up with a system to get it to her." Elyndris mused.

"We can figure something out." Daggat thought through the rest. Hunter just needed a lot of food. They'd take care of that in town or maybe get lucky with a big stag. Elyndris needed a kill and an altar. Klaw would just take time. "Priorities then. Start Zuss's, get mine out of the way, then we work on Anath. In the meantime, all hearts go to Klaw. If a storm comes by, that's all you."

"Sounds good. As soon as we hit level ten, I will focus on the unique biotrait, if it truly is powerful as the gremlin says. Hopefully we can find an altar."

"Can we build one?" Daggat asked. That would solve a few problems, actually.

"No. Altars can be moved, but not built. It's inconvenient." Elyndris said. "I'll go scout out a proper place to keep Zuss in the dark." She flew off, leaving Daggat to prepare for his own trial.

Over the next few hours, Daggat managed to track down a metal stool in the garden. Then, after a few words with Hunter, he stripped. No need to ruin his clothes.

Hunter would hand him food and water via a long metal poker. He had books stored and ready to read. All was set. Elyndris and Zuss had apparently found a decent place.

"Alright, going in." He told Hunter, who gave him a reassuring smile. Daggat stepped into the hearth.

It was hot, but not painful. So, Daggat settled onto the stool. Sitting in fire was a strange experience. The world seemed to waver and breathing was difficult. Almost painful, he didn't have smoke protection. He had only really done it two or three times before and never for an extended time. But, he was still confident the fire core would be easy.

Briefly, he reflected on why he wanted the fire core. Sure, it would be convenient to be able to light things on fire. The real reason was simply because he was the only one able to do it. He wanted to experience having a core. To learn about the process and what benefits could be squeezed out of one.

Throwing himself in the fire for the sake of curiosity.

After some time, he began to sweat. The heat was growing and the stool became uncomfortably hot, even for his resistance. He grunted.

"You doing okay?" Asked hunter as he handed him some meat from a poker.

"It's getting a bit too warm. Actually." Daggat admitted.

"Maybe you should upgrade your fire resistance?"

Daggat growled. He didn't want to spend his biotrait on that. He held it in reserve just in case he did end up needing to boost his fire resistance, but he had other ideas for it. If he could push through as is, he would be much better off in the long run.

He stood and focused on his books. They were more memoirs from the brine wars and alchemical theory. It was interesting, but so far not useful. He did discover the alchemist and the general did work together for an extended time. He would have to ask the tree about him when we was done here.

After several hours he grew too uncomfortable to read. He had to pace. His feet and legs ached from the contact with logs, coal, and ash. It felt as though his toenails had melted. His pain resistance was working, yet it was becoming unbearable. He didn't know how excruciating the process would be without it.

He tongued a loose tooth as he paced. It was coming to that time of year when his teeth would start to fall out. He presumed the same was for Klaw and Zuss. Already they had grew a new set in the winter, it was a seasonal thing. Daggat had lost his initial teeth collection, so he had started it back up. So far, he had almost a hundred teeth in a bag from their winter set alone.

"Do you need anything?" Hunter asked after a while.

"NO I DON'T NEED ANYTHING." Snapped Daggat. He cursed himself. There was no need to be snippy. "It's just… starting to hurt. A lot."

"Maybe you don't have to-"

"No! I'm no quitter. How long has it been?"

"Five or six hours."

Daggat groaned and continued to pace.

Hours ticked by. Each one becoming more insufferable than the last.

The heat and pain were not the worst of it, though. It was the fact that he could just walk out at any time. That grated at him. Stopping himself from jumping out of the fire was like holding a mental boulder that threatened to crush him. Every moment, it grew heavier.

Finally, after nearly ten hours, he could feel that boulder slip. He needed out. The air was too hard to breath. His sweat had boiled away, leaving an itchy residue. There was no way he could focus on a book. He couldn't do it. Couldn't hold up that burning boulder any longer. Daggat prepared himself for disappointment.

"Do you mind if I come in?" Said a voice. Kraxith had come to see him.

"What?" Daggat asked. Then a naked drakyn politely scooted next to Daggat in the hearth. He smiled at him. The sage took up most of the room.

"Hello." Kraxith said politely.

"You're fire proof too? What are you doing?" Daggat asked, too flabbergasted to worry about his recent struggle.

"I thought I would join you. It looked nice and you seemed to need the company." He withdrew an iron pipe. It lit itself in the fire. "Do you smoke?" He puffed at the pipe.

"No, but I will try anything twice." Daggat said. After moment of instruction, Daggat took an experimental puff. It was rich, but burnt. Daggat coughed.

"I guess smoking while IN a fire doesn't work well." Kraxith chuckled. "You seem troubled. How are you faring?"

"Oh, this is fine. Not a problem at all. Just, you know. Sitting inside a fire all day. No air to breath. Pain. The overbearing heat. No issues." Daggat said.

"I wouldn't have suggested this if I didn't think you could handle it. You'll be fine."

"You don't know me, lizard." Daggat snapped.

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"No, but I know enough. This fire is being tended. You are healing six hours of damage for one hour of minor burns. It should even out. The pain is real, but temporary."

"Well that's a relief. Now do you have something practical to tell me or are you just bored?"

Kraxith gave him a sagely smile, then took another puff from his pipe. He handed it back to Daggat.

"This is an exercise in patience. One I think you need. I can help, if you'll let me."

"Oh I have plenty of patience. Got it when I tried to explain to Klaw how a water closet works. Why would you even want to help, anyway? What's the catch? You after my coin too?"

"No, no. I am not concerned with coin. I am merely curious. I wonder what your little group can accomplish. Now, can I help you, or not?"

"Fine. What do you got for me?"

Kraxith spent the next hour talking Daggat through meditation techniques. Daggat didn't quite grasp the idea at first. He had too many thoughts bouncing around his head. However, out of a primal need to not embarrass himself in front of an old man, Daggat pushed on.

Slowly, his mind quieted. He pushed the pain aside and focused on the feeling of the heat. It melted into his perception, becoming a dim warmth. The trick, he found, was not to shut out the thoughts. The theories of what he could do with a core, ideas for alchemical experiments, and other random thoughts. It was to just let them be. Allow them to rattle in his mind.

When he next opened his eyes, Kraxith was gone. Daggat scowled. The drakyn couldn't hand the heat, either, it seemed. But, Daggat had a new tool in his repertoire.

The rest of the day was spent reading, meditating, pacing, and cursing out anyone who would come too near to the hearth. Alternating his methods of stress relief, so he wouldn't get bored of them.

Confident he could finish up the day now, he decided to spend his biotrait. He knew exactly what he wanted. Daggat had a hunch, something that seemed like they should synergise well.

He looked at hypervocal chords' options. Sonic Screech, Beguiling Voice, and Wandering Voice. Sonic Screech did as it said on the tin. A sonic attack. Wandering Voice allowed him to cause his voice to have a different source. Finally, Beguiling voice. It soothed and drew in listeners.

He made his decision. Beguiling Voice. He selected it.

[Skill Synergy requirements detected. Hypnotic Gaze, Beguiling Voice, 20 or greater intelligence. Combine into Beguiling Presence? Yes or No? Note: This is a psionic biotrait. Selecting this biotrait requires complex restructuring of the brain.]

Daggat grinned. He was right. The synergy between the two just felt right. Daggat felt as though he was getting a hang of the system and its quirks. But what was the biotrait type? Psionic? He wasn't familiar with the idea.

"Any idea what psionic means?" Daggat asked his assistant.

"No. But, I think you will like the new skill." He was reading the skills tool tip. "It acts as if your hypnotic gaze is always on. Just a natural part of you, doesn't even need sight. And you can enhance it further. Of course, you can still enhance your voice."

"I can imagine it becoming even stronger as I level it up. I'll do it." Daggat selected yes.

[Restructuring brain, please be patient until the next available mind smith is notified.]

"Mind smith? What is-" Daggat blacked out.

—

"Dag. DAG! You okay?" A voice said. It was Klaw. Daggat opened his eyes. His head felt strange. Not a headache, he felt fine in that sense. But there was a pressure he couldn't identify. Like he was pushing at the inside of his own skull with mental fingers. Then he noticed the notification.

[Feat achieved: Reborn by Fire. Cause: Continuously stay lit on fire for 24 hours. Reward: Biotrait, Fire Core.]

Everyone was around him, looking worried. He noted that Zuss was not present. Daggat smiled at them.

"Hello, Crew." His voice had changed slightly. It had a smooth, almost musical aspect to it. The others blinked in surprise. Daggat hoped up from the bed and stretched. "What did I miss?"

"Are you okay? What happened?" Asked hunter.

"Never better, why?" Daggat asked.

"You've been unconscious for three days." Elyndris said.

"What? No… just a quick nap." Daggat said. Three days? That was a ridiculous amount of time to be out. What had he missed? "Huh. The system mentioned a mind smith and that my brain needed reworking. Maybe that was it?"

Skiz and Kraxith shared a confused look.

"We pulled you from the fire when we were sure time was up, but you still didn't wake up." Anath said. She grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. "I was soooo worried- Ouch!" She pushed him back. "You're… hot."

"Thank you!" Daggat said, flashing her a smile. Someone had dressed him while he was asleep, thankfully.

"No, I mean, you're skin is really hot to the touch." She said.

"Must be this fire core thing. I got the feat, by the way." Daggat mused. "Well, I am fine. Did I miss anything?"

"You have a fire core? So it did work." Skiz said. "No one I know was mad enough to sit around in a fire all day, so I am glad it worked."

"It did… Kraxith, you made it sound like not a big deal." Daggat said, suspiciously.

Kraxith coughed awkwardly. "Well, I was curious if it was true… and, well, you ARE crazy enough to do it, evidently." It seemed the old drakyn wasn't as upstanding of a sage as he seemed.

Daggat laughed. Then he felt his body. Looking for any changes. "So… anything else weird?"

"Look at your chest." Klaw said. Daggat did. On one side of his chest, like a mirror to his heart, his skin glowed faintly. It was like something inside his chest was producing light.

"That is new." Daggat said, poking it. He could feel a heat radiating off of the area.

"You've got a big head too." Anath blurted out as she wiped tears of relief from her eyes. He felt his skull. It did seem bigger… maybe? He would need a mirror. At most, it was just a slight elongating of his skull.

"Where is Zuss?" Daggat asked.

"She's in the dungeon. She's going through her trial as we speak." Kraxith said.

Daggat relaxed back onto the bed. He didn't feel hungry or thirsty. Whatever the mind smith did must have taken care of that.

"So, what's a core do for me, exactly?" Daggat asked.

"As it is, it's not worth much. But it should have opened up a lot more biotrait options for you. A fire core should give you minor flame abilities. Like that of a drake."

"I can breath fire?" Daggat asked.

"No, likely not. But you could light small fires. You'll have more resistance to fire and flame as well. As long as it is full." Skiz explained. "Try it, should be instinctual."

Daggat snapped his fingers. A small flame appeared at the tip of his thumb.

"Fantastic. Gotta say, I wasn't really going into the fire theme. That's more Hunters thing. But, I can find uses for this."

He looked at the faces of each of his crew, and the sages. They all seemed to have a mixture of relief and worry.

"Guys, it all worked out. Now we know what to expect if anyone else goes through brain stuff." Daggat said. His voiced carried clear and soothingly to each of them. They each seemed to relax, except for Skiz, who stiffened. "Now, fill me in on the last few days."

"Well, first thing," Said Klaw. "There's a new quest available."

Daggat

True Name: Daggat Soul: Monster Genseed: gremlin [ 3 Str, 4 Dex, 3 Con, 2 Int, 3 Wil, 3 Cha; Regenerating Teeth, Rot Resistance; Tiny Size] Genbloom: goblin [ +2 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Con, +1 Int, +1 Wil; Scavenger; Small Size]

Monster Level: 8

Attributes (0/6): Strength: 11 Dexterity: 11 Constitution: 11 Intelligence: 20 Will: 10 Charm: 12

Feats: Encounter: True Angel Ability: Mighty Intellect Act: Fledgling Alchemist Knowledge: System Knowledge Act: Devotion [Layered feats] Act: Usurper Act: Touch of Death Act: Reborn by Fire

Skills(0/4): Alchemy: 1 [Source: Fledgling Alchemist] System Aptitude: 1 [Source: System Knowledge] System Assistant: 2 [Perk: Semi-sentience] Mind Codex: 1 [Synergy: Mental notes + Copy Tome] Party Leader: 1 [Source: Usurper]

Notable Natural Skills: Literacy: Apprentice

Biotraits (0/9): Base size: Small [Source: Goblin] Regenerating Teeth [Source: Gremlin] Enhanced Night Vision [Source: Gremlin] Disease Resistance [Mutations: Rot Resistance; Source: Gremlin] Temperature Resistant Skin [Synergy: Fire Resistant Skin + Cold Resistant Skin] Scavenger [Source: goblin] Death Sight [Source: Touch of Death] Increased Pain Tolerance Fire Core Beguiling Presence [Synergy: Hypnotic Gaze (Dominating Gaze, Mesmerizing Gaze) + Hypervocal (Beguiling Voice) Cords]

Transformations: Drakeheart Form: +2 strength +2 charm Extreme Temperature Resistant Scales [Synergy: Fireproof scales + Temperature resistant Skin] Fire breath

Night Stalker form: +2 strength +2 dexterity Dark vision [Night Vision Enhanced] Deepen Shadow

Other: Variant: +10 Intelligence Skill potions used: 1/5

Notable Gear: Strange pure-white sword shard Spear of Bracing 2 Mihr Contracts

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