《He Who Stops And Thinks - A story from the world of HWFWM》 Chapter 1: To Dream A Game Dave woke in a dream, lying naked on a stone floor. This was quite unusual. Also unusual, there was a bearded man dressed as a monk with many emotions on his face; terror, panic, nausea, pain, surprise and utter relief. ¡°It worked! My Lady, it worked!¡± the man cried. Dave pushed himself up as the monk leaned on an overloaded desk for support. ¡°Wha-¡± began Dave before he was interrupted by a harsh shout from the door. ¡°Yeh gonna die, priest!¡± said the voice and an axe crashed into the door. New Quest: [Defender Of The Cloth] You have awoken and are under attack. Use your combat abilities to survive. Objective: Survive the Aristocrat Cultist¡¯s attack. Reward: 120 [Lesser Spirit Coin], 50 [Iron Spirit Coin], 5 [Bronze Spirit Coin] Bonus Objective: Kill the Aristocrat Cultist. Bonus reward: Loot the Aristocrat Cultist. The text popped in front of Dave¡¯s eyes and faded. The thought that he was dreaming of a video game had the barest moment to settle in his mind before there was another crash of an axe hitting the door. ¡°Nah, the rest of you go check the other rooms, I got this one. Ha! He can barely stand. Can¡¯t you, priesty?¡± the voice teased loudly through the door. Dave wondered how to press escape and check the game¡¯s menu. A menu popped up as he mentally visualised the idea but the game didn¡¯t pause so Dave quickly thought the menu away. ¡°What do I do?¡± said the white-faced monk. Now that Dave was really looking at him, the man didn¡¯t look good. He had blood on his robes around the left leg and on the left side of his ribs. ¡°Stay there,¡± said Dave, holding his palm up to indicate the monk should stay at the desk. Dave moved beside the door and flattened himself against the wall. The voice outside had indicated he¡¯d come in alone so Dave¡¯s plan was to let the cultist walk past him, control the weapon and perform a takedown of some kind. Hopefully, the man would drop the weapon. If not, he¡¯d have to think of something. The door suddenly smashed open with a kick and a man with a rich, orange and yellow coat walked menacingly into the room. ¡°C¡¯mere, pries-OH!¡± Dave grabbed the man¡¯s right arm from behind and immediately tried an arm drag as the becoated man turned around in Dave¡¯s attempt to unbalance him and maybe snatch the axe. The arm drag worked but Dave¡¯s opponent was, unfortunately, quite a strong man. He resisted Dave¡¯s technique and almost lifted Dave with him as he stood up. Dave adjusted, keeping hold of the man¡¯s wrist, he grasped at the collar of the man¡¯s expensive coat with his other hand and used the man¡¯s backward momentum to reap the leg in classic judo style. Dave followed the man¡¯s fall with the hand on his collar, pushing him as he fell into the stone floor with a wet smack that sounded very final. You have defeated [Aristocrat Cultist] Quest: [Defender Of The Cloth] Objective complete: Survive the Aristocrat Cultist¡¯s attack. Bonus Objective Complete: Kill the Aristocrat Cultist. Quest complete. Reward: 120 [Lesser Spirit Coins], 50 [Iron Spirit Coins] and 5 [Bronze Spirit Coins] have been added to your inventory Bonus reward: Loot [Aristocrat Cultist]. ¡°You alright, Lord Damien?¡± came a voice from down the hall. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m okay! Little bastard threw salt in my face. I smashed his head on the floor.¡± called back Dave in a strained, raspy voice. ¡°Right you are, Lord,¡± came the reply. The aristocrat¡¯s body had a false-looking sparkly effect over it in contrast to the rest of the graphics that Dave was dreaming which were very realistic. He noticed that the body had a white-tinted circle around the centre of mass where, Dave presumed, it would surround his feet if he was standing as well as a greyed out name bar that read ¡®Aristocrat Cultist¡¯. Dale mentally right clicked the sparkly corpse, hoping for a menu but discovered that this was how you activated the loot ability. Loot: 110 [Lesser Spirit Coins, 43 [Iron Spirit Coins], 13 [Bronze Spirit Coins]. 1 [Silver Spirit Coin], 1 [Basic War Axe] and 1 [Magic Essence] has been added to your inventory. The monk in the room was clutching his side, his leg and staring at Dave with wide eyes. Dave gave him a silent thumbs up. New Quest: [Secret In The Monastery] Nobody knows you¡¯re here. Sneak through the monastery until you find a safe zone. Objective: Reach a safe zone without the cultists raising the alarm. Reward: Racial ability evolution Bonus Objective: Bring the monk of Knowledge with you. Bonus Reward: Extra racial ability evolution The dream had been action packed in these first moments but now, with a pause in the action, Dave had the time to notice that his very vision had a video game HUD over it. It looked inspired by role playing games such as World of Warcraft, Fable and Dragon Age. Although it wasn¡¯t complete. It was like he was completing a tutorial and bits were being revealed at a time. He¡¯d just been offered a sneak quest. Dave had done quite a few sneak quests in video games in the past. His favourite way to do them was the body-dumpster method: Take down the sentries one by one and hide the bodies in a dumpster. That way, you don¡¯t get surrounded and out of options when you¡¯re halfway to the objective. It helped that a semitransparent, circular minimap had appeared at the bottom left of his vision that displayed terrain, enemies and allies. It currently showed two red dots in rooms from down the hall outside and a blue dot next to him. ¡°Lie down, play dead,¡± whispered Dave to the monk who gritted his teeth and complied, slowly lying down on the desk. Dave then walked to the next room, a storage room filled with boxes with an open door and called out. ¡°Oy! One of you come in here! Got something!¡± rasped Dave in his best, strained approximation of the aristocrat¡¯s voice. ¡°What is it, Lord?¡± inquired a voice and feet padded down the hall. Pressed to the wall, Dave watched as the dot went past his storage room. Dave silently padded behind the man, mentally selected him making that white circle around his feet, and took him straight into a rear naked choke. The man flailed for a few seconds and passed out. Dave dragged him into the storage room he¡¯d started in and cut his throat with the axe. Dave noted that the cutting felt just like cutting through a pork belly roast. Dave shuddered. Goodness, but this dream was detailed! Dave looted the corpse which now had a sparkly effect above it. Loot: 56 [Lesser Spirit Coins, 3 [Iron Spirit Coins], 1 [Machete] and 1 [Hunting Knife] has been added to your inventory. ¡°You guys alright?¡± called a third voice from the room down the hall. They hadn¡¯t yet left the room and Dave felt they might and so, he padded quietly down the hall, axe in hand. ¡°The hell are they-¡± is as far as the cultist woman got talking to herself before Dave swung the axe into her chest and neck as she exited the room. Her hand briefly lit up with silver light as she died. ¡°Hmm, magic? Fantasy setting, I guess,¡± mumbled Dave to himself as he looted the corpse. Loot: 45 [Lesser Spirit Coins, 4 [Iron Spirit Coins], and 30 [Hand Quintessence] has been added to your inventory. ¡°Quintessence? Didn¡¯t I¡­¡± Dave continued mumbling to himself and focused on a bag icon on the bottom right of his vision. A window of sixty icon slots popped up along with a currency counter at the bottom. Dave mentally selected the magic essence he¡¯d got earlier and was pleased to see it appear in the air at his belt-line. He quickly grasped it before it fell.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. It was a cube of every colour in every shade like a cubic gem made of a rainbow oil-slick. It was very beautiful. As he focused on it specifically, it also got a white circle around the bottom. Curious, he focused on the body behind him and then it got a white circle. ¡°Okay, I can select objects on my HUD. Cool,¡± said Dave to himself as he walked back to the Knowledge monk. He read the tooltip on his selected item. He didn¡¯t have a choice. It appeared that the default way of interacting with their game was text boxes that jumped inconveniently in front of your vision. It was kind of annoying. Item: [Magic Essence] (unranked, common) Manifested essence of magic (consumable, essence) The ¡®magic essence¡¯ part of the tooltip had a slightly different colour text like a hyperlink, so Dave focused on it. The world went slightly shaded and a big menu popped up. Magic Essence Rank: None Rarity: Common The essence of pure magic of magic that has solidified. If absorbed, the magic essence will grant a variety of magical abilities. Consumable item Requirements: Less than 4 absorbed essences. Effect: Imbues 1 awakened magic essence ability and 4 unawakened magic essence abilities. You have absorbed 0/4 essences. Once absorbed, an essence cannot be relinquished or replaced. You are able to absorb [Magic Essence] Absorb Y/N? Dave focused on the Y on the basis that he¡¯d always liked playing spell casters and this sounded like the path towards that option. The cube dissolved into a swirl of rainbow coloured smoke that Dave reached his hand into and immediately regretted it. It felt like sticking his hand into a jet of steam from a kettle but even through the pain, he could see the smoke was going into his arm as though absorbed. Dave fell to his knees and cried, cradling his burning arm. The pain was mind-numbing until¡­ it wasn¡¯t. As suddenly as it had come upon him, the pain had left. You have absorbed [Magic Essence]. You have absorbed 1 of 4 essences. Progress to iron rank: 25% (1/4 essences). [Magic Essence] has bonded to your [Spirit] attribute, changing your [Spirit] from normal to [Iron 0]. Master all magic essence abilities to increase your [Spirit] attribute. You have awakened the magic essence ability [Dispel Magic]. You have awakened 1 of 5 magic essence abilities. Dave saw an ability icon pop up at the bottom of his screen, felt his new ability intrinsically and that he could deploy it with a wave of his hand and a word of denial. That was good enough for now. He walked back to his starting room and the monk of Knowledge was sitting up again, staring desperately at Dave. ¡°You killed them all?¡± wheezed out the monk. ¡°Yep. Got any spare pants?¡± As it turned out, he did. The monk silently pointed at a box of folded trousers and habits on a shelf in several sizes. Dave took the largest trousers and immediately started cutting a habit into bandages with the hunting knife he¡¯d just looted. ¡°How bad is it?¡± asked Dave, gesturing at the Monk¡¯s wounds. ¡°Axe across the ribs and leg,¡± replied the man stiffly. ¡°Okay, give me a look.¡± Dave ripped the monk¡¯s trousers to view the leg wound, ignoring the man¡¯s cringe of pain. ¡°Okay, it¡¯s bleeding slowly. No major veins or arteries nicked.¡± Dave opened the monk¡¯s habit and drew them back. ¡°The same here but it looks deep.¡± The monk nodded weakly and Dave began bandaging the man with the cut up habit. ¡°I¡¯m Dave. What¡¯s your name, monk of Knowledge?¡± asked Dave. He was concerned the monk would fall unconscious but wanted him awake for the juicy bonus quest rewards. This game was pretty good so far. ¡°I.. It.. I¡¯m Hugh,¡± said Hugh. Some colour was already returning to his face. Maybe it was because of the pain of an improvised compression bandage? Dave was willing to take what he could get. After all, this was the only non-hostile NPC so far. ¡°It worked,¡± mumbled Hugh, gazing at Dave with an astonished look. ¡°What did? Tell me about it, mate. What worked?¡± said Dave, encouraging the chitchat. It might keep him awake ¡°You¡­ You¡¯re here. I didn¡¯t think it¡¯d work,¡± the monk shook his head. ¡°So many guesses, unverified calculations taken from the last time.¡± ¡°Last time?¡± ¡°Yes, the Asano astral event that happened... You don¡¯t know about that, do you?¡± mused Hugh through an alternating haze of shock and then jolting pain. ¡°Not a bit. Tell on.¡± ¡°An outworlder¡­ got summoned last year. I did¡­ research.. Try to¡­ reverse engineer. We got attacked here¡­Grrh! Oh! And, I did the astral summoning theory,¡± the monk gasped through gritted teeth as the bandages went around his torso. Dave paused for a second. ¡°Wait. I¡¯m the second? Not the main character? That¡¯s a plot twist. My brain is dreaming some crazy original stuff right now!¡± laughed Dave. The monk gave him a confused look even through the pain of breathing. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re the second,¡± he confirmed hesitantly. ¡°Well, it¡¯s a good game anyway,¡± Dave gave the monk a reassuring smile. ¡°Let¡¯s sneak to a safe zone and get some loot.¡± The monk''s eyes lit up. ¡°We must go to the abbot¡¯s office!¡± he said with conviction. ¡°To the abbot¡¯s office we go.¡± Dave and Hugh physically looted socks off the bodies near them and put them on their own feet to soften their footfalls and, Dave supporting Hugh, started sneaking about the halls. Dave, with one eye always on his minimap. Compulsively, Dave began focusing on and quickly reading all the buttons on his HUD. It all seemed pretty standard but the most pertinent for the moment seemed that he could access his inventory by reaching towards his belt while thinking about wanting to access his inventory. This was definitely superior to the drag-and-drop-icon method he¡¯d discovered earlier which manifested the item at belt height with a real catch-me attitude. Probably, Dave figured, a method designed for taking out an item if it weighed more than he could carry. ¡°How do you already know how to fight?¡± asked Hugh. ¡°I got into Brazilian jiu-jitsu and then MMA when I was at uni. Had a few fights but with a full time study schedule, I could never train enough to beat the skilled, actual fighters,¡± Dave shrugged. ¡°I just do BJJ now for fun.¡± ¡°Sorry, a bazillion ju-ju and Emma-May?¡± asked the monk. ¡°I did competitive combat sports as a hobby years ago,¡± simplified Dave, distracted and still staring at his minimap. ¡°Are you staring at a map ability?¡± whispered Hugh. ¡°Yes! How¡¯d you know?¡± Dave whispered back. ¡°Asano got that too!¡± ¡°Asano is the first guy? From the real world?¡± ¡°The real world?¡± A red indicator appeared on Dave¡¯s minimap. He thrust his finger to his lips and pointed to the closest door. Face screwed up in pain, Hugh hopped in with Dave. They left the door open, most of the doors were, some with dead monks inside, and stayed quiet while the cultist approached noisily with a basket full of candelabras, goblets and coins. Dave waited until he went past, snuck up behind him and hit him in the back of the head with the flat of the axe. The cultist collapsed noisily and Dave dragged him into a room with a dead monk. He was about to stuff him into the closet and stab his neck when Dave noticed that the monk¡¯s cell had a window to the outside of some incredibly beautiful mountains. The building he was in had clearly been built on the side of a cliff face because Dave was looking out from a height into a green valley surrounded by steep cliffs topped with evergreens. He opened the window, letting in some biting alpine air. Dave looted the cultist, claiming a few valuable items, hoisted the cultist¡¯s unconscious chest onto the windowsill, shoved the legs up as well until gravity did the rest and the body dropped out of the window. Dave turned back to pick up the dropped valuables in the hallway when¡­ ¡°Morgane?¡± called a voice down the hall. Dave checked his minimap. A red dot had come into sight while he was fooling around being tricky with the body. Dave couldn¡¯t get to the bag of loot in time, the red dot was already coming around the far corner to this hall. ¡°Morgane, this isn¡¯t funny!¡± said the voice. The red dot hesitated. ¡°This is bullshit. I¡¯m getting Daniel!¡± The red dot left. Dave picked up the loot bag, inventoried the items into his belt-high storage space, and ran to Hugh. ¡°You heard?¡± ¡°Yes! Are you going to kill them all again?¡± ¡°Not this time, there could be a group coming, I don¡¯t know. Now, Hugh, you live here, right? Where¡¯s a hidey-hole we can use?¡± There was a spot. It was actually quite well hidden. Dave found it on the minimap once Hugh had pointed it out. There was a spot where the cliff curved and the building wasn¡¯t continuous with the curve of the cliff and there was a small recess big enough for two people to sit down but you couldn¡¯t see it unless you stuck your head quite far out the window and knew just where to look. ¡°We used to hide contraband there for a while until the abbot found out,¡± gasped Hugh as he climbed out the window supported by Dave. Getting to the recess was quite easy for the physically able, if not for those prone to vertigo. You had to climb out the window and stand on the overhanging floor supports while grasping onto the overhanging corner braces from the roof and move one limb at a time. Hugh was not physically able. He just about cried getting out of the window and despite the cold wind, was sweating as he went limb-by-shaking-limb to the recess. Dave didn¡¯t tell him when the five red dots went past down the hall. He knew they¡¯d find the bodies of their fellows and then check room by room on the way back. They had time enough for Dave to make sure Hugh, and his quest reward, were safe.
¡°Dave, why does your rogue have eighteen strength?¡± asked Marc, frowning as he looked at Dave¡¯s character sheet on the coffee table. Dave looked up from the kitchen of his two-bedroom flat where he was putting the kettle on and making snacks. Florian, Dave¡¯s flatmate and the game master, also looked up with his goofy grin, anticipating a good answer. ¡°Athletics skill,¡± said Dave. ¡°Take the athletics skill for the proficiency, rogues get expertise so that doubles the proficiency and I maxed out strength to boost it further. Since Flo banned multiclassing, I had to grab the Moderately Armored feat for shields, then Shield Master at level four so that Lord Harold Winchester can shove as a bonus action at plus nine.¡± ¡°Oh, look at you, Dave,¡± said Vash with a toothy smile, his Indian accent enhancing his sarcasm. ¡°Making a complicated character even without multiclassing. What a flex.¡± Dave grinned back at the jibe. ¡°Nah, I just read the campaign intro Flo sent. Saw it was in a mountainous setting and figured that the skill for climbing and pushing would be useful. Checked the rules for shove attacks and worked backwards to optimize it.¡± Everyone else in the room looked blankly at Dave. ¡°Dave¡¯s the only one of you who read the intro, isn¡¯t he?¡± said Florian, grinning like a lunatic. Chapter 2: The Mechanics
Current Quests
Secret In The Monastery: Reach a safe zone without the cultists raising the alarm.
Dave and Hugh huddled in the recess between the buildings, wrapped in several of the thick blankets that Dave had found in cupboards. ¡°We can talk. The walls are double thick here and the wind is constant at this height,¡± said Hugh. ¡°Right, cool,¡± said Dave. ¡°What¡¯s my backstory?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah. You said I¡¯m a summon. What¡¯s my role in this game?¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t a game!¡± ¡°Oh, well. You wouldn¡¯t know, I guess. You¡¯re an NPC. Doesn¡¯t matter. What¡¯s my role to you?¡± ¡°I was about to die, panicked and thought you might help?¡± ¡°Okay, cool. I guess that worked out, huh? Still alive!¡± Hugh smiled and nodded. ¡°You said there was another guy. Or gal?¡± probed Dave. ¡°Yes. Jason Asano. He was summoned almost a year ago by accident. Actually, the same cult that¡¯s trying to kill us right now summoned him. It¡¯s been my job to figure out how Landemere Vane, that¡¯s the man who summoned Jason, how he did that in the first place,¡± gabbled Hugh in the enthusiastic tone of someone talking about their favourite topic. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just ask that Vane guy?¡± ¡°Well, Jason killed him when he got here.¡± ¡°That¡­ seems like an overreaction.¡± ¡°No! It¡¯s not like that. Vane was a cannibal.¡± ¡°Hugh, that sentence brings up more questions than it answers.¡± ¡°Oh, I suppose it would.¡± ¡°Okay, so Vane-guy summons Jason by accident, decides not to waste a free lunch but then Jason kills him?¡± ¡°And Vane¡¯s familiar, sister and mother.¡± ¡°... What the hell? Collecting the set?¡± ¡°Oh! Well, he had help. He rescued some adventurers who helped him with the rest of the Vane family.¡± ¡°That still sounds psychotic, Hugh.¡± ¡°I never thought about it! I¡¯ve never said it out loud until now.¡± Dave collected his thoughts and his eyes fell upon his HUD. ¡°Hugh, you said that Asano also got something that I have?¡± ¡°Yes! The map!¡± said Hugh, brightening up. ¡°All outworlders like yourself and Asano get a series of racial abilities to help them survive in their new world but one of them is always astral affinity. The other abilities are usually abilities that provide guidance in the form of familiar patterns from stories, myths or legends from your world?¡± ¡°Yeah, I think I have that. I have a heads up display with interactable buttons. Hang on, I think this one is my menu bar.¡± Dave focused on the button that looks like a pale cogwheel. Again, the world greyed out but this time, Dave had three buttons distinct in front of his vision no matter what way he turned. ¡°Yep! I opened my menu bar. I can only see you and the world in greyscale and there¡¯s buttons; character, configuration and help,¡± relayed Dave. Hugh was keen to explore Dave¡¯s menus and Dave was curious as well. They had time and he may as well actually learn how to play this dream properly. He hoped it wasn¡¯t going to end soon. He wanted to kill a few more cultists and complete the quest before he woke up. The character button took him to a screen that had an animated picture of himself in an oblong portrait centred in the screen with a smaller circle on the upper right labelled ¡®legs¡¯. Dave concentrated on it and found that he could ¡®click¡¯ on the icon and another screen opened. It was information about his pants. Monk¡¯s trousers. Dave went back to the previous screen and found that it was only the animated equipment section. He scrolled down and found the character sheet.
Name: David Florian Bauer
Race: Outworlder
Rank: Iron
Progression: 25% (1/4 essences)
Attributes: Power (no essence): normal.
Speed (Magic): Iron.
Spirit (no essence): normal.
Recovery (no essence): normal.
Racial abilities: User Interface and HUD
Quest System
Inventory
Map
Astral Affinity
Stranger In A Strange Land
Essences: Magic (1/5)
No Essence (0/5)
No Essence (0/5)
No Essence (0/5)
¡°Yep!¡± said Dave. ¡°Astral Affinity. Found it.¡± ¡°If your ability works anything like the quantification ritual, It¡¯s likely that your other racial abilities are listed in the area?¡± said Hugh. Dave started listing them off and Hugh nodded the whole while. ¡°It seems pretty similar to Asano¡¯s abilities. Except for the last one. He got a language adaption, the ability to absorb awakening stones and skill-books and magical tracking immunity. What does yours say?¡± said Hugh, momentarily forgetting about his wounds. Dave mentally clicked on the ability and started looking at the details. ¡°Third language adaptation? Gives Byzasic as a mother tongue? I¡¯m speaking Byzasic?¡± asked Dave in surprise. He replayed the words in his head. It was definitely not English or German, the two languages he could speak. Well, that he could speak before he went to sleep. This dream was weird. He could still feel the other two languages in his head but Byzasic had a clear prominence now, like English normally had. So weird. ¡°You are,¡± said Hugh. ¡°A middle-empire accent, though. What else?¡± ¡°Ugh, yeah. Sure, what else am I dreaming up? This is funky as hell. Essence and awakening stone absorption?¡± ¡°He got that as well as skill book absorption,¡± nodded Hugh indicating that Dave should go on. ¡°And ¡®Locked¡¯. It¡¯s greyed out. I think I get different ones depending on if I rescue you or not,¡± said Dave. ¡°That¡¯s amazing! That means that when you were constructing your body for this realm you somehow left a bit as pure astral potential. I wonder why?¡± mused Hugh. ¡°Strategy,¡± said Dave. ¡°Always have reserves as part of a battle plan, a plan B or the willingness to realise you were wrong. It¡¯s probably built into me because of my profession.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that then?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a quality assurance analyst at Siemens. My job is to go over other people¡¯s data and make recommendations about which drugs to pursue further research into,¡± said Dave. Hugh looked at him with a blank expression that Dave was overly familiar with from the smalltalk of many parties. ¡°I give advice on if an experimental medicine really works or if people are just fooling themselves,¡± said Dave. ¡°Oh! A kind of head alchemist?¡± said Hugh, excited. ¡°I guess so? Alchemy is a thing in this dream?¡± ¡°Why do you think you¡¯re in a dream?¡± asked Hugh, clearly very interested.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Dave grunted. He¡¯d never been questioned like this in a dream before. Weird. Had he figured out how to do lucid dreaming? ¡°Can we save that for later, just in case? I want to get to the end of the quest before this stops,¡± said Dave. ¡°Well then tell me about your abilities?¡± said Hugh who was clearly ready to commit everything to memory. ¡°Well, my HUD has three bars in the top left; green, white and blue, I guess that¡¯s my health, stamina and mana? Yes. Anyway, they¡¯re all connected to a circle within a circle. The outer circle is split into thirds and one of those thirds is a shifting rainbow hue. Oh! That must be the essence I absorbed! Bottom left is my minimap, I can zoom it in and out a bit, it gives a representation of the terrain with red dots for enemies, blue dots for friendlies and white dots for neutral. Also on the map is an indicator which is, I guess, showing me the way to my quest objective. That way?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the direction of the Abbot¡¯s office,¡± said Hugh. ¡°Wasn¡¯t there something earlier about the world going grey?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s when I press the cogwheel at the bottom next to my quickbar, My vision fills with the menu and has character, configuration and help buttons from there.¡± ¡°Well, what do they do?¡± ¡°Character just tells me about myself and my character in this world. Mostly nothing right now, I don¡¯t have a lot of stuff but it looks quite detailed.¡± ¡°How detailed?¡± insisted Hugh. Dave pressed some buttons and went into his character sheet. ¡°Pretty detailed. It¡¯s giving me numbers and everything,¡± said Dave as he explored his menu. It turned out that he could extract most numbers of interest to him to two decimal places. ¡°That¡¯s amazing! The Magic Society will love you. What about configuration?¡± ¡°Magic society? Well, config. What¡¯s it? Here we go; toggle notifications, toggle tooltips, subtitles greyed out, HUD options and macros. Wait!¡± Dave checked in HUD options, turned on the text box, enabled mechanics in chat, and checked that the chat box would expand when used. It did and he promptly turned off notifications. ¡°Oh, thank heavens! That would have driven me mad getting those visual and audio notifications all the time!¡± said Dave with pure relief. ¡°What happened?¡± asked Hugh. ¡°Every time I loot something or use an object there¡¯s this massive notification, ¡®you have done the thing you just did¡¯. It was really annoying. I just turned it off. Now I can just look notifications up in a text box.¡± said Dave. ¡°You can change the way you interact with reality?¡± asked an amazed Hugh. Dave shrugged in a matter-of-fact kind of way. ¡°It¡¯s my dream, why not?¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t a dream, Dave! Please, take this seriously.¡± ¡°I went to sleep and woke up in a place where magic is real. This is a dream,¡± said Dave flatly. ¡°Oh? What colour is your hair?¡± asked Hugh. ¡°Brown,¡± said Dave, self consciously taking a hand to his head. ¡°WHAT THE-¡± ¡°Ever been that surprised in the dream?¡± grinned Hugh. Dave was exploring his completely egg-like bald dome with his hands. ¡°This is weird!¡± said Dave as he massaged his head. ¡°Your eyebrows too,¡± Hugh was trying not to chuckle because it hurt. Dave¡¯s hands flew to his missing eyebrows. ¡°You have no hair on your whole body,¡± said Hugh with a grin. ¡°I thought it was a bit breezy,¡± said Dave and ran his hands over his arms and legs. ¡°It¡¯s because your body is brand new,¡± explained Hugh. ¡°Your soul went from your world, through the astral to this world but a body can¡¯t exist in the astral so your soul constructed a new body upon arrival.¡± Dave nodded. That kind of made sense. If the lore was that the astral was a place between universes it made sense that things which needed a universe to exist, like atoms, weren¡¯t welcome on the journey. Dave had always thought of himself as physically unremarkable. Average height, and build with straight brown hair and light eyes. He was physically fit but only as much as anybody who enjoyed physical hobbies. ¡°Souls are real then, hey?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Oh, yes. I understand there¡¯s not much evidence for them in your low magic world?¡± asked Hugh. ¡°None.¡± ¡°Should we do a final test?¡± ¡°What? For What?¡± ¡°To prove this isn¡¯t a dream.¡± ¡°Go on.¡± ¡°Well, here people pinch or slap themselves to test if they¡¯re dreaming.¡± ¡°My world too. Yeah, okay, fine! You¡¯ve got me interested now. Slap me, see if I wake up.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to move. I got hit twice with an axe.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll come to you and relax myself all close like this with my eyes closed and you just massage my ear, okay? And, when I¡¯m not expecting it, you twist my ear real hard, yeah?¡± ¡°I can do that.¡± Dave hunkered down on one elbow next to Hugh in the cliffside recess. ¡°Where¡¯s your family from? Tell me about them,¡± asked Hugh as he gently held Dave¡¯s ear. ¡°Well, I grew up on the Sunshine Coast. My mum¡¯s from Rockhampton and my Dad¡¯s from Hamburg. He was backpacking around Australia, met my mum and decided to stay-ARRGH!¡± Dave screamed. He¡¯d been keeping an eye on his minimap just to make sure there were no red dots, drifting off into his personal history and was genuinely surprised to have his ear twisted so hard. ¡°Not dreaming!¡± said Hugh happily. ¡°Oh, bloody hell. Yeah, sure, it¡¯s not a dream.¡± said Dave. Then he stopped and felt a bit sick. ¡°This isn¡¯t a dream. I¡¯ve killed four people!¡± ¡°Oh, damn,¡± said Hugh, realising he may have triggered an existential crisis in his ally. His best hope for a way to live. ¡°Oh, hell. I sure hope they deserved it. They were labelled as cultists. Please tell me it was an evil cult?¡± Dave pleaded and looked at Hugh with a scared look. ¡°Yes, yes, yes. It¡¯s fine, don¡¯t worry. These are cultists of The Builder and they¡¯re literally trying to end the world,¡± soothed Hugh. ¡°What? Seriously?¡± ¡°Seriously.¡± ¡°But they live on this world!¡± ¡°I know. Mad!¡± ¡°Like, what¡¯s their deal?¡± ¡°They worship a great astral being who wants to wreck the world for reasons I don¡¯t know. They came here, killed everyone I know and tried to kill me.¡± ¡°... yeah, okay. So, they had it coming,¡± said Dave. He was still uneasy about the casual killing he¡¯d done earlier but had always figured in his own mind that laws about self defence made sense in a reciprocal kind of way. If someone was undertaking an activity that endangered your life, it was only fair when you did the same in return. With these few seconds reflection Dave decided that he regretted the casualness of his killings, but not the action. Screw those guys. ¡°My Lady tells me that you¡¯ll understand this: High magic setting with gritty realism,¡± said Hugh. ¡°Your lady?¡± asked Dave with one eyebrow raised. ¡°I¡¯m a monk of the goddess Knowledge.¡± ¡°Oh, gods are real? Wait, of course they are. High magic. They fit in. Gritty realism too so¡­ the world kind of sucks but there¡¯s good things and hope for more good stuff?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Well, today hasn¡¯t been great,¡± grumbled Hugh. ¡°Fair. How do you know your god is real?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You know? Evidence?¡± Hugh looked confused but then seemed to have a new thought. ¡°Oh! Yes, gods can¡¯t manifest in your low magic world. Weird.¡± ¡°Yeah, hence my scepticism.¡± ¡°Sure. Think of something. Something definite like a specific number or word.¡± Dave thought of his mobile phone number. ¡°0280941894,¡± said Hugh. ¡°No way!¡± said Dave in astonishment. He thought of the number plate on his old car and Hugh¡¯s face went cross eyed. ¡°383DNS.¡± ¡°Mother¡¯s maiden name?¡± ¡°Taylor.¡± ¡°Bloody hell,¡± said Dave, stunned. Hugh sat for a few moments in a comforting silence. ¡°I hope this god of yours has better morals than Cambridge Analytica,¡± grumbled Dave. ¡°She says ¡®yes¡¯?¡± offered Hugh. ¡°She strictly avoids interference of most kinds and likes people to figure it out for themselves.¡± ¡°But she¡¯s talking to you? That seems like an interference?¡± inquired Dave. ¡°There¡¯re privileges for being part of the clergy,¡± said Hugh smugly. ¡°Ha! She plays favourites,¡± said Dave with a grin and Hugh gave a whiskery smile in return. They sat for a while in silence, huddled in blankets and avoiding the wind as best they could on the side of a cliff. Dave was learning his new abilities and Hugh was enjoying the act of sitting perfectly still while having serious lacerations. Dave read from the help menu and discovered basic facts about this new world. It was visually similar to his Earth, had monsters, multiple sentient races and, most importantly, a magic system upon which the political, social and economic power in every society in the world seemed to be based. It was described as the result of a high magic concentration which made magic coalesce into one of several different forms. The purest forms were essences. They were used to bond to a sentient being¡¯s soul and give them magical abilities related to that kind of essence. The soul could fit four essences but once you¡¯d put in three, the soul would spontaneously create a fourth ¡®confluence¡¯ essence for you out of a mixture of the previous three, which was often very powerful. Each essence had a maximum of five associated abilities. Dave checked the numbers on his character screen and noted he had four remaining open ability slots for his magic essence. It looked like you got a freebie ability when you bonded your first essence. Next, you had awakening stones. These appeared to bond to the essences and awaken the remaining four abilities of the essences. It was noted that the abilities awoken seemed to be influenced not only by the awakening stone but by the essence itself, racial traits, previous abilities and, hypothetically, an individual¡¯s personality. Partial essence pieces called quintessence were relatively common loot items but couldn¡¯t be combined into a whole essence and so, were most commonly used as fuel for magical rituals, crafting and industrial applications. Both essences and awakening stones had rarities; common, uncommon, rare, epic and legendary. But, for both of the types of magic stone, the rarities indicated the scope of the abilities acquired, not the power. The more rare, the more narrow the scope and thus, the more predictable the abilities which made planning an ability set easier. Next, the least common type of naturally coalescing magic was the spirit coin. It could be farmed in specific locations, the help menu didn¡¯t say how, or generated from magic abilities such as being collected as loot from monsters. The smallest denomination was the lesser spirit coin which dropped from normal rank monsters. The other spirit coins were named as per the monster ranks they dropped from; iron, bronze, silver, gold and diamond ranks. Essences, quintessence and awakening stones were all classified by a word which defined their power, such as growth, wrath or dimension but coins were, instead, a general kind of unassociated magic. Spirit coins were often used as magical fuel for ritual spells or making items work and could, the menu said, be consumed by adventurers in lieu of food and drink. It ended by noting that taking a spirit coin above your current rank gave that person a short term boost in power at the cost of crippling weakness after that boost. Dave mentally noted to get some definite numbers on that for later. It seemed important. The last, most common and most important form of magic coming into the world was when it coalesced as monsters, which made no logical sense but that¡¯s magic for you. It noted that there were ways to loot stones and coins from the corpse of a monster and the most common method was a looting ability or ritual. That triggered a memory and Dave checked his character screen. Under his ¡®quest system¡¯ ability he was happy to read, ¡®Can manifest magic into physical form objects as reward for meeting challenges¡¯ and, ¡®ability to loot monsters¡¯. He could extract money from kills and it looked like not everyone got that kind of passive income. All of these magical objects and creatures being formed out of high concentrations of magic made Dave think of how crystals would spontaneously form in solutions with high concentrations of ions but he also filed the thought away from later. Best to focus on the basics for now. The rest of the help menu did not relate to himself or his current situation so he skimmed over it. It explained common ways the power of magic shaped different societies and how abilities worked. In short, abilities worked by you wanting them to, often with bodily and/or spoken gestures. Dave decided to look through his inventory and see what starting gear he had. There was a handwritten note in there. It was the only thing he hadn¡¯t acquired by picking it up or looting. He withdrew the note and looked at the simple bit of slightly rumpled, folded paper. As though a note stuffed into a pocket. It read, ¡®It¡¯s possible to go back - Celestial Book.¡¯ The handwritten script was neat and precise. ¡°Hugh, what¡¯s this note?¡± asked Dave, showing it to him. Hugh winced as he moved his arm to hold the note. ¡°Oh! It looks like the Celestial Book has given you a note as you passed through the astral realm. That is very interesting,¡± said Hugh. ¡°Celestial book?¡± ¡°Oh, yes. That¡¯s a great astral being. They live between realities in the astral with their own agenda.¡± Hugh handed the note back. ¡°Like inter-universal gods?¡± ¡°Kind of. I worship the goddess of Knowledge. My specialty is astral magic! So, I guess, today is both the best and worst day of my life... Anyway, my Lady cares for knowing all things in this world but The Celestial Book is more specific; it cares for understanding the true nature of magic which spans across all worlds. I worship Knowledge but I also venerate The Celestial Book,¡± said Hugh. ¡°And, The Book left me a note,¡± said Dave in a thoughtful tone. ¡°Knowledge rather likes you, too,¡± mused Hugh. ¡°She sounds nice,¡± said Dave. They both sat in a comfortable silence, mentally digesting their new information for a minute. ¡°Oh, there they are. Going room by room, coming back. We¡¯ll wait until they¡¯re past us and climb back in,¡± said Dave, watching his minimap. ¡°What then?¡± asked Hugh. ¡°Well, we¡¯ll be alive and have enough time to think of a plan!¡± said Dave with satisfaction.
So, what is magic? To all of you, people from a reality where it¡¯s native, it¡¯s just how stuff works, part of the natural world, but that¡¯s not what it is. It¡¯s a forceful leashing of the natural world. Or, in its more benign forms, a suspension of natural law. Magic functions based on Platonic idealism. The concept of perfect forms. Mad thing is, the essences are built by the environment that magic finds itself in. And, since we can manipulate the environment, we can manipulate the rocks. I''m surprised more people haven''t cottoned on. It¡¯s basically agriculture. - from The Booker Lectures, Byzas Technical University, 2688th year of His Majesty Byzas The Great¡¯s reign. Chapter 3: Journey To A Study
Current Quests
Secret In The Monastery: Reach a safe zone without the cultists raising the alarm.
Dave and Hugh remained silent while the builder cultists were in adjoining rooms, just in case. Once the cultists left, they made a slow journey back to the inside of the building. Once inside, on a whim, Dave looked up the location on his map. ¡°Chateau Chamois? I thought this was a monastery?¡± asked Dave. ¡°It is!¡± gasped Hugh. His wounds were starting to swell and it was increasingly difficult for him to move. ¡°It was owned by a wealthy noble about sixty years ago who died with no heir and donated it to the church. It¡¯s been a monastery retreat since.¡± ¡°Okay, that sounds like a rich person thing to do, sure.¡± ¡°Do you have a plan to get us out of here?¡± ¡°Nope, this is your house. Didn¡¯t you want to go to the abbot¡¯s room?¡± ¡°Yes, his study.¡± Hugh took a key ring from his pocket. ¡°The abbot gave these to me before he died.¡± Hugh¡¯s face fell. ¡°He just ran into the lunch room, bleeding from the stomach, pressed the keys into my hands, shouted that we¡¯re under attack and died. Right there. Leaning against the door.¡± ¡°That sucks, mate,¡± ¡°Sucks?¡± ¡°Ugh, colloquialism. It means, that¡¯s awful.¡± Hugh nodded. ¡°Why do we need to get to his study?¡± asked Dave. Hugh snapped out of his traumatising reverie. ¡°Hmm? Oh, yes. Because that¡¯s where the safe is. It¡¯s full of essences and awakening stones! We¡¯ve been preparing to summon someone like you for months but¡­ circumstances. Doesn¡¯t matter now. The thing is, we have the key and they don''t, so we should be able to get into the safe, give you a bunch of powers and probably escape.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we just climb out a window and run off to the nearest town?¡± asked Dave, bewildered at why the highly cerebral monk¡¯s first idea was to go full action hero on the cultists. ¡°Open up your map. You see the cliffs and the grounds?¡± instructed Hugh. Dave did as asked. ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°Then you can see the entire building is on an outcropped cliff. It curves around with the cliff on one side and a vineyard on the other? Well, the vineyard wall is two-and-a-bit metres high and runs from cliff-to-cliff with a gate, trapping us on this outcrop. They left a few men guarding the gate. Anybody climbing the wall will be seen and be stabbed on the jump down.¡± Now that Hugh had pointed it out, Dave very much could see that. The house and grounds were like a giant letter D with the curve being cliffs, the chateau at the apex of the curve and the vineyard fence made the straight line of the D. ¡°So, we need magic powers to either level the playing field or find a way out?¡± said Dave. ¡°Personally, I¡¯m hoping we just get some legendary rarity stones that give you a teleport-with-a-friend ability,¡± said Hugh, a hint of a plea to his voice. ¡°Any thoughts on how to get to this study?¡± ¡°Stealth murder?¡± ¡°Already played out. They¡¯re searching for us.¡± ¡°Sneak?¡± ¡°How many ways are there out of this workshop, cellar and accommodation side of the house?¡± ¡°...One.¡± ¡°What? There aren¡¯t doors leading to the outside? Windows even?¡± ¡°Well, yes but the gate guards will see us!¡± Dave chewed his own lip in thought and then had an idea. ¡°But if we¡¯re dressed as builder cultists?¡± Hugh also brightened up. ¡°They¡¯re all dressed in yellow and red. They¡¯ll just see Builder cultists!¡± Ten minutes later, the Builder cultists watching the vineyard and guarding the gate saw two of their fellows open a servant¡¯s door at the cellars and make the long walk across the vineyard back to the front door. ¡°Must¡¯ve got lost,¡± said one. The other cultist next to him peered at the duo and just shrugged. Hugh was white in the face and sweating from the pain of walking. They didn¡¯t dare allow him to be supported while in view of the guards in case of awkward questions but they¡¯d made it inside. Dave was navigating mostly by the minimap, checking constantly for any red dots. ¡°I¡¯ll hold you now,¡± said Dave and draped Hugh¡¯s left arm over his shoulder so that the monk could hobble along one-legged. Hugh nodded but awkwardly turned around, took the keys out of his pocket and locked the double doors leading outside. ¡°May as well,¡± he said and began going up some stairs and through some ostentatious doors. Their luck was terrible. They¡¯d accidentally chosen the wing that the cultists had decided to give the first thorough search of and had to double-back twice to avoid being caught. With Hugh slowing him down, it was difficult to find enough time between roaming cultists to make the hobbling dash to another safe hiding place, especially since this aristocratic residence was more roomy with longer halls and bigger rooms leading to a smaller frequency of doors to hide behind. By the time they made it to the spiral stairs leading to the abbot¡¯s study, Hugh was dangerously white, sweaty and shaking. Dave was pretty sure he¡¯d opened up some of his wounds with exertion and was bleeding through the improvised bandages. Dave practically carried him up the stairs, tiring himself out. ¡°Well then, come in!¡± said a reedy voice from inside the room, causing Dave and Hugh to freeze. ¡°I don¡¯t bite. Not unless you fools start getting scared of monks again. My idiot brother no doubt defied me and had his hands in the loot before clearing the house.¡± While the villain was monologuing, Dave¡¯s eyes drifted to the door. It was slightly ajar. He looked at Hugh. ¡°They picked it,¡± he whispered. Dave bit the bullet and went for it. They were still in Builder cultist clothes and this man didn¡¯t seem like the kind to remember all of his employees. ¡°Oh, yes lord! Good news, actually,¡± said Dave nervously. Dave unslung Hugh¡¯s arm leaving him leaning against the wall, opened the door just enough to slide into the room and advanced into the rather comfortable looking office with his head down. ¡°I just wanted to show you some keys we found on a monk we killed, lord,¡± said Dave as he advanced with his head down, grateful that Builder cultists enjoyed a cowled robe. He looked up just enough to see that a thin-set, balding man was staring at a large, iron safe set into the wall with what looked like lock-picking tools arranged on the large desk behind him. Dave selected him and found him labelled as ¡®Builder Cultist Aristocrat¡¯. ¡°Stop! Monk? I said to make sure you kill the outworlder, I don¡¯t care about any monks,¡± snapped the aristocrat, turning around briefly. ¡°Yes, lord, of course!¡± grovelled Dave, ¡°but since we knew you were working on the safe we thought you¡¯d appreciate the keys. Maybe save a bit of time, lord?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s true. Give them here, then!¡± ordered the aristocrat. Dave walked over fumbling in his pocket for fake keys. Dave chanced a look at the man and saw that the man had turned towards him. In that moment he and Dave locked eyes and Dave knew he¡¯d been made. ¡°Ice bolt!¡± ¡°Dispel!¡± The aristocrat¡¯s palm had extended towards Dave and grown an icy, blue crystal before Dave arrested the magic. Dave charged around the table towards the momentarily confused aristocrat, who was stretching out his palm for another try at an ice bolt, and performed a rugby tackle, driving the aristocrat off his feet and onto the ground. He punched Dave hard in the head and tried to scramble backwards to his feet but Dave leapt forwards, putting his body over the aristocrat¡¯s hips, pinning him down. ¡°Ice bolt!¡± ¡°Dispel!¡± Dave still had most of his mana but didn¡¯t know how expensive ice bolt would be as a spell and hoped it wouldn¡¯t come to a mana race. The aristocrat clearly had some martial arts skills as he attempted to perform chain punches on Dave who responded by putting the base of his palms over where his eyebrows should be in a boxer¡¯s shell and leaned down through the blows until he was chest-to-chest with the man on the ground. ¡°Ice bolt!¡± ¡°Dispel!¡± The man was scrabbling, clearly not having been taught much, if any, wrestling arts. Dave moved his hands from his own face down to the cultist¡¯s lapels, got a deep, cross-collar grip with both hands on the aristocrat¡¯s thick robes and started choking the man, bearing down on him with all his weight. The aristocrat stopped trying to punch and yanked at Dave¡¯s hands to get oxygen back in his lungs. He managed to hold up Dave¡¯s weight for a few seconds and gasped for breath. ¡°Ice bolt!¡± ¡°Dispel!¡± Dave continued bearing down on him as the aristocrat¡¯s struggles got more frantic with panic, scratching at Dave¡¯s eyes and face. Dave didn¡¯t even notice that Hugh had entered the room and so was surprised when Hugh collapsed into the brawl above the aristocrat¡¯s head and grabbed the man¡¯s wrists, restraining him as Dave choked him unconscious. When the body went limp, Dave drew a hunting knife from his inventory and, fighting down rising bile, stabbed into the cultist¡¯s jugular vein. The body started sparking, Dave looted and checked his text box. One hundred and fifty ice quintessence. Nice. His quest, secret in the monastery, was done and Hugh had a question mark above his head for Dave to turn in. He touched Hugh¡¯s arm and got a belt of arrow holding as a reward and a racial ability evolution. He mentally clicked the text hyperlink and a notification window opened up in Dave¡¯s vision. Quest: [Secret In The Monastery] Objective complete: Reach a safe zone without the cultists raising the alarm. Reward: Racial ability evolution. Your racial ability [Stranger In A Strange Land] has evolved to include [Bringer Of Change]. Bonus objective complete: Bring the monk of Knowledge with you. Bonus Reward: Extra racial ability evolution. Your racial ability [Bringer Of Change] also affects allies. Dave looked at the ability quickly. Bringer Of Change: Awakening stones that you apply to yourself or others are more likely to have rare, powerful and synergistic effects. That seemed good! He got a new quest from the centre of the desk which he tapped and skimmed the text of: Escape The Chateau. It was pretty much what the title was. Hugh was still on the ground, looking worse for wear. Dave helped him crawl away from the spreading pool of blood and then poured a cup of water from a pitcher on the desk, brought it to Hugh and helped him lift his head to drink. ¡°Lock the door,¡± said Hugh weakly, taking out the keys and offering one to Dave. Dave went to the door, closed it and locked it, came back, dragged the bleeding body onto a decorative rug and then covered the body with the rug and dragged it off to the side of the circular room. ¡°Is there anything in here that can help you? Healing potions? Are they a thing?¡± asked Dave. ¡°They are but we don¡¯t have any. Justin panicked and poured our emergency supply of potions down the dead abbot¡¯s face while he -¡± Hugh¡¯s voice cracked. ¡°I should¡¯ve stopped him but I didn¡¯t want - I¡¯d have had to knock him or something out to stop him. He was in such a panic.¡± ¡°Hey, don¡¯t think about that. Surely this abbot kept some snacks in here? You need your strength.¡± ¡°Sweet biscuits in the bottom drawer,¡± said Hugh, pointing. Dave got them from the drawer and sat with Hugh while he sipped water and nibbled on the biscuits while resting, wiping tears from his eyes. ¡°They¡¯re all dead,¡± said Hugh. ¡°Good workmates. Fellow worshippers.¡± ¡°Hugh, look at me,¡± said Dave firmly, looking straight into Hugh¡¯s eyes. ¡°Now isn¡¯t the time to mourn. Now is the time for recovering strength and decisive action. Okay? Hugh locked eyes with Dave and nodded. ¡°Besides, we got a bit of our own back, didn¡¯t we? Now, let me change your bandages then, we can open that safe and wreak havoc,¡± said Dave with as much satisfaction as he could. Hugh pointed out the emergency medical supplies in an open chest that was definitely missing potions but was, thankfully, full of real bandages and a healing ointment suitable for superficial wounds. ¡°My wounds aren¡¯t superficial but it¡¯ll help with the clotting,¡± said Hugh. Dave dutifully applied some healing salve into Hugh¡¯s wounds, seeing for the first time how deep they were. The leg wound was halfway through the side of the leg into the muscle and the chest wound had cut to the rib bones. He winced in sympathetic pain with Hugh as he applied the ointments but knew that doing a good job was more important than sparing Hugh any pain. He finished with a compression bandage and helped the pained monk into the desk chair. ¡°Ooh, you¡¯re a terrible nurse. I almost bit my own tongue!¡± gasped Hugh. ¡°Fair, but you¡¯ll be fine now, right?¡± asked Dave. Hugh nodded, already looking a bit better. ¡°Did you notice what the aristocrat said before we fought?¡± asked Dave. Hugh shook his head wearing a curious look. ¡°He said that he¡¯d asked his men to kill the outworlder and that¡¯s me, right? He said he didn¡¯t care about the monks, only that they killed me. How could they know about me? You didn¡¯t know you¡¯d summon me, didn¡¯t you say?¡± ¡°Yes. That¡¯s weird. This is an astral research centre of Knowledge. I guess that somehow the Builder cult figured out we were doing research into duplicating the Asano event and thought we¡¯d already done it?¡± said Hugh, clearly speculating. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter right now,¡± said Dave. ¡°Just that I know they¡¯ll continue hunting me even if I escape. Thoughts for my future self. They¡¯re trying to kill us right now. Anyway, shall we?¡± Dave gestured at the safe and Hugh nodded. Dave walked over to the safe with the keys and unlocked it. It was a large safe, set into the wall but not hidden and upon opening, Dave saw that most of the bottom of it was taken up with a large, jewellery box which he heaved onto the table in front of Hugh. ¡°Okay, what¡¯ve we got?¡± said Dave, handing the keychain back to Hugh. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡¯m just a technician,¡± said the confounded monk, gingerly shifting in his chair. ¡°I wasn¡¯t given an inventory list of our secret essence stash.¡± ¡°Fair enough. We¡¯ll just have to figure it out, eh?¡± said Dave, trying to reassure the still pale holy man who nodded. ¡°You should do the honours and open it. After all, you summoned a being from another universe to get here today. You may as well look at the riches before I eat them all.¡± Hugh grinned a bit, opened the jewellery box and glanced inside. ¡°Oh! Err¡­¡± said the monk. ¡°Well?¡± Said Dave. ¡°It¡¯s quite a lot but nothing good. So-to-speak,¡± said the monk, exposing all the layers of the box, which was bigger on the inside, and displayed many stones. ¡°What do you mean?¡± said Dave and together they started browsing through the stones, the monk recognising stones with learned knowledge and Dave by selecting them and seeing the tooltip. ¡°Well, just looking at the lot, there¡¯s nothing epic or legendary here. But, I suppose that''s to be expected. This whole astral research centre was supposed to be a bit secretive.¡± said Hugh, browsing through the essences before him, putting one of each unique type on the table and putting the duplicates back in the box. ¡°And, transporting anything but common goods would have attracted questions, I suspect?¡± said Dave, taking over from the monk making a display of the range of essences. Hugh sat back in the desk chair with a pained groan. ¡°I expect so. I, for one, am regretting that now,¡± said Hugh to the ceiling with closed eyes. ¡°Be really great right now if there was a¡­ I don¡¯t know. Renewal, potent and¡­ dimension or something.¡± ¡°Would they be good?¡± asked Dave, putting yet another hand essence aside. ¡°You¡¯d probably be able to heal me and then hopefully gate me to a safer place!¡± groaned Hugh. Dave shortly finished lining up all the different essences, having decided, upon reflection, to put all the duplicates into his inventory. Hugh was in no condition to carry them. ¡°Well, that¡¯s the lot. These things are thematic, right? It¡¯s good to pick ones that go with each other? That¡¯s the impression I got from my help menu,¡± said Dave and looked to Hugh for reassurance who was nodding along. ¡°Well, this one seems good. A knowledge essence? I like knowledge.¡± Dave trailed off and mused upon the other uncommon essences. A balance, a couple of feast, a flesh, a mirror. He looked for themes. He guessed that mirror and hammer were always bad together. Flesh, rat and trap? Well, that¡¯d give very different results depending on which side you were looking at it from. Light, sword and balance seemed likely to make him a jedi so, he kept that in mind. ¡°Read the manual,¡± wheezed Hugh gesturing at the safe. Dave quickly popped over to it and took out two books from inside. They were published by the Magic Society. That seemed good. It gave the impression that there were professionals for this kind of thing, which seemed properly organised on the face of it. The books were titled, ¡®The Abridged Guide To Essences¡¯ and ¡®The Iron Ranker¡¯s Field Guide To Awakening Stones¡¯. Dave flipped open the Abridged Guide and looked at the chapters. He saw that it was mostly a technical book of definitions where you could look up an essence, what its common powers were and what to expect from life with that essence. He had a thought. ¡°We¡¯re short of time, aren¡¯t we Hugh?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Yep," said the man who was thoroughly enjoying the act of slow breathing around a chest injury. ¡°Since I¡¯ve already got the book in hand. I technically have access to the information?¡± Dave persisted. ¡°Where are you going with this?¡± ¡°Your goddess already knows the answers?¡± ¡°You know she can¡¯t do things for you. There¡¯s rules!¡± ¡°Yes, but she can talk to you and if I tell you what I¡¯m looking for and you¡¯re guided to narrow down my options, we¡¯d save a lot of time and she wouldn¡¯t be letting me know anything I couldn¡¯t find out for myself.¡± Hugh paused, seemed to be waiting to hear more and then deflated. ¡°Speak,¡± said Hugh, cautiously optimistic. Dave stared seriously at the table. What he mostly knew about himself is that in gaming, jiu-jitsu and pharmaceuticals, what he was the best at was strategies that were planned, methodical and, to everyone watching, a series of economical decisions leading to an inescapable victory. It often worked out quite well because if he¡¯d made a bad decision, you could often see the inevitable lack of victory coming and just go do a different plan instead. In gaming, which seemed the closest touchstone for this world to Dave, he¡¯d always been good at playing a solid support character. Never charging in, but organising the charge well and making sure that whoever did charge in, would win when they got there. ¡°This is a magical world. Magic is power here and I¡¯ve already got the magic essence so, give me a list of the possibilities in front of me that¡¯ll make me a really good wizard. Or, an archmage. I want really good magic, I think,¡± said Dave, nodding to himself. ¡°Quill. You write,¡± said Hugh, gesturing for Dave to take notes as he dictated his goddess¡¯s words. ¡°Adept and pretty much anything but especially staff, balance, any elemental, knowledge or song. Knowledge and mirror. Knowledge and¡­ book? Are you sure, Goddess? Well, of course you are.¡± Hugh lay back down wincing again. Dave looked those combinations up quickly. Magic and adept almost always paired to make the Master confluence no matter the third essence but that third essence would set the theme of what spells or abilities were being mastered. For example If he picked the sword essence with magic and adept, he¡¯d likely get sword and sorcery abilities. A real spellblade. If he picked staff, probably spells and magic staff abilities. He kept on reading. Magic, balance and any elemental ability made you a solid caster of that element. A fire mage, a water mage and an earth mage were possibilities. Magic, knowledge and song made for the bard confluence which Dave dismissed immediately. The Beatles were his favourite band but music was not his talent. Magic, knowledge and mirror were interesting, producing the mystic confluence, likely to give abilities around revealing and deceiving but magic, knowledge and book gave an interesting confluence essence¡­ ¡°Spellbook? I get more spells?¡± asked Dave. ¡°No, not really. I suppose she mentioned that one for completeness. Nobody uses that one. Not adventurers. Mostly for industrial applications,¡± said Hugh. ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± inquired Dave. ¡°Their spells aren¡¯t cast from mana anymore. Or, they are but not in the same way. You still have mana but you can¡¯t cast spells from it. The spells use spell slots which take half a day or more to recharge. Real powerful spells, I hear, but only a handful of spells at once.¡± He chuckled. ¡°There¡¯s jokes about them. What did the booker do after his first kill? Yeah? He went home!¡± Hugh smiled at his own joke but Dave kept reading. ¡°It says that they have to write their own spells, these spells are effectively cast at a rank higher than these bookers actually are? Why aren¡¯t they just¡­ careful with their spells?¡± asked Dave. He was confused. These guys sounded great! Not limited to a single set of abilities, able to adapt to any situation. In theory, sure. But, he felt like it was a good theory. ¡°No idea. The goddess says that you¡¯re not wrong.¡± mumbled Hugh, sinking as far into his chair as he could. ¡°She says, follow your instincts.¡± Dave set his jaw, picked up the knowledge essence. It was an oblong stone covered in irregular dots and every dot was connected to every dot immediately around it via crack-like structures like an interconnected network. He lay down on the floor, scrunched up a bit of his robe, stuffed it in his mouth and activated the essence in his hand. The stone dissolved into a mist that went for his face and streamed into his eyes, nose, ears and mouth. He revisited the pain from earlier. It felt like taking in steam that settled deep inside of you. Dave rode it out until it was gone and then checked his chat box. You have used: [Knowledge essence] you have gained a new knowledge ability, [Epistemology]. Dave selected the tooltip to get more information about his new ability. Epistemology: Using this ability allows the user to learn facts that are widely available in public libraries of the goddess Knowledge or other archives you have been given access to about an object or person using keywords. E.g. ¡®value¡¯ can be used on items and ¡®vulnerabilities¡¯ on monsters. Dave quoted the text for Hugh¡¯s benefit and immediately used the ability on a dead cultist. You have used [Epistemology] on [Builder cultist] querying [vulnerabilities]. None. ¡°Hmph,¡± said Dave, ¡°well, I suppose the vulnerabilities are a bit late to ask you.¡± He selected a candle and used the ability again to query ¡®materials¡¯. You have used [Epistemology] on [Candle] querying [Materials]. Beeswax. Cotton, braided. ¡°Okay, cool.¡± said Dave. ¡°Candles are hot,¡± murmured Hugh, confused. Dave picked up the book essence which unsurprisingly, looked like a stack of paper fused together. If a book could fossilise, it¡¯d look like this essence. Lying back down with a mouth full of robe, Dave absorbed the essence. This time, the visual effect was of the essence breaking into individual paper leaves which fluttered on an ethereal wind straight at Dave¡¯s skin, pushing into his body. You have used: [Book Essence] you have gained a new Book ability, [Paper Mill]. Once again, Dave tooltipped. This spell creates a desired paper construction the size of a large book for the caster in a desired shape. High mana. One hour cooldown. There was a section to select for more information which Dave briefly looked at. It went into his menu and gave him more technical information about the spell¡¯s mechanics that he ignored for now because right at the moment, three glowing orbs came out of his body, rotated around each other in a complex pattern, briefly merged their light and became his confluence essence hanging intangibly in the air. Dave reached out and took it with his hand. From his text box, he saw it was his anticipated Spellbook essence. Dave squared his shoulders and stepped into the adjoining bathroom. He¡¯d read briefly about the purging which happened after absorbing a confluence essence and he wanted to be prepared. He took off all of his clothes, placed them outside the door and sat right over the drainage grate in the middle of the floor. He looked at the spellbook essence. Ultimately, it was just a large quartz with a miniature book in the centre but it was elegant and neat. Dave activated his confluence essence and watched as the crystal-bound book levitated, glowed, dissolved leaving only the book behind and promptly shot into his forehead. When he finished whimpering, Dave checked his text box. You have used [Spellbook essence]. You have gained a new Spellbook ability [Vancian Spell Slots of Eldritch Capacity]. All spells are cast at ten ranks higher in power with additional effects. Dave clicked the spell slots button and read more about his abilities. These spells are cast with magical power equivalent to ten ranks higher than their actual level, although they do not progress into the next rank of magic. You have four natural spell slots, with additional slots available through mana regeneration or restoration abilities and each method provides one extra slot. Spell slots recharge within a maximum of twelve hours, with recharge times reduced based on your Spirit attribute. Once fully recharged, a spell slot can be assigned a spell, allowing that spell to be cast. Spells derived directly from essence abilities are always available and can be cast through any spell slot without needing assignment. Dave was halfway through reading when the purging came upon him. This was the process of the body going up a magical rank, where the body rejected all the magical impurities inside of it which manifested as ¡®noxious effluent¡¯. Or, so he¡¯s read. Even with the warning, it was brutal. He vomited black gunk, puss came out of his tear ducts and he sweated a thick, foul-smelling slime. It came in waves making ten seconds feel like a full minute. Dave convulsed as he coughed up something long and stringy from his lungs and something acidic came from his ears. He gasped for breath in time for another wave to hit and handfuls of snot streamed from his nose. Eventually the waves faded and he was glad to find a pail of soapy water afterwards and scrubbed off the worst but it wasn¡¯t enough. He pulled on a lever he found to make more water splash down on him. He was still using a wet towel to sponge his body when Hugh called him in a fierce whisper. ¡°Dave. Dave!¡± Dave poked his head out from the bathroom. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Outside!¡± hissed Hugh. Dave listened, forgetting his own sickening stench for a moment. The cultists that were stationed outside at the gate were at the door and shouting, asking if everything was going alright inside. Dave realised that the drain must lead straight outside and not into a septic tank. The wind from the cliff would be blowing the smell of the purged material towards the guards who¡¯d come to the door to investigate.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°Oh, shit.¡± said Dave as the sound of the cultists died down and the sound of them hammering on the large main door came up to them in the tower. ¡°There¡¯s nothing for it,¡± said Hugh, his eyes wide. ¡°You¡¯ve already taken the spellbook essence. You can¡¯t cast with your mana pool, can you?¡± Dave felt for his own powers and noticed his HUD had switched to show a new resource; four iron rank spell slots across the bottom of his HUD and he felt two new spells, [Dispel And Quell Magic] and [Paper Mill Production], in his mind, able to be channelled through one of these new slots. His stomach dropped and Dave shook his head at Hugh. ¡°Well, start on awakening stones! You might get a useful ability,¡± said Hugh in a hushed voice. ¡°Here, I got some likely looking ones lined up. Here, take this first. A preparation stone. It¡¯s likely to give you your spellbook.¡± Dave took it, used it and read from his text box. You have used [awakening stone of preparation]. You have gained a new knowledge ability [Stop and Think]. This ability gives the user the ability to stop time for a short time excluding their own senses and thoughts. ¡°Ugh, I can stop time to think a bit,¡± reported Dave. ¡°Well that¡¯s good, we do need time right now!¡± blurted Hugh. Dave looked at the table full of awakening stones and used his new ability. Time stopped. He couldn¡¯t move, not even his eyeballs. He couldn¡¯t breathe. But, somehow, that was fine. He guessed time had stopped so he didn¡¯t need to breathe. Fortunately, his HUD still worked so he selected all of the awakening stones on the table one-by-one and mentally made a list to put aside for now. He let time proceed, picked up the awakening stone book and used [Stop And Think] several more times while on the pages describing the stones he¡¯d just looked at, compared the information about his own abilities in his HUD and then at the advice section at the beginning of the book. In all, it only took a few moments of real time. ¡°Okay, I have a plan. My spell slots ability says ¡®Spells from essence abilities are considered always memorised¡¯ right? So, I should take stones that work well with my essences and along the way, I should get a powerful spell that I can cast without memorisation, yeah?¡± asked Dave. Hugh was surprised at this sudden amount of understanding from Dave and shrugged. Dave helped himself to a mind stone. You have used [Awakening stone of the mind]. You have gained a new spellbook ability [Living Spellbook] which can be ritually summoned as a familiar. You have gained the spells [Dispel And Quell Magic] and [Paper Mill Production] in your spellbook. He glanced at them quickly. They were powerful versions of the skills he already had, now dispelling all magic in a 20-metre radius and the paper mill now creating up to a metric ton of paper with no cooldown. Still, there was a fight coming. He kept taking awakening stones. You have used [awakening stone of the magus]. You have gained a new magic essence ability [Tools Of The Magister]. Dave read the tooltip. ¡°I can use magic items and drive magic vehicles?¡± ¡°Useful,¡± said Hugh, ¡°but not here!¡± ¡°I was hoping for a force bolt. Give me the other one of the magus. Force bolt or eye beams, pray to Knowledge!¡± said Dave. Hugh did so and Dave immediately used it. You have used [awakening stone of the magus]. You have gained a new Magic ability [Aura Of The Magister]. ¡°I have an aura that makes mine and my allies'' equipment better?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s something!¡± said Hugh, who hefted a candle stick holder feeling it was heftier than usual. Or the blood loss had made him delusional. It was hard to tell. ¡°I¡¯ll try the rare stones. They sound neutral with respect to damage but maybe their rarity will help?¡± mumbled Dave, a little bit of pleading entering his voice as the sounds were getting louder outside. Hugh nodded encouragement. You have used [awakening stone of persistence]. You have gained a new Spellbook ability [Prestidigitations]. You have gained the prestidigitations [Evocation of Learned Spellbook], [Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas], [Magician¡¯s Meagre Magics], and [Pauper¡¯s Paper Production]. Dave quickly stopped time and read his abilities. Apparently, [Prestidigitations] were spells so minor that they had no cost and no incantation, just a gesture. Hence the name. Relief flooded his body as he reverted back to real time. ¡°I can record memories, summon my book, clean stuff, do little magic tricks and,¡± Dave paused triumphantly for effect, ¡°make a paper construction that I can carry.¡± Hugh just looked at him quizzically. In response, Dave made a lawn dart and tossed it on the desk for Hugh to inspect. It made a wooden thump. ¡°It¡¯s made of paper,¡± said Hugh in an unsure tone. ¡°Paper is just processed wood. Not as structurally sound, but just as dense. I know I wouldn¡¯t want this thrown at me,¡± said Dave. Hugh tested the thing in his hand. He didn¡¯t know if it was Dave¡¯s new aura, but the heft of it reminded Hugh that large books are very sturdy objects and the point of the dart, although brittle, was still a point. ¡°I agree,¡± said Hugh. ¡°Continue.¡± Dave used the next awakening stone on his mental list hoping that it too, would give something useful in the now. You have used [awakening stone of adventure]. You have gained a new Spellbook ability [Ritual Codex]. ¡°Umm, I can cast ritual magic from my book,¡± said Dave. ¡°Not as useful as I¡¯d hoped?¡± ¡°Not unless it comes with the ability to ignore reagents,¡± replied Hugh. ¡°We can draw a circle in this room with the chalk over there but without reagents all we¡¯ve got is free circles like essence and awakening stone rituals use,¡± Hugh said idly while going through some throwing motions with the lawn dart. Dave quickly checked the ability¡¯s details in his HUD. ¡°Umm, only spirit coins are free for me so long as I have it in my spellbook! And my spellbook counts as a circle!¡± said Dave giddily. ¡°Your spellbook?¡± ¡°Oh yeah.¡± Dave cast [Evocation of Learned Spellbook]. A spellbook sparkled into existence hovering in front of Dave at perfect reading height. Hugh¡¯s eyes widened but he accepted this new development. ¡°And does it have any power stacking rituals inside?¡± asked Hugh. In answer, the book flipped open and flicked through pages as though on an ethereal wind ending on a page of contents that was entitled ¡®The Rituals Of Dave Bauer¡¯. There were only two. ¡°Afraid not, but at least we¡¯ve got a sturdy friend. Right, Spellbook?¡± said Dave. Again the pages moved, this time revealing words. ¡°That¡¯s good. Moving onto - wait, hang on a sec,¡± said Dave. ¡°Spellbook, that list of contents, that has the ritual for essences, right? They¡¯re a basic ritual? Free?¡± displayed the book and flipped back to the page of contents. ¡°Hugh, we can make a magic circle,¡± said Dave, quietly but urgently. ¡°Spellbook can be a magic circle and you have three spare essence slots.¡± ¡°Oh, no,¡± said Hugh, his eyes wide. ¡°No, seriously. This works. I¡¯m certain that your current essence is one of knowledge, right? You can also load up on two more essences right now. It¡¯s our best shot at staying alive! Hugh just sat there looking like a deer who¡¯d found some headlights. ¡°Come on! Why aren¡¯t you loading up on essences?¡± insisted Dave quietly. The sounds from outside were those of people moving heavy objects within the chateau. ¡°I¡¯m a monk, they¡¯re not meant for me,¡± said Hugh, shocked. ¡°Not meant for you? You¡¯re the only bloody survivor and we¡¯re about to be killed. I¡¯d say you have a right!¡± hissed Dave. ¡°It¡¯s against the will of my Goddess!¡± ¡°She¡¯s a smart woman, she¡¯ll understand!¡± ¡°But I¡¯m saving myself for later!¡± ¡°Saving yourself for the bloody afterlife! What if I don¡¯t get any good spells? You¡¯ll be dead!¡± ¡°Knowledge will preserve us.¡± ¡°Yes, she has! By giving you a bucket full of essences!¡± Hugh didn¡¯t have an answer for that and seemed momentarily stumped. ¡°She¡­ is strangely silent on the matter,¡± said Hugh slowly. Dave took advantage and plucked up a life and an adept essence from the table. ¡°Take these in there. You¡¯ve dedicated your life to being an adept of knowledge, yeah? These suit you and you¡¯ll probably get a healing ability and a mystic confluence.¡± Hugh took the essences in hand looking like he was about to cry. Dave was already summoning a wad of paper into the lock of the door to prevent it being picked again. A loud crack outside of the main door being forced open and more cultists running inside made Hugh jump, then he scowled at the pain it caused him. ¡°Oh, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn. Fine!¡± he wailed, limping into the bathroom. ¡°Saving myself for years on research thinking I¡¯ll get gifted a dimension or astral essence and this is what I get?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll get you some nice awakening stones, buddy!¡± Dave called after him quietly. He dragged the dimensional jewellery box full of stones to the bathroom door, put his spellbook inside the door and quickly did the ritual for Hugh while they both touched the book which had opened to a page with a ritual circle on it. Dave chanted the words to activate the circle and Dave felt him use the essence. While Hugh absorbed his new powers, Dave turned back to his own heap of stones. He selected an awakening stone of the hand. You have used [awakening stone of the hand]. You have gained a new book essence ability [Telekinetic Scribe]. You have gained a new prestidigitation [Attack Of The Razor Quills]. Dave willed the tooltip to open and glanced over the details and grinned. Finally! An offensive ability. He could enchant up to five normal sized writing implements, or their equivalent for larger writing implements, to savagely attack a selected enemy so long as Dave concentrated on keeping up the attack. From the reading of the details, their scratches would only achieve superficial wounds but Dave figured that a bunch of sharp quills in the face of his enemy would be a good distraction leading to an easy drubbing. To Dave, this was also confirmation of a little hypothesis he¡¯d been building in his mind: Stone rarity, both essence and awakening, was a trap. Merely a way of classifying the frequency of powerful rocks. For an adventurer who wanted a complimentary skill set, not a list of random disconnected abilities, it was the theme that mattered. Although, he suspected, there would be exceptions. He thought about the dimension awakening stone Hugh had just mentioned, used [Stop And Think] and quickly looked it up. It commonly gave teleport abilities and, at higher ranks, dimension hopping. He figured that¡¯d be worth breaking from a theme for. But Dave didn¡¯t have any legendary stones capable of teleporting him away. What he did have some powerful rocks that fit his theme of a spreadsheet-making, QC manager-wizard and by G¡­ by Knowledge he was going to keep on going. He picked up his next awakening stone. He¡¯d read that with the magic essence it was common to get a sight-based ability and so cautiously tried an eye stone. You have used [awakening stone of the eye]. You have gained a new Knowledge ability [Magic Eye]. You have gained a new spell [The Clairvoyant Eye Of Transvection]. Dave checked the spell briefly and found it to be a spell that created an invisible magic sensor that was good for scouting. A good spell, but not the sight-ability he¡¯d hoped for. Hugh interrupted his musings over what awakening stone to select next with an audible sigh of relief emanating from the bathroom. ¡°You good, buddy?¡± ask Dave tentatively. ¡°Yes, I am,¡± he said, sounding stronger than Dave had ever heard him. ¡°I took the Life essence, I got a healing ability and I¡¯ve mended my wounds.¡± ¡°Great, you catch your breath and then take the next one,¡± said Dave, happy that the amiable monk was no longer in need of urgent medical care. The door handle to the office rattled at that moment and Dave froze. ¡°Eh? Who¡¯s there? Why¡¯s this locked?¡± came a voice from the other side. Another voice, indistinct in the distance answered him. There was a short pause. ¡°Can¡¯t! There¡¯s something in the keyhole!¡± shouted the voice. The distant voice shouted again. ¡°Okay, you get them!¡± shouted the voice back and then said in a sneering tone into the door, ¡°Hiding are ya? Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll get you out, little monk.¡± ¡°Right, that¡¯s your breath caught, yeah?¡± whispered Dave. ¡°Adept essence let¡¯s go!¡± said Hugh. Dave once again put his hand on the spellbook with Hugh and there was promptly a light shining out from the gaps around the door. Dave had already moved back to his own work at the awakening stones. He selected a vision stone, which also had a good chance to give a sight-based ability, or eye beams, but might also interact with his book essence and, from what he¡¯d read, give him the ability to take photographs. There are worse hobbies, thought Dave. He used the essence. You have used [awakening stone of vision]. You have gained a new Knowledge ability [Scry]. You have gained a new spell [The Stationary Scry Of Farseeing]. Dave checked them out. A quick skim proved the spell to be the ability to project your senses to a known location. A scouting or clairvoyant spell. Not what he wanted here and now but he was sure that if he lived, he¡¯d get some use out of that. He used his next stone while listening to the hacking laughter of the man outside and the noises of the monk inside the bathroom remembering to disrobe before taking his confluence essence. Dave idly noticed that he¡¯d never re-robed himself. There were more important things but he quickly jumped into his pants anyway. Hugh briefly bellowed something about a confluence essence before another light shone from under the door to the en suite. Dave used Stop And Think to tactically pause time and quickly flick back and forth through his books, Dave then picked up, opened and addressed his spellbook. ¡°Do you access your knowledge through me?¡± asked Dave. The spellbook flipped a page. was written on the page. ¡°And you¡¯ll remember anything I read and anything I write into you?¡± asked Dave. was the response on another flipped page. ¡°And thus, you have access to my HUD and all the information therein?¡± asked Dave. showed the spellbook on yet another page. ¡°And if I gain another knowledge ability, you¡¯ll be connected to that, too?¡± displayed Spellbook on another page. ¡°And if I want to write my own spells, I¡¯d better actually take an awakening stone that is all about putting ink on paper, huh?¡± concluded Dave. displayed Spellbook ¡°Alright, artistry? Calligraphy is artistic. Hell with it, artistry definitely goes with books anyway. Okay, here goes, Spellbook!¡± said Dave in rising panic and used the artistry stone. You have used [awakening stone of artistry]. You have gained a new Book essence ability [Artist¡¯s Instant Image]. You have gained a new spell [Maestro¡¯s Instant Image Of Many Forms]. You have gained a new prestidigitation [Scribbler¡¯s Instant Image]. Dave checked; the prestidigitation was just a smaller, less convincing version of the spell and the spell printed convincing, life-like images into the world. Stop And Think gave him enough time to read that it functioned like an illusion spell. displayed his book in an encouraging manner. As Dave selected his next awakening stone he could hear Hugh was getting over his purging. ¡°This has got to be it. Another awakening stone of preparation? Prepared spells? It¡¯s thematic too,¡± said Dave. He was rushing in his nervousness. He really needed a powerful spell to stop the man knocking and jeering from the door who was bringing friends to kill him but it just wasn¡¯t coming. He was getting some great utility spells but they were impossible to appreciate right now. displayed the book. You have used an [awakening stone of preparation]. You have gained a new spellbook essence ability [Transcribe Spell]. Holding his breath, Dave willed the tooltip to show. You can discover and record magic spells into your spellbook through study. You can transcribe low level spells on scrolls for later use. Dave let out a breath, it was a good ability and maybe the cultists would take a long time to get the door down? displayed Spellbook. ¡°Thanks, Spellbook,¡± Said Dave, visibly sagging under the pressure. ¡°Still, best to make haste.¡± ¡°I wish I¡¯d thought of that. Anyway, how about this for an offensive option? An awakening stone of delivery. That¡¯s close to deliverance. Sounds biblical, eh?¡± said Dave. displayed Spellbook. You have used [awakening stone of delivery]. You have gained a new Book essence ability [Mail of the Magister]. You have gained a new spell [Mail By Appointed Rounds]. You have gained a new prestidigitation [Swift Message Of The Mind]. Dave checked them. Both were distance messaging abilities. The first would deliver entire letters via a moving dimensional space and the second, a, at this level, thirty-five word, one way, line of sight, radio ability. ¡°Aww, come on. Postal service?¡± wailed Dave. displayed Spellbook. ¡°Thanks Spellbook,¡± said Dave. Browsing his available awakening stones, he found a memory stone and used it, figuring nervously that if delivery still went with a paper themed interpretation, he may as well stick to his theme guns. The concept of memory was likely to go well with the magic, knowledge and book theme very well. You have used [awakening stone of memory]. You have gained a new knowledge essence ability [Library Of The Mind]. Dave read the tooltips. The new ability looked like a perfect memory recall ability and he immediately used it while thinking about the entrance of the room where the man outside was knocking and taunting. Dave¡¯s senses were immediately taken back to his own point-of-view as he ascended the stairs to this room. displayed Spellbook. ¡°I want to be an alive detective! But yes,¡± snapped Dave. ¡°Are you arguing with your spellbook?¡± Hugh somehow asked while trying to turn his mouth inside out as he came out of the ensuite bathroom, fully clothed. displayed Spellbook as its pages fluttered and it turned towards Hugh. ¡°Huh, I suppose he is,¡± said Hugh with a dumbfounded acceptance. There was the sound of heavy kicking against the door as the promised cultists finally arrived. Dave and Hugh both abandoned everything and rushed to put their shoulders to the door. The cultists on the other side were jeering unintelligibly and one was pushing a sword blade through the gap between the door and the wall like a vision of what would happen next to their bodies. The gap between the door and the wall, thought Dave and had an idea. Dave dashed to a chair, pushed it over to the door, looked between the top of the door and doorway to the outside staircase roof he¡¯d just been below with Library Of The Mind. He could see a thin strip of the staircase roof and the tops of assorted weapons waving as their users kicked the door as hard as they could and then, he summoned a dense, solid sphere of paper into existence into that thin strip of staircase roof he could see above their heads. There was a sickening, wet crunch mixed with a simultaneous, floor-shuddering bang and the sound of screams. Then, the sound of screams continued along with the sound of a tonne of paper rolling down the spiral stairs to the tower bottom, crushing the people who were in the way. ¡°We have to follow it. They¡¯ll recover and come back,¡± Dave, white faced and feeling actually feeling sick now that he had an acceptance of this new reality and the killing he had to do. ¡°What the Knowledge did you do?¡± asked a shocked Hugh. ¡°I can summon up to a metric tonne of paper. So, I made a ball of solid paper and dropped it on their heads,¡± said Dave. Hugh nodded and gestured for a weapon. Dave gave him the axe and took an arming sword for himself. Dave tried to unlock the door. He couldn¡¯t and remembered that he¡¯d stuffed a wad of paper in the locking mechanism. He used Magician¡¯s Meagre Magics to burn the paper and blew into the lock to clear it. Then sheepishly, unlocked the door with shaking hands. The door slid open with difficulty as it pushed the corpse of the woman who had been foremost kicking the door. Dave¡¯s HUD displayed her as having lootable items so he bent down and touched the body to retrieve them. ¡°You¡¯re dead,¡± wheezed a familiar voice next to them. It belonged to the first man who had been jeering the whole time. He looked like he had a broken arm and leg. ¡°You¡¯re all going to die. The Builder - ¡° Dave closed his eyes and stabbed him in the neck as he was speaking. He felt sick about it but it was that kind of situation. Without opening his eyes, Dave touched the body just in case there was loot, mentally accepted, turned away and went down the stairs. There were two more broken bodies on the stairs. They weren¡¯t moving and Dave could tell by the way his HUD marked them as lootable that they were both already crushed to death. As he got to the bottom of the stairs, Dave noticed the spherical summoned-paper boulder left a trail of cracked wood, blood and was buried in the wall opposite the stairs. ¡°Oh, shit,¡± said Dave and activated [Stop and Think]. There were also two injured cultists in the same room who had been quietly nursing their injuries. A human man, who looked roughed up but otherwise fine and an elvish woman who clearly had a leg injury. Both had weapons within reach but Dave took his time to think and decided his best bet was to rush them. He unpaused and did so. Dave rushed forward but the man was fast enough to get his hand axe up in time to block. Dave used his forward momentum, letting go of his sword and taking hold of the man¡¯s axe-holding hand. Dave arm-dragged the man forward and down then turned sharply so the man tripped over the back of Dave¡¯s outstretched left leg. Dave would have been speared by the woman¡¯s short sword in that moment if not for Spellbook dropping in a controlled dive into the woman¡¯s leg, causing her to drop and scream. His heart in his throat, Dave scrambled to stay on top of the man while also controlling his axe-arm. ¡°Kill her!¡± shouted Dave as Hugh arrived in the room. He could hear the woman recovering behind him and could practically feel his back prickling as he waited to feel a sword stab through him. Hugh hefted the lawn dart and pegged it right over Dave¡¯s shoulder. There was a wet gurgling sound. In that small amount of time, the man Dave was wrestling had started to pull a knife from his belt with his left hand. He didn¡¯t get it out all the way before Dave grabbed his left wrist but the man was managing to use part of the exposed blade to cut into Dave¡¯s leg before Hugh turned around and hit the prone man in the shin with his axe. The pain distracted the man enough for Dave to pry the knife from the man¡¯s fingers and use it to stab him in the neck. Dave looted all the bodies in the area. There was a scrambling noise from the next room and Hugh was the first to dash over and look in. ¡°They ran off,¡± said the monk with relief. ¡°Presumably to get reinforcements,¡± muttered Dave. ¡°We could follow them and find out?¡± mused Hugh. ¡°And follow them into their friends? No. Just hang on,¡± said Dave, remembering something, ¡°I¡¯ve got a sensory projection spell. A couple actually. I just need to see the spot and we can hear our enemy¡¯s plans.¡± ¡°They¡¯re probably heading to the main gate,¡± said Hugh. ¡°Yeah, I figured,¡± said Dave. ¡°Nice throw, by the way.¡± They ascended the stairs again, past the bodies and looked from the study¡¯s window down onto the gate, about two hundred metres distant across the vineyard. ¡°Arise, an eye of transvection for my clairvoyance,¡± incanted Dave and his sense of self was instantly transported to eye-level at the gate where he¡¯d been concentrating. He was an invisible, single eye and could move at will in any dimension. There were seven cultists in their colourful robes, armed with spear and shield, clearly preventing anybody non-cultist from exiting the monastery. The woman who¡¯d run away from Hugh sprinted into view of the cultist gate wardens. ¡°What is it?¡± barked one of the guards when she got close enough. The woman bowed her head, breathing heavily. ¡°Damien is dead. They have an iron ranker and he summoned a boulder onto the stairs,¡± the woman babbled. ¡°Everyone¡¯s dead, I only just got away.¡± ¡°Well, don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn him!¡± crowed the guard. Dave moved the magic eye to the side of the conversation to see both speakers and saw it was a woman with a hard, craggy face and she held her spear with practised confidence. She gestured at the runner. ¡°You. Get back down the road quickly and tell our reinforcements to doubletime because that stupid noble Damien and his brother wanted the glory of The Builder all to themselves. Tell Greg that the rest of us will be at the entrances and exits like we¡¯re supposed to be.¡± ¡°Yes, leader,¡± said the woman and ran off. Dave stayed a couple of more minutes with the eye and left when the cultists started small talk amongst themselves. Dave came back from his spell¡¯s-eye-view to a pensive-looking Hugh and a Spellbook, closed comfortably in his lap. ¡°Well?¡± asked Hugh? ¡°Well, we¡¯ve got a little time. They¡¯re just going to guard the outside and prevent anybody from leaving until their reinforcements arrive. Apparently, that was supposed to be their plan from the start.¡± Hugh allowed himself to collapse into a chair with relief. ¡°We stink,¡± chuckled Hugh after a few moments. ¡°We do!¡± exclaimed Dave, and began shaking with laughter in his own chair. They allowed the relief of surviving for the moment to wash over them as they laughed. ¡°You still need a way out,¡± said Hugh, coming down from his mirth. ¡°So do you,¡± said Dave, following Hugh into a serious tone. ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t tell you because,¡± Hugh gestured wildly at the dead bodies and the staircase. ¡°Anyway, my mystic confluence gave me,¡± Hugh cleared his throat and quoted, ¡°one with the elements: you can take on an air, earth, fire or water form. Each gives no special abilities except the inherent properties of the element and the ability to walk through and exist in that element.¡± ¡°Cool, so you can just¡­ jump down the well, or something?¡± Dave asked speculatively. ¡°I was thinking about walking out on the air? So, I¡¯m good,¡± said Hugh. ¡°Yeah, sure. So, I¡¯ll just¡­¡± Dave¡¯s voice trailed off pathetically. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m going to stay as long as I can, you¡¯ve saved my life,¡± insisted Hugh. ¡°Good of you,¡± said Dave. ¡°Why don¡¯t you take the most promising-looking awakening stones and finish off your power set?¡± suggested Hugh with a smile. ¡°Maybe something will come up?¡± ¡°So long as you practise with your new abilities. At least one of us will make it out of here to tell your church,¡± said Dave. Hugh agreed and began experimenting. Dave walked over to the dimensional jewellery box, sat down and reassessed the stones in them again. He asked Spellbook to display information about whatever stone he was holding and Spellbook responded by becoming the table of contents of a book called ¡®The Adventurer¡¯s Advanced Guide To Awakening Stones¡¯ written and edited by several authors who all belonged to the Magic Society. After a measured use of [Stop And Think], he selected a lantern awakening stone which was highly likely to interact with his magic essence to give him an astral lantern familiar. They could reveal hidden enemies, make ranged attacks with disruptive force energy, intercept magical projectiles and be subsumed into the caster giving the caster the ability to see hidden enemies and make those force bolts with their eyes. It sounded good, so Dave used the stone. You have used [awakening stone of the lantern]. You have gained a new magic essence ability [Astral Lantern]. Pleased, Dave went into his UI and looked up the details. Just as advertised. He looked up to check on Hugh who was in the process of seeing if his earth form could pass through walls. It couldn¡¯t, so Hugh moved on to testing if it could punch real hard. Dave went back to his stone selection. There was a navigation stone. Spellbook displayed the page and it caught Dave¡¯s eye. It was commonly taken by sailors and explorers in combinations with water and earth essences but was noted as, ¡®generally giving abilities that aid in the process of determining one¡¯s true position or location, in the planning or in the following of a route.¡¯ Dave realised that right now, he needed a way out and besides, navigation themed well with paper and knowledge. You have used [awakening stone of navigation]. You have gained a new book essence ability [Find Page]. Dave, half disheartened but still curious, looked at the tooltip: Find all documents related to a search of the user¡¯s choice in the area. Figuring that it wouldn¡¯t hurt to try, he activated the ability, very low mana, and found a blinking, vertical bar at the bottom of his HUD, clearly waiting for a search term to be typed in. ¡°Secret tunnel?¡± said Dave hopefully. A moment later, a blue marker appeared at the Abbot¡¯s desk on his minimap. Dave jumped over to the desk, went through the drawers one-by-one until he got to a folder labelled ¡®property taxes¡¯ and excitedly extracted the blue-highlighted document scattering the rest of the paper in the folder on the floor. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± said Hugh, leaving some marks in the floor as he stepped towards Dave before turning off fire form. ¡°I have a way out!¡± exclaimed Dave. ¡°How?¡± repeated Hugh, but in a higher register. ¡°There¡¯s a secret tunnel in the wine cellar! I got a new find page ability and I thought it was crap but then I figured what the hell and I searched for ¡®secret tunnel¡¯ and I got this!¡± said Dave rapidly, happily displaying the building plans and pointing at the tunnel. ¡°How do you open it?¡± asked Hugh, looking carefully at the details. ¡°I¡¯ll use my Epistemology ability on it?¡± guessed Dave. ¡°Let¡¯s go find out,¡± said Hugh. They put all the valuable items into Dave¡¯s dimensional inventory space and practically ran to the wine cellar. Along the way Hugh selected a few of the better wines to put into Dave¡¯s inventory. ¡°Okay, it should be behind this part of the wall,¡± said Hugh, biting his lip and looking between the map and the wall. It was a dank space between a large keg and the wall. Dave shrugged, activated his ability and mentally wrote Mechanism, into the flashing text area. A tooltip appeared next to the wall that read, ¡®lift the barrel¡¯. The indicated barrel was lying on its side on a stand. Dave grasped the barrel by the front and heaved upwards. The back of the stand moved with the lifted barrel until there was a click and the secret door swung inwards. ¡°YES!¡± shouted Hugh. ¡°OH, THANK HEAVENS!¡± shouted Dave. Grinning at each other, Dave and Hugh slapped each other¡¯s shoulders and laughed. Even Spellbook deigned to take to the air once more and flap a ¡®congratulations¡¯ into being on its pages. ¡°Right,¡± said Dave, still giddy. ¡°Let¡¯s loot everything, get some food, some water, spirit coins and run for it.¡± Hugh nodded. Dave took the time to use his last awakening stone. After a bit of research with Spellbook, he decided that an eye stone was the best decision. An iron awakening stone would likely interact with his magic essence to give him magic armour but he wanted to heed the advice in the adventurer¡¯s guide and make one last try at a sight ability. If this worked as he hoped, he¡¯d get the ability to see magic. You have used [awakening stone of the eye]. You have gained a new magic essence ability [Eldritch Eyes]. Dave let a long breath out and relaxed. Things were finally falling into place. After looting the house, Hugh came back with a full pack and a face that suggested something was on his mind. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± asked Dave. ¡°I¡¯m not going with you,¡± said Hugh. Dave stayed silent but raised his eyebrows in invitation for Hugh to say more. ¡°We have to split up. They know we¡¯re in here and they know it¡¯s two of us and remember what that cultist over there said?¡± Hugh gestured through the house towards the study. ¡°They''re here looking for you,¡± said Hugh grimly. ¡°And, if they come in here and don¡¯t find a trace of you or me?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll tear the place apart,¡± said Dave, catching on. ¡°And maybe, find the secret passage,¡± said Hugh, finishing the thought. ¡°Shit,¡± said Dave, but he nodded his head thoughtfully. ¡°So, I was thinking, you can make an image, right? I remember you dictating that out as you got the ability, yes? I¡¯ll wind-walk off, over the river and the orchid with your image, right? They¡¯ll see me and fake-you air walking in the direction of the nearest town, then they come in here and aren¡¯t surprised that nobody¡¯s around. I can survive on spirit coins for a couple of days while I air walk to that town. You¡¯ll be safe, I¡¯ll be safe and I can alert the Adventure Society to put a high priority job on the cultists,¡± said Hugh. Dave was nodding his head and rubbing his chin the whole time. The plan made sense so long as it was done right. And Hugh was right to fear for Dave¡¯s life. Despite the extra power of his spell slots, he only had two left and no large battle-spells to cast. If attacked in numbers, Dave would definitely lose. Creating a situation where his enemies wouldn¡¯t look for him was ideal and Hugh would almost certainly be safe. Flying abilities were quite rare at iron rank and any that didn¡¯t have an exorbitant mana cost, like Hugh¡¯s, would also come with restrictions as harsh as Hugh¡¯s who couldn¡¯t do anything that wind couldn¡¯t. ¡°Just make sure that you stay well out of weapons and ability range. As soon as they notice you, get even higher. Just in case, yeah?¡± said Dave, holding out his hand. ¡°I will,¡± said Hugh, shaking Dave¡¯s offered hand in a firm grip. ¡°You don¡¯t want to use any awakening stones before you go?¡± asked Dave, already knowing the answer. ¡°No, my goddess tells me she has a feeling about that,¡± said Hugh with a smile. ¡°She also says that there¡¯s a guide outside that you could be really good friends with. She knows it. Hand her this letter and she¡¯ll know it was Knowledge who sent you.¡± Dave believed this. After all, a goddess of knowledge ought to know. It was their job to know. Hence the name. He took the proffered letter. ¡°I¡¯ll look for them. Thanks!¡± Dave made an illusion of himself, at Hugh¡¯s guidance, which trailed him and looked like a semi-transparent wind-version of Dave. They said their goodbyes in the poorly lit cellar and Hugh shut Dave in the secret tunnel. Then, Dave walked away from the only person he¡¯d met in this world who hadn¡¯t tried to kill him, feeling very alone.
¡°Yeah? Okay then,¡± said Dave, his eyes scanning quickly over his character sheet and then his notes. ¡°Lord Winchester will use the horn of blasting.¡± ¡°Roll for initiative,¡± said Florian. ¡°Roll for avalanche,¡± countered Dave. Marc blinked. ¡°Wait, avalanche?¡± ¡°Why?¡± groaned Krista. ¡°This¡¯ll be good,¡± grinned Vash, leaning forward. ¡°Oh yeah,¡± said Florian, his golden retriever grin spreading as he rolled. A seventeen. His brow furrowed as he flipped through a chart. ¡°Huh.¡± ¡°Why¡¯d you do that?¡± asked Krista, disgruntled. Her halfling cleric wasn¡¯t a fast runner. ¡°Skip to the end, Krista,¡± said Vash, rolling his eyes. ¡°Dave, how is this not death by frost giant?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s already dead,¡± said Dave, tapping his notes. ¡°NPCs shouting triggered avalanches. Any noise in these mountains can trigger one on a roll of fifteen or below. I checked earlier¡ªfresh snow on that slope. A horn of blasting? Guaranteed.¡± ¡°But we¡¯re in the area too,¡± Krista pointed out. ¡°Not for long.¡± Dave gestured at the map. ¡°Vash has featherfall. We jump off the cliff.¡± Marc frowned. ¡°The frost giant¡¯s immune to ice damage, though.¡± ¡°No problem!¡± chimed in Vash, grinning. ¡°Avalanches do bludgeoning damage. Remember?¡± He would. His dragonborn sorcerer had barely survived one. ¡°Still,¡± Marc pressed. ¡°It has a ton of health.¡± ¡°Not a health problem,¡± Dave shrugged, ¡°Either suffocation under the snow or fall damage when it gets swept off the cliff.¡± Florian glanced between the rulebook and his notes, sighing with a mix of pride and exasperation. ¡°Seventeen minus eight... yeah, avalanche was inevitable. You all jump off the cliff with Lord Winchester? One frost giant jarl worth of experience?¡± ¡°But no loot,¡± muttered Krista, shooting Dave a glare. ¡°Vash has detect magic,¡± said Dave smugly. ¡°We can find it.¡± ¡°We jump off the cliff,¡± confirmed Marc, perking up. ¡°Get me that magic axe!¡± Chapter 4: A Local Guide
Current Quests
None: You should probably get some quests.
Dave immediately felt a little dumb. The secret tunnel was, as tunnels tend to be, very dark and Dave had brought no light. There were magical lamps affixed to the walls just outside. It was so obvious in retrospect you were supposed to take one inside. In resignation Dave lit the fingers of his right hand for a few candles worth of light. As soon as the door had closed he received notifications about his completed escape quest and did a double take at his quest box. A purple item? Dave opened his text box and skipped the text until the bit that had caught his attention. ¡­and 1 [omen essence] has been added to your inventory. The hyperlink text for the essence was purple. An epic item! It was actually, a really good essence. ¡°Oh, yeah. Now you give me the super rare cool stuff!¡± grumbled Dave sarcastically into the darkness. A new quest hung in the air before him and he accepted it. Local Guide: Find the local guide outside of the monastery and be guided to safety. Well, that was his new friend. The safe person. He figured he could use his HUD navigation to avoid getting turned around in the secret tunnel and find his way to the guide. From the look he¡¯d gotten before the door closed, the tunnel was a descending staircase of stone carved out of the natural rock of the mountains. So, one hand on the wall for balance, the other alight with small candle flames on the fingers, he descended slowly. When he got to the bottom of the stairs Dave found himself in a cave with a stream running through it. He put his hand in the stream to feel the flow and walked in the same direction. His HUD was pointing that his quest objective was mostly behind him now and wasn¡¯t much use for navigating a cave. He suspected there was a lot more water in the cave during spring melts but it only flowed gently for now so Dave followed, only tripping a few times along the way to the exit. Crouching to exit the cave, Dave emerged into the verdant, green forest that surrounded the mountainous chateau-monastery. It truly was a beautiful place to be and he took a moment to take in a great breath of fresh air before beginning a gruelling walk and climb up a steep slope towards his local guide objective. Dave was feeling a little trepidation about going back towards the place where all the murder-happy cultists were but the quest system seemed designed to be helpful. He figured that the guide must not be an ally of the cult, merely someone who was doing some paid guiding. The cultists probably lied on their forms when filling out why they wanted to come here or something like that. This suspicion proved true when he crept over a rise, saw a walking trail and saw his HUD indicator pointing down the trail away from the chateau and figured that he¡¯d find a hidden place to wait since the guide, in order to do their job, would be coming this way. He was waiting about ten minutes, if his HUD clock was correct, before he saw a woman with sensible hiking clothes leading a platoon of cultists, in not-sensible cultist garb, at a trot. Dave selected the woman in his HUD and confirmed that she was his guide. She was a fit woman, Dave guessed in her 20¡¯s, with the auric tint to her skin that suggested a south-east Asian heritage. He noticed that her race was listed as ¡®Runic¡¯ on the tool tip and guessed that might be why the skin on her face and hands that he could see appeared to be tattooed with symbols. The only thing incongruous about her was the wide smile that seemed to be the default position her face settled into, even though right now, it seemed a little strained. ¡°Is fine! We almost arrive, ka!¡± Dave heard her call to the group through her smile from his distant vantage point. Dave also saw the woman who had fled the chateau and been sent to get the reinforcements. Presumably this platoon were them. Dave zoomed his minimap all the way out, waited until they turned a corner, he couldn¡¯t hear them anymore and followed along the trail. He almost lost them a couple of times on false trails but quickly got back on track with the help of his minimap navigation. The trail went on for another five minutes which was relatively relaxing compared to the climb up. Dave, however, was tense and alert with adrenaline. He felt his heart beating in his chest as he snuck up on his quest objective and took to the bushes to remain unseen at the last bend and the chateau gate came in sight. ¡°Okay, everyone inside, ka? I go now!¡± said the local guide. She was clearly nervous and practically hopping from foot-to-foot. From what Dave could see, the cultists had arrived, dropped their gear on the ground, grouped up, and gone inside with only two left outside to guard the gate and guide. ¡°You¡¯re going?¡± asked a burly woman cultist with a mocking smirk on her face. ¡°Yes!¡± said the guide, her smile faltering for the first time as her other guard, a heavy jawed man, came up behind her. ¡°Can¡¯t let you do that,¡± said the man, grabbing her shoulders. ¡°We were told to kill her if she did anything,¡± said the woman as she drew a heavy cudgel and advanced. The arm holding the cudgel glowed with an essence ability. The terrified guide ignored the man¡¯s arm around her neck and his hand holding her arm. She reached over her head with her hand, put it right over his face and spoke in what must be her native language. Beetles incorporated around her hand in an enormous swarm and began crawling all over the man¡¯s skin, inside his clothes, across his eyes, in his ears, nose and, as he opened his mouth to yell, they rushed in there too. He spat hard and started shaking his head violently, momentarily clearing himself of loose beetles but they swarmed to cover his head once more. As the woman with the cudgel stopped in momentary distraction, Dave used the noise the man was making as cover for his own spell. ¡°Milled for my purpose!¡± intoned Dave, focusing on a point about a metre over the woman¡¯s head and on the densest bit of paper imaginable. What looked like an enormous, concrete block dropped directly onto the woman¡¯s head, with a wet crunch and the corpse immediately tumbled down under the weight of what looked like a hundred kilograms of high quality paper brick. Dave threw five metal pens Hugh had given him earlier in the air and flicked his hand towards his target as he ran towards the scuffle. The man was shaking the guide roughly enough to hurt her while he had already used an essence power to cover his hand in flame and was batting away the beetles around his face. The metal nibbed pens flew at the man like birds and stabbed into the flesh of his side. The man shouted in pain and, seeing Dave running at him, shoved the guide away and made a break for the chateau, running past his dead comrade. This proved fatal. As he ran past the body, the guide he¡¯d been shaking pointed at the corpse and said something in her own tongue that sounded savage and the corpse exploded with such wet force that the man was lifted off his feet and tumbled across the ground for a couple of metres. His clothes were so shredded and covered in gore that it was impossible to tell if the bones sticking out were his or his ex-companions. Even so, Dave ran over and stuck a sword in his neck, just to make sure. It felt¡­ weird. Like popping a thick rubber sack with a knife. Dave shuddered. ¡°Who are you?¡± said the guide, springing to her feet with a guarded look and drawing a sickle. Now that Dave could see her up close he could see she had big dark eyes and was quite pretty but her face was frightened and streaked with tears. Her beetle swarm had returned to her and was swarming harmlessly over and around her like a protective coat. ¡°Hello! I¡¯m Dave. I came to talk to you. I need a guide away from here. Can you help me?¡± said Dave, covering all the major conversational points efficiently. ¡°Ugh¡­ yes?¡± said the guide in a most unsure way. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. They¡¯re trying to kill me too. A monk of Knowledge from inside gave me this letter to prove my words. What¡¯s your name?¡± said Dave, stowing his sword, putting the letter on the summoned brick and stepping back politely. She might not appreciate being approached right now. ¡°Oh!? Um¡­ Samorn. Sam!¡± said Sam as she took the letter from the brick, unfolded it and started to read with one eye on Dave. Relief started to make its way across her entire person as she read. ¡°Nice to meet you, Sam,¡± said Dave. ¡°I think we¡¯re going to be friends. Can you help me tip these bricks and bodies into the gorge and then we run away?¡± After some shoving, Sam led Dave back down the trail. He was very grateful that the quest reward for meeting Sam was a good pair of boots; Boots Of Forestry. They made moving in forested terrain take less stamina and made your own tracks difficult to track. He even had a new quest! [The Safety Of Walls] basically he had to reach a town that had walls with Sam. They moved swiftly at first but slowed down as Sam led Dave off trail and into some forest with heavy underbrush. ¡°Are you sure we should go off trail? Isn¡¯t that dangerous?¡± asked Dave. ¡°No, no. I¡¯ve lived here three years as ranger. Is fine.¡± she smiled. They chatted as they walked. Dave told her his story about waking up in a new world and being immediately attacked by cultists. She laughed and he did his best to prove he was an outworlder by way of displaying his outworlder abilities and speaking English, an unknown language on this planet. ¡°What about you?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Where¡¯d you get that corpse explosion ability? It was amazing!¡± He was chuckling until he saw the look on her face. Sam¡¯s smile had fallen and she looked at the ground. ¡°I have a life essence and a balance essence,¡± she said in a small voice and stopped talking. Sensing that he¡¯d said something wrong, Dave changed the subject. ¡°Actually, where are we going?¡± asked Dave. Sam explained their destination, which was an area that was hard to get to but they¡¯d find dry firewood and be able to sleep safely. They got to talking about her life. She grew up in Funan which Dave had to look up on his UI map. He found the map very curious. This planet was like a sibling of Earth. He was currently in what he thought of as eastern France but here it was part of a mediterranean-wide domain called the Byzasian Empire. It covered what Dave knew as most of south-western Europe including both sides of the Mediterranean Sea. Or, rather, the Mediterranean straight. Notably, the Arabian peninsula didn¡¯t exist in this world so Africa was a truly separate continent which meant that the Byzasian Empire was split by the sea. Funan appeared to consist of southern Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, northern Indonesia and the Philippines all merged together into one land mass except for the Philippines whose southern islands protruded, unmerged, into the ocean. This was very interesting to Dave and he chatted with Sam about her home country. The way she explained it, Funan was an old country that had historically split apart and come back together as certain rulers become more or less warlike but in the current times, she told him that one of their cities on the cape of Funan called Batam had become a world trade exchange and the local rulers knew that war would drive out trade and so tended to gang up on and push out any other ruler who threatened their incoming wealth with the instability of conflict.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°So, what brings a Funan woman like you into a ranger job in the middle of north Byzasian Empire?¡± Asked Dave, with a wry smile. ¡°It¡¯s quite the distance!¡± ¡°Ahh, I used to work for nature society but I didn¡¯t like them so I left,¡± said Sam with a nervous smile. He was coming to understand that while she would almost always smile, she had different smiles. ¡°Bad boss?¡± Dave asked. ¡°Yes!¡± she grinned. They bantered lightly for the next hour, making each other laugh as they travelled over some mountainous terrain until they made the area to make camp. It was a hollow that was shielded from the wind but would get morning sun. It would, unfortunately, be very cold at night. They walked, making conversation the whole day. Dave fascinated her with perfectly ordinary things, to his mind, from his reality. She found the concept of non-magical aeroplanes ludicrous and couldn¡¯t stop laughing at the idea of flying metal boats. Eventually, they reached the hollow she¡¯d spoken of. It was exactly as she described and Dave began setting up a tent under her direction. Sam herself set about making a fire in a well-used firepit next to a natural rock wall. ¡°Won¡¯t the cultists see the smoke?¡± asked Dave after a while. ¡°No, too much wind,¡± laughed Sam while stacking the wood. ¡°Well, what can I do to help once this tent is up?¡± ¡°Can you make a pillow?¡± Dave finished setting up the tent and sat down with Spellbook. ¡°I should give you a better name,¡± said Dave idly. In response, Spellbook opened to an index of great professors of magic. ¡°They¡¯re all professors.¡± noted Dave. displayed Spellbook. ¡°Would you like to be a professor?¡± asked Dave. ¡°You¡¯re a tome of magic.¡± ¡°Professor Tome it is then,¡± chuckled Dave softly. displayed Professor Tome. ¡°Sounds like destiny. Professor, can you show me a book that lists essence stones and their known abilities?¡± asked Dave, fishing out an unbloodied pen. Dave studied essence abilities and idly experimented with paper pillows. Over the next hour he found that a large envelope made of cotton paper, stuffed with shredded paper was not quite comfortable unless stuffed to bursting and even then, only marginally so. Sam laughed as she put her head down too quickly and burst the envelope. Dave made a bigger envelope and put the whole thing inside, grinning back at her laughing face. ¡°Slowly this time!¡± he chucked while she tried the pillow again. At dinner time, Dave pulled out a loaf of bread, a block of cheese, cured sausage and a bottle of wine. All looted from the chateau-monastery. Sam, who had been pulling hardtack from her pack, grinned. ¡°I like outworlders!¡± she exclaimed. ¡°Ah! So you believe me now that wine is involved?¡± Sam laughed and nodded. Dinner was good and the fire was warm as they settled down, Dave felt a need to settle the air about something that¡¯d been bothering him. ¡°Sam, you know you¡¯re saving my life, right? I¡¯d never make it out of these mountains without you,¡± said Dave. ¡°It¡¯s fine!¡± said Sam. ¡°You saved my life too.¡± ¡°From one cultist, yes. The other cultist would have got the others after us much sooner if you didn¡¯t violently explode the first and that¡¯s great because they¡¯re specifically trying to kill me,¡± said Dave and continued to tell Sam about his entire day since he¡¯d arrived in this world and the ruse with Hugh. ¡°So, right now. You¡¯re the second person I¡¯ve met who isn¡¯t trying to kill me, my quest system, which is supposed to help me survive, is pointing at you and Hugh said that Knowledge herself thinks we¡¯ll be good friends. I don¡¯t know what that letter said but it¡¯s probably good. So, I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯re the only reason I¡¯m alive and that I¡¯m your friend.¡± Sam hadn¡¯t lost her smile but shrank down shyly. Dave continued on. ¡°Now, please, hear me out before you do or say anything, okay?¡± said Dave with a calming gesture. ¡°But, Professor Tome can be any publicly available book and I did some reading in Magic Society publications about essence abilities and I looked up balance abilities gained from people with balance and life essences. There¡¯s nothing like a corpse explosion ever recorded.¡± Sam looked scared but Dave figured there was no way back and kept talking. ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re pretending that one of your essences is balance when it¡¯s clearly not but,¡± Dave shrugged, ¡°the only reason I care is because I want to know what I should say when I get to town and anybody asks about you when we get out of this mess. So, what do you want me to say to them?¡± Sam looked at the fire for a long moment but clearly wasn¡¯t seeing it. ¡°I am the only person keeping you alive so you have to keep me alive!¡± Sam demanded. ¡°Absolutely, I promise,¡± said Dave, offering his pinky. Sam burst out some laughter at the childish gesture and shook his pinky finger with hers. ¡°I have a bad essence,¡± she said. ¡°Like sin or blood?¡± offered Dave, ¡°I figured something like that but it¡¯s nothing to be ashamed of. I read about that Church of Purity theory and it sounds like propaganda. Is there actually any data suggesting that personalities are affected by essenc-¡± ¡°I have a death essence!¡± Sam burst out. Dave froze. Sam also froze. Dave used [Stop And Think], hoping that Sam wouldn¡¯t notice. He double checked everything about the death essence and confirmed that it was on the restricted list and the reason why was because due to ¡®the changes and behaviour it inspires in the person who uses it¡¯. He unpaused time. ¡°Well¡­¡± said Dave, still lost for words ¡°You just used your thinking ability!¡± accused Sam. ¡°Uhh, yes! I did and it¡¯s because this subject is important to you and deserves thinking about,¡± said Dave quickly. Her eyes did not lose any accusation despite his wonderful save. ¡°And, I think that an evil person would have joined the cultists today, not tried to get away from them,¡± said Dave. ¡°Also, you haven¡¯t tried to kill me yet, which is positive, and you didn¡¯t run away and leave me lost in the woods. Also, you smile and laugh a lot which evil people typically don¡¯t do.¡± Dave was babbling but he felt like it was going somewhere. Press on, he figured. ¡°So, my guess is that you¡¯re a good person who had a bad idea before I met them. So, I wonder, how did you even end up with it? You¡¯re all smiles as a person so how¡¯d it happen?¡± asked Dave, hoping that he¡¯d get past her defensiveness. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t feel happy! I¡¯m evil!¡± Sam said miserably. ¡°Well, now you¡¯re just a politician on truth potions,¡± quipped Dave. Sam laughed, snorted and covered her mouth looking embarrassed. Dave grinned. ¡°Look, Sam. I think we can help each other. You¡¯re a woman who doesn¡¯t want people to know her essences. I¡¯m a man in this world who doesn¡¯t want a secret cult to know he exists. Seems like we¡¯re two peas in a pod. Work together?¡± Sam nodded and her perpetual grin returned as relief spread across her face. ¡°Maybe! We can try! The cult is really trying to kill you?¡± ¡°Yep! Your situation is weirder. People have studied essences, confirmed that they have no inherent effect on behaviour¡­ except for death essences? Makes no sense!¡± ¡°Death is bad!¡± asserted Sam. ¡°Isn¡¯t there a god of death?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°And that god is bad?¡± ¡°No!¡± ¡°How does that work?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± They both laughed. ¡°We still have half a bottle of wine. Let¡¯s empty it and you can tell me about how you got tricked into taking an essence that you shouldn¡¯t,¡± announced Dave. Sam rolled her eyes. ¡°Oh, by gods, it¡¯s because I was the dumbest teenager!¡± began Sam. ¡°Who isn¡¯t when they¡¯re a teenager? But even now, I wish I¡¯d taken a death essence rather than kissed Holly Tanover,¡± grumbled Dave. Sam threw a pebble at him but she laughed. She told him her backstory. As it all started coming out of her and Dave was able to build a picture. Basically, her family of farmers got pretty screwed over and impoverished by the local ruler and Sam got radicalised by a group calling themselves the ¡®Essence for Everyone¡¯ movement. Who believed that the ruling class of the world intentionally monopolised essences to hold power over the people of the world by way of the Adventure Society whose real agenda was not to protect people from monsters, but to keep people away from looting monsters. They believed that essences should be distributed to everyone and worked in secret to get some essences for themselves. Sam joined the group and travelled with them to their European base when they had already gotten a few essences. Their leader, Alani Laird, had made a fighting force of peasants armed with simple spears and clubs and led them into a low magic zone where they were, one day, lucky enough to find an essence. Their first essence was an Iron essence which Alani took and the iron armour it summoned to her body became their symbol of defiance to the world. The group collected more and more essences over the four years before Sam joined. When she joined, they had five full iron rankers and a dozen users of one or two essences and their only goal was to collect more. To a young Sam, these people had all the answers. Her family had suffered because, like everywhere else in the world, the ruling class in Funan had essences and her family didn¡¯t. Essences should be for everybody because if everyone had essence powers, they¡¯d be able to fight back against the people who hurt them. Essences were the solution to all of their problems! Alani believed that the adventure society existed to enforce the rules of the ruling class and so did teenage Sam. The Adventure Society were part of the elite and couldn¡¯t be trusted. Essences were for everybody. And, Alani proved it by taking trap and blood essences to go with her iron essence. A sacrifice confluence essence. A restricted essence. For, what could speak more nobly about their cause than the willingness to sacrifice for freedom from the ruling class and their adventure society? Sam, believing this with her heart and soul, took life and death essences, representing her connection to the cycle of life and that Sam would be the instrument of death that brought new life to the working people of the world when she got her balance essence, which Alani had promised for later. But, as it turned out, what Alani really thought was that herself being in charge of the Essence for Everyone movement was actually the most noble thing. As they grew in power people who voiced dissent began going missing, Alani became hard to contact by longtime friends and other Essence For Everyone founders, she was surrounded by flunkies and the people in the movement began to suffer as their efforts shifted from communal support to training strike forces to take from neighbouring rulers. No more lively discussion around campfires and dreams of a free tomorrow. Just Alani and her fight for ¡®the people¡¯ but which people they were fighting for, nobody could seem to point to anymore. So, Sam left. She¡¯d been sent into central Byzasian Empire to kill a noble so that his wife, who was sympathetic to their cause, could finance Alani¡¯s training projects but when Sam¡¯s ship berthed in what Dave thought of as Italy, she just disappeared. Drifting around, never going where a higher ranker might be for fear of being noticed as a death essence user and eventually, working as a ranger in Chamois forest. She had a cabin here which the previous ranger had built. Only they and she knew where it was. That¡¯s where she was going and she invited Dave to stay there too while they avoided cultists which he gratefully accepted. Dave listened the whole time. Sam had clearly been needing to talk about this with someone and it was like watching weights come off her shoulders as she talked. Eventually, she stopped. Dave was quiet for a while before he responded. ¡°Hey, that¡¯s pretty awful what happened. You didn¡¯t deserve it,¡± said Dave awkwardly. ¡°Thank you for listening.¡± ¡°It was a story worth hearing. Heroes, villains, travel. Had the lot. But, when it comes down to it, I think Knowledge was right,¡± Dave nodded. ¡°Both you and I have a lot of hiding to do and ranking up is the only solution to our problems.¡± ¡°Yes, but what can I do now?¡± asked Sam. ¡°I don¡¯t know yet but I think continuing not being evil is a good start. For what¡¯s next, that¡¯s a problem for outworlder day two,¡± said Dave cheekily. Sam grinned. ¡°Then I will go to sleep,¡± she said. ¡°Please have all my problems solved when I wake up!¡±
¡®Essence is the soul of power. It flows from the being of all people. It is our potential manifest. No longer should it be something granted only to those who hold themselves above us. We, the people, have the right to shape our destiny with the same force that the ruling classes use to maintain their stranglehold on this world. Essence is for all. It is the birthright of the commoner, the farmer, the craftsman, the soldier, and the future for your children. To deny any being the right to become essence and to awaken that essence is to deny them their very life.¡¯
  • Excerpt from pamphlet, ESSENCE FOR EVERYONE: A CALL TO THE PEOPLE. Unknown author. 2678th year of His Majesty Byzas The Great¡¯s reign.
Chapter 5: Don鈥檛 Be Evil
Current Quests
The Safety Of Walls: Reach a walled town with Samorn Khantong.
When they woke up, Dave, in fact, hadn¡¯t solved many problems at all so he made ham and cheese sandwiches as an apology which they could eat while walking and Sam walked off for a bit to - ¡°I need to take the traps down,¡± said Sam. ¡°Traps?¡± ¡°Yes! I set them up while you were studying!¡± she said brightly. ¡°Oh! Erm, I didn¡¯t even notice. Thank you for not letting me walk into a spike pit, I guess.¡± She attempted an evil look but only managed to look mischievous and then broke into a wide smile. ¡°Is fine! They only make loud noises to give us a warning.¡± Once again, Dave was reminded that he was in a hostile world and this wasn¡¯t a typical camping trip. The fire at the entrance of their little hollow was no guarantee of keeping threats away. It had been a cold night and they¡¯d slept side-by-side to stay warm under an improvised blanket of mostly spare cultist robes. They¡¯d lit a second fire and slept between both to maximise the warmth. Sam had warned that they¡¯d be covered in ash but Dave had a utility, comfort prestidigitation, [Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas], which he got for free with his living spellbook ability. It was a good magic cleaning and refreshing effect that they¡¯d tested last night and used seriously now.
Prestidigitation: Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas
Cost: Low mana Cooldown: none
Description A creature or object in the area will shed anything from it that sullies, dirties, makes impure or the like. Also your clothing will lose rumples, look and feel fresh. This effect takes one minute to complete. If the object is larger than a human, the effect can be applied to a human-sized area of it every minute.
Detailed Information
While Dave and Sam broke camp, Dave used Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas on himself first, just in case there were any unexplored side effects, which there weren¡¯t, and then on Sam, who stretched and smiled broadly as the soot and grime on her body, sleep-sand in her eyes and the unpleasant moisture in her boots all just fell away. ¡°It¡¯s good, hey?¡± said Dave. ¡°Yes!¡± said Sam with an open mouthed smile. As they picked their way across the mountainous terrain away from the hollow, Dave felt a certain sense of blankness about himself so he checked his HUD for alerts and when his eyes fell upon his available spell slots he remembered. ¡°Oh damn! I don¡¯t have any spells to memorise,¡± said Dave, letting out an exasperated, forlorn breath. ¡°Oh yeah! You told me. You pick a few spells and then you only cast those?¡± asked Sam. ¡°Yeah but I¡¯m supposed to research new ones and write them into Tome,¡± said Dave, indicating the spellbook that was balanced precariously on his shoulder and was using its flight ability to stay perched there. ¡°The ones I have right now are just the default spells I got with my awakening stones.¡± ¡°I only remember the falling brick one!¡± said Sam Dave laughed and grinned. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s The Papyral Conception of Pulp and Press. It just lets me make paper where I like. Up to a tonne and in any continuous shape that I can think of.¡± ¡°It¡¯s very powerful!¡± Sam called over her shoulder while they made their way through the mountainous terrain. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll slot in four of them for now. It doesn¡¯t matter since my default spells can always be substituted for what I memorise,¡± Dave muttered as he memorised four Pulp and Press spells and then had a brainwave. ¡°Hey, Tome. What are some hours-long fight spells that last multiple fights?¡± The book fluttered open in front of him but the mountainous terrain constantly going up and down made it difficult for the book¡¯s clumsy flight to stay level. ¡°Summons? Cool. They sound versatile. Since my spells get a time boost and a power boost with extra effects on top, my summons should be more powerful than most with cool abilities.¡± Dave nodded to himself, ¡°I¡¯ll look it up with you once we¡¯re on a trail and you can fly without fear.¡± flashed the book quickly before resuming its perch on Dave¡¯s shoulder. Sam grinned back at him. In the mountainous terrain, you were either using your hands to help pull yourself up or holding onto something so that you didn¡¯t fall down. The constant need to look at your footing and hand holds made even a floating book impossible to read. A new thought occurred to Dave. ¡°Hey, Sam? Why don¡¯t you have a full essence set?¡± asked Dave. ¡°I have bad essence! You forgot already?¡± said Sam sharply. ¡°Well, yeah, but now that I¡¯m thinking about it, aren''t there quite a few confluence essences from life and death that aren¡¯t evil?¡± asked Dave. Before she could answer, he had his spellbook open to a page in the adventurer¡¯s guide book, used Stop And Think and double-checked his knowledge. ¡°Yeah, I just looked it up. Sure there¡¯s a whole bunch that give the undeath confluence but master, mystic, eclipse and animate are also options. None of them are anywhere near restricted. Sam gave a strained smile over her shoulder. ¡°Might be evil,¡± she said. ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± said Dave with a furrowed brow, ¡°I did a lot of reading after you went to sleep and the evidence that essences affect your personality is very faulty. It¡¯s clearly possible to get abilities that are evil, the sacrifice essence does that a lot, but death essences seem to just use death as a source of power. I think in the past that¡¯s made a lot of death essence users kill people for power so it ended up on the restricted list. It doesn¡¯t look like there¡¯s anything inherently wrong with it, just that it attracts nutcases who start killing people. Besides, if essences changed your personality, why is it only the evil ones? Why not find really talented criminals and start shoving life, purity and renewal essences into them? It makes no sense. I¡¯ve only skimmed it but I think that while essences bond to you, they aren¡¯t actually you. Besides, you¡¯re just too darn nice.¡± Sam laughed self consciously. ¡°People will change their mind when they see death essence,¡± she said matter-of-factly. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s take that as true for now,¡± said Dave. ¡°Death essence is the bad essence? Sure. But you already have it and you can¡¯t remove it and the only danger is that any further essences you take will be tainted by it, right?¡± Sam nodded, keeping up with the logic. ¡°But that can¡¯t be true because if it was, then the order that essences are taken in would matter. Would it be different if you took life, balance and death essence in that order? The laws don¡¯t think so. So, It doesn¡¯t seem likely that the death essence is uniquely corrupting of other essences. It¡¯s only considered bad because of the way it works, which is to draw power from the concept of death. Once you¡¯ve already taken it, though, it doesn¡¯t matter if you complete the set because if the bad thing has already been done, you can¡¯t undo it.¡± ¡°This doesn¡¯t make me feel better!¡± wailed Sam. ¡°Sorry!¡± said Dave brightly, ¡°but it¡¯s true! If you¡¯ve done something bad, it¡¯s already happened. A bit like falling over and getting a scar. You can dwell on it for the rest of your life but why would you? Move forward and keep learning. I think you should complete the set and live the best life you can. Besides, apparently gods can remove essences? So, if you get powerful enough, maybe you can ask a god to remove it? But, you¡¯ll only get that power if you¡¯re ranking up as an essence user. Alternatively, everyone is wrong about the death essence and the only way you can prove that is also by ranking up as an essence user. Again it comes back to pretty much every problem for both of us in this world is solved by ranking up. So, slaying monsters is our best move no matter what, yeah?¡± Sam stopped, turned around and furrowed her brow, looking at Dave in sudden thought and then brightened. ¡°Yeah!¡± said Sam and she smiled. Dave was happy to see her walk lighter and laugh louder with this new thought in her head. Quest or no quest, he was enjoying his time in the woods with Sam. She was naturally a talkative person and seemed to enjoy absurdity. ¡°Anyway, Sam. You think aeroplanes are funny. Does this world have trains?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Powered by steam?¡± ¡°What? No! Crazy.¡± ¡°Let me tell you.¡± They soon exited the mountainous part of the terrain and were walking along a flat path in the woods. Dave had finished explaining steam engines to Sam and pulled out Tome to review his spells. They were¡­ wordy so he wrote his own summarised version.
Maestro¡¯s Instant Image Of Manifested Illusions
Illusion spell. Manifests pigments into reality. Will stay if manifested on correct medium. Visual quality varies with size and dimensions.
Dispel And Quell Magic
Removes magic. Target area (about 5m radius) or target creature/object. Area effect = handful of seconds. Single target = dozens of seconds or minutes.
The Stationary Scry Of Farseeing
Send your senses to a known location/creature/object. Target may resist. Much trouble seeing/hearing locations/creatures/objects you¡¯ve not personally witnessed.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
Mail By Appointed Rounds
Properly address a letter and post it from anywhere. Moves at heidel speed.
The Papyral Conception of Pulp and Press
Make about a tonne of continuous paper. Is real and won¡¯t sublime.
The Clairvoyant Eye Of Transvection
Make invisible, magic eyes and ears at location you can see. Fly it around at will.
Looking over these, Dave figured that his best bet for a summon would be to make a large amount of paper and animate it into a pseudo-intellect using magic derived from the moving pictures in Maestro¡¯s Instant Image Of Manifested Illusions and the animated eye in Clairvoyant Eye Of Transvection. Lost in chatting with Sam and speculating with his Tome, the day passed quickly until mid afternoon when Sam suddenly turned around, half-pushed Dave into some bushes and shushed him. ¡°Something¡¯s coming!¡± she hissed. Five cultists were tromping along the trail, heads down, watching the way ahead. One of them had a handful of colourful rocks, one of which they placed on a false trail which they didn¡¯t use. Another was using a large knife to mark trees, indicating their passage. ¡°...see why Raph¡¯s group gets all the good bread,¡± said one. ¡°For the last time, Meike, it¡¯s because Raph is a boot licker. Just focus on the search,¡± said another in a strained voice.
Quest: Hunt Cultists
Description Kill all cultists in the area searching for the local guide. 0/10. Reward: [Wand Of Mage Bolt]. Accept? [Yes]/[No].
Detailed Information
Suddenly, one of the cultists sniffed the air strongly and looked around. Dave acted instantly. ¡°Milled for my purpose,¡± he said, casting his paper summoning spell through a precious spell slot. A wall of layered, corrugated cardboard now surrounded the five cultists that extended above their heads. ¡°Summon your bugs!¡± shouted Dave as he drew an arming sword, accepted the new quest and ran at the encircling wall. The cultists were initially stupefied but from the sounds inside, were split between climbing the wall and kicking it down. Dave climbed up on a large rock to see the top of the wall and saw hands and a head appear. Dave flicked his fingers towards the climbing cultist. Five iron-nibbed quills flew out of his pocket and shot at the climbing cultist like bolts, burying themselves into the cultist¡¯s arms and face. The cultist screamed and fell back. ¡°Sam, get high and bug them if they climb!¡± shouted Dave, seeing a glance of Sam as he ran towards the paper wall. She was not smiling but her face was focused and she carried her sickle, heading towards a tree with low branches. Dave ran around the construction, listening for the thumps of the cultists¡¯ escape attempts. He cursed himself for not making parts of the wall see-through so that he could harass them with his quills, which had been his plan. Many spells and abilities were line-of-sight based but Dave forgot that about his quills. Fortunately, these cultists seemed to be mostly a mixture of normals and single essence users but no iron rankers. ¡°Forget going up, then! Hack at this wall with me. You lot, keep the bugs off!¡± came the voice that had mollified Meike earlier. There was the sound of hacking against the wall. Dave guessed hand axes or machetes were being used against it. Having a brain-wave, Dave pressed his own sword tip into the cardboard and made a small hole. There was a woman with an ornate, summoned battleaxe, likely from an axe essence. She snarled at Dave and kept swinging. He mentally commanded his quills to attack her. The next moment she shouted in pain and left the aperture. Four of his quills returned to the sky but the fifth had either been damaged beyond repair or captured. A crack, swiftly followed by a shout of pain, came from within the walls. Upon hearing that they¡¯d abandoned climbing. ¡°The bitch has got a sling!¡± shouted a voice. Sam had climbed a tree opposite to their chopping efforts and, Dave guessed, was using a sling to hurl rocks. ¡°Damn it, outta the way, Miles use your nose and point at where the man is, you three focus on the woman,¡± growled the mollifier, followed by a frenzied hacking at the wall. The wall was cut through very easily with the axe but the hole had to be widened if the mollifier was going to fit through. Dave stood just outside in a tense standoff, waiting for someone to get close enough to stab them with his long, tapered sword. The mollifier, seeing this, smiled evilly and kept chopping, keeping her arms well back. ¡°Good trick, but we¡¯re going to kill you.¡± she grinned. ¡°Dave!? You should drop on them,¡± shouted Sam, implying that he should just drop a tonne of paper on their heads. It¡¯d work but there were five more cultists after this that Sam didn¡¯t know about and quests typically got harder as they went, not easier. ¡°No, keep chipping at them! It¡¯ll all be over when one dies!¡± he shouted back, staring straight at the mollifier but knew that Sam would understand he wanted her to use her corpse explosion ability. He jumped and craned his neck to get a look at Sam over the top of the walls. She was using the tree trunk as cover since three of the cultists inside were throwing rocks back at her. She was using the beetle swam to disrupt their sight while she aimed at whoever didn¡¯t have rocks. The stand off continued, those inside weathering distressing beetles, slung rocks, and aggressive quills. Everyone inside was bloodied but no cultists had gone down. The hole was getting bigger with Dave and Mollifier playing a game of cat and mouse; Mollifier swinging rapidly but carefully and Dave searching for an opportunity to stab her arms. She grinned at him, knowing it was only a matter of time. The stand off continued for a few more seconds as the hole went from the size of the dinner plate at chest height to the size of a large platter. Dave was anticipating they¡¯d be able to push through any second when there was a good crack indicating rock against skin and the sniffer, Miles, stumbled sideways towards the hole and cursed. Dave lunged forward, sticking his arm in and took Miles in the neck with the tip of his sword. Roaring, the Mollifier quickly flicked her axe out of the cardboard and across Dave¡¯s arm as he rushed to withdraw his exposed limb. The blade of the axe drew across the outside of his arm from just above his elbow and halfway to his wrist. Dave yelped in pain, dropped his sword and lost concentration on his quills. ¡°I got one!¡± shouted Dave, staggering away from the hole. Now that Dave wasn¡¯t a threat, Mollifier had quickly cut straight down and was pulling and folding open the cardboard below the hole. ¡°I¡¯m coming!¡± Sam shouted back, scrambling to come to Dave. Dave figured that she couldn¡¯t see the body and he¡¯d have to buy time until she could. ¡°Jas, Eisa! Go, go! Get through the hole, Jas,¡± shouted Mollifier, gesturing at two of her subordinates who were throwing stones and pushed one at the hole who began squeezing their body through the sliced partition. Thinking quickly, Dave summoned a handful of loosely connected shredded paper into his good hand which he threw into the face of Jas as she was only halfway through. She raised her machete and winced defensively as the cloud of paper came at her face and Dave darted in to control her wrist and brace his shoulder against Jas. ¡°He¡¯s got my arm. Push me!¡± shouted Jas, which was immediately followed up by a vastly increased pressure as Dave tried to hold back a scrum, pushing Jas, tearing more cardboard as she slipped further and further out. ¡°Now, Sam! It¡¯s got to be now!¡± shouted Dave in a strained voice. His legs burned from pushing back so much that he momentarily forgot about his injured right arm. Suddenly, a wet explosion was felt through the walls and the voices inside stopped. Jas stumbled slightly and winced in pain. Then, beetles started landing on her face and swarming over her. Her free hand on the other side of the wall started scrabbling and pushing against the wall to get her body back inside but as she did so, Jas suddenly let out a shrill scream and went limp. ¡°Hey, Dave?¡± sang out Sam¡¯s voice from inside the wall. ¡°Can you use your cleaning spell on me?¡± ¡°Sure thing. Just let me use some healing unguent,¡± said Dave, inspecting his arm wound. It hadn¡¯t hit any arteries but was long and deep. ¡°Sure,¡± said Sam, who pulled Jas¡¯ corpse out of the way and pushed awkwardly through the hole. Her shoes were completely soaked in gore and she smelled of raw flesh. As soon as he could focus again, he concentrated on his Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas prestidigitation and started cleaning Sam off. Eventually he remembered his quills which he flicked his fingers at to fly back to him, and then retrieved his long, tapered sword. ¡°HEY!¡± shouted a voice coming up the trail. ¡°Oh, shit! Get inside¡± said Dave hurriedly, his eyes flicking towards his quest counter. Which had silently changed to five out of ten during the battle. He looked up the trail and saw three cultists coming. One with a bow and arrow, one who was activating an ability that changed their skin texture to look like a hardwood tree and one who was holding a dagger in each hand with three more daggers floating close to their body. The bow and arrow wielder stopped and drew a nocked arrow while the other two charged forward. Sam dived back inside the cardboard walls while Dave dodged the long arrow shot and followed her. Then, he activated Stop And Think. If they ran, the arrow guy would get them but if they could lure them into the walls¡­Dave returned to real time. ¡°Sam, put your beetles into the air and prevent their archer from aiming. We need to get all three into here,¡± hissed Dave. She did as she was asked and soon, the archer was jumping down from a tree, coughing and swinging his arms around. Then, the one with a tree form, Dave guessed a plant essence user, rushed the slit-entrance with shoulder charge and busted in, Dave retreated to the back of the rectangular, paper walls and didn¡¯t even have to feign fear when all three advanced inside while he kept them at bay with the tip of his sword flicking nervously from one cultist to another. ¡°Poor, Jas. Looks like you trapped her but now, we¡¯ve trapped you,¡± gloated the knife essence user. ¡°Yes, well. She was Milled For My Purpose,¡± said Dave disguising his incantation as he conjured a three sided container. Dave envisioned three sides of a box; a barrier between him and Sam, a barrier between the cultists and the opening the axe wielder had chopped and a roof to keep them in and all in the middle of this three-sided conjuration, twirling off from the inside and filling the middle was almost a tonne of long, curly, shredded paper bits. He didn¡¯t summon it high because he didn¡¯t want to have to look up to give them time to move. It just appeared directly above their heads and fell. The walls landed hard but the shredded paper merely was uncomfortable and restricted the cultists¡¯ movement, pushing them down with the sheer press of paper around their limbs. The cultists were shouting at each other about their situation and didn¡¯t notice Dave reached his hand between a gap in the walls and used Magician¡¯s Meagre Magics to light a small candle flame on each of his finger tips. The fire quickly caught and soon, Dave¡¯s quest counter ticked up to 8/10. He continued cleaning Sam, who was blocking her ears while humming, and then himself off while the cultists died noisily even though his stomach didn¡¯t feel quite right. ¡°Two more to go,¡± said Dave. ¡°Two more?¡± asked Sam. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s on my quest,¡± said Dave. They¡¯ll probably come because of the smoke,¡± said Sam pointing at the smoke from the rising flames. ¡°Well, I have another plan.¡± said Dave with a smile that was half grimace. Three minutes later, a huge cultist carrying an oversized weapon and one with glowing eyes came jogging into view. They saw Jas standing perfectly still on the trail and ran towards her. As soon as she saw them she threw her hands up and shouted in a horse voice, ¡°Don¡¯t move! Runes on ground!¡± The two stopped moving. ¡°Jas, what¡¯s going on?¡± asked the huge one over the sound of Jas coughing. ¡°Magic runes on the ground. They find you if you move. Just stay still!¡± Jas insisted and kept coughing. The one with the glowing eyes pointed behind Jas at the burning cardboard ruin. ¡°What¡¯s tha-¡± Half a tonne of paper brick slab absolutely crushed the heads of both cultists. Dave stood up from his vantage point halfway up the slope and began picking his way down to Sam who was watching his Maestro¡¯s Instant Image Of Manifested Illusions spell dissolve away from her skin and clothes, removing her disguise as the dead cultist, Jas. Dave eyed his chat box. You have completed the quest: [Hunt Cultists]. You have gained, [Wand Of Mage Bolt]. [Wand Of Mage Bolt] has been added to your inventory. Dave clicked on the wand and then clicked on [Mage Bolt] in the description.
Mage Bolt
Mage bolt is a low power attack of pure magic energy. Upon impact it will transform into all types of physical and elemental damage.
Dave retrieved it from his inventory, used Pauper¡¯s Paper Production to make a serviceable holder for it on his belt next to his sword, looted the bodies and followed Sam into the wilderness towards her cabin.
¡®High and mighty? Is that what they call me? I dare say I am. This world has social and political attitudes that were outdated in my world a thousand years ago. Which¡­ how do I even explain it? Things don¡¯t change here. Let¡¯s say it converts to about ten gold-ranked rulers ago. Imagine a place that¡¯s had gold-ranked ten rulers in succession¡ªhow much it would change from the first to the tenth. That¡¯s the kind of ideological gap between your world and mine. On a good day. I¡¯ve thought about this lethargic progress for a long time, and I¡¯m convinced it all stems from a lack of philosophy¡ªthat¡¯s the intellectual art of thinking. Even in my world, dictators find it inconvenient but here? It¡¯s barely been born. Oh sure, there are books. Tucked away at the back of libraries, ignored and gathering dust. But to call it an intellectual field? Laughable. How could it thrive in a world like this? Thoughtcrime isn¡¯t just possible here¡ªit¡¯s the norm. What freedom does anyone have to think honest thoughts when a silver ranker can crush their will with a glare? When a gold ranker can sense the faintest dissatisfaction with their totalitarian rule from the next street over? The people here have shaped themselves to survive, learned to find happiness in grovelling, because being anything else is a death sentence. And the ranked think this is humanity¡¯s natural state. It¡¯s sick. Take my old friend Sam. Everyone in this world would¡¯ve killed her without a second thought and pat themselves on the back for it. Why? Because of a correlation-causation error¡ªa common mistake in my world too. Happens all the time. But there, you can call people out on it. Here? It leads to atrocities. I saw a gold ranker backhand someone¡¯s head off because they¡¯d just moved to town and monsters attacked soon after. How do you tell someone like that they¡¯re wrong? You can¡¯t. So yeah, I¡¯m fine with being called high and mighty because I¡¯m living in a world full of uncivilized barbarians. Next question.¡¯
  • Excerpt from The Booker Interviews, 2686th year of His Majesty Byzas The Great¡¯s reign.
Chapter 6: A Balanced Adventurer
Current Quests
The Safety Of Walls: Reach a walled town with Samorn Khantong.
Sam and Dave didn¡¯t have much chance to talk for the rest of the day. To avoid further battles with cultists Sam led them on a trek through some extremely dense terrain and across several streams, in case they had scent trackers. Sam was very, very grateful for Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas, which, as a function of the ¡®feel fresh¡¯ part of the prestidigitation description, dried wet clothes back to dry, fresh comfort. They did encounter a few minor monsters along the way but Sam frightened them off with her beetle swarm familiar. What Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas couldn¡¯t help with was the bumps, scrapes, bruises acquired along the way. Even Sam¡¯s perpetual smile was waning when they finally came upon her cabin, tucked away between two hills, a stream not far away and an outhouse. It would, unfortunately, not get the morning or afternoon sun. Stumbling inside, Sam peeled off her pack and sat down on the bed. Dave took a flask of water, some ham and half a loaf of good bread, looted from the cultists. She smiled and nodded thanks. ¡°Firewood around the back?¡± asked Dave wearily. ¡°Ka,¡± murmured Sam, sipping water. Dave potted around for a while with the firewood, made shredded paper to get the fire started, got a pail of fresh water from the stream and Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas cleaned off Sam and then himself. By the time he was finished, Sam was boiling water for tea over a growing fire and handed the ham and bread to Dave. ¡°Oh, thanks. Tea smells good,¡± said Dave with a smile. He ripped the bread in half and stuffed the ham in to make a sandwich. ¡°It¡¯s cha tra mue tea from home,¡± Sam smiled back. ¡°I guess you can¡¯t go back because there¡¯s a good chance that someone will notice your essences if you take public transit?¡± asked Dave. Sam nodded with what could only be described as a sad smile. ¡°Isn¡¯t there a magic way to¡­ hide magic?¡± asked Dave hesitantly. ¡°Maybe,¡± said Sam with a shrug, ¡°higher ranks can mask their aura so maybe.¡± ¡°Well, it sounds like that¡¯s another spell I need to learn. Anyway, tomorrow you should probably use this,¡± said Dave, holding up the balance essence he¡¯d taken from the monastery-chateau. ¡°Waa! No, I can¡¯t. It¡¯s too expensive. Is yours!¡± insisted Sam, laughing. ¡°No, I¡¯m serious,¡± said Dave, holding it out. ¡°I¡¯ve been looking things up on my HUD, reading as best I can from my book and replayed a few memories with my mind library ability. When we met, you claimed to have a balance essence and the group you joined as a teenager were kind of naturalists and they also offered you the balance essence and¡­ well¡­ the balance of life and death. I¡¯m guessing that was your philosophy, right? The circle of life. It¡¯s not an evil idea, I''m sure! It makes sense, actually. There¡¯s even a god for it! As I said, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re not evil and anyway, even if the essence is all evil the only way to take it out is by a god or some really heavy astral magic, like I said before.¡± Dave continued on. He¡¯d really been thinking about this. ¡°I really think we should just team up and do it. I need to secretly rank up so that an evil, end-the-world cult doesn¡¯t kill me, you need to rank up secretly to make sure you won¡¯t go mad and evil. The only other option is to live in the forest forever and hope. So, take the essence, let¡¯s figure out your awakening stones and we¡¯ll start tomorrow. No, wait! The day after tomorrow. We deserve a rest. Then we can go to town,¡± finished Dave with a wry grin and pushed the essence at Sam. Sam hesitated. Dave hesitated at her hesitation. ¡°Unless I¡¯m completely wrong and you wanted a different kind of essence entirely. I think I have a magic essence? Feast? Light? Or we could quest for something else?¡± said Dave, scrolling through his inventory in his HUD. ¡°No! Balance is good,¡± laughed Sam as she gave in and took the essence. ¡°Excellent!¡± said Dave with a grin of relief. ¡°We can quest together and extract money from monster bodies. Free loot, yeah?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± exclaimed Sam, beaming and collapsed into giggles. ¡°Actually, I wouldn¡¯t say yes if you weren¡¯t a looter.¡± Dave tried to look affronted but failed. ¡°Yeah, it seems like a pretty necessary ability to go independant,¡± he conceded. At that moment, An icon of Sam appeared below Dave¡¯s icon. Complete with a health, stamina and mana bar. He checked his chat box. Samorn Khanthong has become your follower. He checked his configuration settings. There was now a follower menu with HUD settings. Dave noticed that Sam was no longer a neutral white dot on his minimap, she was blue. Dave kept this to himself for now. It didn¡¯t seem like the time. The kettle whistled and Sam poured the boiling water into a teapot and left it to steep. At the same time, Dave activated his spellbook, which floated onto the table and opened to a page displaying information about the animate confluence essence, which is what Sam would get with balance added to life and death. ¡°Well, let¡¯s discuss abilities. May I use my knowledge ability on you and look up your abilities?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Alright! Wait, you can do that?¡± asked Sam. ¡°Tome, display my ability; Epistemology. Oh, and let her flip through the tooltips of all of my abilities if she likes. With your permission?¡± asked Dave, raising his hand. Sam, already reading Professor Tome nodded her permission. Dave selected Sam in his HUD, activated Epistemology, entered the search term ¡®essence abilities¡¯ and started reading.
Ability: Biogenesis
Essence: Life Rank: Iron 7. 87% to iron 8 Awakening Stone: None
Type: Familiar Cost: Very high mana Cooldown: None
Description Produce a swarm of life energy that flits and swarms around you as protection in the form of beetles. The beetles follow your commands. You have an empathic sense from them, can be protected by them, healed by them and have them swarm to disrupt and confuse an enemy. Each one counts as a single target for healing effects. If the swarm is not at full count, healthy beetles will perform mitosis until it is. You may absorb the beetles into your skin to increase your rate of health regeneration.
Detailed Information
Dave was wondering about those beetles. He realised that Sam¡¯s swollen eye from their first meeting had already gone away. He¡¯d thought that perhaps she just didn¡¯t bruise easily but this made more sense. Her beetles were a defensive familiar, not an offensive swarm. He read on.
Ability: Corpse Explosion
Essence: Death Rank: Iron 3. 34% to iron 4 Awakening Stone: None
Type: Spell Cost: High mana Cooldown: None
Description A target corpse explodes with piercing damage and resonating force over a radius proportional to the creature. The damage is equal to the maximum health the corpse once had. This damage is treated as a physical attack and as such, is reduced by distance, armour and damage reduction effects.
Detailed Information
Dave immediately recognised this one as a mob-clearing ability. Whatever was dead, this ability would probably kill or seriously injure another of the same type in the area. He really liked it as an ability. Sam was still browsing his abilities so Dave poured the tea from the teapot into cups. ¡°Thank you,¡± said Sam absently, taking the tea, ¡°your abilities are very¡­ useful?¡± ¡°Esoteric?¡± supplied Dave. ¡°Yeah!¡± said Sam, laughing. ¡°Hard to remember?¡± grinned Dave. ¡°No wonder you always drop bricks!¡± said Sam through continuous laughter. ¡°It¡¯s my only good damage ability!¡± protested Dave. ¡°Is fine! Is many bricks,¡± said Sam in teasing conciliation. ¡°Well, we¡¯ve looked at each other¡¯s abilities,¡± said Dave, moving the conversation along, ¡°I think you know as well as I do that your abilities are incomplete. Corpse explosion is powerful but needs a monster to die first and biogenesis is really good defensively but still leaves you with no good way to get a corpse. I think you just need more awakening stones. What¡¯s your assessment of my abilities?¡± Sam took a moment to flash her unsure smile, unaccustomed to Dave¡¯s brusque evaluation but then tilted her head, thinking about his abilities. ¡°Umm, good. But very¡­ how to say? Always thinking?¡± said Sam hesitantly. ¡°I know what you mean. Good for knowing things, planning things and finding things. But, no good at all for actually doing anything!¡± said Dave, rolling his eyes. ¡°Yes!¡± said Sam, nodding her head and giggling. ¡°Well, that confirms my plan.¡± said Dave, taking his spellbook back, opening to a blank page and he began writing a to-do list. ¡°I need a combat spell that¡¯ll last all day. A summon, most likely. A spell to hide your essences. What else?¡± ¡°Umm, watch dog spell!¡± said Sam. ¡°So we can sleep without finding a cave!¡± ¡°Yeah, that must have slowed us down getting here?¡± said Dave, writing it down as Sam nodded. ¡°Hey! How about a summon horse spell? Or something we could ride? Two birds with one stone?¡± ¡°What¡¯s a horse?¡± asked Sam. ¡°Oh, large animal. Often used for riding, pulling carts and for farmwork?¡± said Dave, gesturing a bit with his arms. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s heidel,¡± said Sam. displayed Professor Tome and Dave held his page as Tome flicked to an illustrated page of A Stableman¡¯s Guide To Heidels. ¡°The hell? Two heads?¡± Is that normal?¡± said Dave in surprise. Sam nodded. ¡°Well, okay. Yes, how about a summoned heidel? They can probably kick our enemies real hard. An almost bronze rank heidel summon? I can work on that.¡± said Dave. Sam smiled. Dave figured that meant ¡®yes¡¯. ¡°Thanks, Professor. Actually, Sam, I should ask. Do you have any awakening stones you¡¯ve been saving for yourself?¡± said Dave. ¡°No,¡± said Sam. Dave started taking out awakening stones but Sam protested. ¡°No, I can¡¯t! It¡¯s too expensive!¡± said Sam aghast. ¡°If it helps, these aren¡¯t gifts. I have a looting ability, remember? If I make you into a strong teammate then I¡¯ll get more loot more quickly, so no more protesting, Sam. Besides, as we¡¯ve established, I¡¯d have died in this forest without you so these are yours as much as mine,¡± insisted Dave. ¡°I¡¯m sure you would make it,¡± said Sam. ¡°Just walk away from the rising sun each day.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good way for people like me to get lost in the forest and you know it,¡± said Dave with a grin and an eye roll. Sam covered her mouth and nodded. He changed tack to get her thinking about the idea from a non-expenses angle. ¡°Do you know anything about awakening stone selection?¡± ¡°Not really,¡± said Sam. ¡°Rare ones are good but common ones can also be good? Is confusing.¡± ¡°Yeah, it messed up my mind a bit too until I read a good summation in A Treatise On Essences, Awakening Stones And Their Results which used Remore Academy data. They explained it well. Basically, trying to force results with essences and awakening stones seems to be a big no-no. What they recommend is taking all of your essences, seeing what four abilities you get and interpret them as foundations for building a theme. Like the first strokes of a painting or notes of an orchestra piece. Once there, select awakening stones within that theme to have the best chance at abilities with synergies. One example they gave was two students who both had the same essences; Wind, ice and magic into a blizzard confluence. Well, apparently one of them went with the flow and took inexpensive but thematic awakening stones like magus, tundra and preparation. They got an intuitive ability set and became a respected cryo-mage. The other student, a bit of a snob, absolutely refused to take any awakening stone that wasn''t a rare, epic or legendary. They ended up with a puzzling ability set that involved an ability from an awakening stone of dimension that teleported them but only into clouds. Unfortunately, they never got a safe way of coming down from the cloud without an extremely skilled use of several of their other abilities. Apparently, that second student figured out a way to become a flying monster specialist but it took years. The authors of the book think it¡¯s because the second student¡¯s awakening stone selection was too restrictive and they didn¡¯t provide their essences the opportunity to work together.¡± Dave sipped his tea and was happy to see that Sam was nodding along with his monologue. ¡°It¡¯s a bit like telling a story,¡± said Sam. ¡°If you just say random words, it¡¯s a bad story but if everything fits it¡¯s a good one.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the impression, yes. So yours must be a story with life, death, balance and animation,¡± said Dave. ¡°I will be like a garden! Green plants, rain and fertiliser!¡± confirmed Sam. ¡°Ahh, Sam. You¡¯re practically a poet,¡± laughed Dave. Her obvious joy at treating herself like a well-tended garden was delightful. They bantered for a while after but soon decided to sleep. ¡°Nice, soft bed,¡± bragged Sam lying down on the only mattress in the cabin. ¡°No stones for pillows and wake up so soft.¡± Dave grinned and set up his bedroll close to the fire on the hard wooden floor. They woke the next day at dawn, set about breakfasting and doing basic housekeeping chores around the cabin. At first, it took the form of Dave watching Sam start a cleaning chore and Dave idly waving his hand at it, using Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas, and Sam finding another chore. It ended with Sam simply piling everything up on the table to be cleaned all at once and Dave complying. After that they got curious and just started playing around with the ability out of sheer interest. Sam got three logs of wet firewood and Dave set about spending a few minutes drying it out with his prestidigitation to the delight of them both. They tried it with a living branch and a branch freshly broken off a tree. ¡°Alright; doesn¡¯t work at all on the living tree. Just makes it the cleanest branch in the woods and on the freshly plucked branch, it¡¯ll dry out and clean the outside but won¡¯t dry out the inside. I wonder why that is?¡± said Dave, as much to himself as Sam. ¡°Maybe dead wood is only good for fire but fresh wood could also be grafted? Some plants can even grow roots and become a tree if you put the cut branches in good earth.¡± suggested Sam. ¡°Oh, yeah! You grow them from cuttings. I remember my neighbour did that with hibiscus when I was little.¡± said Dave, retrieving an old memory. Sam nodded enthusiastically and handed Dave a pail of water. ¡°What¡¯s this for?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Maybe you can clean water?¡± asked Sam. ¡°Maybe, let me check,¡± muttered Dave in concentration as he activated his Epistemology ability and queried ¡®potable status¡¯. ¡®Non-potable water¡¯ with follow up text on common methods of making potable water. The most common were magical purification and boiling. ¡°Well, I can clean things, I guess,¡± continued Dave in his distracted muttering and began using his Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas prestidigitation over the pail of water. A minute later, he repeated his Epistemology search and got ¡®potable water¡¯ as an answer with a follow up text on common uses. Unsurprisingly, ¡®drinking¡¯ was at the top. He dismissed his pop-up box. ¡°Yep! Clean drinking water now. Apparently,¡± said Dave in a matter-of-fact tone. ¡°You make everything easy!¡± laughed Sam. ¡°It¡¯s part of my essence synergies, I guess. Quality of life abilities. Makes sense. How else will I have time to study while monster hunting?¡± said Dave, gesturing at his spellbook which was hovering nearby. displayed Tome. ¡°Well, now chores are done. You go inside and study. I will check traps and herb garden,¡± said Sam, waving her hands at Dave to shoo him inside. ¡°You sure I can¡¯t help?¡± said Dave, amiably. ¡°No, city-boy will only get in the way. Make helpful spells, go!¡± insisted Sam. So, Dave went inside and did as he was instructed. He went inside, got comfortable and used Pauper¡¯s Paper Production to make a sheet of plain letter paper to write on. Then he made a paper replica of a heidel and stared at them for a good while using his telekinetic scribe ability to take notes. ¡°What are my tools?¡± mumbled Dave to himself after a while and started writing a new heading in his notes. ¡®Eldritch Eyes - lets me see magic,¡¯ but what can I do to imbue something with magic?¡± He read through his own abilities for only a moment before slapping his own head. ¡°You can telekinetically animate writing implements, Dave,¡± he said to himself. Dave spent the next hour telekinetically moving the quill and noting the details of what caused the magical movement. Although it was easy to see that it moved by magical forces, the motive and control of the force came from a core of ethereal magic that was connected to him. Like a bit of his will was projected into it. Remembering, Magician¡¯s Meagre Magics he looked up the prestidigitation.
Prestidigitation: Magician¡¯s Meagre Magics
Description So long as you concentrate on the prestidigitation, you can manipulate the magic about your person in small ways to perform minor magical effects such as, but not limited to, sparks, small sensory illusions, starting and ending candle-sized flames or controlling other minor elemental effects such as floating stones or controlling water near to you.
Detailed Information
He paused on ¡®effects such as floating stones or controlling water very near to you¡¯, Dave experimented with a few of those kinds of tricks and made notes on the similarities and differences between how different kinds of objects moved, those that had to be moved intentionally or those which he could simply instruct and would move on command. It was approaching lunch time when Dave extended his hand over the paper replica of a heidel and focused his will upon it. The paper heidel, on stiff legs, started walking back and forth underneath his hand. Dave grinned and laughed. Over lunch, Dave showed Sam his progress. She laughed happily at the paper heidel. ¡°I thought it¡¯d be bigger!¡± said Sam. ¡°I¡¯m getting my technique down using prestidigitations. I¡¯ll commit to a big effort at the end of the day. When are you taking your balance essence?¡± asked Dave, enjoying the vegetable soup Sam had made. ¡°End of the day. Might not have energy for chores after a big absorption effort,¡± said Sam. ¡°Very sensible. After the expunging with the confluence essence you definitely won¡¯t want to do anything other than be clean and drink wine after that.¡± ¡°Yes, wine!¡± Dave spent the rest of the day focusing on animating the pieces of paper that he made with Pauper¡¯s Paper Production. He tried making them of different qualities of paper, different types of paper and different sizes. Eventually, he looked up some origami books, learned a few patterns and made a few of them. Learning how to make movable joints was a game changer and so was the idea that you could make each part separately and connect two different origami constructions together. Bringing those concepts into his experiments brought a folded swan waddling across the table while flapping its wings. He went further. Dave had noticed that his telekinesis of his quill didn¡¯t need him to physically spell out every word in the same way that, when doing handwriting, he had to write every letter. As an extension of his will, the telekinesis was referencing his own concept of writing to perform its function. Dave brought this in line with his already established concept of movable limbs, modular construction and focused this new, layered idea onto a piece of paper. Dave¡¯s hand hovered over a flat piece of paper for a while. ¡°Be a dog,¡± he said slowly, concentrating. The piece of paper twitched hard and then efficiently folded itself into a simple origami dog which followed Dave¡¯s instructions under his hand. Good. A self motivating construct. It was approaching sunset when Dave went outside, called Sam over, summoned a large piece of paper in five major sections that was about as thick as his palm and then cast his new spell on it: The Animation Of Paper. They both cheered as the middle piece folded itself up into a flat bottomed boat and the four pieces on the edges folded into sturdy legs. It was very much a sort of land-dingy but it worked. The body of it couldn¡¯t flex much which created an awkward gait but it could walk, and that was a success. They hopped into the boat and let it carry them around. They agreed it was no more or less a smooth ride than any other riding animal but that they¡¯d need seats if they were going to stay in it all day. ¡°Why you make it a big bathtub?¡± giggled Sam as she tried standing up in it as the animated paper walked around the cabin. ¡°It¡¯s a boat!¡± called Dave from the side who was still taking notes for improvements. ¡°Most of the patterns for animals had a vertical bit of paper for the body and it seemed a poor idea to ride that all day. Then Tome made me realise that I¡¯m just using animals out of habit! It¡¯s not really alive. It can be any shape I want!¡± ¡°Alright!¡± said Sam, grinning mischievously. ¡°Now make it a comfortable walking boat!¡± After enjoying the novelty, they hopped out and tested the combat capability of this paper construction. They found that without them in it, it could gallop and ram into things quite heavily as well as kick and stomp as savagely as any large pack animal. ¡°It¡¯ll take damage doing those attacks but it¡¯ll keep us alive,¡± said Dave pursing his lips. ¡°I like it. No more sore feet,¡± said Sam. ¡°Sore bum,¡± said Dave with a look of anticipated regret. ¡°Just make seats now?¡± asked Sam with a quizzical look. ¡°Hmm?¡± buzzed Dave, not understanding. ¡°Just make seats to put inside? You made walls, you made bricks and wand holder. Why not make seats and we,¡± Sam stood next to the construction and mimed picking something up off the ground and putting it inside the construction, ¡°put them inside the boat?¡± Finally understanding Dave covered his face and laughed. ¡°Typical Dave mistake! Thanks. Here I am trying to solve every problem at once when I can just,¡± Dave concentrated on a mental image of two sturdy, cardboard, slightly reclining chairs with high backs and headrests. ¡°Milled for my purpose, solve one problem at a time.¡± Two cardboard replicas of car seats appeared in the back of the animated leg-boat. It was getting cold and dark so Sam and Dave tried the seats out briefly as the animated boat carried them to the creek with Sam¡¯s balance essence. In the boat Sam took a bar of soap, a bottle of pleasantly warm water, a towel and a plan. Dave brought a bottle of wine and two cups. The plan was that Sam would take the balance essence, they¡¯d toast to her new ability and then she would take the confluence essence while in the swiftest part of the stream. The purging would happen, she could use soap to wash all of the gunk off her body, pour the warm water over herself, wrap a towel around her body and hop into the boat golem, which they had taken to calling it, after which the golem would run back to the cabin and Sam could get inside and get warm before catching a cold. Once in the cabin, Dave could use Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas to get Sam fully clean and dry again. Next to the stream, Sam had her hand on the spellbook with Dave while he chanted out the words to activate it. Then, Sam picked up a stone which was both smokey and clear but always displayed a yin-yang symbol no matter how you looked at it, and activated the ability. It absorbed gently into her skin. ¡°Oh! That¡¯s¡­ a feeling. Is like falling and jumping at the same time, somehow,¡± said Sam putting her hands over her belly. Dave forced himself to be patient. Three lights exited Sam''s body, one that looked verdant in every colour, one that seemed to be the antonym of every colour, always fading to nothingness and one that always rotated between even halves. They came out in arcs, rotated in front of Sam, came together and made an opal-like rock with strings of colour in the shape of bones. Sam held her animate confluence essence with a grin. ¡°I got an ability that lets me switch two people¡¯s health, mana and stamina,¡± said Sam. Dave, however, was already reading it in her character sheet that he had access to. It was called Transpose Composition and it switched the relative amounts of those stats, not the numbers so it was very powerful. He felt like looking things up with this might be an invasion of privacy but from his tentative clicks around Sam¡¯s character sheet, it seems that his UI only displayed facts about her stats and abilities. Nothing private. ¡°Cool! That¡¯s basically a healing ability. Just like you wanted!¡± said Dave happily. Sam looked doubtfully at her animate essence and back to Dave. ¡°Yeah, probably no healing with that,¡± said Dave sheepishly. ¡°But probably with some awakening stones on that life essence.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± said Sam nervously, holding her confluence essence, ¡°everything ready?¡± ¡°Yep!¡± said Dave who had prepared meticulously in a manner to make his German heritage proud. ¡°In fact, we now have two warm bottles of water, a bar of soap, I made a scrubber out of paper, I¡¯ve gotten an extra towel out of my inventory so you have two if you like, and I¡¯m wearing a winter coat so that it¡¯ll be warm when you put it on after you¡¯re dry. Shall we?¡± They walked to the stream a little way from the cabin where Dave had used salt to set up an essence absorption ritual circle. The boat golem followed. ¡°Is it really as bad as you¡¯ve said?¡± asked Sam again. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s pretty bad,¡± answered Dave seriously. ¡°Okay, go inside now, ka?¡± said Sam in a shaky voice. ¡°Make ready!¡± displayed Professor Tome in large text. Dave activated the circle and jogged back inside to make sure there was a warm, dry nest in the cabin where a betowled woman could comfortably recover from an expunging, mountainous bath. ¡°The water is cold! Okay, I took it!¡± called Sam from outside. ¡°I still feel good¡­ Very good.. No, I feel so-so. Wait¡­ Oh!¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. The sound of Sam¡¯s body rejecting impurities and her reaction to it drifted across the small distance to the stream. She swore a few times in Siamese. Dave didn¡¯t understand the language but cussing always had a certain international sound to it. The noises cut off for a second as Sam presumably ducked under water to wash herself followed by more expunging. This continued on for a minute before it subsided and there came the sound of splashing as Sam poured warm water over herself and scrubbed. Dave didn¡¯t presume to know when she¡¯d added soap but he would be astounded if it didn¡¯t make an appearance in the routine he was hearing. Dave poured some boiling water into a teapot. Something warm to drink would definitely be a nice touch. The sound of galloping legs preceded the boat golem kneeling at the door and Sam rushing inside with her towel around her hair and Dave¡¯s towel around her body. Dave had already taken the coat off and put it over her shoulders as she sat in front of the roaring fire and Dave started using Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas on her immediately. When he¡¯d finished magically removing water and residual gunk off of her body and into the fire, Dave asked what ability she got. Sam grinned guiltily. ¡°You can ability me. That¡­ impeziology?¡± Sam tried valiantly at the foreign word. ¡°Actually, now is probably a good time to mention that since you agreed we should work together you¡¯ve been on my HUD. Remember how I said that I can see my health, stamina and mana?¡± Sam nodded while undoing her hair. ¡°Well, now I can see yours as well and I can see your abilities. Is that alright with you? I can turn it off,¡± said Dave uneasily. Sam¡¯s reaction was to become excited. ¡°Don¡¯t turn it off! I only have normal feeling. Tell me about it, ka!¡± her happiness was palpable and rather bowled Dave over. ¡°Floating text isn¡¯t normal?¡± said Dave, baffled. ¡°What? No!¡± Sam laughed. ¡°Only with magic society rituals. Your ability is very good.¡± ¡°Oh? Well then,¡± said Dave, squaring his shoulders and looking up Sam¡¯s character sheet. ¡°Summon Skeleton. Awakening stone, none. Summon five skeletons from the ground that return to the earth in six hours. High mana, cooldown 6 hours.¡± There were tooltips in the text that could expand into more detail but Dave figured he could read that later. Even just on the surface, the ability was very impressive. ¡°That. That is a good ability!¡± said Dave, giving Sam a grin. ¡°This will work really well with my aura if they can wield weapons. ¡°It¡¯s a little bit evil,¡± she said in a small voice but her smile didn¡¯t leave her face. Dave shrugged. ¡°Nah, only if you think death is evil. Where I come from we¡¯d probably call it recycling. Anyway, I bet those who¡¯d say it¡¯s evil are the same people who don¡¯t even know that their vegetables are fertilised with the ash of dead creatures,¡± said Dave. Sam covered her smile with her hands and nodded. ¡°It happens in my world too. People who live in cities make sure that the animals who die for their food are kept out of sight and out of mind. Graveyards are kept out of sight too. People seem to think that their natural fear of death means that death must be evil,¡± said Dave with a shrug. ¡°Without death there is no life,¡± said Sam as though remembering something, ¡°and to have life, means to die.¡± Dave smiled at her. ¡°Where¡¯s that from?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a quote from hymns that are sung in the church of Life and the church of Death. I used to hum while I was gardening with my mother,¡± said Sam with a slight smile of memory. ¡°Well, it¡¯s very true,¡± said Dave. ¡°Tea?¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± smiled Sam, snapping out of her daze. Dave prepared dinner. It was quite easy for him to do so with his outworlder ability Skilled Item Creation. It was a part of his inventory ability.
Skilled item creation.
Once you have the skill to make an item, you only need the ingredients or pieces in your personal inventory or within reach to be able to make the item instantly.
And, he knew how to make a turnip and onion stew. He put all the ingredients in a pot along with all the kitchen tools required to make the stew and two plates for the meal, sat next to the fire and activated his ability. You have made; Turnip Stew. You have made; Turnip Stew. Dave took one out of his inventory, handed it to Sam and then the other for himself. ¡°Are you this world¡¯s idea of a field biologist?¡± asked Dave, sitting down to eat. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± asked Sam. ¡°Someone who finds plants or animals and studies them?¡± guessed Dave. Sam thought for a second. ¡°Um, I guess? answered Sam. She grinned, ¡°I like beetles best! They are cute! I could always find them on my parent¡¯s farm and there are always so many. My parents were always telling me to stop finding beetles and being dirty.¡± Dave nodded. It made sense. ¡°A farm girl who studies beetles and got caught up in an exciting nature cult,¡± Dave said and Sam looked self conscious. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry! I didn¡¯t mean it like that. They took advantage of you, that cult. Your beliefs were pure, I think. You just followed the wrong leader.¡± Sam nodded. ¡°Maybe I should have known better,¡± said Sam. ¡°Everyone does stupid things when they¡¯re young,¡± said Dave. ¡°I had a few times where I got so drunk I didn¡¯t remember an entire day. In this world that¡¯s enough time for me to have taken death, corruption and sacrifice essences all in one go on a dare.¡± Dave shook his head thinking about his late teenage binge drinking with regret. ¡°The only thing that stopped me making mistakes like yours is that I couldn¡¯t have, not that I wouldn¡¯t have,¡± said Dave seriously, looking at Sam. ¡°So don¡¯t overthink your own morality. You did what we all do when we¡¯re young and stupid.¡± Sam relaxed and smiled thinking it over. ¡°You know it¡¯s true. You¡¯ve seen young men do lots of stupid stuff, haven¡¯t you?¡± asked Dave, chuckling. ¡°Come on, what¡¯s the worst you¡¯ve seen?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± said Sam, laughing. ¡°One time, a rich boy in the village was in love with my friend Nam. He tried to impress her by eating an iron rank ghost chilli!¡± Sam couldn¡¯t stop laughing with the memory and Dave couldn¡¯t help but laugh vicariously with her. ¡°So, he eats the chilli and Nam is there watching when he¡¯s crying, turning red, drooling and he even vomited. Some splashed on her shoes,¡± Sam was partly crying with mirth now. ¡°Nam could never look at him again without thinking of that.¡± ¡°I bet Nam loved that,¡± groaned Dave sarcastically, holding a hand over his face, thinking about his own youthful misadventures with romance. ¡°Oh, was so bad,¡± laughed Sam, coming down from her mirth. ¡°Nam doesn¡¯t even like spicy things. He got everything wrong!¡± ¡°Well, every time you think you made mistakes, you think about the essences boys like that would¡¯ve absorbed to get a date with Nam,¡± said Dave with a cheeky grin. Sam rolled her eyes. ¡°Alright, I will. That is a good idea. I promise!¡± said Sam brightly. ¡°Now let¡¯s eat, not magic chilli, and discuss awakening stones,¡± said Dave. They ate and laughed. Sam looked over Dave¡¯s selection of awakening stones while they ate. Dave had told her about his last racial ability evolution and she seemed excited to try it with some ¡®safe¡¯ awakening stones. Meaning ones that she¡¯d like to take anyway and then she¡¯d judge if the abilities she had got were rare and powerful. So, she browsed awakening stones while she ate. When she finished, Sam asked for a quill and paper which Dave provided. She did a bit of writing on her piece of paper while requesting book pages from Professor Tome. Dave finished eating, used Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas to clean the dishes and put everything used to prepare the meal that was in his inventory back into the kitchen. ¡°Good. Now, I have three awakening stones that I like,¡± said Sam triumphantly, displaying her working out. ¡°Only three?¡± asked Dave, putting down a bowl and coming to look. ¡°Yes,¡± smiled Sam. ¡°See, I wrote down the essence story, like you said.¡± She indicated the top of the page where she¡¯d written, ¡®An animated story about the balance of life and death.¡¯ with the key words underlined. Beneath that were about ten awakening stones written down with all crossed out but three: Hand, vision and preparation, which she had circled and had arrows pointing towards them from the text box ¡®use these!¡¯¡±. ¡°I wrote down the ones I liked the best from their general description,¡± she gestured at a page in Tome she was keeping open with her finger from The Iron Ranker¡¯s Field Guide To Awakening Stones. ¡°And then I checked their interactions in this book here.¡± Sam flipped to another page she was keeping with another finger from The Adventurer¡¯s Advanced Guide To Awakening Stones¡±. ¡°Most of your awakening stones are good stories for big magic users and teachers,¡± said Sam with her usual smile turning more warm than ever. ¡°But I only want to grow strong so that my family can enjoy plants in my garden and I can see cute beetles happy! That¡¯s why I first took essences.¡± The look on her face made Dave smile. ¡°Sounds good. I¡¯ll have to trade the essences I have for the ones you like¡± said Dave brightly. He figured that since the essences were connected to the soul, and that the soul was, from his reading, able to hold the imprint of someone¡¯s personality then it made sense that a personal sense of satisfaction with one¡¯s essences and awakening stones might affect the abilities awakened. It was at this moment that Dave noticed an exclamation mark had appeared above Sam¡¯s head in his HUD. ¡°You have a quest! What is it?¡± asked Dave, bewildered. Sam smiled her widest, most guilty grin. ¡°I think I know where we can get more stones! But, it will be dangerous, ka!¡± said Sam, pleating her fingers together. ¡°I agree. We can do it. Now tell me, how bad is it?¡± asked Dave with a grin. Sam laughed. ¡°You crazy! Alright, alright. Yes, there is an abandoned village near from before I was born. Before even you were born. Only old grandparents remember it. There was¡­ I forget, a high-magic spot that moved through the area? It would make monsters. Every few years it would move the same direction and bring monsters. Yes, so this village is in the way of moving spot so everyone just packs up and slowly moves away. Then there was monster surge and nobody comes back so everyone forgets is there. Everyone who lived there has now either gone far away or died.¡± Sam grinned mischievously at the implications. ¡°But I found it while walking as ranger. There are too many monsters for me to go near but it will have a lot of magic. You can make a golem so, we can get to it easy and use your powerful spells to defeat the monsters inside and take the magic we find there!¡± Some text flashed up in Dave¡¯s text box asking if he wanted to accept the quest ¡®Abandoned Forest Town¡¯ Dave selected yes. ¡°Sam, I accept your quest. Even if it wasn¡¯t a good way to get you everything you need to get home and see your family again, it sounds like a good way to get a lot of magic rocks which we can sell for money,¡± said Dave. Sam beamed at Dave. ¡°Also, come to think of your family. I think one of my abilities is a letter delivery service. If you know their address, would you like to write your family a letter?¡± said Dave in a hesitant way, not knowing if he was stepping on an emotional landmine. Naturally, Sam was utterly confused by Dave¡¯s announcement but after a quick explanation of his spell, Sam sat down with a quill, letter paper and an envelope and wrote a long letter into the night. Dave double checked his spell to make sure that he hadn¡¯t over promised.
Spell: Mail By Appointed Rounds
Description Place a properly addressed written document into a dimensional space. It will travel at the speed of a fast Heidel until it reaches its address where it will deliver the letter. Higher ranks will allow the delivery directly to a named recipient and at faster speeds.
Detailed Information
It didn¡¯t say that he had to write it so he guessed it would work as advertised if Sam wrote the letter and he mailed it. He could send letters to anybody so long as he knew their address which might be useful if he knew anybody. Dave figured he¡¯d examine the magic details more closely while casting the spell later. While Sam wrote, Dave tweaked his animate paper spell, wrote notes for new prestidigitations and used his third spell slot of the day to cast Paper Mill Production to make a narrow but soft cot appear on the floor where he slept. Sam grinned at him cheekily when she saw it and got back to her letter. When she finished writing, Dave posted Sam¡¯s letter. The magic displayed no indication of a distance limitation that Dave could see and so, they both went to sleep. They awoke in the morning, breakfasted and Dave acquitted four copies of Animate Paper Construction to memory. After all, it was his only non-default choice. They were munching on toast lathered with butter and sipping tea, staring at the awakening stones that were still sitting on the table from the night before. Sam kept on looking at the stones uncomfortably as though they were watching her and Dave was trying not to look at Sam for fear of laughing at her discomfort with the three rocks. Eventually, they caught each other¡¯s eyes and burst into laughter at the awkward situation. ¡°Just take them now!¡± said Dave, still chuckling. ¡°Professor Tome? May I enlist you?¡± The spellbook which flapped over to the table. displayed Tome. ¡°Thank you, Professor Tome,¡± said Sam, giving a small wai to the floating book. Dave opened the book to a ritual circle upon which he placed his hand. Sam placed her hand on top and Dave spoke the chant to activate the ritual. ¡°Which one first?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Ummm¡­ This one!¡± said Sam with her brightest smile. She selected an awakening stone of vision. It had a very high chance of giving a sight-based ability. She took the stone. Samorn has used, awakening stone of vision. She has gained a new death essence ability, Death Sight. Death Sight; You can see auras and information about how close to death a creature is in their current state. ¡°Boom! Aura sensing first try, Sam!¡± cheered Dave, raising his arm for a high five. Sam looked at him in utter confusion. ¡°Oh,¡± said Dave, looking at his hand and remembering he was in a different universe, ¡°it¡¯s a gesture of celebration, just raise your hand like mine and we clap them together.¡± Sam raised her hand and Dave gently completed the high five. ¡°It¡¯s a really good ability.¡± said Dave, ¡°You¡¯ll know who needs healing the most on the battlefield and in towns, you¡¯ll be able to know who is sick and get them care before even they know they need it. You¡¯ll save lives.¡± ¡°Oh, really? Oh, yes. Yes, you¡¯re right.¡± said Sam going over it in her mind and then smiling happily. ¡°Yeah, just because someone looks healthy doesn¡¯t mean they are. Notice it says ¡®information about¡¯ as well? It¡¯ll probably let you sense what conditions someone is suffering from that are bringing them closer to death,¡± said Dave. Sam looked at Dave with a calculating look. ¡°Maybe you could drink some cleaner and we¡¯ll find out? No, no, no. I¡¯m kidding!¡± laughed Sam. ¡°That¡¯d probably work, actually,¡± said Dave. Sam looked around the room more carefully. ¡°It can¡¯t see anything on you, you¡¯re too healthy,¡± said Sam accusingly. ¡°I want to try my new ability!¡± ¡°Can we find a sick animal later instead of cutting me open at breakfast?¡± said Dave warily. ¡°Besides, we¡¯re going adventuring soon. You¡¯ll have a lot of practice.¡± ¡°Alright, next stone,¡± said Sam, giving her resigned smile. She selected an awakening stone of earth. Dave wondered what the result would be. Earth was, after all, necessary for life to grow but also the place that the dead returned to. On the other hand, it was also a bunch of rocks. Most likely was some death essence spell that¡¯d drain speed or some kind of wall spell. Samorn Khanthong has used, awakening stone of earth. She has gained a new life essence ability, Regrowth. Regrowth; Place a long heal over time spell on an ally within range. No cooldown. Low Mana. Dave raised his eyebrows but Sam seemed extremely happy. That wasn¡¯t what was expected at all. Welcome, but unexpected. Dave wondered how much his Bringer Of Change ability had to do with it. He¡¯d been expecting small, subtle pushes in the direction of unexpected and powerful but now he was wondering if his ability was more powerful than expected. Still, details later. Focus on the happiness of the moment. ¡°My first healing spell!¡± she cheered. Dave raised his hand. Sam took a moment to recognise the motion and then awkwardly slapped his hand, laughing. ¡°Congratulations! May you get ever more healing synergies,¡± said Dave. ¡°I can hurt you now and test my first ability,¡± said Sam, covering her mouth. Dave pulled a face. ¡°Alright, next!¡± said Sam. Sam picked up the preparation stone she¡¯d saved until last and used it. Samorn Khanthong has used, awakening stone of preparation. She has gained a new balance essence ability, Life Recirculation. Life Recirculation; Upon activation, your next damaging effect heals you and your allies for an amount equal to the damage dealt. Low mana. 30 second cooldown. Both Sam and Dave looked at each other with wide eyes, appreciating the powerful ability that had an obvious synergy. ¡°You can do a lot of damage with corpse explosion,¡± said Dave solemnly. ¡°Yes!¡± beamed Sam. ¡°It affects you too. You are going to be a very alive woman, Sam,¡± said Dave. Sam just grinned and nodded. Professor Tome was gliding around the cabin in celebration. After some congratulations and still feeling positive, the pair finished packing and prepared to start their trek to the abandoned town. ¡°Sam, what was the town called?¡± asked Dave as he cleaned the cabin with his prestidigitation. ¡°Courbefy,¡± replied Sam, packing extra towels in the boat golem because she wouldn¡¯t be carrying them and why not? Soon, Sam hoisted her pack into the belegged boat and put a couple of extra pots in. Dave just cleaned the morning dew off the boat and used Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas to dry out the paper before animating it, which used a spell slot that wouldn¡¯t come back until early evening. Sam sat in the forward seat driving and Dave sat behind her, studying. They had a three-day trek by foot to the east towards the alps. They¡¯d go well around and past Chateau Chamois where the cultists were, although Sam expected that after the first day they¡¯d start encountering monsters. Dave settled into his seat with a pen in hand and his Tome open, writing notes on a specific idea for a prestidigitation. Dave had taken to browsing lists of Adventure Society abilities and found that fire-mages of different types often awoke abilities that could, unsurprisingly, just start a stationary fire. Although the listed spells were often entire walls of flame or an intense, roaring, furnace-like projection, Dave wondered if scaled down to a prestidigitation, he might just be able to have a comfortable campfire crackling away. After all, he could project candle flames from his fingertips with Magician¡¯s Meagre Magics. These thoughts flowed through his mind and into his notes for a couple of hours until Dave was brought back to reality by Sam tapping him on the head sharply. ¡°Hmm? What?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Spine hog!¡± Sam announced seriously. There was a loud snuffling and grunting ahead of them and Dave quickly craned his head sideways to see a very large boar-like creature with sharp looking quills squaring off with the boat. Dave used Stop And Think, selected the spine hog, used Epistemology and queried ¡®definition¡¯. After reading the entry Dave decided he would surmise the spine hog as a particularly large, aggressive wild boar that could shoot spines from around its neck. Dave unpaused time. ¡°Boat, tip!¡± commanded Dave and willed the animated boat to obey. It turned and tipped slightly to the right, depositing the contents of the boat on the ground. While Sam and Dave were picking themselves up, the boat jostled and rocked slightly as the spine hog rammed into it. ¡°Attack the spine hog!¡± commanded Dave, willing the command into the unfamiliar connection he had with his animated golem. He climbed to his feet, drawing his wand and his sword but realised quickly he didn¡¯t need to bother. The boat-golem used one of its large, heavy legs to swipe at the spine hog and sent it sprawling. The hog replied with two spines shooting into the side of the boat but the golem didn¡¯t care. It reared up on its back legs and flexed downwards crashing the keel of the prow into the spine hog with bone crunching force. Displaying the tenacity typical of hogs, the spine hog stayed standing on weak legs with crossed eyes, grunting aggressively and shooting spines but the boat merely reared up again to smash down onto the spine hog¡¯s shoulders taking it down where the boat savagely stomped on its head. ¡°Enough, boat! Geez,¡± said Dave when he saw the health bar had already hit zero. He walked over and knelt next to the dead spine boar. He checked the loot in his text box. He¡¯d mostly looted humans up until now. You have looted, spine hog. You have gained 17 lesser spirit coins, Monster Core (lesser), spine hog tusk and 3 boar¡¯s meat. ¡°Was that supposed to be here?¡± asked Dave, nodding at the boar. ¡°Boars, yes, but not monsters. Normally when I see one that strong, I just use beetles and run away but I don¡¯t see many,¡± said Sam thoughtfully, while putting their belongings back in the kneeling boat. ¡°Well, we got a test of your death sight. Did it work?¡± said Dave brightly. ¡°Yes!¡± smiled Sam. ¡°Your boat is very powerful. Almost all of monster health; SMACK! One hit and close to death.¡± ¡°Good then! How damaged is the boat?¡± asked Dave, coming over to help Sam lift the heavy items in. ¡°Not very! A small rip from the tusk and two small holes from spines.¡± said Sam pointing. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not so bad,¡± said Dave, thoughtfully. ¡°I can plug them,¡± and he put solid paper plugs over the holes with Pauper¡¯s Paper Production. As they got going Sam asked a question. ¡°Hey Dave?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± said Dave, opening Tome. ¡°Can you just keep making paper all day with your prestidigitation?¡± asked Sam. ¡°Ugh, probably not? Seems too much. I¡¯ll check the complete spell details. Tome? Could you open to the relevant page?¡± Tome opened to a page from a book entitled David Bauer¡¯s Character Statistics and Details written by Professor Tome and read the spell details. ¡°Oh, it looks like if I make more than about 35cm3 in a day then it starts deleting the oldest objects but if they stay until the next dawn then they¡¯re permanent. Thanks for that! I didn¡¯t even think,¡± said Dave, shaking his head at not noticing this potential loophole earlier. How could he miss an exploit like infinite items? ¡°Teamwork!¡± cheered Sam. She was still giddy from the spine hog encounter but it was good to see in her. ¡°Teamwork,¡± agreed Dave. As it turned out, when she wasn¡¯t shaken up from being attacked by cultists and fleeing into the woods with a stranger, Sam liked to sing to herself while she was travelling. So she sang while Dave studied, he was working on his fire prestidigitation again. As they walked he¡¯d occasionally hold up a thick paper tile and try his latest effort. He¡¯d managed so far, an impressive sparkle and something that reminded him of a gas stove but he persisted. Suddenly, Dave had an idea. ¡°Hey, do you have any armour?¡± asked Dave. ¡°No,¡± said Sam, ¡°too heavy. I¡¯m always walking.¡± ¡°Not at this town you won¡¯t be. We¡¯re going to be fighting there. Want me to make you some?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Paper armour!?¡± asked Sam, incredulously as she laughed. Dave grinned sheepishly. ¡°Strangely, yeah. I can make a paper twine and if I can make twine, I can make thread and with thread I can make a gambeson and I¡¯m thinking I can make plates over the gambeson as well. I should be able to make something the same design as stiff leather,¡± said Dave, already looking up leather armouring books with Tome. ¡°Alright!¡± said Sam. The day progressed uneventfully as Sam guided the boat while Dave designed and studied. They encountered no more monsters but quite a few wild animals rushing away from them. Sam said this was a good thing. ¡°It means no monsters are near because animals run away from monsters,¡± Sam said. Dave has also taken a little time to look up the name of the town and what a few books had to say about it. Dave found that Courbefy had been a small logging town that also did seasonal trade in furs from hunting, as well as selling some river fish and there was even some panning for gold in one of the streams nearby but Courbefy imported most of its metals and metal products for use in those primary industries. All-in-all, it wasn¡¯t anything exceptional. It would have been just another dot on a map if it wasn¡¯t for their bad luck with a roaming monster spawn. The sun was well behind the forest when Sam found a place to stop for the night and she started unpacking a tent. ¡°Don¡¯t bother,¡± said Dave. ¡°Milled for my purpose.¡± A small cardboard construction about the size of a large tent appeared. The door was liftable and could be propped up on a stick. Inside it had two hanging cots with space underneath for their packs that currently had a small pile of paper bricks underneath for burning. ¡°I designed it just after lunch,¡± said Dave. ¡°It¡¯s bigger than both of our tents put together and, well¡­ what do you think?¡± ¡°It¡¯s good!¡± said Sam. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡± ¡°Oh? I should have. Yes,¡± said Dave awkwardly. ¡°I just started thinking about something else and forgot until just now.¡± Sam waved her hands in front of Dave¡¯s face. ¡°Hello from the world to Dave in the sky,¡± said Sam in a sing-song voice and laughed. Dave¡¯s current Warming Fire prestidigitation was a little lacklustre. It appeared more like a plate full of very large candles all burning at once than a campfire but it worked well enough for the early Autumn that neither of them cared to find firewood. In fact, because the flame used no fuel and thus emitted no smoke, Sam suggested adding a fireplace to the back of the camping cabin. ¡°It gets cold in the mountains,¡± said Sam with a smile that was also a grimace of bad winter experiences. ¡°You can cast your spell inside the frying pan so the floor doesn¡¯t burn. A layer of paper brick for the walls shouldn¡¯t catch fire and if we need to we can make coals and keep them in our pots to help keep the room warm.¡± ¡°You are getting really good at my abilities!¡± grinned Dave. Sam smiled widely and nodded. displayed Tome They settled down for the night. Sam immediately went to sleep because she was taking second watch. Dave was taking first watch late into the night because he could sleep in the saddle tomorrow, so to speak. He cast Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas over Sam, wished her a good night and spent the next hour sketching out some patterns for a new version of the spell he was coming to call the paper golem. He was realising more and more that although his summoning spell Paper Mill Production required a single, continuous mass of paper, the animation of paper didn¡¯t. In fact, Dave was quite sure that he could animate a tonne of A4 into a perfectly functional whirlwind golem. Not to mention that the animated golem had life-like properties beyond normal paper and was capable of bending and flexing long, unfolded bits of paper together and apart as though with muscles. With that in mind he designed long insect legs with high knees. As with most origami animals, the foot would end in a pointed tip if not for a final ¡®foot¡¯ fold of the limb back on itself. Dave coloured in the foot area to represent a denser, more solid paper that wouldn¡¯t wear down so easily. The boat golem was currently suffering from fraying feet quite badly. With the insect-like legs designed, Dave designed the body. He figured, keep with insects. Ants were famous lifters so he made a stumpy boat section for a thorax, a raised abdomen with a reclining chair and a head for balance with a dangerous mandible section designed for combat. Dave kept on tweaking with the design, coming up with a net over the thorax section to stop their belongings falling out in battle, a seatbelt - well, seatloop for the abdomen but for the head, Dave just couldn¡¯t figure out how to make the pincers come together in a crushing motion so he redesigned them as tubes that could widen and narrow which could hold knives, daggers, pitons or anything pointy that the head could drive into his enemies. Satisfied with his modifications, Dave used The Papyral Conception of Pulp And Press to make the physical thing which he covered with his tent to hold off the morning dew, made some paper brick shoes for the boat golem with Pauper¡¯s, held in place with a paper imitation of a velcro strap, and settled in to wait out the rest of his watch composing a letter to Hugh. It was a difficult letter to write. Just in case Hugh was captured or, more likely, at a shared residence with his church, Dave had to write in a way that didn¡¯t tell enough information to let another reader know how they¡¯d met and that Dave was an outworlder. Tome helped him proofread the letter at the end, declaring it suitable for purpose. Dave had written to Hugh that he was safe, he was adventuring with a friend that they both knew of and not to worry if he didn¡¯t see Dave for a while. Dave posted the letter through his Mail By Appointed Rounds dimensional space noting that there were now two of a possible three letters in transit and woke up Sam for her watch. ¡°I made another paper golem for tomorrow. Don¡¯t forget to cover boat golem with your tent before sunrise. Professor Tome is happy for you to read him,¡± said Dave sleepily once she was awake. Sam only nodded, wiping sleep from her eyes, but smiled when she saw Tome open to a brilliant, hand drawn picture of a sunrise with the words ¡®welcome back¡¯ stylised across the sky. Dave bedded down and went to sleep. Sam woke Dave up at dawn and quickly bundled him into his paper ant golem. Dave quickly memorised 4 copies of his Animate Paper Golem spell and cast it twice. Sam asked for a ball of twine from Dave, which he summoned for her and settled into his golem¡¯s inbuilt chair. ¡°Ant golem, follow Sam and her golem. Do everything she says,¡± said Dave so that Sam could hear and went back to sleep knowing that Sam would lead him true for the next couple of hours. The next thing Dave knew he was being bumped awake by Professor Tome. ¡°Hmm?¡± hummed Dave while blinking. Tome flickered open. was the title of the page Tome was displaying. Dave complied and kept reading. Dave unpaused time. And looked around from his raised seat on the abdomen of his animated mount feeling very exposed. He fumbled for his sword, which was across his lap and drew it. ¡°A flying lynx? That¡¯s a thing?¡± asked Dave as he took two daggers out of his inventory and threw them in front of his giant paper ant which put them in its pincer-holders. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a kind of monster. Iron rank. I looked it up with Tome,¡± said Sam. Tome helpfully flicked to an Adventure Society bestiary and saw that it was basically a big, aggressive lynx with membranous skin between its forelimbs and top of the hind limbs for limited flight. It was an ambush predator that would climb high trees and dive on its prey from a distance. It was considered about mid iron rank in difficulty. The real danger of this monster is that it¡¯d stalk a group through a forest and attack a back liner when they were distracted. Like when engaged with another monster, for instance. To alleviate the chance of being ambushed Dave cast Maestro¡¯s Instant Image Of Manifested Illusions around himself in the form of an opaque cardboard cover over his raised seat. This gave him the confidence to study spells without being afraid of being pounced on. Thankfully Sam was surrounded by her familiar which obscured her and could provide her with warning. Dave spent his time tweaking the paper golem spell and working on a new one; a cabin spell beyond the scope of what could be made with Paper Mill Production. Fifteen minutes into that time Dave was interrupted. ¡°Dave,¡± called Sam in an unsure voice. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± They were crossing a shallow stream and Sam pointed off to the left. Upstream from them were two large, cadaverous creatures with prominent narrow, pointed teeth along a large, frog-like jaw. Dave immediately selected them with his UI, used Epistemology, cast Stop And Think and read the details.
Monster: Corrupted Giant Toad Rank: Iron
Description This is a [Giant Toad] that has been affected by an innate corruption. It has powerful leaping attacks, bites, a pulling tongue attack and is [venomous].
Detailed Information
Dave concentrated on ¡®venomous¡¯ and read the tooltip.
Toxic dart venom. A class of venom that has many natural sources but is famous in tropical jungle frogs. The venom is a potent muscle relaxant that causes death by paralysis.
Dave returned to real time. ¡°Out!¡± shouted Dave. ¡°Venomous Toad! They¡¯ve got a nasty para-¡± That was as far as Dave got before the closest toad made a mighty leap at the boat golem. Fortunately, it was focused on killing the boat and had landed with its mouth crunching around the neck-area of the vehicle, the force of the impact crushing in the side. Sam was already moving when the toad impacted and so was launched over the side to sprawl on the ground. Dave was already exiting his own mount, drawing his sword and running over to help Sam. ¡°Sam! They¡¯ve got poison. Do-ARRRGH!¡± screamed Dave suddenly as a flying lynx crashed into him from behind. It came in too low and missed sinking its bite into Dave¡¯s neck but still crashed into him, claws first, sending Dave heavily face-first into the ground with claw marks all over his back. Sam scrambled to her feet, drawing her sickle and rushed over to help Dave, hurling her familiar ahead of her. Distracted by the beetles, the lynx bounded quickly to the side and squared off with Sam. The boat golem had now recovered and was using its superior weight to try and bear down on the toad but the toad was hanging onto the neck and ripping the thick cardboard while the boat was using its stumpy legs to kick at the toad and keep it underneath the prow. Biting back the pain of the claw wounds, Dave turned to look for the second toad and turned to see it in the air already bearing down on him. Time seemed to slow as Dave looked into the razor sharp maw of the toad, the tongue already flicking out and Dave lifting his sword too late. With a wet crunch of breaking bone, ant golem smashed into the side of the leaping toad at a gallop with its front two legs, the speed of the ant taking it and the toad splashing across the steam before it body slammed the toad onto the ground and started repeatedly driving its dagger-pincered head down. Tearing his eyes away from the extravagant violence of that scene, Dave looked at the rest of the battle. The boat golem was slowly overcoming its toad but had lost most of its prow. Sam was in a stalemate with the lynx. It was easily shaking off the beetles and prowling back and forth, waiting for Sam to make a mistake who had her sickle extended in front of her to impale the cat if it jumped. Dave raised his wand and shot a mage bolt at the flying lynx, singing fur across its shoulder. The cat gave a high growling, snarl and chanced a look at Dave who extended his sword point towards the cat defensively. The cat took a moment, assessing that it was now outnumbered, flicked its tail and scurried up a tree. Dave shot another mage bolt at it but missed as the lynx leapt from the tree and flew away. Dave turned back to the golems to see boat golem pinning its giant toad down while the ant golem reared up on its back four legs to smash its dagger-tipped face into the creature. Dave and Sam looked at it with expressions of shock and awe. ¡°Your ant is very dangerous,¡± said Sam. ¡°Ugh¡­ I¡¯m glad it''s on our side,¡± said Dave pathetically. A notification was highlighted on Dave¡¯s HUD that he hadn¡¯t noticed in the commotion. He mentally concentrated on it. Quest: Abandoned Forest Town has been updated. Dave clicked on the quest and the quest menu opened with that quest selected.
Quest: Abandoned Forest Town
Description Investigate the abandoned forest town Courbefy with local guide Samorn Khanthong and collect magical items throughout the town; 0/32. Remove the evil from the town; 0/1.
Detailed Information
Dave realised that he¡¯d never read the details of the quest on the basis that he was definitely going to do it anyway and immediately kicked himself for how short sighted this was. He noticed that the quest didn¡¯t specify awakening stones, only ¡®magic items¡¯. ¡°Hey? Is thirty-two magic items a lot?¡± asked Dave, staring at his HUD. ¡°Yes?¡± said Sam in an unsure voice and looking at Dave quizzically. ¡°There¡¯s thirty-two magic items and a source of ¡®evil¡¯¡¯ in Courbefy,¡± said Dave in a flat voice. ¡°Really?!¡± exclaimed Sam. ¡°Yeah,¡± said Dave with a sigh. ¡°I think this quest might take longer than we thought.¡±
Yeah, adventuring as a Booker can be difficult. At first, because there was nobody to train me. You show up and people look at you like you¡¯re a heidel at a ball. "A Booker? Going to cast one spell and leave?" Of course, that¡¯s what industrial Bookers do in the monster surge because there¡¯s nobody to teach them how to fight. The surge happens, the bookers are conscripted and told to fire away like everyone else, so they do. Then they¡¯re useless for the rest of the day. But they¡¯re useless because that¡¯s what the adventurers told the terrified spellwright to do. That¡¯s why I wrote that book. Most magic users are about quantity¨Cpouring out spells as fast as possible¨Cbut for bookers it¡¯s about when and where. You have to be a tactician. Or, be standing next to one. As a booker, you can brute-force your way through a monster but do you have to? Can someone else handle it? You have to know the battlefield, anticipate and spend your precious slots where they¡¯ll make the biggest difference. The hardest part is choosing the spells to memorize. They call it ¡®memorizing,¡¯ but these days, I think it¡¯s more like wiring an outlet to those giant capacitors called ¡®slots¡¯ the ability installs between your soul and your magic. Four slots by default but you can gear it up to eight. Still, memorisation is a limitation. The limitation, really. Start the day with a plan, and when things go sideways, you''re a sword at a sewing circle. It¡¯s great when it works, though. Scry a monster, teleport far above it with Johan and slap a force transference spell on him at the last moment. Gods, but a clean scry-and-die combo never gets old. You use the right spells at the right time in the right way and the battle just falls into place. Easy-peasy. - Excerpt from The Booker Interviews, 2686th year of His Majesty Byzas The Great¡¯s reign. Chapter 7: To Courbefy
Current Quests
The Safety Of Walls: Reach a walled town with Samorn Khantong. Abandoned Forest Town: Investigate the abandoned forest town Courbefy with local¡­
They would have to leave the boat golem behind. The giant toad had ripped the boat just forward of the left forelimb down to the keel and it was tearing further as the limb kept moving. Sam rubbed healing unguent on Dave¡¯s ravaged back and they rested for a few minutes while it took effect. ¡°Bye, bye, boat,¡± said Sam, patting the boat golem before they left. ¡°Sam, why didn¡¯t you summon your skeletons?¡± asked Dave as he remembered in a wave that she had that ability now. Sam¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°I forgot!¡± she said and gave her most self conscious grin. ¡°Ugh, we need to train our new abilities,¡± said Dave with a grimace. Dave and Sam transferred her gear from the boat to the open thorax of the ant golem. Sam sat down in the abdomen seat, which was still disguised with an illusory top, and Dave nestled himself among the gear in the thorax section, gingerly lowering himself onto his newly healed back, and they continued their journey. ¡°Don¡¯t you have a familiar?¡± asked Sam from inside the illusion. Dave looked up from his notes. ¡°Yeah, but I don¡¯t have the quintessence to summon it. My spellbook gives me a circle and makes my coin costs free but I still need other reagents.¡± said Dave. ¡°Oh, what kind?¡± asked Sam. ¡°96 light and 96 fire quintessence,¡± said Dave. ¡°Tome, go show Sam the spell.¡± Professor Tome flapped its way over to Sam through the illusion. After a few moments when Tome didn¡¯t come back he realised that Sam was looking something up so he sat up in the thorax and watched for threats. ¡°Oh," said Sam¡¯s voice eventually, ¡°quintessence and essences come from the same place. I always wonder about that.¡± ¡°Catching up on your magic theory?¡± asked Dave with a smirk. ¡°Yes! Magic so interesting but I never had books. I would always be talking to travellers on the beach when I was a child. My mother was always so worried about me talking to strangers!¡± said Sam with a laugh. ¡°You never had books?¡± asked Dave. ¡°What about these libraries that my Epistemology references?¡± Although he couldn¡¯t see it, Dave could feel Sam¡¯s specific strained smile. His smirk fell away from his face. ¡°Public but not for my family,¡± said Sam. That hit Dave like a punch to the gut. ¡°Oh,¡± said Dave. ¡°Let me guess. There¡¯s a ¡®right¡¯ kind of people and they are the ruling people?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± said Sam. ¡°And, while technically the libraries are public they¡¯re designed by their very location to be inaccessible to peasants like us?¡± said Dave in a low voice. ¡°Yes! Always in a remote temple or in a guarded part of a town,¡± said Sam. Dave let out a long breath. He was raised in Australia¡¯s public school system which had set him on a course to complete his masters and doctorate in pharmaceutical science in Germany. Dave was acutely aware that the free education provided to him was the base upon which opportunities on two continents had come and he felt strongly about that. ¡°My world was like that a couple of hundred years ago. It wasn¡¯t a good time,¡± said Dave. ¡°I think I have found a purpose in this world, Sam. You keep reading my Tome, I¡¯ll be fine for now.¡± Dave flicked his wrist and summoned a small sheaf of paper to his hand with Pauper¡¯s Paper Production then telekinetically took a quill out of a pocket and started writing a new composition for an attempt at a cabin summoning spell. ¡°Oh, bloody hell,¡± said Dave about an hour later. Ahead on the trail, was a humanoid shape. Dave selected it with his HUD - ¡°Forest troll,¡± warned Dave. A towering, yet gangly figure, easily three metres tall with broad shoulders and talon-tipped arms that hung to its knees. Its skin was a leafy green with texture like the bark of a tree. Its mouth of jagged teeth was pulling into a slavering rictus and it looked at Sam, Dave and the ant golem with hungry eyes. ¡°Bail!¡± barked Dave. As though his command was a call to battle meant for the troll, it began lumbering forward, raising a small tree as a club. Sam and Dave rolled quickly out of their ride and the giant paper ant golem rushed forward to meet the troll. Dave and Sam drew their weapons. Sam extended her arm and her beetle swarm buzzed towards the troll''s head. ¡°Sam, skeletons!¡± said Dave as he repeatedly shot mage bolts into the troll¡¯s shoulder. His HUD gave a targeting reticule so he was very much enjoying the point-and-shoot wand. The troll and the ant golem met with the troll snapping the ant¡¯s head down with a mighty blow but the ant¡¯s momentum merely continued its trajectory towards the leg rather than the neck, the daggers in the ant¡¯s pincers hooking into the troll¡¯s flesh and driving forward. The troll was clawing at the neck of the ant in response. ¡°Alright, skeletons!¡± shouted Sam. She held Professor Tome with Dave for a moment and chanted for a moment in Siamese. Dave¡¯s eyes were attracted to the magic summoning and noticed the infusion of a pseudo-mind that was an inherent part of the magic which he¡¯d need notes on later. The skeletons whipped into being in front of Sam on an ethereal wind that only the dead could feel, forming a defensive line in front of Sam who ordered them forward. ¡°Wait!¡± shouted Dave, seeing they were unarmed. He reached into his inventory and started throwing weapons looted from cultists onto the ground. ¡°Take them!¡± Sam ordered the skeletons to run back and take the weapons. Dave activated his prestidigitation Attack Of The Razor Quills on the basis of why-not more than any expectation it¡¯d be a deciding factor and continued to shoot mage bolts into the troll. Sam was using her sling, unwilling to go near the troll for fear of its overwhelming power but her skeletons were very successful as they charged back in and started hacking and stabbing at the troll¡¯s arms. The troll growled in response and back handed one of the skeletons who tumbled backwards with a few missing ribs and then rushed back in with a mindless enthusiasm that Dave could only compare to the psychotic energy of small dogs. ¡°Rotate left, take the armpit!¡± shouted Dave to the ant golem with a will in his voice, coaching the ant¡¯s wrestling technique. While under fire from all the small beings, alive and dead, and ignoring a face full of beetles the troll was fighting a giant golem who did a duck-under and an improvised shoulder control. Dave was about to order a sharp, clockwise drag to trip the troll over the ant¡¯s legs when the troll simplified the problem by turning away and just letting the daggers in the ant''s pincers tear through the skin and flesh of its shoulder to get free. With its free hand pushing down the ant¡¯s head to the ground to gain time, the troll swung its club at a skeleton, crushing it utterly, and simultaneously ate a mouthful of beetles. Sam immediately re-positioned the beetles to fly in a circle around the troll''s head to block vision as best they could but the troll had already swung its club a second time and snapped another skeleton in half. Undeterred, two of the other skeletons were relentlessly attacking the troll¡¯s leg and the third had used the troll¡¯s immobility to clamber onto it¡¯s back, grab its hair with a free hand and start stabbing its sword downwards into the troll¡¯s back over and over. Dave was circling the troll to the left as he continued shooting mage bolt. ¡°Rotate your body around your head towards the troll and drag the leg!¡± commanded Dave. The ant did so, getting a severe-looking rent in its head but it kicked out the troll¡¯s ankle forcing it to use its club arm as a post on the ground to avoid falling on its face. The skeleton on its back rode the troll to the ground and continued its stabbing spree, the other two skeletons not too far behind. The golem was still struggling to unpin its head from under the troll¡¯s arm but got the chance as the troll abandoned both club and ant head to suddenly spring to its feet, reach over its back, grab the skeleton there and hurl it against a tree, shattering it. Dave was still shooting mage bolts into the troll and Sam hurling stones, both of them feeling like minor players in this conflict compared to their summons but the summons were doing their job well. The ant backed up a little and used the time the troll spent ripping another skeleton in half to pounce fully on the troll, bearing it down. ¡°Hold it in place by the upper arms and kick out the legs whenever they¡¯re not flat!¡± commanded Dave. This was a bit of improvising with jiu-jitsu knowledge but he thought it¡¯d work. The ant was much heavier and it should be able to pin the troll¡¯s arms. That left the legs as its only escape option but so long as it didn¡¯t get stable footing, the troll should be helpless on its back. Dave wasn¡¯t entirely right as the troll¡¯s wicked claws still ripped up the ant¡¯s forelegs quite badly but it remained pinned on the ground and the last skeleton used an axe to hack away at whatever it could reach while the ant golem began opportunistically driving its head into the troll¡¯s neck until it stopped moving under the barrage of attacks. ¡°Why can¡¯t I loot - oh, yeah,¡± said Dave, getting halfway through his thought before he noticed Sam was retrieving some lantern oil from her pack and he remembered that trolls regenerate. Sam began splashing the oil over the troll. Dave followed her and used Magician¡¯s Meagre Magics to light the edge of the oil. After the flame covered most of the troll, it finally became a lootable object and Dave kneeled to loot. He saw his lesser and iron rank spirit coin values tick up as well as an item notification; You have looted, [troll¡¯s heart] from, [Forest troll (iron rank)]. Dave started inspecting the damage to the ant golem and using Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas to clean the troll-bits from it. Sam was reading from Tome the whole time and then looked up at Dave. ¡°Hey!¡± announced Sam. ¡°Trolls often have a lair with treasure. It says here!¡± Sam hopped over to Dave and showed him the forest troll page from Bestiary Of Frankish Byzasian Empire. ¡°Sure, that seems good. Is there any catch?¡± asked Dave, still cleaning. ¡°It says that trolls often attract other lesser monsters who scavenge, but your ant is strong enough to kill them, right?¡± beamed Sam. ¡°Yeah, it is,¡± said Dave confidently. ¡°But, we need to wrap the neck with twine just in case. The troll¡¯s claws tore it up pretty good.¡± ¡°You clean, I wrap,¡± said Sam, and she dug a bundle of twine out of her pack and started wrapping the torn up pieces of the golem¡¯s neck in place. Her remaining skeleton was wandering about, picking up the weapons of its fallen compatriots which it presented to Dave when it was done. ¡°Oh, thanks!¡± said Dave, who¡¯d been thinking about something else and stuffed them back into his inventory. The skeleton made a snappy salute and immediately walked over to Sam who grinned and laughed at Dave¡¯s reaction. Being a rural farm girl and spending the last couple of years as a ranger, Sam was quite adept at tracking and soon she was leading the paper golem along with Dave perched on top who was taking frantic notes on the nature of the animation of the skeleton. They ran into many normal rank monsters along the way but Sam was right, the golem dispatched them with ease. It was mostly a pack of ¡®rabid wolves¡¯ who would attack, take a savage kick from the ant golem and then retreat back into the forest while being shot at by Dave with mage bolt. After about half an hour they made it to a small cave on the side of a hill. They peered in and immediately froze. There was a slightly larger forest troll sleeping at the bottom of the small cave. The troll suddenly grunted, sniffed and opened one eye. That was enough for Dave. ¡°Milled for my purpose!¡± intoned Dave, and a tonne of stick-like small paper bricks each connected by a strip of long paper was conjured on top of the troll at the bottom of the cave. Dave willed his paper ant golem forward, which barely fit in the space. ¡°Just trap it!¡± barked Dave to the ant who leaned its forelimbs on the paper mass that was beginning to writhe with the troll¡¯s attempts to stand. Dave put a restraining hand on Sam¡¯s shoulder as he cast Warming Fire at the bottom of the cave on the slavering troll. The troll snarled and roared wetly but couldn¡¯t move properly underneath the combined two tonnes of summoned kindling and golem. ¡°Have your skeleton stab and shove any part of the troll that comes up back into the paper,¡± said Dave and Sam willed the skeleton to do so. ¡°We just wait?¡± asked Sam as they watched from the cave mouth, looking down at the struggle. ¡°Yep. I¡¯m starting a fire,¡± confirmed Dave grimly, concentrating intently at the scene. The ant golem was kneeling with its forelimbs and head pressed flat to the paper bundle. The troll had pushed out a single arm and had partial range of motion but as soon as its claws had found the golem¡¯s leg, Sam¡¯s skeleton was hacking ferociously at the wrist. The troll didn¡¯t stop screaming and roaring from under the paper. Eventually the fire took and the adventuring pair had to exit the cave because of the smoke. Dave ordered the smoke-immune golem to stay until the fire started to affect it and then stand back to a safe distance and focus on shoving the troll back into the flames. Sam ordered the skeleton back and to press forward again if the troll got a hold on the golem. Both Sam and Dave watched as the smoke-obscured form of the golem repeatedly reared up and smacked the troll back down the slope into the burning bottom of the cave. The drooling, snarling troll roared and screamed the whole time until, eventually, it was consumed in the inferno. Afterwards, they went a little way away and Dave started magically removing soot and sweat from Sam. ¡°That was¡­ loud,¡± said Sam quietly, her smile absent. ¡°I should have realised that a tonne of loose paper and kindling would get very hot,¡± said Dave, looking at the cave mouth that smoke was still billowing out of and was still very, very hot inside. ¡°Do you think it¡¯ll affect the loot?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you think about right now?¡± said Sam. Dave nodded and shuddered at the same time. ¡°All monsters have to be killed, right? If we don¡¯t, even the nice ones go mad and start killing everything in sight. At least, that¡¯s what it said in the books, right?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± said Sam. ¡°They are made of magic and when it runs out, they just attack everything.¡± ¡°Yeah, and trolls aren¡¯t nice ones to begin with,¡± said Dave seriously. ¡°They eat people, don¡¯t they? So, the choice is easy. Do we let the trolls make those kinds of noises? Or the troll''s victims?¡± Sam nodded but looked a little wan. Dave wasn¡¯t feeling so great himself. Burned alive was a particularly nasty way to hear something die. Dave busied himself by taking all of their gear out of the ant golem and instructing it to go to the nearest stream, kneel down, take on water into the thorax, bring it back here and tip the water onto the hot coals. While the ant golem was doing that, Dave took his note paper and went back to sketch some magical directions for a cabin spell while Sam read an Adventure Society publication of advice aimed at new adventurers. Two slow trips of water and half-an-hour later, the flames in the cave had burned down to the point that Dave could walk inside. It was a complete mess with a charcoal troll corpse at the centre with a sparkly effect over it indicating it was lootable. ¡°Okay, I can kneel and collect all the lootable items but there will be a lot of rainbow smoke,¡± said Dave. Sam immediately turned on her heel and went outside the cave and a good distance beyond. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Okay, go now!¡± called Sam cheerily. Dave knelt, held his breath, activated loot all and ran for it as rainbow smoke rose all around him. He could feel it clinging to his skin and trying to get into his nose. He ran a little bit off from Sam and started using Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas to clean the residual smell off. ¡°What¡¯d we get?¡± called Sam who was being careful to position herself upwind. Dave opened the command chat box history and looked at the rewards. ¡°Uhh, bunch of money, couple of gems, monster core¡­ Oh, magic amulet and a plant awakening stone!¡± announced Dave and then looked more closely. ¡°The awakening stone was part of the horde not from the troll itself. Alright that makes more sense. You want it?¡± Sam grinned and nodded. ¡°Throw to me!¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s not much good until you want to come close!¡± laughed Dave. ¡°The spellbook needs my hand as well as yours.¡± ¡°I just want to hold it,¡± said Sam, looking happily at the awakening stone. It looked a little like a large seed with imperfections that, if they caught the light just right, looks like the start of shooting buds. Professor Tome took the opportunity to be open in front of her on a page about plant awakening stone abilities. Dave checked the amulet.
Item: Troll bone amulet Rank: Iron
Description An amulet made from the bone of a forest troll, this amulet gives the wearer a substantial passive health recovery.
Detailed Information
¡°Hey, you should take this too,¡± said Dave and had Professor Tome come and fly it over to her. ¡°It makes you heal fast. Between your healing spells, familiar and this; really fast! You don¡¯t have a good ranged option so this will free you up to get stuck in with that sickle, eh?¡± Sam took it gratefully and hung it around her neck. Dave soon stopped cleaning himself and held onto Tome as he chanted the awakening stone ritual for Sam. Sam¡¯s skeleton watched Dave with a grin. It didn¡¯t have a choice but Dave still felt sure Sam was making it do that too intently, just for the giggles. Sam used the awakening stone while Dave looked at his chat box and clicked for details that he read out as the ability awakened in her. Samorn Khanthong has used an awakening stone of the plant. Samorn Khanthong has acquired a new life essence ability, Health Blossom.
Ability: Health Blossom
Essence: Life Rank: Iron 0 0% to iron 1 Awakening Stone: Plant
Type: Spell Tags: Healing. Cost: Low mana
Cooldown: None
Description Apply a small heal over time for ten seconds that can stack three times. If allowed to reach the end of the heal time, it will heal a large burst multiplied by the amount of stacks.
Detailed Information
¡°Oh! This is really good!¡± cried Sam happily and immediately cast the spell on her remaining skeleton. ¡°Ugh, was that wise?¡± asked Dave, his caution confirmed as he watched the skeleton¡¯s health bar start ticking down slowly. ¡°Yeah, I want to try new spell and skeleton needs healing,¡± Sam stopped talking as she noticed the skeleton spontaneously shedding bits of bone and remembered why she hadn¡¯t used regrowth on the skeleton. ¡°Oops. Undead,¡± said Sam in a small voice and smiled her guilty smile at Dave. ¡°Well,¡± said Dave in a tone of hesitant reassurance, ¡°At least we¡¯ll get an idea for how big the bloom is, right?¡± ¡°Right!¡± said Sam who grinned guiltily at her impassive skeleton. They both watched in silence as the heal ate away at the undead skeleton who affected an atmosphere of patient optimism. The skeleton didn¡¯t have a lot of health compared to an adventurer of the same rank, skeletons mostly survived on damage reduction, but it would be interesting to observe anyway. The heal ticked away at most of its remaining unlife before the bloom effect happened. When the ten seconds of heal over time completed and the bloom happened, the remaining third of the skeleton¡¯s heath dropped away and it clapped as it disintegrated. Dave couldn¡¯t help giggling and Sam laughed at Dave¡¯s laughter. There was just something about the look of happy acceptance on the face of the skeleton that made the whole situation ludicrous. When they¡¯d stopped laughing, Dave was using Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas to dry out the ant golem, Sam did some reading on the mechanisms about why healing magic is destructive to unliving creatures. ¡°But it says that the healing only half converts to damage!¡± said Sam. ¡°Good!¡± said Dave with relief. ¡°Bad conversion ratio but good to know if the corruption where we¡¯re going is undead.¡± ¡°And, so many awakening stones!¡± said Sam in a sing-song voice. Dave smiled. She was right. Dave and Sam returned to the old trail that Sam had found to Courbefy and she kept the ant golem on it for the rest of the day. There were some normal rank monsters encountered along the way; a flock of tyrannical pheasants, which attacked enmasse and were mostly dispatched with a well placed corpse explosion, and a psychotic goat which got focus-damaged down quite quickly. They stopped walking at sundown and upon selecting a flat area out of the wind, Dave summoned their usual paper cabin and, at Dave¡¯s request, Sam summoned her skeletons while he watched with his magic sight and took careful notes. Given that they had a powerful golem and Dave could summon a sturdy structure with only one entrance, it was agreed that they would both go to sleep as much as they damned well liked, so long as they awoke before dawn. Both Sam and Dave were subsisting on spirit coins now but they snacked on ham and cheese sandwiches as well as a cup of tea for the taste. ¡°I¡¯ve been reading An Introduction To Adventuring by Arabelle Remore. It says that we have to meditate to increase our abilities,¡± said Sam, grinning at him as he served tea. ¡°We have to look into our soul and tend to the essences there. Like a garden.¡± ¡°Are there other metaphors or is it all gardens in my soul?¡± asked Dave. Sam smiled a happy smile and sipped her tea. ¡°All gardens,¡± she whispered. Dave summoned professor Tome to himself and asked for the pages on meditation that Sam referred to in An Introduction To Adventuring and skimmed the page. ¡°It also says that I can visualise it as any peaceful activity that involves organisation,¡± said Dave with a small smile. ¡°Gardens are best,¡± said Sam, blowing on her tea with a smirk and a sense of superiority. Dave picked up his tea, blew on it and sipped. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll try the garden,¡± said Dave. Dave and Sam woke the next day before dawn, each of them eating a spirit coin before having some jam toast to wash away the licking-a-battery taste of the coins. They both watched as the first rays of true dawn hit the sky and the ant golem became inanimate with a thunk. Dave had stayed up later than Sam last night, taking notes on the magic animating her skeletons and finishing his new spell; Origami Golem. A spell that he was sure would simultaneously summon the paper construct and animate it with a pseudo-intellect. ¡°Answer my call,¡± intoned Dave, casting the spell. A horizontal split appeared to open in the air a few metres in front of him. Cardboard and paper appeared to crawl out of it in every direction as though coming off the assembly line of an omnidirectional paper factory and out crawled the newest model. A large, hexagonal body made of compressed, stiff cardboard with reinforcing panels running to a central seat area that took up most of the room in the hexagon but still with room behind the driver for cargo space. There was a stiff cardboard roll-bar, to make sure any slippages wouldn¡¯t immediately crush the rider and, finally, three very large legs running down each side, slightly grouped to the sides rather than equally spaced. The legs were thicker and longer than the ant¡¯s legs and were tipped with what felt like the closest thing that materials science could make paper into a hoof. ¡°That¡¯s scary!¡± said Sam, but with a congratulatory tone. The origami golem turned to her and she saw a folded down part at the front left of the golem that had a cut-out which read ¡®I am a happy beetle!¡¯ and had a smiley face indented across the front. ¡°Ha! Cute!¡± cried Sam. ¡°That one¡¯s yours,¡± said Dave with a grin. ¡°Here¡¯s mine. Answer my call.¡± Another hexagonal origami golem walked out of unspace and turned to face Sam. This one had a face with reading glasses and indented words that said ¡®busy studying¡¯. Sam laughed. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s you!¡± she said. ¡°These are bigger than the other ones by a good amount and should move a bit faster. The previous golems were made with permanent paper and a whole bunch of the magic gets spent on the realness, it seems. These will unsummon in about half a day so I could get more weight for the same magic, although some of the weight I traded for higher quality cardboard in places. Also, these count as alive for healing magic so you can heal them and I can also have them absorb more paper to heal them as well.¡± said Dave with pride. ¡°Glad you¡¯re with me, Dave!¡± congratulated Sam, gesturing for her origami golem to come down for her to clamber inside. ¡°Girl, you disintegrate the undead by accident! It¡¯s me who¡¯s glad you¡¯re on my side.¡± They continued their journey and started encountering more powerful monsters like the frog. At first it was a murder of milky-eyed and bloated crows called carrion crows on his HUD that swarmed at Dave and his golem. Dave got severely shaken as the golem spun quickly to scare the birds away but he managed a cast of Attack Of The Razor Quills anyway, which took one out of the sky. He then used his telekinetic control of quills to pick up the corpse and interpose it between himself and the flock of birds. As they flew back around for another pass, the tightly grouped murder went straight past the floating corpse which is when Sam cast Corpse Explosion, killing some and so she cast again on one of the new corpses to kill the rest. ¡°Thank you, scary-Sam!¡± called Dave. ¡°You alright?¡± inquired Sam. ¡°Just shook up is all,¡± replied Dave. They continued and within the next hour, encountered another pack of rabid wolves. Fortunately this was much easier to handle. Their rabidness apparent, they charged mindlessly at Sam and Dave. Even when they avoided the golems, they were met with sickle and arming sword. Both Dave and Sam took scratches from the wolves¡¯ claws during this fight but were not affected by any rabid afflictions. Later on they found a single dire bear. It was an overly large bear specimen but even so, as a single, large creature it didn¡¯t represent much threat. Sam and Dave followed their plan; they both approached the dire bear about ten metres apart and opened with ranged attacks. Whichever of them the bear charged at would move backwards and the other would flank the charging beast. Their plan worked well with the beast charging Sam and although the beast turned to meet Dave¡¯s counter charge, Sam showed her initiative by switching roles and making her own counter charge into the bear¡¯s flank. The bear gouged deep furrows in the forelegs of Dave¡¯s golem before it died but the legs of Dave¡¯s golem were still usable. ¡°I can heal some of your golem¡¯s damage but I think it¡¯s lost some total health,¡± said Sam, furrowing her brow. Dave hopped down and inspected the ravaged area of his golem. ¡°Oh, I see. Bits of it have been torn off. There¡¯s nothing there to heal. Let me try adding paper.¡± said Dave and used Pauper¡¯s Paper Production to add paper over the damaged areas like bandages. The paper stuck to the areas fast and Dave looked to his HUD and saw the health of the origami golem slightly improve. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fixed it,¡± said Sam. ¡°Can¡¯t use healing magic to fix all of my problems, hey?¡± grinned Dave. Sam also grinned and remounted her origami golem. They continued on but Dave was no longer studying and Sam wasn¡¯t singing to herself. The monster density was truly more than Sam had anticipated. At midafternoon they were attacked again. A large flower Sam was riding past let out an enormous puff of perfumed air and Sam immediately passed out. Dave shouted in alarm and rushed his own golem over but he needn¡¯t have bothered. A giant vine had also snaked out of the ground and grabbed the leg of Sam¡¯s origami golem which the golem used to yank back on exposing a giant, screaming tree-baby from the ground. Dave quickly used Stop And Think, selected it and used Epistemology in his HUD to find out that it was a giant mandrake. A flesh eating plant which would sedate its prey with an airborne sedative and constrict them to death. In confirmation of this he mentally selected Sam who had ¡®giant mandrake sedative¡¯ as a debuff. Thankfully, golems were immune to poisons. Dave unpaused time and both origami golems galloped over to the unearthed, giant baby-like figure and stomped it to death, ignoring the constricting vines. Sam woke up a few seconds later and drooled a bit. Dave hopped over to her golem to make sure she wasn¡¯t injured and wouldn¡¯t freak out when she came to. Soon, Sam¡¯s eyes opened and she slurred something in Siamese. Dave patted her arm and made his best attempt at comforting noises. After a few more seconds she was lucid enough to make another attempt at reality. ¡°Wha¡¯ go¡¯ me, ka?¡± asked Sam. ¡°Giant mandrake,¡± said Dave softly. ¡°Ka.¡± Dave let her breathe until her eyes started to focus. ¡°This quest seems to have more monsters than we initially expected,¡± said Dave. ¡°We win, ka?¡± asked Sam. ¡°Yeah, golems stomped it. You want to keep going? Or, go home?¡± asked Dave. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Keep going, ka,¡± replied Sam. ¡°Well, you rest up. I need you. You see, I¡­ err, I don¡¯t actually know where to go,¡± said Dave. Sam smiled cheekily at the sky. Sam recovered in twenty minutes and they spent the rest of the day travelling and fighting two more rabid wolf packs which were dealt with as the first one. These not only gave monster cores but a particularly large wolf gave some corruption quintessence. Dave and Sam shared a worried look. They arrived at the Courbefy valley on a large, only slightly sloped prominence that looked over the crumbling buildings of the town in the distance before dusk. Sam insisted on clambering over the rocky cliffs with the remaining light until she found a windy perch that would barely fit the cabin on the ledge. Sam immediately cast her skeletons and told them to guard. Dave refreshed his golem conjuration before casting Paper Mill Production to make their small cabin, with extra attention to the shape of the floor to fit the uneven rocky surface so they wouldn¡¯t sleep on a slope, and they went inside. ¡°You don¡¯t think we¡¯re safe?¡± asked Dave. ¡°We are attacked all day. Why you think they stop attacking at night?¡± said Sam. Strangely, the monsters did stop attacking at night. Sam and Dave slept in shifts. Sam was supposed to sleep first but Dave saw her turning fitfully and did the same when it was his turn in the early hours. If there were any monsters out there, he was going to be annoyed at them for sleeping when he couldn¡¯t. It felt like he had only just got to sleep when Sam woke him up. ¡°Wha¡¯ ¡®s it?¡± asked Dave blearily. It was pre-dawn but most of the landscape could be seen. ¡°The hills are weird,¡± said Sam seriously. Dave found this sentence incongruous and roused himself properly. ¡°What do you mean weird?¡± ¡°They¡¯re moving bits towards us?¡± ¡°Show me.¡± Sam pointed at the bare hills which were, indeed, having what looked like shrubberies or small tufts of grass crossing them but always in the direction towards their camp site. Dave quickly cast The Clairvoyant Eye Of Transvection and cast it in the middle of a field where he could see one of the moving bushes coming. There was a moment of disorientation as he became a floating eye on the distant hill. Dave righted himself and gazed around. The ¡®bushes¡¯ were herds of goats. He selected them. Psychotic goats! He panned his vision around and confirmed with another herd further away and another glimpsed in some trees. Herds and herds of psychotic goats converging on their position. Dave cancelled his Clairvoyant Eye spell. ¡°Sam?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°They¡¯re all psychotic goats.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°All of them are coming towards us.¡± ¡°We¡¯re in so much trouble!¡± ¡°Yes, but we have some nice spells!¡± ¡°Dave, there are at least two hundred psychotic goats!¡± ¡°Well, goats are relatively small? That¡¯s good right?¡± ¡°Not really! Should we run?¡± Dave smiled. ¡°You know they¡¯ll catch us if we try.¡± Sam nodded and looked scared. ¡°I had trouble sleeping last night but I didn¡¯t waste time. I got that cabin spell I was working on finished.¡± Sam hit his arm. ¡°We don¡¯t need a bed right now!¡± she scolded. Dave¡¯s eyes turned mischievous and dangerous. ¡°You don¡¯t understand,¡± said Dave as he opened Professor Tome to the spell for memorisation with a deadly calm. ¡°The cabin is designed to be very strong. We will practically have a small castle.¡± Sam¡¯s mouth fell open while her brain was trying to find a gear for this idea. ¡°Find me a defensible position about six long strides across and summon your skeletons, Sam! I¡¯m pretty sure we can do this,¡± said Dave with the insane confidence of a man who¡¯s had an idea.
As you descend into the grand mausoleum, the air grows heavy with centuries of dust and decay,¡± Florian narrated, his voice low and ominous. ¡°Stone sarcophagi line the vast chamber, some cracked, others intact, their carved lids depicting ancient, long-dead figures. Rows of skeletal remains lie undisturbed in alcoves, their hollow sockets staring blankly into the darkness. Dozens of undead guardians turn towards your intrusion. What do you do?¡± ¡°Turn Undead!¡± blurted Krista, immediately rolling her dice. ¡°That¡¯s going to agro the whole dungeon,¡± said Dave, smiling. Florian gave his goofy grin. Krista winced but also smiled. No take backs was the rule. Florian rolled dice and moved tokens on the virtual tabletop for a minute. ¡°Okay, the two undead knights who weren¡¯t turned move to engage, their armours scraping together as they close with Beldove.¡± Flo moved the two virtual tokens into contact with Krista¡¯s character. Then, with an almost gleeful flourish, he began moving other tokens through unexplored doors deeper into the dungeon. ¡°As they flee, turned by the power of your god, the ground begins to quake. Dormant skeletons stir, their bones clattering in waves. From every alcove and sarcophagus, skeletal warriors emerge, grasping rusted weapons.¡± The players groaned and grinned in resignation. ¡°This is going to be bad,¡± groaned Krista as Florian started rolling to hit her character. ¡°Not if we find somewhere defensive,¡± muttered Dave, going over the map. ¡°We have good AoE damage in you and Vash, and Marc and I can hold a line.¡± ¡°I have Wall Of Fire!¡± offered Vash happily. ¡°And we do have some good ranged damage,¡± murmured Dave. ¡°So we don¡¯t need to be mobile. Okay, why don¡¯t we stand in the corner, use the big sarcophagus there as cover and triangle ourselves in with a Wall Of Fire?¡± Lacking a better plan, everyone agreed. Grinning, Florian confirmed that Dave had been right, the fleeing undead had aggroed the entire dungeon. The next turn, tokens representing waves of skeletons flooded toward their position. Krista cast a high level Spirit Guardians as soon as she could and between that and Wall Of Fire, all but the most high level threats died immediately under cleansing flame and holy light. Even the death knight striding through the flames at the height of the battle had little effect on the outcome. ¡°I¡¯ll initiate a grapple and hold him right there,¡± said Dave. Florian laughed and rolled dice with Dave for the grapple. Dave won. ¡°Well, I guess 5d8 damage at the start and end of his next turn,¡± said Florian. ¡°Good positioning will do that,¡± said Dave with a self-satisfied smirk. Vash and Krista¡¯s character cleaned up what was left of the dungeon¡¯s undead after the death knight died from Spirit Guardians at the start of its next turn. ¡°The mausoleum falls quiet,¡± said Florian. ¡°Except for the sound of your ragged breathing. The undead champion¡¯s ancient greatsword lies on the floor, glowing faintly with eerie light. What do you do?¡± ¡°Loot the sword,¡± said Marc immediately. Chapter 8: Psychotic Slaughter
Current Quests
The Safety Of Walls: Reach a walled town with Samorn Khantong. Abandoned Forest Town: Investigate the abandoned forest town Courbefy with local¡­
As it turns out, goats are surprisingly fast and Dave had almost no time to set up. The best flat space they could find was further along the shelf they were already on. There was a cliff, a four paces drop, seven paces of relatively even ground and then another cliff. Basically, they were in the middle of three giant, uneven stairs. ¡°Goats will climb the cabin from above and collapse the roof,¡± said Dave gravely indicating the first cliff. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll slope the roof and hope they slip off to the bottom step.¡± ¡°You are trying to intimidate a goat with climbing?¡± said Sam with a laugh. ¡°Uhh, good point,¡± said Dave sheepishly. ¡°I¡¯ll put a golem up top where it can reach over and shove them off the roof?¡± ¡°That works!¡± said Sam, whose confidence was gaining with every step in the plan since Dave had pointed out that she had an area of effect attack. ¡°But won¡¯t the goats just attack the golem?¡± ¡°They can but it can safely retreat onto the roof and knock them down it, like on a slide, so I really hope they do that. No, the real problem is that,¡± said Dave, indicating a paragraph in Bestiary Of Frankish Byzasian Empire which, Tome highlighted for easy reading. ¡°So they¡¯ll come for us first?¡± asked Sam. ¡°Well, that¡¯s what the book says. I sure hope it¡¯s wrong! Please goats, attack the massive, mobile golem that I can summon instead of me!¡± joked Dave and Sam smiled a little. She had already summoned her skeletons and they were helping to clear a few rocks and more sturdy shrubs from the area the cabin was going in. ¡°Also,¡± continued Dave, ¡°they have a particular herd behaviour. Show her, Professor.¡± Tome flicked over a page and showed the next page from Bestiary Of Frankish Byzasian Empire with a particular section in bold. ¡°Yes! So, our plan doesn¡¯t even need to kill them all!¡± said Sam with relief. ¡°Which is great,¡± said Dave, going through the plan one last time. ¡°Golem up top, it¡¯ll pop down for healing when needed, we are in the cabin defending the door with your skeletons.¡± ¡°Once a skeleton is at half health I pull them back and let another one step forward,¡± completed Sam. ¡°And I¡¯m going to wish I had a more powerful wand to spend mana on,¡± said Dave. In some reviews Dave had found, Mage Bolt was considered a poor damage spell that was only redeemed because the magic bolt that it shot converted into every kind of damage upon hitting and so it was almost impossible to resist most of the damage. It was considered by most to be a good backup wand for elemental specialists. ¡°Wait,¡± said Sam. ¡°How come Life Blossom hurts skeletons but Life Recirculation heals them?¡± ¡°Oh, Tome looked that up but I forgot to tell you. It probably has something to do with Life Recirculation funnelling magic into the creature¡¯s soul, or soul-like centre, as that being¡¯s own fundamental concept of health as per their soul-imprint rather than a direct injection of life energy, which is what Life Blossom is. I think. That¡¯s why Life Blossom is so mana efficient,¡± said Dave. Sam tilted her head and nodded, following the logic. The skeletons finished their task and presented themselves to Sam who beamed at them and Dave summoned the cabin. As per the spell it could summon a cabin by, Sam read over Dave¡¯s shoulder, ¡®...using compressed paper and local materials to make a single-room cabin that can fit up to 9 people lying down on the floor with a three-stride-high ceiling.¡¯ ¡°A place to sleep, a place to keep, these tired bones, some rest I seek.¡± Incantation complete, Dave stood back to watch. It flew together in a ground up manner, like a real construction in a time lapse. Rocks, leaves, dust and branches all came together with panels of paper to make the, admittedly, cosy-looking cabin. About a hundred metres away, they heard some psychotic bleating and a thump as the golem shooed off the more bold goats who were rushing in before the horde. ¡°Inside and I¡¯ll make us armour,¡± said Dave. ¡°But I warn you, it¡¯s going to itch.¡± Dave sat down and looked at a series of sketches he¡¯d made in the past, concentrated on how they would connect together and cast his last spell for the day. ¡°Paper mill production.¡± Printing out of corners orthogonal to reality came seven gambesons woven of paper thread, fourteen shields of thick cardboard, fourteen kettle helmets of thick cardboard and seven knee-length lamellar coats with short sleeves. Also on the floor was about half a tonne of spare paper for the golem to consume. ¡°Put them on quickly. We¡¯re running out of time,¡± said Dave, looking out the window, watching the golem kick a psychotic goat in the head while retreating towards the cabin. Dave took five assorted weapons for the skeletons and put them on the floor. He was quietly proud of the new golem design. He¡¯d removed the seating possibilities in favour of a stable geometric shape. It was now a kind of hexagonal prism made of two, stumpy hexagonal pyramids stuck together by the bases. Dave thought it looked a bit like a ten-sided dice that had gotten properly squashed. The body was a solid mass, except for a vertical slot at the front slot for consuming extra paper, and the legs were bigger and heavier than ever. What¡¯s more, given that golems didn¡¯t need eyes and had no inner ear, it was shockingly omnidirectional. It could even move simply by extending its legs and just rolling on them like flexible spokes. It was kind of terrifying. Like a giant insect cartwheeling at you. Although the terror aspect wouldn¡¯t help here, psychotic goats only felt fear if affected by a fear causing spell, its manoeuvrability and bulkiness would be the best assets. The origami golem was, more or less, a massive pile of hitpoints and damage and perfect for defeating any monster that attempted to go toe-to-toe with it. It would struggle with more complex enemies but psychotic goats were not known for their subtlety. The bleating was easier to hear now. Somehow, it sounded bloodthirsty. Everyone clambered into their armour of itchy threads. A surprisingly difficult thing for the skeletons who kept getting their bones stuck in the sleeves however, Dave mused that at least they weren¡¯t affected by the itch. It felt like wearing a hessian sack. That wouldn¡¯t matter soon but in the anxiousness of the approaching herd of psychotic goats, it was somehow amplified and all he could really think about. The skeletons, finally jangling themselves into their armour, picked up their helmets and shields then delivered the same to Dave and Sam. ¡°Thanks Sam,¡± he said, nodding at the skeleton. The skeletons positioned themselves with shields across the door, Dave aimed over their shoulders and started shooting his wand. Fortunately, at about thirty paces out the lead goat fell dead from mage bolts and Sam immediately corpse exploded it as it was run over by its living fellows. It was a herd about ten paces across, Dave didn¡¯t know how many goats that was, but the explosion seemed to seriously affect half the herd. Either killing or seriously injuring them. ¡°Good shot, Sam!¡± encouraged Dave. ¡°We can do now with swords,¡± she replied, looking strained. The large herd hit and, unfortunately, none of them were ready. Unsurprisingly, male goats are natural, very good chargers and human skeletons don¡¯t have a lot of mass. The skeleton shieldwall cracked and Dave was completely unprepared to sink his sword into the one enterprising psychotic goat that high-jumped the shields. Three more broke in before the skeletons righted themselves, pushed back to the doorway and held the psychotic tide. On the other hand, Sam handled the situation brilliantly. Seeming to act on automatic when a goat crawled frantically under the legs of a skeleton, Sam stepped forward at an angle, pivoted and severed its spine with her sickle and presented her shield to the other of the two remaining goats. Dave was still squaring off with his high jumping goat which had already delivered a headbutt to his torso with a thunk that made Dave extremely glad for the armour. He shot it once with Mage Bolt and it started wildly jinking from side to side. Dave dropped the shield, and backed into a corner while drawing his sword. He kept the psychotic goat at swordpoint while shooting it to death with Mage Bolt. Sam had made a similar use of a corner and after killing her goat, looked at the door. The skeletons were holding the small mass back but they had taken damage. Dave selected them all quickly and saw health bars indicating an accumulation of minor injuries but there were two dead goats at their feet. ¡°Stay!¡± ordered Sam, holding a flat hand up to Dave. Dave stayed. The skeletons abandoned the door, ran to the corners and then, as the goats followed, one of the corpses in the door exploded violently. For the first time Dave saw the spell up close. Some of the remnant energy left over in a body that a soul could no longer hold onto was released via tendrils of death and distributed evenly about. Most of the remaining goats died in the explosion and everyone allied to Sam healed a good amount. Sam then put a life blossom on Dave and joined her skeletons in finishing off the wounded goats. Dave, a little shell shocked, took a moment to remember to join in. ¡°Well, my plan sucked,¡± said Dave flatly when Sam¡¯s small army finished off the goats. ¡°It was fine!¡± laughed Sam. ¡°Just needs fixing! Maybe shields a bit lower and swords a bit higher?¡± Dave noticed that the occasional beetle was running into an open wound on her hand and filling in the missing skin and that, if you looked at it, her health regeneration was very notable. The combination of her troll bone amulet and her beetle swarm familiar was truly potent. ¡°How did you know what to do so quickly?¡± asked Dave. Sam laughed again. ¡°No time for think. Just do!¡± ¡°Huh.¡± This had been a problem for Dave in many aspects of life. While his plans were usually good, sometimes he obsessed and made them overly detailed when he should have just left room for improvisation and just let people adapt in the moment. ¡°What do you think we should do, Sam?¡± asked Dave. ¡°More aggressive, I think,¡± she said thoughtfully, ¡°You are right, we need to be ready for a long battle but an explosion just before the charge will make them fall over and charge us less hard. Also, we both must accept the charge. Skeletons are too light.¡± Dave¡¯s mouth dropped open. Of course! It was so simple. The strategy had been to prioritise mana efficiency and only corpse explode when the most goats would be hit but now, Dave understood that the most important thing was to take momentum from the charge. If they break through, Sam must spend even more mana on healing but a good bit of mana spent on an ¡®inefficient¡¯ explosion that disrupted a charge would likely be more mana efficient in the end! Because, yes. The skeletons were really, really light. Surprisingly light. Sam and Dave would have to be in the shield wall. They prepared for the next herd by tactical corpse placement a few metres in front of the door that ultimately proved unnecessary. Dave got a sense of danger from his paper golem guarding the way above well before combat started and rushed everyone inside. The enraged bleating was the first thing they heard from above which the golem answered with silence. As golems without mouths tend to do. As Dave got inside he could already hear the golem¡¯s heavy legs crushing goats but some were getting past and nimbly hopping down onto the ledge the cabin was on and fixing Sam¡¯s army with a baleful glare before attacking. Dave and Sam stood low in the doorway with shields up and weapons pointed forward. Dave tried to ignore the sparkly glinting coming from the lootable goat corpses. He pushed back against the line of goats with Sam that were trickling past the golem. Shields, Dave was finding, required quite the art to use effectively. Thankfully, he¡¯d always been a quick learner. A big part of the trick of this situation, it seemed, was that you didn¡¯t need to kill everything yourself. In the moment with the sweat, the adrenaline, good-knows-whose blood and the hateful bleating of your enemies trying to kill you, it was easy to lose sight of teamwork, planning and a general sense of clearheadedness. Dave strained against the goats with his shield. That¡¯s all you had to do in the moment. Just hold it back. There were other people to do the killing! Except those people were skeletons. A goat¡¯s horn bashed into Dave¡¯s eyebrow but he didn¡¯t care. This was so unlike combat sports. There was a complete lack of personal game plan and yet it was so important to stick to the bigger plan by any means necessary. Dave laughed at himself as he fought and felt his muscles burn. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. He was momentarily aghast when he saw a large herd of goats in the distance running to join the small one already in front of him but when Sam laughed, he remembered. She used Corpse Explosion on the strategic goat. He¡¯d rather forgotten about that in the frantic stabbing he¡¯d been doing over his shield. Sam blew up another two more corpses in quick succession, dropping about half the large herd and making for a preponderance of useful corpses in the right area. The whole structure shook as the paper golem backed up onto it from the cliff above and, as planned, started pulling psychotic goats down the slope of the cabin and letting them drop off the cliff. Inside they could hear the surprised bleats of goats slipping down an incline to their death. With Corpse Explosion creating the occasional reprieve from the press of bodies, a better idea of how to use a shield and increasing faith in what a healing spell can really do, Dave stabbed at the boats more aggressively than before. A small ramp of dead goats was made at the doorway, which made everyone¡¯s footing uncertain but definitely made the charging at the doorway difficult. With that threat lessenced, his muscles tired and burning, Dave stepped back and allowed a skeleton to take over his position. The creation of the armour was turning out to have been the best idea. Dave¡¯s fingers and right hand had been continuously cut, bruised and then healed and the only reason he didn¡¯t have any organ damage to heal was because of the stiff cardboard breastplate, he was sure. And, If his gambeson looked anything like Sam¡¯s and the skeletons¡¯ then bits of his gambeson also looked inspired by ¡®80¡¯s style teased hair due to the amount of hard knocks ripping threads loose, making them stick out. Another corpse explosion later and the herd of psychotic goats broke up into groups and circled. They had run out of bloodlust and were no longer using the pure press of their numbers to attempt to overwhelm Sam¡¯s army. They began spreading out into smaller herds and trying to find other ways in. Perhaps they were de-herding? Dave was ambushed five minutes later by an enterprising goat while standing in the doorway firing his wand outside. A goat had climbed above the door and dropped down to savagely headbutt him. Dave fell backwards with a great expulsion of air from his lungs but the skeletons killed the goat as it tried to follow up. This ambush was followed by a small herd who experimented with the idea that this distraction was the chance they needed. It was not. Sam and her army raised their shields while Sam herself blew up an appropriately placed corpse. With the breaks in combat she was regenerating her mana quite easily. ¡°Should we hunt them?¡± asked Sam as Dave fired out the doorway again. This time by leaning against the door frame for maximum cover. ¡°Us? Maybe. The golem almost certainly. Professor Tome? Can you scout the roof and the immediate ledge above?¡± inquired Dave. displayed Tome. They¡¯d kept him inside in case there was a goatherd-type monster with a sling or something unexpected like that but it didn¡¯t seem to be the case. Tome came back a few seconds later. displayed Tome in its most pompous text. They walked outside with shields up. There were a few psychotic goats in the distance who bleated with menace but Dave knew to check his corners and found the three who were hiding between the wall and the cliff. The skeletons killed them swiftly. ¡°Golem, come down here to collect some snacks,¡± ordered Dave. ¡°Can I have a hand, Sam? Tome, please be so kind as to get some height and drop back down if you notice anything coming.¡± Tome awkwardly flapped on the winds to about ten metres in the air and the golem came down. Dave and Sam¡¯s skeletons lay down weapons for a moment and brought armfuls of paper bricks outside. They all assisted in feeding them into the mouth-like aperture in the hexagonal prism, which the golem absorbed and used to heal its missing pieces. The golem was in good health but definitely needed the paper top up it was getting right now. ¡°Okay, had enough to eat? Good golem. Okay, any corpses that are above, distribute them down the path from us,¡± said Dave, indicating the easiest approach path. ¡°After that, go hunting goats. Prioritise your own health above causing damage. If you are at any real risk, retreat to the cabin,¡± ordered Dave. The golem cartwheeled around and up to the upper cliff like a terrifying theme park ride. The next hour was cautious and systematic. Sam and Dave would look around carefully and aggravate small herds into attacking them, retreat to the cabin and use the preponderance of corpses along the ledge to blow up most of the incoming herd. They would occasionally see the mad, cartwheeling golem as it too, aggravated the psychotic goats and generally disrupted them from forming a large herd again. One time, it wheeled back to the cabin with a herd in tow but Sam used a well placed corpse to scatter the herd, pushing half of it off the cliff-step they were on, killing most of them. The golem simply turned around and, with the rest of Sam¡¯s army, killed off the remaining of the herd. Dave was willing to believe that it was likely over and in a phase of mopping up when Tome swooped down. He called his team to fall back and ran over to read Tome. it displayed. ¡°Elaborate,¡± ordered Dave. displayed Tome. ¡°What are you doing down there?¡± called a voice before Dave really had a chance to stop reading. Dave immediately felt dumb. He¡¯d forgotten that Tome could barely see beyond about thirty metres and nothing beyond about a hundred. The people were already here, walking across the middle step of the cliffs towards the cabin. ¡°What¡¯s with all these psychotic goat corpses? Poaches are you? Well, I¡¯ve got you now. Don¡¯t try to run.¡± The voice came from a young man who could only be described as solid but pudgy. The kind of build where even if they lost weight, they¡¯d still be built like the frontliner in a rugby team. The voice also had that distinctive mixture of self confidence and lack of self-determination that was the signature of every student Dave had ever tutored at university who came from money. The man was picking his way along the path of the shelf, the same way Sam, Dave and most of the goats got here. ¡°Nothing to say now that you¡¯ve been caught? Ha! Poachers. We¡¯ll see about that. You can come quietly as part of the servant train and my family will deal with you when we get back,¡± said the young aristocrat. ¡°Sam,¡± said Dave quickly in an undertone. ¡°Get our stuff together, get some rope and prepare to run if this doesn''t go well.¡± Dave straightened up and went outside to talk to the incoming noble. ¡°Apologies, Sir,¡± said Dave with a bow and gestured at the cabin. ¡°My friend and I were trying to rest in this cabin and were attacked by psychotic goats -¡± ¡°ENOUGH!¡± shouted the man. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be here unless you were poaching my monsters.¡± He was dressed in adventuring clothes and took off his heavy coat while he talked, showing large arms in his long, cotton undershirt. Dave had already mentally called Tome to his side and the golem to quietly go to the upper cliff. Sam was behind him inside the cabin with her skeletons changing her armour and shield. She¡¯d already packed up their belongings. They didn¡¯t have much. Dave gestured to Tome. ¡°Show me the local laws about poaching monsters, Professor,¡± asked Dave and then used Stop And Think while reading the entries. Most beyond the first four paragraphs were just laws pertaining to disputes with the Adventure Society but those first four quite clearly stated the definition of poaching required ownership of the land and the game therein. Dave quickly looked up a definition of ¡®game¡¯ and used Epistemology on his map screen and queried ¡®ownership¡¯: This land is nominally owned by the government of the Byzasian Empire however, no individual within the empire claims this land. The young man was giving Dave a strange look as, from his perspective, Dave spoke to the book twice and turned back to him. Dave selected the man, ¡®Byzasian Aristocrat¡¯, and saw that he was iron rank. Dave clicked through a few of the posse that was fanning out behind the leader and saw that four of them were iron rank as well. Dave bowed again. ¡°Forgive me sir but monster poaching requires ownership of the land and the monsters within it and this land is unclaimed by any authority but the national government,¡± said Dave neutrally. The aristocraft walked calmly up to Dave and backhanded him across the face hard enough to knock Dave down. ¡°It¡¯s claimed if I say it is,¡± said the aristocrat coldly. ¡°Now, kiss my shoes and thank me for not killing you, poacher. Don¡¯t talk back to your betters.¡± He stood with one riding boot extended forward and a malicious grin on his wide face. His cronies, the iron rankers, leered and chuckled. Dave took a deep breath, looked around at all the sparking corpses, kneeled in front of the man, took a deep breath¡­ and used his loot-all ability. Rainbow smoke rose up all around the area in front of the cabin. Immediately choking everyone in it except Dave and, Dave hoped, Sam. She¡¯d seen him kneel enough to have a good chance of knowing what would happen when he did. Dave mentally ordered the golem to jump down into the rainbow smoke and attack every enemy it could find in that area. ¡°Lord Ross!? Lord Ross!¡± came some concerned voices from the baggage train further back on the cliff ledge. Dave, himself, had tripped the aristocrat over, Lord Ross apparently, as he turned to run out of the smoke towards the baggage train with the flunkies. There was a strangled scream that was cut short to Dave¡¯s right as the golem landed on one of them and started rearing up to smash its legs into the prone man over and over. Dave ran into the confused baggage train. A couple of people who appeared to be confused bodyguards or weapons-bearers. Dave could see they were also essence users but not iron rank. Dave took another deep breath and knelt to loot all again. The concentration of psychotic goat bodies was lesser over here away from the cabin but still substantial and the coughing, hacking and swearing was repeated as Dave looted. He ran back the way he had come knowing that the smoke over there would be clearing. Dave ran back to Lord Ross who was covered in his own vomit but still holding his own against Sam and all of her skeletons. There was a tall flunkie smeared on the ground, clearly dead by the sparkles coming from his body which Dave looted and the golem rushed towards the smoke covered baggage train, which Dave didn¡¯t stop. Dave just drew his wand and arming sword, circling Ross while firing mage bolts. He also kept looting every corpse behind him that his initial loot radius had missed to keep a steady stream of smoke that those recovering near the baggage train wouldn¡¯t want to walk through. Contrary to expectations, Ross was defeating the skeletons. Despite his bulk, he was clearly fit and used his weight well to push into the skeletons, repositioning and preventing himself from being properly surrounded. He also seemed to have a wind-based power that blew attackers away before they hit him. Sam¡¯s familiar beetles were already scattered about and she was recalling them to herself. Sam went sprawling as Dave watched after she made a cut aimed at Ross¡¯s heel. Ross shot Dave a dirty look as the mage bolts, which were not affected by this wind, sizzled into his flesh. After acquiring a bit of room to move with a forward somersault, Ross rolled to his feet with his right hand sparking with electricity and delivered a straight punch to a skeleton that blasted it apart and followed up with a devastating hook that a skeleton took on a shield but it burnt through the shield and damaged the skeleton anyway. ¡°Tackle him off the cliff!¡± shouted Dave to Sam who looked at him in understanding and willed it into her skeletons. Ross, hearing this, turned, shot a bolt of lightning to behind the baggage train and then teleported to where the lightning struck. ¡°KILL THEM ALL!¡± roared Ross. He chugged a health potion and summoned a great bolt of lightning from the sky which hit the beleaguered golem. The golem had not fared particularly well with the flunkies. Although flunkies, they were experienced adventurers and the golem had already lost a leg to the summoned sword of one and had holes from claw marks from another. The lightning bolt devastated the golem. It staggered and the flunky with the magic sword stepped forward to finish it off. ¡°Off the cliff,¡± ordered Dave and the golem rushed the swordsman who confidently buried his sword into the middle of the golem, taking the last of its life, but none of its momentum. The galloping hexapod tumbled off the cliff in its death taking the swordsman with it, and they hit with a crunch. ¡°Dori!?¡± ¡°Oh gods, they¡¯ve killed Rich!¡± ¡°Then kill them!¡± screamed Ross. ¡°Climb down, cut the rope,¡± said Dave quickly as he ran to Sam. He looted a few more goats in the area to bring some rainbow smoke drifting up once more. Even Ross hesitated after what the last dose did to him. Sam understood and scrambled down the cliff, assisted by the rope they¡¯d put there earlier for Sam¡¯s last hunting expedition. The skeletons covered their retreat, engaging the hunting party and briefly one of the essence users. One of the skeletons, its leg shattered, dragged a man-at-arms essence user off the cliff as it died. The man splattered on the ground next to Sam. As Dave jumped the last two metres to the ground, Sam leaned over Dave to take an arrow on her shield meant for him. Dave looked up and saw the last skeleton turn around and slash the rope with a machete right before Ross shattered its head with his fist. He stared down at Dave and Sam with hate and raised a fist to the sky. Seeing that this was the start of some lightning magic, Dave kneeled and looted every goat at the bottom of this cliff and, incidentally, the dead man-at-arms. Rainbow smoke rose up, obscuring the pair as Dave led a sputtering Sam out of the smoke and away from the noble hunting party. ¡°I will find you and I will kill you and your necromancer woman, you scum!¡± screamed Ross into the night as Dave and Sam disappeared from his view. ¡°I bet the bastard¡¯s going to steal my cabin too,¡± said Dave.
¡°And that, members of the board, is the conclusion. Proof that the drug is safe, effective, and ready to save lives.¡± The board ignored Dave, directing their congratulations to Klaus Heller, Vice President of Clinical R&D. Dave began silently packing up and unplugging his laptop while the CEO spoke. ¡°Great, great. Great work, Klaus,¡± he said, leaning back in his chair, tapping his hands together. His voice had the easy confidence of a man who alway gets his way. ¡°Price point?¡± asked one of the board members, flipping through a stack of notes. Probably marketing. ¡°High,¡± said the CEO immediately. ¡°As high as we can justify. This isn¡¯t about volume; it¡¯s about positioning. If it¡¯s cheap, it looks cheap.¡± ¡°But if it¡¯s too high, adoption will be slow,¡± someone else countered. Market analysis, Dave figured. ¡°Not if we can get insurance to take it,¡± the CEO shot back, smirking. ¡°Make it so high so that no one can afford it out of pocket. Then, we market it as the last resort treatment. The insurers won¡¯t have a choice¡ªthey¡¯ll pay to save their patients. What¡¯re the numbers on that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a strong strategy but it¡¯s a bit all or nothing being contingent on the insurance approval,¡± said someone from the legal department. There were speculative murmurs of agreement and approval, the kind of detached appreciation Dave might have given the highlights of a football match. He carefully slipped his laptop into his bag, glancing at the table stacked with catered pastries and coffee cups. ¡°What about regions without robust insurance systems?¡± asked the CFO with the mere curiosity of one looking to see what the traffic was like. ¡°We can spin those as PR opportunities,¡± the CEO said, like it was obvious. ¡°We trickle in enough doses to those areas to get a tax write off and get our brand recognised. Philanthropy headlines increase the share price.¡± There was another round of nods. Dave moved towards the exit feeling¡­ trying not to feel. Trying not to remember the anonymous patient details. Patient 13 on Baxter et al. 20 years old. College student. Hospitalised after collapsing while training track and field. Patient 3 of Zhang et al. 7 years old. Almost excluded from the study because¨Che found out in an email from the lab tech¨Cher parents had trouble making the three-hour trip to the hospital. Hopefully neither of them would get a remission. He hoped. Dave made a mental note to not look up the percentages on that. ¡°Ten-year patent window,¡± the CEO continued, tapping his pen against the table. ¡°That¡¯s the clock. We squeeze the core markets, then maybe we throw something to low-margin regions. Don¡¯t worry about them for now.¡± Dave fought to keep his body language neutral as he walked toward the door. He¡¯d known the scientists who¡¯d worked on this drug. He¡¯d seen them smile as they spoke about breakthroughs, shared their clinical findings at conferences, and talked with genuine excitement about the lives they could save. But here, in this boardroom, their efforts were as dust in the winds of the cruel sums on a profit-and-loss sheet. The voices followed him out of the room¡ªtalking about restricting the drug to drive up prices, about profits measured in lives withheld. He¡¯d never considered himself a moral paragon, but the complete lack of conscience that pooled in the boardroom left him feeling hollow. And cold. He hated that he worked for these people. Chapter 9: Lord Ross
Current Quests
The Safety Of Walls: Reach a walled town with Samorn Khantong. Abandoned Forest Town: Investigate the abandoned forest town Courbefy with local¡­ Survive Lord Ross: Survive Lord Ross hunting you in this area. Kill Lord Ross for extra¡­
Sam led Dave across the terrain until she found a stream which they splashed through for a while before once more returning to land, to make their scent hard to track. ¡°One of them has an animal essence. Something with tracking. Maybe lion or lynx?¡± said Sam. Dave just nodded. He felt a little dejected. With all of his spell slots used, a few more hours until even one came back, he wasn¡¯t much more than a warm body on the battlefield. He couldn¡¯t even use his Attack Of The Razor Quills prestidigitation. The metal nibs of his pens had bent and broken from the constant usage on the way to this town and against the goats so the magic didn¡¯t recognise them as writing implements anymore. Luckily, Sam had thrown on her pack before engaging, her couple of years being randomly attacked by monsters during work hours as a ranger and then running away had developed this good habit in her, so they still had all their gear but it was sad to not be using the cabin on the first day he¡¯d cast the spell. ¡°It even had temperature controls,¡± said Dave wistfully as he was using Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas to dry Sam and himself off from the stream crossing. In response, Sam turned around, pet Dave on the head and smiled. ¡°It¡¯s fine! We alive.¡± Dave chuckled weakly. ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel fine.¡± Sam turned back to marching with a spring in her step leading Dave on through the late morning. ¡°I will protect you!¡± she called back over her shoulder. ¡°About that,¡± said Dave, following her, ¡°where did you get such good fight instincts?¡± Sam looked self conscious and grinned. ¡°I learned fighting with my brothers. There are show fights in my hometown sometimes and they would compete to earn a little money. I am the oldest so I would always help them.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t compete?¡± asked Dave. ¡°No. Nobody pay to watch girls fight.¡± ¡°Seems a little sexist.¡± Dave could practically hear the eyeroll and little nod of agreement. ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad for it,¡± said Dave earnestly. ¡°Where are we going anyway?¡± ¡°Looking for shelter,¡± said Sam. ¡°Best idea is to find it now rather than looking at the end of the day when the light is bad.¡± ¡°Makes sense. Lead on!¡±
Dave followed Sam but they soon encountered a small herd of psychotic goats. ¡°Tree!¡± stated Sam urgently. Dave didn¡¯t hesitate and instantly pulled himself into the branches of the nearest conifer. The glazed-eye goats immediately rammed the tree trying to shake Dave and Sam out of it but Dave drew his wand and started shooting into them, killing one with a well placed shot to the throat. The rest of the herd retreated out of sight but not out of earshot. They climbed back down cautiously and Dave looted the dead goat. His eyes idly flicked to the text box as he noticed green. Green was the colour of text indicating loot of uncommon rarity. He clicked it. It was thirty-three glass quintessence gems! ¡°Sam, why did the goat give me glass quintessence?¡± Sam gave him a confused look. Dave pulled one of the gems out of the small stack in his inventory. A small, quartz-like rock that, to Dave, looked like cheap jewellery. ¡°That is weird,¡± said Sam who handed it back. Dave checked the rest of his inventory as Sam started walking again. It was full of stacks of quintessence. ¡°Sam, I have huge amounts of quintessence.¡± Dave quickly used Stop And Think and Library Of The Mind to replay the memory of looting the goats and this time, looked at the text box in his HUD. As he suspected, there had been a deluge of different quintessence being looted that Dave didn¡¯t notice at the time. He deactivated Stop And Think and asked Professor Tome to show the psychotic goat entry in Bestiary Of Frankish Byzasian Empire. Sam turned back and looked at him quizzically but said nothing as Dave read from the book. ¡°Here we go. It was hidden in the details section. ¡®...while the most common loot is lesser spirit coins and goat meat, if they have persisted in this world for more than their usual amount of time, they have been known to consume quintessence and incorporate it into their bezoar.¡¯ Nice! Pity that murderous rich kid is here now.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. We are alive and you will make a plan,¡± smiled Sam. ¡°You always have plans! Oh, did you get enough light and fire quintessence for lantern?¡± Dave checked. ¡°Yes!¡± He said with a wide grin. Sam grinned with him as he gestured professor Tome over. displayed Tome. ¡°Yes I have, Professor. Please open to the summoning page,¡± said Dave. Tome opened to the page and Dave incanted the spell. ¡°I evoke from the aether a luminous ally of enlightenment!¡± A single point of light glowed weakly in the circle and grew, changing from a weak yellow to a brilliant white that seared the eyes as it grew to the size of a person¡¯s torso. The light pulsed and faded, leaving behind an intricate lantern hanging in the air that gave off light from a ball of light trapped within. ¡°Wonderful!¡± said Dave, gazing at the hanging light. Sam clapped and laughed. The light pulsed with Sam¡¯s claps and gained different coloured tints. displayed Tome and then flicked to a page of Essence Abilities, Magic Essence published by the Magic Society. Dave read the entry. ¡°Ah, ¡®some can understand the languages of the caster and speak with a distorted imitation of voice.¡¯ I see. Well, hello! I¡¯m Dave.¡¯ Dave extended a hand for it to shake. The lantern pushed itself into Dave¡¯s hand and bobbed up and down. It was pleasantly warm. =I have awaited in the aether longing for this day for so long. Well met my new friend. Good summoner, I promise that I shall bring you many victories in battle. Our enemies will rue the day we meet.= It was like listening to an automated voice with full reverb effect from the other end of a drain pipe. As the lantern ¡®spoke¡¯ its light shifted as one might expect from a waveform generator. ¡°Do you have a name, lantern?¡± =I do not. It is the role of the summoner to name the summoned.= Dave thought about it for a few seconds. ¡°Well, What do you do? What are your dreams? It seems like you¡¯ve been looking forward to this realm?¡± =Long have I trained in the endless space between worlds, looking for one like you who would need me.= ¡°That¡¯s good. What training?¡± =Aggression. Battle. War. I seek to illuminate all knowledge in the realm intersecting magic and war. I sensed your need and I came.= ¡°Oh, well. That¡¯s sure a bit more¡­ enthusiastic about the situation than I was expecting but welcome! I sure am in a spot of bother right now.¡± =I am not just for the now but also for the future. You would not have been able to summon me if your future wasn¡¯t soaked in the blood of your enemies who are now my enemies. Together we will walk the path of bloody victory across these lands.= Dave didn¡¯t know how to respond to that. Sam was holding her hand over her mouth and giggling at Dave¡¯s dumfounded face. He pulled himself together. ¡°Oh? Well¡­ I hope you¡¯re comfortable with small beginnings. Right now all I can offer you is a violent youth and his gang?¡± said Dave wearily. =His skull will be placed at your feet by my light. This is my task and I accept.= Dave nodded. You can¡¯t complain about an enthusiastic ally no matter how unexpected. ¡°You know, I have a name you might like. It¡¯s the name of the most influential military strategist in history from my world. How do you like ¡®Tzu¡¯?¡± said Dave. =It is a great honour to carry such a portentous name. I shall carry it with pride. I am Tzu.=
The new quartet of Sam, Dave, Tome and Tzu was lucky and only encountered single monsters before Sam found a dilapidated farmstead worth staying in. The first two monsters were time mastiffs; fast, two-headed dogs that could travel back in time in bursts which they used to drag Dave off his feet both times as they attacked from behind. In both encounters, Tzu was the first to respond with a beam of disruptive force pouring from its glass-like frame onto the creature, tracking the mastiff, drilling into fur and skin. Between his wand and the force-laser, Sam noted that Dave¡¯s ability to do damage wasn¡¯t able to be ignored anymore. Tzu glowed with a proud, purple tint. The last attack was a pebble skinned viper, an enormous snake with pebble-like scales which would have struck Sam had Tzu not shot a laser into its hidden, coiled form which gave Sam time to avoid the strike. Sam reflexively cast her beetles over it and Dave hastily drew his weapons. Fortunately, Sam was carrying her shield, which the giant viper struck blindly through a haze of beetles. The snake coiled its body forward around the shield arm while taking blows and struck at Sam¡¯s arm. Sam grit her teeth and the whole team piled the damage on. The snake died quickly after that to Sam¡¯s sickle but she had already been envenomed. Dave looted it for some healing unguent and some viper venom which was apparently a poison that could be used on weapons and an ingredient in anti-venom. Dave did a mental mouse-over the debuff hovering under Sam¡¯s stamina bar. [Viper Venom] (affliction, poison): Your health, mana and stamina are reduced by half and you cannot regain health, mana or stamina. ¡°You alright?¡± asked Dave. Sam nodded her head in the universal sign of ¡®no, but I won¡¯t admit it¡¯. ¡°Recon we¡¯ll find a place to rest soon?¡± asked Dave. =Forward brave warrior, Sam! This is but one battle. We have many before us!= buzzed Tzu. Sam smiled weakly at Tzu¡¯s encouragement. ¡°If we keep following this stream,¡± Sam pointed at the one ahead. ¡°We should find a house soon.¡± ¡°Sounds good but make sure to lean on me if walking gets hard,¡± said Dave with concern. ¡°I can walk. Just don¡¯t make me fight anything,¡± said Sam with a small smile. They didn¡¯t have to fight anything. The house¨Cdilapidated cottage really¨Cwas only a few hundred metres away on a small rise. ¡°How did you know it¡¯d be here?¡± asked Dave as they approached the cottage. ¡°Good spot for a house,¡± said Sam with a tired grin. ¡°Morning and afternoon sun, close to the steam but on a hill so won¡¯t flood. A good place to build a little house for an aunty.¡± Dave smiled back. She made it sound wholesome. ¡°Let¡¯s make tea,¡± said Dave as he moved inside. There was no furniture, some unknown critters scurried into the corner but it had walls and a fireplace. Dave took a bedroll out of his inventory and sat Sam down on it then set about making tea. When the tea was made, Dave made a couple of ham and cheese sandwiches from his inventory with his item creation ability and handed one to Sam with the tea. ¡°Want to go through the loot while we eat?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Sure,¡± said Sam. Dave sipped on his tea and munched on his tasty sandwich. He started pulling out quintessence examples and conjuring a paper number to lean against each one. Unsurprisingly, goat quintessence was the most numerous at two-hundred-and-seventy-four followed by plant quintessence at two-hundred-and-thirteen. Most of them were in the one to two hundred range; air, bird, bow, cloth, dog, earth, hunt, rake, shovel, snake, staff, trap, vehicle, wolf and even skunk. Only a few dozen of some of the more rare quintessence; blood, claw, cold, feast and glass. Despite looking a bit wan, Sam laughed as the loot piled up. =Truly you are mighty, Dave!= ¡°Thank you, Tzu.¡± Dave was looking through his inventory and rearranging items by type. He¡¯d looted a bunch of items from the two people they¡¯d killed from the hunting party. A growth essence looted from the iron ranker that the golem killed was always welcome and came with some looted robes which he looked up the details of. Item: [Fine Robes Of Magical Casting (Iron)] (iron rank, uncommon). These vestments make the wearer resistant to spell effects and decrease the chance of other creatures resisting your spells. ¡°Hey, check these out, Sam! Professor, show her on your pages. He also dropped a bunch of mana, stamina and health potions,¡± said Dave as he handed her the robes. From what he could tell, they were basically a loose fitting dress with some neat embroidery at the seams but Sam oohed at them appropriately. ¡°Hang on, what¡¯s this?¡± asked Dave, focusing on a symbol he didn¡¯t know in his inventory, it was¡­ a purse? A bag? Dave took it out. ¡°That¡¯s a dimensional bag!¡± said Sam. ¡°Oh!? Really. It looked really goofy in my inventory. Well, I already have a storage space so this one is yours.¡± ¡°Thank youuuuu!¡± ¡°Just keep healing me and we¡¯ll call it even. Open it up and see what our loot is!¡± Sam grinned with happiness despite her sickness and opened the bag eagerly. ¡°Oh? Yes! There¡¯s probably¡­ HA!¡± said Sam to herself as she rummaged in the bag. Dave waited with a bemused look and blinked a few times as Sam withdrew a small bottle the size of a finger from the bag and immediately drank it. Within a few seconds her viper poison condition was gone. ¡°Oh, that makes sense now,¡± said Dave. ¡°For a second there I thought you were crazy.¡± Sam grinned with more enthusiasm than she had moments before and started rummaging more. ¡°Dave, I think we got very lucky! This guy was carrying a lot of their equipment. Lots of potions of all kinds; more antivenom, cleansing potions, a few bottle of crystal wash, more healing unguent and many good quality adventuring gear,¡± said Sam as she browsed through it all with Dave. ¡°Ooh! I even have proper armour now,¡± said Sam. She pulled out a proper arming jacket and most of a set of plate armour to wear over it; Breastplate, pauldrons, plackart, faulds and tassets with a matching sallet helmet. All used. It was magical armour but only in the sense that it was self repairing and would change size to fit its owner. ¡°Please clean!¡± requested Sam and held the arming jacket out to Dave. Dave began cleaning it all with Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas. ¡°After getting all this, I guess we¡¯re obligated to go adventuring then?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Another cup of tea,¡± said Sam comfortably. ¡°We both need to meditate our experiences.¡±
During Sam¡¯s rest, she suddenly glowed with a blue-grey light and then stretched comfortably on the ground. ¡°Rank up!¡± said Sam happily. Dave took a look at her character sheet while he congratulated her.
Name: Samorn Khanthong
Race: Runic
Rank: Iron
Progression: 3.75%
Attributes: Power (Animate): Iron.
Speed (Balance): Iron.
Spirit (Death): Iron.
Recovery (Life): Iron.
Racial abilities: Spellborn
Wellspring
Spell Aptitude
Magic affinity
Adaptive Resistance
Mana Beacon
Essences: Life [Recovery] (2/5)
  • Biogenesis (familiar): Iron 6, 43%
  • Health Blossom (spell): Iron 0, 14%
  • Regrowth (spell): Iron 0, 03%
Death [Spirit] (5/5)
  • Corpse Explosion (spell): Iron 3, 00%
  • Death Sight (special ability): Iron 0, 35%
Balance [Speed] (2/5)
  • Life Recirculation (spell): Iron 0, 26%
  • Transpose Composition (spell): Iron 0, 11%
Animate [Power] (1/5)
  • Summon Skeletons (spell): Iron 0, 08%
¡°That¡¯s really awesome, Sam!¡± said Dave. They sipped their second cup of tea and reflected inwardly for a few minutes. ¡°Do you have a plan for today?¡± asked Sam. =We destroy our enemies in the light of my wrath!= ¡°Close, buddy. I¡¯m out of spell slots so, I¡¯m basically an incompetent damage dealer,¡± said Dave to Tzu and turned to Sam. ¡°Your abilities are great and if we keep our heads you can probably solo most of our encounters using me as a distraction. We just need your skellies to come off cooldown.¡± ¡°Cooldown?¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a term from my world. It means the amount of time you have to wait before you use an ability again. It¡¯s like using the ability makes it hot and you need to wait until it¡¯s cool again to use it.¡± ¡°Alright! I understand.¡± ¡°How long until the cooldown ends?¡± ¡°I feel like not long? Can¡¯t you check?¡± ¡°It feels like I¡¯m invading your privacy,¡± said Dave meekly. Sam laughed at his manner. ¡°It¡¯s fine! You¡¯re not peeking at me in the bath. This is like looking how fast I run, not peeking,¡± giggled Sam. Dave couldn¡¯t help but still feel weird about it. ¡°You¡¯ve got 24 minutes left.¡± ¡°Enough time for you to put up a roof!¡± said Sam cheerily. ¡°You can¡¯t help?¡± ¡°No, I still have tea and you don¡¯t.¡± That was true. Dave used a tent inside the house, tying it to the remains of the rafters. There was pretty much nothing left of the thatching. Sam, actually, did finish her tea and help. ¡°Time to go?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Give me Tome.¡± ¡°Thank you, Professor,¡± said Sam with a slight wei. Tome flipped to a page with a magic circle and Dave put his hand on the book with Sam who cast the spell in her native Siamese. Ethereal dust swirled and formed into five skeletons all holding basic weapons from Sam¡¯s new dimensional inventory. Sam clapped and bounced up and down on her toes. ¡°Oh, cool! The auto-equip must be because you have a dimensional storage space now. Nice! Here, take some more weapons,¡± said Dave enthusiastically, handing them out from his own inventory. His best weapons were gone, left behind when they fled the hunting party but Dave still had some small hand axes, daggers and long knives which the skeletons all took. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± said Sam. =Only in battle will we find peace!=
They went adventuring. They had decided to try and get into the town proper to experiment with Dave¡¯s quest system and map. ¡°The quest says that there are thirty-two magical items to collect but there¡¯s only a single marker on the map. I get the feeling that there should be a marker for each objective,¡± said Dave as he splashed through the stream with Sam. Sam smiled and nodded. ¡°The other day, you said you get a detailed map reveal? When we find a new area?¡± ¡°Yep! Kind of. Major landmarks and buildings only. Until I get close.¡± ¡°That¡¯s still good!¡± said Sam brightly. Dave was an experienced hiker but only on modern Earth with signs and paint on the rocks where people were supposed to walk. Actually being in the wilderness was a new experience for him but for Sam this was literally her day job. With one look at a map, she could tell where the best trails would be while Dave would have picked a path through a bramble patch. The first group of monsters they encountered were a group of pixelax. Metre-high stick-men figures with sharp, pointed fingers. Although they were in a large enough number to swarm over the group, Tzu spotted them at a great distance. It and Dave began shooting them from that distance causing them to converge on Sam¡¯s army. When the leading pixelax fell from ranged damage, Sam blew up the corpse, almost killing several. Their speed closed the distance swiftly but since quite a few were already damaged, whenever one died, Sam¡¯s army retreated several steps and she blew up the body so that the explosion took the monsters in the back. The battle was soon over. =YES! Die at the feet of the mighty Sam!= buzzed Tzu as it floated gently above them. Sam didn¡¯t know how to react to that so she just smiled. After that simple swarm encounter, they crossed another stream into the town proper and Dave¡¯s map updated. Dave gestured for Tome to show Sam. ¡°Thanks, Tome!¡± she sang. Sam picked a path to the nearest objective. The woods weren¡¯t as tall around the town, it was new forest and so there were a lot of shrubs and even some saplings. Dave¡¯s magical sight detected a light haze of magic permeating the entire area. It felt rather unsettling. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s in there,¡± said Sam in a low voice, pointing to a ruined house. Neither of them believed that they¡¯d get to a magical objective without a fight but since crossing into this area, the world had turned eerily silent. Sam¡¯s army carefully entered into a fenced off yard full of vats and racks. Dave looked around with confusion and raised an eyebrow at Tome. Dave nodded his thanks to the professor. They walked past the dusty vats and by the light of Tzu, Dave saw shadows moving unnaturally, his own magical sight showing that something was gathering. ¡°Sam, I think there¡¯s unseen monsters. Don¡¯t trust any direction,¡± said Dave. She nodded, she felt weird about the place too, and pulled her skeletons closer into a formation that looked in every direction. They went through the small house, towards the blue dot on the map, and found an awakening stone of the cat on a rotten rug. It was shining with magic. Sam picked it up. ¡°UraaaAAAaaaagggg!¡± screamed an ethereal, disembodied voice, making Sam and Dave jump out of their skin. Scraps of shadows rapidly rushed to solidify into a scrappy-looking cat on the rug, a man at the door and a woman behind a bench who rushed at Sam¡¯s army. Shadows streamed off them as they moved giving them an emaciated appearance. Dave used Stop And Think. He selected the shadows and, finding their tooltips to show them all as the same type of creature, used Epistemology and queried ¡®type¡¯. Shadow monster. Usually an undead manifestation of solid shadow, often as a reflection of something that was once living. It is now merely a non-living echo of what it once was. Dave unpaused time and shot a mage bolt at the man-shadow as Tzu concentrated a beam of light on him as well. Sam was struggling with a shadow cat that was wrapping around her leg and refusing to let go but she wasn¡¯t panicking. Three of her skeletons advanced on the woman who had a shadowy knife and two on the man who now had a large, tanner¡¯s fleshing blade. ¡°They¡¯re undead!¡± said Dave, quickly and loudly to Sam who immediately put a Life Blossom on each of them. The shadow creatures were incredibly resistant to physical damage. Under Sam¡¯s instruction the three skeletons attacking the shadow-woman had surrounded her and whichever skeleton was behind her was delivering skull crushing blows to the back of her skull however, the machetes and hatchets were landing as though into black oil under a dark sky and being withdrawn with little effect other than a steam-like wisp of darkness following the withdrawal of the weapon. In contrast, the shadow under fire by Dave and Tzu was fading quickly. ¡°Professor, give me the vulnerabilities of shadow creatures!¡± yelled Dave. The professor flicked open to a page. Dave turned his head, used Stop And Think and read the page. He read that their etherealness meant that physical attacks were mostly disruptive to their form rather than damaging and that they were antithetical to disruptive force, concentrated light and flame. He quickly checked the fight log in his chat box and saw that Tzu was doing three times the damage he normally would. He noted that, as undead, they¡¯d still take damage from life magic and that spells would do full damage. ¡°Thanks professor!¡± said Dave, snapping back into real time. ¡°Magic is our best weapon. Sam, hold out and we¡¯ll win!¡± Sam nodded with a strained face as her leg was ethereally shredded by the shadow cat. =Return to the beyond, spirit! HAAAAAA!= The shadow man was streaming away under the constant beam of force shooting out of the delicate lantern hanging near the ceiling. Dave kept shooting with his magical pea-shooter as quickly as he could while the shadow faded into nothing, melting like wax into the surrounding shadows of the room. In a few more seconds, Health Blossom bloomed. The shadow cat exploded back into the darkness and the shadow woman followed. The threat was over but the skeletons were a little damaged with no easy way to heal them. Sam sat down, waiting for her own Health Blossom spell to heal her leg. ¡°This whole area is blanketed in some type of magic and the shadows spawned when you picked up the stone, right?¡± asked Dave. Sam nodded while putting a spirit coin in her mouth and washing it down with a mouthful of water. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s gotta be connected. Let me review the fight memories.¡± Dave sat down and used Library Of The Mind to replay the fight in his head but this time, paid attention to the monster¡¯s magical signature. ¡°Ha! I thought so,¡± said Dave with a grim smile. He snapped out of memory and looked at Sam. ¡°They¡¯re concentrated versions of the magic that encompasses the whole town.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± asked Sam. ¡°I¡¯m not sure yet but¡­ How do I say? The essence of the stuff that makes them is already here. I don¡¯t know enough magic theory yet to know what summoning really is but from the word alone I know it doesn¡¯t mean using what you¡¯ve already got.¡± Professor Tome hovered in front of Dave and flipped open. Tome flipped open to a textbook which described the magic of manifesting. The magical knowledge was beyond Dave but he understood the gist. ¡°Okay, it looks like there¡¯s a magical background radiation lying upon the entire area and it sort of settles into the magical objects of the area and when those objects are disturbed, that concentrated radiation manifests into undead shadows of previous inhabitants?¡± ¡°Good point. Thanks, Professor,¡± said Dave. ¡°Thank you!¡± beamed Sam. Dave looked at Sam. ¡°We have to find another stone and give it a good examination before we pick it up,¡± he said. They walked warily to the next closest magical object on the quest. Dave was paying particular attention to his Eldritch Eyes along the way. The magic he could see now flitting along with the shadows, making them move unnaturally was the same as that which made the shadow monsters. It was like they were straining at the boundary of darkness and light trying to push their way in. Sam looked around the shadows as they walked towards a woodyard and then looked straight up. ¡°Dave, it¡¯s middle of the afternoon. Why so dark?¡± Dave looked at the weak sun in the sky and the shadows cast by the light of Tzu. ¡°Ahh, hell. I guess that¡¯s an effect of the evil in the town and all this shadow magic.¡± ¡°It¡¯s creepy.¡± ¡°Yep. I suppose that¡¯s why it¡¯s called ¡®evil¡¯ in the quest.¡± She gave him a withering look. They walked carefully into the woodyard. A pile of moss and a dead tree in the centre of what was once a factory that turned trees into lumber and hefted it into carts to be sold at distant markets. Tzu suddenly shone a spotlight on the pile of moss in the centre. =Trap. Kill!= Dave didn¡¯t need telling twice. He was already shooting his wand at it as the pile came to life. He selected it and discovered it was called a Woodland Shambler. He got Tome to show him the entry which he read in Stop And Think. Apparently they could hide their aura and camouflage as a dead, moss-covered tree and attack passers by for food. Fortunately they were quite slow. ¡°Sam, only attack if you¡¯re behind it! Anything it faces should back off or defend!¡± Sam acknowledged by willing her skeletons to change from a wall formation to spread out. She poured her familiar towards it, to disrupt its senses and the skeletons varied between running and attacking until the slow shambler fell underneath a hail of light beams, mage bolts and opportunistic hacking. He was about to loot it when Sam stopped him. ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± she said. ¡°We have a body to explode for the shadows!¡± ¡°Hey, yeah! Good thinking,¡± grinned Dave. They set about searching for the magical objective. Dave spent a whole minute walking back and forth through the doorway, not finding the stone. Eventually, Dave zoomed his minimap all the way in and confirmed that he was, in fact, standing right on top of it. Just outside the doorway to the main factory on the entryway. ¡°Oh, it must be underneath,¡± said Dave, slapping his head. Sam grinned at Dave¡¯s changing expressions as he kneeled on the wooden floor and saw through the cracks in the floorboard magic underneath. They soon had removed a stair from the entrance and sent Dave crawling under the raised structure. Lying down, underneath the floorboards, holding up candle flames on his own fingertips for light to examine an awakening stone of the hand resting on top of a rotted toy heidel that had been made by whittling. A child''s toy. ¡°Well, this is interesting,¡± said Dave. ¡°The awakening stone has a resonance with the background shadows and, let me check, I don¡¯t think this will manifest the monsters but watch out.¡± Sam tensed and Tzu blazed brightly. Dave tapped the awakening stone with a knife. Shadows all around the area strained and wobbled against reality. ¡°Did you pick it up!?¡± asked Sam, a little too loud. ¡°No, I just tapped it. Help me out, I think I know what to do.¡± The skeletons helped Dave slide out. Sam looked at him expectantly. ¡°If this awakening stone is any indication then what¡¯s happening is that there¡¯s a whole bunch of magic trapped in this area like a giant reservoir and moving the magical items releases a bit of it,¡± said Dave. ¡°Alright, so we do each item, one at a time?¡± asked Sam. ¡°Yes, but that won¡¯t deplete the reservoir. What we have here, it¡¯s like a concentration gradient. You know what that is?¡± Sam shook her head. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what a concentration gradient is,¡± said Dave. ¡°The shadow magic is the dye?¡± asked Sam, confused. ¡°Kind of. There¡¯s a huge amount of magic stored and normally that¡¯d manifest as monsters and stones, right?¡± Sam nodded. ¡°But there¡¯s some ¡®evil¡¯ in town preventing that.¡± Sam nodded again. ¡°But some leaks out in the weak bits and, I¡¯m guessing now, over the years it¡¯s concentrated into these stones which act like plugs.¡± ¡°Ooh!¡± said Sam, her eyes going wide. ¡°We¡¯re removing the magic plugs and getting monsters!¡± ¡°Yes, except not just normal monsters. Specific monsters caused by the ¡®evil¡¯ for some reason.¡± ¡°Does that matter?¡± asked Sam. ¡°Probably will! For starters, they won¡¯t provide loot. Professor, can I have that text book page on monster manifesting?¡± Tome opened to the page and Dave used Stop And Think. ¡°It looks like if we can remove the source of the corruption, the big reservoir of magic will be free to just make normal monsters as usual,¡± said Dave. ¡°What?¡± ¡°What?¡± Tome flicked to a different textbook page about magical resonance reservoirs and their release valves. A certain paragraph was underlined. Basically, removing the plug would cause a momentary convergence of both the corruption and the backed up magic spawning the corrupted shadows over the entire affected area. ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°Oh dear.¡± They were silent for a moment and then Dave grinned. ¡°I bet Ross doesn¡¯t know this.¡± Sam relaxed to recharge her mana over the next few minutes. Dave used spare bits of wood to make falling traps that would drop heavy logs on the enemies to come and tethered a rope up a tree. Then, Sam stood up. ¡°Ready!¡± she grinned. Dave nodded and climbed his rope up a tree for a good vantage point to shoot from. Sam had insisted he use the distance on the basis that she wouldn¡¯t have to worry about him there. One less person to heal. Dave concentrated on a spot at the back of the yard they¡¯d already selected and invoked his latest Warming Fire prestidigitation. Over the next few seconds, a cracking campfire appeared on the spot and Sam¡¯s army lit wooden torches that Sam had made for weapons. Sam willed her skeleton under the stairs to take the awakening stone. ¡°SUUUURRRAAaaaaaaaggh!¡± screamed a half heard ethereal voice as six shadow people and a dog appeared. Thanks to the preparation, the encounter went swiftly. Sam and her army retreated, dragging the shadows that were scattered through traps and spent some skeleton health getting them to the forest shambler corpse. It wasn¡¯t all to plan, though. The shadow dog attacked a skeleton and dragged it to the ground where another shadow figure moved to attack it but Dave and Tzu focused their fire on the dog and the skeleton managed to scramble, battered, back to its fellows. Once all were gathered at the forest shambler corpse, Sam¡¯s army backed towards Dave¡¯s fire and Sam exploded the corpse at the back of the shadows, felling two of them including the dog. This injection of health reinvigorated the skeletons and now, flaming brands in hand, they outnumbered the shadows and began leading them, wisp by wisp, into Dave¡¯s fire. A few moments later, the shadows had all dissipated. Dave looted the destroyed corpse. Because Sam¡¯s sickle had killed it, it yielded several tins of unguent and - ¡°Ooh!, said Dave. ¡°Magic item. Bark shield of the woods. Shield that traps your enemies weapons in it, self repairing and can be activated once a day to disguise you as a tree stump for a minute. For you!¡± Dave handed over the shield and Sam equipped it gladly, handing over her beat up cardboard shield to a skeleton. The skeletons were still more beat up than before the fight had started which didn¡¯t bode well for their future fights however, the skeletons helped looted the building and Dave was glad to find some rusted, but still serviceable pens in an office area. ¡°I guess they didn¡¯t take their broken pens with them, hey?¡± said Dave, displaying the handful to Sam who smiled. ¡°We can¡¯t do many more fights today,¡± said Sam. ¡°Not unless we can come up with something clever. No chance we can kite them?¡± ¡°What¡¯s ¡®kite¡¯?¡± ¡°Sorry. Gaming term from my world. It means to cause damage to a monster while always running away so that it dies before it reaches you.¡± ¡°Can you move your fire?¡± ¡°Alas, no.¡± ¡°Sad. They can¡¯t move very fast.¡± ¡°Yeah, I noticed the dog. Pounced but couldn¡¯t run. Apparently part of what got corrupted was their ability to move quickly.¡± =I can burn them in my light but I cannot fight this battle alone!= ¡°Why don¡¯t we just take the stones and run away?¡± ¡°Because¡­ Ooh! yeah. Why not?¡± Dave was stunned. Of course! They couldn¡¯t even loot these shadows. Why fight them? Just take what they wanted and leave! The shadows could make small bursts of explosive movement but definitely seemed lacking on cardio. Sam beamed at Dave¡¯s implicit compliment. ¡°Let¡¯s test if it works,¡± grinned Dave. ¡°We¡¯ll feel downright silly if we trigger a whole town of shadows to pursue us across oceans but I think you¡¯re really onto something. Tome can I have the shadow monster from the active monster registry and the Bestiary Of Frankish Byzasian Empire?¡± It wasn¡¯t in the Bestiary. It wasn¡¯t a common monster but Dave quickly read both pages in the active monster registry with Stop And Think. ¡°Yeah,¡± he said. ¡°Nothing to suggest that they have preternatural sensory or tracking abilities. What do you think, Tome?¡± ¡°So let¡¯s try it!¡± said Sam.
They travelled northwards, staying at the very edge of the zone and avoiding the middle of the town for now until they found the next awakening stone. They¡¯d have missed it if it weren¡¯t for Dave¡¯s magical sight. ¡°It¡¯s underneath the water!¡± said Dave with triumph. Sam was looking around and smiling with appreciation. ¡°This place is nice,¡± she said. The ruins of a house were not far off, it looked like a large farmer¡¯s house and over where Sam¡¯s army stood now was a stone bench and a tree with a big love heart carved into the bark next to a peaceful stream. ¡°I think that whoever lived in that house was a couple and they would come here to relax,¡± said Dave, nodding. ¡°That¡¯s romantic!¡± declared Sam happily. ¡°It is,¡± agreed Dave. It made him smile to think of a happy couple, reading in the shade of the tree, taking the time to relax together. Dave had never got the hang of long relationships, his studies and career had bounced him between two continents and different towns. Even the constant conferences would have been interruptions to a settled life if Dave had wanted one. They were part of the reason he didn¡¯t want one but he saw the appeal. ¡°Well, let¡¯s uncorrupt it!¡± said Dave. Sam laughed. She looked at Dave¡¯s map on Tome, mapped out a path of retreat and set up two of the skeletons on the bank ready to pull a third to the shore and leg it. Dave stood nearby ready to run. ¡°I will do it now!¡± said a nervous Sam. The designated skeleton reached into the stream and snatched up the awakening stone of the stream out of the stream. ¡°URRRAaaaaaggghhh!¡± came the now familiar echoing, ethereal scream. A shadow husband and wife coalesced together on the stone bench along with three children who were in poses suggesting playing on the bank of the stream. The skeleton with the stone was immediately pounced on by the children. The stricken skeleton was dragged down into the water. Sam¡¯s will, however, didn¡¯t falter. She stared at them with concentration. The swarmed skeleton passed off the stone to the other two who began running and the skeleton in the stream spent the last seconds of its summoned time pushing through the children to tackle its way through the adult shadows to disrupt their form and slow them down. Sam¡¯s army began running. They were definitely faster and soon had a good lead on the shadows however, soon discovered why it was so problematic that the shadows were spawned from a reservoir. ¡°HUuurrraaaaaGGGHhh!¡± came the familiar cry around them as they passed through a glen, A shadow fisherman and his shadow son pursuing. ¡°I think that as long as we¡¯re carrying the stone we¡¯re going to activate every corruption we pass!¡± yelled Dave. Sam was smarter and saved her breath for running. And, run they did. Activating shadow after shadow, Dave and Sam were pursued by the creepiest conga line he¡¯d ever seen while running the fastest three kilometres cross country he¡¯d ever run. In a momentary break, Sam took two stamina potions out of her pack, handed one to Dave, they both drank and then kept running. They splashed across the stream to get outside the bounds of the town area and kept going until, after a few hundred metres, they noticed there were no more ethereal screams. Dave and Sam turned back to see the shadow creatures all lining the edge of the small river they¡¯d crossed, milling around. Dave looked at Sam who shrugged. ¡°Maybe. Let¡¯s test something else. Sam, send your skeletons over there to the east. See if any shadows are interested in your skeletons without us present,¡± said Dave. She did and the shadows were. As soon as the skeleton stepped foot on the opposite shore, the shadows started moving towards it. Sam called the skeleton back. =We can distract them with the skeletons and deal a decisive blow!= ¡°Maybe buddy. Let¡¯s get out of sight and see if they leave or if they¡¯re going to track us and wait for our return,¡± said Dave with a grin. Sam led them into the forest, breaking line of sight with the stream and looped around a hill crest, waited about ten minutes and then they crawled into some bushes that peeked over the hill crest. The shadows were gone. ¡°Yes!¡± Dave hissed in relief. ¡°We did it!¡± said Sam with her biggest smile.
With a solid strategy to at least half-complete the quest, Dave and Sam had a cup of tea before moving on with the strategy. ¡°Why didn¡¯t we get any extra shadows when we took the first awakening stone?¡± asked Sam. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± said Dave, ¡°I¡¯ve been studying magic for all of about a week and mostly, I¡¯m relying on Eldritch Eyes but from what I see in my memories, defeating the first batch that come up seems to flush the corruption out of the stone? I don¡¯t know how it works but that¡¯s what it looked like.¡± Sam accepted this and blew on her tea. Dave waited until they¡¯d both finished before talking again. ¡°You want to use any of the awakening stones?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Yes, both!¡± said Sam. ¡°Both?¡± ¡°Professor Tome showed me that stream has good chance with life essence for a healing effect and my last hand spell was so good. I want another!¡± Sam almost sang. ¡°Then Professor Tome can come over here and hover where we both can reach,¡± murmured Dave. Tome awkwardly flew between them, flicking its pages to the correct magical circle with a note in the margins. Dave chanted the ritual and watched the light show as Sam absorbed the awakening stone of the hand. Pale coloured and oblong like two clasped hands. He checked his chatbox and went into his UI to read out the new ability. ¡°Dragged To The Grave, the hands of skeletal bodies rise from the ground and grasp enemies, eventually dragging them to the ground and even partially underground. This ability causes moderate damage over time in the selected area. Medium Mana. Thirty seconds cooldown,¡± quoted Dave. ¡°Dave, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m evil again!¡± She looked at him with big eyes and Dave burst into laughter. He couldn¡¯t help it. She grinned guiltily and giggled. ¡°I might turn a bit evil for an ability like that. Control and damage in one ability? It¡¯s especially good in that it stays for a while and we can shove enemies into it,¡± remarked Dave. ¡°Want to push Ross into it,¡± said Sam in a little voice while covering a big smile with her hand. Dave snorted. ¡°Yeah, I can sure support that,¡± said Dave with a cheeky grin. ¡°Let¡¯s get the stream stone on and see if we get healing?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Dave gently took Tome from the air who flapped open to the ritual circle page and Dave chanted the ritual. Sam took the especially large crystal and absorbed it with a gentle light display. Once again, he quoted his text box. ¡°Aura Of Life. Life energy streams away from you healing all allies in your aura. Nice! If the amulet stacks with this your healing is going to go through the roof!¡± said Dave. ¡°Bad for skeletons, though,¡± said Sam and fondly patted a beaten up looking skeleton. ¡°Let me check the expanded details¡­ yeah, life energy effect. Sorry skeletons!¡± said Dave. The skeletons shrugged and Sam¡¯s eyes twinkled when Dave looked at her. ¡°Yeah, emoting through your summons is pretty neat,¡± said Dave with a grin. =I support Tome on this front.= ¡°I wasn¡¯t even thinking about you guys! You can emote by yourself. I was going to do it with giant golems.¡± ¡°Dance party!¡± cheered Sam. Dave chuckled. =Many cultures have dances of victory. I find your suggestion acceptable.= ¡°You can do that?¡± asked Sam. ¡°That¡¯s still great! I love music!¡± called Sam.
Dave and Sam decided to go to the cottage they¡¯d found and have a cup of tea but when they arrived in sight, Sam froze and sank slowly to the ground. Dave and her minions mimicked her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± he hissed to Sam. ¡°Ross is there! They tracked us.¡± she whispered back. Dave padded quietly up through the heather with Sam and peered around a tree from a prone position and saw, a couple of hundred metres distant, a group having an obviously restrained conversation with Lord Ross, who turned his back on the people who were talking to him and looked at someone Dave recognised from the baggage train who pointed along the trail where Sam and Dave had first trekked into the town proper. ¡°They must have spent all day combing the streams to find our trail,¡± murmured Sam. ¡°Well, we did kill at least one of his friends,¡± whispered Dave, thinking about the renewal essence he¡¯d looted from one of the bodies. ¡°Hopefully their healer.¡± ¡°Their tracker is good. They¡¯ll follow our trail through town all the way back to here by sunset.¡± said Sam softly, clearly troubled as they watched the hunting party reluctantly follow Lord Ross after their trail. ¡°So we know where they¡¯re going to be for the next few hours? Good,¡± said Dave after a long moment. His brow was furrowed and Sam looked at him strangely. ¡°I have a plan. I¡­ think this might work.¡±
Sam and Dave spent the rest of the afternoon scouting awakening stones. Thanks to Life Recirculation, a small pack of psychotic goats and a pair of people-eater boars, the skeletons were back to full health. Sam, however, was spending an inordinate amount of time in melee, taking hits but insisted that she was fine. After the encounter with the pigs and Dave witnessed one of them bite a chunk out of Sam¡¯s calf muscle he had to bring it up.Stolen novel; please report. ¡°I¡¯m fine! Can¡¯t you see my health over your eyes?¡± ¡°I can see your health bar, sure, but you¡¯re taking real big hits and I don¡¯t know where this regeneration is coming from so I¡¯m checking you¡¯re alright.¡± ¡°Me neither! But is good I heal so fast. Is alright.¡± ¡°For sure! Just don¡¯t be afraid to back out if you feel badly about something.¡± Sam nodded and grinned. Sam used Dave¡¯s map to plot out a path between the best awakening stones they could find in the area in only an hour and then scouted Ross¡¯s party. Then she pulled a jar of some oil from her pack. ¡°Dave. Clean us and then this leaf oil on yourself,¡± said Sam. Dave looked at her quizzically. ¡°Their tracker probably has an essence ability and scent abilities are common. We don¡¯t want to risk they¡¯ll know we¡¯re coming.¡± Dave did as she requested. Sam began moving stealthily ahead, like she was stalking game. They came close to the lumber mill from earlier and Sam circled it through the brush until she could see the path they¡¯d entered and exited from. Seeing no human subjects, Sam released her familiar to swarm forward slowly towards the house, relying on her empathic link to give her an idea if there was a human presence inside. Dave watched her but after a minute she gave a shake of her head. ¡°They¡¯re slow, you think?¡± asked Sam. ¡°Yeah, I expect so. They followed us all day over some hard to track trails. I don¡¯t think they¡¯re giving up now.¡± ¡°Could be already gone?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t be. Unless they picked up the pace by a lot. You said half a league per hour at best so let¡¯s just have confidence in your estimation, okay?¡± Sam still looked nervous. ¡°If it¡¯s bothering you, go take a look and see if there¡¯s tracks in the yard that aren¡¯t ours,¡± said Dave with a shrug. Sam nodded and crept up on the yard. Just as she ducked through the crumbling fence. A flash of movement caught Dave¡¯s eye up the trail. He looked again and his stomach fell through his feet. An armoured person was walking towards the lumber mill. Not even waiting for more details than that, Dave cast his prestidigitation Swift Message Of The Mind to Sam. ¡°They¡¯re-coming-get-out,¡± he whispered rapidly and let the prestidigitation complete. Her eyes looked up just in time to see a distant figure hold up a clear ball which refracted light. A beam that went towards the lumber mill seemed more prominent than others and the ball holder jumped into the stream of light and moved along the beam as though a speed skater with a backing wind. Dave looked into the yard with his heart in his mouth looking for Sam and panicked for a moment when he couldn¡¯t see her. Then he saw the large tree stump that hadn¡¯t been there before and he remembered her shield. Clever woman. Dave cast Swift Message Of The Mind again. ¡°Good thinking. I¡¯ll let you know when they¡¯re not looking.¡± The hunting party picked up their pace a bit now that they¡¯d seen the lumber mill and were chatting to each other. There definitely was a rat-faced fellow that the more prominent members of the group walked past. Dave guessed this was the tracker. This would delay the plan but Dave figured he¡¯d have to just take it in his stride. He chewed on his lip as he waited for them to stop analysing the tracks in the lumber yard and go inside the building. Eventually they did and he signalled Sam who stopped being a tree stump and disappeared into the forest back to Dave. ¡°You okay?¡± asked Dave in a whisper. Sam nodded. ¡°They talking about awakening stones, ka,¡± whispered Sam, still nervous from her adrenaline rush. ¡°Maybe they find one?¡± Dave checked his quest objectives in his UI. ¡°Yeah, they did. Total number is down by one. Nevermind that now, let¡¯s just get the plan working. Can we run now?¡± ¡°We can, yes!¡± Now that they had confirmed where the hunting party was. Dave and Sam ran to the first of the five awakening stones on their path they¡¯d scouted for this plan that Dave had. An awakening stone of thread, found in a front room where there was a nice view out of a window of a garden area where flowers had grown wild. They ran most of the couple of kilometres here, took a spirit coin each and began the plan. The plan was good: A skeleton would pick up the stone and, in one motion, throw it underarm to Sam and then begin sprinting away. She would inventory the stone and Dave would mage bolt anything that tried to hold the skeleton back and then they¡¯d all run like hell to the next stone. Then do the process over again four more times before finding the hunting party and dragging a small army of shadows on top of them. Just like dragging a monster to the town guards in a video game. Except in the game, the guards weren¡¯t also trying to kill you. But, nevermind that. Dave had played on hard mode before. So, they started the plan. The skeleton flicked the stone up to Sam ¨C it looked like a ball of string ¨C as Sam caught it, a familiar haunting scream echoed out from the house and the shadow of an elderly woman with knitting needles and a man in the garden with a chipping hoe came into being. The thrower skeleton was already exiting from the back of the house and Sam was already putting the stone into a pouch at her belt. The running began. They made it to the next stone, only awakening one other screaming echo along the way. They hadn¡¯t stopped to see what it was. This awakening stone was next to the ruins of a doll, but lost in the woods this time instead of under the stairs. Clearly patched and worn before being lost in the brambles. The skeleton flicked the awakening stone of the hand ¨C it looked like two hands clasping together ¨C to Sam, who caught it. A screaming echo of a small child formed and rushed the skeleton but Dave was already shooting it, sending pens into it and lighting it up with bolts of force from his eyes. The form of the shadow was disrupted enough for the skeleton to escape with only minor damage and they ran on. The next awakening stone was one of the feast. It was resting where Dave guessed a family would have taken dinner in the remains of their house. Guessing the shadows wouldn¡¯t form around active flames, Dave and Sam held flaming brands in the space where they wanted the skeleton to escape. Dave was right. When the skeleton picked up the stone, the shadows got shunted off to one side of the flames, which stopped them from surrounding the skeleton. The skeleton sprinted between Dave and Sam but they were both rushed from the sides. Dave got hit by a shadow family member as he retreated backwards to the door, fending them off with the flame and Sam did too, briefly waving her sickle through a shadow to disrupt it. Sam and Dave ran on, taking a stamina potion each, and arrived at the next awakening stone. One with a webbed pattern on it; an awakening stone of the net. The shadow that came from this area made Dave guess that this was someone¡¯s favourite fishing spot. They ran on, activating more shadows on the way. The net wasn¡¯t a particularly attractive awakening stone outside of industry and gladiators but it was on the way and Sam figured, why not? Lastly, was an awakening stone of heart with a shape like a physiological heart. Dave didn¡¯t know if the stone bestowed powers in the sense of the physiology or the emotion. Perhaps both? It was associated with buffs as much as gruesome execution abilities. Sam didn¡¯t mind a bit of death with her life anymore but Aztec-like behaviour wasn¡¯t something she was willing to risk. This was another pickup on the basis that we¡¯re running past it so they may as well snatch it up on the way past. The skeleton tossed it to Sam and Dave had just enough time to see a family measuring a child¡¯s height next to a tree form out of streaming shadows with the usual howl before he started shooting and running. They ran back to the lumber mill, quietly as they could along the path they¡¯d used previously. Dave was running along behind Sam. ¡°Look!¡± said Sam, quietly but intently and with a grin. Dave looked and saw they had got lucky. The hunting party was halfway up a hill. Dave remembered that hill from before. It looked like a smooth grassy slope but was actually pockmarked with rabbit holes that required careful footing to avoid a broken ankle. By the time they¡¯d ascended it earlier, the shadows had all the time they needed to catch up. Sam quickly interrogated Tome who¡¯d popped out from Dave''s arms at her request. ¡°Yes!¡± she exalted, looking at the map. ¡°This way.¡± She led Dave across a stream to the left and then followed it for a bit and then crossed it again right. She looked back constantly to make sure the shadow army was ambling along after them. From what he could tell she would be dragging the hundred-or-so shadows across the hill at any moment. Sam was smiling in a satisfied way when it happened. The hunting party crested the hill, prominent against the skyline, and the shadow army emerged from the trees to find the hunting party right in their path. Sam¡¯s army dived into long grass to hide and the shadows started streaming up the hill. ¡°Can we take a look?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Should we risk it?¡± ¡°I want to see the battle and review it later. If they survive, I want to know how.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°So I know how to stop them next time,¡± said Dave in a low voice. ¡°You crazy!¡± whispered Sam intently but she led the way out of the long grass and to behind a bush. The crest of the hill was now a fortress. Literally. About shoulder high and with a single opening. This was puzzling for a moment until Dave saw a heavyset youth with slicked back hair throw a large rock via telekinesis and realised that this combatant must have earth powers. Dave guessed a fortress confluence considering the actual fortress present. He focused on the other members of the party. The rat-faced man was in the middle of the fortress holding potions and two others were in the same position as him also holding potions and spare weapons. Ross was there at the fortress gate, punching electricity into the shadows with great effect. Unlike physical damage, electricity did its full damage to the shadows. As Dave watched, Ross built up a combination that ended with an Emperor Palpatine-style lightning spray that hit many shadows. The shadow¡¯s resistance to physical damage was clearly an issue for the next of Ross¡¯s cronies. Dave didn¡¯t know what this person looked like when they weren¡¯t transformed into a giant bear but he sure hoped they were smaller and less intimidating. Clearly a transfiguration confluence, Dave figured they must have a combination that included bear, something that had good special attacks and something else that got good staying power. Maybe bear, might and growth? Bear, potent and balance? It didn¡¯t matter. The bear-person could sure take a beating. Could probably give one back too if they weren¡¯t facing physical damage resistant shadows. The last member of the group was the light-walker with the boyish face. Dave guessed he was a celestial. He was quick. So quick that Dave guessed either a swift essence or got lucky with some awakening stone of the foot because he could move very fast. Dave figured he was the team¡¯s scout. In this situation, he appeared to be leaning heavily on his ability to make balls of light and throw them at his enemies, the damage was considerable, but he was also quickly intercepting any shadow that climbed inside the fortress wall quite quickly. ¡°Yes!¡± hissed Dave fiercely, clasping a fist in triumph. ¡°What?¡± asked Sam softly. ¡°I did kill their healer!¡±
Having seen team Ross¡¯s fighting roles, Sam and Dave skulked off. They checked the cottage from a distance but it was being guarded by all of the noble¡¯s essence-user guards. ¡°Hang on. Sam, if they¡¯re guarding here they¡¯re not¡­¡± said Dave, leaving the idea hanging. ¡°They¡¯re not guarding the cabin!¡± she sang quietly but happily. In the fading light of the afternoon, they trekked back to the cabin Dave had made in the morning. It was a long walk on account of Sam taking them on long walks along streams to mask their trail. Sam¡¯s happy mood wasn¡¯t even spoiled by the thorny tongued frog they encountered on the way. She even had Dave use Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas on their shoes for extra care to erase scent. They were shivering by the time they made it to the cabin but walked inside to a pleasantly warm temperature. ¡°Oh! I love it!¡± cried Sam and started singing to herself as she took off her dimensional bag and took out a sleeping roll. Dave was also enjoying the warmth of the room compared to the Autumn evening chill outside. It was magically climate controlled, just like setting the temperature of a room with climate control on Earth. Dave checked the magic. It¡¯d last a few more hours when he¡¯d have to spend the same spell slot to keep it going all night and so long as the external temperature stayed between zero and about human body temperature, it¡¯d be magically adjusted to be comfortable within. ¡°Time for an awakening stone, a little battle analysis and a big sleep. We should probably be gone from here before dawn. Just in case people come looking,¡± said Dave. ¡°Yes! Good idea. I will set up noise traps,¡± Sam put her coat and shoes back on and went out the door. She came back in a few minutes later having set up traps to make an awful lot of noise if set off. ¡°Awakening stone!¡± she called with her signature smile. displayed Tome and soared gently to Dave¡¯s hand. Dave held the book, already open on the correct page, Sam put her hand on the book and Dave chanted the ritual. Sam held the awakening stone of thread and closed her eyes as she absorbed it. Dave kept his eyes on the chat box. They were expecting it to interact with the animate essence for a string-based animation. Maybe telekinetic thread control? Although there were some more esoteric options. Some people could detach body parts and control them at a distance, some could animate objects, some lucky ones got partial influence over monsters. ¡°Cruel Puppeteer. Extend your hand and exert control over an enemy proportional to your relative rank and stats. Very high mana,¡± quoted Dave automatically then ran what he had said through his head. ¡°Bloody hell, that¡¯s good!¡± Sam was grinning with happiness and guilt. Maybe she thought it was evil but they both knew it didn¡¯t matter if it was. This was a very powerful spell. The possibilities were amazing. Just thinking of their current location, Dave was eagerly imagining Ross involuntarily hurling himself off a cliff. Dave might have imagined it but a certain savageness in Sam¡¯s smile suggested that she¡¯d had a similar thought. ¡°It certainly fuels the imagination doesn¡¯t it?¡± said Dave. ¡°You think it works on animal?¡± asked Sam, speculatively. ¡°Probably,¡± said Dave, opening his interface and digging into the details. He dug around for a few minutes extracting facts about the spell from his UI but in the end, decided experimentation would be better. ¡°Just cast it on me,¡± said Dave. ¡°What? Dave!¡± ¡°Yeah, cast it on me. Most essence abilities have an intuitive sense of how they work, right? So use it and feel how it works. I¡¯m here, I can be targeted with it. You don¡¯t have to do anything nasty with it. Just make me clap my hands or something and let go.¡± Sam looked very unsure of herself. ¡°I¡¯m literally volunteering, Sam. Do it!¡± ¡°Alright!¡± She sat up straight, calming her thoughts and used a Siamese phrase to cast the spell. Dave felt a sense of control settling over him but it wasn¡¯t his control, it was someone else''s. He let it settle in. It wasn¡¯t uncomfortable but now that he¡¯d let it take hold of him he couldn¡¯t move. He tried to wriggle his body and many of his muscles responded but in a restrained manner. Like a large being was holding his limbs so despite trying to twist his body, he only faintly shivered. ¡°Stop it! It¡¯s hard,¡± said Sam. He tried to verbally apologise but couldn¡¯t and immediately stopped trying. Clearly, Dave thought, his own attempts to move were hampering Sam¡¯s efforts. It seemed like the spell didn¡¯t take control of a person from the nerve impulses. As the name suggested, it just sort of restrained you and then - Suddenly his right arm flopped across his body. Sam had her hands extended towards Dave with a look of concentration on her face. The arm flopped back. Then, both arms flopped together into a clap and Dave felt the control imposed on his body release. ¡°Ahh!¡± explained Dave, working his jaw. ¡°That was weird!¡± Sam looked pensive but broke into a smile when Dave grinned at her. ¡°Did not hurt?¡± she asked. ¡°No, just couldn¡¯t move anything without fighting you for it and when I stopped fighting, you could move me easily. Spell is as advertised, I guess. You figure much out?¡± ¡°Yes! Is like I can take bits of you in my head and hold them and make them go. Is good but very complicated.¡± Dave nodded thoughtfully. ¡°We¡¯ll practise more but for now, we¡¯re done with awakening stones, right?¡± Sam nodded. ¡°Okay, I think I¡¯m going to read over all of your abilities and figure out why your healing jumped up so much. Let''s settle in. Can you make tea?¡± asked Dave. Sam decided that she could. Dave concentrated on a fire and Sam fussed with a kettle while Dave read over her abilities. About five minutes later he understood. ¡°Oh! Yes. Of course. It¡¯s so simple,¡± he laughed abruptly. ¡°Hmm?¡± asked Sam. ¡°Your familiar!¡± Dave grinned. ¡°You absorb it to heal, that reduces the swarm size but swarm size grows with healing, yes? Which it normally does when you have it absorbed using your passive healing but each individual insect can grow faster when it gets healed. Just that¡¯s not often because it¡¯s a swarm. Except now you have a healing aura so each individual beetle is always healing. Your life aura is supercharging your familiar¡¯s growth ability giving you a better healing ability.¡± ¡°Oooh!¡± exclaimed Sam, understanding. ¡°I heal beetles, beetles come faster and I absorb more beetles to heal.¡± ¡°Yep!¡± said Dave happily. ¡°Your familiar is effectively a second pool of health with faster regeneration than almost anything. They can just pour health into you and now you can pour it straight back into them.¡± ¡°I like it!¡± Sam handed Dave a cup of tea and they blew on their tea in silence for a minute. ¡°We don¡¯t have to beat him. We can just leave,¡± said Sam suddenly in a little voice. ¡°We can¡¯t,¡± said Dave with resignation. ¡°Maybe if we¡¯d run when we first met him he¡¯d have just forgotten about us but we couldn¡¯t. We were trapped on a cliff.¡± Dave sipped his tea, his face stern with the recollection. ¡°He¡¯s a bully and an important man. My guess is that he¡¯s never realised his whole life that the people he cows with his bullying are making a risk-reward calculation in their heads. If anybody hurts him, his family will hurt their family. If anybody tries to run away, his family can reach them. He¡¯s always protected because there¡¯s always a way he can make someone¡¯s life worse so they tolerate him and he remains unaware that they do it because of implicit threats. He just thinks it''s the natural order of things. We¡¯re probably the only people besides other aristocrats that he¡¯s ever not had implicit power over. Except he¡¯s finally found a situation in us where the stakes are so high we have to kill him and all of his friends and he doesn¡¯t even know he¡¯s accidentally fabricated the situation. I¡¯d feel sorry for him if he hadn¡¯t dug this hole for himself.¡± ¡°We have to?¡± asked Sam¡¯s little voice. Dave shrugged and sipped his tea. ¡°He wasn¡¯t listening to reason when we met. Our only peaceful option was to get disarmed, be at his mercy and hope. Do you think we were getting a fair trial when he took us to his court? What happens when you get to court?¡± ¡°Probably fines?¡± ¡°They¡¯re not going to check our essences?¡± ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°As I said. Him and all of his friends.¡± ¡°Even his bag carrying people?¡± ¡°I hope not. They¡¯ve all stayed back and didn¡¯t get a good look at our faces but definitely all of the nobles. Their word counts for more in any legal system, right?¡± Sam nodded glumly. ¡°How do you know so much about this?¡± ¡°My world also has rich people and a history with nobles. Some things are just always true, it seems.¡± Sam nodded glumly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Sam,¡± said Dave gently. ¡°I¡¯ll do all the evil stuff.¡± Sam shook her head and smiled wanly into her tea. ¡°Even so, if we get into another fight with him and his boys I don¡¯t know what we should do. The fortress and the bear? It¡¯s too strong,¡± said Dave, shaking his head. ¡°Their scout can turn to glass and run on light,¡± said Sam. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Like light beams in the sky? But he makes them and runs on them? He changes his body like he is made of glass?¡± ¡°Oh, damn.¡± Dave stared at the floor as though it might give him answers. ¡°Yeah, I really don¡¯t know,¡± he muttered. ¡°From what I can see, their bear and the fortress confluence have super staying power. If they still had a healer, they¡¯d be impossible for us to kill. Not without an area denial ability, which you kind of have with corpse explosion but is it enough? Ross and glass-man are super mobile so they can attack anywhere they like and just run back to the fortress if they get into trouble. Or, more likely, they fight until there¡¯s trouble and just put the fortress there. I have a dispel, I can dispel the fortress but they¡¯ll probably have other defensive abilities from that essence and then I¡¯m spending all my spells on one fortress-maker while his friends stab me to death.¡± Dave trailed off, murmuring to himself. ¡°What should we do?¡± asked Sam. ¡°Get some sleep and keep exploring tomorrow,¡± said Dave with a wry grin. ¡°Maybe the evil we find in the town will kill him for us?¡±
Sam¡¯s skeletons kept watch. In the loot from the still nameless healer that Dave had killed was a magical pocket watch. Before going to sleep, Sam had resummoned her skeletons, handed one the pocket watch and told it to wake her up in five hours and forty-five minutes. The other four were given various watch duties with instructions to wake her and Dave up if they saw any large creatures of any kind, monsters of any kind, any creatures or perceived anything that might damage the cabin or anybody inside it. The skeletons grinned with understanding. Sam and Dave went to sleep. Dave slept through Sam¡¯s second summoning of skeletons but was woken up by her before the dawn. ¡°Dave, let¡¯s go!¡± Sam hissed. Dave looked around blearily for a second but jumped into action when he saw that Sam was already roughly stuffing her sleeping roll into her dimensional bag. Only understanding that it must be important, he started doing the same. ¡°What is it?¡± asked Dave. ¡°My bell trap went off.¡± Realising the importance, Dave caught up to Sam, who was already packed, by abandoning his packing and just ran for it with her carrying his bedroll in his arms. They squeezed between the cabin and the cliff and scrambled along rocks until they couldn¡¯t see the cabin anymore. ¡°Where are the skeletons?¡± asked Dave, looking around. ¡°I sent them to the top cliff to throw some rocks as a distraction.¡± Dave checked her cooldowns. Only three hours into her Summon Skeleton cooldown. ¡°The aristocrat must have gotten up very early,¡± remarked Dave dryly. ¡°And now his tracker is close enough to catch our scent,¡± said Sam miserably. ¡°I know,¡± said Dave, sharing her frustration. ¡°But I¡¯ve got most of my spell slots back. Should I summon golems we can ride and he¡¯ll have to track us pretty quickly after that?¡± ¡°Maybe he can?¡± ¡°Maybe, but I bet Lord Ross and gang run out of stamina potions after the first lap of the town.¡± Sam smiled again. Dave bumped her on the shoulder and grinned back. ¡°They¡¯re a powerful group but we have advantages too,¡± said Dave.
Sam led Dave on a ride around the valley until sunrise. The duo became a trio as Dave let Tzu out of his eyes. =I agree with your tactical decision to retreat until a time of strength. You have the makings of a fine general.= ¡°Thanks Tzu,¡± said Dave with an entertained smile. ¡°I enjoy your enthusiasm. It keeps me motivated.¡± =I am pleased to perform my function as a warrior mentor.= Sam led them to the side of town that would catch the first rays of sunlight through, unfortunately, a lot of bitterly cold water. They were both shivering, despite Dave¡¯s ability to dry them both. They cleared a space and Dave magiced up a fire where they warmed their hands in the last minutes before dawn. ¡°Can I have a mana potion?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I re-read my spell slots ability last night. It says that I get an extra slot if I have mana ¡®regeneration or replacement¡¯ abilities active during the day? I think potions are replacement?¡± Sam nodded and handed over the potion. ¡°How many do we have?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Nineteen. Eighteen after that one.¡± Dave nodded. ¡°What¡¯s the bet that Lord Ross uses a lot of these?¡± ¡°No bet!¡± said Sam with a big grin. The light crested the low parts of the horizon and the light fell on Dave as he swigged the potion and both felt and saw in his HUD, a fifth spell slot become active. He felt a certain tension leave him. A sense of vulnerability lifted. ¡°Extra slot?¡± asked Sam with a smile. ¡°Hell yeah! Five slots a day and now twenty percent better than ever!¡± exulted Dave. ¡°Alright, more golems!¡± laughed Sam. ¡°Hang on, need to memorise spells,¡± grinned Dave. ¡°But I think I¡¯ll keep the slots in reserve. Just in case.¡± Dave brought out Tome from his dimensional space, greeted him and memorised one Comfortable Country Cabin and two more Origami Golem spells. Like the ones he and Sam were riding, they had an updated seat Dave had written in last night. They were now high saddles which allowed for easy mounting and dismounting. ¡°Where should we go?¡± asked Sam. ¡°Right into town,¡± said Dave. ¡°We need to figure out this ¡®evil¡¯ in my quest. It might be important.¡± Dave and Sam had a much easier time travelling and dealing with encounters because of the golems which was great because they ran into a lot of them as they made their way through the forest. They first encountered another of the scattered packs of psychotic goats who bleated with malevolence, braced themselves and charged. Both Dave and Sam were very glad to have their massive, cardboard pools of hitpoints and damage back. They had the same feeling after a particularly large people-eater boar, another pack of goats and a fergax which ripped Sam¡¯s golem up with its claws quite a lot. They took several minutes off from travelling to heal the golem. ¡°If we¡¯d encountered three of them¡­¡± said Dave, leaving the thought hanging, shaking his head at the fergax corpse. ¡°The bestiary says they are solitary so it¡¯s fine!¡± sang Sam brightly. Her spirits were up. ¡°I know, I¡¯m just thinking.¡± ¡°Always planning. Good boy!¡± said Sam and cheekily patted Dave¡¯s head. Dave chuckled at her silliness. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m planning to live. We have good power but no escape mechanisms. I guess I¡¯ll work on that, hey?¡± ¡°Keep thinking!¡± =To destroy your enemies in the fire of your wrath or retreat to heat the forge of redemption? A warrior''s quandary!= ¡°Truly we are the intersection of the battlefield and scholarship,¡± said Dave looking between his familiars with a smirk, ¡°but my current schedule doesn¡¯t allow for scholarship or wrathful fire.¡± Somehow, without arms or faces, Dave¡¯s familiars managed to shrug at each other.
While the entire valley was Courbefy valley only the town was designated as Courbefy proper. Sam¡¯s army wasn¡¯t long into the area that Dave¡¯s map designated as proper Courbefy town when there was a familiar scream. ¡°UggggrrrrAAAaaagh!¡± came the echo as a man and his two hunting dogs dripped from the shadows in the heather into being. ¡°Get ¡®em!¡± called Dave. Sam had been preparing to run but hearing Dave, instead dismounted and went into combat. The golems went about disrupting the forms of the dogs while Sam, Dave and Tzu made an unrelenting attack against the man. The echo man dissipated quickly only causing a week-old bruise on Sam¡¯s arm and, with numbers on their side, the two dogs were soon dissolved. ¡°We didn¡¯t even take anything yet!¡± complained Sam. ¡°Hang on,¡± said Dave, having a brain wave. He took out the awakening stones from the previous day and moved them back and forth around the meadow while staring intently at them. ¡°Is it a magic problem?¡± called Sam who was patiently tolerating the odd behaviour. ¡°Oh? Oh, yes,¡± said Dave, snapping out of his concentration. ¡°The stones from yesterday haven¡¯t lost their absorbed shadow energy yet. We didn¡¯t defeat the corruption inside them, I guess? In any case, we have to leave them behind or we¡¯ll be fighting the whole way in.¡± ¡°Oh! No problem!¡± said Sam brightly. ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°Yes, we can just ride the golems back to safe area, put them under a rock and keep going.¡± =Damn!= buzzed Tzu in a disappointed tone. ¡°Oh, then¡­ let¡¯s do that!¡± said Dave with a look at Tzu. =I like battle more than I like running= buzzed Tzu by way of explanation.
Having hid their treasures, Dave and Sam were soon in the middle of town, weirdly encountering no monsters along the way, with Dave staring around like a crazed man. ¡°That is¡­ a lot. A lot of magic resonance,¡± said Dave. ¡°Can¡¯t you feel it?¡± Sam shook her head. ¡°I feel like a pressure? Like there should be a stormcloud?¡± said Sam as they investigated the main town square. This area and mainstreet were paved with cobblestones and so hadn¡¯t had as much natural reclamation by the forest as the rest of the ruined farmsteads they¡¯d encountered although the buildings were still crumbling. Dave lit a flame on his finger and used the stagnant water in the fountain as a reflection. He waved the small flame back and forth at an even level above the water. ¡°See how the flame changes as it moves? Bright yellow to deep orange? And the reflection is causing ripples? That¡¯s not me, that¡¯s the background magic. It¡¯s practically vibrating,¡± said Dave and exhaled strongly. Sam blinked and smiled in appreciation. ¡°Sorry, Sam. It¡¯s just¡­ it¡¯s like being in a power plant and seeing exposed wires.¡± Sam repeated her previous non-statement. ¡°Oh¡­ like being¡­ surrounded by caged monsters and you don¡¯t know who has the key.¡± Sam nodded. Her skeletons, which she had recently summoned, politely clapped. ¡°Thanks, Tome. Anyway, don¡¯t touch anything. Unless I give the go-ahead. Where should we look for the evil first?¡± ¡°The streets,¡± said Sam firmly. ¡°The buildings might break and something moves but the ground won''t, so we walk first.¡± Dave nodded. They mounted their golems and Dave began using Magician¡¯s Megre Magics to levitate a small stone, stopping often and noting how it vibrated in the air. Sam led him all the way up and down the main street. ¡°Anything?¡± she asked. ¡°Lots. We walked past seven of the magic item icons on my map but only two areas had a huge resonance effect. Where we started and that large building about halfway down,¡± said Dave. ¡°The watch house?¡± asked Sam in surprise. ¡°I didn¡¯t see the name. Too busy looking at my rock but, let¡¯s take a look inside it,¡± said Dave and gestured that she should lead the way. They went back, Dave focusing less intently on the rock and this time and noticed the faded police badge painted onto the side of the building. ¡°Yep! This is the one,¡± said Dave. They walked inside carefully, Tzu leading the way to provide light and its unique ability to uncover hidden enemies being leveraged by Dave at this moment. He was close behind himself with his sword drawn, ready to skewer anything that charged him or Tzu. The building they slowly walked through had an entrance with a desk, Dave guessed that chairs must have stood at the sides once, and continued through a perished door to a lunch room, areas for storage and/or desks, all long since cleared. ¡°There¡¯s nothing here,¡± said Dave, staring at his rock and checking the result by lighting a flame in his other hand. ¡°Cellar,¡± said Sam. Sam showed him a horizontal door that Dave had missed earlier under the stairs going to the next level. ¡°How do you know it¡¯s down, not up?¡± asked Dave. ¡°The shadows we fight are dark. More of them underground,¡± shrugged Sam. Dave couldn¡¯t argue with that and so, descended the stone steps to what was not a cellar, but a prison block. A long, stone hall line with the doors to cells. Dave walked past them, checking as he went until he found a skeleton with the remains of clothes over the bones and, nestled in the rib cage of the skeleton was¡­ ¡°A darkness essence,¡± breathed Dave. He could see it glowing with a fake blue outline in his HUD. This must be the evil. His text box had flicked a new message up. Quest: [Abandoned Forest Town] has been updated. He clicked the quest and he saw the updated text.
Quest: Abandoned Forest Town
Description Investigate the abandoned forest town Courbefy with local guide Samorn Khanthong and collect magical items throughout the town; 7/29. Remove the evil from the town; 0/1. Bonus objective: Remove essences from the town, 0/3.
Detailed Information
¡°I can¡¯t see it,¡± said Sam. ¡°Hmm? Oh, I suppose not. Tzu, can you come in here?¡± The lantern increased the light intensity until the essence that looked like a pocket of nothing was visible underneath the ribs. ¡°What¡¯s it look like to you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s highlighted as a quest objective on my HUD. It¡¯s one of the three essences causing the evil. Apparently.¡± ¡°Three essences?¡± ¡°Yes, my quest just updated. Show her, Tome.¡± While she read, Dave, fingers of his right hand lit, extended them towards the essence. The flames didn¡¯t just change colour, they began flickering sideways and then flicked out. ¡°Holy shit,¡± breathed Dave. ¡°Hmm?¡± Dave reached his hand behind him and relit his fingers. ¡°I think these essences are acting as not just plugs but also filters for that magical reservoir I talked about.¡± ¡°That sounds bad. Oh! That must be why we get shadow monsters! Darkness!¡± Sam smiled to herself having figured it out. ¡°Yes but also, if we move any of them, that¡¯s unplugging the reservoir, remember?¡± ¡°That also sounds bad!¡± ¡°It would be. Definitely enough magic to wake the dead of the entire town.¡± Sam shot the essence a frightened look. ¡°Hands to myself! Come here, Dave!¡± said Sam with false brightness as she walked to the stairs. Dave turned around to follow and then noticed the walls covered in writing. Accusatory writing. Most prominent; ¡®MAYOR FABRIZIO BLOCKHAM IS GUILTY¡¯.
Dave had only spent a moment on the rest of the scrawl covering the wall, capturing it with his eyes for mental replay with his Library Of The Mind ability later. It appeared to be a list of misdeeds but Dave hurried on to catch up with Sam. ¡°We need to find all three so that we know which buildings to never touch!¡± announced Sam. ¡°Or for Ross to fall into,¡± grumbled Dave. ¡°Not if we¡¯re in town! We¡¯ll die too!¡± =You just need a bastion in which to resist the hordes in glorious battle!= ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s the enemy who has the defensive fortress, Tzu. If we could dispel it though... Wait! I could actually do that! Wouldn¡¯t help though. We¡¯d still die,¡± said Dave, going through a range of emotions in a single sentence. offered Tome, fluttering open to a page entitled, ¡®defensive hunting¡¯ in a book Dave didn¡¯t recognise. ¡°I think not. Heist strategies for today,¡± said Dave. They walked to the town hall, Dave checking magical resonances by flame and by stone. ¡°Same as last time,¡± said Dave as he and Sam dismounted. Tzu hovered forward and Dave followed. They searched the entire ground level and found only offices and meeting rooms. This time Dave simply held his hands close to the floor and then above his head to check if up or down was the better option. He felt a little dumb he hadn¡¯t thought of that the first time. Upwards this time. They ascended some surprisingly solid stairs. They¡¯d clearly been made out of high quality oak that had been treated correctly to ward off rot. In the largest office which opened to a small balcony which oversaw the square, the mayoral office Dave supposed, there was an open safe in the wall in which standing all alone was a HUD-highlighted corruption essence. It was a cube of sickly, rotten brown and looked like it should be dripping with oil even though it was dry. ¡°Ugh, well that¡¯s it,¡± said Dave. Sam nodded, looking put off. They took their eyes off it and looked at the only other strange thing in the room: The desk was still here. Most of the furniture in the town was gone with the residents. Dave guessed it was because the desk¡¯s construction had been finished in the room and it couldn¡¯t be moved out. You¡¯d need a team of men to lift it and even if they could, it wouldn¡¯t fit through the doors. Naturally, they searched the desk. ¡°Weird! There¡¯s a book!¡± said Sam. Dave stopped going through his own set of drawers and looked at Sam¡¯s found book. The book was delicate with age and the writing faded but on his HUD, there was an exclamation mark. ¡°It has a quest for me,¡± said Dave in flat astonishment. ¡°Is it safe?¡± asked Sam. Dave tested flame and pebble near the book and tapped it lightly with his finger while looking closely. ¡°Yes. Magically inert,¡± said Dave and mentally right-clicked the book. His text box showed a new quest. New Quest: [Justice For Courbefy]. ¡°Hang on, getting quest information,¡± said Dave and clicked on the quest.
Quest: Justice For Courbefy
Description Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use the accounts balance book to find a lead to investigate.
Reward 100 iron spirit coins per lead discovered.
Detailed Information
¡°Well,¡± said Dave, dumbfounded. ¡°The mayor was really corrupt.¡± Sam gave Dave a look that named him as Captain Obvious. ¡°The quest asks me to use that accounting book to find a lead to ¡®get justice for the victims¡¯,¡± Dave shrugged and accepted the quest. ¡°It seems as good a quest as any.¡± Sam smiled and nodded. ¡°Your name is I-get-money-Dave!¡± announced Sam and laughed. Dave inventoried the book.
The next essence was harder to find. Inside a warehouse away from the mainstreet there was a small room that looked like a storage closet in the corner of the warehouse that had been converted into a makeshift bedroom with a small pallet on which the remains of several blankets still lay. On top of the blankets, lay an echo essence, looking like a grey crystal cube full of smoke rings. Dave used his ability Find Documents. ¡°Mayor.¡± On an overturned box, several documents lit up on his HUD. Dave collected them and glanced at them. They appeared to be legal documents issued to one Liam Holzhauer, age 68, of various infractions. One of tax avoidance, one of financial crimes and the top most of vagrancy. His text box flicked. Dave saw that he had just been given 100 iron spirit coins and a lead to follow up on Liam Holzhauer. He inventoried the papers. ¡°Apparently, a Mr Liam Holzhauer who lived here got a lot of attention from the mayor,¡± said Dave as he walked away from the scene. Sam read Tome¡¯s display with Dave and nodded her agreement. =Legal battle. The worst and most dangerous kind of battle but I will have the courage of a dragon, Dave! I will follow you to the end.= Dave also nodded. ¡°I agree with all of you but I think detective work comes after our current problems. Let¡¯s nab some awakening stones and give this Lord Ross some hell.¡±
Dave had come up with a plan to take advantage of the previous day''s attack which he conveyed manically to the others. ¡°First, we scout all of the awakening stones and leave a marker on the map by the ones that Sam wants. I scry Ross and can triangulate his position on the map using angles between local mountains that Sam can use. Then, still scrying, Sam collects the stones while I don¡¯t stop and always move ahead. Once we have the stones we move towards Ross¡¯s party and as soon as they make any indication they¡¯ve seen us. We turn at a right angle. Now that we¡¯ve done the dragging-monsters trick once, they¡¯ll probably run away instead of fight. Honestly they¡¯re welcome to fight but they¡¯re not that dumb. Once that¡¯s done, we¡¯ll run off again and just repeat this strategy once or twice more in the day because that¡¯s how many spell slots I have left.¡± ¡°Yes. If they do that we have two options. Option one is they pursue us but remain in sight of their allies, in which case Sam will do her best to slow them down and we continue running while trading ranged attacks. Neither of them can heal so we¡¯ll win a running battle by attrition. Option two is they engage with us while their allies are out of range to help. In this case we attack, the golems will keep one of them occupied while the rest of us deal with the other.¡± =I hope they engage us in a glorious, winnable battle!= ¡°We know you do, buddy. We know you do.¡± ¡°And we do this until we get all the awakening stones we want?¡± asked Sam. ¡°Yes, and to generally scare them out of town so that Lord Ross can¡¯t set off the essence traps while we¡¯re inside. That way, we can pick up our loot and get you stronger while remaining safe from Lord Ross making an accident of all of us.¡± It was worth a go. With the plan set, they got into motion. They scouted out the awakening stones with only a single pixelax encounter to slow them down. In the graveyard behind the town¡¯s all-purpose church, which there was an awakening stone in, Sam drew up a path on the map between some selected awakening stones. ¡°Here¡¯s the order!¡± announced Sam happily. ¡°Shovel, earth, dance, rain and judgement!¡± Dave could see Sam¡¯s smile in anticipation of the bounty to come. It was a nice thing to see on a friend. He hoped this worked as well as he thought it would. In theory it was a long golem ride with an intense ending that they¡¯d run away from but theories always have a rough way of meeting with reality and coming up incomplete. Still, their team had the speed and healing advantage. ¡°Time for scrying,¡± said Dave and incanted the spell while holding up a mirror that he¡¯d borrowed from Sam. ¡°Sight beyond sight, sound beyond sound, senses beyond sense,¡± The mirror fuzzed and became a portal to a magical sensor that was hanging above Ross¡¯s head like the camera in a 3rd person game which Dave could see through the mirror. Moving the mirror that he was holding, Dave found that he could see in any direction. The exact area that Ross was in, Dave could only see three metres clearly but all the landmarks in the distance, which Dave was familiar with, were clear. Dave called out the angles he saw the biggest mountains at. ¡°Mount Jora; sixty, Mount Bornand; two hundred and eighty and Mount Albert; one hundred and sixty.¡± Sam quickly drew on the map that Tome was displaying. A line through each mountain peak at the called angles would intersect at the location Dave¡¯s magical sensor was at. The lines intersected at a space in the northern part of the valley region the town was situated in. Dave nodded in understanding. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±
They were already at the location of the awakening stone of the shovel. Sam had pre-arranged places for the origami golem to kneel down so that she could nab the stone and sprint straight to the golem. Here, it was quite easy in the relatively open space of the graveyard. The awakening stone was resting peacefully in the middle of the ruins of a garden shed. She picked it up and immediately jumped into the saddle of her golem. ¡°RUUAAaaaaaaaagggGH!¡± Shadow creatures appeared directly in Sam¡¯s path. One with a shovel and one wearing priestly robes, both unavoidable for Sam and her golem. Despite the swiftness of her departure they had time to position themselves with shovel and holy book extended as the golem moved through their forms, disrupting them but their hands were high enough to remain unaffected and their objects passed right through Sam¡¯s legs and hips. Sam grit her teeth and buckled over as her legs became covered in bruises. She put both her healing spells on herself. ¡°You okay?¡± Dave called back, still staring into his mirror piece checking on Ross who was starting to feel jumpy ¡®like someone is looking at me¡¯. Dave mentally adjusted the distance of the magical sensor from Ross. ¡°Pain, but fine!¡± called Sam with a sweat across her brow but was able to make a small smile. They cantered to the next awakening stone, one of earth, bringing the usual small army of shadowy figures with them. They followed a dirt path and crossed a field to a raised square of soil where Sam said there would have been a garden where the owner grew plants on imported soil that wouldn¡¯t grow here otherwise. ¡°SCCRREAaaaaaaaGGH!¡± Although Dave was ready with his wand out and eye-beams ready to go, the amount of children holding tropical fruits in their hands was enormous. They didn¡¯t have a lot of health but even so, Dave didn¡¯t have the firepower to disrupt many. With her right hand holding the stone, Sam shield bashed her way through one, who still reached out and scraped across her elbow, and ran past it as the child-shadows clawed at her arms and back as she left. She put three stacks of Health Blossom on herself as she held on grimly to the hand hold at the front of the saddle with gritted teeth. They got unlucky at the dance awakening stone, which was located in the town field. Fortunately, Sam had predicted this might be the case and already put a line of the eight torches that they had between the pursuing shadows and her, which Dave quickly lit without breaking concentration on his ongoing scry spell. Ross and friends were still searching the entirety of the farm house they were in. Dave had noticed that his quest now had a total of twenty-seven possible magical items for him to loot, meaning that Ross had found five. ¡°URRAAAaaaaaaaaahhh!¡± They abandoned the torches. Dave had originally intended to pick them up, put them out and ride on but as Sam snatched up the awakening stone of dance and began riding, a series of twirling couples appeared, cutting Dave off. He and Sam took a small amount of damage himself as they rode away. Sam used a single health blossom on them both. It was a mana efficient spell but even so, they¡¯d used more mana than they¡¯d expected getting the stones and there were still two more to go. The next awakening stone was one of rain, which Sam didn¡¯t even need to get out of the saddle to procure. It was on the platform of a raised water tower that fed a large field which Sam said was probably used for pasture. All the shadows appeared in Sam¡¯s intended direction of escape but she just diverted her galloping course around the shadow goatherds who appeared. The last was an awakening stone of judgement. This one was tricky since it was in the mostly collapsed courthouse of the town. The amount of shadows set off on the way in was, predictably, numerous now that they were in a populated area so they had little time to get ahead of the trailing wave of shadow monsters. The side of the courthouse wall had collapsed. Tome guessed that the tree which had grown only a couple of metres outside the wall had shifted the earth over the years and caused the wall to fall down. In any case, Dave had the foresight to put a ritual circle on the ground which increased the power of wands used from that location and was standing there, wand ready, one eye on the scrying mirror when Sam pulled the awakening stone of judgement off the rotting judges stand. ¡°GRRAaaaaaaagggggh!¡± Shadow people appeared, tearing themselves into somethingness from existing shadows and they completely blocked Dave¡¯s vision of Sam. Dave noticed a judge and a witness in the court near Sam but they were completely overshadowed to him by the double line of jurors who appeared with their back to him. Dave was already shooting eye beams and mage bolts before the jurors turned around but when they did, Dave had to dive backwards to stay safe from their grasping arms. His golem began disrupting their forms with pure force of presence at the gap in the wall but that meant he couldn¡¯t mount it either, what with all that combative jostling. Dave sprinted for the entrance of the courthouse and mentally sent Sam¡¯s golem galloping ahead of him. When he arrived, he saw peaceful stairs. ¡°DAVE!¡± called Sam¡¯s voice from the other side of the building. She¡¯d gone out the back! Suddenly her health bar dropped considerably. Dave felt his stomach drop away in panic and began sprinting back the way he¡¯d come. He mentally ordered Sam¡¯s golem to the back of the courthouse. It pushed off a nearby tree to become a giant pinwheel, racing past Dave¡¯s golem which was swishing its legs violently through most of the jury. Sam came into view, leaning on the wall and hopping along on one leg. She ordered the golem down and with a falling dive, hurled herself over the saddle sideways. The golem sprang to its feet with Sam draped over the saddle and began scuttling away. Dave called his own golem to him, made a running jump into the saddle and followed Sam, barely ahead of a horde of murderous shadow people. ¡°You alright?¡± shouted Dave, checking the mirror. Ross was leaving the farm heading south-east having already checked the barn and garden shed. ¡°I have a twisted ankle,¡± said Sam in a strained voice. ¡°I had to jump out of a window at the back and landed badly.¡± ¡°Take a potion if you need to.¡± ¡°No, my familiar can handle it. We have minutes. Where are they?¡± ¡°About three hundred metres west of where they began, turning south.¡± Sam nodded and concentrated through the pain, letting her familiar reposition her ankle ligaments back to full health. Her gasps gave the impression it was as painful as Dave imagined it would be. Despite their injuries, they rode quickly through echoing screeches with Dave offering updates to Sam who guided them through the outskirts of the town. They were just coming up on the forest proper when Sam started riding with her feet in the normal position again. As they were coming up on where they expected the hunting party to be, Dave realised a flaw in his scrying spell. In order to get a forward view from Ross, who was coming towards him, Dave had to hold the mirror behind him. Not ideal. And, that¡¯s why he was a little bit late noticing that he¡¯d already come into view of Lord Ross¡¯s hunting party across a field. Both parties noticed each other at the same time. ¡°Dave!¡± complained Sam. ¡°Sorry! The mirror is awkward!¡± Sam took the lead, turning a hard left and Dave let himself concentrate fully on his mirror to hear Lord Ross and his friends'' plan. ¡°Get him,¡± said Ross with vindictive satisfaction. Dave took his eyes off the mirror and looked across the field at the group. Their scout had a large, glass javelin in his hand and made as though to stab right in front of him, puzzling Dave. The javelin came out of the mirror and shattered as it pierced Dave¡¯s forehead sending sharp glass spraying across his face. Dave yelled in pain, dropping the mirror. The small glass spear had been stabbed through the mirror at an upwards angle so that the point entered Dave¡¯s forehead and exited at about his hairline. There was a thunderclap as Lord Ross teleported across the field in the form of a lightning bolt and then immediately shot lightning at Dave with a punching motion. Dave, already low in the saddle, took it across his right shoulder. It set his garments on fire and blackened his arm. It didn¡¯t make him yell with pain, he was already doing that. Dave dimly noticed that his health bar was half-gone. Ross was winding back for another punch when Sam cast Cruel Puppeteer and Lord Ross¡¯s face changed from anger to confusion as he punched himself in the knee and fell over. He fought against the controlling strings of magic that Dave could see attaching to the man¡¯s joints but his movements were slowed by Sam¡¯s resistance. Dave¡¯s golem had slowed to a halt to avoid throwing the insensate Dave off the saddle but as Sam cast Health Blossom and Regrowth on him, Dave gathered his wits and grasped the saddle pommel so as to allow his golem to start moving again. Sam continued her spells and cast Dragged To The Grave with Ross in the centre, still struggling to walk from the effects of Cruel Puppeteer, he was immediately dragged down and squeezed roughly by the skeleton hands. Holding on with his left arm, unable to use his right, Dave was feeling the glass being pushed out of his face by Sam¡¯s healing as his golem sped up and Sam joined him in flight from the hunting party. ¡°You alright?¡± called Sam over the sound of the wind. ¡°Nope! But I will be,¡± said Dave while wiping blood out of his eyes. The scout with the boyish face had caught up to Sam and Dave, skating along a rainbow to catch up to them and, projecting light from his left hand in front of him, continued to speed skate across the ground, keeping pace with the duo on golems who were moving about as fast as a sprinting human. Wary of this new threat, Sam easily avoided the glass javelin that he threw at her. It was at this moment that cries came from the rest of the hunting party that was in pursuit. They had noticed the couple of dozen shadows that Sam and Dave had dragged with them and were changing tact from vengeful pursuit to, as far as Dave could tell, tactical retreat with vengeful pursuit as an optional extra. You couldn¡¯t have everything, figured Dave. In response to the scout¡¯s presence, Sam put herself and her golem between the scout and Dave who was clearly the weaker target, while the last of the glass pushed out of his face and the smoking skin of his arm was still coming clear. The scout skated ahead of them and threw a small mote of light at Sam who ducked behind her shield. The mote of light cracked like the noise of an old camera and made a blinding flash which dazzled Sam but the golem, who had no eyes to dazzle, ran around the glass pike that the scout had braced on the ground. They manifested a shadow while running past but neither Dave nor Sam cared to look back to see what they¡¯d awakened in their flight. Cursing, the scout made a rainbow, the first time they¡¯d seen him do it, and Dave realised it was actually a dome of light which came up beneath his feet on which he seemed to perfectly balance on the slipperiness of it. It was a very skill-intense ability by the looks of it. He came rocketing down the rainbow slope of the light, made a glass javelin in his hand and threw it at Dave. The throw was good and Dave was only prevented from being skewered by hurling himself forward, out of the saddle. He only stayed off the ground because the golem compensated its weight by lifting its front two legs up to tip Dave into a sprawled position onto them while taking to a jerky gallop with only its back two sets of legs. Dave was hanging on mostly by his left arm around the golem¡¯s front leg and getting his feet scrambling towards the saddle when he saw the scout skating wide for a flanking attack against the awkwardly positioned and mostly immobile Dave. Dave used Stop And Think. He took a mental breath and took in his entire vision. Sam¡¯s health bar showed that the blinding flash ability had worn off so she was probably about to turn around to help. Dave reckoned that the scout knew the timing of his own ability so he¡¯d be aware of Sam too, making this his only melee attack run. His course was predictable, it was the fastest route that the scout had to come around the side of the golem and make a lancing attack against Dave¡­ unless Dave wasn¡¯t with the golem anymore. Yes. Dave unpaused time. Dave flicked his fingers and five pens shot out of his pocket. In that moment the golem dropped Dave underneath its legs onto his feet in a crouched position. In the next moment the scout stabbed a long javelin of glass into the golem¡¯s leg where Dave had been and Dave¡¯s pens took the scout in the ankle, tripping him and causing him to fall and tumble, bouncing along the ground. The light from his hands went out, he shouted in alarm and there was the sound of him tumbling into darkness. Dave was already hurriedly re-mounting the golem. Ahead, Sam had turned around. ¡°Hurry, Dave!¡± The momentary dismounting had lost Dave a lot of distance that he desperately needed from the hunting party. Dave leapt onto his mount which immediately began running after Sam. Lord Ross teleported to the scout¡¯s side but before they could do anything more, Dave committed to making a wall. ¡°Milled for my purpose,¡± said Dave and a surprisingly wide two-metre-high wall printed itself into existence between Dave and the hunting party. Lord Ross began punching holes through it but when he got through, could only peer with rage watching Dave and Sam go over a hill.
Dave felt quite a relief several minutes later once they¡¯d entered into the dense forest which his map marked as the border between the town of Courbefy and ¡®North Courbefy Forest¡¯. They slowed, but not much, as they turned west and began searching for streams, rivers and rocky areas over which they could either lose their trackers, or make their trackers unmounted lives so wearisome that they¡¯d need a good rest after following. ¡°Time to use those awakening stones and discuss our next move?¡± asked Dave when Sam slowed the golem down to a walk while studying Tome in her hand who was displaying a map. ¡°Oh? Oh, yes,¡± smiled Sam, snapping out of her concentration. ¡°Actually, let¡¯s go over to the next field on the map. It looks big! Very safe to see people coming across it.¡± And so they did. Both of them took a spirit coin and Dave brought out a bit of old cured meat and cheese from his inventory. It was curiously fresh. ¡°Hmm, Sam? Does this look fine to you?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Professor Tome soared over in the style of a drunk chicken and flapped open. ¡°That¡¯s a thing?¡± asked Dave, bewildered. Sam¡¯s face held the same expression as Dave and they both looked to Tome. ¡°Yes, Professor, we could indeed!¡± said Dave with wonderment in his eyes. The idea was genuinely interesting. The idea of different dimensions moving at different velocities in time and yet connecting to one another. The implications were mind boggling. Sam smiled at the look of far, away happiness on his face and took the food items. ¡°Dave, come back!¡± she said, waving a hand in front of his face. ¡°Make a fire and clean us up, yes? I want to feel good when I use the awakening stones.¡± Bumbling in his return to reality, Dave complied. Two prestidigitations later and there was a crackling fire and grime was flowing off first Sam and then Dave. They heated up their snack on a pan and started eating. ¡°Only one spell left today?¡± asked Sam. ¡°Yep,¡± said Dave. ¡°The cabin. Don¡¯t want to spend that!¡± Sam giggled. They both knew they¡¯d be fine for a night without it but really, really didn¡¯t want to. ¡°Time for absorbing rocks!¡± said Sam, as she finished the food. Tome flopped lazily into Dave¡¯s lap, open on the ritual circle page with a note in the corner. =I hope your new abilities make the bards sing and your enemies quake with fear!= hummed Tzu like an encouraging, distorted guitar amplifier. Sam put down a towel, kneeled on the ground, lined the awakening stones up in front of herself in the order she found them and picked up the first awakening stone. It was mostly round and looked like a bunch of interconnecting shovels. Death and shovels. There wasn¡¯t a lot of information about the kinds of abilities one could expect from the death essence ¨C death essence users tended not to have their abilities recorded by the Magic Society ¨C but Dave figured it¡¯d be a good combo. Life and balance had some shovel awaking stone results but they weren¡¯t common. He held Tome open to Sam who put her hand on the circle in the book and he chanted the ritual. The awakening stone crumbled into dust that blew into Sam, through her skin and settled, it looked, into her bones. Dave checked his text box. Her new ability was called Return To The Grave. He mentally clicked on it for more information and read out the spell to Sam. ¡°Return to the grave. Spell. Extreme damage to animated creatures. Moderate damage to summoned and extra planar creatures. Very Low mana. 5s cooldown.¡± Dave and Sam shared a dumbfounded look as they both re-ran his words through their heads. ¡°This is nice!¡± squeaked Sam and laughed loudly. She got up and skipped over to Dave for a hug. Tzu hummed loudly like a supportive waterfall of battery fluid as it flew in figure eights around Sam while flashing different colours. After a moment, even Tome did a little barrel roll. ¡°Well,¡± said Dave, hugging his excited friend back. ¡°This does change our plans.¡± ¡°The shadows won¡¯t bother us anymore!¡± ¡°And just think, that¡¯s only the first stone,¡± said Dave wryly. Sam laughed and went back to her towel on the ground to pick up the next stone. This one was a rock. An earth essence but the only way to describe it would be to say it was a rock. It was a rock that was made of dirt but managed to look impressive about it. It was the kind of rock you¡¯d see on a walk in the woods and take home with you for a respectable life as a paperweight. Sam held Tome with Dave as he chanted and she absorbed the rock. It too, crumbled in her hands but fell to the ground, gathered around her feet and became part of her. Dave read from his text box. ¡°All-Eating Slime. Familiar. Summon an all-eating slime as a familiar. Hang on, Tome, show the entry for all eating slime.¡± ¡°No, is fine!¡± smiled Sam. ¡°I know it. Is favourite of slime herders. Very good at making top soil but has to always be watched because they will eat everything. Very dangerous if they get too big!¡± Dave flicked his eyes over the entry Tome had flicked to. ¡°They¡¯re basically a blob that rolls around and eats everything? Wouldn¡¯t that include the topsoil?¡± Sam shrugged. ¡°They eat everything and make it into topsoil.¡± ¡°Sounds like a massive fungus.¡± Sam continued shrugging in the manner of someone who¡¯s already explained all the facts. ¡°Fair enough. Sounds like if adventuring doesn¡¯t work out you can get a job as a wandering slime herder.¡± ¡°Also good for adventuring! They get big and can be very mean.¡± ¡°How big?¡± ¡°Umm, as big as a small room!¡± Dave raised his eyebrows in appreciation. The picture in the book didn¡¯t do the scale justice. ¡°So, it¡¯s big enough to just roll over an enemy and absorb them?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°That¡­ will do nicely. I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re on my team, Sam.¡± ¡°Next stone!¡± cheered Sam. Again they went through the ritual together. The dance stone this time. It was surprisingly shiny but patterned with human figures in silhouettes of movement. It sank slowly into Sam¡¯s hand but the patterns rippled along her skin for a second as though they were dancing into her soul. Dave read the ability. ¡°Dance Of Life And Death. Spell. Spend mana, stamina or health to get a damage absorbing shield that converts damage to health, mana or stamina respectively for five seconds. Moderate mana. Twenty second cooldown.¡± They both tried to line it all up in their heads and failed. ¡°Tome, could you display the text for that spell?¡± asked Dave, who took out a pen. He double checked that the blood had been cleaned off it. ¡°Okay, okay. Mana goes to health. Health goes to stamina. Stamina goes to mana,¡± said Dave, circling each connected stat with a different colour and linking them up with lines of the same colour on the page. Then he saw an easier way to visualise it and wrote them in a triangle with the arrows going clockwise. Mana to health to stamina and back around to mana again. ¡°Yes! Makes much more sense now,¡± said Sam, following the lines. ¡°I like it! I have so many spells and sometimes run out of mana but I don¡¯t use stamina for anything.¡± ¡°You just need to convince something to hit you lightly,¡± said Dave. ¡°Easy. I just stay near you. Someone always trying to kill you!¡± grinned Sam, covering her mouth. Dave opened his mouth to retort, realised how true that statement was and dumbly closed his mouth. Sam giggled behind her hand. ¡°I wish that wasn¡¯t an accurate summary of my time in this world but you¡¯re right,¡± said Dave, breaking into a grin and laughing with her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I didn¡¯t want to make you look bad!¡± ¡°Nah,¡± said Dave and bumped her shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re actually spot on.¡± Sam beamed at him and picked up the next stone. An awakening stone of rain. Clear quartz with imperfections like droplets. One ritual later and the crystal sublimed in her hand while the imperfections flew delicately into her face. Dave read the ability as it appeared. ¡°Death Aura. Aura. Death energy rains down around you.¡± Dave raised his eyebrows and pulled an appreciative expression. Not bad at all. ¡°A little bit evil but I can heal skeletons! So, I take it,¡± said Sam with a cheeky grin. ¡°Oh! Yes!¡± exclaimed Dave. ¡°I¡¯d forgotten. That¡¯s really good. Also, enemy swarms will die as fast as your swam heals.¡± ¡°Oh? Oh, yes. That¡¯s fast! Ha!¡± laughed Sam. ¡°I like it,¡± said Dave with a serious nod. ¡°It¡¯s simple but effective. Between this and your life aura it means that your team will always be healing and the other team will always be dying. If we can make any battle long enough we¡¯ll win eventually.¡± Sam beamed once again. ¡°I am a patient person,¡± she said with a mischievous grin. ¡°Me too, but all things in balance. Once more?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Sam picked up her next awakening stone. An awakening stone of judgement. The one that¡¯d almost gotten her killed acquiring it. Unlike most of the awakening stones she¡¯d used so far, this one wasn¡¯t common rarity but of the rare rarity which, Dave reflected, wasn¡¯t a good word to use to describe rarity. With that personal context and the stone being one of judgement about to join her essences defining the balance of life and death, Dave quietly expected a very powerful ability. displayed Tome, using the font to display a sense of satisfaction. ¡°Indeed it has, Professor. What do you think, Tzu?¡± =I¡¯m glad she¡¯s on our side. She can one-shot me now,= hummed the lantern. Sam grinned guiltily. Dave took Tome from the air and held it by the spine as it flicked to the correct ritual page. Sam put her hand on the circle and Dave chanted her in. The awakening stone of judgement was very regular and put Dave in mind of weights used on weighing scales. Sam activated the stone and with decisive simplicity it flew into her chest as though gravity for it alone had gone sideways. Dave kept his eyes on his text box preparing to read. ¡°Reanimate Spirits. Spell, summon. Recall the spirits of the dead to serve you. This spell brings back ghosts or shadows of dead creatures to do your bidding for the next six hours. Mana cost varies depending on the abilities of the returning spirit and how long they¡¯ve been dead. Mana varies. One minute cooldown.¡± Sam hadn¡¯t moved. She seemed frozen. ¡°Sounds good?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Certainly makes you a bit of a minion-mancer. What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I am mo phi!¡± she squeaked. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Dave blinked at the Siamese word. ¡°Ugh, um, witch doctor? Spirit doctor?¡± ¡°That¡¯s bad?¡± ¡°Yes! No!¡± She tilted her head side to side. ¡°Same-same but different.¡± Dave considered the context for a moment. ¡°Bad guy in children¡¯s stories?¡± Sam nodded her serious face and looked at Dave with her big eyes. ¡°Well, you¡¯re an adult now so be a nice mo phi instead of an evil one,¡± said Dave with a shrug. Sam looked confused for a moment as she ran the idea through her head and then grinned at him, slapping at his shoulder. ¡°You never serious, ka! How can you think like that?¡± Dave laughed. ¡°I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s just obvious, you know? Where I¡¯m from there are children¡¯s stories with witches too but as I got older I think; damn, that witch is putting so much effort into baking children. It¡¯s a pretty good work ethic. Imagine if she just stopped with the children, got a recipe book and opened a bakery-cafe or something, hey? She¡¯d have a pretty good life and a small business.¡± Sam¡¯s shoulders were shaking and her eyes dancing with quiet laughter at Dave¡¯s introspective rant. ¡°Yeah,¡± Dave continued. ¡°Adult me is pretty sure that any witch would be a valuable member of the community. Not some crazy person in the woods. I think you just worry a lot because you¡¯re got that death essence but, you know, like McCartney and Lennon wrote; we can work it out.¡± ¡°Who are they?¡± ¡°Great philosophers and musical artists from my world.¡± ¡°Oh, seems too easy advice? You sure they are great?¡± ¡°Ah, well. There¡¯s a lot of context in the song about different perspectives and how life is short. Nevermind, I¡¯ll make that tea,¡± said Dave in the best reassuring tone he could. Sam offered a mischievous smile. ¡°You could sing the song?¡± ¡°Oh, best if I don''t,¡± said Dave. ¡°I sound like a startled bird when I sing.¡± ¡°Want to hear it and get recording crystal. Will play it to frighten bears at night.¡± Dave snorted and laughed. ¡°And you¡¯re afraid that it¡¯s your essence abilities that will make you evil?¡± Sam grinned and covered her mouth. Dave made tea.
¡°Hi Honey, how you settling in?¡± Dave could hear his mum loading the dishwasher on the other side of the world. ¡°Settling in fine mum,¡± said Dave, smiling as he unpacked his own dishes onto the kitchen counter. ¡°I lived in Heidelberg for five years, remember? Cologne is a shorter move than Brisbane to Sydney.¡± ¡°Well, yes,¡± said his mother in full maternal hen mode. ¡°But that was just studying, you have a real job now.¡± ¡°Yes, the master¡¯s and PhD on a student¡¯s stipend was a complete breeze,¡± said Dave sarcastically. ¡°And the new job where most of my work is automated and I get paid a hundred-thousand euro per year is just going to be the worst!¡± Dave heard her roll her eyes and then the muffled handoff of the phone. ¡°What¡¯re you doing in your new job?¡± his dad asked, his German-accented voice crackling slightly over the connection. Dave grinned, pulling another mug from the box. His dad never remembered these things. ¡°The corporate hacks tell me, through their Kool-Aid tinted glasses, that I¡¯ve accepted a position as an Evidence-Based Development Strategist on the Clinical Data Analytics Team,¡± he replied. ¡°A fancy way to say cog-in-the-wheel biostatician working for another biostatician who knows how to talk to the suit-wearing types.¡± ¡°The suits will try to wear you down,¡± said his dad in that matter-of-fact way he had. ¡°If you get sick of it, quit and come home.¡± ¡°I will,¡± Dave assured him, setting another mug on the counter. ¡°Five years of paychecks, then I pivot to research. That¡¯s the plan. I¡¯ll just smile, nod, and wait for my retirement investment money and then get a job I actually care about.¡± ¡°Good,¡± said his dad. ¡°Corporate life has a way of taking over if you let it. Make sure you take all the holidays you¡¯re entitled. And, never go in when you¡¯re sick.¡± ¡°Promise, Dad.¡± ¡°Oh, and meet a girl.¡± ¡°I will dad.¡± ¡°And date her.¡± ¡°I gathered dad.¡± His mum rescued him from his Dad¡¯s sense of humour, taking back the phone. ¡°Listen to your father, honey. He¡¯s right about not letting the job take over. And the dating part, too.¡± Dave laughed, moving his stacked plates to a likely place in the cupboard. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mum. I¡¯ve got a plan, remember?¡± ¡°You always do, honey,¡± she said fondly. Chapter 10: Mayor, Prisoner, Tramp
Current Quests
The Safety Of Walls: Reach a walled town with Samorn Khantong. Abandoned Forest Town: Investigate the abandoned forest town Courbefy with local¡­ Survive Lord Ross: Survive Lord Ross hunting you in this area. Kill Lord Ross for extra¡­
A cup of tea later and Sam had accepted being a mo phi. She was now fully back to her usual bubbly self. ¡°We can¡¯t go in unless we know that Ross is not, Yes? Because Ross could pick up essences at any moment and get us killed,¡± said Sam, looking at Dave for confirmation. ¡°I think so. Our best hope is that he picks up an essence and gets killed. Do you think we could speed it up with reverse psychology? Just shout at him from a distance, ¡®Don¡¯t touch the essence in the cells of the police station!¡¯?¡± asked Dave with a sigh. ¡°Maybe!¡± giggled Sam. No matter how Dave tried, this was a genuine problem with Lord Ross and his hunting party. So long as Sam¡¯s army didn¡¯t know where the hunting party was, going inside the town was a risk because the hunting party could disturb one of those essences at any moment. =Sam is right, only Professor Tome and I are truly safe. Unless you both can fly away, Dave, every moment inside the town area is a risk.= ¡°No,¡± said Dave. ¡°You¡¯re right, I know Sam¡¯s right. We can¡¯t be in town knowing that at any moment we might have an army of shadows to fight our way through. We need ideas.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll think of something!¡± said Sam brightly. It was past lunch time. Sam and Dave were contentedly sipping tea, meditating on their experiences. ¡°I¡¯m out of ideas for now. Let¡¯s relax and just let some ideas come to us,¡± said Dave. ¡°So far we¡¯ve got, ¡®learn to fly¡¯ and ¡®ensure Lord Ross can¡¯t touch the essences¡¯. Anybody else have suggestions? Suggest anything at all. Often, ideas that seem silly at first have a centre of truth that we can build a real idea on, come on. Suggestions?¡± ¡°We could scare him away!¡± said Sam with her eyes closed, appreciating her warm tea mug in her hands. =Yes! A warrior should be terrifying! Progress!= Sam raised her mug to Tzu in acknowledgement. ¡°In that spirit, I¡¯ll add ¡®convince Ross to leave¡¯ to the list,¡± said Dave who telekinetically brought a pen to Tome who opened to a blank page upon which Dave wrote the three ideas so far. =Trick our enemy into taking the essence! Sealing their fate!= ¡°That¡¯s a good one!¡± said Dave. ¡°You can send letters!¡± exclaimed Sam. ¡°I can but, so far, I¡¯ve had to save every spell I can to have a hope of getting anything useful done in a day,¡± said Dave. They entered into a debate, playing with the good and bad of each idea they wrote down. Sam ended up favouring a strategy of herding the hunting party and preventing them from leaving the inner town area. This was countered by the fact that herding only worked if they didn¡¯t fight. Which they would, and probably win. Tome favoured retreat to a safe distance and communication but this would give Ross either the time to discover the secrets of the town even by trial and error and their hunting party might have the power to survive disturbing an essence if they had enough potions and their fortress essence user had uninterrupted access to their abilities. Tzu had actually had the best idea of ignoring the whole problem and simply assassinating the hunting party in the night, one-by-one. This could work but it could also backfire horribly because the paper golems, their heaviest hitters, weren¡¯t exactly stealthy and it would be easy to walk into a trap or, more likely, just get stuck in a protracted fight and overwhelmed. Dave allowed himself to unfocus and let the conversation wash over him. All the ideas had merit, they all had downfalls. Perhaps the strengths of one could cover the weaknesses of another? Perhaps communicate that he knew how to find all the awakening stones and trade that knowledge for freedom? Would greed be enough? Maybe, but Ross might just self righteously break his word. Maybe the antonym of one plan while also following another? Maybe assassination and taunting communication to elicit a bad emotional response? Maybe get seen making the essences hard to find, thus arousing curiosity and making Ross investigate them? Maybe learn to fly after all? He was pretty sure he could make a paper golem with wings or a hang glider or¡­ ¡°Oooooooooh,¡± said Dave in a long, loud voice. Everyone looked at him. ¡°I have a very good, insane idea,¡± said Dave with a grin.
Sam and Dave woke before dawn the next morning. For safety reasons, they spent the end of the previous day unsuccessfully hunting monsters on the outskirts of the various Courbefy woods and now it was a small trek to get into town but Dave didn¡¯t summon any golems. They had plans for those spell slots today. Very carefully, with everyone watching, Dave used Mail of the Magister to send a letter. They jogged into town. They met a hungry-looking corrupted giant toad on the way but Sam casually threw her familiar into its eyes as she jogged past and they didn¡¯t slow down until they reached the town hall. Sam and Dave ran inside. Sam made a magic circle and started summoning skeletons. Dave ran upstairs into a large room with a collapsed roof, stared at his book and made a device. ¡°Milled for my purpose,¡± said Dave and watched the contraption print itself into the air. When it was done, Dave put a large pan from his inventory in the socket area he¡¯d made for it. Sam came up the stairs and looked at the device sceptically. ¡°This will work?¡± she asked. ¡°Should do. Get a skeleton in there to hold up the envelope and I¡¯ll start the fire,¡± said Dave as he changed clothes into a cultist outfit that he¡¯d kept. Sam instructed the skeleton to do everything that Dave asked. He had it climb up the collapsed roof and hold open the mouth of a metres-long envelope over a Warming Fire prestidigitation. He left it there then, Dave lit a magic lantern from the kit of the hunting party¡¯s healer he¡¯d looted, put it on a long stick, walked out to the town hall balcony and began waving it slowly to and fro.
Despite being an early riser, Lord Ross was woken before dawn. ¡°Hmm? Wha?¡± he said groggily. ¡°Sorry Ross,¡± said Raoul, respectfully touching his forelock, ¡°But we just found this letter outside your tent door and Remy says there¡¯s a lantern light being waved in town.¡± ¡°This better make sense,¡± said Ross testily as he took the letter and read it. ¡°Ha!¡± he scoffed. ¡°They¡¯re inviting us to the middle of town to ¡®negotiate¡¯. He says he¡¯s willing to trade information for my promise to let him leave. Coward!¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been trying to get our hands on the slippery rat for days. Nice of him to invite us to him,¡± said Raoul and he grinned like a predator, matching the aggressive bear themes on his armour. ¡°It¡¯s the middle of town, though. How¡¯d he get in there?¡± said Ross thoughtfully as he paused in the middle of pulling on his armour. Raoul shrugged. ¡°Remy says that he never sets off the shadows. It¡¯s only us and only after the first fight. I guess he just found a way in with no fights?¡± ¡°That¡¯s probably it. Tell Remy to start scouting, we¡¯ll catch up,¡± grumbled Ross while pulling on his boots. ¡°But leave everyone else here, just in case they¡¯re luring us away for a raid.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll wake up Dori then,¡± said Raoul, and Ross nodded. Finally, thought Ross, I can get revenge on that sneak-filth for Rich.
Half-an-hour later, Sam was standing out of sight in the mayor¡¯s office talking to Dave who was still on the balcony overlooking the town square. ¡°I definitely saw something,¡± she said. ¡°I think they¡¯re coming.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± agreed Dave, ¡°I saw small flashes of light from behind buildings too.¡± ¡°Did it work?¡± asked Sam nervously. ¡°It¡¯s taken longer to inflate than I¡¯d hoped but the illusion of the sky I cast on it works well so I¡¯ll just keep them talking. I hope.¡± Dave felt Sam¡¯s strained smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll surround us with walls to buy time if it all goes wrong. ¡°Will that work?¡± asked Sam¡¯s small voice. ¡°Should do. And we¡¯ve been running on should-dos and maybes the last few days so let¡¯s just keep on keeping on,¡± said Dave in a calm voice.
Lord Ross listened to his scout¡¯s report. ¡°He¡¯s just on the balcony with the lantern. I think his girlfriend is inside the place with him on guard duty. All the windows are boarded up and I saw some kind of summoned creature at both doors just staring out. There¡¯s nothing in the surrounding buildings, he¡¯s just there waiting,¡± said Remy. Ross nodded and decided the best approach was to pretend to negotiate. ¡°Then we¡¯ll all come out and walk down the main street together like we¡¯re serious about his stupid letter. Once we¡¯re there, when I give the word, you smash in the doors, Dori, and Raoul can run in. I¡¯ll follow. Remy, you stay outside and kill them if they try to run.¡± ¡°Sure thing, boss.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± ¡°Absolutely.¡± They set off walking.
¡°Oh, they¡¯re coming. Sam, do it!¡± said Dave over his shoulder. He heard scrabbling behind him, peered into the morning mists and had to restrain himself from fist pumping. All four of the real hunting party were walking calmly down the road to the town square. Taking the long way. Dave leaned the pole lantern on the ledge and tried to stop his hands from shaking as he waited. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s close enough!¡± shouted Dave. They kept walking. ¡°Stop right there or I¡¯ll summon my golems!¡± Ross gestured for a stop. ¡°Is that what you call your summons?¡± he hollered back. ¡°Yes, and I¡¯m sure your scout told you that I do not have them here but I¡¯m actually standing in a summoning circle right now and can have them both out in a jiffy so you stay in the square and I¡¯ll stay here and we negotiate!¡± lied Dave in a loud voice.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Can he do that?¡± whispered Ross to Dori, the only member of their party with a summon. ¡°I guess so,¡± Dori whispered back. ¡°You have until Dori here summons his elemental to negotiate with me!¡± said Ross and nodded smugly at Dori. Dori¡¯s earth elemental summon was a very long ritual but its strength and durability would make it an unbeatable asset in the coming fight so Ross was happy to wait. ¡°Well, I must tell you, I wanted to trade information. I¡¯m certain that you¡¯ve encountered some awakening stones while in the town just as we have. Haven¡¯t you?¡± said Dave slowly in a loud, clear voice. ¡°Yes, what of it?¡± ¡°Well, I know that you¡¯ve taken exactly six, I have taken twelve and I know where the remaining fourteen are. What do you think about that?¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re a liar!¡± ¡°Really? How many do you have then?¡± Ross grunted softly without taking his eyes off Dave. His hunting buddies took the hint and made a quick count. ¡°Six,¡± confirmed Raoul in a whisper. ¡°Lucky guess! Or you have the ability to see awakening stones!¡± accused Ross. ¡°What? Is that even an ability? I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s an ability¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Are you sure? I¡¯ve been looking at that index printed by the Magic Society a lot recently. I¡¯ve not seen anything like it! Can you confirm that? What page is it on? Just tell me, I¡¯ll look it up. Are you sure?¡± ¡°Of course I¡¯m sure!¡± roared Ross who was no such thing but wasn¡¯t going to be spoken to like that by someone of his standing. ¡°Oh, sorry. Well I¡¯ll trade the awakening stones and the three essences that are in this town for you, letting me go back to the city for a fair trial!¡± ¡°No deal! We can just search the whole town when you¡¯re dead!¡± shouted Lord Ross with a grin. ¡°Well, you won¡¯t find the essences so easily. I¡¯ve hidden them.¡± The earth elemental constructed itself inside Dori¡¯s summoning circle but Ross didn¡¯t give the word for attack. He just looked at Remy, who had the best aura control, with a raised eyebrow. ¡°It¡¯d make sense that there¡¯s some essences here. This place is rich enough in magic to make them. You can feel it in your aura,¡± said Remy quietly. Lord Ross couldn¡¯t but pretended he could and turned back to Dave. ¡°Tell me where the essences are and I won¡¯t have this elemental knock you off your balcony.¡± ¡°Tell you what, I¡¯ll give you one now to prove my claim! I¡¯ll be right back.¡± shouted Dave and slowly backed off the balcony. A moment passed and the shadows under the balcony wobbled in a strange way. ¡°SCCRReeeaaaaAAHhhhg!¡± came a familiar echoing scream from every direction as the whole town rose in shadows.
Dave backed slowly inside. Sam gave him a thumbs up from across the room and ran off, leaving behind a skeleton who was wearing a builder cultist outfit. Dave stood next to the open safe with the corrupt essence in a pose ready to push off the wall. In a single motion he snatched it up and sprinted across the room. He¡¯d already hurtled through the door to the hall before the echoing call rang out. ¡°SCCRReeeaaaaAAHhhhg!¡± Dave threw himself down the hall, pumping his legs as fast as he could towards the decrepit storeroom with the collapsed roof as the shadows went from flickering to shuddering. The shadow creatures ripped into being as Dave dived bodily into the side of a hanging rope net. Sam swung her sickle heavily and cut through a rope tied to a beam below a hole in the floor which was tethering the small hot air balloon to the building. They began floating up.
In an abandoned watchhouse jail down the road from Dave and Sam, a skeleton received a mental command. It picked up the darkness essence, swiftly turned about, leaned on the door frame and threw it down the hall to a skeleton on the stairs. It ignored the ethereal scream and the shadows coming into being. The skeleton on the stairs threw it out a window where it bounced off the wall of the opposite building and landed on a blanket-sized piece of string mesh. Tzu flew upwards as quickly as it could, away from the forming shadow creatures.
In the remains of a warehouse, a skeleton in a sprinter¡¯s pose received a mental command. It snatched up the echo essence from the internal tool shed and made a running throw of the essence to the front door. There were echoing screams all around. Another skeleton at the warehouse doors picked the essence up off the ground and, as the forming shadow creatures started tearing the skeleton down, it lobbed the essence onto the roof. Professor Spellbook Tome clumsily picked it up between his pages and inexpertly flew to a large piece of string mesh that had been laid out in advance, tucked the carrying loop over its spine, through its middle pages and began a muddled flight towards the direction it supposed the balloon was in.
It had taken Dave longer than he¡¯d hoped to take off but thank the gods for Sam¡¯s new Return To The Grave spell. From what he could see of the magic at play, the spell summoned a piece of soul-facsimile which interacted violently with anything that wasn¡¯t native this reality. So as they closed in, she cast shadows out of this realm with a casual ease. Dave had climbed inside the loose basket properly when something with mayoral robes came into the room. It wasn¡¯t like the other shadows. It was more real. Thankfully, Sam sidestepped the entire issue by casting Cruel Puppeteer. She didn¡¯t have a lot of control but slowed the corrupted shadow mayor to a disjointed type of stumbling walk. Their balloon rose into the air but not fast enough. The mayor grasped the ropes of the net with one arm and began to lift off with them. Thinking quickly, Dave drew a knife from his belt and Sam threw her beetle swarm into its eyes while Dave cut the rope either side of the mayor¡¯s hand. They drifted into the sky and Sam recalled her familiar. They were still tethered to avoid floating away while Dave¡¯s familiars found their way back. Dave used Epistemology on the shadowy figure glaring up at them. Corrupted Shadow Mayor. Ethereal. Shadow. Bronze rank. Creatures of this type often are caricatures of real people or things, past or present with properties and abilities that are exaggerated versions of their notable traits. ¡°That¡¯s a bronze rank monster!¡± said Dave in Sam¡¯s ear. Sam looked back with wide eyes. The second tether was a lot longer, about thirty metres, and tied to a chimney of the town hall. They floated up in their balloon under the power of Dave¡¯s fire prestidigitation which was being fed oil-covered wood by Sam for extra oomph in the flames. As per the illusion spell that Dave had cast on it, the balloon looked like someone, with an enormous paintbrush the width of a large hand, was continually painting the sky onto the balloon¡¯s envelope as it moved. Crude detail but it was enough for this day¡¯s purpose. The idea was that anyone who might be there to look would be too busy to pay attention. Below, Dave could see the hunting party fighting in the square. The fortress builder had made a good one. Rising out of the middle of the town square was a small, circular fortification. It looked like the head of a rook from chess. Each member of the hunting party was on the raised middle, and hitting off any shadow that managed to seep up the side of the wall. As they watched, Lord Ross was simply holding an electrified hand inside a shadow to disrupt its form while simultaneously damaging it and then moving onto the next. He suddenly looked at the mayoral balcony and laughed savagely. ¡°The clothed skeleton just jumped off the balcony,¡± said Sam. Dave nodded and let himself have a satisfied smile. That ruse had worked. The hunting party wasn¡¯t doing too bad. Ross was being mana efficient, the transfiguration essence user was being a casual bear about disrupting shadows until another ally could end them and their scout, who Dave was sure had the glass, light, swift and reflection essences, had cast an area of effect ability that was making an area of ground falsely lit up like the brightest of midday suns and the shadows in it were taking exponentially more damage the longer the lingered inside. ¡°Think they¡¯ve used some long cooldown abilities?¡± asked Dave in a low voice. ¡°I think so,¡± Sam said with a strange mixture of nervousness and excitement. ¡°Magics, I dispel and quell,¡± chanted Dave targeting an area effect version of his Dispel And Quell Magic spell. The fortress blew away in an ethereal wind, the bear turned back into a man, the baking sunlight zone turned off and Lord Ross¡¯s lightning hands became normal hands. The shadows mindlessly moved in on the bewildered hunting party who, to their credit, didn¡¯t panic and circled together back-to-back, fighting with weapons that were temporarily non-magical, trying to open dimensional bags that were momentarily just cloth and mentally checking what abilities they had active. The corrupt shadow mayor stepped outside and started bearing down on them. Lord Ross, who had his lightning fists return to him, readied himself to receive this new threat with his friends by his side. With them all so close together, Sam cast Dragged To The Grave and hid her face with her hands as they started yelling in fear. Even so, Dave saw she couldn¡¯t help a small smirk of satisfaction. Over the roofs, Dave saw Tzu leading Tome back and he decided to cut the second tether before anything climbed it while they waited. It was an almost windless day in Courbefy valley and they drifted ever so slowly higher and away from the battle as Tzu and Professor Tome delivered their packages.
When the battle drifted out of sight, Dave cast The Clairvoyant Eye Of Transvection and made a mobile magical sensor close to the roof of a building on the town square and his senses whipped suddenly to that location. The battle had moved from the square. There was a long earthen wall from the middle of the square to one side of a door of a sturdy-looking brick building. Dave guessed that the fortress confluence user had made the wall once he¡¯d got his sight back so they would only be attacked from one direction while fighting to the building. Smart move. He flew the eye closer and down a little over the fountain. It looked like the shadows were milling about and getting in through other doors and windows while the hunting party was tearing up internal walls to place them over windows and doors to restrict ways in. Their magical abilities and weapons had come back so they¡¯d taken potions from their dimensional bags. Their health, stamina and mana was all above half, although varied greatly. Even with their smart decisions, Dave looked around and saw at least a thousand shadows swarming in and when he saw three bronze ranked monsters in the crowd, knew they wouldn¡¯t survive. Dave flew his eye to each to get a good look. The mayor was a corpulent figure in robes of office and when Dave selected it, he saw that it was generating an aura. He read the tooltip. Aura of corruption. Any tool or item that the creature touches in the aura becomes less effective. So, not only was it bronze rank but hitting it with your weapons made your weapon worse. How would that work with the transfigured bearman? Dave guessed he¡¯d find out. He flew the eye over to a shadow-man in manacles, Corrupt Shadow Prisoner, who was a little away in the crowd. He had sunken eyes which seemed to accuse those it faced. While Dave watched it, staring soullessly into the building the hunting party was in he saw their scout lock eyes with the shadow prisoner and freeze up. It only lasted a moment before the bear shoved the scout away from the window. Nice. A paralysing gaze. Even further away was the last bronze ranked monster; Corrupt Shadow Tramp. A lanky looking shadow with a mane of tangled hair and beard to match. It moved faster than the other shadows, almost with an energetic spring in its step. Also unlike the other shadows it didn¡¯t use the main streets. It slipped through cracks in walls, hopped in and out of windows and vaulted over derelict fences. Dave took his eye back to the building that the hunting party were using as a last stand and rested his eye high in the air as they bravely held out the iron rank shadows. The shadow mayor was already at the building and pulling boards out of the door that the fortress essence user was holding closed. Dave watched and felt his body release tension as the shadow prisoner put its face to the door and froze the fortress user momentarily, forcing the hunting party to abandon the main room as the mayor busted in. They fought their way up the stairs of the building in a well ordered line and looked to be holding the rickety remains of the second floor well enough. Dave was unwilling to move his eye anywhere it might take damage, that¡¯d end the spell, but he saw the shadow tramp vault through a hole in the roof. Dave moved his eye to the hole in the roof and saw the aftermath. It looked like the tramp had landed, kicked the bearman down the stairs and was engaged in combat with Lord Ross who was screaming for the fortress user, Dori, apparently, to make a wall over the door. Dori, in turn, was screaming to give Raoul a chance. He guessed that was the bear man¡¯s name. Dave heard something behind him and noticed that a shadow-child was climbing the roof behind him and so, moved his eye up enough that he wouldn¡¯t accidentally be touched by a shadow. He could still hear the desperate struggle inside. Ross was clearly being beaten down by the bronze ranked tramp. Raoul never came back up the stairs. Dori did eventually put a wall over the door into the room but it was too late. There was already a bronze ranked monster inside and a small trickle of climbers and a couple of shadow cats added to their problems. When the shadow mayor used its bronze rank strength to break through the wall, the scout, whose name Dave never learned, shot out of the hole in the roof, glowing with gold rank power, rising up on a rainbow of light. He must have taken a gold spirit coin. Half of his face was a mass of bruises and he clutched at his side but he still skated down the side of the rainbow light at great speed but to no avail. As he attempted to flee, shadow dogs chased and snapped at his ankles as he went by, still slowing him precious moments. The scout disappeared from view but Dave kept him selected in his HUD and watched while his gold-rank buff wore off and his health bar dripped down to nothing. The noise from inside the building became an eerie silence. After a minute of silence watching the shadows disperse. Dave went inside the room and saw the bodies of Lord Ross, Dori and, at the bottom of the stairs, Raoul. He let the eye spell end. ¡°Got ¡®em,¡± Dave said to Sam.
It was a quiet morning at the caf¨¦ upriver from the Hohenzollern Bridge, the golden light from the rising sun reflected on the Rhine, casting a soft glow over everything. Across from Dave, Ai Zhang had her sketchbook open, her pen moving fluidly as she captured the bridge¡¯s structure in idle strokes. Dave watched her for a moment, admiring her beauty. Her silky, black hair, pert lips ¨C the way her face scrunched in concentration. Adorable. She sketched as a hobby, one of those skills that Dave found remarkable. The ability to capture the world in a way that the human mind could somehow understand but which couldn¡¯t be expressed as a mathematical model or statistic fascinated him. ¡°You¡¯re thinking. What¡¯s up?¡± Ai asked, looking up from her work. Her eyes narrowed slightly, a small smile curving her lips¡ªone of those smiles he hadn¡¯t quite figured out yet but was pretty sure meant concern. ¡°I submitted that lab report I¡¯ve been talking about for the last month, and because of it, they¡¯re probably going to lose their funding,¡± Dave admitted, tapping his fingers against the table. The words hung in the air for a moment. ¡°And it¡¯s not fair.¡± Ai paused her sketching, tilting her head slightly. ¡°Was that the nanoparticle delivery thing? You said it was interesting?¡± He sighed, bringing his fingers to the bridge of his nose. ¡°The fundamental science is but scaling it to a treatment is hard. Ironically, it was the quality of their work that gave me such good numbers. They were meticulous, transparent and made everything accessible. Because of that, I could clearly see that their results weren¡¯t statistically significant.¡± He sighed, took his first sip of his untouched coffee and gazed over the river for a moment. Ai smiled patiently at him with a single lock of hair bouncing playfully beside her face, waiting for him to continue. ¡°But the suits took one look at my report and pulled their funding.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Nevermind that three other labs have such bad record keeping that I can¡¯t get a trend from anything they¡¯ve done for the last five years. But that¡¯s why they haven¡¯t flagged any issues.¡± Ai set down her sketchbook and leaned back, kindness in her eyes. ¡°Can¡¯t you explain that to your boss? Isn¡¯t that part of your job?¡± ¡°I tried,¡± Dave muttered, staring into his coffee mug. ¡°Nobody wanted to hear it. It was like once I gave them something, all the suits were falling over themselves to do something about it. It was just¡­ like blood in the water for the sharks. I wish I¡¯d never handed it in.¡± ¡°Now you know,¡± said Ai with a sly smile. ¡°Don¡¯t give the sharks blood.¡± Dave sighed and nodded. ¡°I just wish I didn¡¯t sabotage the good lab¡¯s work before I learned what my report was going to be used for.¡± Her silence lingered for a moment before she reached across the table to pinch his cheek affectionately. ¡°It¡¯s cute that you care!¡± ¡°Of course I care,¡± said Dave, grimacing. ¡°I¡¯m working for the people I should be working against.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t fix it now!¡± said Ai, her voice gentle but firm. ¡°You did good. Other people used your work to do bad. No more blaming yourself. We¡¯re going to have a good day!¡± He blinked, then chuckled softly. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± He gestured at her sketchbook. ¡°Pass me a bit of paper, I¡¯ll do a terrible stick figure of the bridge with you.¡± ¡°My future regrets,¡± whispered Ai, already handing him a spare sheet. Dave grinned as he took a pencil, taking his first step beyond finger painting. Chapter 11: Framing
Current Quests
The Safety Of Walls: Reach a walled town with Samorn Khantong. Abandoned Forest Town: Investigate the abandoned forest town Courbefy with local¡­
The aftermath was a realisation of how much tension they¡¯d been holding in since encountering the hunting party. Silently, they drifted over the town just hanging in the net beneath the fire. They drifted west slowly until they passed the border of the town and kept going. Dave allowed the balloon to land a couple of kilometres into the forest. It mostly just crashed into tree branches which helped slow the landing. Sam and Dave retrieved the saucepan from the burner and climbed out of the hanging basket to the ground. They left the paper balloon in the canopy of the forest. Sam spread a blanket on the ground and Dave made a fire. Sam made tea, Dave used Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas to clean them both. They spread their hands towards the fire for warmth and just breathed. The complete relief of finally not being hunted by a pack of human predators was overwhelming. They each took a spirit coin, sipped at their hot tea and just ordered their thoughts. ¡°We¡¯d better get back in there and loot the bodies before his extra guards and baggage boys do,¡± murmured Dave, letting Tome and Tzu out of his body. ¡°No,¡± said Sam. ¡°They¡¯ll be too scared to go in. At least for a day. And, nobles often camp out away from their baggage train on a hunt.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± They sat in silence for a few minutes. ¡°We can make the baggage train leave if I spook them with illusions?¡± asked Dave. Sam just nodded. ¡°Tomorrow. I¡¯ll put up a tent now?¡± She nodded again. Dave, Tzu and Professor Tome put up a simple tent. He¡¯d be able to summon a cabin in the evening. They rested for the entire afternoon. Dave idly drew a magic item amplifying ritual on the ground in case a monster encountered their camp but nothing did. He just lay on the blanket next to Sam and they quietly read An Introduction To Adventuring by Arabelle Remore to each other before going to sleep. They awoke in the cabin the next day although they still allowed themselves to lie in past dawn. Sam had been waking every six hours to refresh her skeletons so Dave let her sleep longer while he idled himself awake first and got a fire going. He thought he¡¯d be doing his part if he made sure that the person who was interrupting their sleep every six hours for his safety got a warm, toasty introduction to the day. He took a mana potion, memorised his spells and started writing notes for a new variation of the origami golem in Tome. Eventually, Sam stirred. ¡°Morning sleepy-head,¡± murmured Dave. Her skeletons all saluted smartly. ¡°So, today I think we loot the bodies before anybody else does but it needs to look like an accident, right?¡± said Dave. ¡°Yes. He¡¯s with the adventure society. They¡¯ll send someone to investigate,¡± agreed Sam. ¡°So, if you want to take all of it you¡¯ll need a reason why the body was looted.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll be a bother.¡± ¡°Also, they might see us going into town.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about that. I¡¯ll scry them, find out where they are and then, perhaps you can think of a way into town where they won¡¯t see us?¡± Sam tilted her head to the side. ¡°Yes!¡± she smiled. Sam set about her morning routine and Dave cast his scrying spell. ¡°Through farseeing eye to distant space, I will scry my desired place,¡± Dave intoned, focusing on a hand mirror. He focused on the rat-faced tracker who was sitting around a table, yawning and playing cards with other members of the baggage train. He ignored their talk and noted the angles of the mountain peaks to his map¡¯s north and left the scrying. ¡°Eighty-five, one hundred and twenty and one hundred and forty,¡± muttered Dave to himself, quickly writing the numbers down on the map that Tome was displaying. ¡°Oh, this is that eastern ledge with the good view. What do you think? Stealth is an option?¡± ¡°Yes! We are on the opposite side so we can get there easily but we will have to move slow once we¡¯re in town.¡± ¡°No golems?¡± ¡°No golems. Too big, might be seen.¡± ¡°Fair enough. Let¡¯s go, eh?¡± They moved at a walking pace with many stops along the way to make sure that there was a canopy of trees between them and the cliffs that the baggage train was camping on. They didn¡¯t encounter any monsters along the way, which was lucky. Especially in the couple of hundred metres they had to crawl through some long grasses. After that they were among the buildings of the town and it was just a matter of winding their way around the structures, making sure something was always blocking line of sight to their east. The changes to the town were pleasant. No longer was there an oppressive gloom overshadowing the entire area and now it had the feeling of quaint ruins from a wholesome past. It was almost an enchanting fey feeling. They searched out the building that Lord Ross¡¯s hunting party had made their last stand in and made their way inside. ¡°Huh!¡± said Dave, looking at the building that the corpses were in. ¡°I should have known.¡± There were scavengers everywhere. Since the sense of evil that had pervaded the air until yesterday had lifted, the wildlife had moved back in. Raoul¡¯s body was being savaged by a fox, he¡¯d already heard the scurrying of rats and the air was thick with flies. ¡°They¡¯re more rotten than they should be,¡± said Sam with concern as they came closer and got a good look at the body. ¡°Oh, you know how the shadows would go through you but the bruising would already appear a week old?¡± ¡°Oh yeah. They got his whole body. Looks yuck!¡± ¡°Well, time to loot.¡± Dave used loot all on each corpse. The bodies were real so there wouldn¡¯t be any stinky, rainbow smoke. All of their items went into Dave''s inventory and he went with Sam to find the body of their scout, Remy, in the last direction Dave had seen him moving in. The corpse was quickly found, broken at the bottom of a tree. He must¡¯ve tried to climb it for safety and died up there. Dave looted the blackened body of everything it had and went with Sam to the ruins of a shop closeby to look through the impressive haul. Dave took most of the items out of his inventory and put them about the room they¡¯d commandeered for the purpose. He left all of their personal items in his inventory. He¡¯d dispose of them later. Sam didn¡¯t need to see that. Remembering that the people who¡¯d tried to kill them were still people wasn¡¯t something she needed to feel right now. He pulled out a couple of unfamiliar bottles and read the labels. ¡°Oh, crystal wash? I know I¡¯ve heard of that but I¡¯ve forgotten what it is,¡± said Dave ¡°What do you use to clean things on your world?¡± ¡°Soap and water?¡± ¡°But when you need it to be really, really clean?¡± ¡°Very high quality soap and hot water!¡± ¡°Really? Is that all?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to guess that my people have put more effort into soap technology than people with access to crystal wash.¡± Sam thought about this for a second and nodded. It made sense. Sam was collecting all the potions. She already had a small collection of health, mana and stamina potions. ¡°Oh, look at this! Potion of resist elements, potion of resist afflictions, potion of virtue, potion of jumping, two oils of light and a potion of direction.¡± Dave had to use epistemology on a couple of them to figure out what they did. ¡°Virtue is just having a couple of extra hit points?¡± asked Dave, while in his UI looking up the potion. ¡°I guess?¡± said Sam. Since Dave¡¯s inventory stored the money as a counter that took up no inventory space, they both agreed he would carry it. 4910 lesser spirit coins, 1014 iron spirit coins, 74 silver spirit coins and 27 gold spirit coins. They were now wealthy in the measure of regular people but only the upper end of normal amounts of money for starting adventurers. They also got a couple of hundred quintessence of many types. Dave checked the looting logs in his text box history. Some of it they were just carrying around and a good bit of it was quintessence looted from the broken essences of their bodies. Except for one shield essence looted from Dori, which Dave was quite pleased with. It seemed a versatile and useful essence. ¡°What good magic items did they drop?¡± asked Dave now that they were getting a sense of organisation about the items he¡¯d randomly got. ¡°A curved sword that is cold?¡± said Sam, pointing at it. ¡°Scimitar of frost,¡± said Dave, who could identify items with his HUD. He concentrated for a second to scroll through his history. ¡°Ahh, yes. Got it off Lord Ross himself. I guess he used it if something had lightning resistance?¡± Sam shrugged. ¡°The best is this big crossbow and this armour,¡± said Sam gesturing. ¡°All their other items are good but not best. Not many, though! The rest is just normal armour and little things like this bracelet that keeps you warm.¡± Sam smugly took the bracelet. Dave grinned at her knowingly. His magic fire always went out when he got sleepy meaning Sam was often cold at night when he was not. ¡°That¡¯s a crossbow of snakes. Attune it to a venom you¡¯re carrying and the quarrel turns into an adder on impact delivering the venom and generally upsetting the target for a second or two because of the snake which can add more venom because it¡¯s a snake. The armour is lamellar armour of conduction that increases lightning damage. Oh! By a lot! Looks like the crossbow is from their bear to give him a ranged option if he needs it. The armour is from Lord Ross, obviously.¡± ¡°I thought they¡¯d have more!¡± ¡°It makes sense that they wouldn¡¯t,¡± said Dave, thinking it over. ¡°The bearman doesn¡¯t need many items because he¡¯s a bear, the fortress-man summoned his armour, mace and shield and, the swift essence commonly gets unarmoured defensive bonuses. So, this party doesn¡¯t need a lot of good equipment. It does explain why they have so many mana potions, though. They both stared at the large part of the floor covered with mana and stamina potions. It really was excessive. ¡°Soooooooo,¡± said Dave awkwardly, getting Sam¡¯s attention. ¡°Now that we¡¯ve looted them I don¡¯t suppose you could summon your skeletons to help me put the bodies in one of the dimensional bags?¡± ¡°Ugh! Why?¡± ¡°Because they look like looted corpses and it¡¯d be better if they just looked like ashes.¡± Sam winced at the particularly grim idea but did as Dave asked. Sam spent her time making three well organised dimensional bags while Dave and the skeletons stuffed the bodies into the fourth dimensional bag that he was really hoping wouldn¡¯t need cleaning later. Dave used Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas to clean up the areas where the bodies had been, leaving no trace he, Sam or their hunters had ever been there. In this time Sam searched for traces of animals they could use to stick the adventure society badges onto to scatter them. Then he froze. He¡¯d had an idea. He scrambled through his inventory. ¡°What is it?¡± asked Sam, looking at him. ¡°This!¡± said Dave, triumphantly holding up one of the seven remaining Builder cultists outfits he¡¯d looted from Chateau Chamois. ¡°We build a pyre and burn the bodies with these on top. Parts of these clothes will float off with the smoke. The Builder cult did it.¡± After Sam informed Dave of the amount of wood they¡¯d need, about five times the weight of a person per person, it was obvious they¡¯d need to frighten off the baggage handlers. This turned out to be easier than Dave could have hoped. Since none of the baggage handlers were iron rank, they still needed to use the loo. In sensible camping fashion they¡¯d set it up away from camp. Dave simply waited until one of them needed to go pee, set up a forest troll image several tens of metres away and, when the baggage handler finished their business and stepped away from the screened-off hole in the ground, Dave, from behind the image, loudly snapped a tree branch. ¡°Bloody Death and Truth!¡± croaked the woman. She backed away slowly and the image impassively started her down. Her nerve broke and she bolted for the camp. Dave dismissed the image. Within the next hour, Sam spied them all holding weapons and digging a new hole within the camp. Dave used another spell and made another image of two very large forest trolls. One of them holding a large, glass spear. Sam made a loud guttural noise in a quiet moment of the woods to get the attention of a man who was on watch who pointed out the forest trolls. The entire camp started shouting in alarm and Dave directed the illusions to walk behind a hill and then dismissed them. Dave summoned an origami mount and spent the next hour making a lot of stomping noises, at Sam¡¯s direction, on different sides of the camp. At the end of the hour, the camp was packing up and, weapons out, travelling out of the valley. ¡°Well, that¡¯s the first problem down,¡± said Dave once they were sure that the baggage train was leaving. =We could have killed them all too.= opined Tzu. Sam shot it a scandalised look. ¡°Yeah, we could have buddy but those weren¡¯t enemies. They were just folk doing a job. Don¡¯t make enemies you don¡¯t need to, hey? Besides, what if it goes wrong and one escapes? Everything we¡¯ve done would be for nothing.¡± =There is tactical sense in that. I will remember.= hummed Tzu and dipped respectfully. Dave summoned another origami mount for Sam and they set off to collect the awakening stones they¡¯d hidden and to pick up the remaining awakening stones in the town. They encountered two fergax along the way, which was surprising. They were normally a solitary spawning monster, but they easily avoided and out-paced the fergax with the origami mounts. The origami mount he¡¯d summoned today was another variation on the golem. Dave wondered if he should write it up as a separate spell. Instead of organising and drawing up an optimised shape of the summoned form, he¡¯d figured out how to simply program the magic for the concepts of transport, animal and swiftness, like how essences formed concepts, and then allowed it to find its own form. The resultant mount looked a lot like a giant, roughly-hewn vulpine which Sam identified as a pini. Apparently they were a fast animal from boreal regions that were sometimes trained as mounts. The origami pini were shorter than a horse, only about one and a half metres at the shoulder, but their legs, head and tail much larger and thicker. Overall, they were more sturdily built with more flexibility around the spine. Dave suspected that a horse would be superior for dragging a cart but a pini would be more agile. Sam picked the path while on the way but Dave often warned her of monsters ahead on his minimap. ¡°So many!¡± said Sam. ¡°It must be the backed up magic leaking out, but this time into monsters instead of building up into stones.¡± ¡°We have our own little monster surge!¡± Dave quickly used his abilities to look up what a monster surge was.
Monster surge: A regular event approximately every ten years where there is a massive, simultaneous increase in the spawn rate of monsters all across the world.
¡°Ugh, I guess so? Doesn¡¯t sound too good to be in the middle of. We¡¯d better work fast.¡± Sam just grinned at him. They¡¯d avoided most of the monsters while picking up their hidden magical goods. Moving through the woods was much faster now that they didn¡¯t need to hide their presence at all which turned out to be a bad way to discover a nest of trap blinders. Trap blinders were a lot like their cousins, the trap weavers. They were a kind of giant spider with a humanoid torso but with spider bodies. Although they produced webs, the webs weren¡¯t as long and the blinders used the webbing to make blinds in the forest foliage that were very hard to recognise in bad lighting conditions and easy for an unwary explorer to push their way through while travelling a trail. Also like the trap weavers they were very stealthy. Sam rode through a seemingly harmless bunch of leafy branches across the trail and was suddenly knocked off her pini. Dave, who was following close behind, was forced to jump his pini over Sam and careened pini-face-first into a trap blinder, almost losing his seat in his own saddle. Fortunately, this high-speed crash disrupted the trap blinder¡¯s ambush as much as it disrupted Sam and Dave¡¯s travel. A second trap blinder was behind the first and so the fight began. After a quick use of Stop And Think and Epistemology, Dave mentally directed the two pinis to deal with one of the trap weavers while Sam and Dave ganged up on the other. Sam took a guardian role while Dave and Tzu, who Dave manifested out of his eyes, shot at the trap blinder constantly. Dave took opportunistic stabs at it with the scimitar of frost but mostly just distracted it from concentrating fully on Sam. For her part, Sam threw her beetle swarm over its face and made good use of her shield to continually push forward at the trap blinder, content to let the ranged damage from behind her as well as her death aura slowly kill the creature. Sensing that it was slowly losing, as was its fellow that the pini were also hounding down, the trap blinder attempted to escape. Sensing the end herself, Sam cast Dragged To The Grave. The skeletal hands lept from the ground, took the trap blinder by the spidery ankles and dragged it down. The pini bodily shoved their own heavily damaged trap blinder into the spell as well. Sam simply stood at the edge of the roiling earth letting her aura hurt them both. Dave and Tzu kept up their own stream of damage as the trap blinders slowly and carefully died. Dave looted them both. ¡°Well, that was a mess,¡± said Dave conversationally. ¡°I thought they were jungle monsters?¡± Dave quickly checked with his abilities. ¡°Nah, says ¡®jungle and forest¡¯ in the books.¡± ¡°Oh? Alright, I will be more careful then. Thank you for tackling them!¡± Dave laughed. ¡°I actually didn¡¯t mean to! Yeah, I was just going fast and so close behind you I crashed.¡± Sam laughed too. ¡°You came out of the crash so ready!¡± ¡°My abilities,¡± Dave shrugged. ¡°I had time to think.¡± ¡°Oh, yes!¡± Sam laughed. ¡°You also have time to make a plan!¡± ¡°Yeah. Unfortunately, some things you can only learn from experience, like knowing that there¡¯s trap blinders out today, and experience is something you have only after it would have been the most useful.¡± Sam¡¯s smile remained but her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to keep up with Dave¡¯s cryptic wisdom. ¡°Let¡¯s keep going,¡± said Dave. ¡°No point hanging about and we know to watch out for the buggers now.¡± Sam reset her smile and nodded. After picking up their stashed away magical stones and heading into town for the rest of the awakening stones, the monster encounters started getting so numerous in the town that Sam dismounted and summoned her five skeletons. They set off again at walking pace, taking down a fergax and two fresh water shabs before they picked up the first awakening stone. As they went from stone to stone encounters happened on average between each awakening stone, usually of a single iron rank monster or two but there was an incident at a creek with a school of flying eels which Sam¡¯s death aura dealt with nicely. By the end of the day, they¡¯d completed Sam''s awakening stone quest and he pulled up the window to check before turning it in with her.
Quest: Abandoned Forest Town
Description Investigate the abandoned forest town Courbefy with local guide Samorn Khanthong and collect magical items throughout the town; 32/32. Remove the evil from the town; 1/1. Bonus objective: Remove all essences from the town, 3/3.
Detailed Information
The quest disappeared from his list at Sam¡¯s assent and Dave skimmed his text box, reading the reward. Reward: 10 bronze spirit coins, 100 iron spirit coins, 120 lesser spirit coins, 2 rings of gecko pads. Dave curiously clicked on the rings of gecko pads and found that they were basically a wall-climbing ability. Whatever surface they were touching, the user was guaranteed to stick to. High mana per second, though. ¡°Any stones you want to absorb?¡± asked Dave as they cantered away from the town, avoiding monsters again. ¡°Yes, but what stones do you think?¡± grinned Sam. ¡°Well, that blight stone is a sure thing. A powerful curse is almost a sure thing from that but the others? Perhaps a magus? But no. That¡¯s what I¡¯d want and you don¡¯t want dangerous magic projectiles.¡± Sam just grinned in confirmation as Dave tried to guess her mind. ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± admitted Dave. ¡°Flesh is also good. Perhaps that eye stone to take another go at another sight based ability?¡± ¡°Ugh, no! Tome said I might get a dead eye!¡± ¡°He said only if it interacts with your death essence! Take the feast essence first. It¡¯s almost certainly going to give you something that eats death!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to eat corpses Dave!¡± ¡°You won¡¯t really be eating them.¡± ¡°Sounds yucky! I want plant awakening stone!¡± ¡°Really? Oh, yeah. You like gardening.¡± ¡°Yes! I checked with Tome. Most likely is summon ability but all other most likely abilities are also useful to me so I will take plant awakening stone.¡± ¡°Fair enough. Any thoughts on the third and forth?¡± ¡°Flesh and air!¡± ¡°Okay, flesh is great but air? I looked that up myself. Weather and stealth?¡± Sam grinned. ¡°And maybe another summon?¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯re really doubling down on using my equipment aura, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Dave is useful!¡± sang Sam in an innocent, sing-song voice. Dave shook his head and smiled. ¡°Well, let¡¯s find a place to camp and do it,¡± he said. ¡°One hour of riding,¡± said Sam. ¡°Too many monsters for staying close, now.¡± They rode for the extra hour and, just as planned, Dave summoned a cabin. Sam summoned her skeletons for a watch and they went inside to take her last three awakening stones. ¡°First, wine!¡± declared Sam. They were running out of food to snack on but they still had several bottles of wine left. ¡°You want it as liquid courage or a celebration?¡± asked Dave, taking out a bottle. ¡°Both!¡± grinned Sam, taking the bottle and pouring it into fine glasses looted from the dead aristocrat adventurers. Dave was already using Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas on both of the cups but after Sam finished pouring the wine, he switched to Magician¡¯s Meagre Magics to chill the wine. ¡°What¡¯re you thinking about the stone order?¡± asked Dave as he channelled to remove heat and make the cups cold in his hands. ¡°Like Arabelle wrote in her book, if we have options we take the awakening stone with the least options first so that the awakening stone with the most options will not take its place by accident!¡± said Sam happily as she gestured at Tome who flipped open to the page of An Introduction To Adventuring that Sam was referring to. =Would it be so bad to double down on good abilities?= ¡°Not always! Arabelle writes about it. She says they do that in Rimaros where they train specialists instead of generalists but she says that although this makes stronger teams, there are two downsides. The first is that the adventurer risks becoming too team-dependant and this limits their growth, sometimes even because of scheduling conflicts, and the second is that if you have two similar abilities, there¡¯s often little difference to just using the same ability twice,¡± Sam informed them, proudly showing them the line with her finger. Dave nodded along, still chilling the wine. =I understand. Thank you for explaining, Sam.= ¡°So we¡¯re hoping for a curse, a summon and some stealth but we¡¯re expecting a curse, anything from a zombie to a creeping rot and a weather-based ability?¡± Sam gave her strained smile. ¡°You¡¯re sure?¡± confirmed Dave gently, knowing she¡¯d understand that he was referring to his offer that they do some trading in the city and get some more specific, uncommon awakening stones. ¡°I¡¯m sure. I have a feeling that this will work! I think your awakening stone ability will help.¡± Dave sighed as he handed the chilled wine to Sam and used his prestidigitation to clean them both off. He was worried she was leaning too hard on Bringer Of Change. He opened up his UI and navigated to the ability.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
Ability: Bringer Of Change
Type: Racial, Special Ability Tags: Special Cost: None
Cooldown: None
Description Awakening stones that you apply to yourself or you apply for others are more likely to have rare, powerful and synergistic effects.
Detailed Information
He clicked the Detailed Information button and read. It didn¡¯t give any numbers just described in more detail that awakening stones that Dave applied would have ¡®rare, powerful and synergistic effects¡¯ by way of a connection to the astral which supplied more power than usual for an essence binding ritual. There were a lot of technical terms he didn¡¯t understand and would need to look up later. It was also noted that the abilities would be, so long as the combination of essence and awakening stone was appropriate, more likely to be useful in battle. For a ¡®more information¡¯ button, there was surprisingly little more information. ¡°Well, if you¡¯re sure,¡± said Dave sceptically. ¡°Blight, plant, flesh and air? They¡¯re all pretty general so take them in the order you feel, I guess.¡± ¡°Yes, I want awakening stones now.¡± Dave had just finished cleaning Sam and himself with his prestidigitation. Clean, comfortable and with a good drink in hand, Dave held out his hand for Tome who flew into his grasp. He placed it open on the ritual circle page and activated the circle when Sam¡¯s hand touched Tome. The tree stone looked a bit like a willow tree or a cauliflower that¡¯d been shrunken and fossilised, depending on what angle you looked at it from. It blew into Sam¡¯s hand upon activation as though on an Autumn breeze. Dave and Sam read the text reproduced by Tome after the ritual was over. Samorn Khanthong has used, awakening stone of trees. She has gained a new life essence ability. Grove Guardian. Summon a towering, treant grove guardian to protect you in battle. Requires a magic circle of topsoil. High mana. Six hour cooldown. Sam was wearing a bigger grin than even Dave had expected. ¡°Oh? It¡¯s that good?¡± Sam nodded vigorously. ¡°Yes! They are guardian tree. Protect parts of forests or jungle and also people who care for area. Very good luck to meet one!¡± ¡°Ah! Well, you can meet one every day now, so that sounds great.¡± Dave clicked on the ¡®grove guardian¡¯ link in his UI to get a better look at the summon. ¡°Big stats. Known for being a bit slow. Really durable and strong. Vulnerable to fire. Ooh! Has an aura. ¡®Guardian¡¯s protection¡¯ Small strength and recovery buff and adds a flat-rate supplement to all healing? Nice.¡± ¡°What does flat rate mean?¡± ¡°It means that every bit of healing will get the same amount extra,¡± said Dave before furrowing his brow and suddenly digging deeper into the details. ¡°Hang on, is that to every healing instance or for every spell? Let me see, let me see¡­ flat rate based on tick rate of guardian¡¯s protection not the spell it¡¯s based on. Oh! Oh, that¡¯s actually really good!¡± Sam smiled happily in confusion. ¡°Oh, hard to explain without maths. Basically, It means that lots of little heals are better than one big heal and most of your healing is little heals. It¡¯s very good.¡± ¡°Sounds good! Next stone. More nice abilities!¡± ¡°Onwards and upwards.¡± Sam¡¯s face was a picture of happiness as Dave readied Tome for the next awakening stone ritual. The blight stone looked like a palm-sized stone with marks on it that suggested rot. Sam activated the stone and it melted into her palm in a sickly way by dribs and drabs. Tome displayed the new essence ability on his page as it became available. Samorn Khanthong has used, awakening stone of blight. She has gained a new animate essence ability, Blightwood Walker. Summon a towering, animated treant to protect you in battle. Requires a magic circle of deadwood. High mana. Six hour cooldown. ¡°Oh! I got the angry brother,¡± said Sam with her worried smile. ¡°Hmm? Let me take a look,¡± said Dave, already clicking through his UI to look up what being blighted really changed between the treants. Their stats were similar to the grove guardian but not as strong or as tough and had no aura buff. Instead their attack rate was increased and they imparted a condition called ¡®wood blight¡¯ with their attacks.
Wood Blight Rank: Iron
Type: Special ability Tags: Affliction, disease.
Description While a target is affected by wood blight, all stamina costs are increased and it can''t regenerate stamina.
Detailed Information
Dave raised his eyebrows appreciatively and whistled. ¡°Now, that one will put your enemies on a clock.¡± ¡°What you mean?¡± ¡°Tome, show her the Wood Blight condition.¡± Sam quickly read the ability from the floating book. ¡°See?¡± prompted Dave. ¡°Over the course of a long fight you¡¯ll eventually just make your enemies collapse, unable to move.¡± ¡°Umm, Good! Don¡¯t want enemies to move,¡± she announced. ¡°Sam, you have some serious long-fight, I-will-eventually-win, abilities. I got to say, I was sceptical of Bringer Of Change but you¡¯re making me a believer. I mean, look at these abilities you¡¯re getting. Are these typical from these stones?¡± Sam just smiled guiltily. ¡°Sure, you have some weaknesses,¡± muttered Dave, mostly to himself, ¡°but you can clearly overwhelm a battlefield with constant pressure until your enemies can¡¯t fight back. It¡¯s a legit strategy, it suits you and girl, you are a badass!¡± Sam smiled cheekily into her wine and said nothing as she reached for the awakening stone of flesh. ¡°Circle please!¡± sang Sam innocently. Dave, still grinning, put his hand on Tome with Sam and activated the magic circle. In her hand, Sam was holding a stone that looked like a small, self-contained, skin-covered muscle in a fully contracted state free from bones. It was both interesting and a little unsettling to look at. Sam activated the stone and it extended and flexed like a worm from her wrist to the nook of the elbow and slowly settled into her body. They watched as Tome flicked through its pages to display the text of the new ability attached to her animate essence. Samorn Khanthong has used, awakening stone of flesh. She has gained a new animate essence ability, Create Flesh Golem. Create Flesh Golem; Turn three or more fresh corpses into a flesh golem. The more fresh corpses, the more powerful the golem up to a maximum of nine. High mana. Six hour cooldown. ¡°Bloody wish we¡¯d had that when all those goats turned up,¡± said Dave. ¡°Definitely will be called evil for this!¡± giggled Sam. The wine was clearly in play. ¡°Yeah but you¡¯re laughing because you can see how powerful it is,¡± retorted Dave as he clicked through his own menu to find the details of the spell in her character sheet. Sam was simultaneously looking up anything she could about the ability in Tome, which was precious little. It seemed that people who got these kinds of abilities tended not to report the details to the Magic Society for publication. ¡°Similar stats to my golems, I guess? A huge mass of hit points with a huge power stat. Good bodyguard or front liner, hey?¡± mused Dave. ¡°It says here that flesh golems can put more bodies in their body as battle goes on, getting stronger,¡± said Sam, pointing at a paragraph of a memoir from a retired adventurer which described a flesh golem they were fighting who got stronger when they killed the ghouls surrounding it. ¡°Hmm? That¡¯s not mentioned on your ability at all. What rank does your book mention?¡± ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t know. It doesn¡¯t say.¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s something you can expect at higher ranks. You don¡¯t have it right now.¡± ¡°Aww! Fine. I will wait for my battle-snowball.¡± Dave chuckled. ¡°Snowball. That¡¯s a good name!¡± Sam grinned back. ¡°Alright, last ability!¡± said Sam, clapping her hands excitedly. Once again, Dave took Tome with Sam and activated the magic circle on the page. ¡°Good luck!¡± said Dave as Sam took the wispy-looking awakening stone of air in her hand and activated it. The stone turned into mist and streamed into her nostrils. Samorn Khanthong has used, awakening stone of air. She has gained a new balance essence ability, Mist Walker. Mist Walker; Familiar. Summon a mist walker to support you. Your own senses are not obscured by natural mist, fog or the mist walker¡¯s abilities. While subsumed into your lungs your breath may have a mana steal effect and for low mana per second any noise that originates from you will be muffled. High mana, high stamina. No cooldown. So, they looked up what a mist walker was.
Monster: Mist Walker Rank: Iron, bronze
Description A thin semi-substantial creature native to climates that, despite their name, generates a thick fog from their body that many observers have described as ¡®spooky¡¯. The mist walker¡¯s fog can stretch over a great distance and magically obscures sight and sound within. They are a parasitic, although benign, life form and feed by sneaking up on resting creatures inside their fog and draining their mana. They are typically non-aggressive and flee when confronted.
Detailed Information
They read Samorn¡¯s last ability. ¡°It specifically says ¡®spooky¡¯?¡± asked Sam. ¡°Yeah, I noticed that too. Not just any mist. Spooky mist.¡± ¡°Think I should use it?¡± ¡°Definitely. Let¡¯s see this spooky mist.¡± They had the required reagents from the psychotic goat bezoar loot and so Sam went outside and summoned her new familiar. It took a few minutes to set up but she soon had a tall, wispy figure appear in a summoning circle that immediately began exuding a curling fog into the forest. It started at the bottom of the creature, washing over Sam¡¯s feet. ¡°Does it feel like anything?¡± asked Dave. ¡°No! Is weird. It¡¯s there but I can see through it,¡± called Sam as the twisting fog subtly raised to her knees and kept spreading. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯d be your new sight ability where you can see through the mist walker¡¯s fog.¡± The edges of the fog cloud were spreading out to encompass Dave¡¯s feet. ¡°I can¡¯t see through it properly at all. It, sort of, obscures things even though I can still see them.¡± Sam started talking to her mist walker familiar in Siamese. It sounded like an introduction and, Dave guessed, a conversation establishing that it could understand her but it couldn¡¯t speak. The mists soon went over the cabin and surprisingly quickly over the entire area. According to Sam. Dave couldn¡¯t see clearly much further than the immediate area of the forest. The mist walker remained still and silent while this continued, only visible because Dave knew where it was. Even so, despite the mist walker remaining still, he kept losing track of it in the constantly twisting and winding fog. ¡°Oh! I see it. Spooky,¡± said Dave pointing. With his Eldritch Eyes he could see wind magic causing eddies and small gusts in the fog. They were small, though. Dave wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d see them if he wasn¡¯t specially looking. ¡°Yes! I see. It moves by itself. Makes shapes,¡± said Sam as she ran her hands playfully through the mist in front of her. ¡°Yeah, when I ignore my Eldritch Eyes it looks like there¡¯s creatures moving just out of sight all the time.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± said Dave. ¡°It doesn¡¯t hamper your senses so to you I guess it just looks a little misty?¡± Sam looked at her surroundings closer. ¡°Oh, yes! I can see through it but when I really look it¡¯s like a cloud but see-through!¡± ¡°Yeah, I definitely can¡¯t see through it at all.¡± ¡°What can you see?¡± ¡°Umm, that tree? I can¡¯t see anything behind it clearly.¡± ¡°You can only see fifty paces?¡± ¡°Yep. Well, clearly. Can see shapes behind it but I¡¯m not sure they¡¯re real.¡± Sam looked in amazement at Dave who grinned back. ¡°You thought this ability was a dud for a second, didn¡¯t you?¡± Sam grinned guilty. ¡°Maybe.¡± ¡°Ask Misty to channel a bit more. I reckon it might get worse. For me, I mean.¡± Sam asked the mist walker for a bit more and fed it some of her own mana. This time they both noted a delay between the channelling of the ability and the mist rising in thickness, something tactical to remember. Dave lost track of the tree he¡¯d used earlier as a marker for Sam. It was just another dark shape in the fog, now. ¡°You can still see?¡± asked Dave. Sam nodded with eyes full of questions. Dave pointed at a clod of earth only a few metres away. ¡°Everything is hazy past that. Again, shapes that might or might not be real.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah. Hang on, let¡¯s check something. Dave took some string out of inventory and handed one end to Sam. ¡°Hold this and start counting with me. I think the fog will cut off the noise for me.¡± Sam started counting and Dave started counting with her as he walked off into the mist. Dave was up to thirty when he realised he couldn¡¯t hear Sam anymore. He looked back in the direction the string went and realised for a panicked moment that there was no true reassurance that it led to Sam. He shook himself and followed the string back. ¡°You stopped?¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t hear you. That part about negating sight and sound is legit. Without the string I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d find you again.¡± ¡°This is a good power!¡± exclaimed Sam. ¡°And very versatile. Obscuring power isn¡¯t just for hiding.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Well, if we¡¯re facing enemies with strong ranged powers, you can use this and they won¡¯t know where to aim, yeah? That means we can get closer before they start shooting.¡± Sam stood with her head tilted for a second as she thought about it and then grinned when she understood the advantage of cracking a smug mage about the head while they were trying to cast spells. ¡°I like it!¡± said Sam with a happy, mischievous grin.
They were attacked at about four in the morning by two griffons. They dropped out of the sky and immediately tore apart a skeleton. Sam immediately rushed into combat without her armour, only taking her shield and sickle. Dave was behind her with sword and wand. ¡°Won¡¯t you lose spells if you don¡¯t sleep?¡± asked Sam, concerned for the future. ¡°They recharge slower if I¡¯m dead. Let''s do this quick,¡± said Dave, letting Tzu out of his eyes. He quickly used Stop And Think and Epistemology on the griffons. ¡°Get the skeletons inside, we can do ranged attacks to just drive them off. They¡¯re ambush hunters and will go away if they can¡¯t catch anything. If the info¡¯s right.¡± Dave and Tzu went to the windows and started a barrage of ranged damage. The griffon that Tzu was force-beaming flapped into the air and landed on the cabin. The other one charged the door and kicked a skeleton in the door across the cabin but two other skeletons at the door started attacking the griffon. Sam cast Dragged To The Grave, cast a stamina-to-mana shield with Dance Of Life And Death then stepped into the doorway with her sickle and shield. The griffon pecked at her which she took on her shield and hacked at the griffon¡¯s neck with her sickle. A taloned foreleg snapped up and scraped a wound across Sam¡¯s leg but she just grit her teeth, cast a charge of Life Bloom on herself and kept hacking away with her sickle. The griffon made more pecks and swipes at her, causing minor injuries. When Dave and Tzu began piling damage onto the one at the door, the one on the roof, perhaps sensing safety, jumped down and frantically began smashing its head into the frame of one of the narrow windows but quickly stopped and retreated when a skeleton hit it in the beak with a war axe. The griffon that Sam was fighting was in a war of attrition with her, her skeletons, Dave joining in now, and Tzu keeping a constant stream of beaming force damage, it too, retreated. Sam glared at the griffon as it left. ¡°No! I bet they have good money inside!¡± ¡°Me too.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not fair! They interrupt my sleep and there¡¯s not even money!¡± ¡°Life is unfair,¡± said Dave with an amused smile. ¡°Sheesh-iyeh! You go back to sleep now!¡± huffed Sam, but couldn¡¯t help smiling and giving a small wai after she said it. She was right, though. They¡¯d noticed that Dave¡¯s spell slots recharged quicker while he slept or meditated. ¡°I will and I¡¯m so grateful to have you looking out for me and making sure I¡¯m safe. You are the best person ever, Sam,¡± said Dave, clearly laying the compliments on thick. ¡°Yes!¡± said Sam, doing her best to look smug. Dave laughed, put his weapons away and lay back down in bed to try and sleep another hour or two until he felt his spells recharge.
Dave woke up an hour or two after dawn and felt his spells come in soon after. As soon as he resolved to get up and go about his day, he felt a familiar sensation of emptiness indicating a few unmemorised spell slots. He drank a mana potion to get a fifth spell slot. Today was different. Today, he memorised, for the first time, three different spells. One Comfortable Country Cabin, two of Origami Golem and two of Origami Mount. Last night he¡¯d decided to write it from the ground up as a new spell, writing the self-directed shaping aspects directly into the spell as fundamental elements and only expressing the function of the summon as constants. ¡°Come forth, worthy steed. Come forth, worthy steed,¡± intoned Dave twice and watched as reality printed out, like a reverse black hole, two woolly, giant rams with full tack. Except they were booky, not woolly. Except for the hard horns, which looked dangerous, the cloven hoofs and the tack, the whole of the body looked like it was made of open books with fluffy pages lying on top of each other which were simulating fluffy wool. Dave thought it was actually quite the artistic decision on the part of the magic. ¡°Oh, nice!¡± exclaimed Sam. ¡°I like that you made it fluffy!¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t me! I took the form out of the spell. The pseudo-intelligence of the spell picked it.¡± ¡°Well, maybe pseudo-intelligence can pick more often?¡± grinned Sam. Dave could only chew on his lip and raise his eyebrows. She had a point. ¡°Maybe,¡± he admitted. ¡°We will find dead trees today,¡± said Sam, as a statement of intent. And, so they did. Sam and Dave had an interesting encounter with a hypno-python along the way which was informative. It turns out, the origami mounts are susceptible to hypnosis, a condition he was certain that the origami golem was immune to. He was so distracted and staring at the magical interactions that he didn¡¯t pay attention to the fight. ¡°DAVE!¡± Sam shrieked. ¡°Fuck! Answer my call!¡± gabbled Dave as he joined battle by summoning his latest iteration of Origami Golem into reality. Frankly, it looked like two headless octopi glued together except that the legs didn¡¯t taper. The legs were made of armoured segments that could bend in every dimension and tipped with a cloven, hoof-like lump of hard paper that could also open and close to a limited amount, allowing for some rough ability to grab. The hypno-python had already struck Sam¡¯s unresisting mount and was wrapping itself around the papery wool of the ram. Sam had dismounted, screamed at Dave and got into battle with shield and sickle. By the time Dave was summoning his golem, Sam had already covered the python with her beetle familiar, annoying it greatly and covering its eyes. Dave sent in a single shot of Mage Bolt and Sam was putting a healing spell into her mount when the origami golem finished printing and it struck. Grabbing the out-sized python¡¯s head with two of its legs it hauled backwards in what, to a human, would have been a suplex except that the golem had more appendages and as the python¡¯s head was forced up, the golem pivoted around the mount, unwinding the snake from it, grabbed the snake¡¯s upper body and took that into the suplex motion as well. The two omnidirectional legs that were holding the python¡¯s head were crossed over each other, holding the head in a loop and pressing the hissing head into the ground as the mount got free. With Sam and Dave taking opportunistic shots at it the whole time, the hypno-python was slowly controlled by the golem. It managed to get a glowing-eyed look at Dave who was standing still, trying to get a good shot. Dave went limp for a few seconds but that didn¡¯t matter. Sam was hacking away at it with her sickle and she figured that if the snake wanted to waste its last moments avoiding escape, that was fine by her. The snake died. It had done a good amount of damage to Sam¡¯s mount, which was being healed and a little crushing damage to the golem, which had already healed. ¡°Sorry, Sam. I didn¡¯t think paper constructs could be affected by mind effects and I¡­ I fucked up.¡± ¡°You get distracted at a time like that!?¡± shouted Sam incredulously. ¡°Yeah! I know! It¡¯s just¡­ magic is so new and interesting. And being able to see it! It¡¯s like always having access to the best reality measuring tools around.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you replay memories?¡± she snapped. ¡°Uhm, yes,¡± said Dave, ashamed. Sam just looked at him crossly and Dave shrank. ¡°I have to get better at this.¡± Sam grunted and got on her mount. Dave looted the snake and followed in shame.
As they roamed around, scooping up dead branches as they went, the origami golem brought peace between Dave and Sam with the sheer oddity of its movement. Dave had designed the legs equidistant apart on the top and bottom with each set of eight at a ninety-degree angle between top and bottom. He had no plan for its gait, essentially figuring that the pseudo-intelligence of previous golems had improvised movements that¡¯d surprised him so this creature would figure it. And, so it had. The golem had taken the wheel-like rolling of the previous golem shape to the next level and hurled itself around the forest like a sea urchin stuck in a rough current. Its strong legs would flex much more than the previous incarnation allowing it to almost jump forward with each step and the limbs that weren¡¯t using the ground for propulsion were free to grasp trees within its coils, using them to take sharp turns or just hurl itself along faster than ever. ¡°I didn¡¯t know it¡¯d do that,¡± said Dave when Sam turned to him with a questioning look after a particularly eye-catching stunt. ¡°You made it!¡± she laughed. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a new shape. I just told it to guard us from threats and pick up firewood as we go and now we have a¡­ a whatever that mad cyclone is.¡± Sam continued softly laughing as the golem came tumbling back like sixteen wacky-inflatable-arm-men with a forestry mission. Two of the arm men solidly wrapped around a bundle of sticks which it held out to Dave. ¡°Good golem!¡± said Dave appreciatively, putting the large sticks into his inventory and using Pauper¡¯s Paper Production to feed it a stick of paper. ¡°High five and help us find more!¡± The golem slapped Dave¡¯s hand, flowed a few metres away and gestured with two of its limbs that Sam and Dave should follow which Sam did immediately, giggling the whole time. It led them to a small, fallen tree with a trunk about the diameter of Dave¡¯s leg. ¡°Hey, good find!¡± said Dave and Sam took a woodsman¡¯s axe out of one of her carefully organised inventory bags. ¡°Sam, hand that to Scrambler here. I think it should be able to grip the handle.¡± Scrambler, as Dave had dubbed this form, in fact could hold an axe, wrapping two limbs around the handle in opposite directions, it absolutely hammered into the trunk of the small, dead tree sending woodchips flying. Dave and Sam used hand axes to strip the smaller branches, shoving them into their inventories along the way. Dave was glad that a lot of the smaller branches would stack in his inventory slots so he was taking most of them. He discovered with Sam and the help of Tome that his inventory was unusual. While stacking money was normal in most dimensional spaces and stacking quintessence was not standard but common enough, most inventory spaces stopped there and just used a one-slot-one-item policy for everything else, regardless of how big the item was. Dave¡¯s did not work like this. Items like armour sets would take up six slots, medium sized weapons would take up three and small weapons would take up two. His bottles of wine would stack into stacks of five, so would most sticks of about that size which included the typical bits of firewood that Scrambler was currently making. Maybe swords would also stack in lots of five but Dave hadn¡¯t found two of the same sword yet. Of the lawn darts he¡¯d occasionally make for Sam, he hadn¡¯t found the stack limit of them yet. He was up to 34. Put simply, Dave¡¯s inventory seemed to be specialised for holding mass amounts of ordinary bit-and-bobs that you could comfortably hold in one hand but anything bulky would take up extra room and room he was running out of. By the time they¡¯d stripped the tree down to firewood, which wasn¡¯t much time thanks to Scrambler, Dave¡¯s inventory was three-quarters full even with his enhanced stacking effects. Dave and Sam, with the help of Scrambler, found three more slightly larger dead trees before their inventories were full. After consulting with Sam, Dave quickly made some adjustments to the giant ant model of golem, making the legs bigger with a grasping bend at the bottom, removing the head and abdomen and expanding the bucket-like thorax wider and up especially high for a greatly enhanced carrying capacity. It was basically a belegged, hexagonal storage container. Dave summoned it. Sam dumped all of the small pieces of wood she¡¯d kept into its bucket and they continued on. They¡¯d encountered a few monsters as they searched and Sam soon had the bright idea of putting her skeletons in the hauler-golem¡¯s bucket. It¡¯d free up more space in her inventory since there¡¯d be five less sets of armour and weapons out, equipped on the skeletons and the skeletons could swiftly disembark into battle. There were quite a few encounters as they went about their day but the combination of Scrambler¡¯s flail-ambling ahead, Dave¡¯s minimap and the origami mounts¡¯ speed kept them from ambushes. Another griffon made a dive attack on Sam but Dave had enough time to notice it coming and, crying a warning and shot it with eye beams as it dived from the sky which disrupted it enough that its attack missed. The resultant fight was very one-sided with Scrambler closeby who pounced on the griffon, coiling all sixteen limbs around the griffon¡¯s wings and forelimbs, restricting its movement greatly while the group killed it. By noon they¡¯d decided that they would just find a nice, open space to drop all their wood off at for their funeral pyre and go collecting more. ¡°Not right in the town square? It¡¯s paved,¡± pondered Dave. Sam shook her head. ¡°Too many monsters now. We can just clear an area in a field.¡± She was better at spotting signs of monsters than Dave so he believed her prediction. It was mid-autumn and the danger of accidentally starting a forest fire was real so a clearing away from the trees seemed like a good next-best idea. ¡°Oh yeah, alright. Pick me a field, I guess!¡± ¡°That one close to that fight where you made the big wall or the cliff where you made the first-night cabin. Less walking.¡± ¡°Good point. Those summons are also evidence, aren¡¯t they?¡± Sam nodded. Sam selected a field near the cliffs figuring that the more solid parts of the cabin construction would be the worst to carry. They spent the rest of the day hauling firewood and cardboard making a pyre. Dave used his Epistemology ability to make sure they had enough, at least half a tonne for each body, before they committed to making the fire after dark. They¡¯d broken the small cabin down, the same for the wall made while being chased, everything associated with the balloon and cut it all up. Luckily, Sam had the idea to try storing the largest pieces of cardboard in one of the looted dimensional bags and it worked. Those pieces might not burn fully through so she¡¯d thought to dispose of them at a later date. The smaller pieces they decided would fully burn were placed centrally along with the bodies of the hunting party and their personal possessions in the unlit pyre. Once the sun had gone down they decided to light it. ¡°Oh, yeah. Bring up your mist walker, it¡¯ll hide the fire from anything watching.¡± said Dave. ¡°Yes! Good idea. Don¡¯t want to attract monsters,¡± said Sam, letting Misty, as they¡¯d taken to calling it, out. ¡°Or the attention of slow walking servants who are looking back for signs of their masters,¡± grumbled Dave. Sam gave a guilty smile. ¡°You should have scared them twice as much!¡± she said conspiratorially and held up four fingers while mouthing ¡®four trolls¡¯. =Would that have worked?= inquired Tzu. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± said Dave with a grin, the mist was rising up around him and he was already concentrating on his Warming Fire prestidigitation to get the pyre started. ¡°I think you get diminishing returns on fear with respect to troll numbers pretty fast.¡± ¡°You need to be more scary, Dave!¡± accused Sam. ¡°I have some ideas about getting into battle faster and more reliably,¡± admitted Dave, getting a sour look and rolled eyes from Sam in response. A clear message she had not forgotten about the hypnotic python. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m Dave, look at the pretty magic, let me think about it while my healer dies. I¡¯m Dave and I think about things very deeply and forget everything else,¡± said Sam, doing a mocking impression of Dave. ¡°That¡¯s not scary!¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fair,¡± said Dave, wincing. Sam gave him a sceptical look. The fire had taken swifty to the pyre and Dave was using a burning stick to light a different part. They¡¯d ripped up lots of cultist costumes as starter material and the fire was taking quickly to the kindling. ¡°No, seriously. Not being glib, I¡¯m new to this world and magic is still unreal to me. I¡¯m definitely going to hesitate or be slow sometimes because of it. It makes me wonder if we should expand the team so you¡¯re not relying on me,¡± said Dave soberly. ¡°You were very fast on the day we met. No hesitation.¡± ¡°It hadn¡¯t sunk in then. Even though Hugh proved to me that the world was real, I¡­ I think part of me didn¡¯t really believe it and I was just reacting like I was in a video game, just solving the next adventure puzzle.¡± ¡°Why not keep doing that?¡± Dave opened his mouth but no sound came out as his mind turned over. He didn¡¯t have a good answer. Because it wasn¡¯t polite to treat reality like a game? That was all he could really think of but it wasn¡¯t a good answer. Wasn¡¯t polite according to who? Sam looked at him and smiled helpfully. ¡°You know what, Sam?¡± said Dave slowly. ¡°I think you might be onto something.¡±
The pyre roared into the night. Dave had thrown a couple of empty wine bottles into it as well. He¡¯d already seen a few pieces of charred cultist cloth floating off so everything was done except the waiting. He¡¯d cast Comfortable Country Cabin a few tens of metres away from the pyre where they could still see the shape of it in the deceptive fog produced by Misty. Dave had spent most of the night outside using Warming Fire under recognisable parts of each body until they completely broke down into ash, slowly working his way through them all. Sam¡¯s skeletons were using long sticks to poke the fire, making sure that the bodies and the cardboard were always above the hottest parts. Tzu was hovering in the door keeping watch and the two golems were patrolling around the cabin. ¡°I¡¯ll second that, Professor,¡± said Dave. ¡°I¡¯ll third!¡± said Sam. =I cannot be your forth. I enjoyed the battle. These days have been the most illuminating of my existence and I exalt in the victory!= ¡°Tzu, you can¡¯t be happy about killing people!¡± said Sam in a concerned voice. ¡°I am,¡± said Dave, taking a sip of wine from his cup. ¡°A bit. I¡¯m not glad it¡¯s us who had to kill them, but I can¡¯t say I¡¯m sorry they¡¯re gone. Murderous buggers the lot of them.¡± Sam looked at Dave, uneasy. ¡°What? They were chasing us screaming murder at me with additional sexual threats at you. I¡¯m not going to waste time pretending I¡¯m not glad they¡¯re dead.¡± ¡°But, I think killing people is evil?¡± ¡°You and I are people too. So, by your logic, we prevented evil. Killing in defence of yourself is fine. If unnerving.¡± ¡°Yes but maybe we could run away?¡± ¡°Maybe we could have,¡± mused Dave, nodding. ¡°But probably not. Even if we get away clean, which we couldn¡¯t because their trackers and their scout were just too damn fast, we get back to town, he gets back to town, he uses his power and authority to find us. You get killed for your essence. I get arrested, discovered as an outworlder, the cult finds me, and I get killed. Like I said earlier, Lord Ross accidentally made killing him our best option to live.¡± Sam nodded ruefully. ¡°Also, why do we have to be the ones who run away? Why shouldn¡¯t he run away? Report us to the law? He¡¯s an aristocrat, they¡¯d listen to him before they listen to us, wouldn¡¯t they? Him hunting us for sport? That was a choice.¡± Sam sighed. ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± she said. ¡°You just wish the world were another way, hey?¡± asked Dave gently. ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Me too, mate.¡± ¡°Dave?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°What¡¯s a video game?¡±
¡°Okay, wait what¡¯d you do?¡± asked Florian over the Xbox Live chat. Masterchief¡¯s gunfire took over his headset for a moment. ¡°You did a meta-analysis of what? What¡¯re you comparing?¡± ¡°Every team to every other team and to an estimated industry standard,¡± said Dave, his tone intense, the way it was when something bothered him. ¡°Remember last year? When I started and got that entire team¡¯s funding revoked because I didn¡¯t know the company politics?¡± ¡°Ugh, yeah,¡± said Florian goofily. It¡¯d really gotten under Dave¡¯s skin. ¡°Ai convinced me to do something about it.¡± ¡°Hang on, bro, hard bit.¡± The screen flashed with enemy fire as an elite charged their position. Florian threw a grenade, jumped, shot a rocket into another part of the pack at the same time as the grenade exploded and then meleed a grunt to death while Dave reloaded his half-empty plasma rifle. ¡°So, you did a meta-analysis?¡± Florian asked once they cleared the wave. ¡°I wrote a Python script to pull data using keyword matches. Honestly, the keywords were the hardest part¡ªOhshit! Left! Left! Sniper!¡± Dave ran back and forth in a hard-to-track fashion while Florian shot the sniper nest with another rocket. ¡°Boom! I¡¯ll take that,¡± said Florian triumphantly, swapping out his empty rocket launcher for the covenant sniper rifle. ¡°Thanks,¡± muttered Dave. ¡°Anyway, I used a language model to suggest keywords but had to manually approve each one for accuracy. Time-consuming but necessary to make the associations robust.¡± ¡°Man, I don¡¯t know what that means,¡± grinned Florian. ¡°Keywords were the hard part, lots of math,¡± said Dave. ¡°Then I pulled company data to estimate meaningful results per time, and normalized it to the same-field average using data I pulled off PubMed,¡± Dave continued. ¡°Some fields naturally produce more discoveries, right?¡± ¡°Ugh¡­ right,¡± said Florian. They rounded a corner in-game, entering a hallway filled with Grunts. Florian tossed a sticky grenade into their midst while Dave blasted on full auto at the closest with his plasma rifle. ¡°Then I compared each lab at the company to each other lab at the company to compare their meaningful result rate per time.¡± ¡°You quantified how fast the chemists are working? Calm down, Satan!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Fucking evil,¡± said Florian, impressed. ¡°You realise the suits you hate so much are just going to turn this into another KPI?¡± ¡°They already have KPIs,¡± Dave said flatly. ¡°But they can only apply them to labs with quantifiable results. Meanwhile, the qualitative researchers just mess around with no accountability. All I did was remove the plausible deniability for the bullshit labs.¡± ¡°Gonna get a promotion?¡± Florian teased as he jumped in the warthog and waited for Dave to catch up. ¡°Not a chance. Everyone¡¯s going to hate it.¡± Dave paused the game as he heard Ai unlocking the door. ¡°Twice as much as they hated last year.¡± ¡°I¡¯m here!¡± she called out, holding a plastic bag of takeout aloft. ¡°Your favourite place?¡± Dave asked. ¡°Definitely,¡± Ai replied, feigning offense. ¡°You think I¡¯d have sweet and sour pork that is not delicious?¡± ¡°The chicken feet place?¡± Florian chipped in through the headset. ¡°Yep. Good chicken feet,¡± said Dave, smiling. ¡°According to her.¡± ¡°You should try it!¡± said Ai, affectionately tousling Dave¡¯s hair. ¡°I just don¡¯t get why you¡¯d do it, man,¡± said Florian, saving the game. ¡°You¡¯re just setting yourself up for hate, you know?¡± ¡°I know,¡± said Dave seriously. ¡°But last year, they gave a certain rationale for pulling that lab¡¯s funding. This year, I¡¯m testing if they¡¯ll follow their own rules. My job is literally doing stats to determine funding cost-effectiveness. If they ignore this, I know my job doesn¡¯t matter and I can dick around with code and bludge for the next three years. This is the moment, Flo. I¡¯m doing quality control on my bosses.¡± ¡°Dave,¡± Florian laughed. ¡°Only you would QC your own boss.¡± Behind him, Ai giggled, her gaze playful. Dave shrank down sheepishly, grinning. ¡°Yeah, I hadn¡¯t realized how much of a ¡®me¡¯ thing that was until right now.¡± Dave could somehow hear Flo¡¯s stupid grin as loudly as Ai¡¯s giggles. ¡°Anyway, Victory dumplings, Flo. Gotta go!¡± ¡°Alright, alright. Enjoy your glorious career sabotage feast.¡± Dave hung up the headset, turning to help Ai unpack the food. Chapter 12: The Geller Boy
Current Quests
The Safety Of Walls: Reach a walled town with Samorn Khantong. Justice For Courbefy: Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use¡­
Sam had a discussion with Misty before leaving it out overnight to get her first full night of sleep in days. Dave made sure to wake early, quietly took out the last of their good food and laid it out for breakfast. He boiled the kettle outside the door to keep the noise down. He read information about auras from An Introduction To Adventuring which still didn¡¯t make much sense to him but he persisted with the chapter until Sam stirred. At this, Dave released Tome into the air and cooked breakfast. Ham and cheese toasties. ¡°Here you go,¡± said Dave, putting the hot food in front of the bleary-eyed Sam. ¡°Thank you!¡± He made tea and presented her with the mug which she took with a smile. Dave popped a spirit coin in his mouth and poured himself a mug of tea. ¡°You can have a sandwich!¡± said Sam with sincere, wide eyes, offering one of her toasties. ¡°No. I insist,¡± said Dave, fending her offer away. ¡°It¡¯s your first good night of sleep in ages and you didn¡¯t get that sleep because you were keeping me safe. This is my thanks and I want you to accept it.¡± Sam smiled happily and held the toastie to her mouth. Dave wandered outside and checked the remains in the pyre which was still hot, just in case his triple checking last night looked different in the light of day. It wasn¡¯t. Nothing but ash powder in the middle of the pyres. It was past dawn. He memorised his spells, summoned two origami mounts and an origami golem. He mentally ordered Scrambler to take up long sticks, stir the ashes together and dump the last of the firewood on the hot embers. Dave wandered back inside.
They decided to leave Courbefy valley. The spawning monsters were unpredictable and, from what Dave could tell from the background magic, only getting more unpredictable. They set out to Sam¡¯s ranger cabin. It took three days to get there but they were more powerful than when they left that cabin together on this journey and the monsters they encountered in the first two days were not difficult to kill. On the last day of travel they encountered no monsters, just regular animals which ran away from them. About mid afternoon on the third day, they arrived at Sam¡¯s ranger cabin. Despite stopping here, it wasn¡¯t their destination. They¡¯d only come here to pick up Sam¡¯s belongings and take them in a new life of adventuring. She sang to herself in the afternoon as she packed. Dave could tell she was feeling melancholy and nervous but Sam approached it with a smile. She picked up her effects and stashed them away into her dimensional bags which she¡¯d been using as saddle bags on their mounts every day. ¡°You alright?¡± asked Dave when she handed him a series of flour bags that would stack in his inventory. ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Not sad to be leaving your home behind?¡± Sam beamed her big smile and shook her head. ¡°This was always more like¡­ hideout?¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes! I was hiding here. No more hiding now!¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t we both going into the world hiding something?¡± ¡°I think our plan is more¡­ disguise!¡± Dave grinned. Her positivity was infectious. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s us! Normal people in disguise.¡± ¡°Dave, you definitely are not normal.¡± ¡°Neither are you. Too happy.¡± Sam clasped her hands together and grinned self consciously. ¡°I¡¯m normal for a scientist,¡± said Dave. ¡°What¡¯s a scientist?¡± ¡°Someone who discovers new knowledge for a living?¡± ¡°Oh, magic society person.¡± ¡°Yeah! Sorry. I¡¯ll tell them I¡¯m a magical researcher with the magic society. Right?¡± ¡°Yes! You are normal for magic society.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure if that¡¯s a compliment, Sam.¡± ¡°Thank you, Professor, but Sam¡¯s idea works just fine if I¡¯m just trying to avoid attracting any attention from the Builder cult.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be sad, Tome!¡± sang Sam while patting the book. ¡°If we can get a nice carriage someday, Dave can study while adventuring.¡± Sam finished putting the last of her own possessions into dimensional bags, brought in some tools from outside so that they wouldn¡¯t be exposed to the elements and then they went outside and closed the door. ¡°Bye, bye, mountain cabin! Thank you for keeping me safe,¡± said Sam, making a wai at the cabin before she left. She jogged up to Dave, Tome and Tzu who were waiting for her and quietly said, ¡°But your paper cabin is more warm. Let¡¯s go!¡±
They set off to the closest town; Meg¨¨ve. It was west, towards where Dave would have seen Lyon and Paris in his reality. He¡¯d been to Paris but never to eastern France but once they left the mountainous region behind the landscape was similar to parts of Austria he¡¯d visited, full of rolling green hills, forests of temperate trees and pleasant meadows. The region was classified as normal rank but wasn¡¯t large or stable enough for spirit coin farming, which was something that Dave had to look up. Apparently, different parts of geography had different levels of background magic which influenced the kinds of monsters that spawned in them. It seemed it was actually quite difficult to find enough low-magic regions in the world where lesser coins could be farmed. ¡°Wait, looting abilities are rare?¡± asked Dave incredulously as he read the reason for spirit coin farming in a book. ¡°Rare but also not rare,¡± said Sam moving her hand in a so-so kind of way.. Daved looked at her with mild bafflement. ¡°Hard to explain. Not every adventuring group has person with looting powers but if there is a monster with really good loot, it doesn¡¯t take long to find one. Also, can do looting ritual.¡± ¡°Why aren¡¯t essence and awaking stone combinations that give looting abilities hoarded and issued by the adventure society?¡± Sam shrugged. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s too hard to control that?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah. Adventurers are probably an independently minded lot and telling them what essences to take and what they can do with their own loot is likely a failing objective from the start,¡± remarked Dave dryly. ¡°You think it shouldn¡¯t be?¡± asked Sam in surprise. ¡°It¡¯s definitely not efficient. From what I¡¯ve read these coins aren¡¯t just currency, they¡¯re also the most common form of magical power, right? You drop them into appliances to power them?¡± Sam nodded. ¡°So, whoever can generate the most coins can power the lives of the most people, those people generate goods which can then be sold for more money, those people are taxed which generates more money for the people who generated the coins in the first place and so on?¡± Sam smiled with puzzlement. ¡°Sorry, I think that was a terrible way to introduce you to knowledge about economics. Economics, that¡¯s when people who are good at maths start studying money,¡± said Dave and gently tossed Tome through the air who flew to Sam and opened on a dictionary page that had economics on it. She read the passage quickly. ¡°Oh! People study spirit coins?¡± ¡°Well, in my reality they do. It¡¯s made a lot of people very rich.¡± ¡°Did you study it and get rich?¡± ¡°No, I studied science - sorry - alchemy and I got poor.¡± Sam laughed. ¡°But then I got a job with the people who studied economics and they paid me enough that I wasn¡¯t poor.¡± ¡°So it all worked out!¡± beamed Sam. ¡°Kind of. The work was soulless and I¡¯m pretty sure I killed the dreams of several talented and enthusiastic young people.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Sam¡¯s face fell. ¡°I also prevented upwards of a billion dollars - dollars are our version of lesser coins - being spent on vanity projects but it¡¯s always the nasty parts of the job that stick in your memories, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°A¡­ billion?¡± ¡°Yeah. Siemens. Big company.¡± ¡°No. I mean. Just¡­ A billion is more than a million?¡± ¡°Yes? That¡¯s how numbers work?¡± ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t even know about that much money.¡± ¡°Nobody does.¡± ¡°But just said you did?¡± ¡°I tried to impose order on the chaos but my decisions were often ignored by our version of nobles.¡± ¡°Nobles suck!¡± declared Sam suddenly in a way that made Dave snort with laughter.
The closest walled town was Meg¨¨ve, which they reached in four days of travel. Situated just west of the mountainous alps it was the hub for all the industry in the surrounding areas. The surrounding areas being mostly more alps so the town was full of warehouses of lumber, quarried rock and all the quintessence that could be harvested from the natural magics; ice, snow and plant being the most common but from what Dave could read from the public records that Tome could access, they got a little bit of everything that the eyes could be set on. They rode into Meg¨¨ve in the late afternoon. Dave could see a golden question mark hanging in the air just beyond the arch which was the gate into the town. There were two guards who were waving people through. From what he could tell, some of the locals were greeting and joking with the guards. The friendliness of it all made Dave relax. He and Sam had been afraid there would be intensive checks at the gates but this was a good sign. They approached the gate riding their origami pini mounts. ¡°Excuse me, sir? Do you know if there are any bronze or silver rankers in town?¡± called Dave to the closest guard and flipped him an iron spirit coin. ¡°I would not think so, mister,¡± said the guard with a lazy accent, who snatched the coin out of the air. ¡°They are generally remarked upon and I have heard no remarks. Who is it who asks such a question riding a massive fox?¡± ¡°That is a pini, Jean!¡± called the other guard, waving on a woman with a wheelbarrow full of tuber vegetables. ¡°They come from the north. Read a book sometime!¡± ¡°Antione, I have told you before, we are guards. We don¡¯t need to read books!¡± bantered Jean. ¡°You speak for yourself, Jean. Every time I breathe your scent I am reminded to try to move up in the world, away from you,¡± drawled Antione. Dave grinned at both of them. ¡°Gentlemen, please! That¡¯s a ¡®no¡¯ on my question?¡± asked Dave, hoping his good humour would show through in his smile and wouldn¡¯t antagonise the guards. ¡°Yes, you are correct,¡± said Antione with a grin. ¡°Why do you ask?¡± ¡°Me and my friend are looking to join the Adventure Society. We were hoping for some tips.¡± ¡°You will have to go to Oullins for that, I¡¯m afraid. Just some essence users and iron rankers in town. This is a quiet area. It¡¯s why Jean¡¯s mum lets him guard.¡± Jean kicked a rock at Antione. ¡°Well, maybe I¡¯ll talk to them. Any place to stay you¡¯d recommend for me and my friend?¡± said Dave gesturing at Sam. ¡°Saint Dragon¡¯s!¡± shouted Jean. ¡°It is the best!¡± ¡°Saint Dragon¡¯s is for hookers and beer!¡± shouted back Antione. ¡°Maybe they want hookers and beer!¡± retorted Jean. Sam managed a scandalised grin and couldn¡¯t stop herself from giggling. ¡°We want a quiet drink and clean sheets,¡± shouted Dave who was thoroughly enjoying the unprofessional banter of the guards. It was made all the better by their accents which rolled the Rs and kept the tongue low in the mouth like every word was part of a lazy afternoon. ¡°Go to Madam Orabelle¡¯s,¡± said Antione in a serious tone. ¡°She charges a lot but if you can afford these mounts, you can afford her prices.¡± ¡°These are summoned!¡± said Sam, in protest of the thought of paying more but grinned guiltily when she looked at Dave who was aware of how much money they had. ¡°Sorry! I forget. He has looting power. No problem!¡± ¡°No wonder you want to get into adventuring, mister! Getting a looting power so early in your career!¡± exclaimed Jean, paying closer attention to them during a lull in the people-trafic. ¡°What¡¯s that you¡¯ve got? A pini essence?¡± ¡°Nope! But I¡¯ll let you and Antione debate that and place bets. I¡¯ll find Madam Orabelle¡¯s. Have a good shift!¡± said Dave while spelling ¡®book¡¯ on his arm where Antione could clearly see it. Dave gave him a cheeky grin which Antione shot back as Dave departed after Sam. Dave passed under the yellow question mark and completed his quest. His eyes skimmed over the text; [The Safety Of Walls] complete. The rewards came in. A bit of money and¡­ ¡°By the gods,¡± said Dave, pulling a polearm out of his inventory. ¡°I¡¯m a spell caster. Sam, do you want this?¡±
Madam Orabelle¡¯s was a stone building that was away from the centre of town but not so far it would be an unpleasant walk. Madam Orabelle was a flaxen haired elven woman from ¡®up north¡¯, hence her stilted accent, but she had moved south when she married her husband. She was related to minor nobility but she had eschewed that life, finding the politics boring.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Sam was soon thoroughly enjoying herself, chatting with Madam Orabelle who was of similar age to Sam. Dave politely listened to their animated conversation and insisted that Bell, as she asked them to call her, stay seated and chat with Sam. Dave took over her innkeeper duties quite easily. With his Find Page ability to search texts he could easily do the clerical work of inn administration and his Grand Mages Gravitas was worthy of remark with how it could clean and dry dishes. ¡°How ever did you get such an ability?¡± asked Bell, watching the impurities steam out of the dishwater and into a bucket. Dave shrugged modestly. ¡°Can anyone really claim credit for their abilities?¡± said Dave. ¡°In truth, I was really hoping for a big damage ability when I got it but in the long run, I¡¯d say this has been better.¡± ¡°I think so!¡± said Sam energetically. ¡°He is the best to go into the forest with. Anything that is wet or dirty, he fixes it!¡± ¡°Oh! Anything?¡± she said with a mischievous look. ¡°Maybe?¡± said Sam with her biggest grin at Dave who grinned in turn at Bell. ¡°I don¡¯t know its limits yet. We¡¯ve done some experiments. Can¡¯t make fresh branches into dry firewood but anything cleanliness related I reckon I¡¯d do well with.¡± Dave offered. ¡°How about tarnished silverware?¡± said Bell. ¡°No idea!¡± said Dave, shaking his head. Bell had one of her staff bring over some tarnished cutlery for Dave to try, which he did, running his prestidigitation over them for a minute while Bell brought up with Sam that her husband was an iron rank adventurer who did local contracts. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why I married him. My family didn¡¯t like me marrying a commoner but he¡¯s got more guts than the rest of them put together. I saw my brother get gifted an elemental essence at the age of eighteen and he¡¯s never so much as made a sandwich, let alone made anything of himself but I saw my Henry as a young man with nothing but a vehicle essence and a dream.¡± Bell¡¯s eyes glazed over in memory. ¡°Oh, you should have seen him. Coming through the gates with a roguish smile on his face, greeting our servants like old friends. Always working to save up for that next essence. I couldn¡¯t help but cheer for him in my heart.¡± Bell smiled at Sam. ¡°Are you two¡­?¡± said Bell, gesturing between Sam and Dave. Sam smiled and giggled while shaking her head. ¡°We are not romantically involved,¡± confirmed Dave. ¡°We met because a monk of knowledge said we¡¯d be good friends and he was right! We work together and it suits us pretty well.¡± Sam grinned and laughed while patting Dave¡¯s head. ¡°He¡¯s a good boy!¡± ¡°These spoons are done,¡± said Dave, offering them to Bell. ¡°There¡¯s the grime on this kerchief but they¡¯re still tarnished. I guess because tarnish affects the metal fundamentally, I could only remove the bits that were so far gone they¡¯re no longer considered part of the spoon, I guess.¡± Bell stared intently at a spoon, picked another kerchief out of her blouse and rubbed at the tarnish very hard. ¡°Ha!¡± she said, showing Dave the cleaner surface. ¡°Oh! Of course!¡± said Dave with wonder. ¡°I couldn¡¯t change the metal but by removing everything else, the metal is easier to change.¡± ¡°You¡¯d better adventure fast, young lady. If he has abilities like this another young woman might decide to chain him down,¡± said Bell to Sam with a mischievous smile causing Sam to break down into giggles. ¡°Oh, I wouldn¡¯t worry too much,¡± said Dave, grinning with them. ¡°That monk of knowledge set me on a path that will take a lot of momentum to knock me off of.¡± ¡°And he¡¯s glad to see you again!¡± came the deep voice of Hugh. Dave snapped his head around to see the broad figure of Hugh in his monk¡¯s habit striding across the common room of the inn. Dave jumped up with a cry of joy and threw himself into a great hug. ¡°Sorry to interrupt but the moment seemed just right,¡± said Hugh to everyone and then looked at Bell and Sam extending his hand. ¡°I¡¯m Hugh, good to meet you both.¡± They both offered their hands, which Hugh shook gently over introductions. ¡°Dave and I have a lot to catch up on. You two keep chatting and don¡¯t worry about us,¡± said Hugh with a genuine, warm smile. ¡°Over there? Yeah. We¡¯ll be at the bar, Bell. Just have your staff put anything that needs cleaning in front of me,¡± said Dave with a reassuring nod. Bell and Save smiled and waved them off, immediately falling back into animatedly chatting with each other. Arm in arm, Dave and Hugh made it to the bar and sat down. ¡°Hugh! How¡¯ve you been? Still monking?¡± ¡°No, actually! I¡¯ve been reassigned as a friar,¡± said Hugh with a whiskery grin. He held up two fingers to a barmaid who caught his eye. ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡± ¡°Monks work in seclusion. Friars work among the people.¡± Their drinks were put in front of them and both men took a draught of beer. ¡°Hugh, why do you have an exclamation mark over your head?¡± ¡°Why do you have one over yours?¡± Hugh¡¯s eyes twinkled. Dave¡¯s jaw dropped. ¡°No bloody way!¡± said Dave. Hugh grinned proudly and drank more of his beer. ¡°Ha! Tell me what happened!¡± laughed Dave. ¡°No, you tell me first! What¡¯s with that mysterious letter you sent?¡± ¡°Not bloody here,¡± said Dave through a grimace, hushing Hugh. ¡°It wasn¡¯t all very pretty or strictly straight and narrow.¡± Hugh got that look which happened when Knowledge was filling him in on something and then grinned at Dave. ¡°Yep, later for you. Me? Everything went as planned! Wind form, ran off in the sky with your illusion, the cultists saw me, one shot an arrow at me, missed by a mile, I ran higher and kept going. Didn¡¯t sleep for a day. I was so exhausted even with the potions. I slowed down to a walk and Knowledge eventually found me a barn to sleep in. Ran the next day to our church here and reported everything.¡± ¡°Good! I¡¯m guessing there was a notice on the Adventure Society board the next day.¡± ¡°One of many! Haven¡¯t you heard what happened with the builder cult?¡± ¡°Nah, mate. Just arrived here at sundown. Fill me in?¡± ¡°It all happened in some out-of-the-way place called Greenstone in South Berberia. Big conspiracy and everything. The church of Purity is in league with the Builder cult! Absolute scandal of the highest order. Anyway, soon as it came out, the cultists came out of hiding world over and the church of Purity with them started raiding spirit coin farms, warehouses of supplies, you name it, they went for it in a world-wide smash-and-grab.¡± ¡°Really? Security seemed a little lax at the gate when Sam and I got in?¡± ¡°Yes they¡¯re a bit over confident because I got back so quickly and warned everyone before the Purity folks got their go orders. I warned everyone about the Builder cult, people started looking and found them all squirrelled away in the Purity church. Plain as day! The whole Purity church here got arrested.¡± Dave raised his half-full glass to Hugh. ¡°Good. Fuck those guys.¡± ¡°My goddess doesn¡¯t like cursing,¡± agreed Hugh, winking at Dave, raising his glass and emptying it. ¡°So, something good happened after all our pain, huh?¡± ¡°You¡¯re damned right!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t damning things blasphemy?¡± ¡°Not in this case. It¡¯s descriptive. Purity is being sanctioned by the other gods and my inclusion was actually a good bonding experience with the churches of Warrior, Justice and Hero in town who volunteered to help out along with a bunch of other periphery clergy who don¡¯t have representative churches in town. There was this really crazy leonid woman from the church of Wrath with an explosion essence who kept blowing in doors. Scary as hell. Glad she was on my side, though!¡± Some new beers were put in front of them and a pile of things to clean. Dave started twirling his fingers, cleaning them. ¡°Well what happened after you raided the Purity church?¡± ¡°Well, half of them weren¡¯t in on Purity¡¯s plan and immediately fingered the ring-leaders. Then we sussed out a whole bunch of Builder cultists with mass arrests the next day before they raided the warehouses.¡± ¡°Ah! That¡¯s why the guards are so happy. They were part of it and now they¡¯re reading in the papers about the big event they helped stop around here.¡± Hugh grinned and took a gulp of beer. ¡°So what about the exclamation mark above my head? When did you get a quest ability?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t! But maybe I will? The local societies and a few churches gave me some awakening stones that my Goddess asked for.¡± ¡°She gave you a list?¡± ¡°Yes! I was as surprised as anyone but she told me to wait for you to apply them. You¡¯ve got some ability, I guess? She wouldn¡¯t say.¡± ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t want to mention it because I didn¡¯t think it was too powerful but I did it with Sam and it might actually be the most powerful thing I have. When I apply awakening stones they get extra power from somewhere and grab better stuff.¡± Hugh nodded and they both took a gulp of beer. ¡°You said ¡®we¡¯,¡± said Dave. Hugh¡¯s grin was in danger of taking his head off. ¡°I was part of it all. Knowledge¡¯s battle contingent.¡± ¡°No! Hell yeah!¡± They both laughed and drank. ¡°Yeah, the Goddess, she¡¯s got a plan for me,¡± said Hugh, bursting with pride. ¡°She¡¯s going to train you up!¡± ¡°I think so! I¡¯m not part of Her military forces-¡± ¡°Wait, she has those?¡± ¡°I think every god has some enforcers.¡± ¡°Getting theocracy vibes, mate.¡± Hugh¡¯s eyes unfocused and he got an update from Knowledge. ¡°No! What? No! Nothing like that. By the Goddess, that really happen in your plane?¡± ¡°Yep. The dark ages were wild. Good inspiration for fantasy novels, though.¡± ¡°Uff, better off without it. Nah, gods are strictly domain centric. Best example is Death who brings in enforcers if a necromancer gets big.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the biggest event Knowledge has ever enforced?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t tell ya but one you¡¯ll like is the time a child emperor tried to ban reading.¡± ¡°That¡¯s hereditary rule for ya. Bunch of inbred, blue-bloods left in charge.¡± ¡°Your plane has that too? Not the name calling but hereditary rule?¡± ¡°Not the civilised parts of the world, no. We¡¯ve moved on to constitutional democracies where rich people make the same, dumb decisions.¡± Hugh got another update from Knowledge. They both took a gulp of beer. ¡°How¡¯s that working out?¡± Dave shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s described as the best bad system we¡¯ve got.¡± Hugh crossed his eyes, figuring that out and then burst into laughter. ¡°You say the weirdest stuff, Dave!¡± ¡°Yeah? You get brain-updates from a goddess!¡± ¡°Err, yeah?¡± ¡°Oh, shit. You think that¡¯s normal. Wait! It might be normal. Is it normal? Doesn¡¯t matter. Not normal for me. There¡¯s no gods where I come from. Have a guess how weird it must look to me.¡± They were well buzzed by this point. Hugh was staring at his glass imagining and, his body shaking at first, eased his way into raucous laughter. ¡°It must be so weird for you!¡± ¡°It so is!¡± said Dave laughing with him. ¡°Ooh,¡± said Hugh, finishing his second glass. ¡°We¡¯re laughing at nothing. Enough beer.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve hit the sweet spot, mate,¡± said Dave, with a wink. ¡°One sip every ten minutes to stay in it. Basic pharmaceutical science.¡± ¡°Science, I remember you said you studied that. That¡¯s like the learning job in your reality?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the stuff. Although it¡¯s also a learning tool. Make a hypothesis and try to falsify it.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you just discover things and write about it? ¡®S what we do.¡± ¡°Yeah but to make sure you¡¯re not fooling yourself you gotta try and prove yourself wrong.¡± Dave drained the last of his second glass. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°So nobody else does!¡± Hugh started wheezing with laughter into the bar. ¡°What?¡± exclaimed Dave, grinning with Hugh and slapping him on the back. ¡°It¡¯s bloody embarrassing if someone else does it.¡± Hugh was red faced and trying to tamp down his laughter. Dave was also biting his bottom lip as they both struggled to avoid being the stupid, loud drunks in the room. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s bring the party down then. I¡¯ve got a feeling I¡¯m in your Lady¡¯s plans too. Gimme that quest hovering above your head,¡± said Dave. ¡°Oooh, The Lady,¡± said Hugh, wiping his face and calming himself. ¡°Well, you know the first bit. Get this bunch of magic rocks in me. After that, she wants more awakening stones.¡± ¡°For you?¡± ¡°I think so! Hope so. I hope not.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense, mate.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ you know? Feels pretty big if I¡¯m worth all this trouble, hey?¡± Dave slapped his shoulder. ¡°She¡¯s Knowledge! She knows what she¡¯s doing right?¡± ¡°Yes but I¡¯m still nervous, you know?¡± ¡°Then be nervous! Just don¡¯t be stupid.¡± ¡°Stupid? Me?¡± ¡°Yeah, not trusting the woman who knows everything, ya donkey!¡± They both chuckled. ¡°You¡¯d better clean that pile,¡± said Hugh gesturing at the heap of dirty plates and glasses in front of Dave. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d better,¡± said Dave sheepishly, starting the prestidigitation. Hugh ordered two waters.
Sam and Dave got separate rooms for the first time since they¡¯d met and the soft beds were everything they could have wanted. They woke the next day feeling like the royalty that, Dave realised with a sense of unease, actually had an awful lot of non-symbolic power in this world. He put it out of his mind. He hadn¡¯t even met one yet. Perhaps they were nice? After all, William and Harry from back home seemed like affable blokes. Dave drank a mana potion and memorised four mounts and one golem. Just in case. He was about to have breakfast when he saw Sam in the stable yards practising with the billhook he¡¯d given her yesterday. She looked¡­ strangely proficient. ¡°Hey! You learn that with your brothers, too?¡± asked Dave from the door. Sam smiled her greeting to Dave. ¡°I know only basics!¡± ¡°Is it a good fit for you?¡± ¡°I think so! Is a lot like a spear so I just use like a spear.¡± ¡°Stick ¡®em with the pointy end?¡± Sam laughed and nodded. ¡°What did you say was the enchantment?¡± she asked. ¡°Lethargy. Billhook of lethargy. You hit stuff and it gets sleepy. Anything that runs away is likely to fall over. You like it?¡± Sam shrugged. ¡°Haven¡¯t used sleepiness part yet.¡± ¡°Fair enough. Breakfast?¡± ¡°I already eat! You wake up Hugh and have breakfast with him. I will enjoy sunshine!¡± she waved her hands demonstratively at the sunrise. Dave remembered that with her ranger¡¯s hut situated in a valley, she might not have seen as many as she¡¯d have liked. He waved at Sam and made for Hugh¡¯s door but met Hugh on the stairs and so they both made their way to the inn¡¯s dining area and asked for breakfast. Orabelle¡¯s was popular enough that there was a hubbub of chatter from the other patrons but it wasn¡¯t noisy. Even so, Dave and Hugh had an area closer to the clatter of the kitchen where the staff could conveniently pile dirty dishes for Dave to clean. Hugh poured black tea from the pot on the table and took the letter Dave had written to Hugh on his first night on the run with Sam out of his pocket to show Dave. ¡°This letter you wrote? Caused me some puzzlement. I was surprised you¡¯d gone off adventuring. That was with Sam, yes? The guide?¡± he said, gesturing out the windows at Sam. ¡°Yeah, she knew a place that the locals had forgotten about. Courbefy. Full of awakening stones she needed and I figured, I¡¯m new in the world, I could use a friend and some spare cash.¡± ¡°Courbefy? That¡¯s an old name that¡¯s been on people¡¯s lips recently.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Oh? Apparently, the Geller boy died there. It¡¯s been all over the Adventure Society. They were in a tizzy about finding-¡± Hugh¡¯s brain caught up with his mouth. ¡°Sweet gods, it wasn¡¯t you was it?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t catch the family name. His mates called him Ross?¡± said Dave. ¡°Yes,¡± said Hugh, with widening eyes accentuating his face drained of colour. ¡°Lord Ross Geller.¡± Dave blinked at Hugh. ¡°That¡¯s the son of Tiffany Geller. The matriarch of the local Geller clan?¡± Hugh was clearly insisting on a point that Dave was missing. ¡°I gather that this is important in ways that I don¡¯t understand,¡± said Dave. Hugh opened and closed his mouth, sat up, looked around as though for inspiration, found none, took two deep breaths and leaned towards Dave to hiss at him. ¡°She¡¯s rich. Insanely rich. Can-get-away-with-murder rich. And, she¡¯s powerful. She¡¯s a silver ranker. She¡¯ll see through any attempt to lie to her. You remember the tyranny?¡± ¡°Oh,¡± said Dave. Who¡¯d forgotten about the tyranny of rank. The tyranny of rank was a fundamental aspect of life on this plane. You were only ever on a physical, magical or even emotional parity with things on the same rank as you. Objects or creatures of a higher rank had a natural magical resistance to damage from lower ranked sources. High ranked people could, with basic self control, accurately read the emotions of lower ranked people like a book via their aura and couldn¡¯t be read in return. A mildly talented higher ranked person with any amount of aura training could even force emotions on a lower ranked person. Here, in this plane, rank was everything. ¡°You¡¯re fucked if you get in front of her. Fucked!¡± hissed Hugh. It was the first time Dave had heard him swear. ¡°Well, it was self defence!¡± muttered Dave, thankful that there was so much background noise in the inn he hadn¡¯t appreciated before. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. He¡¯s a Geller! That name means everything and yours doesn¡¯t! In fact, you don¡¯t even officially exist! Oh, Knowledge, Bell¡¯s husband is on the expedition to retrieve his Adventure Society badge!¡± wailed Hugh softly. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a good thing?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Normally yes, he¡¯s a great guy but he¡¯s not incompetent. He¡¯s a real adventurer and if there¡¯s anything to find out there, he¡¯ll find it,¡± said High. ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be anything to find. I burned it all,¡± said Dave, ignoring the butterflies in his stomach. ¡°All? Are you sure? All?¡± inquired Hugh in a low voice and smiled at a kitchen hand who put some dishes next to Dave. ¡°As much as I could find, yes, and I left Builder cultist evidence in my place,¡± said Dave and continued to explain the whole situation of meeting and eventually killing the hunting party and disposing of the bodies. ¡°Well, that does sound rather thorough but none of it will matter if you end up in front of Lady Geller answering her questions,¡± muttered Hugh. ¡°Not that I¡¯m ungrateful but for a gentle, non-violent guy you seem rather on my side about this, Hugh,¡± said Dave. Hugh looked uncomfortable for a moment before answering. ¡°Umm, well. Ross Geller¡­ You know, it couldn¡¯t have happened to a person of more theoretical virtue,¡± he said carefully. Dave raised his eyebrows. ¡°He was that bad?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m afraid so.¡± Hugh shifted uncomfortably again. ¡°We¡¯d even heard about him in the monastery. He¡¯d be in prison if he had any other name. A proper well-bred psychopath. Completely doted on by his mother. He¡¯s the cataract of her eye and can do no wrong.¡± ¡°So, there¡¯s no talking to her, hey?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Sounds like I should skip town?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Damn, I was really hoping to adventure with you.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m coming with you. I was in the same patch of woods. She¡¯ll haul me in front of her if I¡¯m available.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Her family has global influence. They basically own kingdoms and regularly produce bronze and silver ranked adventurers. Trust me. Everyone even remotely associated with this debacle is making themselves scarce.¡± ¡°Fuck.¡± ¡°Yes.¡±
Did I kill Ross Geller? Yes. And, perhaps the greatest condemnation of this reality is that nobody beat me to it.
  • Excerpt from The Booker Interviews, 2686th year of His Majesty Byzas The Great¡¯s reign.
Chapter 13: A Blessing Of Disguise
Current Quests
Justice For Courbefy: Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use¡­ Chosen Of Knowledge: Escort Hugh on his journey to becoming a fully awakened iron¡­
Hugh had made some friends in the other churches and temples over the raids and made some discreet inquiries about when it was expected Lady Geller would arrive. When asked why he wanted to know such things, no eyebrows were raised after he simply stated that he didn¡¯t want to be in town when a pissed-off silver ranker was looking for something to blame for her child¡¯s death. The answer was definitive from the church of Death itself: They had until the next Firstday. Five days'' time. Hugh had a provisional adventure society badge, which he was given as a matter of bureaucracy because of the raids. Something about not being part of a military arm of the church made a strange administrative matter and it was easier for everyone if Hugh was just issued with a provisional Adventure Society badge. Having the badge, it now meant that he could, technically, accept adventure contracts. ¡°This idea could actually work,¡± said Hugh. ¡°Don¡¯t you think? I accept a contract, we party up, as a member I¡¯m allowed to escort the unranked in training, we head out into the countryside and just wait for all this to simmer down.¡± ¡°While, at the same time, validating the choice of the Adventure Society to give you the badge because you¡¯re completing contracts. Or, that¡¯s what we¡¯ll say. Yeah, it plays,¡± said Dave. ¡°So why are we riding to temple district?¡± asked Sam. ¡°Well, um-¡± ¡°Hugh wants to pray on it with a stronger-than-usual connection to the Lady, am I right?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± said Hugh, clearly uncomfortable with Dave¡¯s way of talking about the divine. ¡°You¡¯d do well to pray for guidance yourself.¡± Dave pulled a face that expressed both distaste and acceptance. He¡¯d never been religious but the gods here seemed to objectively exist and show an active interest in their followers so he figured he¡¯d at least make awkwardly friendly overtures. He was just afraid of meeting them, discovering an ego-bound wanker personality and making an enemy before his first birthday. Or, summoning day. Whatever. ¡°Hugh, do I have a birthday? Or should it be a summoning day?¡± Hugh remained silent for several seconds but his expression shifted several times. ¡°Ahh, technically a summoning day, I suppose. But, you can call it a birthday just so everyone knows what you¡¯re talking about. Why?¡± ¡°Just wondering.¡± Hugh nodded. The team drifted into the worship area of town on paper heidels. Meg¨¨ve wasn¡¯t a large town and instead of the stately cathedrals favoured in the capitals, had a collection of churches around a plaza. ¡°Ah,¡± said Dave. ¡°That tone is ominous,¡± said Hugh. Sam smiled expectantly at Dave. ¡°A bunch of these churches have exclamation marks over the doors,¡± groaned Dave. Hugh laughed. ¡°Actually, that¡¯d make sense!¡± he said. ¡°Gods want to advance their domain through acts.¡± ¡°Would I be committing myself to a god if I took a quest?¡± asked Dave. ¡°No,¡± said Hugh. ¡°That has to be a calling that comes from within. Your quest ability seems to detect a want or need?¡± ¡°Oh, I get it,¡± said Dave. ¡°Gods want to advance their agenda so it¡¯s setting off my ability.¡± ¡°Are you going to pick them up?¡± asked Hugh. ¡°I think I might,¡± said Dave. ¡°You know, if they¡¯re alright. Depends on who the church of Death wants me to kill, hey?¡± Sam slapped Dave on the arm. ¡°Be respectful, Dave,¡± muttered Hugh. Dave rolled his eyes. ¡°They¡¯re gods! I¡¯m sure they care more about the quests I¡¯m about to take than a dumb joke.¡± ¡°They¡¯re important to us, Dave,¡± said Sam. ¡°Please be nice!¡± Dave looked at her smiling face, his shoulders slumped and he pinched the bridge of his nose. He hated looking at her when she had that face. All nervous smile and unsure eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ go ask them what they think. How about that, Sam?¡± She nodded happily. They walked up the steps to the church of Knowledge and Hugh went inside. Dave tapped on the door.
Quest: Chosen Of Knowledge
Description Hugh will be given the location of awakening stones. Escort him on his journey to becoming a fully awakened iron ranked adventurer.
Objectives Escort Hugh, protect him from danger and perform awakening stone rituals for him until he has twenty essence abilities (4/20).
Reward 1000 [Iron Spirit Coin] per awakening stone that Hugh uses.
Detailed Information
Dave accepted the quest immediately. He was going to do that anyway so it was basically free money. Well, even more free than usual. ¡°Good one?¡± asked Sam ¡°Yep,¡± said Dave and flicked his wrist to summon Tome. He pushed the floating book through the air to Sam. ¡°Tome, keep her updated on my quests, yeah?¡± The book settled into Sam¡¯s hands. ¡°Nice!¡± Sang Sam. ¡°I hope they¡¯re all like this! Free money.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see,¡± said Dave. They were already walking to the next church. Dave tapped the door to the church of Healer and read out the quest to Sam. ¡°Quest, Healer¡¯s materials, Meg¨¨ve. Description, gain Healer¡¯s favour by donating alchemy ingredients to this church. Objectives, uhh, bunch of moonlit fern, noble blooms and bark of kingswood. Reward is a little coin and¡­ permission for us to perform healing in the Meg¨¨ve area? Seriously? You need permission for that?¡± asked Dave incredulously. Sam smiled and nodded. ¡°Is Healer¡¯s domain,¡± she said quietly. ¡°Isn¡¯t there a god of travelling? Do they get pissed if I walk across the street? How does this domain stuff work?¡± said Dave, radiating dissatisfaction. Sam smiled and shrugged. ¡°Whatever. Bloody weird,¡± said Dave, shaking his head and accepting the quest.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. They walked over to the funerary church of Death. Dave tapped on the door and read out the quest again for Sam. ¡°Quest, don¡¯t kill anybody toda - oh, you smartarse!¡± Dave¡¯s brain caught up with his mouth and he barked with laughter. Sam saw the look on his face, realised he¡¯d been quoting the quest text and laughed herself with her hands covering her mouth. ¡°I guess at least some of the gods have a sense of humour then?¡± said Dave with a smirk to Sam. She just giggled more with her hands still over her mouth and nodded her head. Dave accepted the quest. It seemed reasonable. The church of Justice was next. ¡°Uhh, solve three crimes in Meg¨¨ve.¡± Dave¡¯s eyes scanned the text again and he accepted the quest. Yep. That was it. Tome showed the text to Sam who just smiled and mouthed ¡®free money¡¯ at Dave. They walked a bit to a smaller church with a grape vine motif in the architecture; the church of Vineyard. Dave tapped on the door, scanned the text and accepted the quest. ¡°Yep, just taste some wines in the area,¡± said Dave as the words appeared on Tome in front of Sam¡¯s eyes who laughed and skipped for a few steps. The church of Dominion was next. It required a bit of walking to get to since they had much larger grounds than the other churches. Dave guessed that fit with the theme of having a dominion. The other churches had long since strategically planted trees to block off the intimidating arches and spire of Dominion¡¯s church. Dave tapped on the looming door. ¡°Uhh, acquire another follower? Yeah, that¡¯s fine,¡± said Dave, accepting the quest. ¡°Pays well, too¡± ¡°Acquire another follower?¡± said Sam. She looked at Dave quizzically. ¡°Like me and Hugh are?¡± Dave quickly double checked his UI. It did say ¡®follower¡¯s menu¡¯ where he could read Sam¡¯s and Hugh¡¯s statistics. ¡°I suppose so. We¡¯ll see when it happens,¡± said Dave. They walked to the next church door with an exclamation mark; the church of Disguise. It wasn¡¯t really even its own church. Just an attachment to the church of Performance. Dave tapped the door and read. ¡°Quest, deal with disguise-¡± The door to the church shot open. ¡°Indeed, Detective Booker,¡± said a man, holding the door. He had priestly robes on with a blank, white, unadorned mask over his face. ¡°Ah, I take it you are Disguise¡¯s representative in the matter?¡± said Dave, taken aback. The mask nodded. Dave¡¯s eyes flicked over the quest text again. ¡°You want me to withhold information from my plane in this one? And, in return, you¡¯ll give me a boon of some kind?¡± ¡°Yes. My god desires this and wishes to make the trade. Do you accept?¡± said the masked man in a swift, plain voice. Sam¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°No, Dave! Be careful,¡± said Sam. Dave went into the quest details and used Stop And Think to double check. There really wasn¡¯t a lot to it. It looked like Disguise genuinely just didn¡¯t want Dave to introduce the scientific process into this plane and it was now time for a negotiation. ¡°I accept only if I may have assistance from my followers in the deal making process,¡± said Dave, thinking quickly. ¡°You may,¡± responded the man. ¡°Dave! This is gods,¡± wailed Sam quietly. Dave accepted the quest. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Sam,¡± said Dave, smirking while his heart thumped in his chest. ¡°I intend to get some good advice. I have accepted your invitation to a deal. Present your first offer.¡± ¡°Excellent,¡± said the mask. ¡°You shall be bound to be unable to express any part of the process known as the scientific method or any such similar process into this reality. In return, the god Disguise will place a boon upon you which will hide your outworlder nature.¡± Dave took a deep breath. Sam looked scared. ¡°You¡¯ll have to discuss the details of the boon with my representative who will negotiate on my behalf,¡± said Dave. ¡°And who is that?¡± asked the mask, irritated. Dave let the thought settle in his head and waited a few dramatic beats before answering. ¡°The goddess known as Knowledge,¡± said Dave. Behind Dave and Sam, Hugh burst out of the doors of the church of Knowledge at a sprint, not slowing down as he charged across the small park. Even with his iron rank fitness, Hugh arrived wheezing from the flat-out dash. ¡°I am - representative -¡± Hugh gasped, heaving out the words between breaths. ¡°Knowledge - of Knowledge. My goddess has - counter offer.¡± Dave let out a breath he hadn¡¯t realised he¡¯d been holding in. Sam just looked at him with her jaw hanging open. ¡°This is unacceptable! The deal is with you!¡± said the mask. ¡°Your god allowed for help,¡± said Hugh pompously but still huffing heavily, ¡°and Dave has asked my goddess to be his representative in a deal with your god which she has accepted. These terms are perfectly normal divine behaviour. My goddess is happy to bring in Trade to confirm.¡± ¡°My god is happy for Trade to be present-¡± ¡°Gentlemen!¡± interrupted Dave forcefully. ¡°To avoid a lot of ¡®my goddess¡¯s¡¯ and ¡®my god¡¯s¡¯, is it possible that we leave the details to the divine parties to work out in their own realm and we wait for the results? After all, it¡¯s now effectively Disguise making a deal with Knowledge but us here are using our words in a slower medium for the same result, no?¡± They both got that listening-to-a-radio look that clergy got when their gods were communicating with them. ¡°Yes!¡± said Hugh while beaming at Dave. ¡°Yes,¡± growled the masked priest of disguise, glaring daggers at Dave. After five awkward minutes of silent anger from the masked priest and smugness from Hugh, they both relaxed their posture and declared that their gods had come to an agreement. ¡°Approach,¡± said the masked priest. ¡°Let me anoint you and pass the blessing of my Lord through to your unworthy soul.¡± ¡°This is legit, then? She got the best deal she could in my interest?¡± Dave asked Hugh. ¡°Ugh, ¡®more than you know¡¯, she says,¡± said Hugh with raised eyebrows. ¡°Fair enough,¡± said Dave, matching Hugh¡¯s expression and taking a step towards the masked priest. The priest raised his hand and placed it reverently on Dave¡¯s head. ¡°May They-Who-Conceal, The Masquerade Phantom come unto me and take me as Their vessel and give blessing unto the chosen before me,¡± announced the masked priest solemnly. Dave felt an¡­ Eminence from the priest. There was an indescribable power there that Dave didn¡¯t know how to easily put words to. It hung in the air like¡­ a smell? No. A haze of feeling. An aura. Then Dave remembered that auras exist here and felt dumb. Yes, of course the priest was channelling the power of a god. What¡¯d he expect? Even so, the feeling of power was more than Dave was ready for. The touch on his forehead was the origin of where a power from an elsewhere that was from beyond his mind¡¯s abilities pressed onto him, moving his sense of self like a giant hand might fold the laundry. Dave hadn¡¯t felt this small since he¡¯d visited the Large Hadron Collider. Or this profoundly moved since he¡¯d accidentally eaten his university flatmate¡¯s special, enhanced brownies. Perhaps if he ate the brownies and visited a planetarium? That¡¯d be close to this experience. ¡°It is done. Good day!¡± announced the priest of Disguise all of a sudden and marched away. The overwhelming feeling died away but Dave could still feel its mark upon him. ¡°Well, that was something,¡± said Dave dumbly. Sam grinned up at him. ¡°You got an ability evolution,¡± said Hugh earnestly. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Huh? Oh. Did I? Umm,¡± sputtered Dave, opening his character sheet. There it was. Under his Stranger In A Strange Land ability. It¡¯d replaced essence and ability stone absorption, which Dave didn¡¯t need anymore. It was called ¡®Blessing Of Disguise¡¯. Dave read from it. ¡°In exchange for not revealing the process he knows as the scientific method to any other soul in this reality by any method, the bearer of this blessing has the following benefits: Firstly, that his outlander status shall be hidden by the power of Disguise from all methods direct and indirect. Secondly, that he shall gain a sense, through aura or magical abilities, for things which have been disguised from him in his quests. Thirdly, that his soul shall be sheltered from harm in Disguise¡¯s sight.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t help but notice that the deal the Lady got for me seems to leave open opportunities that Disguise initially wanted closed?¡± said Dave once the Disguise priest was well out of earshot. Hugh gave his whiskery grin and winked. Sam covered her mouth. ¡°Even your knowledge is Her domain,¡± said Hugh. ¡°You were right to call on Her help. Disguise has no right to stop you from spreading that knowledge, only She does. Had you done the deal without Her, you¡¯d have been transgressing Knowledge.¡± ¡°I thought it¡¯d be something like that,¡± said Dave. ¡°It looks like I can still use the method but can¡¯t spread it.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t do it while anybody is watching either by the sounds of things. Is there anything more?¡± asked Hugh. ¡°Tonnes. Lots of legalese where they define the terms of everything but the introduction covers it, I¡¯d guess. She¡¯s freed me up to do whatever I like but I can¡¯t spread it around. I guess taking it out of my head would have been a big deal?¡± ¡°Oh! Yes. That¡¯s holy war material right there.¡± ¡°Glad I skipped that then. I¡¯ve read about them in history class.¡± ¡°Wait, doesn¡¯t your reality not manifest gods?¡± asked Hugh, confused. ¡°Yeah, turns out people are pretty keen to kill each other over them anyway,¡± said Dave. Hugh cocked his head and thought about how often a manifestation had cleared up serious theological fistfights. ¡°Oh. Wow. You know, Dave, your reality is still a dark, confusing place to me.¡± ¡°Yes, but we have industrial quantities of good food and drink. Which reminds me, I¡¯m not divinely barred from introducing industrialisation.¡± Hugh gave Dave a wide-eyed look and then swivelled his head around, looking at the doors of all the churches for a few moments. Sam joined him and Dave held his breath. ¡°Nobody coming,¡± sang Sam softly. ¡°It¡­ would seem that way,¡± said Hugh with relief. ¡°Oh, good!¡± said Dave, finally letting out the breath he¡¯d been holding. ¡°Well!¡± said Hugh loudly, swinging his arms. ¡°I¡¯d better, you know, get back to my prayers?¡± Sam smiled at him and nodded. ¡°Good idea!¡± she said. ¡°Oh, yeah,¡± said Dave, who was functional but spiritually worse for wear. ¡°Of course. Thank her for me, won¡¯t you? I, ugh, I think I might go have a beer with Hero. After all that.¡± ¡°He has beer?¡± asked Sam. ¡°Bloody better. He wouldn¡¯t be much of a hero right now if he didn¡¯t,¡± said Dave, already slowly walking towards the large, wooden hall that was the church of Hero. ¡°Have fun!¡± called Sam after him with a laughing smile. ¡°Yep¡­ he¡¯s gone,¡± said Hugh. ¡°He just had a god in the head. Is a big thing but he will be fine,¡± said Sam. ¡°You want to come into the church of Knowledge with me?¡± ¡°No, I like garden. Do you think I can let out Slimy?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Chapter 14: A Good Beer
Current Quests
Justice For Courbefy: Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use¡­ Chosen Of Knowledge: Escort Hugh on his journey to becoming a fully awakened iron¡­ Healer¡¯s Materials: Gain Healer¡¯s favour by donating alchemy ingredients to the church¡­ Don¡¯t Kill Anybody Today: Death doesn¡¯t want you to kill anybody today, thank you. Crimes Of Meg¨¨ve: Justice wants you to solve three crimes in the Meg¨¨ve area. Wine tour: Vineyard wants you to try the different wines in the Meg¨¨ve area. Acquire Follower: Dominion wants you to gain another follower.
Dave rolled his eyes as he accepted the quest from the church of Hero while casually pushing open the church door. ¡°Oh, Chosen Of Hero, hey? Yeah, this¡¯s gonna be easy,¡± he grumbled to himself, eyes flicking over the text in front of his face. ¡°What¡¯sit say? Travel north, Lake Auvernier, blah, blah, find chosen, recruit to adventure, blah, blah, blah¡­ ten silver pieces and a blessing. Cool. No fuckin¡¯ problem.¡± He wandered into the Church of Hero like he owned the place. There was seating and a raised dais as per the usual church setup but regular statues of heroic figures with plaques on the bases were about the room. ¡°You in here, Hero?¡± called Dave, not really expecting a reply. A head poked out around a door a few moments later. ¡°My lord says to head to the beer garden at the back!¡± shouted the man. ¡°Just that door over there and keep going!¡± ¡°Thanks, mate!¡± said Dave with a wave and started wandering towards that door, maintaining the confidence of someone with no fucks left to give. Dave walked to the back area of the church as instructed and found it led outside. The church had a bar recessed into the wall with a deck and a pergola to relax in. There were two pints of beer sitting on an elbow high table at the far end of the deck. ¡°Pick a beer, I¡¯ll be out in a second,¡± said a voice from through a door behind the bar. Dave felt a Presence with the voice. It wasn¡¯t a god but it washed over him and felt like it encompassed the space between every atom. Some kind of demi-god? Was that a thing? Still not giving a fuck and figuring not to disappoint such a person, Dave strolled over to the beer and dragged one of them in front of him. He leaned on the table while he waited for the voice to collect theirs and looked at the garden. It was a nice garden with wildflowers in raised beds and some local bushes making the enclosing hedges. Good place to do yoga. ¡°Hey!¡± said the voice, bustling over to Dave from behind the bar. ¡°Had to tap a new keg. Was just getting rid of the old one.¡± Dave turned his head to see a friendly, looking celestine face that radiated power which, somehow, Dave could tell wasn¡¯t hers. She had lustrous bronze hair and a stocky build that gave the impression she could shoulder her way through a door if she wanted to. ¡°Natalia, but I¡¯m channelling myself; Hero,¡± said the celestine, offering her hand. ¡°Dave,¡± said Dave, taking the hand. ¡°Channelling?¡± ¡°Projecting into a follower instead of manifesting. Less taxing on everyone involved,¡± said Hero through Natalia. ¡°I got the sense you¡¯d had enough direct divine intervention for one day.¡± ¡°Too right,¡± said Dave. They picked up their glasses, tapped them together and took a gulp of beer and sighed in contentment at the taste. ¡°So, you come to my church for guidance?¡± asked Hero. ¡°Yeah. What the hell is going on?¡± said Dave, shaking his head in disbelief. Hero settled Natalia¡¯s body onto the table with her elbows beside Dave overlooking the garden with him. ¡°In your parlance, shit is about to kick off, Dave.¡± Hero took another sip and continued. ¡°I¡¯ll admit, I¡¯m mostly just following Knowledge. She¡¯s putting folks in places all over the world and won¡¯t tell anyone why. But, Warrior, Soldier, myself and a few of the other gods too, we know what it looks like before a fight. This world is going to see battle like it never has before. I can feel it.¡± ¡°And battles make heroes of people, don¡¯t it?¡± said Dave, wryly. Hero raised Natalia¡¯s glass. ¡°Yep! Please don¡¯t grudge me my only job, Dave.¡± Dave sighed. ¡°Yeah, fair enough. It¡¯s just¡­ there¡¯s a lot of nice people who¡¯ll get dead. Heroic teachers not good enough? Heroic surgeons?¡± ¡°They are,¡± said Hero with a smirk, looking over the garden. ¡°Saw a lot of weapons on those statues inside,¡± remarked Dave, also staring over the garden. Some birds were flitting from tree to tree and were quite eye-catching. ¡°People around here like weaponed heroes the most,¡± said Hero with a shrug. ¡°There¡¯s a place in southern Africa where they¡¯re all about the best river rowers. It¡¯s a cultural thing.¡± ¡°Militant cultures, hey? Popular choice in every universe. That quest you gave me? I¡¯m supposed to turn some poor chump into a hero, hey? Train your champion?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°And who is this poor sod?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know them when you see them,¡± said Hero mischievously. ¡°It¡¯s real story book stuff.¡± ¡°Bloody hell. That¡¯s a bit ominous, you know? Are they going to survive?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. All I know is that they¡¯re going to be a hero and you''re the best option to make it happen.¡± Dave sighed and looked down into his beer. ¡°Why me?¡± Hero put a hand on his back. ¡°We tried someone else but making good decisions wasn¡¯t their thing. So, Knowledge brought you in. Someone who¡¯ll do the work that needs doing. That¡¯s what we were aiming for.¡± ¡°We?¡± ¡°Yes, the pantheon.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t summoned by accident, then?¡± Hero moved Natalia¡¯s head in a side-to-side, uncommitted kind of way. ¡°Specifically you, specifically by Hugh then and there? That was an accident. But, someone like you coming into this world between now and a future event? That was intentional. Don¡¯t think about it too hard. It¡¯s god-level stuff. Interfering with the fundamentals of reality and stuff.¡± Dave nodded. He guessed it was a bit like meteorology. It could only be expressed in terms of probability and any particular prediction would either make them look like soothsayers or liars but the people asking the questions always wanted certainty. ¡°You think I can do it?¡± said Dave, taking a pull from his glass. ¡°The heroic quests?¡± Hero nodded seriously while watching the birds. ¡°Warrior and I asked Knowledge the same thing. Want to know what she said?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± said Dave with a shrug. ¡°She said barring an untimely death, the only real question was how many nations your heroes would kill.¡± ¡°My heroes?¡± ¡°Your racial ability. I can feel it. You¡¯re going to make a line of heroes like this world has never seen.¡± Dave sighed. ¡°How many will they kill?¡± ¡°Countless¡± ¡°How many will they save?¡± ¡°The same.¡± ¡°Will the same amount of death happen even if I do nothing?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Sounds like I don¡¯t matter much. Just another hand on the scales of fate?¡± Hero nodded and raised Natalia¡¯s glass to him. ¡°Good luck, Dave.¡± And drained the glass. Hero left Natalia¡¯s body. She was a little disoriented but as he refilled their glasses, she described the experience as basically just doing what the voices in her head told her to do. She just went with it. Dave continued drinking with her for a while. She was the solid type, not rattled in the slightest. ¡°No, it¡¯s fine,¡± she said in an accent that really settled deeply into the O and U vowels. ¡°The world needs heroes sometimes and it sounds like you¡¯re about to make a few.¡± She winked at him. ¡°You¡¯re basically clergy already.¡± ¡°Unwillingly,¡± said Dave, rolling his eyes. ¡°Ohh, eh? That¡¯s life for ya!¡± she chuckled in reply. Dave grinned into his beer. ¡°Any advice?¡± ¡°Oooh, lad. Just get out there and do the best you can.¡± Natalia took a gulp of beer and continued. ¡°It sounds like life¡¯s going to be coming at you and coming at you hard. All you¡¯ll be able to do is make the best decision you can. So just do it.¡± Dave pulled on his beer and nodded. ¡°One foot in front of the other, hey?¡± Natalia nodded and they watched the birds for a while and drank. ¡°Yeah, I better get going,¡± Dave said eventually. ¡°Yep, the Lord tells me that he hears that Hugh will be done soon. Good luck, adventurer. The Lord says you can drop by any church for a chat any time you¡¯re about,¡± said Natalia. ¡°Thanks! I appreciate it,¡± said Dave and waved as he walked back through the church and back into the pubic area where Sam was strolling about, feeding sticks into her all-eating slime. ¡°You good to go?¡± asked Dave as he walked to her. Sam just smiled and nodded up at him. ¡°Hugh will come out soon, I think. Which sticks does Slimy like best?¡± ¡°Fresh sticks! Turns fresh sticks into mulch!¡± ¡°Or fresh humans,¡± said Dave wryly. Sam covered her mouth as she grinned guiltily at Dave while searching for the tastiest sticks. Hugh came out a few minutes later. He looked content and at ease with himself. ¡°My lady tells me you¡¯re ready to train me?¡± said Hugh. ¡°I guess. Can I have the Chateau Chamois estate as the location to set up a research school?¡± Hugh grinned. ¡°She says ¡®not yet¡¯ but there¡¯s a cheeky feeling with it.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll train you anyway, you big bugger!¡± Dave slapped Hugh on the arm. ¡°Sam will help. She¡¯s more savage than me.¡± Hugh looked at Sam who mimed kicking him and laughed at his astonished expression. ¡°You know, I¡¯ve never really done any fighting,¡± said Hugh self consciously. ¡°We¡¯ve done a bit. It¡¯s a learned skill, just like anything else,¡± said Dave with Sam nodding encouragement. ¡°As long as you treat it like learning any other subject, you¡¯ll get there. We just have to figure out how bad you are before we really begin.¡± Hugh looked sheepish. ¡°You think I¡¯m that bad?¡± he said. ¡°Everyone is,¡± said Dave, rolling his eyes and thinking about all those young men who walked into his old MMA gym thinking they were going to walk out a badass but ended up wheezing for oxygen after the warmup exercises. ¡°Well, my Lady says that you know unarmed techniques that nobody on this planet has ever thought of!¡± said Hugh, beaming. ¡°Oh, that can¡¯t be¡­¡± Dave trailed off, thinking. Actually, that might be true. The 10th Planet style of jiu-jitsu was only about twenty years old and innovations that¡¯d come out of that gym were pretty unique. A few sweeps and submissions that hadn¡¯t existed before. And, this reality seemed progressively stunted compared to his home reality. It suddenly dawned on Dave. ¡°Hugh¡­ do I have access to several hundred years of martial innovations that don¡¯t exist in this reality?¡± ¡°My Lady says that the answer is a light ¡®yes¡¯,¡± said Hugh. Dave¡¯s mind reeled. He turned to Sam. ¡°Sam, you know some fighting. What¡¯s the most important punch in boxing?¡± ¡°Umm, all of them?¡± She smiled her unsure smile. ¡°Oh, God.¡± Hugh looked at him. ¡°Gods.¡± Dave corrected himself with a shrug.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Both of Dave¡¯s companions continued looking at him with mild puzzlement. ¡°The correct answer is the jab but it seems it hasn¡¯t been invented yet.¡± They both maintained the same look. ¡°I¡¯ll show you tomorrow during training.¡± They began walking out of the park. ¡°What do we do now? Lunch time?¡± asked Hugh. ¡°Yep!¡± said Dave. ¡°What do you want, Sam?¡± ¡°Hotpot!¡± ¡°Not sure that¡¯s on the menu,¡± said Dave, with a questioning look at Hugh who shook his head. ¡°How about a fish stew? I hear that¡¯s nice.¡± ¡°Oh, it is,¡± cut in Hugh, nodding vigorously. ¡°Alright!¡± grinned Sam.
There was a hot serving pot full of what Dave could only describe as general marine life stew for lunch. There was fish, shellfish and molluscs in with a bunch of turnip-like things and some aromatics. It was emblematic of Dave¡¯s experiences in this world, both familiar and alien together. It was served to their table with a loaf of bread. The team discussed plans. They had to get out of town, and quickly. ¡°We can leave tomorrow morning, if we¡¯re quick,¡± said Hugh, who was thoroughly enjoying the stew. ¡°Dave should be able to use Epistemology to get our measurements and order some decent adventuring clothes from the tailor. Just ask for something tailored to be loose fitting from the retainer¡¯s folio. They¡¯ll have that ready to go. While that¡¯s being made we can go to the adventurer¡¯s hall and browse what gear is available -¡± ¡°I can¡¯t!¡± interrupted Sam. ¡°If someone has identification power.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± said Dave, cutting in. He was already telekinetically writing down everyone¡¯s measurements in Tome. ¡°You can go to the massage place I saw earlier. You can have a nice steam bath, get your nails done and have a back rub while Hugh and I are in the hall. We can take our time.¡± ¡°We sure can!¡± said Hugh heartily. ¡°After that, we should be out in time to browse the adventuring goods store if there¡¯s anything we don¡¯t find in the hall. We¡¯re going to want collapsible beds and suchlike, if I understand your cabin spell correctly?¡± Sam smiled and nodded vigorously. ¡°Yeah, for sure,¡± said Dave with a glance at Sam. The Comfortable Country Cabin was secure and had a nice temperature which was more than most people got while camping. ¡°Furniture doesn¡¯t come with the summon. Chairs and a table if possible?¡± ¡°We won¡¯t be able to afford the best but we should be comfortable,¡± said Hugh. ¡°This plane have folding chairs? I¡¯d be fine with them. The ones with a backrest?¡± asked Dave. ¡°We sure do,¡± smiled Hugh through his whiskers. Sam nodded and grinned earnestly. ¡°Four chairs and a table. All folding if we can get it. Simple stuff. Most of our coin we should be spending on gear to keep us alive, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I was thinking too,¡± said Hugh, clasping Dave on the shoulder. ¡°So, with clothes, armour and survival gear taken care of, we can put in an order with the bakers overnight, wake up tomorrow morning, pick it all up and ride out. That¡¯ll work for you both?¡± ¡°Oh! Need to buy good armour and weapons for skeletons!¡± said Sam with a concerned smile to Hugh. ¡°We probably can¡¯t afford to give them anything enchanted. Just iron rank spears and shields. Hope that¡¯s enough?¡± said Dave. Sam nodded happily. ¡°Alright, and Dave? Can you help me put some awakening stones in me this evening?¡± said High. ¡°You know I will,¡± said Dave. Sam smiled happily and clapped her hands at Hugh. ¡°Then, let¡¯s do it!¡± said Hugh with triumph. As they got moving and left the cafe, Dave saw the reflection of the group in the glass of a shop as they went by. He gave a small smile at the moment of perfect representation that it was. Hugh, tall and broad of chest with a face full of beard and ruddy face looking pleased. Sam behind, shy but brimming with nervous happiness and Dave, looking sharp as a tack but distracted by a book. He sure hoped they wouldn¡¯t die.
Dave handed in their measurements at the tailor¡¯s asking for five outfits each once he saw the price tag. ¡°Yes, the retainers collection only has a weak self repair enchantment on unranked cloth. It¡¯ll cover you and look relatively fashionable from a distance but it lacks the self cleaning, comfort and minor protection enchantments of high quality cloth that adventurers usually favour,¡± said the tailor. ¡°Sounds perfect for what me and my team need. We¡¯re new at adventuring so I¡¯m thinking we¡¯ll wait a bit to see if we live long enough to be worth the investment of anything fashionable,¡± quipped Dave. ¡°Even so sir, working with normal ranked cloth will give me more freedom to customise the style and the fit. For only an extra copper, if sir could tell me the status and image each of you wishes to project? Perhaps your professions? I could lend some fashion sense to your outdoors look.¡± A copper wasn¡¯t much considering how much good weapons and armour were going to cost. Dave nodded to Hugh. ¡°Monk of Knowledge, previously doing astral research,¡± said Hugh, grinning at Dave. Monks didn¡¯t get a lot of clothing options so this was quite the occasion for him. ¡°I am gardener!¡± piped up Sam through her smile. ¡°I recently had a career change into detective,¡± said Dave. The tailor raised an eyebrow at him. ¡°I got a quest ability.¡± ¡°Quite so, sir,¡± said the tailor. ¡°I¡¯ll have them ready by tomorrow morning, as you requested.¡± Dave gave a reserved bow and thanked the man before leaving the shop. ¡°Okay, Sam. This is yours,¡± said Dave, handing her five bronze coins. ¡°Too much, Dave!¡± laughed Sam at the copious amount of money. ¡°I did a word search for the shop¡¯s name. Just tell them you want the ¡®half silver¡¯ treatment. Apparently that¡¯s a special, pampered treatment they don¡¯t advertise. The notes I read didn¡¯t say why. All I know is that the nobles all recommend it for each other after a hunting trip.¡± Sam nodded and smiled nervously at the coins in her hand. In the end, her shyness won out and Hugh went into the shop to pay while Sam stayed with Dave. Hugh soon came out with a bathhouse employee. ¡°Sam, is it?¡± said the bathhouse uniformed man. ¡°Yes, we don¡¯t advertise the half-silver because we like it to seem more exclusive to our more discerning clientele. As a personal friend of The Running Monk,¡± the bathhouse employee grinned at Hugh, ¡°we would be happy to include you. Right this way.¡± The employee indicated that Sam should walk past him. ¡°Get in there, Sam, don¡¯t be shy,¡± muttered Dave while smiling at her. Hugh beamed at her through his whiskers and indicated she should follow Dave¡¯s instructions. Self consciously, grinning wide, she walked towards the bathhouse. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do,¡± she confessed quietly to the employee. ¡°You relax and let us do all -¡± said the employee gently before the closing door cut him off. Both Dave and Hugh were smirking at the building. ¡°Too shy for her own good,¡± said Dave and shook his head affectionately. ¡°Oh, she¡¯s lovely, isn¡¯t she?¡± said Hugh heartily. ¡°Adventurer¡¯s hall?¡± ¡°Nah, I want to put an order in with a glazier first. Then we can head to the adventurer¡¯s hall.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± The stop at the glazier was quick and they soon progressed to the adventure hall, Hugh¡¯s provisional membership causing a momentary pause and a shrug with the door from the doorman before they were waved in. Meg¨¨ve was a small town and so there was only a single magical items shop. Dave and Hugh browsed the store slowly with Dave using his identification ability looking over items, making notes and comparing prices and Hugh, getting excited and testing the limits of Dave¡¯s identification ability. ¡°How about now? Has the description changed?¡± asked Hugh, putting a handful of fire quintessence in front of a wand. ¡°Yep, still the same description,¡± said Dave, smiling at Hugh¡¯s enthusiasm. ¡°But you¡¯re right, how does it know? The fire¡­ particles, I guess? Are completely drowning out the cold particles and yeah, sure, the ability could be more sensitive than my magic senses-¡± ¡°But how could it be? You¡¯re iron rank and Eldritch Eyes is easily the best ability for sensing pure magic.¡± ¡°Yeah, good point so the ability must be more sensitive than iron rank and have some way of differentiating sources.¡± ¡°Fascinating, isn¡¯t it? What if we put two similar items-¡± ¡°Are you two going to buy anything?¡± called the store¡¯s manager. Dave and Hugh pulled guilty faces at each other. ¡°Ahh, yes. Sorry. This wand, these vambraces, the boots, this sash, the cuirass and helmet. Thanks,¡± said Dave, handing over a small pile of money to placate the store manager after putting all the gear on the counter. ¡°Didn¡¯t mean anything by it, Missus Colbert. I hope you¡¯re having a nice day,¡± said Hugh, trying the personable approach. Missus Colbert eyed Hugh suspiciously but seemed mollified. ¡°Death enchantments? Do you know an enchanter that I don¡¯t?¡± said the woman, still giving Hugh a cross, matronly look. She didn¡¯t notice Dave momentarily freezing while he used Stop And Think to look up what an enchanter was and figure out why she¡¯d make that comment. ¡°Actually, I was thinking of taking up enchanting. As you heard, I have identification powers, Eldritch Eyes and a rituals power. Enchanting would suit me, don¡¯t you think? And, I heard that since restricted kit always sells for so cheap that it¡¯s good practice for the art,¡± said Dave. ¡°That it would,¡± said Missus Colbert and chewed on her lip like she didn¡¯t enjoy admitting any positive aspect of Dave. ¡°You definitely enjoy magical theory enough. Both of you.¡± ¡°Sorry again, Missus Colbert. Actually, while I have your attention, is there anything you¡¯d recommend for a bit of light adventuring for me? Since I¡¯m just getting into it?¡± asked Hugh wholeheartedly. With crossed arms, Missus Colbert tapped her foot and gave Hugh a thin-lipped smile. ¡°Well, since you¡¯ve asked, let me know your budget,¡± she said and walked briskly to the consumables area of the shop. ¡°And where you¡¯re going.¡± ¡°About three gold,¡± said Dave, eyes flicking over his UI. ¡°We could go up to four but that¡¯d eat into what we¡¯ve put aside for getting some decent outdoors gear, five leather armour sets for our teammate¡¯s summons and snacks to make life worth living. And, we¡¯re heading north up to Lake Auvernier¡± ¡°Well, what you¡¯ve put on the counter will set you back two and a bit. You¡¯re all set on potions?¡± ¡°We are indeed, Missus Colbert,¡± said Hugh with a whiskery smile full of gratitude. ¡°You all have proper potion belts? Or the like?¡± Hugh looked at Dave who quickly looked up what that meant. Potion belts was a colloquial term for a bandolier style belt that held potions and was enchanted to protect the potions from breaking. ¡°I have the like but my two companions do not, Missus Colbert.¡± She snatched a box of potions from the shelf and strode back to the counter, Hugh and Dave in tow, and took up two potion bandolier belts as she went. ¡°Burst of speed potions,¡± said Missus Colbert briskly. ¡°Everything really dangerous up that way is either slow, like trolls, or can¡¯t climb trees, like wolves. These will put your potions in refectory but get you out without spirit coin sickness or any kind of potion sickness. Just make sure you¡¯re smart about your stamina because you¡¯ll still get just as tired for covering the same distance like you¡¯d run it.¡± Dave selected the potions, used Stop And Think and ran his usual suite of informative abilities. The potions gave thirty seconds of the speed attribute being doubled. He did a little comparison with a few books and found out that he¡¯d be able to run at about sixty kilometres per hour while under the effects of that potion. Trolls were surprisingly slow and topped out at about twenty-five kilometres per hour, which most human sprinters could achieve. If the cross woman was right, and Dave thought she was, these two dozen potions, as expensive as they were, would be a much cheaper option than taking silver spirit coins to get out of danger. He quibbled in his mind for a moment about how they could just take bronze spirit coins instead but he already knew that Missus Colbert was right. If you¡¯d screwed up enough to need an escape, chances are you were in deeper than a bronze coin could save you. And, that wasn¡¯t even taking into account that you could take one of these and then still take the coin afterwards. ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re a good investment,¡± said Dave. ¡°We¡¯ll take them.¡± Normally there was a bit of haggling over the price but Dave had used Epistemology and already knew how much each item was worth. This almost turned Missus Colbert sour until Hugh mentioned that Dave could give her a generous tip. Dave offered her three silver or that he could scry some financial information for her. ¡°I want the quintessence market report from Oullins,¡± said Missus Colbert sharply with a wicked smile. ¡°Uhh, sure!¡± said Dave, surprised at her sharpness. At Missus Colbert¡¯s instruction he cast The Stationary Scry Of Farseeing into a handy mirror and placed his magical sensor at a public board in Oullins that listed quintessence and prices they were currently buying and selling at. Missus Colbert went for a pen. ¡°Allow me, Missus Colbert,¡± said Dave and telekinetically brought five pens at once to summoned paper. ¡°Simply state or point at the entries you¡¯re interested in.¡± ¡°Can you do the whole board?¡± asked Missus Colbert, her look becoming almost predatory. ¡°Absolutely,¡± said Dave. His pens began flicking back and forth over the papers in a fast but still readable script. A few minutes later he was handing over about five pages of buying and selling prices for all the most common quintessence trades in Oullins. ¡°Ooh, yes. You¡¯ve not going to get me with your ¡®standard prices¡¯ this time Noal Linville,¡± said Missus Colbert. She looked only a single step away from cackling. ¡°Hugh, you bring this young man back from adventuring safe and sound, you hear me? You hear that, young man? Come back and do this again for me.¡± Hugh burst into hearty laughter that seemed to make Missus Colbert suddenly self aware and she started laughing too. Dave followed them vicariously. ¡°We¡¯ll do our best, Missus Colbert,¡± he said with his whiskery smile. ¡°Give our best to Mister Colbert won¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Indeed do,¡± added Dave. ¡°Oh, thank you boys. Have a good trip,¡± said Missus Colbert shooing them out of her shop, still smiling. Dave and Hugh stopped in at the combined weaponsmith and armourer and were quickly informed that five shields and spears all made of iron rank material with no enchantments was almost too easy. ¡°For five pixelaxe summons, you say?¡± said the smith who had the most adventuring experience when Hugh had explained their situation. ¡°Look, summons aren¡¯t a smart bunch. They¡¯ll just keep jamming the spear points in. Without a self repair enchantment you¡¯ll go through a couple of spears and shields? We¡¯ll they¡¯re supposed to take hits, you know? You¡¯ll definitely go through a couple of them. Why are you avoiding enchantments? If you don¡¯t mind me asking, o¡¯ course¡± ¡°Just keeping costs down,¡± piped up Dave from behind Hugh. ¡°We can¡¯t afford the nice stuff yet but it¡¯s better to have something rather than nothing until we¡¯ve got enough of that adventurer money, you know?¡± The grizzled smoulder nodded sagely. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s fair. It can be expensive to equip all a summoner¡¯s minions. Can I upsell you to ten of each?¡± ¡°I think you could!¡± boomed Hugh, who liked chatting with the smiths. ¡°Dave, for the price quoted.¡± ¡°Yeah we can easily afford ten,¡± said Dave and nodded at the smith. ¡°Do it.¡± Hugh quickly wrapped up his chat with the smiths and dragged Dave away from looking at the enchantment infusion magic in the pieces around the shop. They dropped by the glazier and headed back to Sam. They stopped in at the glazier to pick up Dave¡¯s order and rode their origami mounts back to Sam. Even with all their detours to buy foldable camping furniture and place food orders along the way, Madam Bonnaire was still applying clothes to Sam when they got there. ¡°Of course! What did you think pampering means? She will leave here looking and feeling like the princess she is!¡± exclaimed Madam Bonnaire when they asked if it would be much longer. It was past mid afternoon. ¡°No problem Madam Bonnaire! We were only inquiring. We¡¯ll be at the public house over there in the meantime. Would you kindly let Sam know where we are when it¡¯s time for her to leave?¡± said Hugh. Madam Bonnaire accepted the implied apology and allowed them both to leave. Dave and Hugh relaxed in the Pub¡¯s outdoor seating while Hugh communed with Knowledge while Dave worked on reverse engineering a lightning bolt spell. It was another hour before Madam Bonnaire gave them both a brief wave and they met a radiant Sam. She was wearing a functional apron-dress with a white blouse and petticoats. She ran over, hugged Dave and cried. Dave, accepting this new reality, just pat her on the back and let her get it out. ¡°Thank you, Dave,¡± said Sam. ¡°You make happy life again, ka!¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯d have got there eventually, Sam. I was just the kick in the pants you needed. It was Hugh and his faith who made sure we met,¡± said Dave above her hair. Sam swapped Dave out for Hugh. ¡°Thank you for taking me out of mountains,¡± sniffled Sam. Hugh took over back patting responsibilities and completely enveloped Sam in his husky frame. ¡°Those had better be happy tears ruining her look,¡± scolded Madam Bonnaire. Dave used Grand Wizard¡¯s Gravitas to clear Sam¡¯s face of tears. ¡°If your look needs something then this is a timely gift for you Sam,¡± said Dave and handed over the box he¡¯d got from the glazier¡¯s shop. She opened the plain box which was padded with paper. Inside was a nice, silver hand mirror. ¡°You can touch up your appearance with this, if you like. Remember, I broke that little mirror of yours a week ago and even though you don¡¯t seem to worry about your appearance much, I figured I¡¯d get you a nice replacement. I got it engraved on the back,¡± said Dave. Sam turned the mirror over. It read in a neat cursive script ¡®For Sam. You¡¯re a lifesaver. From Dave.¡¯ She smiled widely into the mirror and her eyes started glinting again. ¡°I couldn¡¯t see properly, it was dark, the plan was going wrong. I¡¯d have died without you turning back to help so, here you go,¡± said Dave awkwardly while gesturing his fingers to start Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas on Sam again. Madam Bonnaire peered over Sam¡¯s shoulder and eyed her face as the tears spontaneously formed into droplets streaming away from her cheeks at Dave¡¯s direction. ¡°He can clean, use pretty words and can show gratitude. Not bad. You told me he is just a friend?¡± Sam smiled and nodded. Madame Bonnaire tutted. ¡°Dave, one day you will either make a woman very happy or be murdered by her,¡± said Madam Bonnaire with a warning tone. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ going to take that as a compliment, Madam Bonnaire,¡± said Dave with a bow. ¡°And if you could just show me an invoice I¡¯ll hand over some more coin.¡± Dave settled up with Madam Bonnaire and, summoning another mount for Sam, followed Hugh to Madam Orabelle¡¯s. He inquired along the way what awakening stones Hugh had. ¡°Oh, there¡¯s navigation, magus, purgation, karma, adventure and liberty,¡± said Hugh, ticking them off on his fingers as he went. ¡°And, they have to be taken in that order. That¡¯s what my Lady asked.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have some faith that there¡¯s good reasons for that,¡± said Dave with a smirk. ¡°You¡¯d better,¡± said Hugh with an attempt at a dark look through his bushy face. Sam giggled. ¡°Oh, I do!¡± said Dave brightly. ¡°She¡¯s always seemed very intelligent. Never caught her being wrong about anything!¡± He poked his tongue out at Hugh. ¡°Dave, I¡¯m not sure you¡¯re allowed to use compliments as heresy,¡± said Hugh half-heartedly and then paused, listening. Sam put her hands over her big smile in anticipation. ¡°Wait, nevermind, she says you can.¡± Dave looked into the distance dramatically and shook his head as though in appreciation or disbelief. ¡°Perfect woman,¡± he said wistfully. Sam giggled again and Hugh smacked Dave¡¯s arm while booming laughter into the street. Chapter 15: What鈥檇 you get?
Current Quests
Justice For Courbefy: Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use¡­ Chosen Of Knowledge: Escort Hugh on his journey to becoming a fully awakened iron¡­ Healer¡¯s Materials: Gain Healer¡¯s favour by donating alchemy ingredients to the church¡­ Don¡¯t Kill Anybody Today: Death doesn¡¯t want you to kill anybody today, thank you. Crimes Of Meg¨¨ve: Justice wants you to solve three crimes in the Meg¨¨ve area. Wine tour: Vineyard wants you to try the different wines in the Meg¨¨ve area. Acquire Follower: Dominion wants you to gain another follower. Chosen Of Hero: Travel north to Lake Auvernier, find the chosen of Hero and recruit¡­
The team parked their origami mounts outside Orabelle¡¯s and, dust streaming off them from Dave¡¯s cleaning magic, took a seat at a table inside the inn. As they took their seats, Hugh¡¯s friendly face got a serving man¡¯s attention and he held up fingers indicating three beers. Hugh put the awakening stones on the table which drew the immediate ire of Bell. ¡°What¡¯s what? You¡¯re not drawing any rituals on my floor, adventurer!¡± warned Bell. ¡°He doesn¡¯t need to!¡± sang Sam, ¡°He has-¡± ¡°Oh, yes! You said he has his book?¡± said Bell, apologetically, her entire demeanour changing. ¡°I take it all back. Can you show me, Dave?¡± Dave used his cantrip, Evocation of Learned Spellbook, to summon Tome to his hand. He was pretty sure that when unsummoned, it was residing inside his brain. He¡¯d read the details of the spell and his familiar could find its own way out. He¡¯d done it that way once while Sam was sleeping. It felt very bulky upon the exit. The cantrip version was more comfortable and also provided extra utility in summoning it to Dave¡¯s side even if it was already manifested. displayed Tome, hanging in front of Bell. ¡°Please, call me Bell. So, I hear that you can do rituals without any mess?¡± ¡°And he understands how to do an awakening stone ritual?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s very kind of you, Professor Tome,¡± said Bell with a curtsy. ¡°Oh, and I forgot, I can just clean it up if I poured ritual salt on the floor,¡± said Dave. ¡°You don¡¯t even need to try, do you?¡± said Bell with mock derision, throwing her hands in the air. ¡°You just make a mess wherever you like and just magic it away, don¡¯t you? Other men need to put in effort and learn to clean but not you Dave!¡± Dave laughed along with everyone else at her performance. ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry, sweetie, I did forget you can do that. You do your ritual with Friar Abberton then.¡± Dave took tome and opened it up to a page where he¡¯d written his own notes on what each part of the awakening ritual does. He quickly refreshed it all, visualised the image and willed Tome to open to the ritual page. To Dave¡¯s great relief, it worked. He breathed out. ¡°Well, let¡¯s see what you get. Hugh, you want Sam to hold that bag? Just in case you get a throwing stuff ability or something, you know?¡± ¡°Oh!? Err, yes!¡± said Hugh, realising that it was a good idea. He handed the small bag of awakening stones to Sam who practically hugged the precious stones to herself and smiled her most proud smile up at Hugh who couldn¡¯t help but be proud of himself in return. Hugh took a navigation stone out of his pocket. It had a clear rectangle in the middle which was surrounded by markings that he guessed was used for navigation by the sun. Hugh put his hand on Tome with Dave who activated the ritual. Dave¡¯s eyes went to the text box in left lower left vision and mentally clicked on the ability as its hyperlink appeared in the text. Since Hugh was in Dave¡¯s party, Professor Tome could publish the ability on its pages for everyone to read.
Ability: Self-updating Map
Essence: Knowledge Rank: Iron 0 0% to iron 1 Awakening Stone: Navigation
Type: Ability Tags: Navigation, utility Cost: n/a
Cooldown: n/a
Description Self-updating map. Unveils and maps areas as they are explored.
Detailed Information
Hugh¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Oh! This is so great in writing. It¡¯s so unfair that you Earth outworlders keep getting these identification abilities.¡± He scrabbled in his pack for a pen and paper. Dave held up a hand to forstall him and just manifested a bit of paper and used his Telekinetic Scribe ability to write it all out at once with five pens that he kept about his person. ¡°Thanks!¡± said Hugh. ¡°I have a writing-things-down ability and the ability to replay my life. If you ever want a written copy of anything, just ask. You take awakening stones, I¡¯ll make documents,¡± said Dave, using Pauper¡¯s Paper Production to make a handful of note paper. ¡°Well then,¡± said Hugh awkwardly, ¡°can you¡­?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you a comprehensive copy of your abilities by tomorrow morning. How many copies do you want?¡± ¡°Two. No! Three. A spare, just in case.¡± ¡°Sure thing, mate. What¡¯s the next magic rock?¡± ¡°Magus!¡± ¡°Slap the book!¡± Tome shuffled out of Dave¡¯s reach. ¡°I mean, place your hand reverently on the esteemed Professor.¡± Tome shuffled back into Dave¡¯s reach and he enacted the ritual, faster this time, with Hugh who used his awakening stone of the magus which looked like a quartz that was overly colourful. It awakened a new mystic essence ability.
Ability: Project Elements
Essence: Mystic Rank: Iron 0 0% to iron 1 Awakening Stone: Magus
Type: Special ability Tags: Elemental damage, channelled Cost: Variable mana per second
Cooldown: None
Description Project a beam of damage of the type of your current physical form. Damage and mana costs vary with each form. The streams can be concentrated or spread into a cone but the cone will have the same overall power as the stream but spread out. Air: Low mana per second. Earth: Medium mana per second. Fire: Medium mana per second. Water: Low mana per second. Transcendent: High mana per second
Detailed Information
¡°Huh!¡± said Dave, mentally clicking on the detailed information. ¡°What if you¡¯ve got no for- Oh, transcendent. Not a whole lot of damage either but it¡¯s all you¡¯ve got unless you take a form. Good burst damage but a mana suck. I¡¯ll give you a breakdown of the numbers in the notes.¡± ¡°Appreciate it. Purgation stone now.¡± ¡°Where¡¯d you get these anyway?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Gifts from the local churches and societies who were grateful for the warning.¡± ¡°Fair enough.¡± Dave and Hugh used the professor once more.
Ability: Cleanse Ally
Essence: Life Rank: Iron 0 0% to iron 1 Awakening Stone: Purgation
Type: Spell Tags: Recovery, cleanse, holy Cost: Medium mana
Cooldown: 20 seconds
Description Cleanse all non-bleeding curses, diseases, poisons and afflictions from a single ally.
Detailed Information
¡°Oh, I like that one!¡± said Sam, bouncing excitedly and patting Hugh on the arm. ¡°I can¡¯t cure, but I¡¯ve been reading about monsters where you need to remove afflictions or people just die! Your ability is very good!¡± ¡°Glad to have it but not looking forward to needing to use it,¡± he said with his signature whiskery smile. ¡°You can also use it to heal people in towns you go to!¡± exclaimed Sam as she realised this fact. ¡°Oh? Oh, yes. I suppose I can. I¡¯m already healing people I meet. I¡¯ve asked the priest of the Healer in charge of this region and she says it¡¯s fine. I¡¯d better check with her if my new cleansing power is fine.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure it is. Is this something the gods will work out or should we send a letter?¡± asked Dave. ¡°I¡¯ll have to contact her,¡± ¡°Want me to send a letter with my ability?¡± ¡°Won¡¯t be necessary. I¡¯ll ask my superiors to include it in a water-link message. My Lady will tell me the answer.¡± ¡°Nice. You don¡¯t seem overly surprised about this ability?¡± ¡°No, my first adept ability lets me cast abilities meant for allies on myself so I¡¯ve been expecting some ally abilities.¡± ¡°Yeah, good point. Next stone?¡± ¡°Karma!¡± They used the stone.
Ability: Ascetic Warrior
Essence: Adept Rank: Iron 0 0% to iron 1 Awakening Stone: Karma
Type: Special ability Tags: Armour, damage Cost: n/a
Cooldown: n/a
Description You gain massive armour and damage bonuses when wearing no armour and wielding no weapons.
Detailed Information
¡°Oh, thank Knowledge!¡± cried Hugh with relief. ¡°Bloody bargain!¡± cried Dave in disbelief. Everyone else watching had a chuckle at the difference in their reactions and they looked at each other. ¡°Yeah, what was with that insistence that you not purchase armour yet?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Yeah, was getting pretty smashed by people with the ability to hit my elemental forms but my Lady kept telling me to hold off on getting something made. It made me nervous but I kept my faith!¡± said Hugh. ¡°Am I missing something? Why not wear armour in your forms?¡± ¡°I did but it transformed with me. Counts as part of the form.¡± ¡°Oh, shit! So it-¡± ¡°Yeah. Does nothing.¡± ¡°Definitely a bargain!¡± Hugh laughed heartily, booming across the room. ¡°Yes it is! Another stone towards cost-effective adventuring. An awakening stone of adventure!¡± Dave activated Tome with him.
Ability: Quest System
Essence: Knowledge Rank: Iron 0 This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. 0% to iron 1 Awakening Stone: Adventure
Type: Special ability Tags: Utility Cost: n/a
Cooldown: n/a
Description You are provided with guidance through challenges appropriate to your rank.
Detailed Information
¡°Bloody hell, you too?¡± said Dave, showing Hugh. Hugh just grabbed Tome and looked with wide eyes where the text was displayed and after reading it through, laughed raucously. He laughed and laughed until he couldn¡¯t breathe. Nobody really knew what to do. ¡°You alright?¡± sang Sam cautiously. Dave quickly made a cup of tea for Hugh on the basis that it¡¯s what his mum did when someone needed a calming gesture. ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s just. It¡¯s just¡­ the most mysterious outworlder ability and I just get it? I can just use it now?¡± he started laughing again. ¡°It¡¯s not fair!¡± Sam was patting his arm and Bell was holding his hand now. ¡°Friar Abberton, this can¡¯t be good for you,¡± insisted Bell. ¡°Just sip on this tea that Dave brought you. There you go, dear.¡± Dave offered the tea into Hugh¡¯s waiting hands who had to calm down to safely handle it. Dave observed that this might be a large part of the calming effect of hot beverages; self preservation. Hugh continued shaking his head and muttering while Dave went into his UI and compared his ability with Hugh¡¯s. They were actually a bit different. Dave¡¯s included the ability to manifest physical objects as a reward for meeting the challenges but Hugh¡¯s only offered guidance. Wondering what that meant, he looked at the details of the spell. After a little reading Dave found something that Hugh wasn¡¯t ready to learn yet. Not until he calmed down a little. ¡°How about we get this last awakening stone into you before you suffocate, eh?¡± said Dave, passing the awakening stone of liberty into Hugh¡¯s hands. ¡°Yes. Yes! Good idea before I - Oh-ho. Yes, I shouldn¡¯t say anything. You¡¯re right. Last stone.¡± They activated the ritual circle with Tome.
Ability: Free Ally
Essence: Life Rank: Iron 0 0% to iron 1 Awakening Stone: Liberty
Type: Special ability Tags: Recovery, cleanse, movement. Cost: Low mana
Cooldown: 20 seconds
Description Remove any effect that impedes an ally¡¯s movement.
Detailed Information
¡°Nice!¡± said Hugh. ¡°Oh! This one will have its moments,¡± said Dave. ¡°Very good against my grabby hands ability!¡± laughed Sam ¡°What¡¯s that, Sam?¡± asked Bell, who¡¯d been quietly observing every ritual. Sam¡¯s smile switched from happy to strained and she looked at Dave. ¡°Oh, one of her abilities makes animated hands pop out of the ground and pull things in the area down. She¡¯s just a little self conscious about describing it because she thinks people will find it intimidating.¡± Sam sagged with relief. ¡°Oh, Sam,¡± said Bell reassuringly. ¡°You should have seen this Justice priest who came through a few years ago. They said he had the doom confluence and being near him, it felt like you were doing something wrong.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not intimidating, Sam,¡± said Dave with a smirk. ¡°You¡¯re right, though,¡± said Hugh. ¡°I could use this freedom ability to get people out of your grabby hands ability but really, Sam,¡± Hugh gave her a cheeky wink, ¡°I hope you wouldn¡¯t cast it on anybody I¡¯d want escaping.¡± ¡°Actually,¡± said Dave, tentatively. Hugh threw back his head and boomed his laugh. ¡°Oh, I know that look! What is it?¡± ¡°Yes! I have seen that look too!¡± said Sam to Hugh who nodded with her. ¡°Well, I¡¯m feeling a little self conscious about it now,¡± said Dave. ¡°It is too late for that, Mister Booker! You must say,¡± said Bell coyly. ¡°Well, Sam¡¯s ability also hits friendlies? But, it¡¯s those friendlies that enemies group up around,¡± said Dave. ¡°Oh!¡± said Bell, picking up on his meaning first. ¡°You use a teammate as bait to lure in your enemies for the area spell? You have a wicked mind, Mister Booker.¡± ¡°What? Dave! It will still hurt!¡± objected Sam with wide eyes. ¡°He knows,¡± said Hugh with a grim wince on his round face and Bell fixed Dave with a satisfied look over Hugh¡¯s shoulder. ¡°He just thinks it¡¯s a good trade. A little health from your teammate in exchange for the same amount of health from several enemies who will also be held down.¡± Dave did finger guns and made pew-pew noises while he mimed shooting at people on the floor. Sam gave her strained smile. ¡°Do not worry, Sam,¡± said Bell reassuringly. ¡°Have a talk with my husband some time. This kind of thinking is common among adventurers.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± said Sam without conviction. ¡°Should we try it out? Do a little adventurer practice?¡± suggested Hugh. ¡°You can use the stable yard so long as you leave it in the state you found it,¡± offered Bell smoothly. ¡°Actually, we might do a bit of casual testing after dinner, Bell. We got some new equipment today,¡± said Dave. ¡°Oh, whatever did you get? My Henry says that you must always practise with your equipment so that your body knows how to use it without thinking. This is very important!¡± admonished Bell. ¡°And that¡¯s why we¡¯re staying in the lowest magic areas for starters. We¡¯re going by the fields, not the main road. Just getting used to our equipment and abilities with the easy monsters,¡± said Dave. Sam had actually been the one to suggest it and both Dave and Hugh had readily agreed. ¡°Oh!? Well, that will be fine then. My aged mother could feel safe around those monsters,¡± said Bell dismissively. ¡°Isn¡¯t your mum a bronze rank?¡± asked one of the staff. ¡°Yes!¡± said Bell matter-of-factly. ¡°But, she fights while screaming with her eyes closed. And, with her umbrella because she forgets to draw her sword. So, she has no feeling of safety, no?¡± Everyone except Dave, who merely nodded, gave Bell a dumbfounded look. ¡°What are you all doing standing around, eh? Take their order!¡± said Bell to all her staff and stalked off. To their credit, the staff did take their orders and return to work now that the show was over. They ordered a pot of some kind of spiced vegetable soup, a bread platter and a single, large, fried fish. They¡¯d learned that Funan had a culture of shared dishes so Dave and Hugh made sure to always order that way. Poor Sam had been very lonely these last couple of years and she smiled her biggest smile while filling up her plate with her friends. ¡°Well, I¡¯m chuffed with what I got,¡± said Hugh, practically swelling with pride. ¡°I never thought I¡¯d be so lucky as to get the kind of powers I¡¯ve always wanted to study.¡± He shook his head in disbelief, eyes flicking to a map that only he could see. ¡°Anyway, Dave! What¡¯d you spend all the coin on today?¡± Dave swallowed a mouthful of fish, it had been cooked with lemon, and took the first of the items out of his inventory to show Hugh and Sam. ¡°Well, this one¡¯s for you. Just in case something unavoidable happens in midair,¡± said Dave. Tome manifested and began showing Sam and Hugh the item¡¯s details.
Item: Sash Of Wind¡¯s Embrace Rank: Iron
Description When activated, this sash adjusts the user¡¯s weight for the next hour so that they fall safely to the ground in the air or rise to the surface if in water. Four hour cooldown.
Detailed Information
It didn¡¯t take mana to use and you couldn¡¯t shorten the effect but Hugh took it gladly. ¡°Wand Of Perfect Falling Icicles, this one is called,¡± said Dave, moving on, producing and idly waving a thirty-ish centimetre piece of lovingly carved white wood with bits of blue quartz in between the grains. ¡°I got it cheap because it has a slow fire rate and the icicles fire in an arc but when I picked it up, my targeting reticule displayed the arc so I can make it work. Also, its numbers make it a high mana, and high DPS wand, which suits me more than most wand users.¡± Dave showed them the wand¡¯s details.
Item: Wand Of Perfect Falling Icicles Rank: Iron
Description This wand releases metre-long, sharp icicles from it. The initial damage is physical piercing followed by cold damage over time with continued contact with the icicle.
Detailed Information
¡°Dee-pee-ess?¡± asked Hugh, clearly ready to file potential outlander information away. Dave ran the sentence back through his head and realised he¡¯d used English. He focused and translated into Byzasic as best he could. ¡°Damage per second. Average damage over time?¡± said Dave. His teammates made faces of recognition and he continued. ¡°So, new wand. Mana hog, hits hard but might be difficult to aim. Next up, the stuff I got for¡­ ugh, disenchanting. For materials, you see?¡± Dave quickly had a pen write on his hand ¡®for you¡¯ and flashed it at Sam, who grinned mischievously, and then Dave erased the writing and Tome displayed each of the next two items on each open page.
Item: Death Harvest Walkers Rank: Iron
Description Passively drain the remnant life force of a recently deceased body upon which you stand, replenishing health, stamina and mana. Only affects targets that had a soul or soul-like motive force.
Detailed Information
Item: Vambracers Of Chilling Minions Rank: Iron
Description Monsters summoned using death essence abilities are summoned as though two levels higher than the caster and do bonus cold damage to their target after any successful attack.
Detailed Information
¡°I won''t show them at the table for the sake of politeness but I got some boots and vambraces,¡± Dave winked at Sam, ¡°that I should be able to extract some life and cold quintessence out of respectively.¡± ¡°Oh! I hope not too expensive!¡± said Sam. ¡°No fear, Sam,¡± said Hugh¡¯s deep voice. ¡°They¡¯re restricted kit so they go for really cheap. I don¡¯t know how much cheaper, but really cheap. Dave didn¡¯t waste too much of our money on it.¡± He winked at Sam. ¡°Between one fifth and one tenth of the price of a comparable-non restricted item,¡± said Dave, who¡¯d done some quick estimates. ¡°Oh! Alright, that¡¯s good!¡± said Sam with her wide smile and gave a big thumbs up. ¡°And, for me,¡± said Dave, pulling out a cuirass and helm. ¡°You mean to say, also for you,¡± said Hugh with another big wink. He was really enjoying the double-speak subterfuge of pretending Sam didn¡¯t have a Death essence while never having to actually tell a lie himself. ¡°Yes,¡± said Dave with a smile. ¡°Also for me are these.¡± He indicated for Tome to flip pages to display the items he was showing his teammates.
Item: Manaflow Cuirass Rank: Iron
Description This magical cuirass gives an increased mana regeneration buff.
Detailed Information
Item: Manaflux Helm Rank: Iron
Description This helm can be activated to restore mana as though having consumed a mana potion.
Detailed Information
¡°The cuirass will give me an extra spell slot in the morning and the helm was cheap enough that it¡¯ll pay for itself within ten days,¡± said Dave. ¡°Not to mention the helpful features of protecting my insides.¡± ¡°Those are good for you!¡± said Sam, nodding happily. ¡°Your spells are very powerful and it is good to save money.¡± ¡°And show her what we got sold on,¡± said Hugh with a hearty grin. Dave nodded to Tome who turned the page.
Item: Burst Of Speed Potion Rank: Iron
Description When imbibed the speed attribute is doubled for thirty seconds.
Detailed Information
¡°The shopkeeper recommended these as a running-away option, since they don¡¯t share a cooldown with health-stamina-mana potions, they¡¯re much cheaper than a silver spirit coin and we can still pop a spirit coin after using one if we need to anyway.¡± Sam looked at Dave with round eyes. ¡°Dave, you are good at saving money. Like my grandma!¡± said Sam seriously and then covered her mouth to giggle. Dave opened and shut his mouth like a goldfish, which caused Hugh to start laughing. Dave just gave in and laughed with them. ¡°You guys are weird,¡± said Dave, still smiling. ¡°Is a real thing!¡± said Sam, her eyes twinkling above her hands. Dave served himself some more soup from the pot and tore himself off some bread from the platter. ¡°I know it is, Sam,¡± said Dave, shaking his head and smiling. ¡°Your sincerity was overwhelming.¡± They continued eating and finished up dinner soon afterwards. They discussed ideas about the days to come, strategies, what to buy next, thoughts on the monsters they¡¯d encounter, but eventually decided to take up Bell¡¯s suggestion that they try out their new abilities and equipment in the stableyard. ¡°Just don¡¯t upset the heidels,¡± she warned as they went out the back door into the straw strewn yard. Dave summoned a dozen or so thick, cardboard targets and started testing his new wand. He immediately found that when holding a weapon with a firing arc like his new wand, the crosshair changed to the kind that put the projectile¡¯s arc onto his HUD. Shooting a stationary target like this was pure easy mode and after a few tests, getting used to the system, Dave put a group of three shots in a tight grouping on three of the targets. The icicles hit with real stopping power too from the looks of how they jumped the targets around. They were sharp but brittle as ice and couldn¡¯t be expected to penetrate any armour but the icicles were a cone one metre long that ended about as thick as a wrist. Using Epistemology and a ¡®mass¡¯ query, Dave found out they were about half kilogram each. A bit of maths later and Dave had confirmed that these were basically small javelins that this wand was casually launching. This made a raised-eyebrows Dave very pleased with his purchase. ¡°Okay, Hugh, you have a go,¡± said Dave after leaving his last Stop And Think and raising his hand to the applause of the small crowd who¡¯d piled out to watch the adventurers shoot some cardboard targets. ¡°Alright, I will but don¡¯t laugh if it goes wrong, you promise?¡± said Hugh, self consciously. ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± said Dave, clapping him on the shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s your ability now. It¡¯ll just come to you, right?¡± Hugh nodded, lacking confidence despite knowing Dave was right. ¡°Go Hugh!¡± yelled Sam from the sidelines, immediately covering her mouth with her hands and looking around. A few other voices a general calls to action and encouraging whoops or whistles followed Sam¡¯s cheer and, face ruddy, Hugh took to air form, stood about ten paces out, raised a hand and used Project Elements. WHUMP! The resultant stream of air could be seen in the firelight by the effect it had on the straw and dust in the yard that flew away from the source. The crowd shielded their eyes from the dust as the airblast threw the target backwards and over to slap heavily against the stableyard. The fence behind it all rattled dangerously. ¡°Cool,¡± said Dave, looking at the magic. He replayed the memory to check. ¡°The air moved like a stable smoke ring. A round pulse that smacked into the target.¡± ¡°Sweet gods!¡± cried a whooping voice in the crowd. ¡°How heavy are those targets?¡± ¡°About eighty kilos,¡± said Dave loudly. His voice was somewhat lost in the crowd but those who heard past it on and soon there were noises of awe and calls for him to do it again. ¡°Kneel down and see if you can give it some lift!¡± shouted one followed by cheers of agreement. Bell told Hugh he¡¯d be paying for damages to the fence so a few rowdy fellows who wanted to see the lift-shot came and dragged the target away from the fence and stood back. Hugh knelt down, angled his palm up at the target ten paces out and WHUMP! Went Project Elements again. This time the target lifted right off the ground, crashed back down and skidded a couple of metres. The crowd cheered for Hugh. They kept drinking, much to Bells pleasure, as Hugh tested it a few times to see how far away he could get before it wasn¡¯t useful against the man-sized target anymore. A few test shots later and Hugh had discovered that at about twenty-two or twenty-three paces it didn¡¯t even knock over the target anymore. ¡°Hey, try something else!¡± came a voice from the crowd, that got a chorus of agreement. Clearly the people weren¡¯t here for a patient test of limitations. ¡°They¡¯re right, you¡¯ll run out of mana if you try to be too exact tonight,¡± said Dave into Hugh¡¯s ear over the din of the crowd. ¡°Just have fun and get a feel for the shots.¡± Hugh nodded and took to water form, pleasing the crowd, most of whom had already consumed an extra beer already. ¡°What happens if you piss, water man?¡± shouted one to a round of general laughter. In response, Hugh shot a long range blast of water from twenty paces out that dipped and smacked wetly into the target with a thud. The noise elicited cheer from the crowd which moved up to general oohs and ahhs of appreciation as Hugh strode up to the target shooting water blasts the whole way. After a few steps forward he managed to adjust his aim up and hit the target well enough to knock it over. He kept a continual stream of water on the target, blasting it along the ground and, as he approached melee range, Dave could see the water stripping away the surface of the thick cardboard like a skin. The crowd whooped and clapped with appreciation at Hugh¡¯s more dynamic approach. Hugh waved in an embarrassed way, trying not to grin too wide and changed into earth form. He immediately turned on another target and pushed his hand out. A stream of gravel pelted the target, shoving it around. When the stream stopped, it was obvious that he¡¯d pulverised and abraided the cardboard like it¡¯d been dragged over rocks by a heidel. The crowd let out sympathetic oohs at the thought of being hit with it. ¡°Hang on, I can feel another way to do it,¡± said Hugh loudly and raised his hand again with a look of concentration. He looked like he was holding his breath until he suddenly pushed his arm forward and released his breath. A rock the size of a shotput and with the same kind of momentum flew out of his hand and whacked into the target, burying itself into the cardboard and staying there. The crowd, easily on their second outside drink cheered loudly, pointing at the potentially body crushing rock. Hugh remained self consciously grinning, sometimes at the crowd, sometimes at the ground and occasionally waving. He tried fire form next. It was visually spectacular so it held the crowd¡¯s rapt attention. Hugh theatrically tried a test shot into the air which got some whoops from the crowd. Dave was impressed to see a line of fire shoot about thirty paces into the air. Hugh looked at his targets, selected one and shot a beam of fire into it. The use of cardboard as a target made the fire beam particularly effective. The cardboard immediately burst into flames as the beam impacted, washing flames over the target while boring a hole through it. He was lucky that it didn¡¯t damage any of Bell¡¯s property after the sustained beam eventually burst out the other side of the cardboard target. Experimentally, Hugh shot another beam of fire into a target and moved his hand to burn a circle into the front of it. He checked the depth of the hole the more temporary contact had made and came away satisfied. Up close, he tried again and this time, made a less concentrated beam that set the whole target ablaze triggering yet another series of cheers from the crowd. Almost out of mana, Hugh returned to his own flesh. ¡°Alright folks, he¡¯s about out of mana!¡± The crowd booed Dave who grinned back at them with good humour. ¡°Hey, come on now! The running monk only has so much fire in him. Let the man go back inside and have a few drinks to recharge, hey?¡± The crowd, varying between tipsy and drunk, bought into Dave¡¯s idea that a man needed a drink and reluctantly accepted his words, filing back inside Orabelle¡¯s at the direction of the staff. ¡°Thanks Dave,¡± said Hugh, who was huffing and sweating. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to do the transcendent beam in front of anybody anyway. I¡¯ve got a feeling about it.¡± Dave nodded. An intuitive feeling for essence abilities was pretty universal. ¡°What kind of feeling? You talking scary or just not fun to watch?¡± ¡°Like¡­ like I¡¯ll be channelling that feeling that some churches get in a crowd when they start talking about brimstone, divine wrath and martyrdom.¡± Dave and Sam looked at each other. Sam¡¯s strained smile was on display and Dave nodded at her. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d say that was a good call. A display of divine wrath might have killed the mood.¡± Dave slapped Hugh on the arm. ¡°Get inside, mate. Have that drink. We¡¯re waking up early tomorrow.¡± Chapter 16: Astral Monk
Current Quests
Justice For Courbefy: Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use¡­ Chosen Of Knowledge: Escort Hugh on his journey to becoming a fully awakened iron¡­ Healer¡¯s Materials: Gain Healer¡¯s favour by donating alchemy ingredients to the church¡­ Wine tour: Vineyard wants you to try the different wines in the Meg¨¨ve area. Acquire Follower: Dominion wants you to gain another follower. Chosen Of Hero: Travel north to Lake Auvernier, find the chosen of Hero and recruit¡­
Dave and Sam woke up at sunrise to find that Hugh had already picked up all of the equipment and food that they¡¯d ordered yesterday. ¡°I should have told you,¡± said Hugh. ¡°I don¡¯t need to sleep or meditate anymore. It¡¯s a racial I got from the life essence.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know,¡± said Dave. ¡°I read your abilities. I guess you¡¯ve just been staying up all night reading?¡± ¡°Yes, It¡¯s great! I get so much more done but yes, early this morning I just wandered out and just picked up everything.¡± ¡°That¡¯s nice of you,¡± said Dave, grinning up at Hugh. ¡°Pretty keen to get out of town, eh?¡± Hugh nodded with an uneasy look coming to his face. ¡°Well, let¡¯s get out. You ready, Sam?¡± Sam had been brushing her hair and blinking sleep out of her eyes. She shook her head. ¡°No, I want to wash my face,¡± said Sam blearily. ¡°Ten minutes?¡± asked Dave, switching into his armour from in his HUD. ¡°Yes,¡± drawled Sam, doing a double take when Dave was abruptly dressed in his new cuirass and helm. He¡¯d taken the time to write a couple of macros last night to switch his most common armour and clothing sets. He¡¯d also solved three financial crimes which he¡¯d written up and put in an envelope for Bell to pass to the watch. His new ¡®reveal that which is disguised from you¡¯ ability evidently interacted with his HUD and highlighted the relevant parts of the text in much of the town¡¯s finances where anybody was hiding something. Dave made a strong cup of tea and went outside to enjoy it with the predawn light and memorise his spells for the day. His directed lightning bolt spell was still nowhere near complete so that wasn¡¯t an option. He mentally shrugged and as the first rays of dawn crested the horizon, memorised a Comfortable Cabin, and Origami Golem and four Origami Mount. Dave did a double take as a quest notification appeared in his text box and chuckled as he read that he¡¯d succeeded and been rewarded with one hundred iron spirit coins for not killing anything yesterday. Shaking his head and smiling, Dave cast three of the mount spells and kept watching the sunrise. Sam and Hugh came out a couple of minutes later. ¡°Double checked we have everything?¡± asked Dave. ¡°And we got you a¡­ pastry!¡± said Sam, beaming her happy smile as she produced the sweet, baked good from behind her back. ¡°Thanks, Sam,¡± said Dave, taking a bite and enjoying the buttery, chocolate-filled taste of the chocolate twist. Sam took out her own pastry and led her origami heidel over to a step so that she could mount it easier. Hugh and Dave stored their pastries in their teeth while going through the very physical process of mounting their heidels. After a quick stop at the adventure board they picked up some contracts. Dave mentally accepted quests for pretty much everything that sent them north. After Dave explained that there wasn¡¯t any punishment for abandoning the quests and they may as well have them on hand just in case, Hugh did the same. Using his new map to guide the way, Hugh led the mounted party out of the northbound Meg¨¨ve gates at a trot towards their first Adventure Society contract. Both Dave and Hugh were going over their map abilities mentally assessing routes that ended at their destination; Forel. Although, Dave thought, it would be easier in the second half of their journey to just follow the well travelled main road to Mattenhof and then strike out west to Forel. He opened his mouth to ask Hugh what he thought of the idea when a different question came into his head. ¡°What do you see when you use your map?¡± Dave asked Hugh. ¡°It¡¯s like a parchment that comes in front of my face and there¡¯s ink dots to represent people near me except that I can make it a bit see through. Like yours, yes? But yours is made out of lights in front of your eyes?¡± ¡°Yes, although I¡¯d say more like light put directly in front of my eyes.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t that hurt?¡± asked Sam, following the conversation as best she could. ¡°No, it¡¯s more¡­ Oh! I know it¡¯s more like an illusion. Actually. Uh, yep! Hang on, I¡¯ll show you on paper¡­ There, that¡¯ll about do it.¡± Dave handed over the picture he¡¯d just inked out with his printer-like illusion cantrip. It was cartoonish and simple but it got the point across with a faded world and a clear map superimposed over the top with his HUD clear. ¡°Oh! That¡¯s great,¡± said Hugh with his whiskery smile. ¡°Mine¡¯s just like that bit,¡± he pointed to the map part,¡± except without everything else. I can see everything clear, it¡¯s just that bit is hanging in front of me. The rest is your heads up display, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s mostly measurements and buttons that I like. I can use it to quick switch gear that I¡¯m using and-¡± Dave tried to switch from the wand he was holding to a Molotov cocktail he¡¯d made out of the bottle he¡¯d found in the trash and some lamp oil. Except, it didn¡¯t switch and an arc that ended with a stylised oblong popped up on his HUD and he instantly knew that activating this ability would cause the molotov cocktail to fly along and smash at the end of that arc and cause a fire in the stylised oblong. ¡° - and use consumables straight out of my inventory. Which apparently includes offensive consumables. Wow! I really need to go over my abilities again now that I¡¯m not so stressed. Hey guys, new ability. Not only can I use consumables like potions from straight out of my inventory, I can throw consumable items like fire grenades straight out of my inventory without my hands.¡± ¡°Can we see?¡± asked Sam, curiously. ¡°Not here, it only works on consumables and I don¡¯t have anything I want to waste. Or, anything around here I want to set on fire.¡± Hugh was frantically pulling out a notebook where he wrote down interesting outworlder facts. Dave mentally flew a pen above the book for Hugh which he took with thanks. ¡°Perhaps you could throw the grenade in the air and catch it again?¡± said Hugh. ¡°You want me to throw a fiery grenade in the air and catch it again? While riding a heidel?¡± Dave raised a playful eyebrow at Hugh and Sam gave her widest smile. Hugh¡¯s brain caught up with reality and he boomed out his laugh. ¡°Yes, don¡¯t do that,¡± said Hugh, knuckling his moustache to suppress his laughter. ¡°Maybe we can find something at a village we pass through and rig up some kind of disposable throwing device?¡± said Dave, thoughtfully. ¡°Dave, you can make one,¡± said Sam through a satisfied smile. ¡°Nah, I can¡¯t,¡± said Dave, sighing. ¡°I tried but the water I put in to test them leaked out pretty quick and I¡¯d burn myself.¡± ¡°But now you don¡¯t need to touch!¡± announced a happy Sam. ¡°Hey, yeah! That might work. I can definitely test the ability with water bombs like that. Still, I don¡¯t want to make anything dangerous because of spillage. I¡¯d feel safer if they didn¡¯t leak.¡± ¡°Cover the inside with tar or resin,¡± said Sam, nodding. Her smile was still shining brightly. ¡°That¡¯d be nice but I can¡¯t make paper with coatings. Only the paper portion,¡± said Dave, still resigned. ¡°So,¡± said Hugh in a resonant, sceptical voice laced with humour. ¡°You can make a small, cardboard grenade but you can¡¯t put resin on the paper?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± said Dave, hesitantly. ¡°Dave,¡± said Hugh, his whiskers twitching, ¡°you can add resin. With your hands.¡± Sam covered her mouth and giggled. Dave¡¯s eyebrows furrowed and he stared straight ahead blankly as the point thunked into place in his head. Then, he burst into laughter, Sam and Hugh following soon after. ¡°Dave, you always forget detail!¡± said Sam, laughing. He couldn¡¯t do anything but chuckle and nod in agreement with her. ¡°Alright,¡± said Dave, forcing down his chuckling, ¡°at the next village we¡¯ll get some quick burning oil and some resin.¡± ¡°And, go over your abilities again,¡± said Hugh, ¡°But, not now. Let''s actually use these mounts at the speed they¡¯re supposed to be and pick up the pace. We want to be hard to find, remember?¡± Sam and Dave nodded and the origami heidels picked up to a canter.
They¡¯d selected some contracts in Meg¨¨ve for some unranked monsters, commonly called ¡®lessers¡¯ by the locals, because they paid in lesser spirit coins and the unranked monsters were a lesser threat than any other rank. Such contracts were usually non-urgent because normal ranked people, especially hardy country folk, could kill lesser monsters themselves but sometimes a particular monster or group of monsters was so out of the way or too difficult to find so there¡¯d be a small reward put up and eventually a budding adventurer would pick it up simply because they were going to be in the area anyway. The quest that Hugh had picked up was for some angry cows that were making trouble in some distant herds, and some people-eater pigs that had been spotted by fur hunters roaming in and out of thickets in a forest. The angry cows were an annoyance more than anything. They only attacked anything they perceived to be a predator, like humans, so they were keeping the herd safe from wolves but, if the literature Dave was reading was correct, they were also prone to bullying the real cows and just generally being angry and putting the entire herd on edge. Hence the name. They had to be killed because they¡¯d eventually go berserk but also because stressed animals didn¡¯t produce good meat or dairy. The people-eater pigs, the unranked version of the people-eater boars Dave and Sam had already encountered, were omnivorous and didn¡¯t usually attack people unless they were going berserk. But, sometimes they did. One hunter had already been mauled and the rest had taken to staying in groups for safety which drastically reduced their ability to hunt. The hunters had estimated that there were four or five pigs; three sows and one or two solitary boars. Hugh was leading the party along the dirt road to Blancheville in the late autumn weather and it wasn¡¯t pleasant. Despite being kitted out in rain repellant cloaks, the wind from riding would often whip the hoods back which let the cold, drizzling rain fly into their faces. The team ended up stopping to cover their faces with scarves to mitigate the issue while Dave used Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas on a constant rotation to keep his companions and the heidels dry. It helped, but it wasn¡¯t great.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Ten miserable hours cantering in the saddle was enough to leave them all with a sore bottom. Thankfully, Sam could heal any real damage that¡¯d been done but it was still an unpleasant experience to have gone through, knowing they¡¯d do it again tomorrow. They¡¯d passed several farmers on the road and Hugh had slowed down to chat with them and confirm that, yes, his magical map was working fine and he was in the right spot. Dave could tell it¡¯d take Hugh a bit of getting used to it. Then again, Hugh got a giddy smile whenever he got confirmation of his functional map so maybe he was just having fun with a new toy. They passed briefly through Sallanches. Hugh purchased a small barrel of crude naphtha, some potash and a tin of resin from the general store, put straight into his inventory, while Dave and Sam had gone over the origami heidels and patched up the worn parts as best they could. Dave then used the water trough, meant for real heidels, to supply water to test the make of an experimental grenade. He created the cardboard structure in his hand, dipped it in the water, closed the improvised lid, put it in his inventory and then activated it. The water grenade came back into the world exactly along the curved trajectory indicated by Dave¡¯s HUD and smacked into a wall, splattering it with water. ¡°Well, that¡¯s nice,¡± said Dave. His eyes flicked to his stamina bar which had ticked down a little. ¡°Looks like it uses as much stamina as if I¡¯d thrown it with my hand but I love the accuracy of this.¡± He moved a pen over to the damp paper to pick up his trash. ¡°What¡¯s the potash for?¡± asked Hugh. ¡°A slow burning wick to attach to the outside. Less flaming than a burning rag and more likely to stay lit,¡± said Dave. It was something he remembered from a simple oxidation experiment he¡¯d done once in undergraduate practical chemistry classes. ¡°Potash is mostly potassium salts but especially impure potassium nitrate, which is a good oxidiser. That means it burns well. Infuse potash into a piece of cord and it¡¯ll stay lit, even in the wind but it won¡¯t flame. Perfect thing to stick to the outside of a grenade full of naphtha.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± said Hugh. Sam just smiled up at Dave worriedly. ¡°Sorry. Chemistry stuff. Don¡¯t think I¡¯m allowed to explain myself.¡± Sam nodded. ¡°Sounds impressive, though!¡± said Hugh with his whiskery smile. ¡°Eh, I just wish I could remember how to make TNT. Or, nitroglycerine for dynamite,¡± muttered Dave, somehow sounding bitter and wistful at the same time. ¡°Those are pretty names,¡± said Sam, happily. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ try to get you some if I can,¡± said Dave. ¡°Wait, what do they do?¡± asked Hugh, notepad out. Dave tilted his head as he thought about the best way to describe it in this culture. ¡°A stick of dynamite is about the size of a sausage and can make an unranked, non-magical explosion that can shatter a rock that¡¯s as big as a man,¡± said Dave. Sam and Hugh both looked at Dave with open mouths. ¡°A sausage!?¡± ¡°Dave, how you make explosion without magic? That¡¯s silly!¡± Dave looked at Sam in confusion. ¡°This reality doesn''t have flour or wood dust explosions?¡± ¡°Wait, I think I¡¯ve heard of this!¡± said Hugh, eyes wide with recognition. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of an explosion essence and I think someone proposed setting up our own regular explosions to maybe get one. I remember grain silos were involved but I didn¡¯t take it seriously. You mean that¡¯s all totally serious?¡± ¡°Absolutely,¡± said Dave. ¡°Oh, you¡¯ve got to tell me more!¡± said Hugh eagerly, holding onto his notebook. ¡°No!¡± said Sam, giving her nervous smile. ¡°We have to travel!¡± Hugh looked torn. He wanted to get days away from a grief-stricken silver ranker but he also wanted to write about outworlders. ¡°Tonight, mate,¡± said Dave, patting Hugh on the shoulder who nodded. ¡°Even though Sam only wants us to go before you try and make an explosive with what you can find in the store.¡± Sam nodded seriously.
The group continued in the saddle until the sun had completely set and Sam found a nice spot on a slight rise for Dave to cast Comfortable Country Cabin. It flew together taking loose objects from the environment as usual but Dave thought looked particularly rustic with the grass of the field thatched across the roof. Sam casually flung a healing spell at everyone before they¡¯d gotten inside and Dave stretched his entire body, working out all the muscle aches he could while the healing magic lingered. Hugh took a foldable table out of a dimensional bag and Dave immediately went about making an evening meal on it while Hugh pulled out more foldable furniture and set it about the cabin. ¡°Hugh, I¡¯ve got something to show and tell you about your quest ability,¡± said Dave, making simple fried fish and steamed vegetables straight out of his inventory. He¡¯d haphazardly included some seasoning that both Sam and Hugh had agreed was a good idea. It¡¯d be fine. ¡°Yes?¡± said Hugh, trying not to whip his notebook out with an improper enthusiasm. Dave smiled lightly and used Tome to fly over a complete copy of his own quest system ability and Hugh¡¯s as per the ¡®more details¡¯ button on the abilities in their respective character sheets. ¡°That¡¯s for you, mate. Wrote it on the way over, one word at a time-¡± Inserted Tome. ¡°- the short version is,¡± continued Dave. ¡°Your ability doesn¡¯t give monetary rewards.¡± Hugh face said he understood that. ¡°Boo,¡± sang Sam softly in discontent. ¡°But, your version is more selective and exact,¡± finished Dave. ¡°For instance, my ability requires that it can detect a want or desire out there in the world, that I¡¯m included in and then the ability supplies incentive for me to go and do it. Mine¡¯s external. Your ability can latch onto any undertaking, even your own, so it¡¯s both internal and external as well as self inclusive. The selectivity factor is that you can, I don¡¯t know how, select from the quests around you according to your own wants so, although you won¡¯t manifest rewards you can just desire quests that pay handsomely and you¡¯ll get them. I think.¡± Dave had been using a pen to point out the interesting bits in the printed text as he went and left Hugh in a stunned silence. ¡°Thank you, Dave,¡± sang Sam softly while giving Hugh a wide, cheeky smile. ¡°Oh? Oh! Yes! Yes, yes, yes. Thank you. Thank you, yes!¡± stammered Hugh. ¡°Read them later, Hugh. Read them later, I spent all day on that so just ask me the questions. It looked like you had some input on the not getting rewards point?¡± ¡°What? Oh, yes! Well, I¡¯m not allowed to get paid. I¡¯m a friar. Vow of poverty and all that, remember?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah,¡± said Dave in a tone that clearly indicated he¡¯d rather forgotten. Sam put a finger over her lips playfully and back away to put a stone block on the floor across the room which Dave waved a hand at to start his fire cantrip on. Sam started making hot water for tea. Hugh, however, threw back his head with laughter and relaxed his swarthy frame further into the foldable chair. ¡°Friar¡¯s robe,¡± he said, plucking at it, ¡°and little else. Maybe some food to carry or some tools. Say, if we went up north I¡¯d be allowed to own more clothes to ward off frostbite and skis or snowshoes.¡± His eyes turned thoughtful over his smiling beard. ¡°I think there was a notable adventurer-friar a few centuries ago who liked to say that he didn¡¯t own the warmace at his hip, he just carried it for a friend who allowed him to swing it in battle.¡± Sam and Dave grinned with Hugh at the humorous absurdity. ¡°The soul of the person shapes the abilities they will get,¡± said Dave, quoting from A Treatise On Essences, Awakening Stones And Their Results by the Remore Academy. Hugh nodded at him. ¡°Yeah, getting a spin on the quest system ability that doesn¡¯t get you paid seems on brand for someone with a vow of poverty,¡± said Dave. ¡°What about your other abilities? The whole unarmed and unarmoured whatsit?¡± ¡°Ascetic warrior,¡± said Hugh smugly. ¡°Yeah, that! Also poverty.¡± ¡°What¡¯s ascetic?¡± asked Sam, popping over to hand Dave a pile of alchemy ingredients which he inventoried and idly noted that his quest, Healer¡¯s Materials, Meg¨¨ve, ticked up all the supplies into double digits. ¡°Thanks, Sam! It means like, simple or without decoration. Very much describes a monk¡¯s life. But, not in a bad way just like -¡± ¡°In the sense of removing unnecessary things or distractions from one¡¯s surroundings,¡± said Hugh with a kind smile to Dave. ¡°Yes!¡± said Dave, glad for the save. ¡°Alright!¡± said Sam with her happy smile and popped back over to the now boiling kettle. ¡°It suits!¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve been looking at your abilities, Hugh, you¡¯re turning into some kind of outworlder themed, astral Shaolin monk. Pull him up, Tome¡± said Dave, letting Tzu out of his eyes. ¡°What¡¯s ¡®shaolin¡¯ mean?¡± asked Hugh as Tome flicked open to Hugh¡¯s abilities description page. ¡°I¡­ Yeah, I don¡¯t know. A place or organisation, I guess? Doesn¡¯t matter, they¡¯re a bunch of exotic monks who learn martial arts in the mountains.¡± ¡°That sounds nothing like me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a monk who took a bunch of essences in the mountains and got the power to transform into elemental forms to fight people.¡± ¡°...Fair enough.¡± Sam giggled. ¡°Yeah, look,¡± said Dave, pointing with a floating pen. ¡°Most of your racials are dimension themed; dimensional affinity, dimensional storage, dimensional portals, and your essence ability, dimensional sensing fits right in there. Your outworlder theme is obviously the map ability and quest system which is the kind of thing outworlders get to acclimate to new realities, right? And your fighting-monk themed stuff is your mystic affinity, nirvanic awareness and essence abilities transcend self, ascetic warrior and mystic form the rest I think are in a general adventurer theme but maybe outworlders usually already are or become adventurers? I don¡¯t know? Could they fit under that? I made them their own category. Hugh looked thoughtful. Sam looked confused. Dave handed them both a cheatsheet.
Outworlder Self-updating map - self expl. Quest system - self expl. Astral Knowledge Dimensional affinity - good at dimension stuff; resistance, damage Dimensional storage - store stuff Dimensional portals - manipulate portals good Dimensional sensing - sense the nature and details of astral stuff Martial Monk Mystic affinity - form based resistance, damage and transc. damage Nirvanic awareness - No sleep, no meditation, better aura Transcend self - cast self spells on allies or vice-versa Ascetic warrior - no weapons, no armour Mystic form - become fire/water/earth/air General Adventurer Prayer of Healing - self expl. Cleanse ally - of all non-bleeding afflictions Free ally - of movement impediments Project elements - into enemies
¡°Oh!¡± said Sam, still reading. ¡°This is much better!¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ simplification¡­ good summary. Need deeper, though,¡± mumbled Hugh as he went back and forth between the cheat sheet and his long form descriptions in his hands. The silence went on as they both thought deeply. ¡°This is¡­ quite the popular hit. Should I do something similar for my abilities and Sams? Hers are obviously under two themes: Summoner and life recycler. Yes?¡± Hugh looked up, blinking. ¡°Wha¡­? Oh, yes. Please do. Not now! No, we have a lot to¡­ But yes. It¡¯s just that ability synergy is only a theory! The soul-body dyad problem is a foundational problem in magic. I¡¯ve been looking at this for years! Trying to find hints of proof to write about, writing letter after letter asking outworlders to visit me for testing.¡± Hugh''s voice trembled and tears gathered in his eyes. ¡°But they just¡­ don¡¯t. Thirteen years of my life and,¡± he sniffed, ¡°I wrote to Asano ten times and didn¡¯t even get a reply. Standish, an astral researcher who observes Asano, published an opinion piece that maybe outworlders shun tests as a defensive reflex. Eventually, I just stopped and went back to my research, resigned to just recreating events as best I could, learning from the residue measurements that the magic society in Greenstone found and published from the Asano event.¡± Tears were rolling down Hugh¡¯s cheeks and into his bushy beard but he was smiling at Dave now as he continued. ¡°But that day¡­ I thought I was going to die, the summoning worked and a real outworlder came. Not only do you¡­ all this!¡± Hugh shook gently the character sheet documents Dave had given him in his hands. ¡°But now I¡¯m getting outworlder type abilities! I just¡­ I don¡¯t know. Did I die that day and it¡¯s all been the endless astral dream?¡± Sam put a cup of tea in front of Hugh. ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± she sang gently and patted his arm. ¡°It really is,¡± said Dave, taking his own cup of tea and nodding his thanks at Sam. ¡°Your astral knowledge has been helpful in settling me into this reality and it could have been a lot worse for me without both of you.¡± ¡°We help each other,¡± smiled Sam. There was content silence and sipping tea that, eventually, Dave had to break. ¡°Really? Ten letters?¡± said Dave. ¡°No replies?¡± Hugh shook his head. ¡°And, you just wanted¡­¡± said Dave, gesturing at the papers in front of Hugh. ¡°Yes, that. Maybe some passive thaumaturgy readings. Nothing invasive, of course! Standish¡¯s paper indicated that being a part of Asano¡¯s adventuring party lets you share his identification ability so we thought¡­¡± Hugh trailed off in a disappointed voice. Dave looked utterly baffled. ¡°So, just party up with scribes and go to sleep, right?¡± Hugh nodded with a forlorn look on his face. ¡°He wouldn¡¯t even¡­ anonymously¡­?¡± Dave¡¯s voice fell as he saw the forlorn look on Hugh¡¯s face. ¡°What a dick,¡± said Dave. Chapter 17: Training With Pigs And Cows
Current Quests
Justice For Courbefy: Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use¡­ Chosen Of Knowledge: Escort Hugh on his journey to becoming a fully awakened iron¡­ Healer¡¯s Materials: Gain Healer¡¯s favour by donating alchemy ingredients to the church¡­ Wine Tour: Vineyard wants you to try the different wines in the Meg¨¨ve area. Acquire Follower: Dominion wants you to gain another follower. Chosen Of Hero: Travel north to Lake Auvernier, find the chosen of Hero and recruit¡­ Contract: Angry Cows: Remove the threat of angry cows from the Gueule herds. Contract: People-Eater Pigs: Remove the threat of people-eater pigs from the Valon forest.
The party had strategised the night before and now with a large herd of cows before them in the late autumn morning. The plan was harder to pull off, as plans always were. Thankfully, Dave had insisted on using the simplest plan they¡¯d devised: Find the angry cows, shoot at them from as far away as possible and draw them into a double flanking manoeuvre with Hugh on one side and Sam on the other. Sam and her forces lacked mobility in ways that Hugh didn¡¯t so it was up to Dave to draw the charge close to Sam. The plan was otherwise simple and very flexible. ¡°Well, it says angry cows look just like normal cows except for their more forward facing eyes that have cat-like slitted irises,¡± said Dave, holding Tome open on a page of Bestiary Of Frankish Byzasian Empire by Joel Guillaume. ¡°But their behaviour is completely different,¡± said Hugh. ¡°Well, yes, their behaviour when stimulated but if we get close enough to stimulate them¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, the plan,¡± said Hugh with a sigh. ¡°Should I use Misty?¡± asked Sam, smiling helpfully. ¡°Nah.¡± ¡°No.¡± Both Hugh and Dave shook their heads. ¡°We¡¯d likely just scatter the herd in the mist,¡± said Hugh. Sam nodded in agreement. ¡°Ahh, fuck it. I¡¯ve got a spare heidel spell. Let¡¯s aggravate them with that,¡± said Dave. ¡°Seems a waste of a spell if they kill it,¡± mumbled Hugh. ¡°They shouldn¡¯t do. The paper heidels aren¡¯t battle summons but they¡¯re a rank up ¨C almost two with booker spell benefits ¨C and I can summon another. I¡¯ll have it prance around and make the herd nervous until the angry cows charge then run for it.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make too nervous or the herd will panic!¡± said Sam with her serious smile. ¡°Then they will run in all directions around us and we will be surrounded by cows but not know which ones are angry.¡± ¡°Okay, well Sam, you stay with me and let your tree summons do the intercepting. You let me know if you think the cows are too scared,¡± said Dave. ¡°Alright? let''s do it.¡± Although they said ¡®cows¡¯ these weren¡¯t cows as Dave knew them. They were a scaly-skinned grazing animal. Some distant evolutionary kin of the heidel. Dave dismounted his origami heidel, summoned another and sent his old one over. ¡°Head over there and just run back and forth in front of the cows and prance around a bit,¡± said Dave. The paper heidel robotically walked off and did as instructed. ¡°Yeah! Right there! Start now!¡± shouted Dave as it got close enough that some cows started backing away. ¡°Easy. Easy¡­¡± Cautioned Sam as the cows started getting jumpy. ¡°Yeah not so fast! That¡¯s it. That¡¯s a good speed!¡± shouted Dave to his heidel. After a minute of this kind of fooling around, the angry cows were found. =I see them!= buzzed Tzu, highlighting them in Dave¡¯s vision. A hundred metres out, Dave couldn¡¯t see much detail but trusted Tzu and used both arms to steady his wand as he took a shot at the oncoming cattle. =FREEZING HELL RAIN UPON YOU!= screamed Tzu in its distorted voice. The icicle hit the leading cow at a bad angle and mostly bounced off its skin but the plan worked and they both gave a horse lowing sound of pure rage and charged. ¡°Run back!¡± called Dave to his heidel. The heidel outstripped the two angry cows on its way back to Dave who continued to shoot icicles at them. His second shot hit the lead cow in the head but again the angle was bad and it tumbled out. The third and fourth shots were dead on though and the lead cow stumbled before taking the fourth shot right in the chest. The angry cow behind it tossed its head, shoving its dying companion aside as it closed the last of the distance. Hugh, who was lying in the grass in rock form, jumped up and ran forward two steps, made a short series of jerking motions, closed his eyes and long-range blasted the angry cow with gravel. The cow ran through the abrasive blast, losing its left eye and strips of skin down its side. Snorting, it changed direction toward Hugh who shied away and closed his eyes. Thorny branches from Sam¡¯s blightwood walker grasped onto the angry cow¡¯s haunches, momentarily taking away its momentum and Dave took the opportunity to shoot an icicle into its ribs. The angry cow staggered a couple of steps before Hugh opened his eyes and blasted another line of gravel into the monster. Sam disengaged to deal with the still dying cow that¡¯d been downed first, leaving her blightwood and Dave to finish off the one that Hugh had not quite engaged in melee with. Dave shook his head with a good natured smile. ¡°Hugh, you should have told me.¡± Hugh, however, looked at the ground, ashamed. ¡°I¡­ I thought I could do it if it really mattered,¡± he mumbled. Dave sighed, shook his head and put his arm on Hugh¡¯s shoulder. ¡°That¡¯s not how fighting works, mate. It¡¯s not like in the stories. People think there¡¯s something in them that¡¯ll swell up, right? You were looking for that?¡± Hugh nodded meekly. ¡°Yeah, society lied, mate. There¡¯s a bloke back home, fight coach, who puts it like this; you will not rise to the occasion, you will fall to the level of your training.¡± ¡°I just felt like I was back in the monastery,¡± whispered Hugh. Ahh, shit. Thought Dave. Gonna have to work through trauma as well. Sam was walking over now. ¡°He¡¯s fine,¡± Dave said to Sam¡¯s large, inquiring eyes over her hesitant smile. ¡°He just thought he could go from opening books to breaking heads without any steps in between.¡± Sam put her hand on his shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± said Sam softly. ¡°Let¡¯s walk and talk,¡± said Dave, knowing that men tended to express their feelings better while doing something physical. ¡°Upwind because I¡¯m going to loot.¡± Sam and Hugh walked out a bit, Dave looted and then they walked back to their heidels. ¡°I remember you specifically said during the fighting in Meg¨¨ve that you opened some doors in the battle. What form was that in?¡± asked Dave while they mounted up. ¡°Ahh, a couple. I kicked one open in earth form - a couple actually - and kind of seeped through a reinforced door in fire form and¡­ and I went through a skylight in airform!¡± ¡°Okay, cool!¡± said Dave, glad Hugh¡¯s mind was back on his successes. ¡°How¡¯d that work out?¡± ¡°Well, I had more-or-less opened up the most important door, that was the fire one, you understand. You see, it went to their main escape tunnel which went under the street and into the warehouse next door where they had an emergency portal ritual set up but because I, wait, hold on. It was important that I got through the door because it was super warded and nobody could figure out the array but because I could go through the keyhole, I just opened it from the other side without incident,¡± said Hugh in a single breath. Hugh went on to tell Sam and Dave of every detail of his activity in the raid on the Builder cultists and Purity church. Dave mentally kept track of the things that Hugh actively did. In all; three doors kicked in, one dripped through in fire form and two opened via alternative routes in wind form. His contributions to the melee were several enemies pushed over in various forms, one bear hugged while in earth form, one bear hugged while in fire form, a stack of paper thrown in a face while in air form and someone used his fire form to light a stream of flammable oil. Dave stored the flamethrower idea away for later. All the while, they¡¯d rode the heidels at a sedate pace into the forest searching for any sign of the pigs. ¡°Well, Hugh, I think I know your problem,¡± said Dave, going over his notes. ¡°I¡¯m a God¡¯s damned coward,¡± said Hugh, reddening. Sam patted his arm but Dave shrugged. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. Most people who are brave enough to fight aren¡¯t smart enough to learn how to fight before they try. Get themselves beat up. Cowardice would suit them more. I reckon you¡¯ll get stuck in once you know how. I mean, look at all those situations you just said. Like that fire form hug? You said that you were hiding behind a shelf and saw a purity priest beating on an adventurer so you just grabbed them? Why?¡± ¡°Well, it was just.. You know. I could and the priest didn¡¯t see me and¡­ I just thought, you know, do it and the adventurer will win! So, I did.¡± ¡°That¡¯s brave enough!¡± said Sam, beaming at Hugh who sputtered in protest. ¡°Sounds like once you felt safe and had a clear way forward, you did something?¡± ¡°Wha - I guess¡­ wouldn¡¯t say it like that -¡± Dave shrugged again. ¡°Sam and I can teach you how to give and take hits on the way to¡­ What¡¯d you say that town was?¡± ¡°Essert,¡± said Sam, carefully navigating the foreign word. ¡°Yeah, that. You¡¯ll still suck because fighting is hard and you¡¯re new at it but you¡¯ve got magic powers on your side so I reckon you¡¯ll do fine, okay? You up for the challenge?¡± ¡°Well, you know - it¡¯s just that - do I really-¡± He froze for a second as he got divine instruction. ¡°Oh,¡± said Hugh, meekly. ¡°Erm¡­ alright.¡± ¡°And we¡¯re going to find these damned pigs and if they get near you I want you to kick them or swing at them with an open handed slap as hard as you can, okay? I don¡¯t care if you close your eyes, just try it. Have faith in your abilities!¡± said Dave firmly and cracked Hugh over the head with a large stick as thick as his wrist that he¡¯d snatched off the forest floor. ¡°ARGH! WHAT?!¡± shouted Hugh. Dave grinned and showed him the broken stick. ¡°Does your head actually hurt?¡± said Dave, still grinning. Hugh rubbed his skull with an expression of wonder coming over his face. ¡°Your skin is stronger than steel, Hugh,¡± Dave winked. ¡°Start having a little faith in yourself.¡± Sam grinned and nodded at Hugh. ¡°You can do it!¡± said Sam in a bright voice. Hugh still looked hesitant. ¡°Alright, Sam, find a fallen tree or a dead tree. This is something we should have done in Meg¨¨ve.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the tree for?¡± asked Hugh. ¡°Slapping,¡± said Dave. ¡°You¡¯re going to contribute to a long, cinematic tradition and have a training sequence in a visually interesting location.¡± ¡°Oh, Is that a thing?¡± ¡°Only in theatre. In real life, the best fight trainers tend not to be on isolated mountains but in perfectly ordinary fight gyms or schools, running their business.¡± Hugh furrowed his brow and Sam smiled at him seriously. ¡°Yes, that would actually make sense, come to think of it,¡± said Hugh. ¡°Huh! Never thought of it that way.¡± ¡°Nobody does!¡± said Dave lightly. They found a large, fallen branch soon enough, which would serve the required purpose. Sam figured that they could tie it up horizontal on a large tree trunk so that each end could swing back and forth at Hugh. She mimed the idea in the air showing that herself and Dave could help control the log from next to the tree trunk. ¡°Good idea,¡± said Dave, once he understood what she was getting at. He looked at Hugh. ¡°Could you go up?¡± Hugh took to air form, walked in a spiral up to the largest, most sturdy branch of a nearby oak, dropped air form and took a rope out of his inventory. Unlike Dave¡¯s inventory, which was accessed by reaching to his waist or hips and was reminiscent of taking an item from a belt or pocket, Hugh¡¯s inventory was opened by turning to his left or right, reaching up and opening it like a shelf. Dave had seen him rifle through it before, too, as though absent-mindedly looking for misplaced items. Hugh tied off the rope and air-walked back down. Sam and Dave lifted the enormous branch and Hugh tied the rope to it, suspending it in the air. ¡°Alright, what do I do now?¡± said Hugh. ¡°Kind of, hit the ends?¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± said Dave. ¡°We¡¯ll hold the middle and sort of control it a bit and you just slap at the end coming towards you as hard as you feel comfortable. You ready?¡± Hugh nodded. Dave gently pushed his end of the hanging stick towards Hugh such that it would impact with the side of his head or shoulder. Hugh raised his arm to ward it off. ¡°Use the other arm. Swing across your body. You need to slap it back to where it came from, not defend yourself!¡± Dave pulled on his side of the branch as Sam gently floated her side in. ¡°Smack it!¡± piped up Sam with a characteristic grin. Hugh compromised with his own internal conflict and pushed it back to Sam. ¡°Yep! Now this side,¡± said Dave, taking what improvements he could get and moving his side of the stick towards Hugh. Hugh, encouraged by Sam and Dave, got into a rhythm of back and forth pushes with the branch, which Sam and Dave slowly sped up. Soon he was in constant motion, reaching across his body one way and then the other. ¡°Okay, try and smack at it now,¡± called Dave as he slowed the branch down again. ¡°Like, you¡¯re trying to smack a particularly large fly out of the air. Just do it softly and then go a bit harder every time until you¡¯re hitting as hard as you can without hurting yourself, okay?¡± Hugh nodded, projecting an aura of concern that matched his face. He held his breath and closed his eyes at the moment of impact but he did slap the branch. It came back to Sam a bit faster than expected and when the opposite end causally flew quickly to Hugh, he turned his back, curling up away from the oncoming wood. Dave took the opportunity to reach into his inventory, take out a knife and throw it at him. ¡°Hey!¡± said Hugh, reproachfully. It had landed flat against the back of his shoulder with a dull thunk. ¡°Did you feel any pain?¡± asked Dave. ¡°That¡¯s not the point!¡± protested Hugh. ¡°It is!¡± sang Sam, laughing. Dave grinned at the flabbergasted Hugh. ¡°Next time it comes at you like that, just ram your shoulder into it. I bet you¡¯ll be the one who does more damage,¡± said Dave. ¡°Try it!¡± sang Sam with an encouraging smile. ¡°How¡¯s your hands? No pain?¡± asked Dave, checking. ¡°Wha-? No, none. None,¡± said Hugh, holding up his hands and giving a whiskery smile. ¡°Well, back into the rhythm! More slaps and just be ready for that power, hey?¡± called Dave, already pushing his side of the branch towards Hugh. With Hugh¡¯s slaps providing more power, Sam and Dave put more effort into receiving than giving on the stick end. They built up a rhythm and Hugh got a determined look about him. ¡°Do your hands hurt?¡± asked Dave loudly over the noise of the smacking impacts. ¡°Oh? No!¡± said Hugh with a broad smile. ¡°Hit as hard as you can!¡± said Dave, pushing back the branch harder. Nervous, but feeling the moment, Hugh started hitting harder and harder. Sam and Dave struggled as bits of bark and splinters of wood started flying away from Hugh¡¯s hands. Each open-handed blow seemed to be hitting with the power of a mallet. Both Dave and Sam were impressed. The ability wasn¡¯t even levelled yet. And, Hugh¡¯s technique was defective. Every swing with his arms threatened to over-balance him, his feet moved out of synchronisation with his hands, he held his breath while swinging and he often closed his eyes with the impacts. Still, Dave felt like the blows could knock a man out through a helmet. ¡°Okay! Whoa! Slow down Hugh, you¡¯ve got the hang of that,¡± said Dave. ¡°You feeling better?¡± ¡°Yes! Oh, yes. It¡¯s... Yes, I don¡¯t know. When I got it, this ability, I felt more but, yes, using it. It¡¯s a whole other thing.¡± ¡°Yeah, you need to settle into it¡± ¡°Need to grow roots!¡± announced Sam with a smile. ¡°Yes, I suppose so.¡± ¡°You need to train kicks now!¡± said Sam ¡°You sure?¡± ¡°Yes! Normal kicks. Like kicking a ball. It will be good for the pigs because they are not high.¡± ¡°Oh, Well, how shall we do it? It¡¯s a good idea of course! I just¡­ well, you show me.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Sam smiled happily at the thanks. Dave helped Sam with the set up she envisioned. They soon had one end of the branch suspended, the other on the ground and Hugh at the end of the arc. ¡°Kick it!¡± commanded Sam ¡°Hard as you dare,¡± said Dave. Hugh kicked it. Lightly. Almost daintily. ¡°Sorry! Just checking,¡± said Hugh before screwing up his face and properly booting the oversized stick. There was a crunch and a bit of bark flew off as the stick changed direction back to Sam. ¡°Okay, you two keep doing that. Hugh? I¡¯m going to hit you with sticks and throw rocks at you. Lightly but,¡± Dave added quickly, seeing Hugh¡¯s concerned eyes. ¡°Until you gain confidence in your abilities and you think I can go harder. You just need to gain confidence in your defence.¡± Hugh sent a glance to Sam who nodded with an encouraging smile. And, so he kicked. Dave picked up a stick and on the next kick, in full view of Hugh so as not to alarm him, Dave carefully broke the stick over Hugh¡¯s shoulder. Hugh continued kicking the suspended branch, kicking with increasing determination as Sam and Dave cheered him on. Dave continued his relatively gentle assault with another branch and some rocks. With each strike glancing harmlessly off his skin, Hugh gained more and more confidence that he didn¡¯t need to keep shying away. Hugh began blocking the incoming strikes with raised arms and kicking the incoming branch with abandon, slowly causing bits of wood to break off or cave in. Under a barrage of encouragement from Sam, Dave and possibly a goddess, Hugh pushed past his doubts. Minutes later, Hugh was once again wiping for sweat that wasn¡¯t there on his brow. ¡°That was¡­ That was good!¡± said Hugh, surprising himself with his admission. ¡°Yep, that¡¯ll do it. A good session making wood chips,¡± said Dave, going over the wreckage. ¡°You ready for pig now?¡± said Sam with a grin. ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t know about that,¡± said Hugh self-consciously, beard twitching, ¡°But Goddess, why not try, hey? Faith¡­ Faith is the key.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the spirit!¡± said Dave and clapped him on the shoulder Sam just smiled encouragingly. With training over, the team continued on to search for the people-eater pigs. Dave¡¯s quest system was more vague and simply highlighted the whole forest with a ¡®search for clues¡¯ vibe. Hugh¡¯s was more exact, but not by much, giving him a ¡®this kind of direction¡¯ vibe that was so wide it could have two people walking at a right angle away from each other and still be well within what Hugh¡¯s ability said was ¡®right¡¯. So, Sam took over and looked at Dave¡¯s map in Tome. ¡°Big animals will stay near water. If we follow this biggest river,¡± Sam pointed to a stream which was still the biggest in this forest, ¡°maybe we find pig feet and pig nose holes in the mud?¡± Dave and Hugh just gestured at Sam helplessly. ¡°Yeah, sounds legit.¡± ¡°Absolutely, Sam. You¡¯re a big help.¡± She smiled and reached up to pat them on the head. ¡°City boys,¡± she said with a fond smile. The team mounted up and travelled down the river on their origami heidels. Dave had Tzu out who would spot enemies before anybody else and also, had been given an idea of what to look for. The steam varied between ankle and wait depth so the party elected to ride the origami heidels straight down the stream to save time. Within the hour, they¡¯d found the signs they were looking for. Upturned earth next to the bank and lots of pig tracks. ¡°Do you see the¡­ shine, as well? For the quests?¡± said Hugh, gesturing at the hoof prints in the mud. ¡°Yep.¡± Dave nodded. ¡°Quest objects shine to me too. Like a glow effect. Sorry, like an illusion¡­ like it¡¯s putting coloured glass over the object.¡± ¡°Really? Mine just shine like there¡¯s something within. Glow effect, you said? I think you explained this before? Yes, you said in your reality there¡¯s flat planes that show lights? For entertainment, I remember! I imagine this shine would be a lot like that. Oh! And over here, more of the questshine, look Dave, Sam, look! They go away.¡± Hugh was giddy with enthusiasm for following the active trail of his quest ability. ¡°Questshine,¡± said Dave, trying the word in his mouth. ¡°Yeah, that works.¡± ¡°Questshine,¡± mouthed Hugh with satisfaction. Not tripping over his words this time and savouring it. The word suited the phenomena well. ¡°It sounds nice,¡± opined Sam with her usual smile. ¡°Sounds like is pretty thing on the world for you to follow.¡± ¡°And that is how we shall think of it,¡± said Dave, smiling back a little. ¡°Hugh, please follow the questshine.¡± Hugh did. It was a winding path that led through some thick and hard-to-follow parts of the forest. Each of them took a spirit coin for sustenance as they went for over an hour following glowing footprints on the ground until Tzu suddenly detected them. =Behind= warned the lantern in its distorted techno voice. Sam was trailing, and swiftly turned and found a wide bellied, hairy pig trying to subtly follow the path behind. ¡°Hugh, come forward,¡± called Sam in a low voice. ¡°When it charge, kick the head as hard as you can, ka?¡± Dave gestured Hugh past him and to do as Sam said. Hugh was sweating into the cold autumn air with a determined set to his shoulders as he followed Sam¡¯s instructions. ¡°Wait for it to charge¡­¡± said Sam, just behind Hugh with a hand on the small of his back. She¡¯s gotten her billhook out of her pack and was holding it with her other hand which was already covered with swarming beetles. Dave had also drawn both of his wands. ¡°GGRIIIIINFF!¡± came a pig¡¯s scream from behind Dave who turned around in a snap with both wands raised. Surprised, Hugh tried to turn around as well but Sam restrained him, seeing that with a snort, the first pig had also charged. ¡°Kick!¡± shouted Sam, shaking and squeezing Hugh¡¯s arm while also, flinging her swarming familiar behind her and past Dave. Dave had snapped around but Tzu had beaten him to it and was already shooting a beam of disruptive force into the pigs head. Dave had time to shoot a single shot from each wand before Sam¡¯s familiar saved him by flying over its eyes causing the charging pig to knock Dave sideways onto the ground instead of over into the pigs path. Even being a higher rank than the pig, it would have been a nasty position to be in. At the same time as Dave was falling, Hugh had scrunched up his eyes, prayed to Knowledge and kicked the pig for all he was worth and then got absolutely bowled over by the pig¡¯s momentum. While Hugh did an involuntary, backwards somersault, the pig staggered, completely dazed, and Sam speared it through the ribs, into its heart. It stayed standing but Sam maintained a forwards pressure on her polearm so that the dying pig couldn¡¯t come near her. Although it tried. Dave was still dealing with his pig. It was blind from the beetles and limping on a foreleg from a perfect icicle wound but it was still ready to fight. It seemed that porcine creatures of all kinds in all realities had a hardy toughness and reluctance to die quickly. Dave stowed the wand of mage bolt and took out an arming sword to impale the pig should it charge again. ¡°Hugh!¡± called Dave. ¡°Over here, kick this one!¡± Hugh was getting off the dirt but looked hesitant. In a state of fright he scrambled up, ran over and kicked at the pig but missed. The pig twisted and Hugh fell over. The pig was on him in an instant munching down on his arm. ¡°Aieeeee! Argh! No! Argh!¡± shouted Hugh as he panic-slapped the people-eater pig. The eye on the side of its head that he slapped popped out. Dave ran his sword through the pigs neck while it was momentarily still on top of Hugh, trying to find the other half of its vision. It staggered, bleeding all over Hugh and releasing his arm, trying to understand this new threat as it died. Hugh, still panicked, sat up and gave the pig a mighty heave that unexpectedly sent the pig flying into a nearby tree trunk. The pig made an impossible to reproduce noise of a grunt-squeal forced out of suddenly compressed lungs before Hugh raised both of his hands, palm up, and shot beams of transcendent energy into the pig. Dave noticed in his HUD that the last of the pig¡¯s life and a good chunk of Hugh¡¯s mana disappeared. ¡°Oh, shit,¡± said Dave weakly. ¡°It¡¯s gone?¡± Hugh looked confused but turned to his left, opened a shelf to another dimension and pulled out a pork leg wrapped in butcher¡¯s paper. ¡°Ah, no. I had read about this,¡± said Hugh, shifting immediately into scholar mode despite the dirt all over him. ¡°Yes, when something dies from transcendent damage it¡¯s automatically looted. That¡¯s jolly, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Hell yeah!¡± said Dave, back on board with transcendent damage after this information. ¡°Have to make sure it¡¯s you who¡¯s killing monsters who are going anywhere inconvenient.¡± ¡°Is good idea! Free money from Dave is the best,¡± said Sam, smiling as usual. ¡°Well,¡± said Hugh, trying to dust himself off. Dave waved a hand to start Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas on him. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I¡¯ll be able to keep up. I rather made a mess of everything don¡¯t you think? Fell over more than I helped.¡± Hugh hung his head, looking at the ground. Tears were started to well in his eyes. Dave tilted his head in half agreement. ¡°You fell over but you helped,¡± said Dave. ¡°You didn¡¯t mean to but you kept that pig on you instead of me. Its bite did nothing to you but would have caused a minor wound to me. Then you bashed the side of its head in until its eye came out, threw it against a tree and then started blasting it with your most powerful ability.¡± Dave shrugged again and grinned at Hugh. ¡°You flailed around a lot, wasted a lot of movement and it was a bit of a waste of mana at the end there but it was pretty epic. What¡¯d he achieve on your side, Sam?¡± ¡°Was easy!¡± said Sam loudly and happily. ¡°He kicked the pig so hard that it saw stars and so, I stab it!¡± ¡°Oh! Goddess, did I?¡± said Hugh, blinking and lost in the context of the situation. ¡°Hugh,¡± said Dave, putting his hand on his friend¡¯s shoulder. ¡°To stun a pig, most people bring a small sledge hammer. You did it with your foot. I don¡¯t care that you fell over afterwards because that can be fixed. You know how?¡± ¡°No,¡± said Hugh, still feeling unsure. ¡°You stand back up, mate,¡± said Dave, grinning cheekily. ¡°Like what everyone does when they fall over.¡± Sam covered her mouth with her hands and giggled. Hugh shook his head and gave his whiskery smile. ¡°Well, I suppose. Sounds like I need to commit myself to my beliefs and spend a lot of time getting up over the next few months,¡± said Hugh with mock resignation. ¡°Good man!¡± said Dave, patting him on the back. ¡°It¡¯ll strengthen your leg muscles. They¡¯re important for adventuring, I¡¯m sure. Now, let us leave this forest.¡± Sam, still covering her mouth, led them back the way they¡¯d come. Dave hung back a little and looted the remaining dead pig and quickly backed off away from the rainbow smoke that was spreading out amongst the trees. The team left the forest. They knew there were more pigs to hunt but didn¡¯t have any questshine to follow and so decided to go to where they wouldn¡¯t be ambushed to regroup. They exited the forest in the mid afternoon to the sight of several dogs sprinting towards them while barking. ¡°Everyone stay still. Don¡¯t move, they¡¯re herding dogs¡± said Dave. He¡¯d highlighted the dogs in his HUD and read the label. ¡°My guess is that the herders will be along soon.¡± Dave was right. The barking of the dogs attracted a mixed group on heidels who soon arrived, riding up leisurely and calling the dogs off. ¡°Adventurers?¡± shouted one at the front still some distance out. Dave and Sam looked at Hugh who remembered he was the only person with a badge. ¡°Oh, ah, yes!¡± called Hugh in return, fumbling in the pocket of his habit for the badge and holding it up like a trophy as the groups came together. ¡°Drovers?¡± asked Dave, knowing the answer because of his HUD. ¡°Yep, so the adventurers finally came, hey?¡± said the same voice. It was a middle aged man who looked the part of a drover. Sensible clothes, sensible hat, sensible everything and a face like an aged rock. ¡°We are but tools of an organisation,¡± said Dave. ¡°Tools for sure, eh? You get the angry cows?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve taken down two cows and two pigs. Having a bit of trouble finding the rest to be honest,¡± confessed Dave. The drovers laughed leaving Dave and team feeling somewhat out of the loop. ¡°Terribly sorry, but may I enquire about your laughter just now?¡± asked Hugh timidly. ¡°Ahh, sorry neighbour,¡± said an older woman with a craggy face. ¡°Just that a bunch of lost adventurers is pretty typical.¡± Dave put it together. ¡°Ah! I see. Normal rank land, right? You get all the hopeless cases here? Like us, hey?¡± said Dave, giving a cheeky grin. ¡°Ahh, you must be alright, then,¡± said the sensible-everything man with a grin of his own. He rode forward and held out his hand which Dave shook. ¡°I¡¯m Ueli, that¡¯s Amy and¡­ That¡¯s the rest. Ey! You lot! We¡¯re not stopping for a rest, get back on your heidels and introduce yourself to our lost adventurers!¡± The drovers did. Names flew by; Franc, Mical, Freddy, Urs, Kathy, Chris, Andrew and Cori. Dave spent a moment very much enjoying that his HUD automatically updated the names over their heads. ¡°Lost, eh?¡± said Franc, an old bloke. He had a massive moustache that he clearly waxed into shape so that it curved away from his face. Or, he had been cursed by a witch. ¡°Afraid so,¡± said Hugh with sincerity. ¡°We¡¯re looking for the angry cows and people-eater pigs. I don¡¯t suppose¡­¡± Hugh left the words hanging and gestured at the drovers. ¡°I can help out,¡± piped up the fresh faced one called Chris. ¡°Shooter¡¯s a good sniffer.¡± ¡°Ahh¡­¡± deliberated Ueli but made up his mind when Amy nodded at him. ¡°Yeah, alright. Don¡¯t do anything dangerous. And, that goes for you adventurers too! Don¡¯t let him fight anything.¡± Chris rolled his eyes. ¡°We¡¯ll take care of him,¡± said Dave who manifested Tome. ¡°Summoning ritual, Professor. Answer my call.¡± Chris¡¯s eyes went wide and even the cynical, old-time drovers watched as a flailing mass of paper appendages printed itself into reality from every angle at once. ¡°Scrambler?¡± ordered Dave. ¡°Stay with Chris here and protect him from harm. Even from harm he may do himself but mostly from monsters, okay?¡± The origami golem wiggled its limbs in some kind of way but that Dave felt through the weak summoning bond was an affirmative. ¡°How long you reckon this¡¯ll take?¡± Dave asked Chris. ¡°An hour each way,¡± the young man shrugged. ¡°Actually, better question, where and when are we going to meet up with the rest of these fine folk?¡± said Dave, indicating the droving party. ¡°Late afternoon, the field next to the brown hill,¡± said Ueli. ¡°Chris knows where it is. Alright, the rest of us better get riding. See you later, adventurer.¡± And the droving party started trotting away. ¡°Right, lad,¡± said Dave. ¡°You¡¯re in command of our location and we do the fighting. Lead on.¡± ¡°Umm, well, the thing is - ¡° said the boy hesitantly. Hugh came to the rescue with an encouraging nod. ¡°Chris, is it? Yes. What¡¯s this thing?¡± Hugh smiled down at the young man with a friendly face full of beard atop a friar¡¯s habit. ¡°Oh! Just that it¡¯d be easier if we had something to give Shooter a bit of scent, Friar Sir.¡± ¡°Call me Hugh, Chris. The Lady does not mind and neither will I. After all,¡± Hugh winked at the boy. ¡°It is her business to know everything.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Chris chuckled. ¡°I suppose she would, Hugh.¡± ¡°How about this?¡± asked Dave, picking a roll of cowhide out of his inventory. ¡°Oh, perfect, sir!¡± said Chris and eagerly held the hide down for the dog, Shooter, to sniff. ¡°Shooter, hunt!¡± And the dog shot off, sniffing around. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s why she¡¯s called ¡®Shooter¡¯, hey?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, sir!¡± ¡°Just Dave will do fine.¡± ¡°Yes, sir! I mean, Dave. Ummm¡­¡± Chris¡¯s eyes drifted to Sam. ¡°I don¡¯t talk!¡± said Sam with her cheekiest grin. Dave and Hugh snorted with laughter and Chris looked shocked, then embarrassed and then laughed too. ¡°Helloooo! I¡¯m Sam, nice to meet youuuu,¡± sang Sam in her friendliest tone shaking Chris¡¯s hand.
It turned out, Chris had a pretty good idea about which herd the angry cows were with and Shooter confirmed it with her hyperactive sniffing and barking. After an hour and a bit, they¡¯d found three more angry cows. Shooter bailed them up and the team sent Hugh in to deal with them. He had a little more confidence this time and, if Dave guessed right, the confidence added to his ¡®meta-weight¡¯, the magical attribute related to the power attribute of a ranked person or monster that stopped them moving from forces applied by a lower rank and, inversely, helped them move lower ranks with their own momentum. Hugh slapped the first angry cow right in the head, staggering it sideways before the two others charged him. Dave and Sam were there, each armed and throwing themselves into the fray. Dave ended up underneath a cow, holding one of its front legs. He got his own feet under him and got into a weird, turning dance with the beast while he waited for Hugh to get to it. Sam had whacked her cow on the head with the flat of her billhook and shot in like a wrestler to get around the cow¡¯s neck and lift it off the ground, leaving only the cow¡¯s back feet to push against her which she was easily holding. ¡°How do you control your metaweight like that?¡± called Dave frantically to Sam as he kept one step ahead of his cow. ¡°You must think heavy!¡± shouted Sam. Hugh had squared up with his cow again and as it charged for the second time, he slapped it down into the ground. The momentum of the cow carried it on and it knocked Hugh off his feet as it rolled towards him. Hugh scrambled to his feet, ran over to the downed beast and kicked it as hard as he could. It mooed angrily and got to its feet unsteadily, staggering but Hugh hesitated to land the killing blow. Dave drew his wand and shot an ice bolt through the cow¡¯s ribs. Hugh finished off the other two cows with a similar display of¡­ skill and reluctance. The party remounted and found the people-eater pigs. Again with a little local knowledge, apparently there were a few spots that these monsters like to rest and wallow in so Chris took them to check those places first and before they knew it, Shooter was barking up a storm and Hugh stumbled forward to throw himself into the fray and across the ground. Dave¡¯s cantrip skill went up a level from using Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas on Hugh which was nice. The party was riding to Brown Hill at a leisurely pace, having finished early and Hugh was remarking to Chris that this was a humble lesson under the eyes of the Goddess that all adventurers should ¡®mine from the seam of local knowledge¡¯ more often. Chris couldn¡¯t have looked more proud as he led them into the drover¡¯s camp. Dave immediately cast Comfortable Country Cabin and explained its use to the whole party. It¡¯d be shoulder to shoulder inside but they¡¯d all sleep at a comfortable temperature. He then did his usual of cleaning everything in sight and got to studying. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose we could be of any more help while we¡¯re here?¡± inquired Hugh. ¡°I can do sanctified healing if it counts?¡± It did count. Farming was a hard life and they¡¯d acquired minor hurts, like stubbed toes, but one of them had a cracked rib from falling off a heidel the previous day which Hugh patched right up. While he was at it, Dave used cantrips to slip him a note to make friends and ask for their real opinions about adventurers and the adventure society. Dave continued his studies and Sam received great agrarian envy showing off her all-eating slime familiar. The sun went down, a fire was lit and Hugh got to chatting with the old folks over a simple dinner of sausages and tuber-type vegetables that Dave couldn¡¯t identify. ¡°Ahh, lazy glory seekers for the most part,¡± said Ueli, when Hugh asked about most adventurers. ¡°Well, o¡¯ course we¡¯d all die in the monster surge without them and you can¡¯t help but think some of ¡®em are alright but here we are, trying to farm some beef for people to eat. Put a little dignity on the plate, so to speak. Nothing ranked, just a bit of meat for folks to fatten up their kids, you know? And they take a month to send anybody out.¡± ¡°We weren¡¯t sent. Picked it up the usual way,¡± confessed Dave flatly. The old drover gestured at Dave to Hugh. ¡°See what I mean? No offence, young Dave.¡± ¡°None taken, sir. It¡¯s a reasonable accusation,¡± said Dave. Hugh continued to gab with the old timers for a while longer but Dave¡¯s attention drifted to Sam who was the attempted target of a young Drover¡¯s flirtations. Sam, however, was trying to use a wide smile as a shield which only gave the young fellow the wrong idea. Dave had a quiet word with one of the women in the droving team who gave a little nod and walked over to the young man as Dave moved off. ¡°Freddy! Come here, I need your opinion,¡± she said, drawing the unwanted suitor away. Sam gave Dave a grateful smile as he sat down beside her. ¡°You know, smiling at people is a terrible strategy for making them go away?¡± asked Dave with a smirk. Sam managed to shrink and shrug her shoulders at the same time while smiling even wider. Dave took a thoughtful sip of tea from the cup he was holding in response. ¡°You don¡¯t want to upset anyone, do you?¡± said Dave. ¡°Noooooo,¡± sang Sam quietly while clasping her hands together. ¡°In the future, use me or Hugh to get them off you. Just nod along with whatever they say and find an excuse to introduce the poor fellow to me or Hugh,¡± said Dave and smiled kindly at Sam. ¡°We¡¯ll distract them with questions and you can get away.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± laughed Sam quietly. Dave presented a hand which Sam high-fived. ¡°Thoughts on Hugh?¡± asked Dave, miming some punches and nodding towards their swarthy, bushy-bearded friend who was listening intently to the stories that the drovers were telling him. ¡°He needs training! Needs a master,¡± said Sam ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s me and you, I think.¡± ¡°No, Dave. We are not fighting masters!¡± ¡°Ugh,¡± said Dave, uncomfortably scratching the back of his head. ¡°I think I might be. In this plane. Anyway, I don¡¯t think we don¡¯t need to be national champions for Hugh to have something to learn from us.¡± Sam nodded. ¡°He fights¡­ shy,¡± said Sam, looking for a better word in her second language but finding none. ¡°Yeah, I know what you mean. He¡¯s got no dog in him.¡± Sam blinked and smiled. ¡°You know? Angry dog with hackles up? Just snarls and gets stuck in, shaking and ripping?¡± ¡°Oh, yes! Hugh has no dog!¡± Sam giggled. ¡°I was thinking I might teach him some basic grappling techniques. Not much good against monsters but perfect against people and it might help him get used to rough contact.¡± Sam nodded with her serious smile. ¡°He hits really hard when he does!¡± ¡°Yeah, he slaps like he¡¯s made of iron, doesn¡¯t he? That skin too.¡± ¡°Yes, I am very jealous of him! He always looks so comfortable, ka?¡± Dave rolled his eyes. ¡°Yeah, yeah. Unarmoured comfort, the affordability, no movement restrictions, no gaps in the armour,¡± Dave sighed and shook his head with envy. ¡°Yeah, if we can just make him actually fight he¡¯ll be pretty dangerous.¡± Sam giggled. They both looked at Hugh in his friar¡¯s habit chatting with the old timers about the proper care of heidels. Hugh appeared to have an eclectic knowledge of the subject and asked polite questions along the way. Despite the main thrust of his life being knowledge of astral magic, any subject would fascinate him and he seemed genuinely chuffed to hear anybody out. ¡°Dave! Dave?¡± called Hugh, sensing Dave¡¯s attention. ¡°Could you look it up? Parsa heidels are faster than Byzasi heidels, yes or no?¡± Dave started using Epistemology immediately. After a few moments he frowned and used Stop And Think. ¡°You alright?¡± asked Hugh at the delay. ¡°Fine! Just needs multiple books,¡± Dave called back, manifested Tome and made a couple of notes. ¡°You see Dave¡¯s just the most useful fellow around if you need to know something. Any moment he¡¯ll have it,¡± said Hugh to the onlookers with assurance. ¡°Ahh, yes!¡± called Dave, eyebrows still furrowed in his characteristic way. ¡°They seem to be favoured by most breeders for the two and four lap chariot race in Evouia but begin to fall out of favour for sturdier breeds for the longer races. Something about weak legs?¡± ¡°Ahh, like I said, Hugh,¡± opined Franc, patting his massive moustache. ¡°You want something with a bit of distance in ¡®em for droving.¡± ¡°True but he¡¯s right, you could mix in a bit of Evouia blood and breed a bit of the best of both,¡± said Amy, nodding her craggy face in the firelight. ¡°Ahh, they won¡¯t mix,¡± complained Franc. ¡°You can¡¯t get thin and sturdy legs. What¡¯re gonna do? Breed steel into them too?¡± ¡°Perhaps, simply, longer legs that are just as sturdy? Byzasi, worker breed sturdiness with Evouia leg length?¡± suggested Hugh. ¡°Ohh, could work, could work,¡± said Franc speculatively. ¡°Not gonna find out, are we?¡± said Amy. ¡°You¡¯d need noble-like money to bring in breeding stock and all they¡¯re caring about is useless shit like those games your friend Dave knows so much about.¡± ¡°Nah, Amy,¡± said Michal, his long, wavy, grey hair reflecting the firelight. He gestured at Dave. ¡°Remember, Hugh said Dave there doesn¡¯t really know it, he just looks it up. He¡¯s not actually a chariot guy.¡± Dave gestured gratefully at the man and allowed that gratitude to be sensed by those around him, just to be sure. The wavy-haired man raised his drink to Dave in acknowledgement. ¡°I wonder,¡± said Dave speculatively, his eyes going from the drink in the man¡¯s hand to unfocused. ¡°What you wonder?¡± said Sam with a knowing grin. ¡°Ahh, water? Liquid? Travelling? Umm,¡± said Dave and hastily rearranged his thoughts into something sensible. ¡°I mean, could we travel to our destination by boat?¡± Sam looked confused and smiled it up at him. ¡°Well, it¡¯s just, the origami heidels are fast but since we¡¯re off road, we lose a lot of time picking our way around and I¡¯d really like to study a bit. A boat over a river would be easier, we could all fit in it and nobody would suspect that the three people who rode out of Meg¨¨ve on heidels would be found travelling on the river.¡± ¡°Maybe, if there¡¯s rivers around?¡± said Sam hesitantly. ¡°You can make boat?¡± Dave shrugged. ¡°I can make dense paper in a boat-shape and dry it out with my cantrip once it soaks through. I reckon that might be a boat for a few hours at least?¡± ¡°Umm, Hugh and his new friends will tell us!¡± said Sam, suddenly beaming her happy smile. ¡°Hugh! Are there any rivers to take boats to Mattenhof?¡± Hugh put the question to his fellow conversationalists and there was a chorus of gravelly voiced suggestions that surmised that really they¡¯d want to head to Lake Leman but the Arve was too far east and the Rhone was too far west so they didn¡¯t have any good options. As the verdict became clear, Sam patted Dave apologetically on the back. ¡°No study for you,¡± she sang. ¡°Have to look at nature.¡± Sam smiled cheekily up at him. Dave gave a resigned smile back. ¡°There¡¯s worse things, I suppose.¡± Chapter 18: The Old Tin Mine
Current Quests
Justice For Courbefy: Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use¡­ Chosen Of Knowledge: Escort Hugh on his journey to becoming a fully awakened iron¡­ Healer¡¯s Materials: Gain Healer¡¯s favour by donating alchemy ingredients to the church¡­ Wine tour: Vineyard wants you to try the different wines in the Meg¨¨ve area. Acquire Follower: Dominion wants you to gain another follower. Chosen Of Hero: Travel north to Lake Auvernier, find the chosen of Hero and recruit¡­
The adventuring team parted with the drovers after their regular morning routine; workout, combat training and meditation. Or, their personal variations of those things. A fun bit of cross training improvised in the moment involved Hugh kicking large rocks or sticks into the air and Dave attempting to shoot them with his wands. The drovers joined in, laughing and throwing their own rocks causing Sam to laugh as Dave, brain overwhelmed with targets, would often fire exactly between two at the same time like some part of his mind was selecting both as possible targets and taking an average. Next, Dave gave Sam and Hugh their first wrestling lesson. Sam took to it well but constantly reverted to standing too upright, which worked well for her tough, striking-based techniques that she favoured, but left her vulnerable to leg takedowns. Dave focused on teaching her to pop her hips back and sprawl. Hugh committed himself well to the basic wrestling that Dave instructed, likely because Dave went at a low intensity and it wasn¡¯t an immediately violent activity. Hugh managed to understand some basic hand positions; the fifty-fifty; one hand on the neck, one hand on the arm, the two-on-one; two hands on one arm, a Russian-tie; a two-on-one with your ear pressed into their shoulder, double-underhooks; both arms hooking under your opponent¡¯s arms, and double overhooks; both arms hooking over your opponent¡¯s arms. Together, Dave and Hugh played a simple game of trying to hold those positions while off-balancing each other. ¡°It¡¯s just like being a child again!¡± chortled Hugh as Dave allowed himself to be overbalanced as part of the game. Dave grinned up at the big man. ¡°Ever noticed how people say that kids learn so fast but nobody thinks to learn as children do?¡± said Dave with a smirk. ¡°Wherever do you think of such things? Good Goddess, really?¡± said Hugh. ¡°Social science articles,¡± said Dave, grinning. ¡°Learning through play is one of the best ways to learn, especially, if I recall correctly, intentional learning. Where you¡¯re playing but also intentionally focusing on a new skill. Something like that. It¡¯s been a few years since I read it.¡± Hugh was stupified. ¡°Do you mean to say that people research children where you¡¯re from?¡± Dave turned to Hugh, also looking stupefied. ¡°Err¡­ Yes? Shouldn¡¯t we? They¡¯re important, no?¡± ¡°But¡­ they¡¯re children! That¡¯s perverse! What¡¯s there to even learn?¡± ¡°...methods for making a good adult?¡± ¡°But that¡¯s just¡­ in the parentage¡­¡± Hugh faltered at Dave¡¯s slightly shaking head. Sam laughed loudly and they both turned to her. ¡°Sorry, ka!¡± gabbled Sam quickly, ¡°Just didn¡¯t think Dave was better with children than you,¡± she said to Hugh. ¡°Is backwards, ka? You so friendly and Dave so strict but Dave is better with children! Just make me laugh when world is backwards, sorry ka!¡± She was blushing and waving her hands now as though trying to wash herself of the outburst. Both men smiled and chuckled quietly. ¡°You are forgiven, Sam,¡± said Dave and turned to Hugh. ¡°But seriously, Hugh, the people of my world have invented things you can¡¯t imagine. We have devices in our pockets that can do mathematics at speeds normal humans are incapable of. That same device can access and display almost every text of human information and may also be used to instantly communicate with people anywhere on the planet who also have a similar device. We¡¯ve travelled to the moon without magic - oh yeah, and we did that before we invented that first device - and international travel in flying, metal vehicles is so routine that some people find it boring. Suffice to say that on my plane, the study of knowledge isn¡¯t restricted to the so-called high arts of the astral, the alchemical and the gods. Where I¡¯m from, if you can think of the topic, someone has almost certainly written a twenty-thousand-word thesis on it.¡± Hugh¡¯s mouth fell open as he ran the ideas through his head, shaped into the beginning of a laugh as though he thought Dave might be playing a joke on him, suddenly got the look of communication with his goddess and then looked frightened. ¡°What she say?¡± said Sam, concerned about Hugh and giving Dave doubtful looks after his little speech. ¡°She said that he¡¯s being honest and if anything he¡¯s understating it. The knowledge his reality has,¡± Hugh looked at Dave and swallowed the lump in his throat, ¡°makes us look like children.¡± Sam looked at Dave with wide eyes and then beamed at him. ¡°Dave, Goddess says you are smart boy!¡± she sang and pinched his arm affectionately. ¡°Please teach us!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do,¡± said Dave dryly. ¡°Once I get settled in this world and don¡¯t need to run away from well bred maniacs with magical powers.¡± Sam grinned guiltily. ¡°And the cultists,¡± said Hugh. ¡°Don¡¯t forget the cultists.¡± ¡°And the cultists,¡± agreed Dave. ¡°Sorry about that, by the way, I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a good reason Knowledge isn¡¯t blessing you with better facilities,¡± said Hugh, half stammering. ¡°No, no, no,¡± said Dave. ¡°It seems a trying time for everyone. Sounds like there was an attempt at a divine coup or something?¡± Hugh nodded and he continued. ¡°I figure she¡¯s doing her best. No apology needed. On that note, shall we get going?¡± ¡°Yes, it is about time,¡± said Hugh, who began pottering about to try and pack things up. Sam, who had already packed everything up, smiled at him and waited for him to notice and stop pottering. ¡°Ah, well, it looks like Sam has - yes, you have hadn¡¯t you? Anyway, yes, I - I was thinking today we could take a look at the old tin mine astral space near here? I remembered on the way over that it¡¯s there. Nobody goes in it anymore. It doesn¡¯t spawn any flying monsters and the exit point is over a lake so, it¡¯s hard to get out of, and there¡¯s no contracts for the inside, of course, since the monsters in there are no threat to anybody.¡± Dave looked at Sam and gave a shrug. Sam smiled and nodded. ¡°Lead on,¡± said Dave. ¡°Tin mine astral space?¡± As they rode, Hugh told Dave and Sam about the astral space. It¡¯d been discovered about a hundred years ago and mostly been ignored by everyone except the occasional astral researcher who¡¯d stop by to record something about it and rare adventurers looking for training experience. Apparently, it was a particularly stable astral space. Then, someone with a metal detection ability noticed a seam of tin. The tin was tested and found to be true iron-rank tin and so, a mining operation was put in place which lasted about fifty years until it wasn¡¯t profitable to hire iron-rank guards anymore. The place had been abandoned then, about thirty years ago. ¡°Hang on, hasn¡¯t this place already been studied?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Why do you want to go in?¡± ¡°Well, not necessarily in, you see but I have that new ability now? Dimensional portals? My racial? Lets me manipulate dimensional forces and because I¡¯ve been there before with my dimensional sensing ability, I have a good idea of what to expect and can understand my racial better,¡± said Hugh, smiling hopefully at his friends through his beard. ¡°Nah, that seems legit,¡± said Dave thoughtfully. ¡°I¡¯m kind of curious about that too. I¡¯ve been wondering if you¡¯re just going to randomly open holes in space-time for a bit now. The ability seems to need a pre-existing astral space, though. Right?¡± ¡°Yes, indeed.¡± Confirmed Hugh. ¡°So they¡¯re not common enough that you could just make one open on a casual basis?¡± ¡°Not at all.¡± Dave nodded along. ¡°And they¡¯re filled with monsters?¡± ¡°Sometimes.¡± ¡°Dave, you have planning look on again!¡± said Sam, laughing. Hugh and Sam grinned at him. Dave smiled and rolled his eyes. ¡°Yes, I was thinking that we have our own, personal monster killing grounds. People won¡¯t go into the unstable ones, right? The unstable spaces?¡± ¡°Not usually, no - oh! Yes. Indeed!¡± exclaimed Hugh, catching up. He turned to Sam who still looked a little confused. ¡°Goddess on high! Yes, the portal is unstable but the inside is often stable, pseudo-reality and able to spawn monsters.¡± ¡°Ahh! So we go to astral space and use Dave for free money!¡± said Sam happily. ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± said Dave, grinning back at Sam. ¡°Hugh provides the hunting ground, I provide the money printer and Sam, you have the most important job of keeping us alive to do it again and again and again.¡± ¡°Alright! I will!¡± announced Sam, laughing. ¡°Hugh, there are maps of these astral spaces, right?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Oh, certainly. There¡¯s even some data on theoretical protoastral spaces in the area.¡± ¡°Sounds like they¡¯re bumping up against this reality but haven''t broken in yet?¡± Hugh nodded, whiskers pulling into a pleased look. ¡°Yeah, put in a request for those maps, mate,¡± said Dave with a look like a cat who¡¯s found a bowl full of cream. ¡°We¡¯re going to farm some gold.¡± As the group travelled to the astral space, Dave had to explain what gold farming was. That had made him explain what a video game was ¨C a game played with moving pictures. Then, when Dave said that gold used to be used as money Sam asked why they used to use gold for money and what they used for money now that gold wasn¡¯t used for money. Dave gave a lengthy explanation as best he could about non-magical currency. He was just explaining that without magic, duplicating objects, like banknotes, depended on technology when the party arrived at the Old Mine Astral Space, which, Hugh assured Dave, was its official name on the map and not a bug in Dave¡¯s¡­ software? Thaumware? ¨C not a bug in his UI. ¡°There it is,¡± said Hugh, gesturing at a hole in the world. Dave was fascinated. The magic coming off of it was¡­ unworldly. Well, yes, obviously unworldly but in a worldly way. ¡°How does it¡­¡± Dave waved his hand in a circle indicating the portal. ¡°Oh, yes! The Adrastus projections would be visible to you. Yes, they¡¯re thought to be a line where the astral magic stops and acclimates to the world. What do you think?¡± ¡°Does the astral magic travel at the speed of light?¡± asked Dave, leaning in. Hugh raised his eyebrows. ¡°Oh, light has a speed. It¡¯s made of particles.¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to talk about this later,¡± said Hugh seriously while Sam smiled and nodded seriously in agreement. ¡°Right now, astral magic help?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± said Dave, manifesting Tome into his hands and helping Hugh make some recordings. Dave acted as both magical detection instrument, with his Eldrich Eyes, and recording device with his pens while Hugh picked different distances and angles from which to take readings. While they worked, Sam, always happy to help, held sand-timers or held some magical device of Hugh¡¯s as he used Dave¡¯s eyes to measure the details of his own racial ability. ¡°Oh, yes. Indeed. That¡¯s¡­. Whew! That¡¯s potent,¡± said Hugh, wiping his brow as Dave penned in the last of the results in a table. ¡°Oh, Goddess! What¡¯s all that you¡¯re writing now?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Dave looked up from his work with the far away look of someone lost deep in maths. ¡°Statistical analysis?¡± Hugh looked at him blankly and Sam gave her usual beam of happiness in anticipation that Dave was about to be smart at someone.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Well, I¡¯m starting with the standard deviation and the variance on each kind of manipulation you just did. You see? Pulses per second. Now, we¡¯ll have to find a way to check what the significance of those filters we used to slow the pulses down to a countable number means but at the right setting we got some reasonable data. See? There, the blank set?¡± ¡°Blank set?¡± said Hugh. ¡°I¡­ can¡¯t tell you why because of the Disguise deal. But, I can tell you that I used the blank set here as a comparison for the filtered sets. Anyway, I¡¯ll go over this later and calculate a p value. After that, I¡¯ll use Library Of The Mind to look up how much mana you used and we¡¯ll be able to know the maximum amount of dimensional force you can exert in each of the measured ways per mana point spent.¡± Dave looked at Hugh, pleased with the data. Hugh looked at Dave, pleased that he¡¯d got such a good outworlder. Sam looked at them both and was happy to have friends. ¡°We¡¯re¡­ also adding this to things we¡¯re going to talk about later,¡± said Hugh carefully. ¡°I was thinking we¡¯d just pop in and see if my abilities apply only at the portal on the other side or throughout.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah. Sure,¡± said Dave sheepishly and used his telekinetic pens to float over a piece of paper that had written on it, ¡®1) particle nature of photons¡¯ and ¡®2) statistical analysis¡¯. Hugh pocketed it. ¡°Isn¡¯t it unsafe on the other side? In the air?¡± asked Sam. ¡°Yes, but I can walk on air. You two don¡¯t need to come with me,¡± said Hugh. ¡°Umm¡­¡± ¡°Hugh!¡± ¡°Oh, yes. Danger,¡± said Hugh in reminiscence. ¡°The last time we were here we made this contraption with, sort of, two long, floating logs with a sort of pole sticking out that you could paddle into position for the way back. Could you -?¡± ¡°No, paper doesn¡¯t have that kind of flexing strength,¡± said Dave. ¡°I could make a small pontoon and we could jump from it? Yeah, hard landing though.¡± Dave and Hugh both got the serious look of two men trying to solve a new problem. ¡°Actually, yeah!¡± said Dave brightening up. ¡°The hole is right there. It¡¯s not a portal is it? This one¡¯s just totally open.¡± ¡°Yes, said Hugh. ¡°Why don¡¯t I send a scouting eye through and we can take a look around?¡± suggested Dave. ¡°If it¡¯s dangerous then we aren¡¯t going through and don¡¯t need to invent a way to come back. If it¡¯s not dangerous, I can get a good look at the things in the area we can use to get back.¡± ¡°Smart!¡± said Sam and tapped the side of her head. ¡°Yes, that is a good idea,¡± said Hugh. ¡°It was a slightly wooded area when I was last in there so maybe we could use some trees to make a boat or a raft?¡± ¡°I was thinking of a paper boat and have an origami golem in the boat to steer, sort of, throw us back through the portal?¡± said Dave and cast the spell. ¡°Arise, an eye of transvection for my clairvoyance.¡± Dave¡¯s perspective instantly left his body and transferred into an invisible, floating sensory node that could be detected by its presence. It gave out Dave¡¯s aura imprint but in a discorporated way that raised the hairs on the back of the neck of anybody who didn¡¯t know about the spell. Sam and Hugh, of course, immediately locked eyes where the sensory node manifested and felt it leave their sight as Dave piloted the node across a small lake. Hugh¡¯s description was immediately confirmed. Dave floated across the top of a lake of shallow, clear water that had sand and river rocks on the bottom. He didn¡¯t get the sense that there were any water-based monsters below which Hugh¡¯s words had also indicated but it paid to be cautious. Hugh had additionally suggested ¡®the old mining watchtower¡¯ for Dave¡¯s first destination. It was constructed in an area with a good view of the mine and the surrounding area so Hugh figured that even though Dave¡¯s eye could float, it¡¯d be a good place to view monsters from. Dave got some height and began floating towards the distant watchtower when Tzu, subsumed into his eyes, highlighted two humanoid figures on his HUD, hidden in a blind halfway up a rise. Dave immediately selected them and swore back in his body. ¡°Shit! Builder cult!¡± Dave and Sam responded. ¡°I can¡¯t listen in two places at once so I didn¡¯t hear that. Don¡¯t worry, I saw them from a good distance off. I¡¯ll float up and check out the old mine. I bet they¡¯re encamped there. I¡¯ll cancel the spell if I think I¡¯m in trouble at all.¡± Dave didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be in any trouble, though. The sensory node was invisible, only gave off magical radiation, mostly aura-based, and was the size of a golf ball. So long as Dave kept his feelings restrained and thus, his aura retracted he was pretty sure he wouldn¡¯t be detected in the skies. Except by a small list of flying monsters but that didn¡¯t seem likely. It wasn¡¯t long before Dave confirmed the situation. The mining buildings were populated by the Builder cult. Dave used Stop And Think at a likely-looking moment to get a headcount of fifteen while slowly circling the compound for over half-an-hour before cancelling the spell. ¡°Well, we can¡¯t go through that,¡± said Dave, snapping his senses back into his body. He looked around. Sam had three magic circles drawn on the ground and was in full armour, which she didn¡¯t like to wear while travelling. Hugh just looked nervous. ¡°We can¡¯t fight them, there¡¯s too many,¡± Dave continued on. ¡°I counted fifteen at one point and that¡¯s just those in the open. I think it¡¯s best if they continue to believe they¡¯re unnoticed and we just notify the authorities in Meg¨¨ve and Oullins. They¡¯ll call up a - what¡¯d you call them?¡± ¡°War contract,¡± said Hugh. ¡°Yeah, war contract. One of them to wipe the cultists out,¡± Dave was already manifesting bits of paper and using his telekinetic pens to write identical letters to the Adventure Society in Meg¨¨ve and Oullins until a thought struck him and he looked up sharply. ¡°Actually, we should get away from here as fast as possible in case they have anybody coming to join them inside. ¡°No tracks,¡± said Sam but she was already swinging herself into her saddle and leading the party back the way they¡¯d come to minimise their own tracks. ¡°We should do it just in case,¡± said Hugh, completing the thought they were all having. There was no disguising their own tracks completely but Sam went back with a long stick used as a kind of broom to disturb their trail as best she could for a hundred metres while Dave finished composing his letters and sent them both before the party galloped north as quickly as they could. With only a single spell left for making a comfortable camp and the importance of not spooking the Builder cult out of hiding, Hugh recommended they give up their fear-of-Geller-based stealth and strike straight for Marnaz, the closest town. From there, Hugh could ride into town, give the Church of Knowledge there an anonymous letter to pass on and they could leave again, this time riding hard to the west. Dave liked the plan. It got them away from the dimensional space and the land around it while alerting authorities and simultaneously, put them on a road that anybody looking for them wouldn¡¯t think to search. Sam was the odd one out, wanting to circle around the area that the astral space was in, hunting for Builder cultists. ¡°Really, Sam?¡± said Hugh when Sam had shyly voiced this opinion. ¡°Yes! They are mean. And, trying to kill everyone!¡± Hugh¡¯s mouth opened but no sound came out. ¡°Good point,¡± said Dave, taking up the conversation, ¡°but even if we hunt successfully, they¡¯ll notice their fellow cultists going missing and give the game away. Best if we let the war contract deal with it.¡± ¡°I know, but I still want to hunt them. They killed Hugh¡¯s friends!¡± ¡°Sam,¡± said Dave proudly. ¡°Sometimes you are very savage and I think I speak for us both when I say thank you for being on our side. You are a good person.¡± ¡°Indeed, thank you,¡± Hugh rushed to add. Sam smiled happily at them. Since leaving Meg¨¨ve they¡¯d travelled largely north. Taking this road west would put them on a parallel path to the one that Lady Geller would, presumably, be using to travel east from Oulins to Meg¨¨ve. It should keep them separate. Unfortunately, that meant a hard day of riding on a galloping heidel to Amancy then on to the lakeside city of Champel which Dave recognised was on the very south of what he recognised as Lake Geneva or close to it. Despite the differences between his native reality and this reality, the broad strokes of the geography remained the same. In this case, the three great lakes of Switzerland seemed preserved. Fewer Swiss people though. More elves. The party rode on even after sunset. The road they were on was wide and well maintained so there was little danger of galloping along it in the fading light for a couple of hours until they reached the outskirts of Champel where Hugh negotiated a space for Dave to cast the cabin spell on the land of a small farm. The friendly farmer was happy to even provision Hugh with fresh eggs and vegetables in favour of Sam using her all-eating slime to fertilise the soil of his cabbage patch. ¡°Eh, there¡¯s much good to be said about slime fertilisation. Gives the soil some vigour!¡± remarked the farmer, Adi, sipping on a beer with Hugh and Dave while they watched Sam direct Slimey who absorbed different sources of fertiliser and deposited it, processed, into the soil by some cabbages. Dave was idly sketching notes in Tome. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s part of their life cycle. The slime processes the nutritious, organic material within itself into a potent fertiliser that vigorous plants use to grow, fruit and attract animals that the slime digests. Fascinating process,¡± said Hugh. ¡°Is that so, hey?¡± said Adi, nonplussed as farmers tend to be. ¡°Fascinating when you¡¯re not the one being digested, I¡¯d say. What¡¯re you adventurers doing here anyway? Those on roadguard duty follow the caravans all the way into the city.¡± ¡°We have a quest further north up by that, uhh, more Northern lake. What¡¯s it called?¡± said Dave, looking up from his work. ¡°Auvernier,¡± said Hugh.¡± ¡°Auvernier,¡± confirmed Adi. ¡°Lake Auvernier, I should say. Auvernier itself is the name of the town that the lake is named after and so the lake is also Auvernier Lake, if you follow?¡± ¡°I do. Can you give foreigners like us any advice about the best way to get there?¡± said Dave. Adi took a draught of his beer while he thought about the question. ¡°Well,¡± said Adi carefully. ¡°An unranked like me would have to wait for an escorted caravan, of course but you? From what I hear, most iron ranked folks take the north road and camp out at Cergue base camp and either follow a bronze through the edges of the bronze zone there or team up in groups of two dozen or more to go through it themselves. But, I think I heard the Friar here say you have a looting power?¡± Dave and Hugh nodded. ¡°Well,¡± Adi slapped his leg and sighed. ¡°Why don¡¯t you take the barge?¡± Both Dave and Hugh gave Adi an open look that reminded him they were both foreign to the area. ¡°Ah!¡± said Adi, smiling to himself self-consciously. ¡°Yes, there¡¯s a regular ferry out to the adventuring platform in Leman Lake. Big platform that adventurers stay on while working. It¡¯s a good iron rank water zone to train in before heading into the Crescent Sea. Lots of water-related essence users use it. Or, so I hear, never seen it myself, of course, but it¡¯s talked about.¡± Hugh saw Dave¡¯s eyes check out. A sure sign he¡¯d gone into his UI, using his abilities. Hugh politely engaged the farmer¡¯s attention. ¡°Terribly sorry, Adi, I don¡¯t understand. Going to the floating platform will help us arrive at Lake Leman?¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh, yes!¡± said Adi, halfway through a sip of beer. ¡°The trick is, they say, you get off the ferry at the platform, go across to the other side and get on the other ferry that comes from Sauvabelin -¡± ¡°Ahh! Of course!¡± remarked a delighted Hugh. ¡°- and by the end of the day, you¡¯re on the other side of the lake,¡± Adi concluded. Dave was already flicking through pages in Tome and drew an odd look from Adi. ¡°His bonded book can turn into other books,¡± said Hugh with a nod and a wink. ¡°He¡¯s probably looking up the cost of the trip.¡± ¡°Very reasonable cost, actually,¡± said Dave, distractedly, ¡°But I can confirm everything you say is correct, Mister Muller. At least, according to the collected journals of one Lucas Fried, silver rank. Apparently.¡± Dave suddenly smirked. ¡°Although, I¡¯m hesitant to credit everything this autobiography he has to say. He seems to think he¡¯s the first person to take this route. The way he writes, he also credits himself with the invention of water.¡± ¡°Old Fanciful Fried thought the sun shone out of his arse but I do think he might be right about this. Yes, I do,¡± said the old farmer with a grin. Hugh chuckled and looked momentarily scandalised with himself at laughing at the profanity. ¡°I¡¯ll let Sam know,¡± said Dave, draining his drink. ¡°She¡¯ll have concerns.¡± As Dave walked off, Adi shot Hugh a raised eyebrow. ¡°Oh, she¡­ she prefers not to be around too many people. It makes her frightened.¡± ¡°That happy, little runic? Have to say, I¡¯ve never seen one smile so brightly. Most are just like all the other adventurers.¡± Adi grinned to himself. ¡°Young folk pumped full of essences trying to impress everyone with how serious they are. If you don¡¯t mind me saying so, my good Friar, having essences yourself.¡± ¡°Not at all, not at all,¡± said Hugh, chuckling. ¡°I only recently acquired my full set with the aid of Dave there. I must apologise on his behalf, Adi, I¡¯m afraid. The way he stops listening halfway through a conversation. He¡¯s new to his abilities himself and, indeed, this part of the world. He gets an idea -¡± Adi waved off the apology. ¡°He seems a good fellow, just distracted by his own thoughts. I have a grand niece like that. Always off in her own head, following a new thought.¡± Adi smiled to himself with memory, took another sip of beer and added, ¡°Besides, a man who pays for his beer in advance has brought himself a lot of understanding from me, in my books. You said he¡¯s new in this part of the world?¡± ¡°Indeed, he claims an Ahitereirian bubble city as his home and arrived in the Byzasian Empire but weeks ago by something like a teleportation accident,¡± said Hugh, very carefully not lying. ¡°Oh? Well, that¡¯s high ranked stuff. Beyond the likes of us, eh? We¡¯ll let them¡­¡± Adi, trailed off gesturing towards the stars in a way as though to suggest that whatever activities the higher ranked diamond people in the world did would continue to happen with or without his input. And, rightfully so. ¡°Indeed, yes. My Lady tells me to expect someone to show up any day as a representative of a bubble city and deal with the formalities of Dave¡¯s appearance but tells me not to concern myself overly much with it. As you say, we¡¯ll let them¡­¡± Hugh mimicked Adi¡¯s gesture. Adi and Hugh continued chit-chatting as Dave walked over to Sam who smiled a big hello. ¡°You okay if we head into town?¡± said Dave. Sam smiled at him quizzically. ¡°There¡¯s a ferry to a platform in the middle of the lake and another ferry from there to the other side of the lake,¡± said Dave. ¡°It¡¯s not expensive, we gain two days of time and won¡¯t have to fight anything, which we might have if we''d gone by the north road out of Champel.¡± Sam nodded along with a worried smile. The small trek that road took into a bronze rank zone had a bad reputation and they¡¯d been worried that Sam might have to use her Death essence abilities if a fight there got too intense. ¡°I think this ferry will be fine. I checked their books, which they really ought to remove from public access. Dozens of people are on the ferry at once. Not just adventurers, too. Lots of workers, some magic item brokers, some ranked fishermen. People like that. Just keep your aura retracted and I think you¡¯ll blend into the background magic.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine!¡± said Sam with a brave smile under her big eyes. ¡°But we leave if any silver rankers are there, ka?¡± ¡°Absolutely,¡± said Dave. ¡°In the meantime though, think of a way to signal me or Hugh if you feel like someone¡¯s reading you so we can run a distraction and you can hide. Okay?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± laughed Sam nervously. ¡°That is fine!¡± ¡°Good. How¡¯s the garden? Adi seems pleased about Slimey¡¯s fertiliser. Is it really that much to talk about?¡± Sam nodded enthusiastically. ¡°Yes! Can be career if you can summon or have familiar slime. Go from farm to farm and they pay for soil treatment. Is not adventurer money but is career.¡± Sam beamed at Dave¡¯s thoughtful look. ¡°What is your plan, Dave?¡± said Sam and giggled. ¡°You have planning face on!¡± ¡°Hm? Oh, nothing much,¡± said Dave, coming out of a reverie. ¡°Just thinking about how things are similar processes here but with different tools. Your wandering slime merchants are quite similar to a seasonal use of crop dusting or something like that. I was just wondering if there¡¯s a magical crop rotation, too. Actually, you might know. Is there? Certain crops planted after each other to enrich the magic?¡± Sam laughed and nodded vigorously but didn¡¯t say anything. She wanted to see how far Dave could get on his own. ¡°Yeah, so you plant low magic crops and they concentrate something that more magical crops use as nutrients and when that grows it triggers something else, right? Or, can you just keep looping one on top of the other? Where each crop feeds into the next? No, wait! It¡¯d be limited by the background magic concentration, wouldn¡¯t it? Oh, unless you use formations. Oh! Yes! And you could grow the crops themselves in the formations!¡± Dave was already opening Tome up into the pages of some horticultural texts. Sam laughing brought Dave out of his thoughts. ¡°Oh, sorry, Sam. You were saying?¡± She beamed up at him with her biggest, most mischievous smile. ¡°No! I do this on purpose!¡± said Sam and gestured at Dave while twisting her body awkwardly and covering her mouth. Her eyes danced with suppressed laughter as she did so. Dave snorted with laughter of his own and pinched the bridge of his nose. ¡°You sent me chasing after something to study to keep me busy and out of trouble.¡± Sam grinned and patted Dave on the head. Chapter 19: Ferry to Sauvabelin Chapter 19: Ferry to Sauvabelin
Current Quests
Justice For Courbefy: Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use¡­ Chosen Of Knowledge: Escort Hugh on his journey to becoming a fully awakened iron¡­ Healer¡¯s Materials: Gain Healer¡¯s favour by donating alchemy ingredients to the church¡­ Wine tour: Vineyard wants you to try the different wines in the Meg¨¨ve area. Acquire Follower: Dominion wants you to gain another follower. Chosen Of Hero: Travel north to Lake Auvernier, find the chosen of Hero and recruit¡­
Team Executive Services boarded the ferry to the Leman Lake platform before sunrise. The team had left Adi¡¯s farm before breakfast and a bleary-eyed Hugh had brought up that last night, Adi had suggested thinking about a team name. That way, they could register as a team on the same day that they¡¯d be confirmed as official adventurers. No second trip through the paperwork or forms of the society required. Upon hearing this, Dave had been firm. He¡¯d spent enough time reading emails from the pharmaceutical marketing department to know that the name must describe nothing about the product while also being a phrase that the over-monied target customer liked saying out loud and being associated with. Hugh resisted this cunning approach but also admitted that team names like ¡®Firebreath Chimera¡¯ and ¡®The Tinskanny Warblers¡¯, two of the more notable teams in the region, make it seem like team names weren¡¯t intended to be a place for truth. ¡°Is more about decoration!¡± Sam had said brightly into the chill morning air, waving her arms to emphasise the sense of splendour. So they¡¯d thrown names around between each other while making their way through the predawn streets of Champel. ¡®The Chamois Originals¡¯ was a good early submission of Hugh¡¯s that they definitely would have picked had they also not simultaneously realised how easily that identified them as the people that the Builder cult were trying to find and kill. Dave wrote down the best ones while they were walking to the ferry but they were all ultimately rejected. ¡®Requested Quests¡¯? Cute, but too much like a joke. ¡®Expeditionary Solutions¡¯ and ¡®Wayfarer Solutions¡¯ had a good sound. ¡®Solutions¡¯ set a positive tone but they agreed in the end that it presented the team as a scouting party. ¡®Pathfinding Enterprises¡¯ was rejected for the same reasons. ¡®Noble Ventures Agency¡¯ Hugh put forward and both Dave and Sam agreed that ¡®Noble¡¯ made an association with the class structure that might get them some jobs but it wasn¡¯t quite right. It might be seen as presenting themselves as nobles. ¡®Managerial Enterprises¡¯ from Dave was on the right path but sounded too bland. Sam and Hugh explained that they needed something that nobles felt wasn¡¯t also another group of nobles. They wanted the image of respectable folk that the nobles could pay for services. They kept trying. ¡®Deluxe Management¡¯? Sounded like a cleaning company. Dave was playing with the word ¡®executive¡¯, repeating it a few times when Sam had piped up: ¡°Service!¡± ¡°Service. Services. Executive Services,¡± said Dave, slowly and clearly, trying the name out. ¡°Executive Services,¡± said Hugh, also letting the sound of it roll through his mouth. ¡°Yes, indeed. The upper crust do like servants, to be served and have serves of comfortable things. I think this is a winner, Sam!¡± ¡°Yeah, definitely,¡± said Dave, nodding seriously and trying out the name again. ¡°Executive Services. Hello, we¡¯re Executive Services, here to perform adventure duties. How can we help?¡± Sam¡¯s face shone with happiness like the rising sun. ¡°With your permission, Sam, I think we¡¯ve found our name,¡± said Hugh with a wink. ¡°Yes! Sounds professional, ka?¡± Dave thought it was a bit funny that the first thing Executive Services did was get on a ferry to avoid a bunch of monsters but, he reflected, Bill Gates and Paul Allen had got their pre-Microsoft start with traffic software. Maybe the ferry ride would become good trivia for a memoir someday? It¡¯d certainly make a good story that be fit for a future Wikipedia page. The ferry ride was blessedly free of distraction. Sam smiled beatifically at the waves sparkling in the morning light. Even Dave and Hugh, who had intended to be studying, had a vicarious experience of peace and contentment with her, just soaking in the sights. ¡°I miss ocean,¡± sang Sam. Dave¡¯s heart panged. ¡°Do you think there will be dolphin?¡± asked Sam softly. Dave winced like he¡¯d been punched in the gut. ¡°There won¡¯t be, no,¡± said Hugh. ¡°It¡¯s an inland lake, they can¡¯t travel here. Still, how about these blue waters, hey?¡± ¡°Yes! So beautiful. And, with trees right next to the water. Would be good beach day! No. Lake day!¡± Sam beamed at Dave who smiled sadly. ¡°How about a lake day at Auvernier Lake when we get there?¡± suggested Dave. Sam smiled and bounced with enthusiasm and then looked to Hugh. ¡°Oh, yes. I¡¯m sure there¡¯s something to learn from the experience,¡± said Hugh coyly, causing Sam to clasp her hands in front of herself and twist from side to side. ¡°Someday but alas, someday isn¡¯t today. I¡¯m going to study,¡± said Dave. ¡°Sam, make sure you look at the sights for me, won¡¯t you? Just in case they¡¯re worth visiting later.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± said Sam, who spun back to the railing and drank in the sight of blue water and late-autumn trees on the snowy, alpine background. Dave tore his eyes from the world and opened Tome to look over his known spells. Dave had arranged a summary sheet for his own use the previous evening before sleep.
Inherent Spells no memorisation needed
Spell Description
Maestro¡¯s Instant Image Of Many Forms Illusion spell. Fixed pixel number. Big picture = less resolution.
Clairvoyant Eye Of Transvection, The LoS summon a moving, invisible eye for scouting
Dispel And Quell Magic Dispels magic. Suppresses what isn¡¯t dispelled.
Mail By Appointed Rounds Post letters to people
Paper Mill Production A tonne of paper to make paper constructions of any shape.
Stationary Scry Of Farseeing, The Magical sensor made at distant, target location. Can¡¯t sense things that you are not personally familiar with.
Learned Spells memorisation required
Animate Paper Animate a paper construction to your will
Comfortable Country Cabin Make a single-room cabin with a nice temperature.
Origami Golem Summon a tough, strong paper monster that does your bidding.
Origami Mount Summon a less tough paper mount that does your bidding.
For direct use on monsters, Dave didn¡¯t have a lot of good options. The illusions would be good for tricking monsters in certain ways but were definitely a limited tool. Dropping a tonne of paper was a devastating attack but difficult to aim. He was very happy with the origami golem, though. That swirling, spaghetti monster of death was absolutely perfect for most of Dave¡¯s needs so far; taking and giving damage while Dave stood in safety. Still, Sam had a lot of powerful abilities now and once Hugh got better, an origami golem might not add that much more to the team¡¯s melee abilities. No, Dave felt he definitely needed to expand his abilities. It was something he''d talked with Tzu about and they¡¯d decided Dave¡¯s repertoire of battle spells was so deficient that just taking whatever spells were readily available would be fine. He was working on two spell ideas at the moment; A lightning spell and a paper wall spell. For burst damage and battlefield control respectively. The lightning spell, Dave was using Library Of The Mind and reverse engineering the spell from Ross Geller. It was almost complete. He¡¯d asked Tome and confirmed that channelling the same spell through a spell slot would increase its damage. Although, it¡¯d be likely that other optimisations could be made to the spell as well. For the paper wall spell, Dave had, ironically, hit a wall. He could print up to a tonne of paper into existence and was certain that he could get up to a few tonnes if he made the paper a temporary summon. No, the trouble was, he couldn¡¯t figure out how to get the wall to stay upright. Making a wall was easy. Making a wall that couldn¡¯t be casually pushed over was very hard. Tome helped him find magic theory on anchoring magic to reference points in space but quickly learned he needed a better foundation in astral-reality interactions anyway so he went back and started learning that. Hugh had a notebook, courtesy of Dave, in which he was writing down the draft of a publication about summoning Dave. He¡¯d often take out another notebook from his dimensional storage for reference and continue writing. Like Dave, he¡¯d often look up and enjoy the sight of the lake. Executive Services passed the next two-and-a-bit hours of the ferry ride in blessed relaxation before the platform came into view. It was a veritable floating fortress. A star fortress, in fact. Each point of the star looked like the imposing prow of a great ship. ¡°It¡¯s not very aerodynamic - well, hydrodynamic, I suppose,¡± said Dave, looking over the whole thing and noting the magical defensive arrays. ¡°How¡¯s it even move?¡± ¡°Magic,¡± said Hugh simply. Dave nodded dumbly in front of Sam¡¯s covered smile. ¡°I guess it doesn¡¯t tear apart when it moves because of magic, too?¡± said Dave. Hugh shrugged a weak affirmative. They disembarked the ferry, walked across the platform and purchased tickets for the Sauvabelin return ferry. There was a half-hour wait so Dave shared a recent transport revelation with his teammates. ¡°We need a team vehicle,¡± said Dave. ¡°I¡¯ve gotten more work done today than I have any other day travelling. You too, Hugh. Sam, you think it¡¯s worth the expense?¡± Sam smiled in confusion. ¡°Oh, Sam,¡± said Hugh, catching onto Dave¡¯s meaning. ¡°We simply must have your blessing on this since it¡¯s more of a boon for us than for you.¡± Sam shrugged and grinned. ¡°I like watching nature,¡± she sang to her companions and then had an idea that made her grin guiltily, clasp her hands in front of herself and twist. ¡°And, you can buy me books for reading while we are in a vehicle?¡± Both Dave and Hugh were silent a second as they realised that Sam hadn¡¯t done any mental maths on how much money Dave¡¯s combined abilities created. ¡°Oh, errm¡­ Sam¡­¡± began Hugh delicately. ¡°Sam, you could buy everyone in your village a new house and have money left over to buy them all books,¡± said Dave, who believed in ripping band-aids off quickly. Sam smiled in confusion and fear. ¡°Tome has been keeping track of your share. An equal part of all profits,¡± said Dave and started manifesting Tome. ¡°Tome, show her the party accounts sheet.¡± Tome manifested out of Dave¡¯s brain and fluttered open to a balance sheet, hovering in front of Sam¡¯s face. Her mouth fell open.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°I¡¯m rich,¡± said Sam in a little voice. Dave had a brainwave. ¡°Yes, and perhaps we ought to arrange for some of that to be sent to your parents?¡± said Dave. ¡°Can¡¯t!¡± said Sam with a huff. ¡°I can¡¯t get bank account.¡± ¡°Hugh, can the bank work with the church to transfer some money?¡± Hugh got that far-away look for a moment. ¡°Yes, indeed. My Lady says it¡¯ll be much like the arrangements adventuring friars of many faiths have with the church of Trade.¡± ¡°Vow of poverty, yeah, so their share of the adventuring money goes straight to Trade, who runs a bank, I guess?¡± ¡°The banks, yes,¡± confirmed Hugh. ¡°Bank monopoly? I hope prices are set in negotiation with Liberty, then.¡± ¡°They all compete under Trade.¡± ¡°Bank wars!¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯ve read the histories?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve actually had bank wars?¡± Sam smiled brightly at them both as a way of interruption. Hugh blustered on. ¡°Oh, yes. Sam. Well, you give the money to me, I give the money to a bank and the bank opens a trust fund for your parents.¡± ¡°But Dave has all the money!¡± ¡°Yeah, we can just change the numbers on the sheet and it¡¯ll happen,¡± explained Dave quickly. ¡°Yes, please! Five silver,¡± announced Sam. Tome flicked its pages to show Sam the new balance sheet. ¡°And, that will go to my parents?¡± asked Sam. ¡°After taxes, yes,¡± said Hugh. After an explanation of the fees involved in moving money internationally, Sam decided that she hated taxes. ¡°Anyway,¡± said Dave. ¡°Now that¡¯s over. Sam, if we¡¯re to acquire a vehicle, we need your permission because we¡¯d be using a share of your money to hire it.¡± ¡°Hire it?¡± inquired Hugh politely. ¡°Well, they¡¯re exorbitantly expensive, right?¡± said Dave. Hugh and Sam nodded. ¡°Especially the kind we¡¯d need. We need some kind of all-terrain vehicle. Goes everywhere,¡± Dave added for Sam who had suddenly switched to her I-didn¡¯t-understand-that smile. ¡°So, we¡¯re looking for a hovercraft at the least, yeah?¡± The other two nodded seriously. ¡°That would definitely make it more affordable,¡± said Hugh with Sam nodding along. ¡°But affording it at iron rank?¡± ¡°I think we can, especially if we take into account two factors: One, that we¡¯ll be getting more jobs done faster and two, we don¡¯t actually have any living expenses.¡± The team¡¯s faces suggested Dave ought to explain further. ¡°Well, the more jobs done faster thing is self-explanatory, right?¡± His friends nodded. ¡°The other is living expenses? Most adventurers live in and around a single location? From what I¡¯ve read there¡¯s a few towns in mostly-iron rank zones east of Oullins to choose from? Meg¨¨ve is just one of them? Anyway, staying in town means finding a place to rent.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± said Sam, catching on and smiling up at Dave. ¡°If we always travel, we sleep in your cabin. No need to pay rent!¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± said Dave. ¡°So, you see. If the maths works out in our favour, what we¡¯re doing is cutting living expenses to increase travel expenses but the increased travel gets us more income and thus, more money to pay for the travel expenses.¡± ¡°Oh, I see,¡± said Hugh, catching on. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯ve done the maths yet, have you?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t find the prices advertised anywhere,¡± said Dave with a shrug. ¡°And not enough data yet on how many contracts we can do per day. I could make some estimates about how much money I¡¯d get per monster with my looting ability but I¡¯d need some data on how many monsters we¡¯re likely to kill per job.¡± Hugh nodded seriously and eyed the crowd. ¡°I¡¯ll go ask then,¡± said Hugh. ¡°You can¡­¡± Dave stopped and facepalmed. ¡°Of course you can do that. That¡¯s the most obvious thing to do isn¡¯t it?¡± Sam giggled and patted Dave¡¯s head. ¡°Just a quick survey from the church of Knowledge,¡± said Hugh with a wink. ¡°Asking the people how many contracts do you complete per trip, how many monsters, what quality. All things are possible with Knowledge, Dave. Have a little faith! I¡¯ll make sure not to go far. See you when the ferry arrives.¡± Dave wordlessly handed Hugh a small stack of paper and a few spare pens. Sam and Dave watched as Hugh walked off to into the crowd. Sam once more turned to look at the beauty of the lake, singing to herself. Dave leaned backwards on the rails next to her, facing the other direction and watching Hugh chat amiably with a bronze ranked adventurer who looked to be roping a whole group of iron rankers into taking the quick survey. After a while, Dave spoke. ¡°You sure you¡¯re comfortable with us spending your money like this? If you¡¯re not, just say and I¡¯ll do it with just mine and Hugh¡¯s.¡± ¡°No, is fine,¡± smiled Sam, shaking her head. ¡°Your plan is to make more money but spend more money? So, about same money, yes?¡± ¡°No, my plan is to make a lot more money. Well, my hope,¡± confessed Dave. ¡°What I¡¯m hoping, I suppose, is that we¡¯ll end up paying twice or three times as much in expenses but make four or five times as much back in return. It just makes me nervous because if it¡¯s such a good idea, why hasn¡¯t every adventure team done it?¡± ¡°Stories say many people at higher ranks have vehicle,¡± said Sam ¡°Maybe just not affordable for most? But you have looting, quests and also contract?¡± ¡°Yeah, still,¡± sighed Dave. ¡°Make double sure that my maths works out, okay?¡± Sam smiled and nodded up at him and went back to singing softly at the lake. Dave smiled vicariously with her and watched Hugh politely offer paper to the people around him. In the last fifteen minutes before the ferry to Sauvabelin arrived, Dave worked on the theory for a spell for summoning temporary paper and surprised himself by getting as far as completing a draft of the spell before the ferry arrived. He was halfway through, double-checking it in disbelief before Sam gently took his arm and started leading Dave towards a quickly forming queue. ¡°Dave! Here¡¯s the survey res- oh, hello! What¡¯s that look on your face?¡± said Hugh upon returning to the team. ¡°Does this look right to you?¡± asked Dave intently, spinning Tome in the air with a finger so that Hugh could look at the spellcraft. ¡°Well,¡± harrumphed Hugh, ¡°spellcraft was never my strong suit but¡­ uh¡­ It seems fine. Unintegrated, though. These booker spell slots spells use most of the same theory as rituals, don¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Yeah, pretty much exactly the same except for obvious things like power sources, casting times and such.¡± ¡°Well, I must say. Nothing wrong, so to speak. I¡¯m no expert on the details, I¡¯ll assume you looked up the runes for the paper variables and that your dimension maths is correct so I expect it just needs polishing to make it run smoothly. Why do you ask?¡± ¡°Because I threw this together from nothing in just 15 minutes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a normal about of time for someone familiar with ritual ma¡­¡± Hugh trailed off. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°Indeed, you¡¯re not.¡± ¡°But I was just writing away and this just made sense. The lightning spell I just finished reverse-engineering. I have no idea how the theory behind it actually works.¡± They showed their tickets to the deckhand who was checking. ¡°A talent then?¡± said Hugh. ¡°They¡¯re common hidden bonuses that come with essence abilities. Everyone¡¯s heard something such as, maybe, a person takes a song essence and suddenly they have perfect pitch. I''ve never seen an example myself but it¡¯s, you know? Out there in the folklore.¡± ¡°It¡¯d certainly explain why I couldn¡¯t figure out anything about that damned lightning. Tome, show him.¡± Tome dutifully flicked over a few pages and showed Hugh Dave¡¯s attempts to understand his reverse engineering of the powerful, directed lightning attack Ross Geller had shot at him. While the spell would work, Dave¡¯s attempts to understand it were a mess and Hugh immediately crinkled his face. ¡°Yeah,¡± grumbled Dave. ¡°I can¡¯t figure out the link the charge has to the destination.¡± opined Tome. ¡°It¡¯s advanced dimension-time magic. I tried to start with-¡± ¡°Yes, right there. An M¡¯gana delay on the charge but the timing -¡± ¡°The timing, yeah.¡± Dave pointed to a graph. ¡°The charge is too big and the delay runs out but -¡± ¡°But, so does the targeting and it just backfires.¡± ¡°Backfires, yeah. But that¡¯s my attempt at understanding. My reverse engineered spell doesn¡¯t backfire because it uses Starksen¡¯s preemptive?¡± Hugh nodded and pointed at Starksen¡¯s preemptive in Dave¡¯s reverse-engineered spell. ¡°I still don¡¯t get it,¡± admitted Dave, ¡°but at least I don¡¯t need to. I can just copy other people¡¯s spells. I¡¯ll write my own when I understand magic theory better.¡± Dave grit his teeth. They¡¯d had this conversion before. ¡°Tome,¡± said Sam, gently touching the hard cover. ¡°Dave needs spells to be powerful. Please help him quickly.¡± Tome turned to Hugh. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I too must side against you, Professor Tome. After all, if Dave dies your own ascension is also stopped and without a good array of spells to choose from, die he might.¡± ¡°We try, ka!¡± exclaimed Sam with a mischievous giggle. ¡°We are, Professor Tome but Dave¡¯s a special case needing special attention, don¡¯t you think?¡± said Hugh in a very professorial tone of his own. ¡°Physically an adult, yes, but less than a year old in magical terms. A veritable child! Surely, an exception to perfection can be made? Come now.¡± ¡°Ah. May I?¡± said Hugh, taking up a pen from Dave¡¯s pocket. Dave watched in obvious confusion which turned into relief while he watched Hugh, as a representative of Knowledge, wrote Dave a note excusing him from ¡®the usual high quality of a celestial tome¡¯ and permitting ¡®spells of ill repute¡¯ and that teaching them to Dave would ¡®not be a betrayal of the purity of magical knowledge on the part of the celestial tome.¡¯ said Tome, absorbing the paper note into its pages. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a bloody relief,¡± said Dave. ¡°If it had a neck, I¡¯d have wrung it earlier. I spent fifteen minutes trying to get it to understand the idea of a diverse spell selection being useful in battle. Eventually, I realised that it struggles with the concept of physical battles. I didn¡¯t realise that you could give it permission like that.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± said Hugh. ¡°Knowledge did.¡± ¡°Well, same statement but for her.¡± ¡°Even though your familiar comes from The Great Library, realm of the Celestial Book, my Lady is still in charge of all things within her domain in this realm,¡± said Hugh smugly. ¡°And a visitor like a celestial tome must bow to the rules of the host.¡± "This gods and astral beings stuff is nuts" Hugh looked like he might be offended. "Dave!" whispered Sam sharply. "In the sense of understanding it, I mean. Doesn''t seem straightforward at all." Hugh smiled. "With faith, all things are possible. You will see." ¡°From a distance, I hope.¡± Hugh and Dave returned to completing each other¡¯s sentences about magical theory as the ferry continued moving away from the floating star fortress, past beautiful scenery. The team had picked out a spot on the ferry according to Sam''s preferences; in the open with a good view of the water and shore. The late Autumn didn''t allow much in the way of sunlight so Dave let out Tzu and mentally directed it to hover over Sam at the same angle as the sun, suffusing her with golden light that she leaned towards and smiled at. =Sam requires the respite due all warriors today. Rejoice in the sun. Tomorrow, battle.= A few of the other ferry patrons looked around after hearing that. "You got a verbal one?" asked one of the adventurers. "Yeah," said Dave. "Most are non-verbal? Do you know if it makes a difference?" The adventurer manifested their own astral lantern out of their eyes and shrugged at Dave. "I don''t think so," said the adventurer. "The tutor that mother got me said it didn¡¯t change the abilities that each one develops. I''ve just always been curious." The adventurer shrugged, nodded their head in goodbye and kept on walking to their seat.
Dave and Hugh switched to researching the vehicle idea while on the ferry ride to Sauvabelin, which seemed to solidify Hugh¡¯s opinions on the matter. ¡°You know, Dave,¡± remarked Hugh while writing. ¡°This doing research while travelling towards the monsters really is time efficient. Yes, I¡¯ve really come around strongly to the vehicle idea. We simply must find one. Did you have any starting ideas?¡± Dave paused his maths and shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve not really been able to build a good impression of what¡¯s available. It¡¯s something of an exclusive market and, by the looks of things, mostly in Vitesse. There¡¯s not much written about them except for the occasional mention that an adventuring team, almost always from Vitesse, came into town for an event on some vehicle.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen a few,¡± offered Hugh. ¡°Mostly hovercraft. I saw a crab-walker once, a caterpillar walker as well and, one time, a gold ranker with a mechanical sparrow.¡± ¡°Flying machine?¡± asked Dave. ¡°That¡¯d be good if we could get one.¡± ¡°You can basically, forget about it,¡± said Hugh, sadly. ¡°They¡¯re unaffordable by anybody who isn¡¯t silver rank, realistically. Even you with your looting powers. I¡¯ve been thinking about it for the last few minutes and I think I¡¯ve found something of an answer as well as a conundrum.¡± ¡°Go on,¡± said Dave, intrigued. Sam also turned her head and lent an ear. ¡°Well, most families who can afford a dedicated transport don¡¯t need to. I was thinking about it and realised that if we weren¡¯t in our unique, cult-related situation and money were no object, the best thing for us to do would be to book ourselves a one-way trip to an established iron-rank adventuring hub like Boiana, Svirsk, Greenstone, Migori or Lashkar Gah.¡± ¡°Not Vitesse?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Yes!¡± agreed Sam. ¡°Everyone always say Vitesse best adventuring.¡± Hugh shook his head. ¡°Best for making connections, I think. I borrowed Tome for five minutes earlier and I think Vitesse is only used for iron rank because nobles want to meet other nobles and Vitesse is the gathering place. According to the An Introduction To Adventuring by Arabelle Remore,¡± Hugh gestured at Tome who flicked to a page from that book, ¡°It¡¯s actually better suited as a bronze to silver zone. Those other places I mentioned are true iron rank zones that rarely manifest bronze rank monsters. They¡¯re a lot safer than Vitesse and the adventurers should be able to get more field time in.¡± Dave nodded along. He¡¯d read a lot of that book too but had skipped the section detailing geography options since he didn¡¯t have any options. Still, he had questions about what Hugh was postulating. ¡°Surely, even in those areas going to and from contracts quickly would be a good move?¡± Hugh nodded. ¡°From what I understand, mounts or vehicles are common between towns but they¡¯re usually dismounted or disembarked before the adventure starts.¡± ¡°Speed-running hasn¡¯t been invented yet, I guess,¡± remarked Dave. ¡°If I guess your meaning correctly, I¡¯d hazard a guess that it¡¯s been done but isn¡¯t accepted as common practice.¡± Dave nodded. That made sense. There was always some lunatic keen for a mad idea. ¡°So, does it make sense for us to have a vehicle? In our situation?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Actually, yes,¡± said Hugh definitively. ¡°Since we can¡¯t travel internationally without being tracked and setting ourselves up in a single town would be really slow adventuring ¨C since there¡¯d be limited adventuring grounds at our rank. Francalbia just isn¡¯t good for consistently ranked zones. We¡¯d run out of room.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve seen it on my map, too,¡± said Dave. ¡°This northwestern, Francalbia region of the empire is a patchwork of unranked, iron and bronze zones. Not much silver but any amount of silver is a red-hot exclusion zone for us.¡± ¡°Yes! And that¡¯s why a vehicle will do us well,¡± said Hugh, bouncing on his heels. ¡°Especially a flying vehicle, if it were possible to afford one, because then we could just ignore the intervening terrain and fly to the next contract, avoiding all the zones that we don¡¯t want. Goddess, I think we could even fly most of the time in an unranked zone. Without a vehicle we will almost certainly be slowed down like everyone else by having to use the safe highways and pay the tolls.¡± ¡°So, if we can¡¯t afford a flying machine, it sounds like we¡¯d better be able to afford something that can overtake a caravan on the highways?¡± ¡°That would be hard to avoid,¡± said Hugh dryly. ¡°Even the cheapest hovercraft is faster than a caravan. Goddess, I think we could even overtake most caravans just by being a mostly empty caravan.¡± ¡°Actually, travelling with a caravan would also give us time to study,¡± said Dave. ¡°True.¡± ¡°But the caravan might be all we¡¯re able to afford?¡± Hugh nodded glumly. ¡°Then I¡¯ll take out a loan with a bank,¡± said Dave with a grim look. Both Hugh and Sam looked surprised. ¡°With¡­ what collateral?¡± asked Hugh like a man who has heard about banking but is unsure of himself. ¡°They don¡¯t¡­ people like us,¡± warned Sam in a small voice. Dave looked at them with sceptical, raised eyes. ¡°I am literally a money machine,¡± said Dave. ¡°I suspect a bank would love to have me paying them interest for the next ten years.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah,¡± said Hugh. Sam smiled happily. Sauvabelin came slowly into view while the team idly studied, watched their surroundings roll by or remembered some old fact about magical vehicles. They disembarked without incident and split up. Sam and Dave took the most direct route out of town with their heads down and hoods of their cloaks raised against the late autumn chill. Hugh lingered at the adventure society contract board to take a copy of everything iron ranked that was northward and then joined his team. Anybody watching from the city would have seen only three cloaked and hooded adventurers walking the north road to Lake Auvernier until they rounded a bend. Chapter 20: A Bibliomantic Meteor
Current Quests
Justice For Courbefy: Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use¡­ Chosen Of Knowledge: Escort Hugh on his journey to becoming a fully awakened iron¡­ Healer¡¯s Materials: Gain Healer¡¯s favour by donating alchemy ingredients to the church¡­ Wine tour: Vineyard wants you to try the different wines in the Meg¨¨ve area. Acquire Follower: Dominion wants you to gain another follower. Chosen Of Hero: Travel north to Lake Auvernier, find the chosen of Hero and recruit¡­
¡°Here, I did Sam¡¯s abilities.¡± Hugh and Sam took their hands out from beneath their cloaks to take the paper that Dave handed them as they walked their heidels around, searching for the targets of the current contract. They read the text as they rode. Tzu always saw the targets first anyway.
Summoner Biogenesis - bugs everywhere Grove Guardian - healthy-smacky-thumpy tree Create Flesh Golem - self expl. Reanimate spirits - semi-random undead. Low power. All Eating Slime - self expl. Mist Walker - self expl. Summon Skeletons - self expl. Return To The Grave - super-kills the animated. Really hurts summons. Blightwood Walker - trappy-hitty-poison tree Gardener Growth Aura of Life - self expl. Health Blossom - heal slowly until explodey heal Regrowth - solid heal over time Decomposition Corpse explosion - self expl. Death Aura - self expl. Combined Death Sight - self expl. Transpose Composition - switch relative HeMaSt Dance Of Life And Death - HeMaSt conversion cycle shields Life Recirculation - convert damage to health Other Cruel Puppeteer - magic strings control enemies Dragged To The Grave - skeleton arms grab ankles
¡°What¡¯d you think?¡± asked Dave. Hugh and Sam were silent for a while as they read. ¡°It¡¯s good!¡± said Hugh. ¡°Definitely one way to model her abilities. I still feel like there¡¯s merit in a summoner-necromancer model for Sam¡¯s abilities.¡± ¡°Necromancer!?¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± said Hugh, quickly. ¡°Necromancer does work,¡± said Dave, ¡°Sorry, Sam, I know you don¡¯t like it but you do raise the dead. The fact that you do it ethically is important, though, we both appreciate that. You got approval from the church of Death and everything, right?¡± Sam glared like an angry kitten but relented after a few moments into her usual smile. They discussed the merits of classifying each other¡¯s abilities with certain methods, Sam covered her mouth and opined that Dave¡¯s abilities should be classified as ¡®smart boy¡¯ and ¡®paper boy¡¯, but immediately stopped when Tzu spotted their quarry. =Contact! Lesser ogres, two count, three hundred metres, north-west.= Sam and Dave put helmets on and came together while Tome manifested in front of them. Hugh left his heidel for the sky in wind form. He¡¯d discovered by accident that very morning that he could use project elements while in wind form and use the blowback to effectively sail around the sky. The mana cost was too much for regular use but it was good for temporary mobility. Hugh gained several metres of height quickly be able to get eyes on their quarry and hand signalled down some details. He was hard to see in wind form but Tzu¡¯s vision was perfect. =Hugh confirms three enemies and that we remain stealthed.= Yesterday had been a bit of a mess in a goblin encounter. Dave had called a team meeting and rectified the issue. He was pleased that the encounter protocol was working so well. ¡°Thanks Tzu, what do you think? Three ogres? The lure will work?¡± =If your information is right and ogres are dumb, they will not sense a trap. The only problem is they may be so dumb that they are not curious.= ¡°You reckon open with burst damage?¡± =One is napping. It is ideal.= Sam smiled at Dave in approval. ¡°Alright,¡± said Dave. ¡°Kill one, ambush one, fight one. Tzu, take the plan to Hugh then come back to me.¡± Sam led the way around the hills to get a good angle on the ogres. Tzu returned with updates. One was napping, one was stripping a branch, one was playing in the shallows of the river. Dave eventually got a good angle on the encounter, selected the napping ogre in his UI and opened the battle. ¡°Manifest me a bibliomantic meteor,¡± intoned Dave. All of team Executive Services looked to the skies where three finned, teardrop-shaped blocks of solid paper got printed into existence about three hundred metres up and the team watched them fall. The fall took about ten seconds. The impact was sudden and violent. A line of simultaneous, ground-shaking thumps caused both of the other ogres to look up in alarm and trot over to the impact site where they stood, stupefied, inspecting the kinetic weapons and the body of their friend. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do this. Kill the closest,¡± said Dave, opening Tome to a page with a ritual circle for enhancing weapon damage and fired his wand. An icicle flew from it into the ogre¡¯s back and battle commenced. It took the ogres a moment to realise the direction they were under attack and Dave used the time to shoot a second icicle into the same ogre. With a hoot and a roar, the ogres began charging at Dave up the slope. They moved quickly. Despite their pudgy appearance the two-and-a-half metre tall ogres had a long stride that ate up distance quickly. On que, Hugh¡¯s wind form dropped from the sky on an intercept course with the trailing ogre. He switched to earth form and tackled the ogre¡¯s leg, tripping it. The lead ogre didn¡¯t notice, blind with rage at the icicles impacting upon its thick skin, it kept charging at Dave. With a quick phrase in Siamese, Sam cast Dragged To The Grave on the trailing ogre and skeletal hands burst from the ground to hold the fallen ogre down. Dave retreated over the lip of the hill as the lone, charging ogre began to close with him. The ogre crested the hill and ran straight into Sam¡¯s summoned treants. The blightwood walker reached out its thorny, dead branches to wrap the ogre in its toxic embrace and the grove guardian smashed a heavy, gnarled branch into the ogre¡¯s leg. Sam herself joined in, stabbing her billhook into the ogre¡¯s same leg and releasing her beetle swarm to crawl and fly down the haft of her weapon, across the ogre¡¯s body and begin crawling over its eyes. The rest of Sam¡¯s army joined the battle as well; Slimy engulfed the ogre¡¯s feet and the skeletons jumped in with abandon, stabbing wildly. Dave waved Tzu into adding its damage to the ogre that was being piled on and turned his attention to Hugh¡¯s ogre. It was not going as ideally as the ambush. The ogre had crawled out of the zone of Sam¡¯s Dragged To The Grave spell. As Dave watched, it bellowed at Hugh who cried in alarm and began running away down the river bank. In earth form. His slowest form. ¡°Fuck, don¡¯t run. And, don¡¯t run that way,¡± groaned Dave, using Stop And Think. With time paused, it was easy to see Hugh was pulling the ogre to the water where, if they were lucky, it might decide to abandon the fight. Then the team would have to cross the river and spend an unknown amount of time hunting it down. If they were unlucky, it¡¯d fish Hugh out of the water and start chewing on his head. Dave let time return. ¡°Hey, you!¡± he shouted, switching targets to the ogre that was glaring at Hugh¡¯s retreating form. He flicked his fingers towards it without thinking. ¡°Tzu, help! Over here, you great lout!¡± Dave shouted again, waving his arms to get the ogre¡¯s attention and shooting icicles, sharp pens and, via Tzu, a beam of resonating force into the ogre¡¯s face and chest. The damage annoyed it and got its attention but the deciding factor for the ogre changing direction away from Hugh was Tzu who, scintillating with aggressive colours, made a distorted, static scream which grated upon the ears like nails on glass amplified by a broken PA system. The ogre made for the source of the horrid noise. Tzu hovered backwards, pulling the ogre to the existing melee with Sam¡¯s minions. The ogre stumbled into the fight, swatting away attacking pens and swung its huge, wooden club into Sam¡¯s grove guardian. The guardian almost snapped under the blow, an entire limb breaking off and the small tree¡¯s body was compromised. The ogre swung its club back to finish the job but Sam incanted in Siamese and cast Cruel Puppeteer. Magical lines extended from her hands to the ogre. With Eldritch Eyes Dave could see she was focusing entirely on controlling the hand and arm with the club, keeping every muscle tense to render the arm immobile and useless. Good, thought Dave, that¡¯s brought us some time now we can - Still in a panic, Hugh began pumping transcendent damage into the ogre from behind with Project Elements. Dave¡¯s eyes flicked to Hugh¡¯s stat bar in his UI and watched the high mana and stamina cost drain Hugh¡¯s reserves. Thankfully, Sam had stuck to her job and was killing the ogre that had fallen into her ambush. Dave called an origami heidel and swung himself into the built-in saddle just as Hugh keeled over from mana drain. The ogre that Sam was controlling with Cruel Puppeteer broke free and turned to see what had caused it such searing pain from behind. Its beady eyes focused on Dave who was trotting the heidel in front of Hugh¡¯s prone form. The slavering, angry ogre roared and began lumbering after Dave. ¡°Finish your enemy. Care for Hugh,¡± Dave cantrip-messaged to Sam as he began kiting the ogre from heidelback. He knew she¡¯d got the message and would follow it, even though she gave no indication in the melee. Kiting ogres was actually the recommended way to fight them if overwhelming damage from stealth wasn¡¯t an option. They were a massive bundle of hitpoints and damage, really. Pretty dumb, none of their physical senses were particularly sharp and no evidence of any mystical senses. They just came into existence in the hills and wandered around eating anything that moved and a lot of things that didn¡¯t. Unfortunately, they did have hands which meant that after the first couple of run-pause-shoot kiting sequences with the ogre, it moaned wordlessly and started throwing rocks at Dave. This meant that the pause-phase would get interrupted often because the ogre would take the opportunity to throw another rock at the now stationary target forcing Dave to move. Dave used Stop And Think occasionally to check on his teammates and double check his bearings while kiting the ogre. His leg hurt where a thrown rock had hit him but he grit his teeth through it. It had taken less than a quarter of his health and Sam could fix that right up with a fast and cheap Health Blossom. As Sam¡¯s ogre ran out of health, Dave began kiting his ogre back but the encounter was effectively over. The last ogre, sensing that something was wrong, tried to run away, gave up running away when Dave followed while shooting, it threw and missed with two more rocks and lastly tried to make a desperate charge at Sam before an icicle finally hit at the right angle to punch through the tough skin and sinews of its torso. Sam was already cradling Hugh¡¯s head and carefully feeding him a mana potion one drop at a time. Hugh reflexively swallowed a few of the drops as Dave walked his heidel up to Sam at a sedate pace. ¡°Okay, he¡¯s progressed from freaking out and hiding to freaking out, using all his mana and passing out.¡± Dave sighed heavily. Sam smiled up at Dave. ¡°New battle plan,¡± said Dave. ¡°You and I do it all and Hugh does what he can where we can supervise him.¡± Sam¡¯s smile retreated to one that was merely upturned lips only. ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t mean to insult him but you have to admit he¡¯s a danger to himself. He¡¯d have got fully clubbed into the ground if I didn¡¯t take his agro.¡± Sam looked away and guilty-grinned. ¡°Thank you. He¡¯s a top bloke but he can¡¯t fight worth a damn.¡± ¡°He has no dog!¡± Dave paused for a moment. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s ¡®dog in him¡¯. Think like, the spirit of a fighting dog that¡¯s hanging on and just keeps shaking its head, not giving up.¡± ¡°Yes! Hugh does not have that dog in him at all.¡± Dave just nodded, dismounted and sat down next to Sam. ¡°How do we put dog in him?¡± she asked. Dave sighed and stared off into the distance. ¡°Dunno. Never had to make someone fight who didn¡¯t want to before.¡± ¡°Me too,¡± said Sam, rummaging in her pack. ¡°Can you make tea? Hugh will want some when he wakes up.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah. Sorry. I should have thought of that,¡± said Dave, waving his hand and starting a fire before suddenly remembering. ¡°Shit, Hugh has the good kettle in his inventory.¡± Sam grinned. Team Executive Services had spent the last three days trekking back and forth across the road between Sauvabelin and Auvernier, slowly heading north, completing contracts as they went. They¡¯d already be in Auvernier by now if travelling had been their goal but since their goal was not being found, staying in the wilderness was ideal. Wilderness was the word, though. This third day the team had struck out to the east hard, away from the road to Auvernier, which curved westward around the lake of the same name. They figured it was safe. The ambient magic of the area they were in was mostly iron over a twenty kilometre square stretch that ran from the shores of Lake Auvernier to the alps, both geological structures running from south-west to north-east on the map in a great line. It wasn¡¯t all iron ranked, though. Especially Lake Auvernier which spiked up to gold rank at a place in the middle but petered out quickly to a bronze zone for half of the lake¡¯s area. In fact, at many places on the shore were unranked zones. From there, that large iron rank zone persisted until the alps where it quickly became bronze and even silver in some places in the mountains and forests. Dave had used The Stationary Scry Of Farseeing to view the notice board in Sauvabelin and found several contracts in this open, iron rank land south-east of Lake Auvervier in addition to the several contracts they already had there. When Dave had wondered aloud why there were so many contracts building up in that area, Sam had answered. ¡°Is middle of nowhere and you are only adventurer with warm cabin and motivation to be there!¡± He¡¯d handed her the bigger slice of cake for dessert that night and thanked goodness for happy little Sam keeping him level headed. Actually, thank Goodness. Dave was pretty sure that Goodness was actually a real entity here and preferred their name with capitalisation. As a team, Executive Services had struggled with communication and coordination but they¡¯d had team meetings and come up with solutions and drilled it as best they could in practice. They were all rather feeling quite good about their scouting and target identification protocol: Make a shout of ¡®contact¡¯ upon seeing monsters or something worthy of note then, in the following order: monster type, number, distance and direction. They¡¯d even made an addition of Hugh going wind form and gaining some height to keep eyes on the target. Once Tzu saw the enemy, they appeared on Dave¡¯s map and minimap so they could be tracked but with Hugh watching them, he could make judgements about whether the monsters knew that the team was coming.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Tzu could also watch and make those judgments but Hugh¡¯s wind form was reminiscent of a humanoid whirlwind and difficult to see if you didn¡¯t know what you were looking for whereas Tzu¡¯s natural state was fluorescent. Also, it gave Hugh something to succeed at which he needed right now. Or, didn¡¯t. It was hard to tell. There was no hiding it from him, he was objectively bad at fighting and he berated himself for it while travelling between contracts but hyped himself up before every battle into a manic energy. They¡¯d hunted a malignity of twelve goblins yesterday. Hugh insisted, in the name of his Goddess, to be the battle opener. After all, goblins were detestable, even for the gentle Hugh. They were literally the kind of monsters to steal and eat babies. Even then, when he¡¯d opened the battle by shifting from wind form to earth form to land on two goblins and crush them, a high risk, high reward strategy Hugh had insisted on, he¡¯d squealed, chickened out and twisted in the air to land harmlessly beside the goblins who began attacking him without hesitation. The rest of the malignity of goblins quickly joined in. Hugh had curled up into the foetal position and yelled. Strangely, It¡¯d worked out well since Hugh¡¯s role in the battle plan was to attract their attention with his entrance and draw them together. He¡¯d just done it by curling up into a ball instead of superhero landing on two of them. In the spirit of going with it, Sam had stuck to the battleplan. She used Cruel Puppeteer on one and held it still for the mere moment Dave had needed to get a headshot with his icicle wand and then Sam had cast Corpse Explosion to take most of the health out of most of the goblins. Finishing the rest of that fight was a mere formality after that. Dave had watched Hugh¡¯s health bar the whole time. The corpse explosion had been the most damaging thing to happen to him. His natural armour repelled the goblin attacks he¡¯d been taking with ease and Sam¡¯s heal over time spells easily healed through the small amount of damage that made it through his skin. Hugh wasn¡¯t reacting to being hurt, he was just frightened of attacking other things and frightened of being attacked. ¡°You¡¯ve got to find a way to want to hit them,¡± said Dave after the skirmish. ¡°But¡­ I just don¡¯t,¡± said Hugh, coming down, all manic energy gone and thoroughly depressed. ¡°They were trying to eat your flesh while you were still using it. That deserves feeling a bit miffed, come on,¡± said Dave, trying to summon even a sense of self preservation in his friend. ¡°I know but I just¡­ don¡¯t,¡± said Hugh lamely and clearly frustrated with himself. ¡°You know you don¡¯t have to force yourself -¡± ¡°I do!¡± insisted Hugh, interrupting Dave¡¯s attempt at tact. ¡°I do! I must, I have to do it. I have to fight! I have faith! She picked me. Me! I was picked. By Her. No, no, no, I just have to keep going, Dave! Onwards and upwards, hey?¡± He smiled and clapped Dave on the shoulder, energetic again. ¡°Hugh, you¡¯re not -¡± ¡°I¡¯m doing fine! I live in the Words of Knowledge and She will lead me to revelation!¡± Dave was still composing his thoughts when Hugh started pacing and singing Hymns in his baritone. Gesturing for Dave to join in. Dave politely declined, walked away, covered his face with his hands and screamed internally. Hugh had been doing this since Sauvabelin. Hurling himself into situations beyond his capabilities and, when questioned, declared it a matter of faith. As though he expected some revelation to just come to him and suddenly he¡¯d be slugging it out with the monsters. Sam, always looking out for her friends, patted Dave on the back and offered him a cupcake. ¡°She¡¯s not that much of an idiot to choose him as Her chosen when he¡¯s utterly in hopeless denial, is she? In fact, I think it¡¯s blasphemy to even suggest that, right?¡± Dave bit into the cupcake. ¡°Yesssss,¡± Sam sung as she smiled, nodded and handed Dave some tea. ¡°Soon as we get into town, I¡¯m asking Her for guidance,¡± grumbled Dave. Three days later, here they were, riding origami heidels away from the ogre encounter and trying to find a way to tell Hugh, without sounding like they were blasphemously accusing Knowledge of making a mistake, that they were reducing his expected battle contribution to ¡®join in if it¡¯s safe¡¯. Hugh sat silently on his heidel radiating disappointment and shame into the world and his friends didn¡¯t know what to say because there was no way to comfort him. Deep down he knew it. He genuinely didn¡¯t know how to fight but any suggestion that he take a step back was met with denial, deflection and soft statements that suggested his friends were rudely questioning his faith. ¡°And where do you run?¡± Hugh was muttering to himself. ¡°Towards friends, you know that¡¯s the correct answer. But, where did you run, Hugh? Down the damnable river! Ran. While in earth form! Did you earthwalk into the ground? No. Did you switch into water or air forms and use them as viable escape routes? No. You certainly didn¡¯t change to fire form and use any of those wrestling techniques Dave has been teaching, did you Hugh? No. You ran away from the people who were trying to keep you safe towards a boggy river.¡± ¡°Hugh, we don¡¯t need you to do combat anymore if you don¡¯t want, ka?¡± said Sam softly with her most tentative smile. ¡°Like I have a choice,¡± said Hugh bitterly into the ground still on his emotional downswing from his manic energy. ¡°You do,¡± said Dave, ¡°but you¡¯ve chosen faith rather than learning.¡± Hugh glared at Dave and opened his mouth but Dave spoke first. ¡°Yeah, yeah, your faith is learning. I heard it yesterday.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you roll your eyes at me, David Bauer!¡± thundered Hugh. You¡¯ve been in this world all of a month and you think you know the intricate ways of the Gods? Even in your world you¡¯ve confessed to having no faith. Don¡¯t you correct me!¡± ¡°Faith? Hugh, I don¡¯t need faith to figure out that a goddess that personifies Knowledge has zero problem with me correcting you and pointing out that you¡¯re being a self important ass who¡¯s trying to get his friends killed,¡± said Dave, frustration coming out. ¡°In fact, I¡¯ll even bring a little faith into it. My first prayer since I was nine.¡± Dave rudely snatched the symbol of Knowledge from around Hugh¡¯s neck and held it reverently in his raised hand. ¡°Knowledge on high, bring me truth and lore. I attest to you that your servant Hugh Abberton is endangering his friends in these last three days, more than he would have had he taken their counsel, and he is using his faith in you as an excuse to continue doing so. This I say and may you strike me down if I attest wrongly.¡± Dave pushed the pendant back onto Hugh who looked stunned. Dave glared at Hugh, raised his eyes to the sky as though waiting and then glared at Hugh again. ¡°Dave!¡± said Hugh aghast and hurt. ¡°How dare you? That¡¯s not fair at all!¡± ¡°Fuck fairness,¡± said Dave, more harshly than he meant to. ¡°You¡¯re in training! We each have different abilities! Both magical or otherwise. Of course it¡¯s not fair. Both you and Sam have done zero of the scrying. That¡¯s unfair. I have done zero of the healing. Also unfair. Essences and adventuring are fundamentally unfair! Fuck fairness, just do what you¡¯re able to do.¡± ¡°Calm down, Dave -¡± began Hugh. ¡°No! I won¡¯t fucking calm down!¡± shouted Dave. ¡°This is serious business! People get killed doing this all the time, don¡¯t they? And I¡¯ve got you wildly overestimating what you¡¯re capable of! Do you know what happens when you do that? You get put in a critical position you¡¯re not ready for and you get people killed. Why? Because you couldn¡¯t deflate your sense of religious pride or manliness or self importance or whatever for long enough to have an honest reflection about your own limits!¡± ¡°But... I can -¡± ¡°Hugh,¡± interrupted Dave again, hand over his face. ¡°You¡¯re going to say something that you could theoretically do, I know it. I need you to stop expecting a miracle to arrive and just be honest about what you¡¯re capable of. Just.. stop. Right now. If we were ambushed by glade spinners, what would you do?¡± ¡°Umm, glade spinners use webs to restrain so I¡¯d take fire form and -¡± ¡°Hugh, this isn¡¯t an exam question. I¡¯m not asking for the most correct answer. I¡¯m asking you for an honest assessment of your own mental and physical reactions. What would you really, actually do?¡± Sam had somehow been throwing Dave a variety of dirty looks via smiles but after that question, she sadly pursed her lips at Hugh in acknowledgement that Dave had a point. ¡°I would keep the faith,¡± said Hugh haughtily. ¡°She is Knowledge and I am her chosen. She will ensure I am wise when it is time for me to know.¡± ¡°She already give you Dave,¡± said Sam tentatively. Hugh suddenly looked troubled. Tamping down his anger at Hugh¡¯s bloody-mindedness, Dave used the opening. ¡°Hugh, I came from another world and have been charged by the Lady to teach you. Whatever blasphemy I casually engage in, I think we can both agree that Knowledge is powerful enough to be utterly unaffected by that so can we focus on being a good team? I am not powerful enough to harm a god, am I?¡± ¡°No, no. Of course not. You¡¯re right, yes. I¡¯d prefer you not blaspheme all the same.¡± ¡°He won¡¯t blaspheme!¡± interjected Sam, giving Dave a significant look. ¡°No, I won¡¯t. And if I do, you let me know so that I can apologise and stop. How about that?¡± ¡°Well, you should already -¡± began Hugh irritably but stopped. ¡°No, of course you shouldn¡¯t.¡± He said, suddenly merry again. ¡°Your whole world is unranked. Of course! Can you even blaspheme in a world that has no gods to blaspheme against? I¡¯ve never thought of it like that before.¡± ¡°A highly debatable topic. Believe me,¡± said Dave, quickly moving on. ¡°Look, what Sam and I need from this conversation is a change in strategy from you and we don¡¯t know how to bring up the topic without you thinking we¡¯re doubting the power of Knowledge.¡± ¡°You do doubt the power -¡± ¡°Can you just pretend I don¡¯t and listen to our idea anyway? Please?¡± said Dave, quickly trying to prevent Hugh from emotionally walling himself off again. ¡°Well, I can listen. What change in strategy would you like?¡± ¡°Well, in the last few days you¡¯ve insisted on opening the attacks and¡­ Well, let¡¯s just admit that a complete revelation is yet to come. Not to doubt it¡¯s coming eventually,¡± said Dave quickly. ¡°But your semi-suicidal behaviour is alarming for us who are watching. So we hoped you could lower our distress and try a different tactic with us. One where Sam and I open the battle, receive the enemy¡¯s attack and you righteously tear them down as a second wave of attack? Yeah? It¡¯ll give Sam and I an opportunity to use our ranged attacks too? Is the Lady¡¯s plan open to that?¡± Hugh smiled and clapped Dave on the shoulder with a wide eyed look of reverent revelation. ¡°Truth and Lore behold! This is why she brought you to me, Dave. Yes, yes. Of course, it makes so much sense now.¡± Hugh''s eyes glazed over and he gathered more energy as he talked. ¡°Knowledge is patient. Fighting with knowledge. I¡¯ve been going at it all backwards! Ha! Don¡¯t you see? I¡¯ve been fighting to get knowledge when I should have been getting knowledge and then fighting!¡± Dave grit his teeth and nodded. Dave had spent much of the previous day trying to convince Hugh that scouting was useful and they shouldn¡¯t rely on divine revelations to which Hugh has responded with a long version of ¡®ye of little faith¡¯. ¡°Praise be to Knowledge who knows all and will set my feet upon the path to truth and lore. She is the teacher and I am the student. All of life is but a lesson from the Goddess and I need but listen to her teachings.¡± ¡°Student¡¯s wearing fuckin¡¯ headphones in class,¡± growled Dave under his breath. Hugh smiled with glazed eyes and began singing hymns again. Sam and Dave woke up the next day, as usual, to a warm breakfast. Not needing to sleep, Hugh was always available to put the kettle on, heat up a magic pan and start a fry-up. Team Executive Services started by checking out an astral space that Hugh felt as they rode past. It was a portal to a place of rock and sand dunes only a several kilometres across each way but for its small size, was filled to overflowing with desert monsters. As soon as they saw one, Hugh floated the idea of clearing the space out when Dave got a quest for exactly that. ¡°Hugh, did you also get -?¡± ¡°Indeed, I did. How¡¯s the reward?¡± ¡°Pretty good, actually,¡± admitted Dave. ¡°Sam? You¡¯re in? ¡°Free money!¡± Sam¡¯s face shined like a beacon. ¡°Remember,¡± said Dave to Hugh. ¡°Stay behind, used ranged attacks, wait for the engagement and then pick a flank.¡± Hugh nodded, hyping himself up and talking religious themed positive reinforcement to himself. Dave shook his head and hoped it wouldn¡¯t go badly. Dave had memorised his six spells for the day over breakfast; three counts of Origami Mount, Comfortable Country Cabin, Thunderous Lightning Of Accuracy and Bibliomancer¡¯s Gravitropic Meteor. The last two spells being the new ones that he wanted to try out: the spell-slot charged lighting spell he¡¯d reverse engineered and the drop-temporary-paper-from-the-sky spell he¡¯d used on the sleeping ogre recently. He actually really liked the spell even though he¡¯d made it mostly as an exercise in learning temporary summoning magic and directional magic. With familiars manifested and all of Sam¡¯s summons complete, they began clearing out the astral space and it didn¡¯t go anywhere near as badly as it could have. With his manic energy, Hugh chafed at being the rearguard and constantly over-spent mana out of over enthusiasm for ranged attacks and fear of melee combat. Not that he didn¡¯t try. Hugh had apparently entered the human cannonball phase of his fighting career. When he wasn¡¯t standing at maximum effective range for his Project Elements and shooting while yelling aggressively, he would gather up his courage, run at whatever monster Sam was fighting, and bodily crash into it while flailing his arms. It didn¡¯t matter what they were fighting, Hugh would either be wasting mana as far away from combat as he could be or holding his breath, closing his eyes and becoming a human wrecking ball. It was, Dave had to admit, an improvement on his previous work. No longer did Sam or Dave have to scramble to get Hugh out of danger because, most of the time, he was never in any. He fainted once due to mana exhaustion but he was so far from the enormous sand shabs they were fighting he wasn¡¯t in any danger. The shab probably hadn¡¯t even noticed him amongst all of Sam¡¯s minions. Sam idly directed two of her damaged skeletons to drag him behind a dune. It was actually against those sand shabs that Dave used his two new spells. Shabs, shark and crab hybrids, took their size from the shark half, not the crab and sand shabs, Dave discovered, were thrice as big again ¨C for no reason ¨C and they were ambush predators. Two had burst out of the sand from nowhere and ambushed Sam. They were powerful monsters, of high iron rank. Very dangerous to the low iron ranked team Executive Services. Dave did a Stop And Think to confirm the sand shabs had the same vulnerable underbelly as regular shabs. They did. So he dropped to the ground, aimed at its belly and fired. The lightning bolt blew open the underbelly, taking the majority of the monster¡¯s health. It was loud, it was surprising and it¡¯d worked very, very well. Dave was pleased with the spell. Dave had the team focus on killing the injured sand shab before focusing on the second. The second shab had picked up Sam¡¯s flesh golem in its claws and was trying to rip it in half. Sam¡¯s army was trying to get underneath the shab but it had dropped onto the sand, hiding its underbelly while it continued ripping Sam¡¯s golem into pieces. Dave had cast Bibliomancer¡¯s Gravitropic Meteor as soon as the shab¡¯s belly touched the sand and four-and-a-half seconds later, three tonnes of paper impacted on the shab¡¯s back, splitting it open. The entire battlefield shuddered with the impact as sand and shab bits were blasted away. Yet another instance of everyone being glad for Dave¡¯s being able to cast Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas. Especially Hugh who¡¯d long since passed out by that part of the battle and almost got buried in the thrown sand. Aside from that one difficult encounter, Executive Services tore through the monsters in the astral space. Most of them were clustered around what Dave had at first mistaken for an oasis but realised eventually that it was just a lake that was seasonally fed from the real world when the springtime snow melting would flood the area outside. The monsters were mostly shabs, margols and girtablull?. The latter were large monsters with the head, torso, and arms of a humanoid and the body of a scorpion. Like a scorpion version of a trap weaver. Those three monsters were aggressive, non-complex encounters. There were a few elementals that could have been complex encounters but Dave just decided to kite them to death. Why take risks? Fortunately, Hugh was too low on mana at the time and too exhausted to answer that question. They¡¯d finished in good time but Sam was spent. While Hugh hadn¡¯t made things difficult, Dave¡¯s contribution to actual battle was not equal to a non-booker adventurer. Dave had acquitted himself as best he could but his damage output was, outside of the sand shab encounter, perhaps half that of any other adventurer. An even smaller ratio for a damage-focused adventurer. While his information abilities were of great help, Sam was but one woman doing the work of an entire team. ¡°You alright?¡± asked when they¡¯d exited the astral space. He¡¯d turned his quest in at the exit aperture. ¡°I just tired,¡± said Sam, fanning herself. ¡°So hot!¡± ¡°We need that chosen of Hero, don¡¯t we?¡± Dave asked rhetorically. ¡°Right now? I¡¯m happy to take anybody, ka?¡± Dave chuckled. ¡°Tell you what? Today¡¯s been pretty hard. There¡¯s a small town closeby called Forel. How about we regroup there, train a bit and have a lake day tomorrow?¡± Sam grinned happily in response. Having passed out twice in as many hours from mana loss, Hugh was in no condition to object so, the Executive Services found themselves at the only inn in Forel sipping on cool beer. ¡°We really do need more firepower, don¡¯t we?¡± said Dave to Sam. She looked at him funny. ¡°Sorry, more sword-arms. More damage.¡± She nodded wearily. =Or better training= opined Tzu. ¡°Can¡¯t risk the Builder cult getting the opportunity to question Hugh and them learning about me,¡± said Dave. ¡°What¡¯s with you and Hugh and the Builder cult again?¡± asked Sam. ¡°They attacked Chateau Chamois to prevent me from being summoned and were unsuccessful. While looking for me and you in the area around the Chateau they got scattered and we killed a few of them. From what Hugh told me, a bunch of other adventuring groups killed the rest. That means either there are no survivors of the assassins sent to stop my summoning or that they¡¯re so lost in the mountains they may as well be dead. Either way, all the Builder cult leadership know for sure is what¡¯s public knowledge; that a single monk from the monastery survived, ran back to Meg¨¨ve and warned everyone about the cult. The Purity church was found hiding the cult and that completely screwed up their attack plans on Meg¨¨ve.¡± ¡°So, they are looking for Hugh?¡± ¡°Yes, except we can¡¯t be sure they know his name is Hugh. Even if they do, they don¡¯t know if it¡¯s this Hugh. All they know for sure is that they¡¯re looking for the only survivor of Chateau Chamois so we need to disassociate Hugh from Chamois and Meg¨¨ve.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we call Hugh a different name then? To keep him safe?¡± Dave shook his head and took a sip of beer while the barkeeper momentarily passed by close enough to overhear their quiet conversation. ¡°No point calling him another name. He can¡¯t lie. If someone asks him for his name, he only has one answer. Even If we call him ¡®Harold¡¯ it might be strange if we do that and then he has to introduce himself as Hugh.¡± ¡°I see,¡± said Sam. ¡°If someone called Hugh is hiding from you and you don¡¯t know which one it is, you will suspect the most if one is trying to have a secret identity.¡± They both looked at Hugh who appeared to be catatonic, completely spaced out. He sipped occasionally at his beer and just generally behaved like someone who had recently been given something for major surgery. ¡°Well, at least nobody will suspect him of being the guy who ran from Chamois to Meg¨¨ve to give a warning message,¡± said Dave. Sam giggled. ¡°Why can¡¯t Knowledge Church help him?¡± ¡°Dunno,¡± said Dave. ¡°My guess is that it¡¯d bring attention to him as the guy the cult¡¯s looking for. Could also be that Knowledge has decided that this is the best way to level him up? She clearly wants him as an adventurer. Fact is, I like the bugger. Even though he¡¯s been a fanatic prick recently.¡± Dave sighed deeply. ¡°I think it has something to do with his trauma. Now that all the frantic activity has stopped, his mind is processing what¡¯s happened and he¡¯s not dealing with it well.¡± ¡°I think so too,¡± said Sam in a small voice, looking at Hugh who was just staring blankly into the distance. =Can you explain more?= ¡°A profound negative experience, like having a bunch of cultists kill everyone in your monastery, can make a person lose control of their emotions.¡± Dave¡¯s familiars conferred together away from Sam and Dave. ¡°Anyway,¡± said Dave. ¡°We need to either recruit more team members or team up with other teams. Possibly both. I got Tome to check earlier and from what it could tell from Meg¨¨ve police records, most adventuring teams around here have four or five members.¡± ¡°Meg¨¨ve police records?¡± ¡°Yeah, remember how they gave me permission to use their records to solve some crimes?¡± Sam nodded. ¡°They didn¡¯t put a time limit on my access,¡± said Dave with a shrug. ¡°Dave!¡± Sam scolded while giggling. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine,¡± said Dave. ¡°So, what do you think about skipping the closest quests and just doing Hero¡¯s chosen next? I think we need it.¡± ¡°We do. I can¡¯t be four people,¡± said Sam with her cheeky smile. ¡°I¡¯ll try to avoid asking that of you again,¡± smirked Dave ¡°So, how do we make that quest?¡± asked Sam, sipping beer. ¡°I was rather hoping it¡¯d become more clear as we got closer but I¡¯ve given you all the information I have,¡± said Dave, going into his UI to quote from the text. ¡°It says ¡®travel north to Lake Auvernier, find the chosen of Hero and recruit them to a life of adventure.¡± When I asked, Hero said ¡®real story book stuff¡¯ and that I¡¯d know them when I saw them.¡± ¡°We are at Lake Auvernier, yes? Is just over there, right?¡± Sam pointed in the direction of the lake they¡¯d seen on the way into town. ¡°I suppose so,¡± said Dave with a shrug. ¡°Maybe chosen of Hero is in here!¡± said Sam, covering her mouth and laughing. Dave smirked at her cheekiness. ¡°Let¡¯s find out, hey?¡± He turned to the barkeep and hollered. ¡°Hey, barkeep!? Do you know of any heroic lad or lass in the area?¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± said the barkeeper politely, bustling over. ¡°Sorry,¡± said Dave offering his hand. ¡°Dave Booker.¡± ¡°Ueli Studer.¡± ¡°Just a random question from a quest ability I have, Studer. There aren¡¯t any young folk around town who¡¯d make a good heroic type are there? You know? Brave, pure of heart, defends the weak, loves his mum and all that?¡± Studer furrowed his brows for a second before answering. ¡°Well, strike me down if you¡¯re not talking about the Schmidt boy!¡± ¡°What?¡± said Dave flatly. Sam covered her mouth and giggled at Dave. Chapter 21: Found Him
Current Quests
Justice For Courbefy: Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use¡­ Chosen Of Knowledge: Escort Hugh on his journey to becoming a fully awakened iron¡­ Healer¡¯s Materials: Gain Healer¡¯s favour by donating alchemy ingredients to the church¡­ Wine tour: Vineyard wants you to try the different wines in the Meg¨¨ve area. Acquire Follower: Dominion wants you to gain another follower. Chosen Of Hero: Travel north to Lake Auvernier, find the chosen of Hero and recruit¡­
¡°Now, yes,¡± said the Barkeeper, joining them at the table as Dave had insisted with a generous tip. ¡°The Schmidt boy. Johan Schmidt. Shouldn¡¯t say boy, actually. Forgive me, Mister Booker, he¡¯s a young man now. Came of age! Put the sun wreath around his head just this summer festival.¡± ¡°Sorry, Mister Studer, you were saying he¡¯s some kind of local hero?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, yes. In a way, in a way. At the lake last spring he - oh, mention the monster, Baecker! Come over here!¡± Studer waved over another man cast in the same mould as himself; heavy-set, doughy, neat moustache, looked like they belonged either in a pub or fixing something around the house. Real ¡®dad¡¯ energy. ¡°Baecker this is Mister Dave Booker, Booker this is Henry Baecker,¡± Dave shook hands with Baecker. ¡°We were just talking about Schmidt¡¯s son, Johan. Apparently, Mister Booker here has an essence ability about him!¡± ¡°Is that right, young man? Is that right?¡± inquired Baecker. ¡°Now, what is it you¡¯ll be wanting to know about him?¡± ¡°Pull up a chair, sir,¡± said Dave, gesturing to a chair mentally calling Tome. Dave put an iron coin in Tome¡¯s pages and said, ¡°Tome, drop that in front of Studer¡¯s daughter and tell her to make sure everyone at this table has beer.¡± Baecker and his two friends who walked in with him sat up straighter hearing that. ¡°Yes, gentlemen, you see, I have this quest ability and I¡¯ve been asked to find someone heroic in nature and I got pointed out here. Brave, pure of heart and such? Studer immediately said I must be talking about this Schmidt fellow and something that occurred last spring?¡± ¡°Oh, yes. Saved my daughter from drowning, he did,¡± said Baecker seriously. ¡°Strike me down but he did. My little Nessie, paddled out too far. Nessie¡¯s still learning to swim you see and she uses floaters to play with the other children. Now, you see, the lake serpent moved. The wave knocked her floaters right out of her hands. Johan, strapping young lad he is, saw it right away. Swam out and saved her, he did. Swam back the whole way, holding her in one arm, calming her down the whole way with that voice of his.¡± ¡°I have questions,¡± said Dave. ¡°Oy, that¡¯s not all he¡¯s done,¡± said another man who¡¯d walked in with Baecker. ¡°He¡¯s helped with the sheep often enough.¡± ¡°Now, yes. Not to compare your daughter to sheep, Lian, but he¡¯s saved them enough in the winters hasn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Oy, yes. Yes, he has.¡± Everyone in the pub was joining in now, mostly men with Serious Dad energy, all eager to tell Dave, who was paying for all the drinks plus tips, about local hero Johan Schmidt. ¡°Three winters back, carried a pregnant ewe through a blizzard..¡± ¡°...ran into town, got me a new wheel and even lifted up the cart for me to hammer it on. Didn¡¯t even take my turnips out!¡± ¡°...saved a kitten from a tree. Didn¡¯t need saving but there you go¡­¡± ¡°Helped me build my barn when he was nine summers. Carried as much as the men, he did.¡± ¡°You know, he wins the melee at the spring festival every year?¡± Dave homed in on that one. ¡°Sorry, what did you say your name was?¡± said Dave to the fellow at the second table who¡¯d mentioned it. ¡°Gerstner.¡± ¡°Booker.¡± They reached over two people to shake hands. ¡°Yes, you were saying he wins the melee?¡± said Dave ¡°Yes, now, it¡¯s not surprising is it -¡± ¡°Trains with Greenwood, he does,¡± interjected another voice. ¡°- Right, Miss Greenwood¡¯s a retired gladiator -¡± ¡°First entered when he was twelve.¡± ¡°Big lad.¡± ¡°- occasionally takes some students from the big glitz -¡± ¡°Never wins the cross country race, though.¡± ¡°Places high, though.¡± ¡°- but Greenwood¡¯s been teaching Schmit Junior since he was a toddler.¡± ¡°Or the rock toss.¡± ¡°No, he won that two summers ago.¡± ¡°Oy, yes, I forgot.¡± Dave used Stop And Think just to have a break. ¡°Sounds like he¡¯s a bit of a golden child?¡± asked Dave, returning to the chaos. ¡°Golden head of hair, yes.¡± said Gerstner. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you¡¯ve never seen him?¡± asked Studer. ¡°...average with the bow isn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°No, I meant golden as in a bit of a favourite?¡± clarified Dave. ¡°...not so bad with a sling do you remember -¡± ¡°Oy, now, he¡¯s a good lad,¡± said Gerstner. ¡°Give you the shirt off his back, he would,¡± said Baecker. ¡°...knocked on my door and just admitted he broke it..¡± ¡°I suppose he listens to tales of heroic deeds?¡± said Dave, not believing his ears. ¡°Oh, he can¡¯t get enough of them!¡± chuckled Studer ¡°He¡¯d listen to a bard ¡®til his ears fall off,¡± said Baecker. This continued for some time with Dave being on the receiving end of tales about this young man that were overwhelmingly positive. He couldn¡¯t help but draw comparisons to Clark Kent; wholesome country boy destined for great power and a world-saving fate or two. Then Dave remembered that Hero is famous for being the god of last stands. Oh, shit. Thought Dave. Superman without his powers or plot armour backed up by the god of last stands and I¡¯m going to make this poor Schmidt bastard into that! He looked at Sam, who was sitting in the corner with her hands over her mouth and her eyes twinkling. She can¡¯t carry us in combat. Dave looked at Hugh, who was sitting back with a beer in his hand and still recovering from mana sickness. He still did more damage than me in our last encounter. Fuck. We need this. ¡°You¡¯ve all rather convinced me,¡± said Dave loudly over the hubbub. ¡°I¡¯ve got to meet this wunderkind. Where can I find him?¡± The locals gave instructions to Dave which amounted to taking the northeast road until a sign that said ¡®Schmidt farm¡¯ which Dave thought was rather sensible. Hugh was still pretty out of it but when Dave looked at Studer and tipped his head towards Hugh, Studer nodded. Hugh would be fine where he was. Dave and Sam left the Forel Inn and rode to the farm. Sitting on their origami heidels they looked at the long path from the main road to the farmhouse. Even from the road, just looking at the neat pathway of packed earth and gravel lined with various riverstones that went all the way to a house, the entire scene looked like the embodiment of the hard work of humble people. Dave felt a wrench in his guts as he took a deep breath and began walking his mount along the path to the house. A little girl was the first to notice them. Gap toothed smile and golden hair streaming behind her, she ran out of the barn leading a dog. ¡°Mummy, mummy! There¡¯s people here on funny heidels!¡± she yelled at the house. The dog, belatedly realising that someone was arriving, ran up to Dave and Sam and pretended to have been barking at them all along. ¡°Are you adventurers?¡± asked the little girl, running right up to them, wonder in her eyes. The dog interposed itself between the little girl and the mounts, barking loudly. A woman with honey-blonde hair and a welcoming smile came out of the front doors. ¡°Easy Rover! Down boy!¡± called the woman, presumably Missus Schmidt. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, he¡¯s just being protective of my daughter. Heather, you know Rover will try to protect you from strangers, how have I told you to introduce yourself?¡± Dave felt another two gut punches. Johan had a dog and it was even called Rover. He had a little sister. And, Dave was about to do his best to recruit this toast of the town young man out of his perfect, little life into high mortality adventuring. He grit his teeth. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, mum,¡± said Heather, who put her hand on the dog to calm it down. She walked straight up to Sam, the dog coming with her, and gave a curtsy. ¡°Hello! I¡¯m Heather. What¡¯s your name?¡± Sam dismounted, giving Heather her brightest smile. ¡°Hello, Heather,¡± said Sam, giving the child a small wei in return. ¡°I am Samorn Khanthong. You can call me Sam.¡± Dave had dismounted as well when he saw Sam do it and bowed to the girl. ¡°And, I am Dave Booker,¡± said Dave with a bow. ¡°Lovely to meet you, Heather.¡± The girl grinned triumphantly at her mother. ¡°The lady of the house, I presume?¡± asked Dave, extending a hand towards the mother. ¡°Lena Schmidt, Mister Booker. Why don¡¯t you come inside and have some tea? People only come out here for a talk or a delivery and you¡¯re not carrying any packages.¡± Lena Schmidt was motherliness incarnate. She gave approving glances when Dave and Sam rushed to take off their shoes and doff their cloaks at the threshold, she put the kettle on, she called out the back door for her husband, she brought over biscuits and smiled warmly. Dave was devastated. Lena¡¯s husband came in the back door, all flannel and fatherliness. He¡¯d removed his boots and coat like everyone else and come in the back door. Dave¡¯s first impression was that he was as solid as an oak. He was above average in height but appeared a formidable man with a barrel chest, dirty blond hair that thatched his head and his face had smile lines, like his wife. ¡°Welcome to our home!¡± announced Mister Schmidt, striding to Dave and Sam, exuding goodwill while extending his hand. ¡°Noah Schmidt.¡± ¡°Dave Booker,¡± said Dave, shaking the most comfortable handshake he¡¯d ever been part of and noticing that Mister Schmidt smelled of sweat and woodchips. ¡°You have a lovely home Mister and Missus Schmidt.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Lena and Noah, Mister Booker,¡± said Lena, bringing over biscuits. ¡°If you keep saying ¡®Schmidt¡¯ around here we get a bit dizzy.¡± ¡°Then we¡¯re Dave and Sam to you,¡± said Dave. Sam nodded and squeezed her hands together with happiness atop her brightest smile. Right on que, Heather ran into the house and sat down in front of the biscuits. ¡°Now, Dave and Sam, what brings you here in the light of the gods?¡± said Noah. His voice was deep and Dave was immediately sure he¡¯d make a wonderful radio announcer. ¡°I have a business proposition for your boy, Johan,¡± inquired Dave ¡°I¡¯d like to meet with him, is he around?¡± ¡°I sent him out to bring in the hay,¡± said Noah. ¡°He¡¯ll be back any minute,¡± smiled Lena. ¡°What sort of business are you talking?¡± said Noah, seriously. ¡°I have to say, he¡¯s a big help here around the farm but for a fair price he¡¯ll put in an honest day¡¯s work, Dave.¡± ¡°To be perfectly honest, I¡¯ve heard such good things about your boy, I¡¯m here to give him essences, awakening stones and recruit him into my adventuring team.¡± Silence reigned. Brows furrowed. Mouths worked silently. The kettle started awkwardly whistling in the background. ¡°Our, Johan?¡± ¡°Lena, the kettle?¡± ¡°Oh, yes.¡± The flustered Lena lurched into the kitchen to take the kettle off the heat while Noah leaned back into his chair, took a deep breath and let it all out. ¡°Now, you know - always considered this a possibility. Didn¡¯t we Lena? But -¡± ¡°Our Johan?¡± repeated Lena. ¡°But he¡¯s just a - well we put the summer wreath on his head but he¡¯s our boy!¡± Noah hopped to his feet and was at his wife¡¯s side in three long strides, steadying her hold on the kettle and wrapping the other arm around her. ¡°He¡¯s a man now, Lena. Our son is a man and he¡¯s handy with that ¡®playing with swords¡¯, as you like to call it.¡± Noah gestured at a series of trophies on the mantelpiece. ¡°So, don¡¯t you play mother hen so much. It¡¯ll embarrass him when he hears about it,¡± said Noah with a grin and gave his wife a one armed squeeze. Dave and Sam had also raised to their feet. Ignored, Heather took another biscuit and ran off to play with Rover. ¡°Perhaps we should wait for Johan to get home?¡± said Dave diplomatically, joining the Schmidts in the kitchen. ¡°We could prepare lunch? I brought a ham and a fruit cake.¡± Dave took both items from his inventory and placed them on the counter. ¡°It would also give us time to think about what we have to say to each other.¡±Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°Now,¡± said Noah with deliberate calm. ¡°I think that would be swell.¡± With the leg of ham present, Lena decided a ploughman¡¯s lunch would be the best idea. Despite Lena trying to insist on doing it all herself, Sam clasped her hands and twisted so hard that Dave had to intervene. He summoned a scrap of paper to his hand, telekinetically speared it, wrote on it and floated the note to Noah where Sam couldn¡¯t see. ¡°Noah, Sam misses her family and preparing lunch with your wife would bring a homely feeling to her. Please think of an excuse to get us all involved. I have a cleaning ability that I¡¯m sure your wife will find charming. Dave.¡± Noah read the note, gave Dave a little nod and slapped both his knees. ¡°You know what, Dave?¡± said Noah loudly. ¡°I¡¯ll take you up on that challenge. Tarnish off the silverware?¡± He suddenly strode to the kitchen. ¡°And clean all the other kitchenware at the same time,¡± said Dave, slapping his own knees and following. ¡°Isn¡¯t that right, Sam?¡± ¡°Oh? Oh, yes! Dave can clean anything, I think,¡± said Sam brightly, who hadn¡¯t been following their conversation. Noah dived into a drawer and pulled out a case. Like everything in this house, the silver spoons inside were worn but cared for. Lena began making noises of protest but Noah put Dave¡¯s note down in front of her while picking up dirty kitchenware and piling it in front of Dave before gesturing at the plate pile as well as the silver spoons. ¡°Let¡¯s see your magic, wizard,¡± said Noah with a grin. ¡°Sam, honey, why don¡¯t you come over here and help cut the cheese?¡± asked Lena. Dave waved his hand over the note he¡¯d written, erasing the writing, while Sam bounced up, radiant with happiness and began washing her hands. ¡°You know what, my love,¡± said Noah to Lena, ¡°I can boil the eggs in the other pot. Dave here will have that pot from breakfast clean and dry in no time, won¡¯t you Dave?¡± ¡°I sure will,¡± said Dave. ¡°Now,¡± said Noah, suddenly serious, ¡°you realise that if your magic doesn¡¯t work out, then you¡¯re going to have to wash it by hand?¡± ¡°Dear me,¡± said Dave, in mock concern, looking at the line of cleanliness moving across the pile of dishes, ¡°the pressure is on.¡± The mood was warm as they put lunch together in the kitchen. Lena engaged a delighted Sam in chatter and Dave asked Noah about his farm. Dave almost immediately regretted it. The Schmidts were grass farmers. They sold hay. Although there was a wide market for unranked hay, which he sold, that market was also unranked and so, paid in lesser spirit coins. Dave asked about the viability of a cash crop and Noah started talking about the needs of the local community. People relied on him and, in times of drought, only kept their farm because of him. Dave¡¯s didn¡¯t even bother asking if Noah raised his prices during the droughts. He knew what the answer would be. Lena interjected that they sold dairy in town for a bit of extra coin and Noah pointed out that grass only needs so much watching so he and his boy spent a lot of time as hands at other farms, helping out, getting to know everyone in the area and often bringing home a sack full of vegetables for their efforts. Which Noah obviously considered generous recompense for his efforts. The Schmidts were Good PeopleTM. The shells were coming off the eggs, the last part of the lunch platter, when Johan crested the hill and it could only be him. Dave and Sam were both looking out the kitchen window when it happened. It was a scene that a painter from the Romantic era would have given a limb to see. Even from this distance, it was plain to see that Johan had inherited his father¡¯s build and then some. The sun glinted off his blond hair as he walked towards the house with an easy gait in the yellow, late autumn day towards the farmhouse while he carried a square bail of hay in front of him. ¡°Oh, there he is,¡± said Lena, smiling up at the window. Noah also gave a small look of pride out the window. Heather and Rover dashed towards Johan, each offering loud greetings of their own kind. Johan shifted the bail of hay to one hand without even a twinge of effort to first pat the dog and pick up his sister with the other hand and carry her on his arm. He laughed while he did so, looking at Tzu. It was impossible to hear from the house but Heather was clearly telling her brother about showing Tzu around the yard. He went out of view of the window. Heather came running inside first having no shoes to doff at the threshold. ¡°The big hero is home!¡± she cried, running in the house. Johan followed, carefully taking off his working boots and coat. Like his father, he wore sensible farmer¡¯s clothes but, in Johan¡¯s case, large enough to be mistaken for a tablecloth. Up close, Johan was even bigger. Dave hadn¡¯t noticed so much from the distance but Johan was an enormous man. His height was easily somewhere around the two metre mark and the deep-barrel chest he¡¯d inherited from his father only served to make him appear well proportioned. And, he was gorgeous. He was as objectively attractive as it was possible to get. His golden, blond hair parted perfectly across his head crowning light blue eyes, sharp cheekbones and a square jaw you could design a bridge with. His smile lit up the house as he greeted his mother in the dining room with a quick kiss on the cheek. ¡°Hi, mum,¡± he said in a voice that Dave instantly knew would make a choir master weep for joy. ¡°I thought I¡¯d bring in a fresh bale for Mister Stockar. You remember he said one of his grazers likes it fresh?¡± He straightened up and surveyed the set table as well as the two strangers. He patiently radiated a sense of ease, somehow, through just his broad shoulders. Sam blushed and bit her lip. ¡°Now, I¡¯m not surprised you¡¯d remember for Mister Stockar,¡± said Lena. ¡°Johan, I¡¯d like you to meet our guests. Dave Booker and Sam¡­ They can introduce themselves.¡± Dave set a plate of sliced fruit down and introduced himself to the enormous farm boy, hand out. ¡°Dave Booker,¡± said Dave. ¡°Call me Dave¡± ¡°Johan Schmidt,¡± said Johan. His handshake felt as comfortable as his dad¡¯s. Dave had to gesture to Sam to take space available for introducing herself and, with her widest, most nervous smile in place, she managed to squeak her introduction to Johan. ¡°Samorn Khanthong,¡± she said, blushing harder at the handshake and giving a small wei afterwards. ¡°Just Sam!¡± ¡°Khanthong? Are you from Funan? I met a gentleman at the inn from there once,¡± said Johan, his face lighting up as Sam nodded. ¡°Cor, that¡¯s amazing. Yes, call me Johan, of course. Both of you.¡± ¡°Lunch is ready,¡± announced Noah, putting the de-shelled eggs on the table. ¡°Let¡¯s eat and discuss what we need to.¡± Johan looked between his parents and his guests with the earnestness of a golden retriever. ¡°What¡¯s going on, Dad?¡± ¡°Dave here has got a business proposition for you, son,¡± said Noah simply. ¡°You may want to give him a listen.¡± Johan turned his guileless attention to Dave who felt another pang of guilt. ¡°Now, I¡¯m happy to hear whatever you have to say, Dave. What kind of business is it that you do?¡± ¡°At the moment, Johan, I do questing. I¡¯m thinking about taking you on as an adventurer. What¡¯d you say to that?¡± ¡°Cor, well. It¡¯s what I¡¯ve always wanted!¡± said Johan enthusiastically as everyone sat down. Not a hint of life-changing shock about his person. ¡°But, my mum and dad tell me I¡¯ve got to be careful.¡± He sent his parents glances and tamped down his energy. ¡°They say adventuring is dangerous and I need to make sure I have good people around me. But, I can fight!¡± He gestured at the wall where the Schmidts had proudly displayed their son¡¯s trophies. ¡°And, I don¡¯t believe in bad people. I think mum and Dad mean people who¡¯ll get me into bad situations.¡± That¡¯s exactly me, thought Dave, thinking of the Geller family. He carefully schooled his face while using tongs to place bread, cheese and ham onto his plate. ¡°I was actually thinking you¡¯d help me,¡± said Dave, pretending this wasn¡¯t a done deal and hating himself for switching into corporate speak but recognising its utility here. ¡°See, we need a fighter in our team, which is why I¡¯m here. A team is more about complementary skills than anything else and a fighter is what we need. But, lots of people can fight. Why don¡¯t we eat and you can tell me about the other skills you have besides fighting?¡± Johan, as it turned out, had a laundry list of skills that the Schmidt family regaled Dave and Sam with over the course of lunch. With his father¡¯s profession and influence he was a regular outdoorsman. He knew how to track, hunt, fish, navigate by the stars, forage for food and how to set up a comfortable camp and cook a decent meal while away from home. Something his mother was very proud of. When Dave asked how he performed under pressure, Lena told a story of Johan¡¯s group getting lost in the woods on a school trip when he was little. When the other children started crying, Johan comforted all of his peers and used the sun to orient himself to a local river and followed the river back to town before sundown. Nobody was hurt and Missus Baecker had made him a sponge cake as a reward. ¡°It was the best cake I''ve ever eaten,¡± said Johan, heartily. ¡°Then, this is a tricky question,¡± said Dave, all sly cunning. ¡°Possibly unfair. Are you good at giving up at the right time?¡± Johan looked at him in confusion. Lena put her fingers over her lips and Noah nibbled on a good bit of cheese giving Dave a shrewd look. ¡°Uhh, now, I¡¯m not sure about that question?¡± stammered Johan. ¡°Sometimes there¡¯s a bad situation and the best thing you can do is get yourself away from it,¡± explained Dave. ¡°Like, if there¡¯s someone in danger in a place where, if you try to help them, you¡¯ll just put yourself in danger. You do that and then there¡¯s two people in danger. You understand?¡± Johan looked at his parents in confusion. ¡°I understand it,¡± said Noah kindly. ¡°Like, during the monster surge. There¡¯s people outside the shelter but if normal folk like us go outside to help them, then there¡¯s just more normal folk outside that the Adventure Society has to rescue.¡± ¡°But¡­ if I¡¯m an adventurer then I can go outside!¡± protested Johan, gesturing at Dave. ¡°Imagine I don¡¯t exist and the monster surge starts tomorrow,¡± said Dave. ¡°If you¡¯re evacuating and you see someone missing, what do you do if the adventurers tell you that it¡¯s too dangerous for you to do anything about it?¡± ¡°Now, I -¡± Johan sputtered but looked at his parent¡¯s serious faces. Dave figured they were likely thinking of previous adventure surges with situations like this that they¡¯d lived through. ¡°I suppose I¡¯d¡­ as long as my family is safe?¡± finished Johan without conviction. Dave now knew exactly why Hero was picking this young man. ¡°Safe families are certainly the idea, yes,¡± said Dave. ¡°Retreat is something we¡¯ll have to work on for you. Sam, you¡¯re a farm girl, could you quiz Johan about some skills about that?¡± ¡°Actually, I might cut up that fruit cake you brought over,¡± said Noah. ¡°Help me plate it won¡¯t you Dave?¡± Lena squeezed her husband¡¯s hand as he went to the kitchen, Dave followed his host. ¡°Lena doesn¡¯t like it,¡± said Noah to Dave in a low voice, ¡°but Johan¡¯s been training for this his whole life. At this point I can see you¡¯re just making steam, trying to see what he will and won¡¯t admit to and you really got the measure of my boy in there. He¡¯s a good kid, if I do say so myself, but he thinks about himself last and you asking him about giving up, well that¡¯s it. You have my approval, Dave Booker but we don¡¯t yet have a deal. As a parent, I need to know my boy¡¯s getting a good life now, let¡¯s talk spirit coins. What would be Johan¡¯s share in your team?¡± ¡°Team policy so far has been an equal share of all coin loot. I have a looting ability and a quest ability so there tends to be a lot of that,¡± said Dave. Noah¡¯s hands froze halfway through slicing a piece of cake. ¡°Come to think of it, there isn¡¯t a rule yet about non-coin loot. I guess it¡¯s mine since Sam doesn¡¯t care and Hugh has a vow of poverty?¡± ¡°Johan would have an equal share in all that?¡± asked Noah carefully. ¡°Absolutely,¡± said Dave with a shrug. ¡°No, no. That¡¯s¡­ Now that¡¯s more than fair,¡± said Noah, nodding in shock. ¡°He¡¯ll be able to pay you back for those essences, then? ¡°And the awakening stones. I¡¯d like to start him off with a whole bunch,¡± said Dave. Noah started to object but Dave talked him down. ¡°It¡¯s not a gift, Noah. If anything, it¡¯s greed. With a looting and quest ability, the amount of money the team earns and thus I earn, is limited by how fast we can kill monsters and do quests. If your son speeds that process up, I make more money. See?¡± ¡°I¡¯d not thought of it like that,¡± said Noah, stroking his chin. ¡°So, you¡¯re just going to give my boy a lifetime¡¯s worth of essences and just trust that he¡¯ll work for you and you¡¯ll make your money back?¡± ¡°Am I wrong?¡± said Dave, with a cheeky grin. Noah smiled and gestured helplessly in the affirmative. ¡°Now, Dave,¡± said Noah, clasping Dave on the shoulder. ¡°I believe we have a deal.¡± ¡°You tell him,¡± said Dave, tilting his head towards the dining room. ¡°Johan,¡± said Noah, coming out of the kitchen with slices of cake on a cutting board. ¡°Dave has decided to give you essences. If you accept his offer.¡± Johan¡¯s face lit up. ¡°Oh, yes please, Dave!¡± exclaimed Johan, trying to contain himself and failing dismally. ¡°Wait until you hear the deal,¡± said Dave raising his hands. ¡°But, I think you¡¯ll like it.¡± They went to the dining room and Dave laid out the deal before Johan but it was quite clear that all he heard was ¡®you¡¯ll get to be an adventurer¡¯ and was mentally clicking ¡®I accept¡¯. Noah shared with Dave a look of parental resignation. ¡°Okay, time to start talking essences then,¡± said Dave. ¡°Any thoughts?¡± ¡°Sword, shield and farm,¡± said Johan without hesitation. ¡°Hurrah!¡± cheered Heather from where she was lying on the floor reading. ¡°Really, son?¡± asked Noah. ¡°This isn¡¯t the time for childhood stories, Johan,¡± scolded his mother gently. ¡°Sorry, what¡¯ve we missed here?¡± asked Dave on behalf of himself and Sam. ¡°It¡¯s the essences of Herman The Hero,¡± called Heather from the floor near the unlit fireplace. She held a book cover up for Dave to read the title: The Adventures Of Herman The Hero: Herman VS Troll. Dave used Stop And Think and Epistemology several times in a row as well as asked Tome to become a few select books. In only a few moments of real time he¡¯d caught up. Herman The Hero was a popular folklore hero. There were the children¡¯s books that Heather was reading but also several different variations of bards tales ranging from epic, where he would die saving everyone and be risen by the gods in gratitude, to the tragic, where he¡¯d just get betrayed and killed by his own adventuring party. The latter seemed to be a very popular opera in the large cities. However, consistent in every telling was his essences; farm, sword and shield combined to get¡­ ¡°The hero confluence essence is for the clergy, Johan,¡± said Lena, confused. ¡°If you wanted to join up you could just¡­¡± Her words faded as she saw the rest of her family shaking their heads. ¡°Hero says the hero essence is for everybody because anybody can be a hero,¡± said Heather seriously. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s explained in the books,¡± said Noah into his wife¡¯s ear. ¡°Yes, it is mum,¡± confirmed Johan. ¡°Oh,¡± said Lena, embarrassed, ¡°I never really got that into them. Still,¡± she rallied, ¡°a once in a lifetime chance to select essences shouldn¡¯t be guided by heroes of your childhood stories.¡± None of the family noticed Sam and Dave stopping dead mid conversation and just looking at each other. A quest from Hero to make an essence user adventurer and the man himself wants to take a combination that results in the hero confluence. This couldn¡¯t be a coincidence. ¡°We¡¯re all getting ahead of ourselves,¡± said Noah, turning to Dave. ¡°Dave can you even supply those essences?¡± ¡°Actually, yes,¡± admitted Dave and added in a flash of inspiration and guilt. ¡°Seems like destiny that I should have that exact combination on me, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Do you have any other essence combinations,¡± asked Lena, looking at Dave and ruining his attempt at persuasion. ¡°No, mum,¡± interrupted Johan, saving Dave, ¡°the hero confluence is actually really powerful. That¡¯s what Greenwood told me.¡± ¡°His sword instructor,¡± said Noah to Sam in response to her puzzled look. Dave looked it up in The Abridged Guide To Essences by the Magic Society and quoted from the text. ¡°Often compared to the avatar confluence, the abilities this confluence essence produces are often supportive or enhancing in nature but, unlike most support-type essences, the abilities produced by the Hero confluence are not subtle. Abilities are often high impact on the battlefield. Self enhancing, ally enhancing, durability, execution and reverse execution abilities are common.¡± said Dave, eyebrows raising further in pleasant surprise as the quote went on. ¡°Now, that''s actually pretty good.¡± Noah gestured in agreement with Dave towards his wife who seemed determined to be the devil¡¯s advocate. ¡°Executions?¡± ¡°Adventuring term, mum. Execution abilities are used on hurt monsters to end them. Reverse execution abilities are used when the adventurer is on low health,¡± explained Johan. ¡°Yes, now, it¡¯s in the books,¡± muttered Noah gesturing towards the book that Heather was helpfully holding up while nodding at her mother. ¡°Good, sweet gods,¡± said Lena. ¡°I never thought I missed out on so much by reading books about princesses as a girl.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t feel bad, Lena,¡± said Dave. ¡°I didn''t read them either. I just have magic knowledge abilities to keep me abreast of where this conversation is.¡± Lena nodded. ¡°Well now,¡± said Noah, getting them back on track with a serious dad voice, ¡°So we know it¡¯s a powerful essence combination and that Dave has it available. But, can you tell us why you want it, son? Why these essences?¡± ¡°It was Heather that got me onto it, really,¡± said Johan, smiling at his sister. ¡°Yes, I liked it as a child because it was Herman¡¯s confluence but I put that aside as I outgrew the books. One day she heard someone in town call me a hero and so she started calling me a hero at home. I asked her to stop. When she asked why, I told her it was because it made me embarrassed. Then you know what she said?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not embarrassed my big brother is a hero!¡± said Heather in answer, grinning up at Johan. ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± he said, scooping her up. ¡°And she¡¯s right. There¡¯s nothing wrong with being your little sister¡¯s hero.¡± Heather laughed with delight. ¡°Ever since then, I¡¯ve realised that I actually do want the hero confluence essence. No matter the tales.¡± Johan¡¯s tone was determined now. ¡°Because, it¡¯ll remind me to always be my little sister¡¯s hero.¡± Of course the Schmidt family acquiesced to Johan¡¯s desires with a series of wholesome embraces and afterwards, when Johan ever-so-politely asked, Dave handed over the essences from his inventory. Johan passed them around his family, each of them getting a good look at the expensive, magical stones that perhaps they thought they¡¯d never afford in their lifetimes. Dave, however, breathed a sigh of relief over his knotted stomach of guilt. Johan was doing all the hard work of taking himself out of his wholesome life himself which both added and took from the guilt pile in his stomach. Added because Johan was tearing himself out of his wholesome life for one as the chosen of Hero full of politics, cults, cthulhu monsters and killing. It didn¡¯t seem right. Subtracted because at least Dave would be able to say ¡®you did this to yourself¡¯. Just like that time his university housemate had gone on a three day hike without any history of hiking or preparation. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do this while we¡¯re all still happy enough to deal with the after effects,¡± said Dave after the hubbub had died down a bit. ¡°After effects?¡± said Noah. ¡°Oh, yeah,¡± said Dave. ¡°That¡¯s right, adventurers around here don¡¯t tell normal folk. It¡¯s this dumb in-joke they have. See, when someone goes up a rank their body purges itself of magical impurities which manifests as this awful, snotty, vomity gunk that comes out of everywhere in your body. Mouth, nose, ears, backside. I think I even got some come out from under a fingernail.¡± The whole family just looked at Dave. Then they looked at Sam in the hope he was playing some kind of bad joke. Sam just nodded grimly with no smile on her face. ¡°An adventurers¡¯ in joke?¡± asked Lena in disgust. ¡°Puss? Vomit?¡± ¡°Eww!¡± exclaimed Heather. ¡°No, I¡¯m on your side, Lena,¡± said Dave. ¡°I¡¯m trying to raise awareness of this event as well. That said, is there anywhere to do the ritual and deal with the¡­ nastiness?¡± Chapter 22: Honour Guard
Current Quests
Justice For Courbefy: Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use¡­ Chosen Of Knowledge: Escort Hugh on his journey to becoming a fully awakened iron¡­ Wine tour: Vineyard wants you to try the different wines in the Meg¨¨ve area. Chosen Of Hero: Enter the chosen of hero into a tournament to gain notoriety.
Dave stared in disbelief at the piece of paper in front of him. Just running over the possibilities and synergies in his mind. He finished his beer and gestured at Studer for another. He was looking at a summary of Johan¡¯s abilities. All of them. Johan was a fully awakened iron ranker now and Dave couldn¡¯t quite credit the abilities he¡¯d gotten. They were just¡­ too perfect. He¡¯d checked. Most of those awakening stones should have given him something like¡­ Well, Dave didn¡¯t know but it shouldn¡¯t have been this good. They¡¯d gone outside next to the firepit and given Johan his essences. Farm essence went first and it gave him a cleave ability; Farmer Reaps The Field. Dave had looked it up. It actually was useful for farm work in that whatever you hit, other nearby targets would get the same version of the same blow. It¡¯d help you cut wheat easily in the same way it¡¯d damage adjacent enemies by the sword. Dave had figured that it was just luck that this farm essence ability also had a combat use. He couldn¡¯t have been more wrong. They¡¯d given Johan the sword essence next. He got Sword Of The People. This ability was so rare that Dave couldn¡¯t even look it up. Only its name was on file in the Adventure Society records. The sword itself didn¡¯t look remarkable at all. Just a standard, if well made, knightly sword. Pomel, handle, crossguard and blade. All there without decoration. Just perfectly sized and balanced in Johan¡¯s hands. The sword had ¡®keen edge¡¯ in its description. Dave had clicked on ¡®more details¡¯ in his UI and gotten the impression that ¡®keen edge¡¯ meant ¡®this sword is sharp and will remain sharp. When Johan had tested it out, they¡¯d found it meant ¡®sharper than any bloody sword has any right to be¡¯. Dave shuddered as he remembered Johan testing it out on the leg of ham and the gentle but firm cut going through the bone with no noticeable extra resistance. It also said something about being able to deliver smites. After a bit of reading Dave had found out that meant that the weapon could deliver magical damage with its hits. Usually some kind of force damage but elemental damage was also common enough. At the time, Dave had wondered if the smites would be impactful. He shouldn¡¯t have, but hindsight is twenty-twenty. So they¡¯d moved on and given him the shield essence. Shield Of The People. The defensive match of the sword with the same scarce details. Name of the ability was on record but nothing else. It had the same lack of decoration as well. Just a heater shield without heraldry, an off-white canvas over the wooden shield braced with steel. It had fit perfectly on Johan¡¯s arm, of course. Then Dave had looked at the shield¡¯s magical properties and wowed. If the shield takes a blow while the user is actively defending an ally, it confers a buff to the user that makes them take less damage and the buff was stackable. Dave hadn¡¯t done any serious calculations but the fact that the buff was stackable was huge. So long as Johan took damage on the shield, he¡¯d take progressively less damage in any fight. His mother had started tearing up when she heard that. She was glad that her little boy would be safer. Dave had worried that he¡¯d set false expectations. That the percentage of damage negated would be so small as to make the ability negligible in most fights. He needn¡¯t have been but he wasn¡¯t yet in the flow of things yet. Even now, he still couldn¡¯t believe that Johan¡¯s abilities had turned out so¡­ so good. So, Johan had taken his hero confluence essence and lain down on a metal grate over the fire pit while purging. While he was doing that, everyone else was staring at the new ability Tome was displaying and trying to figure out if he could even die in battle anymore. Johan¡¯s new ability, Hero¡¯s Spirit, activated when the essence user would normally die but just, sort of, as best they could tell, stop it? Kinda? Keep them on life support? The Magic society sourced text noted ¡®more research needed¡¯. It was clear that Immortality was a much more favoured ability because of its superior practicality; adventurer almost dead, Immortality activates, adventurer back to full health. But, this one¡­ well, it seemed that Johan would, short of complete bodily destruction, would just stay as living, not-dead tissue until someone got around to healing him. Immortality was better for winning a duel, of course, but did have the weakness that you could simply be killed twice. With this, you could just wait in limbo, so to speak, and get healed when the danger had passed. This seemed a potent combination with Johan¡¯s other abilities. When his hero essence had attached to his recovery stat he¡¯d gotten the human racial Protagonist¡¯s Health which had doubled his hitpoints. So, double hit points, a shield that percent-lessens damage and even if you manage to hack through that long enough to kill him before he kills you, Hero¡¯s Spirit would kick in and he¡¯d just hang out, feeling rough until someone got around to healing him. Which he could do himself with a health potion if he had to. His mum cried two types of tears at that one. She cried sad tears thinking of her boy, lying on a battlefield somewhere, sitting painfully in between life and death with a bunch of weapons sticking in him but she cried happy tears knowing that he¡¯d survive it. Then shit had got weird. Dave nodded to Studer and took a gulp of his new beer thinking about it. The essences had gone in, they¡¯d cleaned him up and started on the awakening stones. Dave knew he had that ability, Bringer Of Change but was once again shocked by it. He¡¯d looked at it again to check. ¡®Awakening stones that you apply to yourself or you apply for others are more likely to have rare, powerful and synergistic effects.¡¯ Sam believed in it completely and Dave was beginning to think she was right. He thought the power of her abilities had partially come from the fact that she has essences that were so easily conceptualised as marital. One of them was literally the concept of death, for Goodness sake. Not to mention that her abilities made sense. She takes an awakening stone of the hand, she gets an ability with hands coming out of the ground. She takes a flesh stone, she gets a flesh golem. Simple, right? Sure, Dave had noticed an abundance of good abilities from mostly common stones but here? With Johan? He had common essences with common stones and for the love of all things sacred, one of the bloody essences was farm. It should not have worked this well. But, it did. And the only explanation was Bringer Of Change. The first awakening stone, Dave had overruled Johan¡¯s enthusiasm and offered an awakening stone of speed, at first. A solid choice for any combat-based build. Dave was still trying to behave sensibly at this point. Johan had snatched it up with a, ¡°That sounds swell!¡± and taken it. An awakening stone of speed had, according to the magic society, a high chance of awakening an ability with the sword essence. Instead, it violated probability and attached to his shield essence to give the ability to rush to an ally and take a blow on his shield. The success had buoyed Johan who selected an awakening stone of plants. He''d really been listening to Sam who was telling him to ¡®tell a story about you¡¯. ¡°I¡¯ve spent my whole life here on this grass farm and grass is a plant. I feel like this stone and me will be fine together,¡± he¡¯d said and given Dave one of his winning smiles. Dave performed the ritual and Johan has gotten Blossoms In The Wind.
Ability: Blossoms In The Wind
Essence: Sword Rank: Iron 0 0% to iron 1 Awakening Stone: Plant
Type: Special attack Tags: buff, damage, reactive, smite. Cost: Low mana
Cooldown: none
Description After you dodge an attack, you may quickly attempt this special attack for low mana. If the attack hits, you gain a stack of Wind Blossom which increases your speed. This buff stacks up to 5 times. This buff can be consumed for smite attacks.
Detailed Information
After describing it to them, Dave frantically flipped through pages in Tome, trying not to alarm the Schmidts. This ability was normally awakened by the rare awakening stone of spring, sometimes the uncommon awakening stone of flowers, but the literature expressed that awakening this ability with a stone of plants was theoretical. Sam was grinning at him proudly and in this moment, Dave remembered what Hero had told him. ¡®You¡¯re going to make a line of heroes like this world has never seen¡¯. Dave felt he might be onto the mechanism of Hero¡¯s prediction about, then. Dave kept a poker face and cautiously handed Johan the next awakening stone he requested. ¡°Ahh, I think I¡¯ll take a foot stone,¡± Johan had said. ¡°A man¡¯s got to take care of his feet,¡± and that was all the logic he needed.
Ability: Tough As Old Boots
Essence: Farm Rank: Iron 0 0% to iron 1 Awakening Stone: Foot
Type: Special ability Tags: resistance. Cost: none
Cooldown: none
Description You are resistant to poison, disease and affliction effects.
Detailed Information
¡°Good one, Johan!¡± cheered Sam in excitement, egging him on, beaming like a lighthouse with her joy in the moment. ¡°Try another!¡± Johan did. An awakening stone of the grazer. On the basis that they farmed grazers in the fields that weren¡¯t being used for grass. Predictions of the Magic Society be damned. He wasn¡¯t getting the ability to talk to livestock or summon a herding dog. No, his ability was...
Ability: Strong As A Grazer
Essence: Farm Rank: Iron 0 0% to iron 1 Awakening Stone: Grazer
Type: Special ability Tags: Attribute bonus. Cost: none
Cooldown: none
Description You are mightily strong and your power is greatly enhanced.
Detailed Information
¡°That¡¯s my boy!¡± Noah had cheered gruffly from the sidelines. It didn¡¯t end. Johan selecting stones with wholesome positivity and it all just¡­ worked. An awakening stone of the bird¡­ ¡°You know it¡¯s so nice the way they sing in the morning,¡± An awakening stone of the cat¡­ ¡°Remember old moggie?¡± An awakening stone of the sheep¡­ ¡°My dad and I help out the Weibels every year with their lambing.¡± An awakening stone of the net¡­ ¡°I do like fishing.¡± An awakening stone of the dog. ¡°Hey, Rover! Who¡¯s a good boy!? Yeah? You are? Yeah. I¡¯ll take a stone of the dog.¡± He even let Heather chime in who thought to take an awakening stone of hair, because she liked doing his hair, and one of the fork, because he uses a big fork and she uses a small fork. She soon got the giggles and her mother had to tell her to calm down. Dave couldn¡¯t believe it. Even those unlikely awakening stones produced amazing abilities. Every other ability was one that, on another adventurer¡¯s power set, would be in contention for the most desirable abilities to have but on Johan, they were just another brick in the wall. Dave subtly double checked again, here and now in the pub that yes, statistically speaking, at least one of the stones Johan took should have awakened an industrial or workman¡¯s type of ability but time after time, an amazing combat ability came forth. The craziest were Inspiring Hero and Threads Of Fate from his hero essence:
Ability: Inspiring Hero
Essence: Hero Rank: Iron 0 0% to iron 1 Awakening Stone: Hair
Type: Special ability Tags: aura, buff, self. Cost: none
Cooldown: none
Description Aura. Double the effect of the aura of allies who are within this aura.
Detailed Information
Ability: Threads Of Fate
Essence: Hero Rank: Iron 0 0% to iron 1 Awakening Stone: Thread
Type: Special ability Tags: Activated, buff, reverse execution, self. Cost: none
Cooldown: none
Description The threads of fate spin in your favour to create heroic moments with inverse probability. A mad, one-in-a-million idea will work nine times out of ten. Probability increases as health, mana and stamina decrease.
Detailed Information
Dave couldn¡¯t believe them. He took two gulps of beer and looked at them in his UI again. They were real. Actual abilities that Johan had gotten with common essences. ¡®You¡¯re going to make a line of heroes like this world has never seen¡¯ echoed once again in his mind. And, Dave felt like he¡¯d started that line with a large, permanent marker. Or whatever. Even Johan¡¯s human essence gifts had turned out pretty damn good. Sam had asked him to tell a story about himself and Johan had accidentally told the universe that he was useful, friendly and an unstoppable melee beast. Dave looked over his ability summary again, draining his glass.
  • Racial essence gifts
    • Adventurer¡¯s Tools (power) - conjure basic, non-magical objects.
    • Friendly Stranger (spirit) - language adaptation, benevolent aura, cannot mask ID or tracking effects.
    • Slow Motion Scene (speed) - slow down your perception of time for low mana and stamina per second.
    • Protagonist¡¯s Health (recovery) - double your hit points.
  • Sword (speed)
    • Sword Of The People - summon a magical sword that can consume stacking buffs to smite.
    • Aura Of Retribution (trap) - curses enemies with vulnerability who hit allies in aura.
    • Blossoms In The Wind (plant) - attack after dodging and gain up to 5 Wind Blossom buffs that increase speed. Smite consumes.
    • Kingfisher¡¯s Riposte (bird) - attack after a parry and gain up to 5 Kingfisher¡¯s Riposte buffs that increase recovery. Smite consumes.
    • The Power Of Friendship (heart) - allies can spend mana to give up to 5 Friendship buffs. Smite Consumes.
  • Shield (spirit)
    • Shield Of The People - summon a shield that increases defence when hit.
    • Another¡¯s Burdens (delivery) - take curses, diseases, poisons and afflictions onto self.
    • Shield Ally (speed) - cross distance to an ally and take a blow intended for them.
    • Ram¡¯s Charge (sheep) - make a charging shield-bash.
    • Cat Swats The Mage (cat) - a quick shield bash to interrupt a magic ability usage and gain up to five Mage Swatter buffs that increase spirit. Smite consumes.
  • Farm (power)
    • Farmer Reaps The Field - strikes propagate weakly into adjacent targets.
    • Hold Your Heidels! (net) - hurl a conjured net at an enemy to restrain them.
    • Tough As Old Boots (foot) - resistance to poison, disease and afflictions.
    • Ardent Friend (dog) - all buff effects on you are doubled in effect.
    • Strong As A Grazer (grazer) - you have extra levels in power.
  • Hero (recovery)
    • Hero¡¯s Spirit - remain at zero health for some time without dying.
    • Threads Of Fate (thread) - a favourable improbable event occurs.
    • Inspiring Hero (hair) - double the effect of the allies auras within this aura.
    • Boss Music (ear) - music plays in the presence of more powerful enemies.
    • Connoisseur (fork) - consumed items are doubly powerful and their cooldown halved.
The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Dave couldn¡¯t believe the results. At the end of it, awakened as an iron ranker, Johan¡¯s was chuffed, his parents were chuffed and Dave was trying to keep it together while he watched Johan¡¯s icon appear as a party member in his HUD and Hero¡¯s and Dominion¡¯s quests completed in his UI.
Current Quests
Justice For Courbefy: Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use¡­ Chosen Of Knowledge: Escort Hugh on his journey to becoming a fully awakened iron¡­ Healer¡¯s Materials: Gain Healer¡¯s favour by donating alchemy ingredients to the church¡­ Wine tour: Vineyard wants you to try the different wines in the Meg¨¨ve area. Acquire Follower: Dominion wants you to gain another follower. Chosen Of Hero: Travel north to Lake Auvernier, find the chosen of Hero and recruit¡­
Johan couldn¡¯t stop talking about the perfectly sized and balanced sword and shield he could conjure. His mother couldn¡¯t stop gushing over how glad she was that he¡¯d gotten so many defensive abilities and his dad was just damn proud of his son becoming the guardian type adventurer that Johan had always dreamt of being. Dave still felt like he was in crazy town. Looking at his summary sheet of Johan''s abilities, he felt that just looking at them one by one was the wrong way to do it. His abilities fed into each other. Dave sat in the pub, staring at the sheet and just pondering the new abilities. The first one Dave had noticed was the way Johan fed off Dave¡¯s own aura. Johan¡¯s Inspiring Hero ability doubled the effect of friendly auras. Many friendly auras, like Dave¡¯s Aura Of The Magister were buffs. Johan¡¯s Ardent Friend ability doubled the effect of all buffs. So, Johan, just by existing, would double the effect of everyone¡¯s buff auras on everyone else and quadruple the effect on himself. Dave¡¯s Aura Of The Magister buffed allies equipped items. Whatever weapons and armour Johan wielded around Dave would have all of their properties quadrupled. With that ability interaction alone it¡¯d be insane not to adventure together. Other synergies were immediately apparent in Johan¡¯s set. Another¡¯s Burdens allowed him to take curses, diseases, poisons and afflictions onto himself. Tough As Old Boots gave him resistance to those effects. Dave had checked several times already and had checked again just now in disbelief. Another¡¯s Burdens functioned as a kind of re-cast or re-application of the ability he was removing so it¡¯d take an affliction, or whatever, off from an ally and apply it to himself which he¡¯d then resist and thus, negate the ability with Tough As Old Boots. He basically had a cleanse ability at a fraction of the mana cost of conventional cleanse abilities with no cooldown. Dave was currently marvelling at how his racial essence gift Protagonist¡¯s Health meshed with Shield Of The People, Boss Music, Connoisseur and Hero¡¯s Spirit. He had an enormous amount of hit points, which would drag out the fight. Because the fight got dragged out, he¡¯d have time to take a lot of hits on his shield which would quickly stack up to about-halve incoming damage. Most fights this long would be fights against powerful enemies that would activate Boss Music, which had a secondary effect of dropping recovery items from enemies that died during the music. So, the fight¡¯s already going long, he¡¯s taking less damage as it goes on because of his shield and now he¡¯s getting some health recovery from the odd minion he kills while he¡¯s also drinking health potions twice as often as everyone else that heal him for twice as much. Lastly, even if all that isn¡¯t enough and his enemies finally get through and they take him down, Hero¡¯s Spirit would kick in and he¡¯d just hang around at zero hit points until the end of the battle or, more likely, until he¡¯s healed by allies. Which he would be because everyone¡¯s going to notice how much blood, sweat and tears it took to take him down, how much damage the rest of his ability set dished out on the way down and hell, this kid is worth a few good heals to make your enemies cry as you force them to do it again. And, that damage. Sacred Gods and blasphemy but his buffs and smite mechanics were¡­ interesting. Interesting and mean. Blossoms In The Wind, Kingfisher¡¯s Riposte, Cat Swats The Mage and, of course, The Power Of Friendship. Just on their own they created an interesting choice for Johan to make in battle. The buffs, when at five stacks, enhanced his attributes to next-rank levels comparable to how Strong As A Grazer enhanced his power attribute. So, if he was expecting to be in a longer fight, he was better off just keeping the buffs and being an over-enhanced engine of destruction. But, on the other hand, those smites were mean. Like, cleave-through-your-shield-and-cut-you kind of mean. Be-somewhere-else-today kind of mean. Basically, if Johan built up a few buff stacks, he could discharge them with damage on the level usually reserved for those who¡¯d absorbed the potent essence. With full stacks Dave wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he could one-shot an enemy out of the battle. Dave drained his beer again. It was unfair. Somehow. He stood up and went to go find Sam so he could complain about it to her. Dave had handed in Healer¡¯s quest yesterday and gotten permission for him and his party to do public healing in the Meg¨¨ve area. He¡¯d gotten another quest from the shrine for healer¡¯s permission in this area immediately. Sam had laughed, handed over another lot of the same alchemy ingredients and Dave had turned the quest in again. The last he¡¯d seen Sam she¡¯d told him she was going to go out and heal people. Dave put on his magic, warmth-producing scarf and stepped outside the inn. Hugh wasn¡¯t around either. He was most upset with Dave and Sam the previous day when they¡¯d returned with the news that they¡¯d found the chosen of Hero and loaded him full of magic rocks. Hugh felt left out and also muttered darkly when Dave had hinted at the fact that he¡¯d missed it because he¡¯d given himself mana sickness. Hugh¡¯s dark emotional downswing shifted into full positivity when Dave showed him Johan¡¯s abilities. Like Dave, Hugh couldn¡¯t believe all these abilities were stuck inside one, blond farm boy from the rural tri-lakes area of Francalbia. It was positively mythic. So today Hugh had left in the morning to visit the Schmidts and introduce himself as the last party member who was sick yesterday. Sick from adventuring too hard, no doubt, don¡¯t worry about it, don¡¯t mention it. Or, ask for details. Everything¡¯s fine now. That left Dave to¡­ well, if he was perfectly honest, he was avoiding talking to Johan¡¯s sword instructor. He¡¯d heard of her from the Schmidts, of course. Silver rank, ex-gladiator elf who¡¯d retired to the humble farm life and trained Johan since he could walk. ¡°Hey, you!¡± Dave turned around and saw a very pretty elf maiden in a hovering carriage. A very silver rank elf maiden. Fuck! ¡°Did you give my student a bunch of essences?¡± Fuck! ¡°Ahh, yeah. That seems likely,¡± admitted Dave, wincing and rubbing the back of his head. ¡°Get in,¡± said the elf with a tone and a presence that brooked no argument. Dave hid behind his Disguise-given blessing as the silver ranked presence bore down on him the entire ride. It was, he reflected, not so bad once you got used to it. It was rather like that feeling of being a week out from handing in your PhD thesis while you¡¯re still processing some of the data. Once you could put that feeling of raw vulnerability aside, the carriage ride wasn¡¯t so bad. All things considered. Greenwood had the magical, mature beauty that all silver rankers shared. Although her hands were gloved and her body covered in a cloak, her pale face had bright green eyes that seemed to cut into whatever they focused on, accentuated by strong cheekbones all framed with honey blonde hair that was pulled behind her head with simple braids and ribbons. The open topped carriage she was steering hovered in the air except for a single large wheel behind it that was connected to a tiller and seemed to also be the source of the vehicle''s propulsion. Dave kind of wanted to study it. During the ride, Dave didn¡¯t know to where, Greenwood tried to grill him but between her constantly slipping off his Blessing Of Disguise and Dave being accustomed to the soul-crushing experience of academic peer review, he didn¡¯t break down under her questioning and steadily told the evasive truths of his origin story. Where was he from? He understands that you call it Ahitereiria. What was his job? Something like an alchemist. How did he get here? He wasn¡¯t quite sure but a monk of Knowledge said it was a bit like a teleportation accident. Why couldn¡¯t he be more clear? Well, coming from where he does and all that, he¡¯s not sure how much certain gods and diamond rankers would like him to say so, he¡¯s erring on the safe side. You understand, of course. ¡°How¡¯d I do?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Not bad,¡± said Greenwood. She was giving an impish smile that Dave was learning seemed to be something of a default setting for her. Dave briefly wondered how she and Sam would get along. ¡°You¡¯re being honest but the nervousness shows through. I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯ve got more to tell. How are you doing that dodge with your aura?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a racial,¡± said Dave. ¡°Really? Feels organic.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s an aura camouflage ability.¡± ¡°Yep, you did it again just there. Honesty but with too much nervousness. You¡¯re definitely using honesty to hide something.¡± ¡°Fuck.¡± ¡°Awwh, baby!¡± said Greenwood, in a sing-song, mocking voice. She switched back to her usual, clear tone. ¡°I reckon you¡¯d get past a bronze ranker. Even one with good aura control but not a silver.¡± She shook her head. ¡°The rank difference is just too much.¡± ¡°Okay. I suppose I ought to thank you for not prying,¡± said Dave. ¡°Don¡¯t count your monsters till they manifest,¡± said Greenwood with a savage grin. ¡°Those were the questions to get a feel for you. Now, I¡¯m asking about Johan and I¡¯d better like what I hear.¡± ¡°My body is ready!¡± Greenwood looked at Dave flatly. ¡°¡­It¡¯s a joke where I¡¯m from. I¡¯m using it to display false bravado.¡± ¡°Ahh, good!¡± said Greenwood happily, light dancing once more in her eyes. ¡°Honesty already!¡± Greenwood went through an interview¡¯s worth of questions about Dave¡¯s plans for Johan: Why did you come here? Quest ability. Why Johan, specifically? He fit the quest. What quest? Find the chosen of Hero. The what of who? The chosen of Hero, yes. And that¡¯s all you want with him? Gods, no. We desperately need a front line guardian and bruiser in the party. What makes you think that¡¯s his ability set? Look at this summary. Are these actually his real abilities? Yes. That¡¯s why I was drinking. So you just happened to get a quest from Hero and also just happened to suddenly need a guardian and bruiser and when you awakened Johan he just happened to exactly fit that description? Correct and yes, I should buy a lotto ticket what with how all this is coming together. There was silence for a couple of minutes as the frosty hills rolled by and Greenwood digested the information Dave had given her. ¡°Actual Hero? A manifestation?¡± ¡°Kind of. I had a chat with the local priest-in-charge at Meg¨¨ve. She channelled him for a bit and said, and I quote, ¡®You¡¯re going to make a line of heroes like this world has never seen¡¯.¡± Dave felt a thousand disapproving eyes looking at his soul as Greenwood scrutinised him for a moment before the pressure lifted. ¡°Huh!¡± she said, suddenly lightening up and sitting back in her seat. ¡°I knew he¡¯d do something amazing with his life but I didn¡¯t think it¡¯d be like this. Gods abound¡­¡± She shook her head and sighed but then gathered her wits and clapped her hands together with her impish grin returning. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter! Johan¡¯s teamed up with a non-aristocrat who has a looting power and, you said he gets an equal share?¡± ¡°Of course. With your tone, I¡¯m gathering that a lot of people don¡¯t share?¡± ¡°Nobles who get looting powers take a ¡®my powers my loot¡¯ attitude when they can get away with it.¡± ¡°Good thing they¡¯re a bunch of dime-a-dozen damage hogs then?¡± Greenwood grinned wickedly at Dave. ¡°Well, with that settled, it sounds like you need him alive, and he needs you alive. That¡¯s a good basis for a working relationship that¡¯ll earn him all the money he can send home to his needy parents.¡± ¡°Money didn¡¯t seem a motivating factor for him or his parents?¡± ventured Dave. ¡°Hmm? Oh, no. Not like that but also yes,¡± said Greenwood gesturing around. ¡°See, this place is fucked when the monster surge hits.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± said Dave. ¡°Look around, Booker,¡± said Greenwood. ¡°See all the wide, open spaces and breathe the fresh country air. What does that mean for a monster surge?¡± ¡°... healthy monsters?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Sorry, I think I¡¯ve never experienced a monster surge the way you have.¡± ¡°Oh, yes. Ahitereiria. Bubble cities and all that.¡± ¡°I can honestly say I¡¯d never seen a monster until after the accident.¡± ¡°Really? How? Nevermind. The point is, we¡¯re miles away from anything and that includes shelters. Monster surge shelters.¡± ¡°Oh! It takes them too long to get to shelters. The outlying farms,¡± said Dave, feeling it all click into place in his head. ¡°They need closer shelters. That¡¯s why they need money!¡± Greenwood was nodding along. ¡°Wait, why don¡¯t you do it?¡± ¡°Oh, I do!¡± said Greenwood in complete agreement with Dave¡¯s sentiment. ¡°But honestly, I might have made the problem worse. Because of me the area is considered a bit safe so a lot of people have moved in over the last twenty years. Or, let their family live on the farm instead of in town. But, when this big, delayed monster surge hits, I¡¯m just not going to be able to be in enough places at once.¡± Greenwood shrugged. ¡°Can¡¯t do it. Each family is going to need a shelter in their homestead that they can hide in until I can escort them into town and the town is going to need some walls.¡± ¡°And, that all costs money,¡± said Dave grimly. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re a silver ranker! Don¡¯t you have money? Look at this fancy cart!¡± ¡°I was a gladiator with a drug problem,¡± said Greenwood flatly. ¡°I¡¯m iron rank money-stable, silver rank broke.¡± ¡°Gladiator with a drug problem?¡± said Dave, taken aback. ¡°My tragic backstory,¡± said Greenwood, waving her hand dismissively. ¡°Don¡¯t ask?¡± inquired Dave. ¡°As a girl, I went to the Ayer Wick Academy For Gifted Duellists on a scholarship. The rich kids didn¡¯t like me breaking down their styles, finding the weaknesses and telling the other scholarship students so they wrote to their daddies who wrote to the school who wrote me up for my coin-in-hand duelling at the local bars, which all the students do, but they wrote me up as though it was brawling and kicked me out.¡± ¡°Oh, that sucks,¡± agreed Dave. ¡°Legacy students are the worst.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you agree! Anyway, I¡¯m out of the academy, in need of coins so I do what I do to get coins: duel for prize money. Then,I find out that now I have more time to watch the other fighters and I can use my ability set to find their weaknesses before my fight with them even begins.¡± ¡°Your ability set?¡± ¡°Hand, eye, balance and mystic confluence,¡± said Greenwood, smiling pleasantly. ¡°I¡¯m good at picking the right moment, the right angle and knowing how to use it. My abilities just help me trick my opponents into making mistakes and taking advantage when they do.¡± ¡°Ahh, technical fighter. Love it!¡± ¡°Such kind words. So, I¡¯m good at prize fighting and I end up in the gladiator colosseums and get addicted to combat drugs while building a name for myself. They don¡¯t test for them on the rural circuit, you see?¡± ¡°Addicted by the time you were with the pros? So you had to time your drug usage so you were clean for the fights?¡± ¡°It¡¯s true that my story isn¡¯t original, Booker, but it¡¯s almost hurtful how predictable you find me. And, we were getting along so well.¡± ¡°My apologies, Greenwood. Please, I¡¯d like to hear you tell me.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯ve got it,¡± laughed Greenwood. ¡°A pretty good summary of ten years of my life. Eventually, I started losing, lost all my money gambling on myself and had to start over.¡± She shrugged. ¡°I got clean, made a comeback, and prayed to the good gods that I¡¯d be in the debt of any who¡¯d help me in a title run for the championship trophy. Warrior answered. I made the run, got the trophy and then Warrior cashed in the debt.¡± She grinned at Dave. ¡°What do you reckon it was?¡± ¡°Epic title defences?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯d still be in the capital and have money if it was that!¡± ¡°Still be in.. You¡¯re not here on purp-¡­ Oh!? Warrior told you to come here?¡± ¡°That¡¯s it! My prize from Warrior was retirement to a quiet little farm to train the next generation. And, that¡¯s exactly what I did.¡± ¡°...You should definitely write an autobiography,¡± said Dave. Greenwood just flashed her impish smile. Not knowing the local area as well as entranced by equal parts with the beauty and existential dread of a silver ranker¡¯s presence, Dave only knew where he was when he saw the Schmidt farmhouse ahead of the carriage. Rover ran out to greet the carriage with a series of happy barks and Heather followed quickly after, calling for Rover to stop through her giggles. Rover got a quick pat from Greenwood before running beside the cart, panting happily, and Heather climbed inside to have a serious seven-year-old-girl-talk with Greenwood. ¡°Will you come to my birthday party next month?¡± asked Heather seriously. ¡°Mum says I can have a party and I should invite my friends.¡± ¡°Then I will definitely be there, Heather. Since we¡¯re friends,¡± smirked Greenwood. They both continued making birthday plans, one more playfully than the other, as Dave marvelled at the idyllic farm once more. The reasonably large, yet humble house, the barn, the pile of firewood stacked neatly next to the barn, two dairy animals and a small flock of chickens. It was all there. The grazers with their scales, horns and two heads made the picture somewhat different than what a person from Dave¡¯s reality would find normal but if you took the step to accept two-headed, devil-lizard-oxen as normal then it still worked. Greenwood stepped from her carriage, politely excused herself from Sarah and approached Johan, who¡¯d come out onto the porch in greeting. What followed was a terse conversation where Greenwood berated Johan for taking essences without even inviting her around to see it and then congratulated him on getting a full essence set and iron awakening for such a good deal. After the tongue-lashing Greenwood, whose given name was apparently ¡®Ljuset¡¯, as Noah called her, pulled out a practice sword from her pocket and demanded a training session with his new abilities. This delighted Johan to no end who was soon enthusiastically showing off his new moves. Noah came out to watch and Dave asked where Hugh was. ¡°He seemed a - ahhh - a bit nervous,¡± said Noah. ¡°He¡¯s been off for a few weeks now,¡± said Dave. ¡°The monastery he was at was raided by Builder cultists. He¡¯s the only survivor and he¡¯s having a hard time processing that.¡± ¡°Oh, caught up in all that business was he?¡± said Noah in the neutral, dumbfounded tone of a country person trying to fit far off events into their world. ¡°Well, Lena took him to feed the poddy calves to calm him down a bit.¡± Feeding adorable, orphaned calves. Yeah, Dave nodded, that sounded like the kind of activity that Hugh needed. Dave chatted with Noah for a while and promised he¡¯d keep Johan out of trouble, especially political trouble, as much as he could while they watched Greenwood immediately find exploits in his defence that his new abilities accidentally opened up. Things like subconsciously turning his head to cast Another¡¯s Burdens or that Ram¡¯s Charge, despite being a shield-first charge, could still get him impaled on his opponent¡¯s weapon if he wasn¡¯t careful. Greenwood called Dave over. ¡°Let¡¯s see what you can do,¡± she said with a savage grin, throwing him a practice sword. ¡°Nothing, is what I can do,¡± said Dave, baffled. ¡°Perhaps I should have said before now that my only training is in unarmed combat?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see,¡± said Greenwood, and rushed him. She cracked Dave on the right side of the head before he could react. ¡°The fuck?¡± said Dave, looking at her in disbelief. ¡°Sword up, Dave! She is a good teacher,¡± called Johan, who was practising his balance on a specific thrust that Greenwood has recommended for him coming out of his quick-move abilities. Dave hesitantly raised his practice sword to Greenwood who got a dark look in her eyes and casually knocked his sword aside and knocked the wooden point into Dave¡¯s neck hard enough to knock him over leaving him coughing and dry heaving on the ground. ¡°First lesson is to keep your enemy on point!¡± called Greenwood with savage happiness. Still holding his throat, Dave got to his feet and looked reproachfully at the silver ranker. ¡°In the future could you teach me before hitting -¡± was as far as Dave got before she came at him again with a flurry of slashing blows. ¡°Your - enemy - will - not - wait - for - you!¡± she shouted, striking at Dave, who backed up while parrying as best he could with every blow, finishing with a hit to the fingers which made Dave howl with pain and drop the sword. ¡°Pick up your weapon and face me like a man!¡± taunted the grinning Greenwood. Dave straightened his back, looked at her and curled his upper lip in disgust. ¡°Fuck no!¡± Greenwood moved so quickly that she effectively teleported to in front of him, slammed her practice sword into his ribs and picked his chin up with her swordpoint. ¡°What did you say?¡± she said dangerously, the full strength of her silver ranked presence pressing down on Dave making him feel like he was five-years-old again, giving his first classroom presentation. Dave grit his teeth and let the raw feeling suffuse his whole body as he accepted the pressure on his soul and trembling from head to toe, met Greenwood¡¯s gaze. ¡°I said fuck no and your fancy, silver rank ears heard me perfectly fine,¡± said Dave, his voice wavering but his tone harsh. ¡°No, if you want to be a horrible bitch and hurt me for fun I¡¯m going to make you do it as honest torture.¡± ¡°What did you call me?¡± asked Greenwood, radiating anger and slapping him about with the practice weapon. Dave made no attempt to defend and stood up. It hurt to breathe. ¡°I called you a bitch because I¡¯m angry and I should be,¡± said Dave, leaning into the physical and emotional pain her presence was causing. ¡°You are hurting me for fun and I¡¯m not going to help you disguise it as a lesson.¡± ¡°Good enough to think you can take away my student but can¡¯t take a single lesson and now you insult me, hey?¡± she snapped. ¡°Yeah, sure,¡± said Dave flatly and turned to Johan. ¡°I¡¯ll be in town when you¡¯re ready to go. Say goodbye to your parents for me.¡± Dave took a healing potion and began walking towards the road. Greenwood was suddenly in front of him, practise sword level at his chest. ¡°Pick up your sword,¡± she said with her dark look on her face again. Dave took a deep breath through his trembling body. ¡°As I said, Greenwood, if you want to torture me I am going to make you do it in front of Johan, and Heather over there, without the pretense of a ¡®lesson¡¯.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be a coward, I was just testing you,¡± said Greenwood. ¡°To see if you¡¯re cut out to be an adventurer. Look At you; walking away. How can I let Johan go with you? You¡¯re going to fail.¡± ¡°No you weren¡¯t testing,¡± said Dave, walking around her. ¡°Greenwood, you¡¯ve lived a tough life and honestly? I thought you were better than this. Hurting people because you can. It¡¯s low. It¡¯s immature. With your backstory? The way you talk about it? I expected more compassion. Well, I was wrong and I¡¯m not having it. Good day, Madam.¡± He left the farm. Dave was deep in concentration arranging his team¡¯s travelling plans to leave Forel when five iron rankers walked into the inn. This didn¡¯t immediately attract his attention until Tzu bumped him on the shoulder. By that time, all five were already walking from their quick chat with Studer towards Dave. ¡°We¡¯re going to need you to come with us,¡± said the one in front. Dave noticed the leonid of the group looming hungrily in the background. ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡± asked Dave, intimidated. ¡°Lady Geller wants to talk with you. We¡¯re your¡­¡± the flaxen haired elf grinned, ¡°honour guard.¡± Dave immediately used Stop And Think to freak out and panic in the privacy of his own stopped time. In this extended moment he had no quickened heartbeat to feel but he knew it¡¯d come when the ability ended. He used the time to wait, to plan, until his panicked thoughts stopped chasing each other around his head. Maybe he could figure something out? Dave let time return. ¡°There¡¯s got to be some mistake. I¡¯m not an acquaintance of Lady Geller,¡± said Dave, finally feeling his heart pounding in his chest. ¡°Dave Booker?¡± said a woman with auburn hair and pointed face. ¡°Aspiring detective-adventurer? Last seen heading north from Meg¨¨ve, reported a Builder cultist cell in a disused astral space and travelling across Lake Leman?¡± she smiled. ¡°Brown of hair, light of eyes, human and exactly your height? I don¡¯t think your detective career is promising if you can¡¯t figure this one out.¡± ¡°Yeah, but I¡¯m still not acquainted with Lady Geller,¡± insisted Dave. ¡°Well, she thinks you are,¡± growled a celestial with silver hair. ¡°Now are you coming on your feet or off them?¡± ¡°Good line,¡± remarked Dave while thinking quickly. ¡°I guess I¡¯m coming. Just let me pack my things and pen a letter to the Remore bubble.¡± ¡°The¡­ excuse me?¡± said the leading elf. ¡°Wait, you know all that about me and not my teleportation accident?¡± asked Dave, frightened but still incredulous. The ¡®honour guard¡¯ all looked at each other. ¡°Actually, no,¡± said their elf leader. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll tell you about it on the way to Lady Geller,¡± said Dave. ¡°Short version is, I was living in what you call Ahitereiria until last month when a kind of teleportation accident sent me to the forest outside Meg¨¨ve.¡± ¡°Right, slap the other leg, stranger,¡± said the celestial sarcastically. ¡°No, Grastrottir,¡± said the leonid defensively, ¡°I¡¯ve heard of cities of glass in Ahitereiria.¡± ¡°You ever met someone from them?¡± retorted the celestial. ¡°No,¡± the leonid shrugged and turned to Dave who was in the middle of writing a letter to Noah and Lena Schmidt, ¡°Hey, you! Why have I never met an Ahitereirian before?¡± ¡°You probably have and didn¡¯t realise it,¡± said Dave. ¡°We look just like everyone else, we just come from somewhere strange.¡± The leonid looked smugly at the celestial who sulked. Dave finished writing his letter and was using Pauper¡¯s Paper Production to make a box when Sam walked in. He looked at her, she looked at him and his company. ¡°How long to reach Lady Geller, then?¡± asked Dave loudly. Sam walked out. ¡°Well, without needing to constantly stop and ask who¡¯s seen you to track you down?¡± said the elf. ¡°About a week?¡± ¡°Why are you shouting?¡± asked the leonid, flattening his ears. ¡°Sorry, I thought you¡¯d drifted over there while I was writing. I¡¯ll just pop upstairs and get my things,¡± said Dave. ¡°Come on,¡± he added lightly when it seemed like they intended to accompany him whether he liked it or not. Dave handed over the package he¡¯d just made to Studer, walked upstairs to the room he¡¯d rented, retrieved some notes he¡¯d left in there and left peacefully with the people who¡¯d been sent to abduct him. Chapter 23: Realisations
Current Quests
Justice For Courbefy: Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use¡­ Chosen Of Knowledge: Escort Hugh on his journey to becoming a fully awakened iron¡­ Wine tour: Vineyard wants you to try the different wines in the Meg¨¨ve area. Chosen Of Hero: Enter the chosen of hero into a tournament to gain notoriety. Honour Guard Or Under Guard: Either have a conversation with Lady Geller or successf¡­
Ljuset sprinted into town as quickly as her legs could carry her. She hated herself right now. What¡¯d she been thinking? Doing some initiation ritual meant to impress teens on a grown man with the kind of maturity that comes from paying taxes. She rolled her eyes at herself. She hated the guy but, shit, pissing off the money-machine and letting him get kidnapped? On her turf? Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Ljuset berated herself as the village came into view. She¡¯d still been congratulating herself for showing that smug dork that he should have some respect for rank when Noah spoke up. Her insides twisted awkwardly at the memory. ¡°Ljuset, I didn¡¯t think that you believed respect comes from hitting people with practice swords,¡± Noah had said. She¡¯d said something reflexive about how she didn¡¯t trust someone with an aura as slippery as his. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you believed it came from crushing people¡¯s souls either,¡± Noah had said, calmer than a sage on a mountaintop. Well, that was one way to make a woman feel like shit. A rebuke from Noah Schmidt was basically the condemnation of the gods. She screwed up her eyes with shame as she arrived in town and slowed down to avoid breaking the inn¡¯s door. ¡°Studer, where¡¯d they take Dave?¡± snapped Ljuset as she exploded into the common room. ¡°Just give the direction. Now!¡± ¡°South!¡± exclaimed an overwhelmed Studer. Ljuset overtook two heidels while she exited town, hoping that she still had time before Dave¡¯s captors left the borders and went beyond where she could step. She had been an absolute bitch. A man shows up to make all of Johan¡¯s dreams come true and all she can focus on is how offended she is that she has to put in effort to violate his privacy and squeeze answers out of him. Her insides twisted again as she remembered that she was even offended at the time that he wasn¡¯t quailing away from her enough in the carriage. Yes, Ljuset, she thought to herself, that was you whose pride was dented because the person she was torturing wasn¡¯t crying loud enough for you. She¡¯d spent half an hour twisting his soul like a wet rag, cracked him about the head with a practice sword and then acted triumphant in front of her neighbours that she, a silver ranker, drove off the iron ranker who supplied them with the deal of a lifetime? Her cheeks burned with the memory of Noah trying to tell her that he thought she should leave. Even more shamefully, Lena had taken pity on her and told her to come inside, calm down and have a cup of tea. Heather was hiding from her and Johan had put all of his sparring equipment away without looking at her. Ljuset crested the big hill that dominated the south road out of town and her stomach plummeted as she saw a hovercraft already beyond her god-given borders. With her silver ranked vision she could easily see a passenger in the middle of the vehicle lit by an astral lantern and reading a book. Fuck, she thought. Sam was crying quietly in the one-wheeled carriage where the silver ranker had left her. She was heartbroken. It felt like a betrayal of karma. She¡¯d been so happy she¡¯d seen the hovercraft and she knew that Dave would like to see it too. She¡¯d skipped into the Forel Inn to tell him and saw him with those tough iron rankers and stopped. Dave had loudly asked them a question to let her know they were from Lady Geller and so she had gone back outside, climbed onto the origami heidel and started galloping towards the Schmidt farm. That was when the first tears started coming. She¡¯d run into the silver ranker in her floating, one-wheeled carriage along the way, a very pretty elf who Sam reasoned must have been Johan¡¯s sword teacher. Sam was so upset that she didn¡¯t even care that she was in front of a silver ranker. ¡°You there!¡± the silver ranker had snapped. ¡°Girl, aren¡¯t you Sam? You¡¯re with -¡± ¡°Please, help Dave! They take him!¡± she managed to cry out against the pressure of the silver rank presence. The silver ranker''s mouth opened in confusion for half a moment before snapping shut decisively. ¡°Who are ¡®they¡¯ and why did they take him?¡± ¡°Lady House Geller!¡± Sam blurted towards the silver presence that encompassed her. ¡°He in danger, maybe they kill him, ka!¡± ¡°Take the carriage,¡± was barely out of the silver ranker¡¯s mouth before her domineering presence was gone. So now, here Sam was, cold tears becoming tracks of ice down her face in the early winter wind, slowly arriving in a village with a strange carriage that she didn¡¯t know how to stop and her knees sore from praying that Dave would be alright. Her prayers were in vain. Sam saw the silver ranker running back into town alone. Sam directed the cart towards her and sniffled. ¡°Missed him. Stop the carriage, girl! You need to get your team together!¡± snapped the silver ranker. ¡°I DON¡¯T KNOW HOW!¡± shouted Sam. ¡°Stupid girl,¡± said Ljuset irritably, gesturing at some carvings on the tiller and brushing her hand over one. ¡°Set the speed to zero.¡± The cart slowed to a stop. Sam realised that the carvings must actually be a language that she didn¡¯t know, probably the silver ranker¡¯s native tongue. She felt more hopeless than ever. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t read that,¡± Sam said to the ground while exiting the carriage. ¡°Thank you for trying to rescue Dave. Bye-bye, now.¡± She climbed onto the origami heidel that had been following her. ¡°No,¡± said the silver ranker, projecting her powerful presence in the way they did which made Sam feel exposed to the entire world. ¡°You may as well come with me -¡± ¡°No! Bye-bye. Please leave me alone!¡± said Sam through sniffles. She turned the heidel and galloped off, getting away from the cruel silver ranker and hoping that Hugh was still at the Schmidt farm where she could find him. Dave had summoned this origami heidel for her that morning and it would dissipate sometime in the evening, a fact that seemed mundane at the time but now multiplied her sadness with his absence. It was early evening and Ljuset was back at the Schmidt farm holding another cup of tea on the stupidest day of her life. She¡¯d gone back to the Schmidt farm guessing that¡¯s where Sam had departed to when she couldn¡¯t feel her presence in town and she was right. Sam was currently in the barn with Heather. Both were patting Rover and didn¡¯t want to see her. Rover had even bravely barked at her when she¡¯d taken a step towards them. So she was having tea and talking with Lena, Noah, Johan and Hugh. The only people left in this whole mess who could find it in their hearts to forgive her. Apparently, Sam had said some things in her native language that had the universal sounds of curses when Noah and Hugh had described how Ljuset had treated Dave. Lena had, typically, been nice and merely said that the words ¡®didn¡¯t sound like compliments¡¯. Also, Hugh had confirmed that Sam was Funanese, could read but wasn¡¯t fluent in Byzasic, definitely didn¡¯t understand Boreal script and had an overwhelming fear of higher ranked auras. Yet again, I was a bitch today, Ljuset internally confessed. She¡¯d just learned that Dave was, as she¡¯d suspected, a schemer. She had hated schemers since her gladiator days and thus, hated him. Oily people trying to suck money out of you. Unfortunately, behind that evasive aura that Dave had been flaunting, it turned out his schemes included getting a lost girl home to her family, keeping a holy man safe from a murderous cult and roaming the countryside doing the gods¡¯ work. Fuuuuck. Worse still, she¡¯d interrupted some security scheme of Dave¡¯s where he and Hugh weren¡¯t supposed to be in towns unnecessarily. They spent most of their free time in the woods using Dave¡¯s cabin spell as shelter and another of his abilities to clean but after receiving a beating, Dave had shelved that. Hugh figured that Dave went to a place he knew Sam would find him so that she could heal him properly. So, in addition to breaking him physically to the point he needed a health potion to keep moving, she¡¯d also herded him into being captured by his enemies. Fuckin¡¯ great. ¡°All I can tell you is that rank doesn¡¯t matter so much where Dave¡¯s from,¡± said Friar Abberton in conclusion after a series of questions Ljuset had made about Dave¡¯s attitude. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m surprised you described him that way. Most people find him polite but reserved. Of course,¡± Abberton added quickly, ¡°I¡¯m not questioning your notions, merely relaying opinions that I¡¯ve heard.¡± That¡¯s because they can¡¯t sense his mind racing and the way he lays his words out so carefully designed to mean nothing, thought Ljuset. ¡°I thought he had a good temperament,¡± said Noah, selecting a biscuit from the tray. ¡°Thought he¡¯d be good at hunting. Had him pegged as a hunting blind kind of guy. Not big across the shoulders, though, so he¡¯d use a crossbow,¡± Noah nodded seriously, ¡°A one, careful shot kind of man.¡± ¡°Oh! That he would be,¡± said Hugh appreciatively. ¡°Yes, hunting blinds are set up well ahead of time. Indeed, carefully selecting a location is exactly his style.¡± ¡°You hunt?¡± asked Noah. ¡°Oh, no-no-no. Just read about it, you know? The Adventures Of Finn Goodberry?¡± The chit chat was light but everyone¡¯s eyes were sad and strained. Noah was about to reply when Ljuset interrupted. ¡°Wait, he left because rank doesn¡¯t matter to him?¡± Ljuset cringed inwardly as everyone present radiated pensive feelings and looked at her. She realised they¡¯d been intentionally not talking about anything important because of her. ¡°Miss Greenwood,¡± began Lena, ever so gently. ¡°You were belting him about the head. Savagely.¡± She continued more strongly. ¡°If your first lesson with our Johan was like that, I¡¯d have forbade him from going to see you again.¡± Ljuset couldn¡¯t help but notice a tremble enter Lena¡¯s fingers as she lifted her tea to her mouth. A slight shudder in her breath as she blew on the surface. ¡°But it wasn¡¯t like that - Oh, this is ridiculous! Lena, Noah! Are you afraid of me? I¡¯ve known you for twenty years! I¡¯d never -¡± ¡°Teacher,¡± said Johan, with a noble look on his face that she recognised. He was about to do The Right ThingTM. ¡°In twenty years you¡¯ve treated us kindly but always lacked formality to the point of sometimes rudeness. Today we saw you cross the line and do violence to a man who you tricked into feeling safe. We¡¯ve never seen this side of you and you are frightening us all with your behaviour!¡± Johan set his perfect jaw and continued. ¡°Ere I was thirteen summers when I bullied Thomas Dubre in practice, you gave me a right thrashing for it until I apologised. To remind me of good, moral behaviour before the gods! Well, today you used your sword to become a bully and there is nobody here to thrash you but before the gods I will demand that you apologise to everybody present nonetheless.¡± Ljuset felt his clear, blue eyes on him. Uncharacteristically hard. No, she thought, exactly characteristic. I¡¯ve just never been on the wrong side of him before. The realisation was not comfortable. She felt his weak, noble aura pounding with untrained power. A fragile balloon to her. He¡¯d instinctively covered everyone present except her in it. It was a small, projected soul she could wrap her senses around and pop like a bubble. It wasn¡¯t powerful enough to hide the undertone of fear in his parents and the friar. The feeling of their auras reminded her of something. What was¡­? Yes, that was it, That¡¯s how normal rankers felt during the monster surge. Why would they¡­? The penny dropped. Oh, she thought. I¡¯m the monster. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Ljuset made her excuses and left but couldn¡¯t shake the friar who asked if he could get a ride back to Forel with her. Despite his rank and her discomfort, under the circumstances, she couldn¡¯t say no. So, there he was, sat in the carriage next to her feeling¡­ brotherly. Just watching the country road roll by in the dull light of an overcast sky and very carefully not clearing his throat and shooting her meaningful glances. She could feel it. ¡°I made the lamest apology I¡¯ve ever heard,¡± Ljuset finally muttered. Oh, yes. Yes, it was,¡± said Abberton mildly, as though remarking on the possibility of snowfall and not acknowledging that he was verbally dressing down a silver. ¡°But I dare say you¡¯re out of practice, so not to worry.¡± He smiled reassuringly. Ljuset busied herself feeling put out until Abberton spoke again. ¡°It¡¯s the tyranny of rank, you know? Dave and I talked about it sometimes,¡± said Hugh to the landscape. ¡°He said it¡¯s unhealthy, that it must get into people¡¯s heads.¡± He turned to Ljuset. ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be absurd,¡± muttered Ljuset. ¡°It¡¯s the way things are.¡± ¡°Imagine it¡¯s not,¡± said Hugh with a shrug. ¡°How would we treat each other differently?¡± ¡°The same!¡± scoffed Ljuset. ¡°Except you all wouldn¡¯t randomly become scared of me after -¡± ¡°Randomly?¡± interrupted Hugh with uncharacteristic mischievousness. ¡°My Lady tells me that until today, you haven¡¯t apologised to anybody in over twenty years.¡± Ljuset worked her mouth soundlessly as her silver ranked mind raced through twenty years of memories in Forel trying to contradict Knowledge herself. The accusation stung even more because she could feel part of her usual self rising up sharply to aura-pinch the normal ranker back in his place for talking to her like that. It gets in your head, she thought. Damn. ¡°You know,¡± said Ljuset, swallowing her pride. ¡°Dave might have a point.¡± ¡°Tell me, Miss Greenwood,¡± said Hugh. ¡°What would happen if you snapped and killed someone in the pub?¡± Ljuset¡¯s mind reeled from this new, dark line of inquiry. ¡°I¡¯d have to pay the man-price, of course.¡± ¡°So, you would be out a small portion of your retirement savings and a family will never see their father again,¡± said Hugh, still in his mild tone. ¡°Does that sound fair to you?¡± ¡°Well, I could also be arrested! If the baron thought I was dangerous,¡± insisted Ljuset, weirdly trying to think of the worst punishment for herself. ¡°You know that¡¯s not true,¡± said Hugh. ¡°You can¡¯t be removed. Who would protect the shire during the monster surge? Come to that, who would even arrest you? Is the life of one man in the pub worth the baron hiring a silver ranked team just to arrest you?¡± Ljuset relented. She had known she was wrong even while mounting her protest. Hugh had merely articulated those truths. ¡°So,¡± continued Hugh. ¡°If you want to know why everyone got afraid of you all of a sudden. It¡¯s because you¡¯re a law unto yourself in Forel shire and they saw you turn violent.¡± Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Ah,¡± noted Ljuset. ¡°All the local people know that if you were to, I don¡¯t know, become a sadist overnight or suchlike, there¡¯s nothing they could do about it. They have to live with that knowledge in the back of their minds. You¡¯re nice, and you smile at them but my Lady says that last sixth-day you ignored the line at the bakery to take sweet buns before anybody else. Now, rank has its privileges, yes indeed,¡± Hugh chortled, ¡°but if we¡¯re honest, you didn¡¯t even notice the line and everybody can tell you don¡¯t notice a lot of things in all your little indiscretions of politeness. And, everybody¡¯s ever-so-polite about it to you because you¡¯ll treat them how you treated Dave if they¡¯re not.¡± Ljuset felt insulted. Then she felt shame. Again. Because he was right. She actually hadn¡¯t noticed the line. ¡°And that¡¯s the tyranny of rank, hey?¡± remarked Ljuset with clenched teeth. ¡°Not noticing lines?¡± ¡°Not noticing people,¡± said Hugh. He shrugged with a sad smile and turned to watch the cold landscape go by once more. Johan trudged into the Forel Inn, briefly letting in the gloom of mid-afternoon. It was some hours later. He¡¯d finished his chores, made up his mind, packed and set out to make things RightTM. ¡°Oh! Young master Schmidt,¡± said Studer, bustling behind the counter. ¡°That Booker fellow left you a letter and your parents a package.¡± ¡°Sorry, Studer, I can only take the letter,¡± said Johan. ¡°I¡¯m heading south!¡± He proudly hefted a dimensional bag that Sam had given him. ¡°I¡¯ll take it,¡± said Greenwood, getting up from the corner where she was musing over a piece of paper with Hugh. ¡°I¡¯ll drop it off to them this evening.¡± Johan, Hugh and Ljuset exchanged greetings as Studer handed over the package which disappeared into Greenwood¡¯s coat pocket. Studer turned his attention back to Johan. ¡°Heading south, hey?¡± asked Studer. ¡°Your father finally decided to take out a loan and buy some potion-apple cuttings for the farm?¡± ¡°Of course not, Studer.¡± Johan¡¯s golden laugh cut across the common room. ¡°Father would never! No, Mister Booker took me on as an adventurer before he was spirited away by those villains working for Lady Tiffany Geller.¡± ¡°It looked like he went willingly?¡± said Studer blankly. ¡°Ah,¡± replied Johan tapping his nose conspiratorially. ¡°But that ruse gave him the freedom to leave on his own terms. Perhaps this letter will contain something useful for us who will follow to rescue him!¡± ¡°Alright, well¡­ be careful,¡± mumbled Studer who was feeling like this conversation was getting away from him. Johan opened the letter and read. Dear Johan, I have been taken by the adventuring team Charcoal Knights. Evidently this is a play on words because someone put a note in the margins of their public file that they specialise in low-light conditions. They intend to deliver me to Lady Tiffany Geller who believes I was involved in the death of her son. I was. He attacked Sam and I for ¡®poaching his monsters¡¯ and when some of his team died in the attempt, he dedicated himself to hunting us down and killing us. We killed him first. Ask Sam for more details. I need you to lead the team to Oullins. Even though Hugh is officially the team leader, he¡¯s currently suffering from what my people call ¡®post traumatic stress disorder¡¯. Perhaps you call it ¡®battle shock¡¯, ¡®combat stress¡¯ or ¡®the shakes¡¯. Greenwood will know what I¡¯m talking about so refer to her on this subject. In any case, I am counting on you to hold things together and get everyone to Oullins. Rescuing me should not involve confrontation. You can¡¯t catch the Charcoal Knights and even if you could, they are competent adventurers. Also, they¡¯d just take me back from you as soon as night fell. Confrontation with Tiffany Geller will just make her angry. She must believe that I am punished. As I am not one of her subjects, she does not have the right to treat me as she wishes and must go through the courts. I have no illusions that she will make a murder or manslaughter charge stick no matter my defence. Let it happen. While it¡¯s happening, try to file paperwork claiming my capture as your own. That way, you can claim me as an indentured servant under Adventure Society law. Although, a judge might give that right to the Charcoal Knights instead. If that is the case, as team leader, claim that all of my gold is rightfully yours, since I¡¯m a non-Adventure Society auxiliary. Use that coin to buy me off the Charcoal Knights. There should be more than enough since, on paper, I¡¯m nothing more than an administrative auxiliary. Tell Sam that I miss her jokes and to keep everybody safe. Tell Hugh that he¡¯ll get through this difficult start, even though it seems unfair. As for you, Johan, I am looking forward to getting to know you better upon my return and would ask you to be kind to Sam and Hugh. Life has not been fair to them and the past has hurt them in ways that aren¡¯t visible. Best wishes, Dave Booker. ¡°Fuckin¡¯ schemer,¡± said Greenwood, shaking her head. She¡¯d taken a glance at the paper from behind Johan. ¡°Language, my good teacher!¡± admonished Johan. Greenwood cheekily flicked a lesser coin at Johan who snatched it out of the air. ¡°Put it in the swear jar. I stand by it,¡± said Greenwood. She gestured at the table where she and Friar Abberton had the paper remains of a brainstorming session. ¡°We¡¯ve been at this for¡­ what? An hour and a half now? And that slimy bas- fellow - who isn¡¯t slimy - had a plan more complete and well thought out just waiting there with Studer.¡± ¡°He is both a scholar and a gentleman, Miss Greenwood. I am sure of it.¡± Greenwood rolled her eyes. ¡°What¡¯s it say?¡± asked Hugh, getting up and craning his neck. Johan politely folded the paper and tried to make some non-committal noises. Greenwood went for the throat. ¡°Says you have battle ghosts,¡± then Greenwood pulled a thoughtful face. ¡°Actually, that¡¯d make sense. You¡¯re a little too intense about your religion. Even for a clergyman.¡± ¡°Oh, is he still on about that? Ha ha haa!¡± said Hugh robotically. ¡°Of course. How silly!¡± said Greenwood. ¡°Anyway, this is a good plan. You¡¯d better pack your things, Abberton. Going to have to get to Oillins as fast as you can!¡± ¡°Oh, you think? Naturally, naturally. Do excuse me. The Lady has blessed us!¡± Greenwood watched him until he was up the stairs and out of sight. ¡°Johan, he has a serious case of battle ghosts,¡± she said flatly and then shrugged in response to Johan¡¯s open, puzzled face. ¡°I poked his aura a bit. I know! Today has been a lesson in rank abuse but I¡¯m not having you run off without giving you all the advantages that I can.¡± ¡°Thank you, Miss Greenwood,¡± said Johan. ¡°It¡¯s Ljuset now. You¡¯re an adventurer and I expect you to make me proud,¡± said Ljuset, unnecessarily smoothing his coat. ¡°And you¡¯re not to allow yourself to be treated badly by anybody, no matter their position, alright?¡± ¡°Yes, Miss Gr- Ljuset.¡± ¡°Good, now this friar, I¡¯ve got to give credit to that Booker for pointing it out. He seems stable but when I brought up battle ghosts his aura flared with instability.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± asked Johan. ¡°Basically, he¡¯s going to behave like a normal person until he doesn¡¯t,¡± said Ljuset, biting her lip and thinking of the other gladiators she¡¯d met with the condition. ¡°Everything will be fine until you¡¯ll say something or something will happen that will bring the ghosts to his mind. Like, the sound of cutting cabbage could make an old training partner of mine start shaking and crying. He just decided to stay away from the kitchen but another gladiator, Lorenzo, would just be in practice and suddenly go psycho. It was like his ghosts took his mind into his past and he thought everyone was trying to kill him. We couldn¡¯t always hold him down on time before he hurt someone.¡± Johan¡¯s open expression became troubled as Ljuset¡¯s face became more grim. ¡°What is the cure for this ailment?¡± asked Johan, clearly ready to make it the first stop in a heroic quest. ¡°Time? Peace? Or death. Half of them kill themselves,¡± said Ljuset, her expression turning sad. ¡°That¡¯s what happened to Lorenzo. He didn¡¯t come to practise for a few days. The instructor went to visit him and found him face down with a knife through his chest and a note that read ¡®I just don¡¯t want to hurt people anymore¡¯.¡± Ljuset sighed and patted Johan on the shoulder. ¡°It turns out your first monster to slay as an adventurer is one you can¡¯t fight.¡± ¡°Perhaps I should take him to a church of Healer in the big city? Oullins? They could give him spiritual guidance and help him pray?¡± said Johan speculatively. ¡°Perhaps,¡± said Ljuset. ¡°The only advice Healer clergy ever gave us gladiators was to find another line of work.¡± She shook her head ruefully. ¡°Like we were ever going to listen. We had to have the confidence to believe we were the best fighters around to step into the pit. Telling someone who is convinced that they¡¯re a temporarily displaced world champion to get another job isn¡¯t a winning strategy but, then again, the church didn¡¯t exactly send their best specialists either.¡± She smirked at Johan. ¡°So, maybe the situation will be different for Hugh?¡± ¡°Teacher! Surely you¡¯re not accusing the church of -¡± ¡°No accusations!¡± interrupted Ljuset with an indulgent smile. ¡°Specialists in spiritual wellbeing are very few in number and certainly rank higher than the acolytes who were sent to clear us gladiators for our next fight.¡± Johan still looked troubled. ¡°Oh, dear boy,¡± said Ljuset. ¡°This is something the world is going to teach you. Sometimes things are bad, there¡¯s no answers and it¡¯s nobody¡¯s fault.¡± ¡°We should fix those things,¡± stated Johan with the righteousness of the naive. ¡°I hope you do, Johan,¡± smiled Ljuset. ¡°And to help you with that, here''s a couple rings from my old iron rank equipment.¡± She reached into her pocket and drew out each item as she mentioned it. ¡°Ring of perpetual motion: A bit of a lie, it just cancels the first thing that slows you down each day. And, these two, paired rings of blind trust: You take one and the other goes to an ally. That ally can target you with spells that require sight or touch even when they can¡¯t see or touch you,¡± She grinned. ¡°Gladiators in the lower ranks sometimes keep hitting after they¡¯ve won. That ring helped me survive those backwater fights.¡± ¡°Teacher - Ljuset, I mean, I can¡¯t take -¡± ¡°You can and you¡¯ll be thankful,¡± stated Ljuset flatly. ¡°Unless you want to make meaningless all the years I held onto them for you instead of selling them? No? I thought so. Now, a bit of gear advice: Always have something on hand to deal with gravity and water. You can¡¯t duel your way out of a long fall or drowning. Also, actually use your powerful consumables! Don¡¯t keep holding onto them for later. The time to use them is any fight that isn¡¯t a walkover. And, lastly, general advice: Remember your training.¡± ¡°Thank you, Ljuset,¡± said Johan, smiling his winning smile. ¡°I will return these items to you when I am bronze rank. Just as you said.¡± Hugh soon returned down the stairs. ¡°Time to go?¡± he asked. ¡°I said a quick prayer to my Lady and I think I¡¯m ready.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± said Johan. ¡°It is time we were off to rescue our honourable benefactor.¡± ¡°Make sure you file the paperwork correctly,¡± said Ljuset, patting Johan on the back. After insisting to Hugh that she would like to apologise to Sam in person, Hugh had gone on ahead to meet Sam and explain Ljuset¡¯s request: No rank bullying, no aura use, just wanting to meet all of Johan¡¯s teammates. Sam had elected not to go with Johan into the inn, her fear of high ranked auras in effect, and had gone on ahead to the south road and was going to wait for Johan and Hugh there. Ljuset and Johan were walking five minutes behind Hugh and caught up to him as they came over a hill where he was waiting with Sam. After meeting her properly, Ljuset had her impressions of the weak, crying girl in the carriage reversed. First of all, her comfort with her environment seemed intuitive. Most iron rankers stood out by their aura, especially when they were uncomfortable, which the early winter wind playing along the road would do lower ranks, but Ljuset could only detect Sam¡¯s aura because of her silver rank sensitivity. Secondly, and most impactfully, she was impressed because Sam¡¯s aura now showed her fighting spirit. Ljuset had apologised and asked Sam to treat her as though she was the same rank as Sam. No repercussions. She could yell at Ljuset and even slap her if she needed to. That hypothetical offer was barely out of her mouth when Sam delivered a kick to Ljuset¡¯s leg that would have crippled an iron ranker. She then summoned a swarming, beetle familiar onto Ljuset¡¯s face and then kicked her in the ribs when she reflexively raised her arms to ward the beetles away. This girl was savage! ¡°You¡¯re mean to people because they can¡¯t hurt you!¡± Sam shouted in Ljuset¡¯s face defiantly. She wasn¡¯t wrong. Ljuset¡¯s silver ranked body was completely unaffected. ¡°Ah, yes,¡± said Ljuset awkwardly. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been learning all day and what I apologised for. I am really sorry.¡± Sam huffed and glared but relented for the moment. ¡°Also, Sam, I heard it mentioned that you have healing abilities? Hugh mentioned something to the effect that you did?¡± Sam glared up at her in response and Ljuset accepted the hatred. ¡°Johan, I think you should give Sam the caster¡¯s ring of blind trust. Oh, and put on your other trinkets as well. You may as well.¡± Ljuset was very careful to control her expression when Sam¡¯s face softened and even lit up for a moment when Johan presented her with jewellery. It didn¡¯t matter that it was functional jewellery. She knew the feeling. After a conversation with the group about their travelling equipment, which Ljuset quickly established as over-prepared for any environment, she got the feeling she¡¯d like Sam. She didn¡¯t expect Sam would like her any time soon but Ljuset acknowledged that was an own-goal. Sam obviously had some fire in her personality and her banter with Hugh also suggested a bit of cheekiness struggling through from behind her language difficulties. Ljuset managed to take Johan aside for a moment. ¡°Well, this is goodbye for now, my old student,¡± said Ljuset. ¡°Only for now, Ljuset. For there shall come a day when I will return and make things right around here again,¡± announced Johan to the cold afternoon in general. ¡°Ah, yes. Well. Very good. So, Sam¡¯s the reliable one in this bunch so stick with her, alright?¡± Ljuset extended her hand. Johan nodded and Ljuset allowed herself to be pulled into a hug. ¡°I will make you proud, my old teacher. Check in on my parents often! I will write,¡± said Johan. He smiled down at her then turned and began striding southward into the adventuring life. Ljuset dropped off the parcel that Dave had left for the Schmidts and accepted Lena¡¯s invitation to stay for dinner. A simple shepherd''s pie with fresh bread. The Schmidts couldn¡¯t always afford the best cuts of meat but Lena could make you forget that, what with the amount of practice she had with ground beef and fresh bread that could heighten any meal. She felt guilty accepting because the food would hold no nutrition for her but on a day that had highlighted the meaning of a complete spiritual life, Ljuset accepted the importance of breaking bread with a neighbour. They filled each other in the events of the day each had missed. After her ¡®embarrassing moment¡¯, as Lena politely put it, Johan had strode off into the fields, done all of his chores, fixed all the fences, turned an entire dead tree into firewood, stacked that firewood next to the barn and properly dug out all the drainage ditches for the coming spring. Apparently, the combination of Adventurer¡¯s Tools and Strong As A Grazer had predictable effects on Johan¡¯s productivity. Then he¡¯d come home to his parents who were comforting an upset Sam who, with his parents¡¯ help, explained Dave¡¯s situation to him. In response, Johan had decided to do the Right ThingTM and simply go rescue Dave from the dastardly plans of whoever was kidnapping him. Ljuset had smiled and shaken her head as Lena recounted the conversation because she could exactly picture his noble expression and demeanour. It was so typical of him. So, Sam had given Johan a spare dimensional bag she¡¯d had ¡ª apparently she carried a few for some reason ¡ª and Johan had packed his clothes as well as a few belongings to remind him of home before giving his teary-eyed mum a hug and taking some sandwiches she¡¯d made for the occasion. He¡¯d given his proud dad a gruff handshake and then walked out the door with Sam. He¡¯d looked back to wave from the front gate. Ljuset picked up the story from there quickly relating that, yes, she¡¯d met Sam, handed over the tiller of her monowheel and hadn¡¯t been in time to help anybody and, yes, been so busy thinking about herself in that failure that she¡¯d failed to be nice to Sam which had led to her lame apology earlier that day. She told them about how she¡¯d taken moral lessons from the friar about the obligations of her rank and strategised with him at the inn for over an hour only for Johan to come in and get given a letter from Dave which already had a better plan than their entire brainstorming session. ¡°Oh, you haven¡¯t forgotten about that parcel, have you?¡± asked Ljuset as it came up in her tale. They¡¯d moved onto a cheeky glass of wine now that dinner was done. ¡°I had!¡± exclaimed Noah, Lena¡¯s expression suggesting the same. They¡¯d both been bustling around the kitchen making dinner when she¡¯d produced it and it¡¯d been put aside. ¡°Well, make sure you open it soon in case it¡¯s something perishable,¡± said Lena, a bit of her usual mischievous demeanour entering her voice. ¡°Why not now?¡± said Lena with her motherly smile. Nobody said anything so Noah untied the string and opened the box. There was a letter on top folded in half and underneath, a cardboard cylinder surrounded with scrunched up and shredded paper. Noah took the letter and began reading, putting the box aside for now. Dear Lena and Noah Schmidt, I have a quest ability that the god Hero has used to lead me to your son. I know that this will be a source of both pride and fear for you so please let me first congratulate you on raising such an amazing boy and do my best to allay your fears. Any fears you have no doubt stem from Hero¡¯s reputation as the god of heroic last stands, something I noticed myself that their temples emphasise with their interior decor. Being aware of this, and your son¡¯s gallantry, I want you to know that I will put aside my own sense of honour to ensure Johan¡¯s survival should the situation call for it, no matter what Johan may personally insist. I promise that I will bring your son back to you if I have to drag him away from heroic situations kicking and screaming. You will also notice that I have left one hundred iron spirit coins in the parcel. You mustn¡¯t think I am making some attempt to buy your child or your affections. Those coins are not for you, although I expect you will benefit from them incidentally. They are for you to spend on projects that benefit the community. Johan¡¯s going to worry about you two and send letters home. When you write back, I want the letters he reads back to be full of good news because he¡¯s going to have times when he needs that good news and what news could be better than the prosperity of his friends and family? The world out there will seem unforgiving without his parents'' guidance and I want this transition of him moving out of home to be as smooth as possible. It is unfortunate that his first adventure in life outside the family business is rescuing me but I have given him a good plan to follow and I believe a good lad like him will follow it to the letter. Sometimes, like I am experiencing in this moment, life brings us challenges at the most inconvenient of times but we must confront those challenges to flourish and I believe your son will do this. Thank you again for your hospitality during my brief stay with you. I¡¯m looking forward to seeing you again in times when I am under no threat of being detained. Best regards, Dave Booker. At mention of the coins, Noah glanced meaningfully at the box and Lena picked up the cardboard cylinder. Now that she was holding it up, out of the box, all present could see that the inside of the cylinder held one hundred stacked coins, held firmly by the cardboard so they wouldn¡¯t clink together. Lena had just held onto it with wide eyes and a white knuckle grip that she maintained while Noah kept reading and into the silence once he¡¯d stopped. ¡°Fuckin¡¯ schemer,¡± said Ljuset, breaking the silence. ¡°Language,¡± said Lena, softly. ¡°Well, I appreciate the scheme,¡± said Noah seriously. ¡°Well, if it¡¯s for everybody.¡± The set of his jaw in that moment made both women present sure of where Johan¡¯s signature look came from. ¡°Then, I suppose I can handle that. A lot of good in this town can be done with a hundred iron coins. What¡¯s that in normal coins?¡± ¡°Ten thousand,¡± said Ljuset, whose silver ranked brain could handle the mental maths quite easily. ¡°Well, we could fix the road into town with that, couldn¡¯t we?¡± asked Lena in a bit of a daze. Ljuset could tell that the Schmidts still hadn¡¯t internally comprehended that Johan was an adventurer now and even without moneybags-Dave on his team, Johan could easily afford to send home regular injections of wealth like this. With Dave on his team it¡¯d be¡­ Weekly? She shook her head. ¡°How about this,¡± said Ljuset, draining her wine. ¡°How about we make Dave proud and scheme ourselves a few more ideas before the wine makes us sensible again?¡± She, of course, wasn¡¯t even slightly affected by the unranked wine but enjoyed staying in the spirit of things and took up pen and paper to jot down all of the community focused ideas that Lena and Noah could think of within a ten thousand coin budget. They ended up with, Ljuset thought as she walked home later that evening, quite a good list. Chapter 24: Necromancer
Current Quests
Justice For Courbefy: Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use¡­ Chosen Of Knowledge: Escort Hugh on his journey to becoming a fully awakened iron¡­ Wine tour: Vineyard wants you to try the different wines in the Meg¨¨ve area. Chosen Of Hero: Enter the chosen of hero into a tournament to gain notoriety. Honour Guard Or Under Guard: Either have a conversation with Lady Geller or successf¡­
Quest: Honour Guard Or Under Guard
Description You have been taken against your will by another adventuring group to travel to Lady Tiffany Geller so that she can resolve her issues with you.
Objectives Either have a conversion with Lady Geller or successfully avoid talking to her.
Reward 1000 iron spirit coins.
Detailed Information
Dave had already checked ¡®detailed information¡¯ of the quest. It basically confirmed what could be inferred by the wording in the more summarised version. Lady Geller had an issue with Dave and the quest would be complete when that was resolved. Either by having a conversation with him or by believing that she no longer needed to. Or, by believing she no longer could have a conversation with him. This left open possibilities like faking his own death or falling into a coma but under the circumstance of being in the company of a competent adventuring team who were in Lady Geller¡¯s employ, Dave figured it was unlikely he¡¯d get the chance to do anything that clever. No, he¡¯d have to be subtle and clever, which was much harder. He was pretty sure that the ¡®successfully avoid talking to her¡¯ win condition meant breaking out of his captivity and going on the run for a few months while he anonymously made his way to a different part of the globe which, Dave thought, wasn¡¯t worth the thousand iron coins, let alone abandoning the connections he¡¯d already made and the risks involved in such a plan. So, he¡¯d committed to ¡®have a conversation¡¯ pretty early on in his captivity. That meant aura control, which was a function of the mind and the thoughts contained therein and control of one¡¯s thoughts meant meditation. So, he¡¯d dived into the local literature. The people of this reality liked to bang on about meditation and while magic was actually real here, the practice was still full of childish metaphors that seemed intentionally vague. Dave was pretty sure that most of the meditation techniques that the adventuring books advocated for was mostly just honest introspection about how your behaviour lined up with the essences stuck to your soul. His bet was that a therapist could make people level up faster than a mountaintop mystic. He was increasingly sure about this because he was already using techniques from cognitive behavioural therapy in his daily meditations very successfully while he had also removed a lot of what he thought of as ¡®mystic bullshit¡¯. Whether it was ¡®take in harmony with every breath¡­¡¯, or ¡®be like a flower on the cusp of opening¡­¡¯ it could all fuck off as far as Dave was concerned. He¡¯d have paid good money for a single book that just said ¡®achieve a calm state of mind before continuing¡¯ on the basis that it would be evidence the author was more interested in giving Dave sensible instructions than inflicting him with another fifty pages of their personal, amateur philosophy. Being mildly kidnapped made a calm state of mind harder than usual but Dave had also had to go to sleep the night before that organic chemistry exam he didn¡¯t study for so he made do and let go of the present, eventually relaxing into a state of mind where he could feel his own sense of self and the magical essences that were a part of him. It was a bit trippy but so were theme parks. He¡¯d manage. And, so Dave began a process called ¡®cognitive structuring meditation¡¯. Did you kill Ross Geller. No, the shadow monsters killed him. Did you meet Ross Geller? I did but he scared me and I ran away. Where are you from? Down Under, but you call it Ahitereriria. What is your profession? I¡¯m a biostatistician which means I tell apothecaries what substances are the best. He lost track of time as he continued this self questioning and answering. He let his mind wander, trying to come up with more questions about himself. He tried to trip himself up ¨C and succeeded ¨C by asking the same question in different ways. It was important that he, himself, believed his answers when he got in front of Lady Geller. I did nothing wrong. ¡°Wait, he¡¯s meditating, not sleeping!¡± growled Michaud, the leonid. Dave was unceremoniously shaken into the present by a pleasantly furry hand. Michaud took his grooming seriously. Well, thought Dave, Another day of magic theory in the back of a truck.
Johan was struggling. The friar of Knowledge was lying to him and Sam was a necromancer. It didn¡¯t help in the slightest that Sam was grinning guiltily up at him with an expression he¡¯d often seen on his mischievous, little sister. In the background, her flesh golem was gently dabbing a wet ketchief across the head of an unconscious Hugh. Was she mocking him? Johan¡¯s stomach knotted. Necromancers were supposed to be wearing dark robes under a midnight sky, speaking in fell voices and suchlike. Not happy, little runics who saved the day, revived their friends and had trouble explaining themselves in their second language. He focused on Hugh as a mental defence mechanism from the Sam situation. How in the name of Knowledge had Hugh lied? That shouldn¡¯t be possible. No, it wasn¡¯t possible. Knowledge herself forbade it. Johan walked over to the unconscious friar and stared down at him. Snowball, what Sam called her flesh golem, offered Johan the damp kerchief which he waved away before he shook himself and glared at Sam who beamed with even more guilty innocence. So he glared at Hugh, who didn¡¯t respond, and settled on glaring internally at himself. He¡¯d enjoyed chatting with Hugh these last couple of days. It was what he¡¯d always imagined having a big brother must feel like. Hugh was a devout, pious man who could talk about anything for hours. Johan was humbled by his knowledge, stories of the world and had happily trained with him that morning. Hugh¡¯s powers were a sight to behold! Nothing could scratch his skin, he was impossible to hold down, he could heal himself and change his form to the elements, harnessing their power! Hugh even spoke bashfully of his mighty deeds in battle against the Builder cult in Meg¨¨ve and the monsters he¡¯d faced with Sam and Dave thus far. Then, this afternoon had come. Hugh had filled him with confidence, speaking like the battle was over already. It was nothing but a malignity of goblins, he¡¯d said! Hugh was going to sweep in from the sky and flame the ogre¡¯s handlers. Free of its bonds, the ogre would turn on its captors, as like as not, and the team would sweep away the entire malignity in a mighty charge. Johan had turned to Sam to ask if she had any thoughts and she¡¯d just smiled so Johan had nodded at Hugh who¡¯d taken off into the sky. Now, Johan wasn¡¯t one to tell another man what to do but Hugh ¨C he couldn¡¯t believe he was entertaining so impolite a thought but ¨C Hugh had made a real mess of things. He had run through the sky at the goblins as planned, baulked as he got close, started air walking around in circles shooting wind blasts and then, half his mana fruitlessly spent, led the entire malignity back to where Johan and Sam were watching from. Johan thanked Fortune that Sam had the presence of mind to have already drawn the magic circles she needed for her summons and then checked himself. Perhaps he shouldn¡¯t be thankful for the help of a necromancer. Was that blasphemy? Maybe it was. He decided to be pleased that Sam had undertaken that life saving action but not be divinely thankful for it, indeed. Just in case. They¡¯d fought the goblins. He and Sam had slain many, smiting about themselves mightily, but Hugh had¡­ Well, he had not. Hugh had completed his retreat behind Sam, given a panicked shout and, as the malignity was closing in on their position, dumped all of his mana into a beam of transcendent damage against the bronze rank ogre that the goblins were leading around before he passed out. The transcendent damage not only failed to kill the ogre, but broke it out of its stupor and gave it the motivation to kill the adventurers. The fight had been furious! But, looking back on it, even then he should have been at least a little bit suspicious of Sam¡¯s true nature. As the enraged ogre charged Johan, the goblin malignity streaming behind it, a circle of skeletal hands had erupted behind the ogre to trip or restrain most of the goblins had a certain nature to it that he felt should have been a hint towards her affinity for dark arts. He felt, in retrospect, the same about the exploding corpses she greatly lessened the goblin numbers with. She only truly revealed herself as a practitioner of the dark magics when a second malignity appeared and Sam began raising ghosts from the dead and made a golem from the still living flesh of their dead bodies before his eyes. He felt shame admitting it but she¡¯d saved their lives when she¡¯d outed herself as a necromancer. Johan had used all of his powerful abilities besting the bronze rank ogre and the second goblin malignity wasn¡¯t rushing in behind a reckless charge like the first. They were being more tactical and had bows. They died anyway as Sam¡¯s small wave of undead overwhelmed them. Johan felt uncomfortable that he¡¯d joined the assault in an act of self preservation, fighting beside a necromancer but it had seemed the only sensible option at the time. Now he had to steel himself and deal with her. ¡°Back, necromancer! Keep your dark arts far from this noble friar,¡± exclaimed Johan, waving back Snowball having finally decided that a living-dead monstrosity tending to a holy man wasn¡¯t right. ¡°Noble friar? He almost get us killed!¡± said Sam. ¡°Why did you forget Dave¡¯s letter? He has fighting ghosts!¡± Johan deflated momentarily. It was true he¡¯d largely put aside the concerns Dave had expressed in that letter. It¡¯s just that Hugh had been so righteous. So full of energy and confidence! How could he deny the spiritual health of that man? Well, he wasn¡¯t going to let his doubts show in front of the necromancer. ¡°I won¡¯t have you besmirch the good church of Knowledge! In fact,¡± Johan lifted his chin and set his jaw, ¡°despite your help on this day I feel that I must turn you over to the church of Death as a restricted essence user.¡± ¡°I already been there, ka,¡± said Sam and fished out an amulet she was wearing beneath her armour. It had the symbol of Death. ¡°You pillaged the holy places of eternal rest for that, villain!¡± said Johan. He was quite proud of himself for having seen through this ploy immediately. ¡°You want to bet? How much?¡± Sam snapped back, taking the rug of confidence from beneath Johan¡¯s feet with a mischievous smile that he knew from years of experience with his sister meant he was on the losing side of a bet. ¡°Come on, how much?¡± Sam pressed. Her eyes continued to glitter playfully. ¡°Hugh can tell you I win when he wakes up. You have ten gold?¡± Johan didn¡¯t have ten gold. He¡¯d never even seen one gold. With a visible effort he got his mind back on track. He decided to start with a formal accusation. ¡°Samorn Khan - Khant-¡± ¡°Khanthong,¡± supplied Sam. ¡°Yes, you,¡± said Johan sheepishly but rallied. ¡°You are a necromancer and a user of restricted essences and must be brought to justice!¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Why you need justice for me?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re a necromancer, I just said!¡± ¡°Even if I help people?¡± ¡°Yes! For you are a danger to society.¡± ¡°So are you, ka! You already cut bronze monster in half! Who is more dangerous?!¡± ¡°You, for you will inevitably turn on those around you to power your dark abilities.¡± ¡°Why I do that? Everyone gives me money for slime familiar. I like people! Maybe you cut people in half for money someday, ka? Maybe you turn?¡± ¡°You are a necromancer!¡± ¡°Then, you are crazy sword-man!¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not! No, you are an evil necromancer and I¡¯m not!¡± ¡°No, I am helpful necromancer and maybe you are future, sword-carrying crazy man!¡± Johan was lost. Necromancers weren¡¯t supposed to argue back in the style of I-know-you-are-but-what-am-I. He was sure of it. They definitely weren¡¯t supposed to make you question your own morality. It wasn¡¯t going right. ¡°What¡¯re we arguing about?¡± said Hugh¡¯s voice from behind him. Johan spun around and saw one of Sam¡¯s skeletons kneeling next to Hugh¡¯s place on the ground with an empty mana potion in its hand. Hugh was shifting himself up onto one elbow. The unfortunate fellow was so befuddled he was even accepting the skeleton¡¯s proffered hand to help him sit up. Johan lashed out, shattering the skeleton. ¡°That seems unnecessary¡± said Hugh with groggy reproach. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. All of Sam¡¯s minions gave Johan rude gestures while he tried to marshal his thoughts. ¡°Hugh, tell Johan I am good necromancer!¡± called Sam. ¡°No, you don¡¯t have to!¡± ¡°She¡¯s a wonderful necromancer!¡± slurred Hugh, gesturing around as he sat up. ¡°We can fight her, my noble friend!¡± ¡°No, tell him I am good person!¡± ¡°Wha? Why would I -? Oh, yes. She¡¯s a good person,¡± said Hugh, trying to catch up. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± he asked, looking between his two teammates before his eyes alighted on the flesh golem. ¡°Oh! Thank the Lady, Snowball! Sam, can I ride Snowball for a while until I have my legs back under me?¡± ¡°WHAT!?¡± shouted Johan in outrage. ¡°What?¡± asked Hugh in confusion. ¡°Told you!¡± giggled Sam in triumph.
Hugh was explaining Sam¡¯s situation to him as they marched out of the higher iron rank zone and into the lower they¡¯d taken as a shortcut proving yet again that short cuts make for long delays. He couldn¡¯t believe the tale! He¡¯d never heard one like it. A fair maiden from a far away land tricked into taking restricted essences? What a villain this Alani Laird was to have tricked Sam so. Johan immediately apologised to Sam and swore to help her in her quest to rid herself of restricted essences and hunt down Laird for justice. Although, he indicated the regrettable need for secrecy in the meantime. Upon leaving the shortcut they practically tripped over an out of season caravan that was transporting stone through Sauvabelin to a buyer in Champel. The wagon master was kind enough to let Executive Services join the wagon guards. Johan waited until Hugh was chatting with the other guards that evening when he approached Sam. ¡°Sam, I must apologise again for ignoring everything that both Dave and my swordmaster told me about who to trust,¡± said Johan. ¡°Good!¡± chirped Sam and stood on her toes to pat him on the head. ¡°I - ahh - I actually need to talk with you about Hugh,¡± said Johan in a low voice. Sam smiled and nodded up at him. He took that as acquiescence. ¡°His ghosts, are they what make a man of Knowledge, like him, speak untruths?¡± Weirdly, Sam smiled wider. He didn¡¯t understand this girl. ¡°I think,¡± she said in a quiet voice, ¡°the ghosts make him believe what he says.¡± ¡°How did it start?¡± ¡°Umm, you know how he tells the story of Dave and he fighting the Builder cult?¡± Johan nodded. ¡°Well, just before that story, the Builder cult kill all his friends at monastery, ka.¡± It was a pretty big hole in the story, now that Sam had pointed it out. Hugh always told it like he was the only monk there at the time. ¡°And, he is always having big plans,¡± continued Sam. ¡°Plans that are too big? Too Much? Like today? When he plans for the big sky entrance and big battle? Dave never made plans like that. Dave always made plans like¡­ Like recipe, you know? Plan that makes something. Hugh makes plans like story book.¡± ¡°He must make plans of amazing complexity!¡± boasted Johan on Dave¡¯s behalf. ¡°No! That¡¯s why his plans are good,¡± Sam insisted. ¡°They are always simple. Like today? There were so many? Dave¡¯s plan might have been the same as mine; just hide!¡± ¡°Your plan?¡± said Johan. ¡°Yes!¡± said Sam sadly. ¡°I tried to tell you but you told Hugh to start instead.¡± ¡°You tried to tell me?¡± Johan had no memory of this. ¡°You just smiled and nodded?¡± ¡°No, I tell you to come close, like this,¡± said Sam. This time, over her smiling head he noticed her hands gesturing in an upside down ¡®come here¡¯ motion. ¡°Oh!¡± said Johan. ¡°I didn¡¯t notice! Well, why were you smiling and nodding?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t smiling,¡± said Sam, smiling. ¡°Like you¡¯re not smiling now?¡± asked Johan carefully. ¡°Yes.¡± Johan was trying to line up his thoughts on how to broach this new madness when there was a massive crash and the sound of splintering wood. ¡°OY!¡± a voice barked out. A big, heavyset leonid woman. ¡°You boys are so dead!¡± ¡°NO!¡± roared Hugh, coming out of nowhere and tackling the woman to the ground. She grunted in deep pain as Hugh landed on top of her and started raining down fists. ¡°NOT AGAIN! NOT AGAIN!¡± Sam and Johan rushed towards the scene at the same time as other wagon guards did to restrain the suddenly wild Hugh but the other guards were closer. ¡°Calm down, friend¡± said one, advancing with his arms raised defensively. ¡°No! Not this time,¡± shouted Hugh, pure terror on his face as he batted the man¡¯s hands aside with one arm and slapped the other into his chin with the force of a hammer, instantly knocking him unconscious. ¡°Leave us alone! I¡¯ll win this time, I¡¯ll win! I¡¯m not afraid this time!¡± Hugh charged the other guards but Johan used Shield Ally to take the brunt of it. Hugh crashed into the giant, blond statue and looked up into Johan¡¯s face. ¡°No,¡± he said, not recognising Johan. ¡°Dave killed you. He killed you!¡± ¡°I am Johan Schmidt of Forel!¡± announced Johan in a powerful voice, his strength ability allowing him to take Hugh¡¯s frenzied, pummelling strikes on his shield. Eyes widened as all present noted the noise Hugh¡¯s strikes made against the shield. ¡°You are Friar Hugh Abberton and you are possessed by ghosts of battles past!¡± boomed Johan, unyielding behind his shield. ¡°I am not your enemy.¡± ¡°Not again. Not again,¡± cried Hugh over and over, eventually pulling on Johan¡¯s shield to open his defence. Johan tried to envelop Hugh in a bear hug but Hugh, displaying a hitherto unknown retention of Dave¡¯s wrestling lessons, threw Johan across his hip to land on his back with a classic judo throw. Being no stranger to Byzasic folk wrestling, Hugh stayed connected, taking Hugh to the ground with him through the pain of the slam. Seeing their chance, the onlookers piled on to restrain Hugh. ¡°NOOOO!¡± wailed Hugh, taking to air form to escape and activating Project Elements at point blank range, blowing back all the guards except Johan even further away from him. Johan got to his feet, raising his shield as Hugh aimed another frenzied blow at him. Hugh shifted into earth form as the blow came in and the force of the hit knocked Johan over. Another blow came down, crashing into Johan¡¯s raised shield and pounding him into the earth with the force but Johan grasped the wrist of Hugh¡¯s rock form and held him. ¡°Stay your hands, good people,¡± called Johan, still in his powerful, golden voice with no hint of strain. ¡°He is not himself. Come to your senses, Friar! Listen for your Goddess. She cannot advocate this madness!¡± Sam had thrown quick heals on everyone involved in the situation, receiving respectful nods all around and kept the situation from feeling urgent. Thankfully, the large leonid woman Hugh had first brought down appeared to be some kind of leader among the other guards and was gesturing rapidly for peace from her people. ¡°Just restrain him! Just restrain! Use control abilities if you have them,¡± she growled into the crowd. ¡°Keep it up in there you, Schmidt of Forel. He¡¯ll burn himself out soon.¡± Connected to the ground via the wrist that Johan held, Hugh took to water form and splashed across him, wriggling out of Johan¡¯s grip as they sloshed across the encampment. People were calling their friends over now and one used a freezing ability that began to slow Hugh down. Hugh shifted into fire form to dispel it but another used a control flames style ability to magically wrestle with Hugh. ¡°Where are you, Hugh? Hugh?¡± Johan said calmly as he stood in front of Hugh. Hugh hesitated for a moment and Johan dropped his shield showing Hugh open palms. ¡°It¡¯s over, Hugh. It¡¯s over. It¡¯s in the past. Ask your goddess, it¡¯s over.¡± Hugh stood, back in flesh form, sweating and trembling in the firelight. ¡°Nothing is over! Nothing! You can¡¯t just make it better!¡± Hugh cried with a broken voice. ¡°It wasn¡¯t my fight! I didn¡¯t ask for this war! I was just doing my job! I did everything for Her but She didn¡¯t want my work!¡± Johan kept his hands raised and just nodded while Hugh shouted. ¡°And I get out and I run. I run for two days without sleeping and they just pat me on the back and say ¡®good job, get back in there¡¯,¡± Hugh rasped, sobs entering his voice. ¡°And all I wanted to do was keep running but they¡¯re calling me a hero and pushing me back into the fire and the screams and the bleeding and it¡¯s all over my hands. And, I¡¯m trying to smile because they want me to smile but they don¡¯t know! They don¡¯t know what it¡¯s like! Being scared and in pain and they¡¯re just smiling and waving and giving you things!¡± He grabbed his Adventure Society badge and threw it on the ground like it burned him. ¡°Why me? What did I do to survive? Where are my friends, Johan? Where¡¯s my friends? In there I was a brother, we were together like family. We were working on something! There were all these guys. There were all these great guys! Out here there¡¯s nothing,¡± Hugh shrank down onto the ground. ¡°All my friends. They¡¯re all gone, Johan. Dan Favier. There¡¯s nobody left who knows Dan! They cut him up, Johan. They cut him up. He was always talking about how one day he¡¯d get a little parish and make apple cider and they cut him up.¡± Johan kneeled down next to Hugh and put an arm on him while he wept. The crowd just stared silently. ¡°They smashed through the doors and they just killed him. Cut off his arm and gutted him. I held him and all he could say as he died was ask me how he was going to make cider with one arm? He just kept on asking! I didn¡¯t know what to say, man! He just died, waiting for me to say something and I said nothing! And then I ran!¡± Hugh sobbed uncontrollably into Johan''s shoulder. ¡°I just ran, Johan. They call me a hero and I just ran,¡± Hugh mumbled as Johan held him. ¡°I¡¯m a chosen, I¡¯m a hero but I just ran. Why? Why¡¯s it me? Why couldn¡¯t I say anything to Dan, Johan? I see him in the fire, Johan, the campfire while you¡¯re all asleep but every time I try to say something his face is gone. What does it mean? What does it mean? Why won¡¯t She tell me what it means?¡± Hugh¡¯s face sank into his knees and Johan was the only thing keeping him sitting up. The leonid woman came forward and draped her cloak over Hugh¡¯s trembling shoulders. She was quiet for a few seconds before she spoke. ¡°After last monster surge,¡± she said, ¡°I had to quit adventuring. I just freeze up when I hear that noise that trap weavers make.¡± She shuddered. ¡°Can¡¯t stand the sound of knitting needles either.¡± ¡°Johan Schmidt,¡± said Johan, offering her his hand. ¡°Emeline Charon,¡± said Emeline, shaking his hand and then deftly scooping the same arm around Hugh. ¡°Why don¡¯t you come over there to the fire with us, Friar? It¡¯s warm and there¡¯ll be some kind of food in a pot if you¡¯re feeling up to it?¡± Sam stood back as the three of them moved Hugh next to the fire and the crowd started to go back about their business. She wished Dave were here. Maybe he wouldn¡¯t know what to do, like she didn¡¯t, but at least he¡¯d be able to clean everything. Trying her best, she released Slimy and tried to clear up the mess that fight had made. ¡°Wow!¡± said a teamster, noticing. ¡°Is that an all eating slime?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± said Sam, her little voice barely carrying to the man. ¡°Please feed him many things!¡± ¡°Oh, you bet,¡± said the teamster who walked over and scraped the food scraps off his plate onto slimy. ¡°These things are great familiars. The old lord where I¡¯m from had one. You could practically tip the garbage into the thing and it¡¯d only get stronger.¡±
Hugh was settled into a group of the wagon guards who¡¯d been trying to stop the fight. They all accepted that without comment. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Sorry!¡± Hugh apologised, over and over. ¡°So sorry. I¡¯m such a bother. Sorry¡­¡± ¡°Enough of that Friar,¡± said Emeline. ¡°Plenty of us here understand. Hang around and you¡¯ll find that battle ghosts haunt more of us than you think.¡± One of the others in the circle around the fire ladled something into a bowl, stuck a spoon in and passed it to Emeline who firmly placed it in Hugh¡¯s hands. ¡°I have to quickly go and let the wagon master know what happened,¡± said Emeline. ¡°But, I¡¯ll be back.¡± Johan looked around at the strangers, not sure if he should introduce himself. ¡°Johan Schmidt, right?¡± said the one who¡¯d operated the ladle. ¡°Yeah, sorry, I heard you earlier. Nicolas Romilly.¡± They shook hands. ¡°And you¡¯re Friar Abberton.¡± He looked awkwardly at Hugh for a moment and half turned away. ¡°You¡­ you see your friend¡¯s face in fire, hey?¡± ¡°Yes. Yes! Oh, I¡¯m sorry,¡± said Hugh. Romilly didn¡¯t even acknowledge the apology. ¡°I see my wife¡¯s in the waves,¡± said Romilly to his shoes. ¡°You know? At the ocean? She loved the ocean until the day she¡­ Tide troll. Dragged her in.¡± Romilly swallowed hard and looked up at Hugh. ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s tough, you know?¡± He nodded jerkily at Hugh while breathing too shallowly. ¡°I, you know¡­ don¡¯t go near water anymore.¡± Romilly went back to where he was sitting and stayed silent. ¡°It¡¯s pigs for me,¡± said someone else. A blue-haired celestial woman who looked like a librarian except for her hard stare, off into the distance. ¡°I don¡¯t want to say what happened but¡­ Yeah, I throw up if I hear pigs squeal now.¡± ¡°My brother didn¡¯t use cutlery right for years before he died,¡± said another, a heavily tattooed man with tangled red hair who was drinking from a bottle. ¡°He never said what it was but he only ever used one piece of cutlery at a time up until he¡­ we found him already gone in the wash tub.¡± Hugh and Johan just sat and listened until Emeline returned. Others came over to share a quick story or offer Hugh support. ¡°Hey, Friar?¡± said a young teamster. ¡°Just so you know, you don¡¯t need to be a hero. It¡¯s like my pa always says, some days just aren¡¯t made for trying, you know?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, thank you,¡± said Hugh, taking in the words with a great, shuddering breath. The young teamster nodded encouragingly and ran off. ¡°Everything alright?¡± asked Emeline. ¡°Actually, no,¡± said Johan. ¡°I had no idea that one could be so¡­¡± He floundered for words gesturing around at the confessions Hugh¡¯s plight had elicited from the group. ¡°Broken?¡± supplied Romilly. ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I mean,¡± said Johan. ¡°It should be,¡± said Emeline, sitting down. ¡°Something breaks inside you and you can¡¯t live the life you used to anymore.¡± She nodded into the fire. ¡°Not in a big way. It¡¯s just, you can¡¯t do certain things anymore without shaking or whatever. Happens to most of everyone who chooses the fighting life. Eventually.¡± ¡°This never happens when the bards sing about the heroes of the realm protecting the people from monsters and such,¡± said Johan. ¡°Heroes of the realm, Schmidt?¡± Emeline chuckled deeply. ¡°That hay in your ears is cute. You hear about how the Lancey estate fell in the last monster surge? Lancey¡¯s last stand? Something of a hit with the bards a few years ago?¡± ¡°Oh, yes!¡± said Johan, lighting up and giving two lines of verse in a sing-song voice. ¡°And old Lancey fought with the bravery of ten, until his arms grew tired and his shield buckled in.¡± Emeline waved for him to stop. ¡°I hate that song. I was at the cleanup,¡± said Emeline flatly. ¡°Lancey was a fire mage, didn¡¯t use a shield, and he only fought inside the compound after the monsters already breached the walls and he killed just as many refugees with his fireballs as monsters. I overheard the investigators saying that it looked like he panicked, dumped his whole mana pool and the fires it started burned down his own estate¡¯s shelter with everyone inside. Bloody waste.¡± Emeline shook her head as she stared into the fire. ¡°So, neither shield user nor brave. How about that, huh? But it¡¯s what isn¡¯t in the bard¡¯s song that¡¯s the worst.¡± ¡°What could possibly be worse than the lord of a house betraying his oaths and slaying his people like that?¡± asked Johan, aghast. ¡°The hay in your ears,¡± smirked Emeline. ¡°What¡¯s worse is that the Montoire manor and their family refuge were asked for reinforcements and they refused. ¡®Making emergency repairs¡¯ was their official response when they were called in front of the baron to answer for their absense. It¡¯s bullshit. They hadn¡¯t been attacked in two days. Everyone knows that they let the Lanceys die because the Lancey land produced their only competitor for plant quintessence in the area. The Montoire family has made a lot of money since the monster surge.¡± ¡°They wouldn¡¯t,¡± said Johan, his eyes wide. Sam, who had stopped cleaning up and was now making tea over the fire, pat Johan affectionately on the head and smiled for his attention. ¡°My family lost the farm because my friend Nat rejected son of a noble,¡± Sam shrugged. ¡°Well, not just that but it was the start.¡± She smiled at Johan but her eyes were sad. ¡°Hay in ears!¡± ¡°But¡­ why do the bards sing of valour and glory?¡± asked Johan. ¡°There must be good people too. Strong, wise leaders who bring justice throughout the lands?¡± ¡°My guess?¡± said Emeline. ¡°Bards like to eat and uplifting songs of valour and glory bring in more coins than songs about how lords and barons don¡¯t care about anyone else. It¡¯s probably also safer to be a bard who sings nice things about the nobles.¡± Everyone who was listening murmured in agreement. ¡°This is how it really is, Schmidt,¡± continued Emeline. ¡°Bard¡¯s tales are just tales. They¡¯re just a story to please the soul. In life, you should make plans based on facts, not stories.¡± Johan remembered Sam words from earlier, Hugh makes plans like story book. ¡°You should make plans like a recipe,¡± said Johan, repeating a turn of phrase Sam had used earlier about Dave as he stared into the fire. ¡°Where did that come from?¡± chuckled Emeline. ¡°That sounded almost useful.¡± Johan glanced at Sam who just smiled back. ¡°It¡¯s something that an insightful person said about my team leader, Dave,¡± said Johan. ¡°He makes good plans that sound bad. Except - well, like you said, plans in stories are bad but sound good? But I¡¯m told that he makes plans like¡­ Like how a recipe isn¡¯t interesting but it¡¯s good, you know?¡± Johan¡¯s struggled explanation was met with confusion by Emeline. ¡°Nah, I get it,¡± said the red-haired man with the bottle who was just sloshed enough for insight to come rushing through his mind. ¡°¡¯s like¡­ beer has a recipe. Yeah? And ¡¯s jus¡¯ barley, water, hops and yeast, right? But ¡¯s like¡­ You know? You can write it down and ¡¯s jus¡¯ there an¡¯ ¡®s boring, right? But it makes beer.¡± He smiled and held up his bottle. ¡°An¡¯ the beer¡¯s great! I love beer! But, you see¡­ you see that¡¯s it. Nobody¡¯s happy for barley, water an¡¯ all that, yeh? Bardsh shing about drinking the beer but¡­ but your man, the team guy, he¡¯s¡­ He¡¯sh the man with the recipe.¡± The man grinned knowingly at his audience and took a swig from his bottle as they turned his words over in their heads. ¡°By Lady Knowledge herself,¡± said Hugh. ¡°That actually made sense.¡± Welcome back, my friend, said Knowledge inside Hugh¡¯s head. I missed you while you were lying to yourself. Hugh smiled. For the first time in days. Chapter 25: Snap
Current Quests
Justice For Courbefy: Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use¡­ Chosen Of Knowledge: Escort Hugh on his journey to becoming a fully awakened iron¡­ Wine tour: Vineyard wants you to try the different wines in the Meg¨¨ve area. Chosen Of Hero: Enter the chosen of hero into a tournament to gain notoriety. Honour Guard Or Under Guard: Either have a conversation with Lady Geller or successf¡­
¡°You know, I have a map ability?¡± asked Dave. It was just after sunrise on the third day of his coerced, willing abduction. Sauveterre had finished the early morning training with the Charcoal Knights and taken Dave aside to give him a drink. ¡°Eh?¡± grunted Sauveterre in reply to Dave¡¯s unexpected question. They both sipped their drinks. Sauveterre had called it an ¡®angry peach¡¯. It was hot, alcoholic and tasted mostly like peach cider with a mixture of other spiced additives that Dave couldn¡¯t identify. It was nice, though. ¡°So, I know that¡¯s Oullins,¡± said Dave gesturing with his mug towards buildings on the horizon. ¡°I just wonder why you said it¡¯d be a few days to get here when it only took two. Wait, was it so that I¡¯d still be planning my escape when I arrived? That¡¯s pretty cunning.¡± ¡°Ugh, no,¡± confessed Sauveterre, grinning sheepishly at the ground. ¡°It¡¯s just - we¡¯ve actually never had such a fast vehicle before? And, all the roads are pretty clear in winter. So we just thought it¡¯d take longer.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± said Dave. ¡°But I like the idea!¡± said Sauveterre, brightly. ¡°I¡¯ll definitely overestimate the travel time on our next¡­ Err, you know.¡± They both sipped their drinks. ¡°You could call it an enforced surprise holiday?¡± said Dave. ¡°I¡¯d prefer ¡®arrest¡¯,¡± said Sauveterre. ¡°But whatever.¡± ¡°Does Lady Geller have the authority to arrest people?¡± said Dave. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll be punished for it so, I guess?¡± said Sauveterre with a wince. ¡°I appreciate the gesture of giving me a drink before you hand me over,¡± said Dave, holding the mug under his chin with both hands, feeling the comfortable warmth of the drink through his fingers and smelling the pleasant aroma. Sauveterre nodded. ¡°It didn¡¯t seem right, sending someone to their death without giving them a last drink,¡± she said. ¡°You think I¡¯m going to die?¡± asked Dave. ¡°It¡¯s a possibility,¡± said Sauveterre hesitantly. ¡°Definitely going to be unpleasant so we figured it was only right to give you a drink, you know?¡± They both watched as the sun briefly came out from behind the clouds and was swiftly swallowed again by the hungry, winter sky. ¡°You have a map ability and didn¡¯t try to escape?¡± asked Sauveterre. ¡°Would you have caught me?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°If you failed to, would Lady Geller just send someone else to find me?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°There you go.¡± They sipped in silence for another few moments. ¡°I¡¯m curious if you did it,¡± said Sauveterre. I did not kill Ross Geller. ¡°But I¡¯m better off not knowing,¡± Sauveterre finished. Dave felt like his practice was paying off. ¡°It was good of you all to let me study in the wagon,¡± said Dave, finishing his drink, ¡°And, filling me in with some information about my confluence.¡± ¡°Oh, no problem,¡± said Sauveterre, also draining her drink. ¡°You paid us back for sure with that tip about Michaud¡¯s healing mechanics. We can gear her up properly now.¡± They both appreciated the overcast countryside as best they could for a few moments. ¡°Well, umm¡­¡± said Sauveterre with a pointed look towards the hovercraft. Dave nodded and walked back to the hovercraft with the outward appearance of calm and slipped into a mantra. I am Dave Booker. I come from Ahitereriria. I work as an apothecary advisor. I met Ross Geller in the woods. I did not kill Ross Geller. ¡°Two days to Oullins?¡± asked Sam. ¡°Yes and no,¡± said Johan, who¡¯d just been to visit the skipper of the land crawler. ¡°I¡¯m told we¡¯ll arrive tomorrow morning. We¡¯ve made good time though, haven¡¯t we? The kindness of strangers astounds me.¡± Sam gave him a mysterious smile and didn¡¯t say anything about Johan¡¯s unique, racial aura power that made him feel like the solution to all of one¡¯s problems. Even so, the sheer luck of first encountering those stone haulers to Champel was good but then it became apparent that Johan just attracted people. While he was being neighbourly and helping the stone haulers unload the slabs, word got around that he was heading on towards Oullins, the wagonmaster put in a good word for him and within the hour, Johan was offered a bit of spare space in an overland crawler to Oullins for him and his team. ¡°It¡¯s really lucky!¡± was all Sam said to Johan about his ¡®luck¡¯. ¡°I just hope we are in time.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry!¡± said Johan with his winning smile. ¡°Even if the nobles of the city defy their nature and treat Dave villainously, it will be like Hugh said; he¡¯ll be kept in the city prison. Or the Adventure Society prison, if the people of Justice think he constitutes a risk, but I agree with Hugh. So long as he doesn¡¯t resist, they are unlikely to collar him in the Adventure Society dungeons.¡± ¡°Alright, bye bye!¡± said Sam, once again smiling at Johan and leaving to collect the morning¡¯s food scraps with her familiar Slimy. Johan was, as usual, puzzled by her choice of smiling so brightly. The topic didn¡¯t seem to warrant it but he figured she must have taken his word and stopped worrying. He turned his attention to Hugh. Johan had discovered a trick while training earlier for getting Hugh to actually engage in combat. In his natural state, Hugh was hesitant to hurt anybody, even the villains of this world who ought to be fought in honourable combat and banished from the lands however, he was open to disarming pretty much anybody, even by force and so Johan had attempted to give him a technical lesson on disarms. That¡¯d lasted for about two minutes before being confronted with Hugh¡¯s lack of training and the fact that his skin was the finest armour and his hands were as though blessed clubs. So, the training became Hugh slapping at the hilts of incoming blows. Johan felt there was a certain loss of the artistry, the beauty, of combat as he knew it but, as Miss Greenwood said, an easy win is a beautiful thing all by itself. ¡°Ho! Hugh,¡± called Johan, walking over to Friar Abberton, feeling awkward. He wasn¡¯t yet used to being on first name basis with so estimable a person. ¡°What goes, my good friar?¡± Hugh was holding onto a plank from a shipping crate he¡¯d gotten from somewhere and he was staring at it very intently. ¡°Oh! Johan. Yes, Johan, my good man,¡± said Hugh. ¡°I¡¯ve been reflecting somewhat about the other night and, well, I¡¯ve been experimenting.¡± His fingers tightened on the plank. ¡°Do you remember the night I had my little, not so little, episode?¡± ¡°I remember well the night a good man¡¯s soul laid bare, yes,¡± said Johan. Hugh blushed and kicked awkwardly at the snowy grass. ¡°There is no shame, good friar,¡± added Johan, clapping Hugh on the shoulder. ¡°For the best of heroes have shed tears in tender moments of revelation. Think upon Roland and Oliver.¡± ¡°Oh! Your comparison is too kind,¡± said Hugh. ¡°But, perhaps timely. Ah, it¡¯s the sound of breaking wood. Splintering wood. You see? Romilly, from the caravan, he had this notion that the noise of it summoned a fighting spirit into me.¡± He raised the piece of wood. ¡°Marchal over there can make targets out of the snow. I was wondering if you could help me with¡­¡± Hugh trailed off, waving the piece of wood, not wanting to say it. ¡°Of course, my friend,¡± said Johan, his aura of absolute confidence wrapping around the situation. He accepted the plank of wood and called across the early morning to Marchal, a dark-skinned man who had an ice and cold heavy power set. ¡°Marchal? Marchal, yes! Five targets, Marchal! Hugh wants to try something!¡± Marchal grinned, flipped some of his long, black, plaited hair over his back and manipulated five practice targets of hard-packed snow into existence. ¡°By all means,¡± said Marchal, bowing and gesturing at the targets. ¡°Alright, alright,¡± said Hugh, stomping his feet and clapping his hands energetically in an effort to psyche himself up. ¡°Enemies. They¡¯re enemies. They¡¯re going to - to burn a library!¡± Hugh nodded at Johan. Johan grasped the plank in both hands, snapping and twisting it to maximise the splintering noise. A cloud passed over Hugh¡¯s expression. ¡°GET THE FUCK OUT!¡± growled Hugh, barely legible, and punched the head off the target he was immediately in front of which sprayed snow as it came apart. He smashed through the body with his shoulder as he charged the next target dropping into a tackle that ended with him slapping heavily down onto what packed snow remained of the torso on the ground. While he was on the ground he kicked out the bottom of the third target which made it topple over. He stomped on it as he stood up. The last two targets were destroyed as he shifted into earth form and blasted them with gravel, one narrow stream of scratching, ripping stones from each palm. Still in earth form, he stomped over to Johan and collapsed onto the golden-haired farmboy for support. ¡°Uff! That¡¯s it, Friar - Hugh - That¡¯s it, my friend,¡± said Johan, patting Hugh on a rocky, earthy back. ¡°It seems you¡¯ve found a fighting spirit to summon within yourself.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want it,¡± whispered Hugh. ¡°It¡¯s made of the dead.¡± The land crawler was moving soon after that. Johan was sat in the cargo section atop a crate with Sam and Hugh in similar situations close by. He was reviewing the steps that Hugh was going to do once they arrived in Oullins. He¡¯d talked to lots of people in Champel, which was a great thing, for he liked to talk with people. His dad had always encouraged understanding others because, his father had always said, we can¡¯t live peacefully before the gods if we¡¯re arguing with each other. He¡¯d met an iron ranker in the Champel warehouse facility who¡¯d told Johan that with the kind of vehicle Dave had been taken in, at this time of year with this weather, it would reach Oullins on the morn of the third day of travel, which was today. This land crawler that Johan was in would arrive in Oullins on the overmorrow. Two days behind Dave. They¡¯d made good time. Johan was proud of himself for having talked his way into shortening a trip that could have easily been a week or more by foot. It was like his dad said, the world is full of people ready to help if you ask. His father would then add with a wink; especially if you don¡¯t ask for much. Johan repeated the steps to himself, even though he had no understanding of them, it seemed to him that legal proceedings and the way of that kind of thing was a subject to take seriously. For, what could be more important than making the laws of the land just and good? He felt a great swell of pride for those people who had that noble task. The burden of that responsibility must weigh heavily upon them. The steps were, he read from a piece of paper; Step one: Once Dave is charged, file a bounty form on the Adventure Society contract claiming his capture as Hugh¡¯s doing. Step two: Hugh can claim Dave¡¯s property with a reapportionment form as team leader. Step three: Make sure Dave¡¯s prisoner details list him as an administrative auxiliary to an adventuring team. Step four: claim/buy him as an indentured servant from whoever has him. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. They were pretty sure that Dave would be charged by the time they arrived in Oullins so half of step one would get completed without them. The rest, Johan was pretty dumbfounded by it all but it sounded very official. Bounty form, he figured, must be something to do with monsters. Why Dave was being treated as a monster he couldn¡¯t imagine. He asked Hugh what ¡®reapportionment¡¯ meant and he¡¯d said it meant taking all the pieces of something and giving them all out again. He wasn¡¯t sure what that meaning¡­ meant so he¡¯d been too self conscious to ask what ¡®auxiliary¡¯ and ¡®indentured¡¯ meant. Still, Hugh seemed confident with the forms and Johan sure was going to study as best he could to help out the good friar. ¡°Isn¡¯t this illegal? I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s illegal,¡± said Dave as the Charcoal Knights handed him over to Lady Geller¡¯s majordomo. ¡°You¡¯ve been summoned before a member of the nobility, Mister Booker,¡± said the majordomo. ¡°It should be an honour for you to meet your betters.¡± ¡°A compulsory honour, huh? Lovely. I¡¯m not one of her subjects, if it matters.¡± The majordomo turned and led Dave, with the assistance of two guards, down a long entrance hall. The walls were adorned with luxurious wallpaper in shades of burgundy and gold, patterned in a style reminiscent of Damask wallpaper. The colours complemented the dark mahogany woodwork that framed the tall windows which were, themselves, draped in a matching burgundy velvet, their edges embroidered with intricate golden patterns that caught the light. ¡°You are in Baron Franchet¡¯s city and he thinks highly of the Gellers,¡± continued the majordomo without introducing themselves. ¡°So, he¡¯s skipped the formalities of normal legal processing and allowed you to be brought immediately before Lady Geller.¡± ¡°Even so, I don¡¯t think we should skip the formalities,¡± said Dave. ¡°Nobody cares,¡± groaned one of the two guards escorting Dave. The majordomo immediately gave her a withering look. ¡°The baron doesn¡¯t care about the Carta Populi?¡± said Dave, dryly. ¡°Sounds like he ought to make an announcement about that.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you go and inform the Remore representative, Travers?¡± said the majordomo to the loudmouth guard with a smile full of spite. ¡°With all due haste?¡± She turned the smile on Dave. ¡°If she even deigns to attend.¡± Travers saluted with her fist to her chest and began walking in the other direction. Dave tried to control any outward signs of relief that swept through him after hearing that a Remore representative would be present. Although he didn¡¯t like the majordomo¡¯s cruel smile. Claiming Remore citizenship had been a scheme cooked up between him and Hugh and it¡¯d made sense. The Remores were famously sympathetic to outworlders, almost treating them like lucky talismans, so they¡¯d likely go along with it and such citizenship gave Dave certain legal protections as well. The Carta Populi, the document that governed how people were treated in these lands, stated that any person of a foreign lord (or equivalent) found on a baron¡¯s land without permission were to be held until their own lord (or, most likely, a representative) was notified. At which point, Dave supposed the representatives of the two lords decided what they wanted to do with the unfortunate bugger. Dave rather did feel like quite the unfortunate bugger as he was marched towards some rather nicely made doors in this mansion. He¡¯d been hoping that he¡¯d be held in lockup for a few days, a Remore representative notified and Dave would be hauled in front of the representative instead of Lady Geller. As the majordomo opened the doors, Dave took a moment to reflect that the answer to life¡¯s multiple choice question of who¡¯d be there was about to be ¡®all of the above¡¯. ¡°A Mister David Booker, Lady Geller,¡± announced the majordomo, dramatically opening the doors. Dave couldn¡¯t help but note that the door¡¯s setting and design somewhat lent themselves to dramatic openings and Dave passed into what his map informed him was the sitting room. ¡°Thank you, Daniau. That will be all,¡± said Lady Geller, waving her hand. Daniau, evidently the majordomo, retreated. Lady Tiffany Geller was a striking figure with the refined beauty of silver rank and impeccable fashion sense. Her long, honey-blonde hair was pulled back in intricate braids interwoven with delicate ribbons, a practical yet elegant style that her noble status could afford to maintain. Her features were marked by strong cheekbones and a regal bearing that commanded attention and her eyes, a piercing shade of blue, flashed with an undercurrent of cunning. She wore her hands gloved and a dark, tailored winter coat suggested she¡¯d recently been outside. She gave off the very air of a woman of wealth and sophistication. The sitting room itself was subtly opulent. Dave guessed that such subtle displays were some kind of test of worthiness among rich people. He quickly used Epistemology to check the value of the curtains. Enough to make an honest man blush, really. No doubt made of some kind of magical silk. Especially notable was a large chandelier hanging, spread across the ceiling. Not only did its carved crystal drops catch and refract light, it generated light from within itself as well as radiated heat like a gentle summer morning. The soft, golden glow made the sitting room feel inviting and cosy. Or, would have if it weren¡¯t for the situation. Dave was not invited to sit. ¡°Why are you here?¡± asked Lady Geller, removing her gloves, her posture stiff as she stared straight ahead. ¡°Ah, well if I¡¯m intruding I¡¯ll just leave,¡± said Dave politely and began backing out of the room. ¡°Stay where you are,¡± said Lady Geller, her presence suffocating Dave. Aura Phantasm blunted the direct part of the soul attack but Dave felt he¡¯d have surely been brought to his knees, weeping with the onslaught of Lady Geller¡¯s power without it. ¡°Please stop torturing me,¡± said Dave in gasps. ¡°It¡¯s impolite.¡± ¡°How dare you speak to me so?¡± said Lady Geller, taken aback. Thankfully, she also let slip her aura pressure. ¡°In my house?¡± Dave used Stop and Think to give the time for the mental trauma to slide off him. ¡°Apologies,¡± said Dave, still shuddering throughout his body, ¡°Please resume torturing me at your convenience. Is that what you think I¡¯m here for?¡± Lady Geller¡¯s eyebrow twitched ever so slightly. ¡°Or, have you forgotten that line of inquiry?¡± Dave had only remembered it himself because he¡¯d glanced at his chat log but fuck this woman. ¡°You¡¯re right, where are my manners?¡± said Lady Geller. Dave refrained as hard as he could from saying ¡®on a battlefield¡¯. He watched as Geller rose and plastered a smile with no warmth on her face. ¡°Tiffany Geller, Lady of Oullins,¡± Geller gave a slight curtsy. ¡°Dave Booker of the Sunshine Coast,¡± said Dave, extending his left leg and bowing slightly with his shaking right arm across his waist. ¡°And, I am Madeleine Brisset, representing Remore Academy interests,¡± said Brisset, marching through the door, into the room and bowing, exuding polite formality all the while. She was a silver ranker, a tall, black woman with beads in her hair, loose, bright clothing with disjointed patterns and a regal bearing. ¡°Your messenger must have hurt their foot, Geller, for I found them sitting down in that break room off the main hall. Fortunately, I was feeling peckish and bumped into them in time for me to be here.¡± Lady Geller glared pure hatred at Brisset, who deigned not to notice, before gathering herself. ¡°Well, now that you are here, we can begin the formalities,¡± said Lady Geller. ¡°Thank you,¡± said Brisset, deliberately shifting her bright yellow winter shawl across her bare shoulders with exaggerated casualness. Dave could feel the invisible war of wills taking place in front of him. ¡°Booker is a subject of a Remore bubble city and I am here to take legal custody of him.¡± ¡°Booker is wanted for interrogation,¡± replied Lady Geller, her eyes turning hurt and cold as she spoke. ¡°Regarding the death of my son.¡± ¡°If he is accused of a crime,¡± said Brisset, still regal despite the ongoing clash of wills. ¡°I insist that he be processed by the legal authorities of Oullins. Not the mother of the deceased.¡± Lady Geller blanched at ¡®deceased¡¯. ¡°To prevent preju-¡± ¡°Well, the legal authorities brought him here so take it up with the baron,¡± snapped Lady Geller, her presence savagely spiking at Brisset who winced. ¡°I shall do just that,¡± said Brisset with a bow and a clenched jaw. Dave used Stop And Think to double check something he¡¯d read yesterday about the city ordinances concerning responsibility and handover of prisoners. ¡°Then, Madam Brisset,¡± said Dave, feeling weak and small next to the silver rankers but pushing through. ¡°You need not worry. Lady Geller is henceforth responsible for my safety until tomorrow noon.¡± They both looked at Dave who turned to Lady Geller. ¡°If I am in your custody for interrogation, as per the authority of the baron then, according to Oullins civil ordinances, that makes you an acting civil authority and thus, responsible for my safety.¡± Dave used Pauper¡¯s Paper Production and Scribbler¡¯s Instant Image to make a copy of the relevant ordinances page and handed it to Brisset. Lady Geller glared daggers which stripped Dave of any sense of comfort or dignity but he continued nonetheless. Brisset took the page from Dave¡¯s hand and glanced at it for a second before handing it to Lady Geller. ¡°That does seem to be a legal interpretation I can agree to,¡± said Brisset, her demeanour more cool than before the aura spiking. ¡°You are responsible for the health and safety of this Remore subject until you release him into my custody or the custody of another legal authority. Agreed?¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± said Lady Geller, biting off the word. ¡°Now, leave. I would like to interrogate this peasant of yours.¡± ¡°Not a peasant,¡± said Brisset airily and turned to Dave. ¡°Well, that¡¯s settled. When you¡¯re done I¡¯ll take you to the baron and get all of this sorted out. As I¡¯m sure you know, the Remore family takes the safety of their charges very seriously.¡± Brisset ended with an arch look at Lady Geller, removing all doubt that the words were not meant for Dave alone. ¡°I¡¯ll be just outside. See you soon.¡± ¡°Thank you, Brisset,¡± said Dave. ¡°See you soon.¡± Brisset stepped outside, closing the door behind her. The silence was heavy with Lady Geller¡¯s domineering presence. Dave focused on his breathing and let the feeling wash through him. He took a note from Frank Herbert. I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Lady Geller spiked at Dave¡¯s aura with her own, hitting his Aura Phantasm. She exhaled sharply in frustration and violently wrapped Dave¡¯s being in her presence. Dave stopped breathing in fear and his body shuddered hard. ¡°Why are you here?¡± asked Lady Geller with a cruel smile. She relaxed her aura constriction enough for Dave to resume breathing. ¡°To - to answer your questions,¡± choked out Dave. His chest was heaving and a cold sweat had broken out all over his body. ¡°Interrogation, yeah?¡± ¡°You peasant,¡± spat Lady Geller, looking down her nose at Dave. ¡°Where were you on the day my son was murdered?¡± ¡°In the forests north-east of Meg¨¨ve,¡± said Dave. Which was true. ¡°The same forest as my son, then?¡± said Lady Geller, tightening her aura around Dave leaving him shuddering again. ¡°And the Builder cult. Tell me about them!¡± ¡°They¡¯re a religious cult that venerates The Builder, an astral being who -¡± Lady Geller attempted to spike Dave¡¯s soul with her aura again and missed, this time hissing through her teeth and washing his sence of self with undisguised hostility making Dave involuntarily jump and all the hairs on his body stand on end. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. Dave focused on his breathing. ¡°Tell me if you¡¯re a member of the Builder cult!¡± commanded Lady Geller. ¡°I am not,¡± said Dave, facing the fear Lady Geller forced on him and letting it pass over and through him. ¡°In fact, they tried to kill me as soon as I arrived in this land so I¡¯m rather against them.¡± Lady Geller¡¯s face soured at Dave¡¯s honesty. ¡°As for your son,¡± continued Dave, ¡°I did meet him in the forest but he was in a mood. He frightened me and I ran away.¡± ¡°In a mood?¡± inquired Lady Geller dangerously. ¡°A bad one,¡± said Dave. ¡°And what do you mean by that?¡± said Lady Geller, biting off the words. ¡°I¡¯m meaning to avoid saying to a dead man¡¯s mother that I found him violent and bad company.¡± Lady Geller¡¯s soul spike missed again and Dave was once more washed with hostility that he endured. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. Dave¡¯s violent trembling bordering on muscle spasms came under control. ¡°Why were you in the forest for so long, then?¡± asked Lady Geller, changing tack and increasing the pressure of her silver ranked presence. ¡°I had to avoid the Builder cult and made my way to Meg¨¨ve over several days,¡± said Dave through cold sweat and gritted teeth. With Sam via Courbefy. He added in the privacy of his own skull. He hoped. ¡°Then why are they trying to kill you?¡± said Lady Geller, maintaining the pressure on Dave¡¯s soul. ¡°I was brought there from the Sunshine Coast,¡± said Dave, falling back into his meditation practice. ¡°A town in what you call Ahitereriria. Surely you know that the church of Knowledge was -?¡± Lady Geller gave a curt nod. ¡°Well, I was summoned in by accident.¡± ¡°And why you? What are you?¡± Lady Geller¡¯s tone was seething. Her aura added abrasiveness to its constriction. ¡°No reason, it was an accident! I¡¯m Dave Booker. I¡¯m an apothecary advisor!¡± which is as close as this world gets to biostatistician, thought Dave, hanging onto his mind as best he could. ¡°That¡¯s not a real job,¡± said Lady Geller. ¡°It¡¯s the best summary I can give for you,¡± wheezed Dave desperately. ¡°You want me to explain statistical analysis? Is that why I¡¯m here?¡± Lady Geller idly spiked Dave¡¯s aura, hit the phantasm, then she grunted audibly and did the equivalent of holding him down and spiking him properly. It was a migraine along with nausea and the worst of a bad acid trip in one, painful moment. Dave fell to a knee, feeling tears come from his eyes. ¡°TELL ME WHY MY SON DIED!¡± shouted Lady Geller. ¡°Because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time!¡± said Dave with a quavering voice, selecting truths, wiping his nose with his sleeve and getting to his feet. ¡°Builder cult and purity church working together? Raiding a monastery? All in the same patch of woods? With your son there? Do the maths on the situation!¡± Lady Geller¡¯s aura pressure receded for a moment and returned like a wave. ¡°Did you help kill my son?¡± asked Lady Geller through clenched teeth. I did not kill Ross Geller. ¡°I did not kill Ross Geller,¡± said Dave on automatic. The shadows killed him. ¡°What aren¡¯t you saying?¡± shouted Lady Geller with a sneer curling her lip. ¡°I can tell you hated my son. Don¡¯t think you can hide it rolling off of you. What do you know about his death?¡± ¡°Lady,¡± said Dave, as assertively as he could manage. ¡°I think everyone hated your son. He wasn¡¯t nice!¡± ¡°WHAT AREN¡¯T YOU SAYING!?¡± screamed Lady Geller, squeezing Dave¡¯s soul almost to the point of rendering him unconscious with pain, nausea and uncontrollable spasms. ¡°WHAT ARE YOU HIDING FROM ME?¡± ¡°Hiding?¡± asked Dave, leaving against a chair for support. ¡°I¡¯m desperately trying not to tell a grieving mother that her son was a fuckhead and everyone¡¯s glad he¡¯s gone!¡± Dave had the barest impression of Lady Geller¡¯s arm moving- -Snap!- Dave was gone. Chapter 26: The Money
Current Quests
Justice For Courbefy: Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use¡­ Chosen Of Knowledge: Escort Hugh on his journey to becoming a fully awakened iron¡­ Wine tour: Vineyard wants you to try the different wines in the Meg¨¨ve area. Chosen Of Hero: Enter the chosen of hero into a tournament to gain notoriety. No More Guards: Discuss your options for using your leverage with Madeleine Brisset¡­
¡°Johan!¡± called Sam. ¡°Dave¡¯s awake! Come, come!¡± ¡°Excuse me Missus Plamondon,¡± said Johan to the old lady he¡¯d been talking to. ¡°A friend of mine has woken from a coma and I must go to him. Will you be fine without me?¡± The frail old woman smiled and waved her hand dismissively. ¡°You pay far too much attention to a silly old goose who burns herself on her own pots. Go, young man, go!¡± Johan thanked Missus Plamondon and stepped after Sam. They¡¯d been working in Healer¡¯s Cathedral while Dave was in recovery. Both Sam and Hugh could heal. The clergy had been reluctant to let them at first but seeing as they¡¯d be hanging around close to Dave anyway and that Sam had shoved an armful of alchemy ingredients across the reception desk shouting ¡®Quest! Dave¡¯s Quest!¡¯, the clergy had gotten a divine update and put them to use. The clergy quickly learned that this had been an amazing deal. Sam¡¯s healing aura meant that anybody with stable injuries could just be stored near her. Those with cuts, bruises and broken parts healed over a matter of minutes around her. Those with other ailments, like a fellow who came in with an infected hand, could be kept in a stable condition until the healing clergy or Hugh got to them, and Sam knew who needed that extra attention thanks to Death Sight. Hugh was also very valuable. Not only could he supply fast healing but his Cleanse Ally ability was instrumental in removing many of those ¡®other ailments¡¯ that Sam couldn¡¯t do. Hugh saw to the man with the infected hand. He cleansed the man¡¯s hand, got a nod from Sam that he had no more causes of death hanging over him and sent him to a nun for a final look over before sending him home. The Healer clergy welcomed the extra healing but didn¡¯t entirely trust an outsider to give a clean bill of health. Johan felt out of place with no healing skills but, naturally, did his wholehearted best to help everyone. He was surprisingly ¨C and yet also not surprisingly at all when you stopped to think about it ¨C useful everywhere he turned. It turned out, having a young, inhumanly strong, golden haired demigod-looking fellow wandering around handing out sympathy, good vibes and apple juice could lift the mood of a place up. They¡¯d been at it four days just waiting for Dave to wake up. Johan trembled with righteous anger at the betrayal of all people under the eyes of the good gods that Tiffany Geller had done. She had betrayed her noble lineage and trampled on the trust of the common folk. She was a villain. Johan could find no other way to describe it. She had used her god given right to rule to sin. Dave¡¯s injuries were horrific. And, he¡¯d seen it after a day of treatment! A fractured zygomatic bone, broken maxilla, a fractured cervical vertebrae, pulled¡­ every muscle in his neck, Hugh had only just finished memorising the names of the bones and was doing muscles next, and likely brain damage. Miss Brisset had said that the healers didn¡¯t test for the brain damage since he was getting silver ranked healing anyway to regrow the jaw. All because, according to Madeline Brisset, a woman more regal than the likes of any Geller could hope to be, Geller had lost her temper and attacked Dave. Thank the good gods that Miss Brisset had been there to hold Geller back and pour a silver ranked healing potion over Dave¡¯s still breathing body. Unfortunately, healing potions are meant to be imbibed, not applied topically, so the healing had been inefficient and just stabilised Dave as he was; without a jaw. They also said it likely healed a lot of other things which were about to immediately kill him, like swelling in the brain. Johan thought it was pretty odd that the brain couldn¡¯t handle a little swelling but, like his dad always said, you live and learn. He smiled. He could use that line on Dave. Hugh and Sam picked up Hugh from the recalcitrant cases wing and they all walked with purpose back to Dave¡¯s room he¡¯d been assigned in the persistent malady wing, on opposite sides of the sprawling Healer¡¯s Cathedral complex. Johan didn¡¯t notice as he calmed the spirits of everyone in the cathedral while Executive Services walked through the front-facing, worship and sermon part of the complex where people came, seeking Healer¡¯s blessings. Madeleine Brisset was already there by Dave¡¯s side but his face lit up upon the sight of his friends coming through the door to his room. Or, at least, his face tried to light up. It wasn¡¯t working properly. He definitely couldn¡¯t talk, judging by the papers floating in the air under a rune on the ceiling ¨C one of Miss Brisset¡¯s abilities no doubt ¨C and by the five pens that Dave was telekinetically controlling. From the looks of the writing, Dave had recently recounted the last thing he remembered and asked about what¡¯d happened since. His language was less than complimentary about Lady Geller but while Johan knew he himself would never say something like that out loud, he found that he could agree with some of Dave¡¯s words in the privacy of his own mind. Dave quickly drew a big, happy face on one of the pieces of paper and was still writing ¡®FRIENDS¡¯ when Sam bounded to his side and got herself into a loop of wanting to hold his arm, pinch his cheek or restrain herself from smacking him. Dave exhaled in mirth but the movement made him clutch at his neck in pain. Still, he attempted a smile of some kind at her. She just smiled back at him and bounced with nervous energy. Johan was increasingly sure they had a secret smile language. ¡°Dave!¡± boomed Hugh, following Sam swiftly. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you awake again. A real relief, actually.¡± Johan came in last and shook one of Dave¡¯s hands. Dave squeezed back weakly with only the right side of his face attempting a strained smile. The left remained slack. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you awake and moving again, Mister Booker,¡± said Johan. I¡¯m pleased to see all of you as well, wrote Dave on a hovering piece of paper, five pens at a time. One of the sisters and Brisset here have filled me in on what¡¯s happened to me. How are you three? ¡°Us?¡± asked Sam, annoyed and once again restraining herself from slapping Dave¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You in coma for five days! We worried about you, ka!¡± Her accent came out very strong when she was angry. Johan found he had to strain to understand some of her words but Dave seemed to be more like Miss Greenwood and have a knack for it. I can¡¯t control the left side of my face, any of the muscles in my neck and two of my ribs are sore. Other than that, I¡¯m comfortable :) Brisset tells me you are all aware of the events that got me here and my expected recovery time? Sam pinched Dave¡¯s cheek, screwed up her face and raised her hand to slap him again. Johan touched her raised arm to forestall anything that¡¯d set Dave¡¯s recovery back. ¡°Yes, Brisset filled us in. We are utterly shocked that a noble the likes of a Geller would be so callous like this and we stand by your side, Dave,¡± said Johan, looking to the others for support. Wow. :O You and I need to have a talk about nobles sometime, Johan. And, on a separate piece of paper Dave also wrote. So, you see, Sam,?? I¡¯m quite safe and as fine as I can be, all things considered. Please let me think about you and tell me how you¡¯ve been? ¡°Well, I can tell you that I¡¯ve been getting along well enough,¡± said Hugh, patting Sam¡¯s arm while she deflated a little. ¡°I¡¯ve been staying at the dormitories in the Knowledge Cathedral but spending my days here at Healer¡¯s. We all have, actually.¡± Sam broke into an even wider smile and nodded at Dave. ¡°I have been healing people,¡± said Sam, beaming pure pride at Dave. ¡°The sisters get people to sit near me and I heal them.¡± Sam covered her mouth and giggled. ¡°We say, ¡®Oh yes, that feeling is Healer¡¯s aura!¡± She laughed scandalously. ¡°But it is me. All day I read any book. Sometimes I even read to children and all the time I am healing people!¡± Are you also in the Knowledge dorms? Wrote Dave. Sam shook her head, smiling. ¡°Death¡¯s Cathedral has given me a room. A nice big one!¡± said Sam before biting her lip and shrinking in on herself a little without losing her smile. ¡°They say I can have it if you visit their door before you leave the city, ka?¡± I think I might have already visited death¡¯s door ?? but I¡¯ll do it again for you, Sam. Johan chuckled quietly at Dave¡¯s witticism. Dave was already writing on another piece of paper. That was a lie. I was going to visit all the god¡¯s doors anyway. They¡¯re reliable quest givers. There was a moment when the pens stopped and Dave¡¯s eyes focused into the distance. Actually, I don¡¯t suppose someone could wheel me out to a local Vineyard church later? Both Johan and Brisset gave Sam and Hugh sidelong looks. ¡°Oh, he has a quest from Vineyard to turn in, is all,¡± said Hugh, ¡°But you can turn that in anytime, can¡¯t you Dave?¡± Actually, yes. Wrote Dave. Just sick of seeing it in my quest log, I suppose. What¡¯ve you been up to, Johan? Bunking in the house of Hero? Saving cats and helping old ladies across the street? ¡°How did you know I saved a cat?¡± asked Johan. Lucky guess ??, wrote Dave. Continue. ¡°Oh! Well, I¡¯ve been bunking in Healer¡¯s Cathedral, just helping out here and there, you know?¡± said Johan, exuding wholesomeness. ¡°You? Who managed to calm down and practically tame Lady O¡¯Sullivan?¡± asked Brisset in a warm, sceptical tone. ¡°I judge that to be more than a here and there, Johan.¡± ¡°The staff have all been saying that the queues have never been so orderly,¡± said Hugh, affecting a mild air of mystery. ¡°Well,¡± said Johan, wholesomeness pushing through the atmosphere like a power saw through wood. ¡°That¡¯s just because people will do the right thing if you give them that chance.¡± Okay then, Dave wrote, back to the real topic of keeping a smile on Sam¡¯s face and talking about me. Now that the team is here, how¡¯s my legal situation, Brisset? You brought it up earlier. ¡°Yes. With pleasantries out of the way?¡± inquired Brisset, stepping forward, straight backed and proud. Dave drew a smiley face while giving a thumbs up. The rest of the team followed Dave¡¯s lead with various body language. ¡°Then let me state your position plainly. Lady Tiffany Geller of Oullins has attacked a lawful subject of another lord,¡± said Brisset and hesitated a bit. ¡°Or, at least, lawful as far as she knows. Sam told me about you volunteering yourself into our clan. Very clever.¡± Not a fan of legally being the property of another lord, wrote Dave. ¡°Then you¡¯ll be glad to know for sure that the Remore family agrees with you there,¡± said Brisset, ¡°but we must work within the confines of the local legal system. It actually works out for the best here, in a way. Like most of the world, this area has rank rights and because Roland Remore is a diamond ranker he can exert quite a lot of pressure on Baron Franchet. Who is gold rank, by the way, I don¡¯t know if anybody told you.¡± They didn¡¯t, thank you, wrote Dave amongst a chorus of politely shaken heads. ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± said Brisset with a slight tilt of her head. ¡°So, the legal situation is simple. Roland Remore is putting pressure on Franchet who is putting pressure on Geller to make all of this go away before Remore brings this matter to court. ¡°I say we take it to the courts,¡± said Johan. His hair seemed to flow perfectly into place as he lifted his head. ¡°And, expose this criminal Geller before Justice!¡± Brisset shook her head. ¡°That¡¯ll be embarrassing for Geller but worse for Franchet,¡± said Brisset, her deep voice smoothing over Johan¡¯s righteous indignation. ¡°Geller is too well connected, rich and powerful to be taken down in an iron rank criminal case. I¡¯m sorry little hero but that¡¯s just the way the world is.¡± Brisset actually smiled and put her hand on Johan¡¯s arm. ¡°I like your thinking, though. Practically, our options are¡­¡± Brisset broke off seeing that Dave was writing her words before she spoke them. - Take the money - Move into her direct employ - Introduction to noble society - Deed of land ownership - Other ¡°Ah,¡± said Brisset with a smile. ¡°Your team told me about your quest ability.¡± ¡¥\_(¥Ä)_/¡¥ I don¡¯t think the ability had to work hard. They¡¯re the most obvious things she has the power to do. I¡¯m thinking I¡¯ll take the money but I¡¯m open to recommendations? Dave wrote and his eyes flicked around to everyone. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Well, I say, there¡¯s definitely pros and cons to each of them,¡± said Hugh, staring at the bit of paper. My take is that the middle three require a social acumen that we don¡¯t have in this team, wrote Dave, and, frankly, I don¡¯t want to socialise with nobles. I just want their stuff. Sam and Johan stared at the words on the paper in stupefied silence. The ideas on it were beyond their imaginations. Noble society? Land ownership? However, Brisset coolly considered the options and answered. ¡°A fair take on the matter, in your position,¡± said Brisset. ¡°Tell me, how do you intend to ¡®take their stuff¡¯?¡± You could hear the quotation marks being pronounced in her polite, regal tone. Because of my abilities, wrote Dave, quest ability + magic admin abilities + see disguised things? I¡¯m getting hired to solve mysteries for sure, right? ¡°You seem very confident,¡± said Brisset hesitantly. ¡°Dave casually solved three financial crimes in Meg¨¨ve while sitting at the bar,¡± said Hugh. ¡°If anything he¡¯s understating.¡± ¡°Then yes,¡± said Brisset decisively. ¡°With a name like Executive Services and crime solving abilities, nobles will employ you. That leaves taking money in recompensense or ¡®other¡¯. For ¡®other¡¯ I can only suggest some magical items? The Gellers definitely have some good items in their vaults. Especially iron rank items?¡± ¡°Johan could use a good suit of armour,¡± said Hugh. ¡°I¡¯m fine, of course.¡± And, I doubt the Gellers have any items specific for Sam¡¯s abilities. Sam just smiled broadly at Dave and then around the room, while trying to shrink, hunching her shoulders a bit. Besides, we can get her some good gear cheaply anyway so the money option is still best. ¡°Myself, I would rather fight in my undergarments than suffer the armour of the Gellers,¡± said Johan. Can we make that happen???, Dave wrote to Brisset who arched an eyebrow. Joking. Seriously though, I considered that but unless she has something that we can¡¯t buy, I¡¯d prefer to distance myself from Geller as swiftly and cleanly as possible. ¡°That¡¯s probably for the best,¡± said Brisset. ¡°I agree entirely,¡± said Johan. ¡°We should also reject her tainted coin a-¡± He was interrupted by Sam stomping on his foot. She smiled up at him brightly. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t reject the coin out of hand, Johan,¡± said Hugh carefully. ¡°After all, I don¡¯t believe that the coins will actually be tainted in any way?¡± ¡°They won¡¯t be,¡± confirmed Brisset. ¡°Perhaps, Johan, you could think of it as good taking back what is rightfully theirs from evil?¡± ¡°Then I shall,¡± said Johan after a moment of internalising the new idea. Take the bitch for as much you can, wrote Dave. You should be able to get a lot since we can dress it up as having nothing to do with me. How do you open a business in this area? ¡°Just just open the doors?¡± speculated Hugh. ¡°Unless there¡¯s a guild you have to join,¡± interjected Johan. ¡°I remember the blacksmith in Forel got in trouble one year for hiring out of guild.¡± ¡°If you tell me the business, I¡¯ll ask the legal experts I¡¯m meeting with tomorrow,¡± said Brisset, cutting off further speculation. Bulk goods? Hydrogen? Do you guys know what that is? No? Gas, I suppose. I want to make purified gas, bronze rank but I can start with iron. Even Brisset looked confused. Hydrogen is a gas that makes your voice high pitched and burns in atmosphere. When I was with the Charcoal Knights I tried to look up chemical prices but this plane didn¡¯t have any. I can only guess compressed gas is rare. But, making lightning isn¡¯t! In fact, energy production is stupidly cheap in this world. ¡°Ah!¡± said Brisset, figuring it out a moment before Hugh. ¡°It¡¯s something from your original world. Some kind of unique magic? I actually want to talk to you about that later. Hugh said you¡¯re actually an outworlder?¡± ¡°Sorry, Dave. She asked directly. And to you, Brisset,¡± said Hugh. ¡°I didn¡¯t mention that although Dave¡¯s reality doesn¡¯t have magic, they have non-magical innovations that surpass our own magics in some ways. Like a world-wide communication system accessible to all!¡± Brisset looked at Dave with raised eyebrows. It¡¯s true. The important thing right now is that my people are better at certain types of alchemy and at generating materials. One of them is hydrogen, a gas that is lighter than air. I think that if I can make iron or bronze rank hydrogen it¡¯ll have enormous buoyancy properties. Like the opposite of high ranked metals crushing low ranked furniture? ¡°But, you can¡¯t make ranked air, can you?¡± inquired Brisset with genuine interest. ¡°Ah, but of course you can,¡± said Hugh, putting on his academic voice. ¡°The presence of ranked air is, experts think, part of the reason why normal rankers die in some silver or gold ranked areas. It¡¯s just that most of the time, the ranked air dissipates and loses its magic so quickly that it¡¯s pointless trying to make any. Air is considered a safe dumping ground for magic for this reason. Only people with air-controlling abilities have ever kept it still long enough for the Magic Society to study its properties. Please get me those studies. I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m right but it¡¯d be nice to confirm. ¡°But what good shall this light air do anybody?¡± said Johan. ¡°Alchemists will find a use for it,¡± remarked Brisset down her nose. ¡°They always do.¡± ¡°Is for flying,¡± said Sam, her face alight with wonder. ¡°Buoyant! Like boats, but in air! Floating boats!¡± Sam giggled. Dave drew multiple smiley faces in the margins of his writings and Sam beamed at him. ¡°Well done indeed, Sam!¡± said Hugh, ¡°How did you figure that out so fast?¡± ¡°Dave was talking about needing a vehicle, remember?¡± ask Sam, still beaming like a beacon. ¡°And you said that we couldn¡¯t afford flying vehicle but when Dave asked for money I thought maybe he is saving for a vehicle? And then floating in the air and I think, ¡®Oh! Dave is making a floating vehicle!¡¯¡± That¡¯s actually a pretty good summary of my thought process, wrote Dave. ¡°I believe the Remore family would like to see if such an idea could possibly work,¡± said Brisset. ¡°What would you need?¡± For starters, I would need an alchemist to react iron rank glacial acetic acid, the acid from vinegar, with iron rank iron filings, bubble the resultant gas through water and capture it in a sealed bladder, then I would need a measurement of how much mass it can carry at both normal and iron rank. ¡°Is that all?¡± said Brisset. ¡°I could do that myself, I¡¯m sure. I know some basic alchemy.¡± ¡°And you don¡¯t want the idea to get out, I¡¯m sure,¡± chuckled Hugh. ¡°Trade secrets,¡± giggled Sam to Johan and Dave who hadn¡¯t quite caught up. I forgot that this world doesn¡¯t have the patent system yet. Nevermind. Yes, please do it yourself if you¡¯d be so kind. That will be the first investment that I¡¯ll ask of you to organise with Geller. And she should be generous because it¡¯ll affect the local economy, correct? ¡°It would be in her best interests, yes,¡± said Brisset with a hint of iron in her voice. Good. Once you have all the coin concessions out of the way, hit her with a restraining order for Adventure Society corruption. ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Dave!¡± ¡°Righteous!¡± Everyone looked at Johan. ¡°I don¡¯t need to know what it is,¡± he said defensively. ¡°But a restraining order sounds exactly like the kind of thing that ought to be hit upon Geller.¡± Dave was already writing. A legal agreement that she will not have anything to do with me by word or deed even indirectly. ¡°I¡¯m not aware of any laws that would allow this,¡± said Brisset, ¡°but I¡¯m sure something can be arranged. I presume you have evidence of this corruption? A detail you haven''t yet supplied?¡± Ask the Charcoal Knights everything about the origins of the job to come and get me. Time, place, exact words used and all. From there you¡¯ll be able to narrow it down to a list of AdS admin who either accessed Hugh¡¯s tracking stone and/or received the letter we sent about Builder cultists in that astral space. Someone will remember something for sure. Hugh has a rather unique kind of provisional badge that people will remember and I¡¯m sure they don¡¯t get letters about Builder cultists in old astral pocket mines every day. ¡°Oh, you,¡± said Brisset, almost coyly. ¡°I¡¯m going to like giving you a lot of work.¡± Dave drew smiley faces in the margins again. Brisset left soon after that to arrange matters with her legal advisors and get things into motion. Also, Dave suspected, to try that alchemy experiment. She seemed very keen on that. He chatted with his friends for an hour but eventually insisted they get back to work. He knew they¡¯d feel worse for it inside if they wasted hours with him and saw lines of sick people later. He did make them promise to come back for card games in the evening, though. Despite the situation, Dave was not bored. Not at all. He couldn¡¯t let his familiars out yet, the nurses had told him to leave them inside, they¡¯d help with the healing, but he¡¯d been given a few books on healing theory and he was definitely going to get in trouble for using Stop And Think on every page. He wasn¡¯t supposed to use his abilities overly much yet and the sister who was coming in to assist with his afternoon recovery dose of healing was definitely going to notice. That was actually something he¡¯d hoped to solve with even more use of Stop And Think. From what he read so far, stamina use from abilities and movement were pretty similar and he¡¯d been encouraged to try and move. It seemed that what was important was not using all of his stamina and passing out. He just had to prove it. By using more stamina. This healing stuff was fascinating. It was, as far as Dave could tell, a kind of magic that referenced the soul for what to do but the more he read, the more it seemed that the soul also referenced the body in turn. After that, this world¡¯s ability to do microscopy and chemistry really let them down. He was pretty sure that the soul was referencing the mind, as supported by the brain, as well as the DNA to reconstruct a body when affected by healing magic. But, then there was the fact that the body changed into a more idealised version as a person ranked up. Dave desperately wanted to run some tests. The same healing spell on people, mice, insects, plants and yeast would be informative. Head buzzing with possibilities and piles of notes stacking up around Dave, the afternoon nursing sister walked in on him reading about non-mana based healing. She had to put her finger on top of the book and tip it over onto Dave¡¯s lap to get his attention. ¡°Oh! Sorry sister,¡± said Dave. She just shook her head. He floated a piece of paper over to her. She looked at it. My stamina never went below half, wrote Dave apologetically at the top of his small paper on stamina usage in the sick ¡°Too clever for your own good,¡± said the sister in a long suffering tone. ¡°I¡¯ll show this to the head healer, though.¡± She pressed her lips into a smile. ¡°It looks like you¡¯ve been working hard at health, though. Perhaps the Lord of this house has inspired you after all.¡± Dave shut his mouth, nodded and took his medicine.
Madeline didn¡¯t take long at all to set up the legal matters. A draft of some financial arrangements from an accountant on the Remore retainer and an iron ranker with a recording crystal portaled to Marnaz. Then, she shut the doors to the rooms she was using on the Green estate and performed the alchemy experiment. If you could call it that. Perhaps Booker¡¯s people had a word for it? Alchemy with no alchemy. And it worked. She¡¯d had to seal some gaps in the apparatus with drops of solder but, by Knowledge of ages it worked! The ¡®glacial acetic acid¡¯, as Booker had written it, had been called ¡®ice-chip vinegar acid¡¯ by the local alchemist. She¡¯d said it was used in etching, but today it¡¯d been put into the apparatus, the iron filings went in, there was foaming, bubbling and the bladder had started to inflate. Then rise. ¡°Fuck etching,¡± said Madeline. She exhaled in astonishment and fumbled around trying to stop the experiment, save the inflated bladder and get to the mansion¡¯s water link at the same time. In the end, the experiment was left running, the inflated bladder was pinched off, twisted and she¡¯d tied it to her wrist with some string. To keep both hands free. ¡°Naseem Bahadir,¡± said Madeline clearly into the water link and waited several minutes for Naseem¡¯s face to appear in the water flowing over the stone. ¡°Naseem, does that misguided cousin of yours still have contacts with ship builders?¡± ¡°Nice to see you too, Madeline,¡± said Naseem with a full body laugh. Naseem¡¯s robes were muted in colour thanks to the water link but it was still possible to tell they were colourful and bearing disjointed patterns which contrasted with his smooth, midnight black skin. ¡°But yes, Emir has a cloud flask so I think someone on his staff would have the contacts.¡± Naseem smiled broadly. ¡°He wouldn¡¯t know himself. Don¡¯t you know what he¡¯s like?¡± ¡°I do, yes,¡± said Madeline, standing even taller. ¡°Can you get to those contacts through him? We¡¯re going to need them for this.¡± Naseem leaned forward to see better as Madeline pulled the string and brought the floating bladder into view. ¡°This isn¡¯t a ritual, formation, array or anything like that, Naseem,¡± said Madeline. ¡°This inflated bladder is floating. Without magic. No floating rock dust from the Hua Xi forests or anything.¡± She cut the string with a knife and let the balloon float out of view on the water link. ¡°Flight without magic.¡± ¡°How could this be?¡± said Naseem all business. ¡°Most of the Magic Society says it is impossible.¡± His face suddenly split back into a grin. ¡°Wait, no! The outworlder? We got a good one?¡± ¡°I think so,¡± said Madeline, trying to hold back a silly grin in return. ¡°Flight without magic and do you know what he made it with?¡± ¡°What?¡± asked Naseem, grinning with her. ¡°Vinegar and iron filings!¡± exclaimed Madeline. Naseem roared with laughter. ¡°You have got to be joking, Madeline!¡± Naseem was slapping his thighs and brushing his braided and beaded hair out of his face. ¡°Foodstuff and industrial waste? Are you serious?¡± ¡°Absolutely, I¡¯m shocked to say,¡± said Madeline. ¡°The outworlder, Booker is his name, casually dictated the alchemical formula to me along with a causal suggestion that he commission an airship made of unranked materials to keep costs down.¡± Naseem roared with laugher again, his whole body joining in. ¡°He thumbs his nose to the Magic Society and does it on a budget!¡± Naseem slapped his thigh. ¡°Oh, I love it. What a story! I would think you are being completely tricked but he¡¯s an iron ranker, right? He can''t lie to you. Perhaps he believes the trick himself?¡± ¡°No,¡± said Madeline, shaking her head. ¡°I purchased the alchemy equipment and materials myself. He is still unaware I¡¯ve even done the alchemy. I get the feeling that where he comes from, this knowledge is common.¡± ¡°So,¡± confirmed Naseem. ¡°We have an outworlder with knowledge of alchemy from beyond our world who wants to make a flying machine that flies without magic. Yes, I can get in touch with Emir¡¯s people and ask who to talk to. Definitely. Anything else?¡± ¡°No,¡± said Madeline. ¡°Madeline,¡± said Naseem in a placating voice. ¡°I know you¡¯re independent and capable but am I really supposed to report to Roland ¡®Oh, yes sir. And that little thing you sent Madeline to look into turns out to really have been an actual outworlder and we totally hit the jackpot with this one when he revolutionised air travel by accident but I didn¡¯t send her any help and she doesn¡¯t need anything.¡¯ How does that sound to you?¡± ¡°I see your point,¡± said Madeline stiffly. ¡°If you think it¡¯s worth Roland¡¯s personal attention,¡± she relented as Naseem nodded. ¡°Tell him that the outworlder killed Tiffany Geller¡¯s son with the help of an iron rank death essence user, who is actually quite a lovely girl, and that I could use his personal signature on some documents to make sure that Gellar backs off and stays off.¡± ¡°By Truth and Death,¡± laughed Naseem. ¡°There¡¯s another entire story inside this. No wonder Roland loves outworlders.¡± He smiled and shook his head, careful not to mess his hair. ¡°I¡¯ll pass it along but I think Roland will want a full report that we don¡¯t have time for on this link.¡± ¡°And I¡¯ll make sure he has it,¡± said Madeline. ¡°Goodbye for now Naseem.¡± ¡°Stay safe, Madeline.¡± Chapter 27: Multiple Sacks
Current Quests
Justice For Courbefy: Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use¡­ Chosen Of Knowledge: Escort Hugh on his journey to becoming a fully awakened iron¡­ Chosen Of Hero: Enter the chosen of hero into a tournament to gain notoriety.
Lianne Lane was sacked. She felt numb from the inside to the out, standing on the last step of the Adventure Society before the cobblestones of the street. Even her mind was numb. Not a single thought could muster the ability to begin flowing amongst the fog that had invaded her head. She turned around and saw the doorman looking at her sternly but also with deep pity. He knew she didn¡¯t deserve this, like everyone else did, but he wasn¡¯t going to lose his job over saying anything about it. She¡¯d done nothing wrong but the higher ups had given her the sack anyway. Well, fine, she¡¯d technically done something wrong but everyone knew that refusing a personal request from Lady Geller was more wrong and it¡¯d been nothing but bad luck that she¡¯d been the one to answer the incoming waterlink. It could have been anybody who was on that day! Lianne had done everything that the people above her had asked, and lost her job. She¡¯d never not had a job before. Her hands that were holding the sack full of personal items from her desk were trembling, she could see they were, even though she couldn¡¯t feel them through the shock. Taking two deep breaths, Lianne gathered the courage to take a step onto the uncaring cobblestones. The sun came out from the clouds as she did so and when she glanced up, she saw, standing in the sunlight, him. Then she slipped on the wet cobblestones and fell directly into his arms. Johan caught the unfortunate woman as she slipped. The poor lady, he thought, she must have gotten the sun in her eyes. ¡°Woah!¡± exclaimed Johan, setting her upright once more. ¡°Apologies for laying hands upon you, Madam. I meant only to prevent you from hitting the ground.¡± He knuckled his forehead and offered her a small bow. The woman had pale skin, a round face, mousey hair and was dressed both conservatively and professionally. Her mouth worked up and down soundlessly as she stared at Johan who wondered if perhaps he¡¯d rudely forgotten to scrub his face adequately today. His mum had always said that washing was good, but sometimes a scrubbing was better. Finding herself in the powerful arms of a blond man with perfect hair, built like a sculpture with a jawline that looked like it could chisel other sculptures, Lianne could only stammer as the demigod holding her simply placed her back on her own two feet as easily as if she was a doll that he was righting. ¡°Tha - that¡¯s quite alright ah - sir?¡± ¡°Johan Schmidt, at your service,¡± said Johan, again lifting his knuckle to his forelock and bowing slightly. Lianne had grown accustomed to feeling people¡¯s auras, working at the Adventure Society and all, but this Johan¡¯s was different. His felt raw, untamed and¡­ not at all unpleasant. Normally, the iron ranked auras would flare unpleasantly while the adventurer struggled to get them under control. Some of the more cruel adventurers from high born families would flare them on purpose if you didn¡¯t do what they wanted. You had to go and get a trained guard if that happened. But, this man in front of her, when his aura flared, it felt like the solution to life¡¯s problems. She also couldn¡¯t help but notice that there seemed to be a wind that only his hair could feel that was always blowing it perfectly into place. ¡°Oh!¡± stammered Lianne, desperately trying to say anything at all to kickstart her mind into hopefully, saying something impressive to this man. ¡°Wha - What services can you offer me?¡± Lianne you fucking bitch, she scolded herself, you sound like you¡¯re picking up a street walker. She plastered a nervous smile on her face. ¡°Actually,¡± said Johan, picking up on none of this, ¡°I was hoping I could offer you gainful employment on behalf of a future adventurer that you may have heard of. May I, perhaps, walk you to a cafe and buy you a beverage where we shall discuss this further, Mizz¡­?¡± ¡°Miss!¡± squeaked Lianne at the speed of sound and immediately blushed with embarrassment at how forward she must seem. ¡°Miss Lianne Lane! Wanting to service - I mean, also at your service.¡± Johan could see that the poor lady was out of sorts and he didn¡¯t entirely blame her. She must be having an emotional day. No wonder her face wouldn¡¯t work properly and kept turning different colours. He¡¯d had bad days in the past, for sure, and his mum and dad had always been there to help him out. So, he helped out Miss Lane right now and offered her his elbow. Just the way Miss Greenwood had told him was the polite way to help escort a lady. Lianne took the proffered elbow with her left arm, heart fluttering for all sorts of reasons, and allowed herself to be led to a nearby cafe. She didn¡¯t hear Johan¡¯s polite conversation or even her replies, she was in such a state and, in her defence, it genuinely was an accident that she stumbled and ended up leaning on his well muscled arm, clutching it in both hands. The same sundown, in the gardens of healing, Dave watched as Brisset returned through her rune portal with both Johan and a mousy-haired woman in tow. Johan was carrying several bags of the woman¡¯s belongings in his hands and bowing the nervous woman through Brisset¡¯s portal. Lane¡¯s eyes darted around and Dave didn¡¯t need aura powers to see that she was hanging on to sanity by a thread and that thread was called Johan. Dave hung back. He¡¯d never been good at comforting strangers. ¡°Hello! Hello!¡± called Sam from where she¡¯d been gardening with Slimy. She breezed over, projecting warmth with her encompassing smile. ¡°Hello, I am Sam! What¡¯s your name?¡± Sam¡¯s strategy of overwhelming friendliness paid off and Lane was led towards a bathing area leaving behind Johan who promised to find somewhere comfortable to place her belongings. He spotted Dave and hurried over. ¡°Ho, Dave!¡± called Johan. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you could make two of those stiff paper dwellings tonight?¡± ¡°I could, Johan,¡± said Dave, wryly. ¡°I take it she accepted the position?¡± ¡°Yes, just as we said she would,¡± said Johan. ¡°You know, I can¡¯t believe that ten coins a day is less pay for her. City people, hey? How much money do you need?¡± Dave cast Comfortable Country Cabin on an open space of the garden and smiled slightly at Johan who was shaking his head in disbelief at the luxuries he imagined city people were buying with their riches. ¡°You know it¡¯s a lot more expensive to live in the city than on your farm?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Why don¡¯t you wake me early tomorrow morning and we can both wander outside and buy some bread, cheese and bacon for breakfast? You¡¯ll see.¡± Johan pulled a face that suggested he was bracing for yet another shock to his system. Dave hoped this one would be less expensive and less time consuming to explain than the homeless person incident. ¡°She didn¡¯t like one of your answers, though,¡± said Johan. Dave raised his eyebrows. ¡°About how you wanted to hire someone with no love for the Gellers?¡± said Johan. Dave pondered this for a moment. ¡°Oh! She¡¯s afraid that she¡¯ll be drawn into a conflict that I¡¯m definitely going to lose?¡± ¡°I promised her that I would not allow you to endanger her,¡± said Johan, stiffly. ¡°A promise you¡¯ll never have to follow up on, my friend,¡± said Dave with a cunning smirk. ¡°Miss Lane is going to be doing nothing more than running an investment firm. Buying and selling stocks, some of our loot, some of other people¡¯s loot. Any investigation of Miss Lane will be a very expensive exercise in discovering that she¡¯s running a business.¡± Johan looked mollified but looked like there was something else he wanted to say. ¡°Was there anything else?¡± said Dave. ¡°Yes,¡± said Johan, perking up. ¡°The tournament, I have learned the prize!¡± The whole team knew about Dave¡¯s current quests because Dave figured more eyes, more opportunity and Johan had been particularly interested in the tournament one about him. It didn¡¯t take him long to discover that there was a grand tournament being held in Oullins in seven days. Someone¡¯s birthday. It was a big to-do with anybody who wanted to be seen as a somebody planning to be in attendance. Dave had wanted to avoid it and enter Johan in a smaller tournament to complete his [Chosen Of Hero] quest but Johan had, naturally, wanted to test his mettle. In the name of quest completion, of course. Dave had explained to Johan that mixing with nobles is what had put him in Healer¡¯s cathedral in the first place but had conceded that if the tournament prize was good enough, he¡¯d agree to it. Dave had hoped that this would deter Johan. It had not. Johan had taken this matter-of-factly and started asking around about the prizes. Clearly, he¡¯d found an answer. ¡°Well?¡± said Dave. ¡°What are these prizes? And, is the source of this information reliable?¡± Johan showed Dave a piece of paper with an official seal. ¡°I got it from that fencing school a block over,¡± said Johan. ¡°They didn¡¯t have anybody to send, none of their students being of noble enough blood, so the master there let me take it. It¡¯s the official rules and prizes of the tournament. Look!¡± Johan pointed at the prizes section. Dave looked, manifested both of his familiars and had Tome show local literature that described what a ¡®Templar¡¯ armour set was. His eyes went wide. Fucking Hell. He used Epistemology to check a few terms he didn¡¯t know about smithing and enchanting. ¡°It¡¯s good enough, isn¡¯t it?¡± said Johan, as close to giddy as Dave had ever seen him. ¡°It is, don¡¯t you think.¡± Fuuuuuuuuuck, thought Dave. opined Tzu. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s definitely good enough,¡± growled Dave through gritted teeth, putting his hand over his face and running it over his head through his hair. ¡°So you¡¯ll use your quest to get me in the arena alongside the nobles? Really?¡± asked Johan. Dave sighed heavily. He¡¯d really been hoping to get his airship and get out of town under as little scrutiny as possible. Nuts that now, he supposed. ¡°So long as you do it quietly,¡± said Dave. ¡°Win or lose, we don¡¯t need the nobs looking closely at us, okay?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t let you down, Dave!¡± said Johan. ¡°I know you¡¯ll do your best, mate,¡± said Dave, shaking his head and smiling. ¡°By the way, how¡¯s that flying machine going?¡± asked Johan. ¡°Good, I think,¡± said Dave, perking up himself. ¡°Brisset has a shipwright going over the plans for a couple of days and then it¡¯s straight into construction. Apparently because it¡¯s all non-magical it¡¯ll only take a week to build. But I¡¯ve asked her to consider some basic self repairing and fire retardant enchantments for the fabric of the envelope section.¡± ¡°Wow,¡± said Johan, face alight with wonder. ¡°Who¡¯d have thought? Me, an adventurer on a flying machine?¡± A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Literally everyone who knew you, Johan,¡± answered Dave, flatly. Johan grinned like Dave had just made a very funny joke. ¡°I have a meeting with Brisset,¡± said Dave, ¡°but you should put those bags inside the cabin and it wouldn¡¯t be impolite of you to set up a bed and perhaps a couple of chairs. Make the room comfortable, you know? Oh! And, warn her of the spell stopping after about eight to ten hours.¡± ¡°Certainly, yes,¡± said Johan. ¡°See you at dinner.¡± Dave strode off towards Brisset, hyper aware of the slope of the ground. Sudden stops and starts seemed to aggravate his body-soul connection and set off his spasms but they were getting better. =Brisset is a true warrior. She wishes for us to rain death from the skies.= Dave ignored the scandalised looks that Tzu¡¯s opinion garnered from a couple of nuns in the same stretch of hallway. ¡°You¡¯re both right,¡± said Dave. ¡°We¡¯ll all have more time for studies and we¡¯ll have more efficient access to monsters as well. Now, what¡¯re the peace phrases?¡± =Knowledge is power. Power wins battles.= buzzed Tzu dejectedly. displayed Tome in a small font. ¡°Thank you, both,¡± said Dave, turning down another hallway. ¡°Where are we at with the schedule?¡± Tome flipped its pages to reveal a handwritten schedule. A pen flew out of Dave¡¯s pocket and crossed out everything from fifteen to eighteen hours on Kyriake ¨C the Byzasi Monday. Dave looked at the rest of his week. ¡°Okay, Geller legal stuff and flying machine stuff now if Brisset is free, she should be, and let¡¯s reschedule Miss Lane tomorrow morning.¡± Another pen came out of his pocket to erase ¡®welcome Lianne Lane¡¯ from the current time slot while the first wrote it into the eighth hour of Deutera, the next day. =You are leaving precious little time for training before the adventure society intake.= Tome bobbed up and down in agreement and flipped to a larger, monthly schedule that showed an intake in two weeks. ¡°Yes, remind me to check with Brisset about their minimum standards,¡± said Dave. ¡°The cultural context of the difficulty described seems to come from the memoirs of nobles, right? But the descriptions of the actual requirements are basically; exercise a lot, get really tired and miserable and then still be capable of the emotional control to make good decisions.¡± Dave rolled his eyes. ¡°While I do expect that¡¯s difficult for people in this culture, I expect my biggest difficulty will be avoiding examiners who expect to have their arse kissed.¡± Dave walked into a staff room that Brisset commonly haunted. She had put her own drinks machine in it. Pop a coin in the top, and a drink infused with the power of the coin came out the bottom. It was basically a way to make consuming spirit coins more interesting. ¡°To answer your question,¡± said Brisset, who was sitting on a well-used wooden chair at the communal table like it was a throne, ¡°the minimum standards are not just psychological. They usually check that you can actually solo kill monsters appropriate for your own level and that you can account for the weaknesses in your power set.¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯ve seen my skills,¡± said Dave, dryly, not at all perturbed by her supernatural hearing. ¡°So long as my enemies stay still I¡¯m good. It¡¯s when they start moving around and fighting back that it gets all tricky!¡± ¡°Work on that,¡± said Brisset. ¡°I gather that you postponed meeting your new secretary?¡± ¡°She seemed overwhelmed,¡± said Dave. ¡°Do you have time?¡± Brisset nodded. Tome floated to rest sideways between them, displaying a list of points which they were to address one-by-one. The money for forgiveness scheme had been finalised and the amount of money was exorbitant. The entire process was in motion and Brisset judged it was time to bring up the restraining order with Baron Franchet. Without there being an actual legal process it looked like this would take the form of Roland Remore signing off on a letter that he would be most displeased if his subject, who he was leaving in the Byzasic Empire to level up, were to be disturbed by any further attention by the Geller family, whether it be directly or indirectly. Brisset made sure that Dave understood this to mean that this wasn¡¯t any kind of immunity, but it would mean that anything Geller did would necessarily have to be something that gave the gold ranked baron complete plausible deniability. They moved onto the details of the flying machine. Brisset agreed with the safety details Dave had suggested for the envelope. She told him that it¡¯d be easy since the material had already been delivered, they could just hire a local journeyman tailor-enchanter for a day. Probably even an experienced apprentice. Those self repair and fire retardant enchantments were about the first things tailors learned when making adventuring clothes. Brisset brought up the hydrogen reaction and the materials needed but Dave handed her another piece of paper with an electrolysis reaction. If lightning magic could be made cost effective with rituals, which Brisset assured him could be in certain parts of the world, then hydrogen and oxygen could be generated with less waste products and they¡¯d have two products to sell instead of one. Brisset said the idea looked promising and took the idea under advisement. They then discussed the construction of the airship. The schedule put its completion date at about Pempteday ¨C Thursday ¨C next week. Although the initial plan was to have it completely non-magical, Brisset suggested a few, cheap weight-reducing enchantments around the parts of the vehicle that weren¡¯t designed to be inhabited, like the envelope. They both went over the pros and cons and decided not to use them on this model but to do that on other prototypes. Dave didn¡¯t want to be stuck somewhere, unable to take off because an enchantment he didn¡¯t understand had broken. Next was the problem of a crew. Brisset had put feelers out but the initial thoughts from the construction crew was that they were building a deathtrap and nobody sane would agree to fly it. Locally, she only had word of a disgraced ship captain, one Serge Dimont, that some said might be insane enough to try it. Otherwise she¡¯d have to portal in a crew at expense. Dave shrugged and figured he¡¯d talk to Captain Dimont first. Next was selling the loot from Ross Geller¡¯s hunting party. Brisset looked at the items, especially the scimitar of frost and lamellar armour of conduction, and declared them unremarkable and safe to sell but suggested disenchanting them to be on the safe side. Dave used Stop And Think to look up what disenchanting was and took a particular note of that profession but expressed that he¡¯d prefer she sell them on his behalf to a broker the next time she was in another city. He handed over a note upon which he wrote their current prices while they talked. Lastly, Brisset confirmed a deal that had been implicit for some time but they both felt would be best if made explicit. Remore would provide cover for Dave calling his appearance the result of a teleportation accident and Dave would provide services for Remore when requested. Dave was hesitant to agree to such an open ended deal but Brisset assured him that Roland was as honourable as diamond rankers went and he wasn¡¯t going to get a better deal this side of reality so, Dave agreed. That done, they both went to dinner. Madeline respectfully ate her roast and vegetables with her mind on the iron ranker diagonal to her who was chatting and joking with the death essenced Sam. He really didn¡¯t know, did he? Electrolysis? He¡¯d explained it and while her silver ranked mind remembered what he¡¯d said word-for-word, she didn¡¯t understand why it worked. She knew that there was a distinct smell after a lightning strike or lightning magic so perhaps it was something to do with that? But two entirely new substances in industrial quantities? And all she needed was a high bronze zone rich in air magic and a few specialised mana lamps? She could think of at least three places off the top of her head. She¡¯d considered just picking him up and depositing him in a research campus somewhere but Roland had vetoed that from the start. It was a prescient move considering that Dave had made a kind of deal with Disguise about staying away from research and that Dave¡¯s culture of origin didn¡¯t seem to have ranks or nobility. He¡¯d definitely chafe under the thumb of a Magic Society senior researcher. She internally rolled her eyes. Most of those senior researchers would scoff at and ignore Dave¡¯s work anyway. The learned people of this world were very insular, intellectually insecure and jealous. Any idea that wasn¡¯t their own was always to be rejected. She would have rejected Dave¡¯s thoughts too had she not gained employment under Roland and met so many of the outworlders that he collected. While most of them were just ordinary people taken out of their ordinary lives, some of them could introduce completely new perspectives on ordinary things. Like using electricity as a signal. She still didn¡¯t understand it but that fact in particular seemed important to outworlders from technology-based worlds. No, Roland wanted the outworlders free to pursue their own interests but, employed within sight of his people and busy enough to bring their ideas to life in this world. Luckily for her, Dave seemed to like being busy and had already collected an adventuring party. Brisset was worried about little Miss Khantong but she was nowhere near turning yet, that usually happened at silver rank, and she had a happy personality which was the first she¡¯d ever heard of in a restricted essence user so, Brisset figured, she¡¯d allow Dave¡¯s plans regarding Sam play out. Who knows? Perhaps they could get that Death essence out of her. Death¡¯s church didn¡¯t yet consider her an enemy, that was for sure. An ally, if anything. Brisset¡¯s thoughts returned to observing Dave who was, she realised trying to explain some mathematical concept to Sam. Brisset allowed her attention to catch up on that conversation. ¡°No, really,¡± said Dave. ¡°If a molotov cocktail costs less than the loot I get from a monster, on average, then why shouldn¡¯t I use one every battle?¡± ¡°Because you will burn everything Dave!¡± replied Sam. ¡°So smelly!¡± ¡°Okay, sure,¡± conceded Dave. ¡°I hadn¡¯t considered the smell but that¡¯s not the point. The point is, since the materials are so cheap, the moment we face an even mildly challenging monster, I should immediately start throwing them, right? I mean, they¡¯re so cheap! Aren¡¯t they?¡± Sam just laughed. ¡°Look, how about we go shopping tomorrow and look at the prices of iron rank naphtha, potash and resin?¡± said Dave. ¡°You¡¯ll see. After that it¡¯s exploding minions, Sam!¡± Sam covered her mouth and continued laughing. Brisset felt that some of her mirth was coming from the fact that, absurd as Dave¡¯s idea was, there was a lot of merit in the idea. Having a minion carry a low cost explosive to a difficult monster? She thought about her own power set. Actually, between her rune and resolute power set she might have abilities that could protect her from an explosion. For certain she could make her rune gate on the ground and fall into it so she wouldn¡¯t even have to carry the explosive just take it out of her inventory and... Brisset smiled to herself. She realised she¡¯d just independently discovered why Remore found outworlders so useful. Hugh was in the cathedral of Knowledge, meditating on the cost of battle with half of a broken stick in each of his hands. The cost was high, he thought. Dan dying with his guts hanging out, Abbot Deniaud dying, handing over the key to his office with his last breath and, later, Justin pouring health potions over his dead face. The numerous corpses of other friends, colleagues and acquaintances he and Dave had snuck past without acknowledgement. Then Hugh ran away through the air and they got no last rites before the Builder cult burned his - their - home to the ground. Yes, that was all worth fighting against. Hugh knew that but no matter how he hurled himself into battle against it, the fear always overtook him. He looked again at the pieces of wood in his hands, the only thing that could summon the fighting spirit into him and drive away the fear. I need this, he thought. He¡¯d never been a fighter. Never thought he¡¯d be a fighter. But, here he was. It was worth the fight, he had reasoned, to battle against the goals of the Builder cult and the fallen Purity church. He searched within himself for why he knew that. Where did that knowledge come from? The Lady herself? But no, he slowly realised. It was because of his values. Morality. He was a person and the goals of Builder-Purity alliance was to hurt people, to make them lesser than they could be, and the Builder-Purity people achieving their goals was antithetical to Hugh¡¯s values. To his life. He¡¯d prefer not to fight about it but if there was a fight to be had, fighting for the values that you based your life upon seemed the most noble. He could feel his Lady smiling upon him. Yes, she always liked it when people found their own way. Although he had never thought to be a fighter, he had the ability now and so, he reasoned, he should fight. The cost of the battle was worth fighting because if they didn¡¯t fight, the Builder cult would burn the planet and the Purity church would raise a new, twisted pantheon over the ashes. Yes, he had to be part of the fight. He just had to find a way through the fear. The overwhelming fear that bubbled up inside him and took over his body. I can help. For a while, said Knowledge inside Hugh¡¯s head. Please, my Lady, thought Hugh. Have a care, said Knowledge, for my help will remove my blessings upon you. How will that help? Hugh inquired. My gifts unbalance your mind, said Knowledge in a divine tone of regret. When confronted with battle, your memories cause mortal fears to come foremost to your mind. I can retract my gifts of knowledge, and free you. Hugh thought about it for a while. It didn¡¯t seem right. He followed that thought. What wasn¡¯t right? The obvious answer was that Knowledge herself was about to withhold¡­ knowledge. Herself! She was withholding herself, from one of her worshippers! He meditated on that for a while before realising, wasn¡¯t she always? Knowledge was ever holding back from pouring herself into her followers at every moment. It was no secret that She desired the discovery of knowledge, she often intervened to prevent Outworlders from inappropriately adding to this world¡¯s knowledge. And with that revelation, Hugh understood better. I have a solution, my Lady, thought Hugh. May I ask that you not remove but censor for a time? For I am he with improper knowledge and like you protect this world, and all adherents, from dangerous knowledge, I ask that you do the same for me. I ask that you protect me from my memories, my knowledge, so that I may fight those who seek you harm? I wish to fight to honour the dead. As is proper. I think that they deserve that from me. My dead friends deserve someone to fight for them. Hugh felt a warmth spread across his body as his goddess smiled at him. He felt something shifting in his soul. Yes, my child, said Knowledge, my gifts are indeed burdens for the wrong mind and burdens that you didn¡¯t ask for were forced upon you by cultists of The Builder. I will censor them for a while and you will not feel their weight until your mind and body is anew and ready for those burdens. The shifting in his soul sharpened and Hugh felt¡­ something, being shut away from him. The feeling was like putting a sheet over a piece of expensive equipment and shutting it in a storage room. He knew it was there but it was a satisfying feeling that it wasn¡¯t cluttering up his workspace anymore, being a hazard. He felt lighter. Hugh exhaled with a relief he didn¡¯t know the cause of but relished nonetheless. Thank you, Lady, thought Hugh. I will grow and become strong enough to bear that which has now been shut away. Strength won¡¯t be enough, warned Knowledge. Hugh stood up from his meditation pose and walked to the small window of the cell he was meditating in. He smiled contentedly out upon the clear winter¡¯s day streets of Oullins. He realised that the window shouldn¡¯t be so small. This was the cathedral of Knowledge. The window should be enormous! Outside is where the knowledge was. The clergy should spend more time looking out. Then I¡¯ll become enough, thought Hugh. Chapter 28: A Tattoo
Current Quests
Justice For Courbefy: Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use¡­ Chosen Of Knowledge: Escort Hugh on his journey to becoming a fully awakened iron¡­ Chosen Of Hero: In lieu of divine will, Johan can be entered in the Avril Reyer Birthday¡­ Still Don¡¯t Kill Anybody: Death doesn¡¯t want you to kill anybody today or tomorrow¡­ Making A Magnate: Dominion wants you to hire at least two employees to expand your¡­ Lucky Date: Spend a night with a member of Fertility¡¯s clergy. Healer¡¯s Materials: Gain Healer¡¯s favour by donating alchemy ingredients to the church¡­ Liberate Captive Beast: Free an oppressed animal in the name of Liberty. Abel¡¯s Mace: Return Brother Abel¡¯s missing mace to the church of Soldier. He was last¡­ New In Town, Oullins: Journey wants you to see three notable locations in Oullins. Bargain Hunter: Merchant wants you to shop and purchase something in three Oullins¡­ Rescue Lucas¡¯s Daughter: Retrieve Charlotte Lucas, the warehouse owner¡¯s kidnapped¡­ Lost Treasure Map: Find and return an old treasure map stolen from, Marielle Lecuyer¡­ Wolf Menace: Hunt down a pack of mischievous foxes terrorising the livestock of Villars. Haunted Mill: Investigate the abandoned mill outside Limony that''s said to be haunted¡­ Embarrassing Request: Gather rare herbs from the dangerous swamp for Duerne''s¡­ Merchant Escort: Safely escort a merchant caravan through bard-infested woods to¡­ Mine Monsters: Clear out the rat monsters that have infested The Old Mine, a popular¡­ Ancient Ruins Exploration: Explore and map out the ancient ruins that have recently¡­ Missing Scout: Locate and rescue a missing scout who was last seen investigating¡­ Bridge Repair: Collect and deliver materials needed to repair a bridge that connects two¡­
Johan was as close to angry as Dave had ever seen him, still sputtering with outrage over the prices of food. Dave had distracted him somewhat on the way back to Healer¡¯s cathedral by stopping to pick up quests along the way. He¡¯d picked up quite a few as well as some extra that he¡¯d been certain hadn¡¯t been there yesterday. Dave was pretty sure that it was Johan that¡¯d opened access to these quests which meant that his access to quests was charisma based. He internally rolled his eyes at himself for being a person who maxed out intelligence. Good for books, not good for quests. ¡°Have you ever numbered the people between your parent¡¯s farm and the fields that the hay you farm ends up in?¡± said Dave in a lull of Johan¡¯s pronouncements upon food economics. ¡°No,¡± said Johan falteringly. He was beginning to learn that Dave would say things like this that seemed strange but were actually important or interesting. ¡°But I know your habits. What have I overlooked in the wider world, my good scholar?¡± ¡°Impressive,¡± murmured Dave. ¡°Rural folk are usually boneheaded and stubborn about changing their minds. Well, changing anything really.¡± ¡°Cor, it¡¯s like my dad says, different seeds for different fields.¡± Johan lifted his chin defiantly. ¡°And, I can¡¯t say that Miss Greenwood didn¡¯t warn me that the world was bigger than I imagined! Tell on, Dave.¡± ¡°Okay, I don¡¯t know the number. I haven¡¯t looked it up but let us speculate together. How about you think of a single coin¡¯s worth of hay? Think of that much.¡± ¡°I say, that would be a wagon-and-a-bit¡¯s worth,¡± said Johan. It was a dull winter¡¯s day but Dave could have sworn Johan¡¯s perfect hair sparkled as they walked down the cobbled street, Johan smiling and nodding at everyone who looked at him. ¡°A wagon-and-a-bit, sure. Now, your dad would sell to some buyer who comes through town regularly, yeah?¡± ¡°Yes, he does. Mister Winters comes every spring with a caravan. Dad always makes the same joke. ¡®You¡¯re late Winters!¡¯¡± Johan chuckled at the thought of his dad¡¯s joke. ¡°Right, well,¡± said Dave. ¡°Winters transports it to a warehouse where he sells it. Probably in Auvernier or Sauvabelin?¡± Johans open look on his face said he¡¯d never thought about it. ¡°Then the warehouse owners,¡± continued Dave, ¡°will sell it on to local distributors who might then sell it to a farmer in one of those cities. Probably not though because there¡¯s plenty of land around there for their own unranked hay, the same way your dad sells to shepherds in Forel. So, the warehouse distributor will sell most of it to a merchant who¡¯s taking it closer to a higher ranked zone. The first step is a transport hub. For Forel, that¡¯s Oullins, right?¡± ¡°Right,¡± said Johan, his eyes crossed. ¡°So, that coin¡¯s worth of hay crosses the distance to arrive here in Oullins. Where it¡¯s sold to another wholesaler, who will then sell it on to other distributors who will sell it on to the farmers. If you¡¯re lucky. There might be an extra layer of distributors as the hay gets further and further away from the big city where it was all collected.¡± Dave was holding up a finger for each person mentioned from Noah Schmidt to the last farmer who finally bought the hay. ¡°Your one wagon-and-a-bit worth of hay goes through at least eight people who need to sell it for enough profit to buy things to stay alive, maybe even enough profit to do well for themselves. How much should each of them sell it for?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± said Johan. He cast around for ideas. ¡°It takes less time to sell a bushel than it does to grow it, so maybe only a little bit more? And they can buy from a lot of people!¡± ¡°The answer doesn¡¯t matter,¡± said Dave. ¡°The point is that it can be expensive to bring ordinary goods to a city.¡± Dave shrugged. ¡°Although I¡¯m sure some greedy bastard is jacking up the prices somewhere along the way.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°Sorry, I mean, I¡¯m sure that there¡¯s an unpleasant greedy person raising the prices somewhere in that process.¡± Johan nodded. They were soon navigating Healer¡¯s cathedral and then a short way into the complex to a kitchen they knew they could use where Dave unloaded their shopping from his inventory. Johan volunteered to go and get Miss Lane. Hugh practically bounded into the room, which Dave thought was odd but a nice change. It seemed that he¡¯d started the spiritual healing he¡¯d been needing from his time spent in Knowledge¡¯s cathedral. Lianne Lane entered from the direction of the garden area and looked around uncertainly. ¡°Miss Lane,¡± said Dave, walking up to her and extending his hand. ¡°Dave Booker.¡± Lane put her hand in his and curtseyed. ¡°Lianne Lane, but you already know that, don¡¯t you?¡± Lane laughed nervously. Dave smiled wryly. ¡°I apologise for the discomfort of being investigated,¡± said Dave, gesturing to Lane that she should come further into the room and take a seat at the table which Johan had pulled out of a dimensional bag. ¡°I can only hope that by lunchtime I am forgiven.¡± ¡°We should say blessings,¡± said Johan. Dave paused. He still wasn¡¯t used to gods being real and often didn¡¯t give them much thought. He noticed Sam pausing too and used his abilities to look up ¡®blessings, meal¡¯. There was precious little on it but he gathered it was similar to saying grace. ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with the culture,¡± said Dave. ¡°Who should lead?¡± ¡°Oh, Hugh should. Sorry, I forgot,¡± said Johan gesturing at Hugh. ¡°No, no,¡± said Hugh, waving his hands bashfully. ¡°Please, we have a guest amongst us. Would you please do the honours, Miss Lane?¡± ¡°Oh, I couldn¡¯t,¡± said Lane in the manner of someone turning down a task they were well prepared to do. ¡°Miss Lane,¡± said Dave, manifesting Tome. ¡°In the name of getting to eat a good breakfast, perhaps you could make an exception for us, just this once? Tome, display the prayer of the blessing of meals.¡± ¡°Oh, well,¡± flustered Lane before standing straighter and beginning the prayer. ¡°Bless us, our gods and these gifts from your bounty which we are about to receive into our bodies. Your blessings, our thanks.¡± During the prayer, Sam stood with her eyes closed, hands pressed together in front of her head, Johan with hands together under his chin and eyes upwards and Hugh with his hands clasped hanging in front of himself and his head bowed. Dave opted to echo Hugh¡¯s mannerism. ¡°So,¡± said Dave as everyone sat down and reached for serving spoons. ¡°Miss Lane, perhaps you could tell me what you understand of the job I am offering and I can fill in the missing details?¡± ¡°Uhh, you want me to be your secretary?¡± said Lane with a little hesitation as she gestured to Sam that she had enough scrambled eggs on her plate now. ¡°Except you won¡¯t be here for me to¡­ be your secretary?¡± Lane looked in confusion at Johan who was beginning to understand who to pass these kinds of confusing problems onto and looked at Dave. ¡°Kind of, yes,¡± said Dave. ¡°I¡¯m about to come into quite a bit of leftover money and I don¡¯t want it sitting around. I want it invested in making more money. Unfortunately, I can¡¯t do that remotely. That¡¯s where you come in. You will effectively be acting on my behalf with regards to my money. A secretary, yes but also very much a manager, or financial representative. I¡¯ll allow you to choose the title.¡± ¡°Financial representative?¡± said Lane, fork hovering over her plate. ¡°Cor, but I like the sound of that, Miss Lane!¡± said Johan and washed a mouthful of eggs and toast down with a quaff of warm milk. ¡°Better start eating though or Sam will get cross with you.¡± Sam curled up on herself a bit in guilt while her smile split her face. Lane smiled nervously and picked at her eggs until Johan¡¯s aura washed over her and washed away her nerves, replacing them with confidence. Seeing this, Dave decided it was a good moment to build her up a bit. ¡°I¡¯m not hiring you out of guilt, Miss Lane,¡± said Dave, carefully carving his way through an omelette. ¡°You are a professional administrator with almost ten years of experience working at the Adventure Society. I need someone like you to run my financial ventures. That someone must also know to avoid all overtures from the Gellers and, it is because of the Gellers that you need a job befitting your abilities. Fate was cruel in how you and I came to know each other but I believe we can make it work to our benefit.¡± ¡°Actually, I have a question,¡± piped Sam¡¯s little voice from the side. She smiled radiantly at Lane and then seriously at Dave. ¡°How can she know you will treat her good? She has lost her job and she is feeling vulnerable. How can she know this is a good job when she has not much choice?¡± Lane visibly slumped with thanks in Sam¡¯s direction and Dave marvelled at Sam¡¯s ability to recognise the problem. He thanked Knowledge for putting her in his life. ¡°Of course!¡± said Dave, as serious as he¡¯d ever been. ¡°Miss Lane and I will both sign a contract of employment that will lay out each of our responsibilities as employer and employee. We¡¯ll have to discuss things like whether you¡¯re on a strict schedule or working flexible hours. If so, what rates would be fair, what overtime will be paid? Whether you want me to rent an office or if you¡¯re happy working from home? Any thoughts, Miss Lane?¡± ¡°What¡¯s¡­ overtime?¡± asked Lane. ¡°It¡¯s when an employee is paid extra for staying more than their scheduled hours,¡± said Hugh. ¡°From what I¡¯ve read it¡¯s practised in places with higher ranked craftsmen who have the power to demand such high fees for their inconvenience. It¡¯s not practised so much here, Dave.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m not from here and Miss Lane is free to practice that if she wishes,¡± said Dave, finishing off his omelette. At Sam¡¯s silent urging Lane had piled up bacon on her fork and started eating. At the first taste, she realised how hungry she was, relaxed into Johan¡¯s aura and started eating in earnest. ¡°I won¡¯t need overtime,¡± said Lane around a mouthful of bacon and grilled tomato. ¡°But I am going to need somewhere to stay. I¡¯ve never been to Oullins, I don¡¯t know anybody here!¡± ¡°Oh! She¡¯s also going to need to be in the Merchant''s Guild,¡± said Hugh. ¡°Yes, my Lady says that¡¯ll provide her some protection against rank bullying.¡± ¡°I¡¯m used to it,¡± said Lane. ¡°It happens all the time at the Adventure Society.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t work at the Adventure Society anymore,¡± said Dave and clenched his jaw while looking at the ceiling. ¡°Well said, Dave!¡± said Johan. ¡°Team Executive Services will tolerate no such foulness.¡± ¡°Dave,¡± smiled Sam. ¡°Maybe you could write that into the contract? Miss Lane can leave if there is rank bullying?¡± ¡°Leave my employment or leave a client?¡± said Dave. ¡°Actually, it doesn¡¯t matter. Both have the same answer. Yes, what do you think, Miss Lane?¡± Lane looked at Dave with wide eyes and a hovering fork holding an apple slice. ¡°You would do that?¡± said Lane. ¡°Obviously,¡± said Dave, nonplussed. ¡°Ah, Dave,¡± said Hugh. He was holding half of a savoury muffin. ¡°Perhaps you should simply state all the things that you would expect to find in a normal contract of employment? To give Miss Lane here an idea of where she¡¯s starting from?¡± Dave blinked in surprise and then continued. ¡°Okay, sure,¡± said Dave. ¡°Miss Lane I expect you will work a full time job for me, that¡¯s 40 hours per week at work including break times. Your pay will be deposited into your account on a regular basis. As Johan initially offered, the pay will be far lesser than the Adventure Society¡¯s rates but this job comes with housing and office expenses included so the company will be taking care of paying your rent and whatever you need for your office, just get a receipt and I¡¯ll see you are reimbursed. We¡¯ll have to discuss bonuses, that¡¯s bonus pay for you if profits exceed certain amounts, and of course, your leave entitlements.¡± ¡°My¡­ what? Entitlements?¡± asked Lane. Everyone else was also looking at Dave, but less intensely than Lane, and waiting for the coming explanation. ¡°Leave? Oh, it means planned days away from work. You know?¡± said Dave without achieving the desired understanding. ¡°Sick leave for when you need to take a day off because you need to recover? Annual leave for¡­ whatever reason. Most use it for a holiday?¡± ¡°Dave¡¯s people are very luxurious!¡± announced Sam to Dave with her customary smile. She was cutting a berry muffin in half and putting slices of banana in the middle. Her favourite. ¡°My¡­ people believe that employees work harder if they¡¯re happy,¡± said Dave, deflecting. ¡°Bubble cities are a different place. Nevermind that, four weeks annual leave a year and two weeks sick leave per year. What do you say, Lane?¡± In the end, Lianne Lane managed to argue Dave down to three weeks of annual leave and ten days of sick leave in exchange for proportional bonuses based on profits she could prove directly related to her decisions.
Dave had spent the rest of the day finding accommodation for Lane and getting her set up before following up on the best, and yet still the worst lead that he had for an airship crew. Serge Dimont, famous for being a wind racer when he was in his youth. He famously made it out of a nasty, wild magic storm by turning off all the magical items on his ship and riding it out using nothing but sails. Apparently he¡¯d saved the son of someone important and symbolically been given a wind essence. Unfortunately, Dimont wasn¡¯t that man anymore. His fame had earned him rich patrons who showered him with money to have him wind-race for them which he did. A dangerous sport. Until the drunkenness caught up with him and he crashed a skimmer, losing his left leg below the knee in the process. He¡¯d fallen further into the drink after that. First his patrons left, meaning he couldn¡¯t afford the silver rank healing to get his leg back. After that, his wife walked out, taking the kids with her. She remarried one of the rich patrons. Dimont crawled into a bottle and hadn¡¯t left for the last two decades. He¡¯d lived his life since by making budget cargo runs up and down rivers or across the Byzas Strait. Team Executive Services searched for the man now, walking through the ill-kept streets close to the most seedy docks where rumour had it Dimont was staying. It was definitely cheap to stay here. To say it didn¡¯t smell nice in this part of Oullins was an understatement. ¡°You¡¯re standing out,¡± said Dave to Johan again, rolling his eyes at Johan reacting to everything around him. ¡°I cannot countenance this place,¡± said Johan, recoiling from the denizens around him. ¡°How can anybody stand to live like this?¡± Both Sam and Johan were being catcalled by drunks and streetwalkers. Well off young people in outrageous clothes, or lack thereof, staggered by, out of their minds on booze and other drugs. It reminded Dave of certain parts of Amsterdam. The trick to avoiding the attention of the seedier locals was to act like you lived there. Hugh managed it somewhat, looking like a pastor out to forgive everyone for their nightly sins. Dave just walked like he was bored. The country kids, Sam and Johan, just couldn¡¯t. The sights, the sounds, the profanity and depravity not only on display but advertised, was too much. They gawked at everything. ¡°I¡¯m just going to walk fast,¡± said Dave. ¡°Sam try not to smile, Johan try to look like you¡¯re late for a sword lesson.¡± Sam smiled up at Dave and Johan set his jaw. They continued walking, Dave brushed past the boa of a buxom elf and doubled back for a second to disentangle Johan from the boa. They were walking towards The Filthy Angel which was a drinking house Dave and Hugh had on their maps. Dave was constantly using Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas to clean and dry off the team who were occasionally getting their trousers spattered with mud by passing carriages or splashed with drink from shitfaced, overly enthusiastic revellers. ¡°Tonight seems excessive,¡± muttered Dave. ¡°Must be a bunch of ships arrived in town. Ah! Here we go!¡± The team trudged into The Filthy Angel. It was the definition of a dive bar. A labyrinth of mismatched, heavily repaired tables before the bar itself which was a long slab wood, probably meant for other purposes before being relegated to this dump and being stained with decades of spilt drink. Behind the bar, dusty bottles lined the sagging shelves filled with questionable spirits. The clientele was a collection of townsfolk, sailors and business folk looking to get sloppy drunk. ¡°You lost?¡± quipped a burly runic with an unkept beard and bloodshot eyes. He made a kissing face at Sam who smiled ¡®I will punch you¡¯ right back at him. ¡°We are not lost, my good - my runic!¡± said Johan. ¡°Your runic?¡± said a muscle-elf. A draconic woman and a thick, rough-looking man raised off their seats to square up with Johan. Dave fruitlessly looked around for security and then remembered which reality he was in. While he was distracted, the half-drunk toughs had exchanged some other words with Johan who, oblivious to Sam tugging on his arm, apparently hadn¡¯t apologised or shown any kind of fear. The rought-looking man king-hit Johan in the face. ¡°Well!¡± said Johan, who hadn¡¯t even flinched. ¡°Well, I never! I can¡¯t believe your rudeness! The four toughs were taken aback at being abruptly told off by someone with the vocabulary of Johan and hesitated. The draconic shoved Johan hard but only succeeded in launching themselves to the floor. As though this was a trigger, the others attacked Johan. The whole bar watched the free entertainment and those who still had their wits were grinning. It was obvious to them that Johan had a strength ability and they felt they knew how this would end. One of the drunks stumbled away from Johan, who was trying to sit them down on the floor as best he could like they were tantruming toddlers, but was stymied by the fact that his opponents were functional enough to stand back up. The muscle elf swung a drunken haymaker at Dave who dropped into a double leg takedown, slamming the elf on his back. ¡°Fight him, ya idiot!¡± said Dave, slapping the elf¡¯s cheek and pointing at Johan. The drunk elf, amazingly, did as he was told. ¡°Stay back, my friends!¡± said Johan, lifting the runic off the ground with one arm as he raised his other hand in warning. ¡°I will subdue them peacefully. No cause for alarm. No cause at all, my good barkeep.¡± The barkeep, who hadn¡¯t looked remotely alarmed, gestured to Johan that he was welcome to do as he wished and kept watching with folded arms along with the rest of the patrons. Executive Services hovered nearby in states of smiling anxiety, hearty chortle and mild bemusement. A few seconds later, Johan got the idea of actually throwing them outside and the scuffle was over as he rolled them out the door like bales of hay. ¡°Next time,¡± said Dave who¡¯d already started Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas, ¡°apologise for interrupting the evening, look at the ground and walk away ¡°It was a bloody good showing, though,¡± said Hugh conspiratorially as he channelled a Prayer of Healing into Johan to top his health off. The room was returning to its pre-fight status with the entertainment clearly over and money was exchanging between a few hands. Apparently, there¡¯d been some bets quickly called. ¡°I shan¡¯t tolerate much much more of this kind of thing,¡± said Johan quietly, as the bard, if she could be called such a thing, began playing her flute again. ¡°Let¡¯s just get this man of yours, Dave, and return back to where good folk before the gods live.¡± Dave smirked at Johan and approached the barkeeper who gave him a neutral glare and grunted. ¡°I¡¯m looking for Serge Dimont,¡± said Dave, who was also tired of the dockside slums. He flashed some coins. ¡°My friends and I might buy a lot of drinks if you can get us in front of him.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t do it, Baxter,¡± said a nosey drunk at the bar. ¡°Don¡¯t sell out old Serge like that.¡± ¡°No, no, no,¡± said Hugh. ¡°It¡¯s not like that at all. We actually want to hire him for a job.¡± The man at the bar started laughing. ¡°Well, now I know you¡¯re lying,¡± said the barkeep with a missing-toothed grin. ¡°You dare question our honesty, sir?¡± shouted Johan. The bar went quiet. ¡°I need someone to pilot a dangerous, experimental ship that doesn¡¯t use magic,¡± hissed Dave to the barkeep. ¡°Does that sound like something that should be offered to Dimont? Yes, it does. So, we¡¯re here. Now, you can either help us out and take some coin while getting the old drunk some much needed work or I¡¯m going to tell Johan here to take on all challengers and trash the place. Your call.¡± The bartender Baxter glared, growled and jerked his head, indicating that Executive Services should follow. He led them to a lavatory room where a fat, bearded man with a peg leg lay propped up against the wall with his eyes closed, snoring. His dishevelled clothes and the scent of alcohol and urine clung to him. ¡°There he is,¡± said Baxter, hand out. Dave handed over ten lesser spirit coins and simultaneously began Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas on the unconscious Dimont. ¡°Perhaps Slimy would be faster?¡± suggested Sam. Dave couldn¡¯t tell if she was joking, which said a lot about Dimont¡¯s state. The all-eating slime would take the man¡¯s skin off in about a minute which would, Dave had to admit, technically speaking, clean him. ¡°Let¡¯s just,¡± said Hugh, gesturing with false cheer, ¡°be grateful for Dave¡¯s cleaning ability. See? There, he¡¯s clean from head to chest now. Johan, why don¡¯t you pick him up by the arms, there?¡± Still looking upset, Johan took Dimont by the upper arm and lifted him. Hugh took to earth from and grasped the other arm. Dave led the way out of the bar. A couple of the patrons looked like they might want to stop them but the size of Johan, the earth form of Hugh and the lack of concern from the barkeeper put them back in their seats. ¡°Oy!¡± came a cry as Dave made it outside and the gruff runic, muscle elf, draconian and bearded man from earlier advanced, holding weapons. ¡°Give ¡®em a dead leg,¡± said Dave to Johan, taking Dimont¡¯s arm from Johan and tapping the side of his leg at Johan to demonstrate the point. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Johan nodded and advanced towards the thugs with a poise that comic book artists dream of drawing. He raised his arms, sword and shield flashing into his hands. The thugs, at this point, began to rethink their lives but Johan was already upon them. The first, the bearded man, got shield-slammed off his feet, the draconian got the flat of Johan¡¯s sword to the thigh and crumpled to the ground. While Johan was slamming the flat of his sword into that bearded man¡¯s thigh, the last two thugs ran. ¡°Wretches!¡± spat Johan after them. ¡°Let¡¯s get Dimont back to the cathedral.¡± ¡°No,¡± said Dave with a cunning look. ¡°We¡¯ll take him to the shipyard.¡± Dimont woke up feeling surprisingly clean and comfortable which he hadn¡¯t expected. He wasn¡¯t even shivering. He luxuriated in the feeling until he realised he was sober. That needed to be fixed. He groaned and went to stand up out of the cot he¡¯d found himself on and stopped. His foot was bound to the cot. Not uncomfortably but still bound. He tried to sit up and found his hands were tied together with something that went underneath the cot. =Welcome back!= blared a voice that made him jump. It sounded like a tree saw had a baby with a haunted well. Dimont¡¯s eyes flew around and rested on an astral lantern that was hovering in the room like the red eye of a demon. =We missed you while you were gone.= Dimont stared at the lantern in utter shock and confusion and he just lay there, letting it happen as he heard feet approaching from above deck. It was about then that it filtered into his forebrain that he was on a ship. The gentle rocking, swaying motion was a dead give away that his body accepted as so normal he hadn¡¯t noticed it until now. The young man climbing down the companionway was unknown to Dimont. Well, unknown to him sober. Dimont knew everybody when he was drunk. That was part of what made drinking so good. The young man was slim, fit and athletic. Maybe an essence user. He was dressed strangely. Leggings, pantaloons, shirt and waistcoat like a noble but practically cut and worn in unassuming grey and blue. The man wore, not buckled shoes but boots that went above the ankles, adventurer style. Definitely an essence user. His face was lean, angular and his brown eyes were sharp. The man walked briskly to Dimont. ¡°Good morning, Dimont,¡± said the man with a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth. ¡°I trust you slept well?¡± ¡°Err¡­¡± said Dimont. ¡°Allow me to help you with your restraints,¡± said the man, stepping forward to undo the simple overhand knots that¡¯d ever so gently restrained him. ¡°Dave Booker,¡± said the man, offering his hand. ¡°Serge Dimont,¡± said Dimont, taking the hand. Booker¡¯s handshake was a light squeeze that seemed to settle and pass like a bird on a windowsill. ¡°To forestall any of the obvious questions,¡± said Booker airily, ¡°you were blackout drunk in The Filthy Angel, my team picked you up and brought you here to my ship where you slept the night and most of the morning away. I have a cleaning spell which I used on you and your clothes. Once you were asleep my friend Hugh, who has a cleansing spell, cured you of your alcohol-related effects. We decided to restrain you so that you wouldn¡¯t wake up and accidentally fall overboard for any reason and then went to sleep ourselves. After waking up, I left my familiar, Tzu here, to watch over you and call when you woke. I¡¯m sure you have questions but I want you to take your time, go over it in your head and get back to me. Here is a nice glass of water and a pastry for you to enjoy while you think about it.¡± Booker handed over a raisin scroll and a cool glass of water out of a personal inventory which Dimont took silently, With glass in hand, he suddenly realised that he was thirsty and drained half the glass. Booker had turned away, taking a cup of tea out of his inventory and was reading from an enormous, leather-bound book that hadn¡¯t been there a moment ago which was now bobbing up and down in front of Booker¡¯s face, unsupported. Dimont took a bite out of the raisin scroll on pure muscle memory and suddenly realised he was hungry too. He finished off the pastry and the water barely thinking about what Booker had said and now, allowed it to roll over in his mind. He needed a drink. A real drink. To get him started. ¡°Do you have anything harder to drink for a real man¡¯s thirst?¡± said Dimont. ¡°That is a question best answered later,¡± said Booker. ¡°I need you sober for now because I need you to sail the ship we¡¯re on.¡± ¡°Agh,¡± said Dimont, souring. ¡°I don¡¯t need to be sober for that, you land-rat.¡± Booker smirked at him in an unsettling way. ¡°Feeling oriented enough for casual insults? Good, good,¡± said Booker with the air of someone leading Dimont on. ¡°Are you one of those sailors who can feel the temper of the ocean through his feet?¡± Dimont opened his mouth to tell the cocky, little bilge sucker to jump overboard when he realised that yes, he could do that and actually, the ocean did feel wrong. It was more like a river? Or a fast tide? It sure was windy. ¡°I think that perhaps you¡¯re supposed to be one of those sailors but you¡¯ve lost touch over the years,¡± said Booker with a sigh. ¡°Get sunk, you blaggard,¡± said Dimont, feeling his pride rise. ¡°Yes,¡± said Booker, ignoring him. ¡°You¡¯re not up to sailing this ship, are you?¡± ¡°Bah!¡± spat Dimont. ¡°I can make anything that floats sail, no matter how old or drunk I am.¡± ¡°You promise?¡± said Booker, with an impertinent eyebrow. ¡°Bet with me that you can sail this ship. If you can, sail this ship to the closest place to dock and I¡¯ll buy you drinks all evening but if you can¡¯t, you have to get a tattoo of my choice.¡± ¡°Ha!¡± crowed Dimont. ¡°Done! I swear to you, lad, that I¡¯ll sail this ship to the booze.¡± Booker extended his hand and Dimont shook it roughly. ¡°Best you look outside the porthole now,¡± said Booker. ¡°Before you go above.¡± Dimont humoured the boy and looked out the porthole. ¡°What the¡­?¡± He spun back and looked into the ship. He did a double take and looked out the porthole again. There was no ocean. He smooshed his face up against the porthole to check he wasn¡¯t just in a tall boat. He wasn¡¯t. He was in a very high boat, though. ¡°Blistering barnacles!¡± shouted Dimont, turning on Booker. ¡°We¡¯re in the sky!¡± ¡°Yes, I know that,¡± said Booker with that annoying smile. ¡°It¡¯s my ship. I had it put here.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s -¡± Dimont cast around wildly. ¡°It¡¯s made of wood!¡± he said stupidly. ¡°Nothing wrong with wood,¡± said Booker defensively. ¡°Most ships are made of wood.¡± ¡°This is an airship, you great landlubber!¡± roared Dimont. ¡°They don¡¯t sail!¡± ¡°This one does,¡± replied Booker with perfect smugness. Dimont growled and looked back out the porthole. The feeling of the deck beneath his feet made sense now. Booker was giving him a grin that he wanted to punch. ¡°Show me the helm, you worthless street-merchant,¡± growled Dimont, not waiting for permission and shouldering past Booker to haul himself up the companionway one stair at a time. He made it up the last stair with more effort than he¡¯d used in years and leaned against the railings. Dimont closed his eyes as he felt his unkempt hair and beard blowing in the wind. It was refreshing. It did remind him of the old days when he - he needed a drink. He desperately looked around as though he might find one. The first thing he noticed was the enormous bladder the ship was tied to. Good Gods, he thought, half the cursed rigging is tied to it. He twisted, trying to get a good look at what was going on and slipped. ¡°Woah!¡± said Booker, catching his arm. ¡°Put your leg on, mate.¡± Booker was profering Dimont his peg leg. ¡°It was at the foot of your bed. I guess you didn¡¯t see it.¡± Dimont glared at Booker, took the leg and strapped it on. Then he glared at the airship for good measure. ¡°Why are we tied to that ugly thing?¡± asked Dimont, gesturing upwards. ¡°It¡¯s keeping us in the air,¡± said Booker over the wind, leaning casually against the rails. Dimont¡¯s eyes went wide and he grasped some rigging. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s new,¡± said Booker with far more calm than the situation warranted. ¡°A flying machine with no magic. That envelope up there, that¡¯s what it¡¯s called, is filled with a gas that¡¯s lighter than all of this other gas around us. It¡¯s holding us up just fine, but surely you can guess what my problem is?¡± ¡°Something in your brain, I¡¯ll bet!¡± ¡°Captain, this ship has been aloft for fourteen hours and carried a lot more than the two of us on the maximum weight test ereyesterday so pull your head in and display some of the mettle of the man who sailed a storm.¡± The implication stung and Dimont lashed out. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare question me, you snivelling galley rat!¡± growled Dimont. ¡°I¡¯d sailed through a watery hell by the time I was your age and smiled while doing it! What¡¯ve you done? Standing there all pompous and calm but when the winds start howling you¡¯ll be huddled below, crying to the gods like the rest of ¡®em! But there¡¯ll only be me.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the idea,¡± said Booker. ¡°Stop fuckin¡¯ around, lad,¡± said Dimont dangerously. ¡°Or what? What¡¯re you going to do?¡± said Booker, dismissively glancing at Dimont¡¯s peg leg. ¡°Outrun me?¡± With a roar of anger, Dimont launched himself bodily at Booker, tackling him to the ground. To Dimont¡¯s astonishment, the dandy reacted with a practised ease, capturing Dimont¡¯s arms, and using his legs to tip Dimont sideways in a controlled manner despite Dimont¡¯s attempt to thrash about. Booker now sat over Dimont¡¯s chest with his crossed hands holding Dimont¡¯s coat lapels. Booker pulled his arms sideways, cutting off Dimont¡¯s air and silencing him. ¡°Apparently, you are going to catch me,¡± said Booker with an amused grin. ¡°And, yes. As you suggested, when the winds start howling, I don¡¯t want to be crying to the gods, I¡¯d want you actually captaining the bloody thing, making sure we don¡¯t crash.¡± Booker released the lapels slightly allowing Dimont to breathe again, but kept enough pressure to let him know that taking his breath away again would be a simple act. Not a dandy, thought Dimont with grudging respect. The bastard could fight. Dimont listened as Booker continued. ¡°You are the only man people speak of when it comes to non-magical sailing and here, I have the world''s first non-magical airship and you¡¯re going to fly it.¡± Booker was clearly crazy if he thought Dimont was going to fly this barge! Well, more of a large, two masted schooner, really, he caught himself thinking before he could stop himself. He quenched the thought. No. Not going to happen. The brainless adventurer smiled down at him in a way that made Dimont uneasy. ¡°Also, I have a recording crystal of you agreeing to sail the ship just now or you¡¯ll be getting a tattoo of my choice,¡± said Booker, releasing Dimont and standing up. He pulled Dimont up too and pointed past the stern. ¡°Over there is a landing pad. There isn¡¯t a single drop of booze on this whole ship. In fact, there isn¡¯t anything on here at all. Maybe some tools the workmen left behind? Anyway, you pilot the ship down there before the coming sunrise and you¡¯ll find enough ale to make a heidel sick just waiting for you. If you don¡¯t, I¡¯m going to tattoo you. You got that?¡± Dimont just stared at the impossible man in front of him but felt himself nodding along at the mention of ale. Yes, he could sail anything for a cool glass of good ale. Enough to get a heidel sick, eh? Alright. He nodded determinedly at Booker. Glaring the whole while. ¡°Good,¡± said Booker, slapping Dimont on the shoulder. ¡°See you later.¡± Booker vaulted over the railings. Dimont¡¯s heart skipped a beat and he clutched at the railings himself, watching the descending figure in disbelief only to see him activate weight reduction magic. Dimont mentally shook himself. He didn¡¯t see it often but it was a pretty common magic. As common as the floatation magic landlubbers equipped themselves with while on the great blue sea. He should have expected it, really. He turned his back on the railings, cast a practised eye over the ship and nodded to himself. A lot of it was familiar. Some wasn¡¯t. He¡¯d figure it out. Now, about getting that ale. Dave landed, switched off his belt and walked over to the landing pad. His objectives had been achieved; interest Dimont in the airship and give him sufficient motivation to try and use it. ¡°Ho, Dave!¡± cried Johan as Dave, waving back, closed in on the observation party that¡¯d come out to watch. It was something of a celebration for the construction team. Tonight was the stress test. They¡¯ve proven all day that the thing could fly under ideal conditions and now, at Dave¡¯s urging, they were testing it under stressed conditions. With a raging alcoholic at the wheel who had more talent for sailing in his little finger than anybody else had in their entire life. A drunkard who had no instructions, no crew and the jitters of withdrawal setting in. It¡¯d be a real test. The observation party was a celebration for the airship construction team but also part of the testing. There was bread, booze and a pig on a spit. Everyone was having a good time by several fires of scrap wood in the winter¡¯s day watching the airship rock ever so gently at the end of its ground anchor. It was safer than it looked from up above. Two magical tugboats that were normally used to position the larger, metal airships were on standby to activate their kinetic formations and save the experimental airship should it be necessary. They had smaller projections too that could slow a person if they fell. Which Dimont might. The previous night, Hugh and Johan had gone out to ask around the docks for people who knew Sege Dimont from the old days and come up with a surprising number of the old boys club. Most of which had come in from Camargue, the city on the southern coast where Dimont had originally earned his fame. Apparently, they¡¯d called in some favours and just invited themselves into the cargo space of a fast moving freight ship already heading towards Oullins. Apparently, people with about fifty years of favours in the shipping industry can get where they want to be pretty quickly. Dave was more of a people watcher at parties and sat back with a beer in hand, tending to the fires while the party happened around him. He mostly sat with Sam and exchanged quiet humour with her at the goings on of the attendees. The old boys from Dimont¡¯s youth were chatting it up with the airship construction crew and engineers. Hugh was constantly engaged in deep conversation with someone-or-other on the fine points of their craft and Johan was the perfect conversationalist in terms of personally engaging people in a way that made them feel seen. Dave never had the knack but Johan, as expected, just seemed to know what to say. The only person missing was Brisset who Dave had invited but she¡¯d politely declined. ¡°You think he can do it?¡± asked Sam, pointing up. The airship was tacking to port. It was only thirty minutes and Dimont had obviously figured out some of the rigging and how to make it take the ship in that direction without a crew. ¡°Nah,¡± said Dave. ¡°None of the controls are labelled and I didn¡¯t tell him how to go down.¡± Sam covered her scandalised smile with her hand. Serge raged against the world. His arms already burned from climbing the rigging but he wasn¡¯t done. Not by a long shot. That smarmy, little, smug-faced rat had left him up here with nothing. Nothing! Not a drop to drink. Not even a piss-weak galley ale. ¡°Come on. Come onnnnn, you great bitch!¡± he berated the sky. He was waiting for a sudden drop in wind speed that would bounce the ship which would allow him to momentarily tighten this rope and slightly change the angle of the foresail. He¡¯d figured out how the sails and the rigging came together pretty quickly. That damnable, floating balloon got in the way of a real mast so whoever built this suicide machine had attached the sails to horizontal, outrigger masts that projected out the side like wings, with the top of the sails attached to the balloon itself. It was a bit like sailing a double masted catamaran. The roll of the ship started from above, not below but he was getting used to it. Despite himself, Serge grinned wildly. He was sailing an airship that was being held up by a balloon. He was doing it. The wind dropped and he quickly undid his rope, hauled on it as hard as he could and tied it up again before the wind fully caught the sail again. He was gaining control of the ship. He could feel it in his bones. ¡°I wonder how he did that?¡± remarked one of the old sailors. It was nearing the fourth hour of Dimont¡¯s ordeal and it looked like the ship was turning from where it¡¯d been resting adrift at the end of its anchor rope. ¡°By Fortune¡¯s tits, he¡¯s doing it,¡± said another, getting a look of disapproval from Johan. Nobody had a sight ability so Dave got Johan¡¯s attention and gave him an up-nod. In reply, Johan used Adventurer¡¯s Tools and pulled a massive mirror out of nothing. Dave cast The Stationary Scry Of Farseeing on the mirror which lit up with a view from off the bow of the ship that showed the whole deck. There was an appreciative chatter from the party crowd and everyone crowded the mirror. ¡°Down in front, down in front,¡± said Hugh. ¡°Hey, turn it this way,¡± called a voice. ¡°He can¡¯t, you¡¯ll see nothing but the ground.¡± ¡°The mirror¡¯s like a portal, Camille. You move it, you move what we see.¡± Johan wiggled the portal as a demonstration to those following the conversation. There was some more gabbling negotiation and Johan was sent off to get some crates for people to sit on while two sailors held the big mirror. A couple of more experienced hands and engineers were at the front doing analysis. ¡°He¡¯s furled all the sails,¡± one said. ¡°Why¡¯s he done that?¡± ¡°No, no, no,¡± said another. ¡°He¡¯s got those two jibs going.¡± ¡°Oh, I see,¡± said one of the engineers. ¡°He¡¯s using the pull of the jibs to drag the prow away from the anchor, see?¡± ¡°Yes, and he¡¯s done something at the stern.¡± ¡°He¡¯s got the spanker boom loose! That¡¯ll take someone¡¯s head off!¡± ¡°Who? He¡¯s the only one there.¡± This speculation continued for a couple of minutes with the consensus becoming that Dimont had set up the prow to start the turn and the stern to complete it but nobody could figure out what for. The party gained a new life as engineers and sailors alike speculated on his reasons for turning the ship. Speculations that continued as they saw him clomping about on deck, with a vigour that defied his age. He was clearly shouting and swearing the whole time which caused raucous laughter amongst those who¡¯d known him well. Sam and Dave watched from the comfort of their foldable chairs as the party continued around them into the mid afternoon when the winter light began to fade. The party watched as Dimont set up a couple of sails and there was a cheer as he started sailing one way at the end of the anchor rope. Another cheer erupted as he turned, using his jib-and-stern setup. The boom of the sails he was using for propulsion swung violently but the sails filled with wind and back he went the other way still at the end of the anchored rope. This happened four more times. Dave had recast the scrying spell and explained that The Stationary Scry Of Farseeing meant ¡®stationary relative to whatever you anchor the casting to¡¯. Dave had now cast the magical sensor to stay between the mainsail and the prow on a smaller mirror this time and only a core group of invested sailors and senior engineers were still watching, turning the mirror as they went to keep track of Dimont. ¡°But that¡¯ll pull the prow down,¡± said one of the engineers in response to what an old sailor was telling him Dimont had done. ¡°Well, it looks like he¡¯s on a mission to do that!¡± laughed the half drunk sailor. They narrated to a rapt crowd what Dimont was doing with everyone holding their breath as Dimont started to turn as usual but then deployed his prow-dipping halfway through. Everyone watched as Dimont dipped the prow and, aided by the roll of the ship, dipped the bowsprit underneath the anchor rope, which had been attached to the rear of the keel for some reason, and wrapped the anchor line around the bow. It held fast, caught on some irons on the bowsprit that would have held the foremost flying jib, had Dimont not furled them. ¡°By Knowledge herself!¡± exclaimed Hugh as cheers erupted. ¡°He¡¯s used the keel anchor to grasp the prow and point right at us! But what for?¡± Serge¡¯s hands were bleeding from hauling on ropes, his knee ached, his stump throbbed, the wind lashed his face with cold but sweat still soaked his clothes and his voice was hoarse from cursing every god he could remember. It felt good. ¡°Arr, you great blistering, sphincters!¡± he hollered madly at the clouds. ¡°You thought you could hold me? Hahaa! But now I¡¯ve got ya. I¡¯ve got ya.¡± Serge grit his teeth as he hauled the mainsail across the deck. His whole body complained but he was beyond caring. It was a madness. A need. He had to get down there. What he needed was down there. Cool against his parched throat, it would be. Down there. And, now he had the ship pointing the right direction. He started attaching the mainsail to the yard of the foresail. Next he would attach the foresail to the jibs. Yes, he needed the wind to get up and under the sails. He laughed again as his bloody hands tied the knots. He¡¯d never had to make a ship go up before. It took him another hour but in the fading light of the afternoon, he finally had all the sails in position. All of them that he could figure a way to do so were angling forward. Now, he just needed some momentum. Ignoring the twinge in his knee and the sticky, burning sensation from his stump, he climbed the rigging to the underside of the balloon, wrapped his arm around the rope, took out a small pocket knife and stabbed a small hole into the thick fabric. Serge shuffled his body a bit to avoid casting a shadow over the hole from the lanterns he¡¯d lit earlier and put his eye close to the incision. ¡°Hahaa! Yes!¡± he crowed into the heavens. ¡°Argh, I thought I recognised a self repairing in the weave. Ooh, you¡¯ll have to wake up earlier than that to pull one over Serge Dimont, you little, weed-man!¡± Still chuckling in triumph, he slashed a large hole in the balloon. ¡°Alight, Serge,¡± he muttered to himself. ¡°You¡¯re having fun but careful now. The sly weed said this is what¡¯s holding up the ship.¡± He hung on to the rigging there for a few minutes, reopening the hole periodically until he felt the telltale feel of extra weight in the hold. Except this, he reasoned as he squinted suspiciously at the great, blistering bladder that kept repairing itself, was more like a loss of floatation. Or, taking on water. From above. He growled at the impossibility of his situation and cussed the sky again for good measure. Time to go down. ¡°Wait, hang on,¡± said Dave, rising from his comfortable chair and looking at the diagrams that the engineers were drawing and passing around, complete with additions, sketches and notes by fellow engineers and sailors. ¡°He¡¯s rigged himself up some bloody wings!¡± In the darkness of the late afternoon, the party had started relying on signal lamps with the tugboats, who had better visual equipment, to communicate what was going on. They¡¯d sent some very long, technical messages that the engineering team had to map out and draw which was now being handed to Dave to copy and pass around so that everyone could get a look. ¡°This will lift the ship!¡± exclaimed Dave, waving the piece of paper in his hands while making copies. ¡°Ooh, aye,¡± said Clement, a wrinkled old sea dog. ¡°That would explain why he faced her into the wind. That¡¯d get the wind up under those sails if that¡¯s how he¡¯s rigged them.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll get him bobbing nicely against the wind. How¡¯s that going to get him closer or down?¡± said Dave, not really expecting an answer. ¡°Ohh, I have a feeling Serge is going to surprise ya, Mister Booker!¡± said Clement with a wink. Dave opened his mouth to dryly agree but was interrupted by the woman on signals. ¡°Good Gods, he¡¯s cutting the envelope!¡± she cried. While half the party cried in alarm and the other half assured them that the envelope was self repairing, Dave¡¯s face froze in an expression of puzzlement. What was Dimont doing? Then the ground anchor hummed as the enormous rope, as thick as Dave¡¯s waist, was pulled taut. ¡°Oh,¡± said Dave. Both Hugh and Johan recognised the tone and waved at those around them to hush. The party looked expectantly at Dave who pointed at the anchor rope, which was neatly coiled and passing through a magical, iron loop. ¡°The ground anchor has an enchantment that coils it automatically to prevent it dragging around on the ground, which means it¡¯s under tension, right?¡± The crowd nodded and murmured in agreement. Dave pointed to the landing pad. ¡°And the landing pad is right next to the anchor.¡± A few of the eyes in the crowd got a shrewd look about them. ¡°So, if the wings he¡¯s just improvised artificially lighten the entire ship during a gust of wind -¡± ¡°Ocean¡¯s piss, he¡¯s using the anchor as guidance,¡± said one of the crusty sailors. ¡°Like how we get out on the pier and haul on the ropes when we¡¯re mooring,¡± he added for the engineers. The sailors and engineers turned on each other excitedly. The whole idea was incredibly simple and a good bit clever. The shipyard had their own tension anchor system to make sure the rope or chain stayed in the air. It allowed the ships to undergo levitation or, in this case, buoyancy testing without the rope dragging around and possibly getting caught on buildings. It did, however, supply a bit of a pull on the ship. Dimont had set up the sails to act like wings and lift the ship, especially under the force of a gust but coming out of it, the ship would glide for a few moments which would allow the tension of the anchor to pull the airship closer. That combined with a slight loss of lift with some escaped hydrogen the ship would inevitably come closer towards the source of the tension, which was right next to the landing pad. The landing pad was basically a massive patch of enchanted sand that would feel soft at first but then quickly creep up to cradle and hold fast anything about the size of a cart and above. Dave returned to his seat shaking his head in disbelief. Sam smiled up at him in amusement. She held her plate out and smiled wider. Dave sighed and took the plate, filled it up with cuts of the spit-roasted pork, picked up a couple of toasted bits of bread that were near the fire pit and wandered back to Sam, handing her the loaded plate. ¡°He found a way down!¡± teased Sam. ¡°Yeah, I should have told him about valves and the pumps,¡± said Dave sheepishly. Sam continued smiling broadly at Dave. ¡°Yeah, he might win,¡± said Dave. Sam covered her mouth. ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s probably going to win,¡± admitted Dave. It was a matter of careful judgement now and Serge knew it. The ship was swaying back and forth at the end of its anchor rope and he intended to use that. After all, the landing pad wasn¡¯t smack-bang under the anchor ring itself. It was off to the side a bit. Twenty yards or so. He¡¯d have to use the rhythm of the sway to time the landing so that at the end of the sway he¡¯d put her down in the sand. He patted the ship as he timed his next adjustment of the two spanker sails at the back of the ship that he was using to keep the swaying under control. He reckoned he¡¯d timed the descent pretty well, that anchor would reel him in just fine. It¡¯d be just like mooring a barge in one of those ports more open to the ocean. Sometimes you just had to lean on the ropes and wait for a big enough wave to wash the ship in. Except, of course, there was also a fierce wind to contend with but threading this needle was a joy in itself. He was here. He was doing it! And soon the booze would flow. ¡°Up yours, ya dirty land urchin!¡± roared Serge at the fires he could see on the ground and thumbed his nose at the party taking place. A fucking party, they were having. Come out to see him fail, like as not. Serge felt another gust of wind grab the sails and lift the ship and he laughed as the gliding descent brought him closer to the landing. ¡°I hope that fire is hot and the ale is cold, you useless weed-man! I¡¯m coming!¡± Serge shouted at the ground. Dave watched, shaking his head in utter, amused astonishment the whole while as the ship slowly swayed back and forth in the last fifty metres of descent. It¡¯d only started about two or three hundred metres up and about five hundred metres out but Dimont had leveraged a gentle southerly wind with the occasional gust and the tools he had at hand into a strategy for limping a vessel into port even though he was intentionally set up to fail. On every pass Dimont made closest to the party, there was a cheer of encouragement by the thoroughly sloshed observers. Dimont could be vaguely heard hurling triumphant insults down in return. Dave quietly took the elbow of the head engineer and spoke in his ear. ¡°We should assist the landing with the tugs,¡± said Dave. ¡°No, noooo,¡± slurred the engineer. ¡°I¡¯uhlll be fin¡¯.¡± ¡°Until the ship stops. Very Suddenly. And, Dimont¡­ keeps going?¡± said Dave, speaking very clearly and miming with his hands for the drunk. ¡°Ohwa, alrigh¡¯ bu¡¯ you gotta give up firs¡¯,¡± said the engineer. ¡°Artistry¡¯s phantoms, canvas this,¡± incanted Dave and enormous, two metre tall letters appears in the air above the reveller¡¯s heads. YOU WIN. The entire crowd cheered, screaming into the setting sun. In the excitement, the lead engineer happily forgot about Dave so Dave signalled the tugs himself. The professional crews had been standing by the whole time and moved in immediately, arresting the wind driven swaying of the ship and ensuring a gentle, controlled landing the whole way. ¡°Hahaa! Ya scurvy dogs! That¡¯s it. Put me down. Put me down nice and gentle and make sure yer scrub my feet while ya there, ya right jellyfish!¡± shouted the hoarse voice of Captain Dimont with glee. ¡°That¡¯s right, Captain Serge Dimont has won and he¡¯s coming in to wet his lips and then some!¡± Smiling ruefully, Dave filled an empty pitcher with good ale and followed the crowd that was moving over to the landing pad. The grasping sand was holding the airship securely and Captain Dimont was already halfway down the Jacob¡¯s ladder when Dave arrived at the back of the group. ¡°WHERE¡¯S MY ALE?¡± called the aged captain. ¡°Where is it? Where¡¯s my grog?¡± Dave carried the pitcher forward through the throng to the whooping Dimont who stood, grinning self assuredly at Dave. ¡°The first of the promised drink, Captain,¡± said Dave with a bow, ruefully handing over the pitcher of beer to the alcoholic. Captain Dimont grinned greedily and came forward to take the pitcher. He raised it to his lips with an ungraceful swiftness and it spilled down his shirt as he skulled the entire contents to the cheers of the crowd. Dave noted that some of the cheers were strained. ¡°MORE!¡± shouted Captain Dimont, raising his pitcher to the sky to the sound of further jubilation. Hugh healed the captain and gave him a stamina potion to wash away the sores of his flight while Captain Dimont shook hands with old friends. Dave used Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas to clean him of the sweat and blood of the ordeal while he piled his plate with roast pork and quaffed drink. A lot of drink. Where others took sips, Dimont drank half the glass. It was noticeable even to those who¡¯d never met him before. Over the next few hours, Captain Dimont became Dimont the Wretch once more. Many at the party were sloshed but Dimont was on the drunkard¡¯s mission to forget his life and piss himself. An old crewmate or two suggested Dimont take it easy, but Dimont laughed it off with a baying laugh and continued unabashed. Uneasy glances were shared with resigned glances and, as predicted, before midnight he¡¯d tried to use the toilet, pissed on himself and then fallen asleep on the table. Dave idly cleaned him up with magic, shaking his head the whole while. ¡°Mighty good of you, young man. Mighty good,¡± said one of the old sailors. She offered a calloused hand. ¡°Lucille LeBlanc.¡± ¡°Dave Booker,¡± said Dave, shaking. ¡°Well, it sure was nice to see him again,¡± said LeBlanc. ¡°The real him, I mean, not this.¡± She slapped the sleeping man¡¯s back to no avail. ¡°This is just the shell that remains when he drives his mind out.¡± ¡°He needs rehab,¡± said Dave with a shrug and added in response to LeBlanc¡¯s confused expression. ¡°It¡¯s a place where the alcoholic is kept that has no alcohol until they¡¯re better.¡± ¡°Oh, he¡¯s had that,¡± said LeBlanc, sitting down next to Dave. ¡°Sometimes the ships are becalmed or there¡¯s an obstruction in the river and he runs out of drink. He becomes himself again,¡± LeBlanc nodded to herself, staring into the middle distance. ¡°But, he doesn¡¯t like that. He can remember when he¡¯s himself.¡± ¡°The accident?¡± guessed Dave. ¡°Yep,¡± said LeBlanc. ¡°The accident, all the things he¡¯s lost and, perhaps just as bad, the disappointment he¡¯s been since.¡± ¡°I set him up to fail,¡± confessed Dave, nodding his head towards the sky where Dimont had started. He took the recording crystal out of his pocket and showed LeBlanc. ¡°On this crystal is him taking a bet and if he loses, he has to get the tattoo of my choice.¡± ¡°Should have got him drunk first,¡± said LeBlanc wryly, roughly prodding Dimont¡¯s body. She turned to Dave with curiosity on her face. ¡°What kind of tattoo?¡± ¡°One of those expensive magic ones,¡± said Dave. ¡°I had it all planned out. I was going to get him the Royal Taster¡¯s tattoo, you know? The one that makes poisons -¡± LeBlanc barked in raucous laughter, slapping her knee. ¡°Oh, my boy,¡± she said through tears of laughter. ¡°He¡¯d kill you.¡± ¡°I was hoping I could avoid that by offering him a job that paid in essences,¡± said Dave with a sad smile. ¡°Once he¡¯s fully iron rank, his body purges and the tattoo goes away.¡± ¡°Oh, is that how it works, does it?¡± asked LeBlanc. ¡°Yep,¡± said Dave. ¡°That was my plan for a Dimont who¡¯s motivated to stay on board. Tell the drunk that if he ever wants to drink again, he needs essences and I¡¯m the only chance he has at essences.¡± Dave nodded to himself and chewed on his lip. ¡°It might have worked too.¡± ¡°Naaaah,¡± laughed the old sea dog next to him. ¡°I don¡¯t think he knows about the tattoo going away.¡± She shrugged in response to Dave¡¯s look. ¡°It¡¯s not something folk like us need to know about.¡± ¡°I could have told him,¡± Dave mumbled. ¡°Ahh,¡± said LeBlanc, winking at Dave. ¡°The creator of his torment has a convenient story that he¡¯s also the cure!¡± ¡°Oh, yeah. Alright,¡± said Dave. LeBlanc chuckled and nudged Dave who grinned back. ¡°Too clever for your own good, Mister Booker!¡± said LeBlanc. ¡°It would seem so, Missus LeBlanc,¡± said Dave. ¡°If you could exclude the bit where he hates your guts,¡± said LeBlanc. ¡°It¡¯d have been a good plan.¡± Dave said nothing but pulled a face of resignation and nodded. After a few moments of silence, LeBlanc sighed heavily. ¡°Which tattooist?¡± said LeBlanc. ¡°Needled Vexillography,¡± said Dave. ¡°Wait, what? Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking me and the fellas are going to take him,¡± said LeBlanc, poking him again distastefully and glaring at Dimont¡¯s sleeping form. ¡°Instead of you.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± asked Dave, thoroughly thrown by this turn. ¡°Never been so sure of anything about Serge since I stopped working with him,¡± said LeBlanc. She gave Dave a determined look. ¡°So you sit down in that chair next to that nice young runic woman who keeps trying to make everyone eat more and you stay out of this. I want your nose clean, you understand? I want you to be able to look him in the eye and say you had nothing to do with the tattoo, alright?¡± LeBlanc started Dave down and we did as he was told. He¡¯d wanted to offer money, after all such magical tattoos were expensive for normal folk but the look LeBlanc was giving him said that she needed him gone so, he merely nodded. He wandered over to his seat next to Sam who smiled sleepily up at him through a pleasant haze of beer. ¡°Dave, I want to bed,¡± said Sam. ¡°Come forth, traveller¡¯s rest,¡± said Dave, summoning a cabin behind her mortared with the same grit as the airfield. He helped Sam inside and pulled a cot out of her floral-embroided dimensional bag for her to sleep on. She lay down on it and immediately started dozing. He pulled out his own cot, placed it down next to her and lay down himself. ¡°I think, Sam,¡± murmured Dave. ¡°Tonight might have worked out after all.¡± Sam hummed sleepily in reply. Chapter 29: A Parade And A Ball
Current Quests
Justice For Courbefy: Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use¡­ Chosen Of Knowledge: Escort Hugh on his journey to becoming a fully awakened iron¡­ Chosen Of Hero: Assist Johan as he competes in the Avril Reyer Birthday Tournament... UnKill Streak 5: Complete a five day streak of not killing anybody! Making A Magnate: Dominion wants you to hire at least two employees to expand your¡­ Potion of Prosperity Delivery: Deliver a potion of prosperity to the midwife in Houlbec. Healer¡¯s Materials: Gain Healer¡¯s favour by donating alchemy ingredients to the church¡­ Liberate Captive Beast: Free an oppressed animal in the name of Liberty. Abel¡¯s Mace: Return Brother Abel¡¯s missing mace to the church of Soldier. He was last¡­ Merchant''s Goods Recovery: Recover stolen goods in Confolens from the bandits that... Rescue the Lucas¡¯s Daughter: Retrieve Charlotte Lucas, the warehouse owner¡¯s¡­ Lost Treasure Map: Find and return an old treasure map stolen from, Marielle Lecuyer¡­ Wolf Menace: Hunt down a pack of mischievous foxes terrorising the livestock of Villars. Haunted Mill: Investigate the abandoned mill outside Limony that''s said to be haunted¡­ Embarrassing Request: Gather rare herbs from the dangerous swamp for Duerne''s¡­ Merchant Escort: Safely escort a merchant caravan through bard-infested woods to¡­ Mine Monsters: Clear out the rat monsters that have infested The Old Mine, a popular¡­ Ancient Ruins Exploration: Explore and map out the ancient ruins that have recently¡­ Missing Scout: Locate and rescue a missing scout who was last seen investigating¡­ Bridge Repair: Collect and deliver materials needed to repair a bridge that connects two¡­
Johan woke up at the crack of dawn on tournament day. He woke up at the crack of dawn every day but this day he did it specifically. Then he woke Dave who had voiced opinions about the crack of dawn in the past. Dave groaned and reflected on how he¡¯d read recently that the second moon, called Selene, seemed to affect the magic concentration of whatever it shone upon and thus, the time that magics lasted. Dave rolled these ideas over in his head to avoid thinking about Johan¡¯s enthusiasm for the coming tournament. Johan had been sent a participant¡¯s itinerary which detailed where and when he should be. Broadly speaking, today would be the parade, tomorrow the weapons bouts and the overmorrow would be the duels but there was a bit more to each than that. The parade was not only a march through the streets for everyone to get a good look at you but an opportunity for the competition to size each other up. A bit like a weigh in before the combat sports that Dave was familiar with. Under normal circumstances Dave would expect Johan¡¯s enormous, muscular, ¡®80s action-hero-build would intimidate his opponents but his opponents would be experienced duelists and essence users. Dave had been afraid that Johan would show exceptional deference to his opponent¡¯s social status and basically kowtow his way to defeat. So, he¡¯d had words with Hugh and Father Martel of Hero¡¯s clergy who¡¯d, in turn, had words with Johan. They¡¯d assured Dave later that they¡¯d impressed upon Johan that being entered ¡®in lieu of divine will¡¯ as he was, was basically a social equaliser for the purposes of the tournament. A temporary equaliser, so to speak. The next day would be the weapons bouts. With that keyword in front of him he was able to use Tome and Epistemology to figure out that this was a no powers contest with pre-approved weapons only. Suppression collars would be worn by all contestants for the weapons bouts. Johan had said, in the words of sword master Greenwood, that a lot of contestants didn¡¯t enter the weapons bouts for many reasons. Mostly because powersets were often fundamental to a person¡¯s training and style but also because they might not want the competition to get a read on them. Johan had, of course, enthusiastically signed himself up for everything. The duels were called that because that¡¯s what they were; a series of duels. Apparently they followed the duelling etiquette that was the style in this part of the empire excepting, of course, the part about publicly challenging your opponent to the duel. The general rules were that each combatant would start with full stats and no boons or afflictions that they had not given themselves. ¡®No external boons or consumables¡¯ held as a rule throughout the duel unless they were made by your powerset or worn equipment during the duel. Time would begin and they would fight until unconsciousness overtook one, one gave up or, as with high magitech places like this arena, a magical system halted a winning blow. Dave was personally very confident that Johan would place well in the bouts. Not only because of Greenwood¡¯s serious statements about Johan being the most talented swordsman she¡¯d ever trained but because he¡¯d bashfully described training technique at Soldier¡¯s cathedral with the bronze ranked instructor as ¡®a good challenge¡¯ and how they went out for drinks afterwards to discuss each other¡¯s moves. With powers on the table though, it was anyone¡¯s guess. Johan¡¯s power set was mostly complimentary to his swordsmanship and he was a fast learner but some of these contestants would have been training with their powers for months or years. Dave figured he¡¯d do a whole bunch of fast research once he knew Johan¡¯s opponents after the parade when they¡¯d draw up the groups and get a better idea of their histories and how much of a chance Johan really had. Dave, Hugh and Johan walked together through the already bustling streets of the early morning towards where the parade would start. Johan would meet a representative of Hero there who would carry Hero¡¯s symbol before him. The nobles marching would have a standard bearer carry a house standard along with other attendants but Johan, not having a noble house, would march behind the symbol of the god who¡¯d sponsored him. Hugh was coming along so that when Johan was accused of lying and attempted to be driven off by the toadies of nobles, Hugh could step in. Accusing a member of Knowledge¡¯s clergy of lying in such a way was a matter beyond a commoner and a serious matter for a noble as well. Gods took their domain seriously. Dave was just there to collect names and get a good seat for the parade. Johan was predictably challenged at the staging area by a guard with house colours who unknowingly came within a hair''s breadth of picking a fight he couldn¡¯t win with Hugh, let alone Johan, before all three of his brain cells lined up and he recognised the friar¡¯s habit and the Knowledge pendant Hugh was displaying. Dave bid his friends luck and began walking along the street, perusing good vantage points from which to watch the parade, which was due to begin at the ninth hour and continue until the tenth. ¡°Geroff th¡¯ road,¡± muttered a grouchy watchman who idly waved a truncheon at Dave. In reply, Dave manifested Tzu and set five pens spinning around over his head but also took a lesser coin out of his pocket and flashed it at the watchman. ¡°Perhaps you can point me towards a cafe suited to an iron ranked adventurer like myself where I could watch my friend march in the parade?¡± said Dave. ¡°That¡¯d get me off the road, sir.¡± ¡°Begging your pardon, sir,¡± said the watchman, his eyes on the coin and almost successfully ignoring the spinning pens. ¡°Thought you were someone else. You¡¯ll be wanting The Mystic Mug on Fontaine Street.¡± Dave passed the coin to the watchman and used his map to navigate the most direct route to The Mystic Mug, having embraced a free running approach to physical training that was common among adventurers. Johan had heard it from a trainer at Hero¡¯s temple. The idea was to run through the city using backstreets, alleys, fences, roofs and whatnot. Executive Services had unanimously agreed to avoid roofs and other private property because falling through them was something they weren¡¯t willing to laugh off. Even if you compensate them, wrecking the only roof a poor family has is still going to expose them to the elements for potentially days until it¡¯s fixed and Executive Services came from backgrounds with either the experience or the education to know that the commoners would suffer through those days. Dave¡¯s lip curled with disgust as he heard other essence users clomp along the roofs over him. The things people in this reality accepted as normal disgusted him. The magic was cool, he had to admit, but the lower society was exactly what he¡¯d expected from history books; stuck under a tyrannical boot and rife with a constant, desperate scrabble to keep up in the march of the mighty or be the next one ground underfoot. Dave swallowed his disgust and vaulted a wall between two alleys. He landed heavily in wet, cold mud but ignored it. Cleaning magic was a privilege he enjoyed. About ten minutes later, Dave¡¯s feet squelched under the eaves of The Mystic Mug. The doorwoman looked him up and down with raised eyebrows making no move to undo the velvet rope across the doorway. She was a tall human of medium height and had the look of an essence user about her. Dave raised a finger indicating he needed a moment which the doorwoman was indifferent to so long as he stayed outside. Dave collected himself and cleaned all the sweat and grime from himself over the next minute under the doorwoman¡¯s watch and then used his inventory to switch into his ornate garb. At that, the doorwoman blinked, recognising Dave as an essence user of means. She unhooked the velvet rope from the stanchion which blocked the door and returned to ignoring him. Dave went inside. The Mystic Mug had a calm, warm atmosphere. Its elegant decor stopped short of opulence but the soft-backed chairs and hardwood tables were of quality material and fine make. A large but reserved chandelier hung in the centre, casting a soft, inviting glow across the two floors. The cafe¡¯s main floor was bustling with an unusual number of patrons enjoying an early morning tea and some pastries but it was that upper floor, level with the chandelier, which was normally a more secluded area of ambiance that already had tables of chatting patrons. Dave ascended the polished wooden staircase and found a balcony table for two that provided an adequate view of the bustling street below. The Mystic Mug was a dozen metres down a street off the parade¡¯s path but the low buildings of the closest intersection afforded a good view where the parade would be coming towards him. He settled in. An elven youth approached Dave and offered him a menu that contained both mundane and iron rank food. He particularly recommended the iron ranked tartine with goat¡¯s cheese and blackberry jam which Dave accepted along with ordering a ranked coffee. Dave relaxed, letting Tome manifest out of his brain and enjoyed the feelings from all of his senses. The air was filled with the scent of freshly brewed coffee and baked goods, mingling with the faint floral aroma of the potted plants strategically placed around the cafe. The balcony, with its wrought iron railing and comfortable seating, offered an ideal vantage point to people-watch the city goers and the workfolk who appeared to be using a variety of magical abilities as well as sawdust to dry the path of the parade route. While his food and drink arrived, Dave opened Tome and went over a magic problem he¡¯d been having recently. With Library Of The Mind and Eldritch Eyes it was theoretically possible for him to go over each strand of a spell and reverse-ensorcel it. He didn¡¯t always have a good angle or an ideal distance from non-teammates but a few spells from Ross Geller he¡¯d seen both close up and repeatedly more than he¡¯d liked and that rune gate spell from Brisset he¡¯d definitely taken note of from multiple angles. The problem was modifying them. He could replicate the spells perfectly, he¡¯d copied a few down into his spellbook but they all had the same problem which was that their default power source was a link through the caster¡¯s soul directly to that ability. Which, for Dave¡¯s copied spell, was his Transcribe Spell ability, which was at second-iron in power. He needed to find a way, with each spell, to use all of his spell power from his Vancian Spell Slots ability that was so characteristic of bookers. Currently, he could cast Lightning Teleport, Lightning Bolt and Rune Gate through a spell slot but only with the magical power and effects that any other essence user could achieve. Which was still useful for the Rune Gate but nothing else. Dave tinkered around with the formula and runes for Lightning Bolt and made a simple change that seemed to flow just fine with tests using Magician¡¯s Meagre Magics. He¡¯d test tomorrow if this version would scale up correctly with the extra power. Thankfully, he knew what the problem was. The Charcoal Knights had been very helpful in explaining this to him. Essences didn¡¯t just give magic powers, they also primed the soul. They gave talents and proclivities. Magic, knowledge, book and spellbook were his essences and magic related to those concepts would be the most easy to flow through his soul. It was why he took all day to understand the flows of a healing spell but he¡¯d already had an idea, and he was pretty sure it¡¯d work, for changing Lightning Teleport, a spell that teleported you to the location of where you threw a bolt of lightning, to Paper Teleport which would teleport him to the location of any piece of paper he¡¯d summoned. He was pretty sure he could also get just a regular Teleport but he suspected his UI interacted differently with the spell than it normally functions for people without an outworlder¡¯s helpful racials. His breakfast arrived and he ate it while he worked. Having a living spellbook and telekinetic writing made study easy on freeing up the arms. He¡¯d hand made a couple of hundred Molotov cocktails while studying the previous week. After breakfast finished, Dave let time pass, losing himself in the intricate flow of his spellwrighting. ¡°I say, good sir!¡± interrupted a voice that used the top of the mouth with gusto. ¡°Are you sitting alone? If so, may I join you, my good man?¡± Dave snapped back to reality, turning to see a - a man. Dave activated Stop And Think to really take in this individual. He was short but proportioned like a tall person. His face was long, his teeth were big and his jolly expression set atop a body that looked all sinew and bones. He had shocking, curly, red hair cut short with well trimmed sideburns that swept perfectly into a bushy, red moustache. Dave selected him and his UI labelled him simply as ¡®Llundein Aristocrat¡¯. Dave let time return. ¡°There is no further sitting room!¡± continued the Llundein man. ¡°Please do,¡± said Dave, gesturing at the spare seat. Coming out of his work, he could see that the cafe was getting full. ¡°Spiffing!¡± exclaimed the man and sat down. Dave proffered his hand to the man. ¡°Dave Booker. I see you come from Llundein? Long way to travel.¡± ¡°Ha! Quality! It was, my sir, it was,¡± exclaimed the man in the same emotional gear he¡¯d arrived in. ¡°Lord Rupert Ainsworth at your service but if you want me to answer, you¡¯d better call me Rupe.¡± He gave Dave a mischievous grin. ¡°Or else I¡¯ll assume you¡¯re talking to my father!¡± Ainsworth laughed at his own temerity and Dave couldn¡¯t help but grin back at the over-the-top personality of this character. ¡°Well, Rupe,¡± said Dave. ¡°You¡¯d better call me Dave. May I guess that you¡¯ve come all this way for the birthday tournament?¡± ¡°You guess rightly, Dave. Oh, yes you do. Ha-haa!¡± crowed Rupe. ¡°Indeed, I¡¯ve accompanied my nephew who was invited to compete. Pride of the family he is!¡± ¡°Oh?¡± inquired Dave. ¡°Any expectations?¡± ¡°Ooh, yes there are, my friend. Yes, there are!¡± chortled Rupe who suddenly lowered his voice conspiratorially and waggled his bushy eyebrows. ¡°He expects to win easily like he does in the frontier towns and I expect a nephew with a punctured ego!¡± Rupe laughed for the world to hear and Dave chuckled along with him. ¡°What of yourself, sonny-me-lad?¡± said Rupe. ¡°May I guess the tournament sits you here today? Hey?¡± ¡°A correct guess,¡± said Dave, sitting back in his chair. ¡°I¡¯m on the same team as Johan Schmidt. The one entered by divine will.¡± Rupert threw his head back and chortled raucously. ¡°Spiffing! Hero¡¯s divine will entry, hey?¡± said Rupe, wiping his eyes. ¡°Oh, the stir you¡¯ve caused, my friend. The stir you have caused! Ha-haa!¡± He raised a hand, noted that he wasn¡¯t being actively waited on and turned to Dave. ¡°Ooh, I don¡¯t suppose you can spot a waiter?¡± Dave held up a placating hand to Rupe to indicate that he would take care of it then manifested an letter-size piece of paper, used his pens to write ¡®WAITER PLEASE¡¯ on it, punctured two pens through the upper corners and hung it in the air over their heads. ¡°Spiffing!¡± said Rupe and once again began waggling his vast eyebrows. ¡°So, divine will? I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d be able to spill the tea on Hero¡¯s motivations? Come on, chum! What¡¯s it all about?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know there was anything for it to be about, Rupe,¡± said Dave. ¡°The god makes a request, Johan¡¯s for it, the team¡¯s for it, it¡¯s dangerous to refuse gods anyway and here we are.¡± ¡°Ha-Haa!¡± crowed Rupe. ¡°So, you know nothing of the prizes? The buzz around the armour, eh? Eh?¡± The waiter came and took Rupe¡¯s order of sausages, bread, gravy and eggs ¡®like they do up north¡¯ before once more raising a happy eyebrow to Dave. ¡°Only that it¡¯s the top prize?¡± asked Dave, hesitantly. ¡°That¡¯s how tournaments work? Prizes for winning?¡± Rupert¡¯s delight at Dave¡¯s simplistic answer couldn¡¯t have been more evident. ¡°Ha! Spiffing!¡± said Rupe. ¡°Let me tell you something. Word is, the whole tournament¡¯s just a big setup for the Craftsmen¡¯s League to make overtures to House Reyer by gifting their scion a suit of that ever-so-popular templar armour that only the Craftsmen¡¯s League can make.¡± Dave¡¯s eyes went to Tome. ¡°Show me literature about the Craftsmen¡¯s League.¡± Rupe watched as Dave read several pages of information from different books in eye blinks. ¡°Oh!¡± said Dave, coming back to the world. ¡°Massive trading conglomerate. Okay. What¡¯s in it for them?¡± ¡°I say!¡± said Rupe. ¡°They control most of the quintessence trade around the Byzas Strait. Especially silver rank.¡± Rupe gave a conspiratorial wink. ¡°They¡¯re taking an opportunity to expand into Albion and inner Iberia but Baron Franchet and Praetor Noguera prevent them from trading inland but Franchet, rumour has it, was just forced to appoint Everard Reyer to minister of trade who has been taking meetings with the Crafter¡¯s League. Then the tournament is announced, the Crafter¡¯s League generously donates some templar armour as the top prize and guess who is the best, little duelist in Francalbia? Dave finally got it. ¡°Tome, the advertisement,¡± said Dave. Tome displayed the tournament advertisement and up the top, ¡®Avril Reyer Birthday Tournament¡¯. A pen flew in and circled Avril¡¯s name. Rupe winked at Dave. ¡°Precisely,¡± said Rupe. ¡°And, imagine the rumour mill that started up when young Alaire Travers drops out, good little elementalist he is, and before there¡¯s even a scramble to replace him, Hero uses His divine right to fill the spot, what about that?¡± Dave had looked up the divine right rule. In a formal contest that invoked a god, and most did, any church could invoke divine right to put their own competitor in but it was a relatively rare occurrence and always signalled to the people that the god either approved very much of the competition and wanted to be part of it or that the god was rather insulted at being invoked for such a poor showing. Johan¡¯s inclusion was so far yet to be decided one way or another. ¡°Huh,¡± said Dave, his face thoughtful. ¡°I wonder how much of this was orchestrated by the gods?¡± ¡°I say, counting them out is a fool¡¯s choice,¡± said Rupe with a nod and wink. ¡°No, I mean,¡± began Dave, smiling. ¡°We didn¡¯t know Johan would be entering this tournament ourselves until we arrived in town and heard about it. We¡¯ve only been preparing for it for about two weeks.¡± ¡°I say, what?¡± said Rupe, slapping the table. ¡°Oh, it gets better,¡± said Dave. ¡°Johan has only had his essences for about two weeks.¡± ¡°Oh, come now, you¡¯re just pulling the dragon¡¯s tail,¡± laughed Rupe. ¡°Oh, I assure you, I¡¯m not,¡± said Dave, getting the attention of the waitstaff and ordering a pot of tea. ¡°I¡¯ll go further and tell you that he¡¯s almost certainly going to win the bouts and he¡¯s a fair bet for the whole tournament.¡± ¡°Such cheek! Surely not!¡± cackled Rupe. ¡°Oh, this is better than the rumours. A dark heidel who didn¡¯t even know he was a dark heidel? Ha! Spiffing!¡± ¡°Rupe, you have got to tell me about these rumours now,¡± said Dave, conspiratorial himself. Rupe¡¯s breakfast arrived along with Dave¡¯s tea. Dave poured a cup for himself as well as Rupert. ¡°Oh, I say, for the first time in my life they¡¯re lesser than the god¡¯s own truth, indeed they are,¡± said Rupe, slathering the bread with gravy and taking a bite of a sausage. ¡°No, the rumours that the Reyer¡¯s liked the best were that the gods were kind enough to swiftly provide a local monk-militant to make up the numbers, nothing to worry about.¡± Rupe paused for a moment to take a hearty bite out of the bread and chew, blowing on his tea a while before taking a tentative sip of the hot drink. Likewise, Dave blew on and sipped at his tea. ¡°But the rumours going around,¡± continued Rupe. ¡°Spiffing! You should have heard them. The divine entrant is the bastard scion of faraway nobility. Or, they¡¯re a secret weapon that the church has been training in the mountains. Perhaps he¡¯s a disgraced knight, seeking redemption through the tournament? Some say a dragon in human form, come to teach us mortals humility before the gods!¡± ¡°How about a farm boy with a destiny?¡± asked Dave. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t hear that one,¡± said Rupe. ¡°But wouldn¡¯t that be something, hey? Spiffing!¡± Dave kept the straightest face he could. ¡°Well,¡± said Dave, taking another sip of his tea while Rupe ate. ¡°Say, if my fellow does win the tournament. How much of an upset is that going to be to the order of things?¡± ¡°I dare say that the Reyer family and the Craftsmen''s League would be upset,¡± said Rupe. ¡°But I¡¯d also dare that you¡¯d find plenty of support from the families of the other contestants,¡± continued Rupe with a wink. ¡°Nobody likes a setup, do they me-lad?¡± ¡°Personally, I¡¯m hoping that it¡¯s the gods who don¡¯t like the setup,¡± said Dave dryly. ¡°After all, they¡¯re the ones being invoked to bless the competition, aren¡¯t they? Perhaps one of them took offence to being asked to bless under false pretences and figured they¡¯d throw Johan in?¡± ¡°Ha! Be careful calling the wrath of the gods like that, lest they fall upon you instead,¡± said Rupe in a way that sounded like an adage. ¡°Bugger that,¡± muttered Dave. ¡°If I¡¯m going to hope for allies, I¡¯m hoping for the biggest ones I can get!¡± ¡°Ha! Spiffing!¡±
Dave traded backstories with Rupe, giving his teleportation accident story which Rupe thought was just spiffing and he accepted that Dave didn¡¯t want to share any specific details. ¡°Say no more, me-sir, say no more!¡± he¡¯d said. Himself, Rupe was the lord of a large estate in northwestern Albia called Notham in Shuckletonshire that was, apparently, a famously good place to go hunting. The Ainsworths were famous for their hunts and, in fact, made most of the family¡¯s income from hunting. Whether that be actually hunting specific monsters, like Rupe¡¯s brother, Peter, did, or just organised social hunts, like Rupe himself. ¡°Of course,¡± Rupe had said, ¡°my brother is perfectly capable of hosting a hunt himself and I¡¯m no slouch with a bow or spear myself but our talents and abilities fall where they may, don¡¯t-ya-know?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Dave had said, pouring tea into Rupe¡¯s cup. Rupe had been given the vast, potent and hunt essences for an onslaught confluence which, he said, was an expense courtesy of Peter, that older brother whom he greatly admired. According to Rupe, Peter had been gifted the spear, hunt and trap essences for the predatory confluence with the last of some inheritance and, with them, rebuilt the family house, honour, prestige and damn well walked on water from what Dave was hearing about him. Although, Dave realised, he had to re-think that metaphor for this reality. Walking on water was relatively common here. ¡°I tried, Dave, gods know I really tried, but what-ho?¡± Rupe was conveying to Dave as the cafe filled up around them. ¡°To my father¡¯s disappointment an expensive essence set, makes the legendary hunter not. Ha-haa! But Peter, gods bless his heart, told father in no uncertain terms that the gods¡¯ plans go beyond our philosophies and opportunity comes where the adventurer roams and that, my spiffing new friend, is how I found myself a huntmaster leading iron rank scions throughout the land. How¡¯s about that for chance?¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°It¡¯s pretty good,¡± said Dave. ¡°But, what are your abilities?¡± ¡°What?¡± exclaimed Rupe and slapping his forehead. ¡°I never explained? Ha! Such patience, such patience. Tally-ho, I¡¯ll give you a run dow-¡± Rupe was interrupted by the roar of a happy crowd and a marching band. The parade had begun. A crier with a high level voice ability led the procession on top of a long wagon that was practically dripping with expensive cloth, tassels and surrounded by an honour guard with several figures sitting on expensive chairs atop of it, waving robotically to the crowd. ¡°Hear ye, hear ye!¡± boomed the crier¡¯s voice, cutting through the almost physical din of the crowd. ¡°Presenting Baron Claude Franchet of Francalbia, protector of the domain, lord of the city and patron of the arts!¡± The crowd erupted in cheers as Baron Franchet, a man with stately bearing, in formal robes nodded and waved at people he didn¡¯t recognise. ¡°See also, the esteemed Lord Everard Reyer, Oullins minister of trade, master of the rivers and defender of the city!¡± continued the crier. Lord Reyer, a tall and stern figure, offered a regal wave, his countenance somehow commanding. As the crier continued to announce the dignitaries and VIPs, the float moved steadily down the street, the honour guard maintaining a crisp formation. Other figures of importance, advisors, and minor nobility filled the remaining seats on the float, each acknowledging the crowd with practised smiles. Dave let the words flow over him, not really paying attention while some minor dignitaries were introduced. He made notes of their names and titles in Tome and clicked over each one in his interface but forgot each of them as soon as he¡¯d written them down. He could always play the memory back if the crier said something that turned out to be important. However, he did pay attention to Reyer¡¯s daughter. ¡°Hear ye, hear ye! Behold the radiant Lady Avril Reyer, our beloved and formidable daughter of Lord Reyer, whose birthday we celebrate with this grand tournament! Skilled in both grace and combat, she shall honour us with her participation, a beacon of courage and nobility, inspiring all who witness her prowess!¡± Avril Reyer stood straight and poised. She couldn¡¯t have been a day over seventeen. Her athletic figure was adorned in a finely crafted suit of armour that would have been ceremonial had it not been for the magic coming off it for those to see. It shimmered in the sunlight. Her raven-black hair cascaded in loose waves, framing a face marked by striking green eyes and an excited expression as she waved at the crowd. Even though she was excited and enjoying the moment, the way she moved suggested confident balance and strength, perhaps a testament to a rigorous training schedule suitable for one of her reputation. People from all walks of life lined the parade route and cheered over the upbeat sound of the marching band, craning their necks to catch a glimpse of every notable figure. It was, Dave couldn¡¯t help but think, undignified. People who were lucky to have a pot to piss in, cheering for the people who¡¯d tax them for owning a second pot. Still, the fanaticism fell short of those old recordings of Beetlemania. Dave was very, very grateful he¡¯d heard that the staff were planning on moving the tables to let more people onto the balcony early. He¡¯d told them that if they kept everyone downstairs and brought in a big, reflective surface, he¡¯d be able to cast The Stationary Eye Of Farseeing and everyone would be able to see just fine. He¡¯d actually had to arrange two mirrors because of how the spell worked with the patrons looking up but the best view from the stationary eye being down but it¡¯d all been fine in the end. ¡°What do you think of the competition?¡± asked Dave, selecting Avril Reyer and seeing how much information his interface could get out of her. Not much. She was tagged as an iron rank duelist, aristocrat and as a human native to Oullins. ¡°She has the classic swordmaster combo; sword, swift and adept into master,¡± replied Rupe while clapping softly. ¡°Not much information on her awakening stones and abilities, though. Not that I¡¯ve heard, anyway. All I know is that she has an ability that always hits, a short-term speed and strength buff and that she favours the use of a living cape with her rapier.¡± The parade continued with a spectacular array of cultural displays, performance troupes, thematic floats and community groups. Dave ignored them mostly, spending his time collecting information from each continent among the milieu as they passed by waving. He looked up as Rupe loudly cheered on the announcement of Harry Ainsworth, his nephew. Rupe admitted that he had the adept, bow and hunt essences for a skirmish confluence but refused to give away anything more. ¡°I do say, my dear nephew is going to need all the help he can get after today.¡± Dave couldn¡¯t help but agree. The clean faced young man with shockingly red hair stood arrogantly on the float looking bored with the crowd, only waving at all when prodded into action by a servant at his elbow. Rupe also loudly cheered for Johan when he came by. Predictably, Johan caused quite a stir. While all the other contestants had put on their best airs and flaunted everything valuable that they could, Johan appeared to be represented by the humblest followers of Hero. Monks, nuns and friars marched on foot, most of them without an essence to their name, keeping their place in the procession as a whole but many ran back and forth with the crowd to clasp hands with someone or other whom they knew for a heartfelt greeting. Amidst this display, Johan himself walked like a king. His blond hair was perfect, constantly blowing this way and that in a stylish manner. While most of the befloated personages affected a smile that was a mere upturn on the lips and gave perfunctory waves at best, Johan smiled like he was the light of the world and waved constantly like he intended to take every member of the crowd that he could into his grasp, introduce himself and become personal friends in that instant. It was electric. People loved him and not with the mania from earlier of the crowd wanting to catch a glimpse of famous nobles. This was a desire to draw close to a fire on a chill evening and Johan was the welcoming radiance of the coals. ¡°That¡¯s your fellow, hey?¡± said Rupe, impressed. ¡°Spiffing!¡± ¡°That¡¯s him,¡± confirmed Dave. ¡°Sword, shield and farm into a heroic essence.¡± ¡°And, that¡¯s all you¡¯re going to tell me,¡± said Rupe with a wink. Dave silently handed over the cheatsheet to Johan¡¯s abilities. ¡°What¡¯s this? Oh! Spiffing!¡± said Rupe. ¡°I mean, of course, I don¡¯t-¡± Dave held up his hand to forestall the protests. ¡°Just look over the abilities later,¡± said Dave. ¡°The man fights like he¡¯s a mill on a windy hill and you¡¯ll agree that your nephew will need the help if they¡¯re matched up.¡± Rupe had already glanced at the sheet. ¡°Sword Of The People? Never heard of it,¡± said Rupe. ¡°Oh, spiffing! A smite set. Oh, and a strength ability, they¡¯ll interact well. How does he - Oh, he¡¯s got quite a few. Monsters and mayhem, how good did you say he is with the sword? Tally-ho! He¡¯ll be smiting every other moment if he¡¯s half as good as you say he is.¡± ¡°He¡¯s probably a bit better than what I¡¯m saying,¡± said Dave. ¡°His mother raised a good, modest boy. He¡¯s almost certainly not told me everything.¡± ¡°And, he spars with the bronze rankers for a challenge, did you say?¡± asked Rupe tentatively. ¡°When he said that he was very clear that he meant it only in terms of technique,¡± said Dave. ¡°The modest country kid?¡± said Rupe, looking up from the paper at the blonde spectacle walking past. He was bedecked in some borrowed platemail and looked so much like everything a knight should appear to be. ¡°Yep,¡± said Dave. ¡°Dave, my new friend,¡± said Rupe very carefully. ¡°You and I need to find a bookmaker.¡± Dave opened his mouth to say that he was way ahead on that front but something new occurred to him at that moment. ¡°Hold up,¡± said Dave. ¡°Do you think the odds will go up or down after the parade social and everyone hears his country accent?¡± ¡°Ha! I like the way you speak your spell,¡± said Rupe, taking a moment to understand the idea and waggling his bushy eyebrows in approval. ¡°Spiffing! We¡¯ll wait.¡± Dave wasn¡¯t normally a gambling man. The way he saw it, gambling was just a special tax for people who couldn¡¯t do maths but it wasn¡¯t gambling when you knew the outcome. The parade kept rolling by and Dave kept making notes, aided by Rupe the whole time, and by the end, had several pages of notes on not just the contenders but everyone on the floats that Rupe recognised and his personal thoughts, judgements and speculations about them. By the end, he had something of a rough draft file on many noble individuals which would be useful in his prospective detective career. At the end of the parade during a speech that he wasn¡¯t listening to, Dave was using Tome to look up any writings that he could find on the top contenders that had gone past and was summarising notes on each of them. There were six that were known to be particularly troublesome opponents with Avril being the clear forerunner among them. Dave ignored the second speech as he finalised his summary note.
Avril Reyer Sword swift adept ¡ú master. Unmissable hit. Teleport hit. Dodge ability. Whirlwind attack. Stylistically a classic rapier duelist with emphasis on footwork and decisive thrusts.
Emeline Paternoster Cloud fire trap ¡ú cataclysm. Magic traps on ground and fire-based DoTs. Abilities = control and burn. One good single target nova ability. Avoid traps to beat. Fights defensively with a halberd.
Baudouin Fosse Iron, cat, claw ¡ú avatar. Agile, well armoured and scratchy. Human form can cast spells, avatar form most powerful attacks. Switches in and out of avatar form often. Basically an armoured lion. Human form = unorthodox attacks with two, curved shortswords.
Clovis Garcon Goat, moon, flute ¡ú faun. Will literally make you quit. Enchantment ability, shield ability, flute familiar. Illusions of plants. Real plants switcheroo. Another classic duelist with a rapier.
Georgette Brodeur Omen, sand, flesh ¡ú doom. Defensive duelist. Affliction specialist. Makes you vulnerable. Opponents become lethargic and despondent far too quick. Fights as a counter striker with a long sabre.
Abelard Perrot Sword, shield, vast ¡ú arsenal. Specifics unknown. Mostly AoE abilities. Forward pressure fighter with powerful defensive abilities.
Most of what he¡¯d gotten was from promotional material and a couple of exclusive bits of reading materials that was clearly someone else¡¯s cheat sheet on the competition but had been left out on a table somewhere that Dave¡¯s Epistemology ability considered ¡®public¡¯. He very much approved of how much of a rules lawyer his ability was with acquiring access to articles that weren¡¯t meant for him. Still, it was hardly a complete list and the availability of information was very much based on how long they¡¯d been on the iron rank competitive duelling circuit. There was absolutely nothing on Johan other than where he was known to train. To get a better abilities list, Dave would make sure to watch them all fight and use his combat log to identify their abilities as they used them. Let¡¯s get to our fighters before the rush, wrote Dave on a scrap piece of paper, stabbed it on a pen and floated it across Rupe¡¯s vision at the same time as the special guest of the Craftsmen¡¯s League began what would inevitably be another speech that somehow stretched ten minutes into an hour with no discernable use of magic. Rupe seemed entertained by the cheek of walking off midspeech and went with Dave. As they walked past the staff at the exit, Rupe waved Dave off vivaciously and insisted on paying which he did in the local way by glancing at the amount on the bill and dropping stacks of ten iron rank coins until the amount was covered. Whatever was left over was considered a tip. They used the adventurer¡¯s paths of the city with no rush, other essence users occasionally flitting by, and idly speculated how his nephew, Harry, could overcome any of the top six or, indeed, Johan. ¡°Yeah, Harry¡¯s skills are too specialised for hunting, for sure,¡± opined Dave after Rupe had laid his abilities out verbally. ¡°He¡¯s got high base damage output and, yeah, Swift Draw, Predator¡¯s Mark, and Enhanced Arrows make a nasty burst damage combo but against decent armour and an intelligent target? I¡¯m not seeing it. He¡¯ll never lose track of his targets, sure, but he¡¯s got one trick and by the way you describe it, he over-uses it. Am I right? ¡°Dash it all but yes!¡± confessed Rupe, striding along with Dave. Despite his stiff bearing, Rupe had a knack for springing over the toughest obstacles without slowing down or, indeed, bending his spine. ¡°It¡¯s as I thought, he¡¯s had it too easy on the frontiers with adventurers who panic as soon as he takes their sight. He¡¯ll have to adapt to real duelists who know to just weather his ace ability, hey? Capital!¡± Harry¡¯s ace ability was aptly described. Harry had never had it looked at by an identification ability but Rupe described it well enough. From the hunt essence, it was some kind of forced sharing of a single sense where you could see out of your marked enemy¡¯s eyes or hear out of their ears. Good for casting on elusive hunting prey. Harry¡¯s great trick was to cast it so that his opponent was forced to see out of his own eyes and then shut his eyes so neither of them could see. Harry¡¯s ability set gave him other senses that were sharp enough to be completely sure footed as well as know the location of his opponent even without sight. The ability was delivered by arrow, he usually used a Piercing Shot ability to land it for sure, and it lasted until the caster got the urge to have their own senses back. So, usually either when Harry took damage or fell over because he¡¯d gotten overconfident. It genuinely was a good ability and he¡¯d used it to run rings around the adventurers who did some casual duelling on the frontiers but Rupe confessed that he thought that the big city duelists would do his cousin in. ¡°Ahh, I think you¡¯re right,¡± said Dave when Rupe asked if Dave saw a way out. ¡°With no cleanse ability, anybody who can put a DOT on him, damage over time, will bring him out of it.¡± ¡°If he¡¯d occasionally trained to keep it going under trying conditions I¡¯d like his chances more but alas,¡± said Rupe with a moustache swirling grin. ¡°Youth thinks it already knows everything.¡± ¡°Yeah, he definitely needs to use it as an escape, not as spam-to-win finisher,¡± said Dave. ¡°It might work against Johan if Johan didn¡¯t have more health than an ogre.¡± ¡°Ha!¡± exclaimed Rupe. ¡°Spiffing! And what are Johan¡¯s strengths, do you say?¡± ¡°Well,¡± said Dave dryly. ¡°His sword¡¯s really sharp and his shield¡¯s really durable.¡± ¡°Good golly!¡± said Rupe. ¡°He got the sharp and the durable enchantments? Spiffing! I thought you said his sword and shield were summoned!?¡± ¡°They¡­ are?¡± said Dave, his tone and expression indicating he wanted more explanation from Rupe. ¡°What, ho?!¡± said Rupe, his moustache twitching from side to side as he talked. ¡°¡®Sharp¡¯ and ¡®durable¡¯ are usually enchantments. Very expensive ones too, come to think of it, never seen them below silver rank, myself. Actually, now that I¡¯m thinking about it, I wouldn¡¯t have thought they do exist below silver rank. Yes! Indeed! Very good enchantments.¡± ¡°Cutting through stuff properly and staying in the original shape?¡± asked Dave sceptically. ¡°Good enchantments?¡± Johan¡¯s sword had the ¡®sharp¡¯ tag, which had a curiously long description that, Dave thought, meant that it could cut through things that normally wouldn¡¯t be cuttable but only within rank boundaries. He¡¯d figured that this meant things like rocks or ghosts. ¡°Spiffing! No, no, no, my friend,¡± said Rupe jovially after Dave had imparted some of Johan¡¯s statistics. ¡°Sharp items are magical sharp. They¡¯ll cut magic as well. Within rank, of course, of course,¡± Rupe looked conspiratorial. ¡°And that magical reinforcement is often something that crafters rely on at higher ranks. And, especially with unusual materials. Which is why sharpness is considered such a good enchantment for duelists.¡± ¡°And durable,¡± said Dave, skimming the expanded description in Tome. ¡°That¡¯s the same thing the opposite way?¡± ¡°Tally ho!¡± said Rupe. ¡°Just like that it is, me-sir. That it is! In fact, that the shield won¡¯t buckle or dent means that blocking heavy hits with it is even better because the force that would have otherwise buckled the shield goes back and makes their weapon bounce. Also, it tends to absorb the very magic of magical attacks that hit it.¡± Rupe was practically dancing with anticipation of seeing it in action. ¡°Okay,¡± said Dave, puzzling it out. ¡°So, that sharpness trait, that¡¯ll mix well with his strength ability, yeah?¡± ¡°Hit it for six, yes!¡± confirmed Rupe. ¡°With good edge alignment, that he undoubtedly has, he¡¯ll be able to take armoured limbs off his opponents.¡± ¡°It¡¯d be interesting to see how Harry¡¯s mobility and control abilities go against Johan''s power set,¡± said Dave, almost wistfully. Rupe agreed, albeit with a note of concern in his voice. ¡°Spiffing, that it would but I¡¯d rather see that played out in a mirage chamber for my nephew¡¯s sake.¡± As they continued their conversation, they approached the stadium where tournament fighters had been assigned rooms for changing into some more formal robes. Rupe and Dave waved to each other as they each went to see their charge. Dave used his map to find the room and hovered in the background as the Hero¡¯s clergy helped him into the more formal wear that Executive Services had collectively decided was worth purchasing. The clothes were a plain affair with only the simplest cleaning and repairing enchantments, as required by local laws, but even so, Dave hated it. It was that narrow-shoe, tight legging with fluffed up coat-skirt type of fashion. As far as Dave was concerned it made anybody who wore it look like a spinning top that middle aged men would imagine should be marketed to little girls. Blues and reds were, apparently, ¡®in¡¯ which was fortunate because Hero¡¯s colours were blue and red with a gold trim and naturally, Johan¡¯s broad-shouldered, muscled frame with his golden hair and fair complexion contrived to look amazing in the ridiculous affair. It was only when the clergy had stopped playing inexpert manservants to him that Dave came forward. Dave inventory-switched into his own formal wear and stepped up to Johan, adjusting his own, non-fluffy coat-skirt with a grimace. ¡°Alright, Johan, let¡¯s go over the list.¡± Johan looked at Dave with wide eyes, brimming with eagerness to show he¡¯d remembered the list of things to avoid doing and wouldn¡¯t let anybody down! ¡°Point one?¡± asked Dave, holding up a finger. ¡°Don¡¯t mention exactly where I¡¯m from,¡± said Johan. ¡°They¡¯d not heard of it anyway, Greenwood values her privacy and I don¡¯t want anybody harassing my family after I beat them,¡± said Johan promptly. Dave held up a second finger as they walked out of the dressing room with Johan towards the arena¡¯s ballroom. He had to constantly stop himself from calling it a conference room. ¡°Don¡¯t talk about or confirm any of my team members,¡± said Johan, ¡°Talk about myself and the church. The fewer details I give about my team, the better. It would be best if I¡¯m not connected with your Lady Geller scandal and it would be best if I pretend that Sam doesn¡¯t exist.¡± ¡°And if they ask?¡± said Dave. ¡°Deflect,¡± Johan said firmly. ¡°Like Heather trying to get out of doing her chores.¡± Johan smiled thinking about his cheeky little sister. ¡°I¡¯ll just say that I haven¡¯t decided, like she does when mum asks her what time she¡¯ll feed the chickens.¡± ¡°And lastly?¡± asked Dave. ¡°I am not to helpfully explain my own abilities, physical or magical to anybody,¡± said Johan. ¡°These people are not above lying or pretending to be someone else.¡± Johan¡¯s face fell slightly, ¡°Dave, I¡¯m not comfortable treating everyone I meet with such distrust.¡± Dave placed a reassuring hand on Johan¡¯s shoulder, ¡°I know, but you know how back home there were certain things you just wouldn¡¯t tell certain people? Not because they were dishonest or cruel but because they couldn¡¯t resist? Or you knew they¡¯d do something foolish?¡± Johan looked troubled and thoughtful for a second. ¡°I guess¡­¡± he said, struggling through the thought and brightened up. ¡°Oh, like how we¡¯d never tell Marco Schneider if there was a pie on a windowsill because he¡¯d always steal it when nobody was looking.¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± said Dave, finally glad to have found something about the situation Johan could accurately relate to. ¡°Marco couldn¡¯t resist pie and would use underhanded means to get it. Many of these people can¡¯t resist winning, like Marco they just can¡¯t help themselves, and will use underhanded means to learn about you and beat you unfairly, understand?¡± Johan looked down at Dave, his height didn¡¯t have a choice, and gave Dave a confident, winning smile designed by the gods themselves. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best, Dave. Thank you for helping me understand.¡± He nodded to himself. ¡°Some of them are just like Marco and they¡¯re just trying to get me to tell them who¡¯s made a pie.¡± ¡°Good man,¡± Dave said with a nod towards the ballroom door. ¡°Now, go show them that you¡¯re not afraid of any of them.¡± Johan and Dave parted ways as they entered the ballroom. Johan walked straight into the heart of the gathering, where the master of ceremonies announced him as he walked through the door. Johan just beamed in response, touching his forelock to the master of ceremonies and began mingling with the nobles who eyed him with a mix of curiosity, amusement and various levels of disdain ranging from veiled to overt. His broad smile and genuine enthusiasm made him stand out among the stiff formality of the aristocrats. Meanwhile, Dave made his way to the servants'' ball, an affair held in an adjoining, lower dais of the same giant room where the contestant¡¯s support staff and non-noble guests congregated. Dave navigated the informal, bustling space of the servants¡¯ ball to find a good spot to place The Stationary Eye Of Farseeing. He selected just below the largest, magical light in the chandelier where the other magical interference of the magical light as well as the formation keeping the chandelier hovering in the air would camouflage the sensor. ¡°Through farseeing eye to distant space, I will scry my desired place,¡± muttered Dave and glanced at the small pocket mirror that the spell worked correctly. It had. ¡°Fixing your pretty face?¡± mocked a fat leonid, looking at Dave. ¡°Yes, I look atrocious,¡± said Dave dismissively and turned to walk off. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m talking to you,¡± said the leonid, grabbing Dave by the shoulder. ¡°Watch out, I have explosive diarrhoea!¡± said Dave, looking the leonid in the eye. The Leonid let Dave go, with further comments he didn¡¯t bother listening to. After all, a brain that easily manipulated had nothing useful to say. Dave quickly used Stop And Think to check and confirmed that the leonid¡¯s cape was clasped with the symbol of the Fosse family, one of the big six, and was probably feeling invincible tonight in vicarious power. Himself, Dave was glad that the opposition was so unprofessional. He smirked as he went to the tables where drinks were arranged in delicate towers and took a glass of wine. Dave glanced down at his mirror and from that vantage point, he could see Johan interacting with the nobles and it was obvious that the worlds he and they inhabited were further apart than the space a ballroom could allow. Johan seemed completely oblivious to the polite but patronising remarks, treating each noble with respect and raising his glass in toasts to the upcoming honourable bouts with a genuine pride that the nobles around him couldn¡¯t fake. Dave, observing from afar, couldn¡¯t help but feel a pang of concern and pride for the country boy thrust into this high society where all of his boyish assumptions about nobles doing noble things because of their nobility were wrong. One eye still on Johan in the mirror, Dave finally had the chance to really sit back and look around. The ballroom, though modestly adorned, exuded a sense of craftsmanship and elegance. The gentle hum of conversation mingled with the soft strains of a string quartet, creating a refined atmosphere while people mingled. On a raised dais, the master of ceremonies was still announcing each entrant with practised formality. Dave remembered from the programme, and double-checked using his abilities, that the order of things would be that the master of ceremonies would also be the one to announce the drawing of the groups once all the contestants had arrived. Back in his mirror, Dave could see that Johan was feeling out of place among the nobility. When he¡¯d been announced he¡¯d received at least some polite but slightly amused applause but the more he attempted to mingle, he felt their scrutiny and sensed he was seen more as an oddity than a serious contender. Johan had followed a server over to some hors d''oeuvres he clearly liked the look of near the divide of the nobles¡¯ and servants¡¯ levels. Dave rushed over to eavesdrop. ¡°Lord Gareth, I heard you being introduced earlier. I say, have you had ample time to train? The duels are sure to be quite demanding,¡± Johan ventured, with no hint of a lack of social confidence despite his treatment thus far. Gareth smiled thinly, barely concealing his condescension. ¡°Indeed, Johan. I hope I am able to test my skills against yours.¡± It was clearly a carefully calculated insult meant to suggest that Johan would be an easy win. Dave couldn¡¯t tell if Johan genuinely ignored it or if the insult had gone over his head. ¡°Cor, wouldn¡¯t that be something!¡± said Johan, giving one of his patented smiles. ¡°Best of luck to you on the morrow, hey?¡± ¡°I must speak with the barron,¡± replied Lord Gareth, smiling like he¡¯d bitten a lemon and moving away from Johan. Once again, Johan just smiled and exuded a sense of just being happy to be there and gently took some appetisers from a tray that went past him and wandered off away from Dave¡¯s eavesdropping. He moved his mirror to see over the rest of the ball and chuckled to himself as Baron Franchet and Lord Reyer dismissed Lord Gareth and continued talking to each other. The entire room was a den of polished facades masking a silent battlefield of manoeuvres who all looked upon Johan¡¯s entire being improper. The fact that he didn¡¯t seem to notice or care about that but remained the most polite and comfortable person in the room was clearly getting to some of the noble guests. Despite the subtle slights and condescending smiles, Johan remained unfazed, treating everyone with genuine respect and enthusiasm. As Dave watched, a nobleman intentionally bumped into Johan, spilt a bit of drink on himself and tried to make a scene. From the gestures between them, Dave had a feeling that the noble had tried to provoke Johan by slighting his honour and Johan had responded with genuine concern for the state of the man¡¯s fabric. The noble soon huffed and flounced away from Johan who seemed to have earned a few sincere smiles amidst the patronising ones from the presumably amusing situation. Dave busied himself making profiles on the nobles who came within sight of the servants¡¯ area until the drawing of the groups. A couple of fellow, rowdy attendees attempted to shame Dave into engaging with them by insulting bravery, parentage and his sexual preferences. He ignored them until one got the courage to come and stand in Dave¡¯s face whereupon Dave merely manifested Tzu who, under Dave¡¯s instruction, blared like a fire alarm for a few seconds and then, in a silent room, told the runic woman that Hero was watching her. She slunk off. This had, apparently, earned Dave some friends amongst those who served a family that disliked the family of whom the runic served. Dave found the tribalism worthy of nothing more than an eye roll but the elegant elves who served house Valdespina were friendly and happy to tell Dave all the gossip about many a noble that they spied in Dave¡¯s hand mirror. When the drawing of the groups was ready, word had gotten around and Dave was requested to cast the scrying spell again on a larger mirror that some staff brought in so that everyone could watch. He requested another mirror, which was also brought in just as quickly, so that the viewing mirror could be placed in the air and the whole reception could watch. With that set up, the servant¡¯s reception settled in to watch. Normally, the groups drawn would be groups of various sizes who would all fight each other once before a predetermined number who scored the highest moved on to the next round until a round of sixty-four was available to be made. Since this tournament was an invitational, there were only sixty-four competitors and not everyone was competing in the bouts. This drawing of the ¡®groups¡¯ was really just setting up the brackets and determining who would fight who first. There was oohing and ahhing as this person was matched with that other person and speculation about who would be upset about what. Apparently, a Lord Montclare was going to be furious with his son for not even winning a single bout. Word was he¡¯d spent a lot on fencing tutors but his son Francois had the bad luck to be matched against Emeline Paternoster, one of the top six, who¡¯d definitely beat him. Dave quietly noted that Harry Ainsworth was matched against someone else as relatively obscure as he was and wouldn¡¯t meet a sixer until two fights into the bracket so, he had a chance to do well. Johan was unlucky in his group and bracket. Or, rather, Dave reflected, Johan would be absolutely fine and continue having simply the best time of his life. His opponents were unlucky. It was just unlucky for Johan that he was immediately matched up against a serious up-and-comer of the tournament circuit with a sixer immediately in the next round so, his opponents would have more time than they would otherwise to take him seriously and study him. Unlucky for Dave too. Less time to place bets. As the groups were finalised, conversation filled both the ballroom and the reception, buzzing with the palpable anticipation of the morrow. Dave chatted politely with the Valdespina elves but left as soon as it was polite to do so and drifted out with the other attendees. The information gathering had been successful. Looking around outside and making good use of his UI, Dave spotted Rupe and waved. Rupe waved back and trotted over. ¡°Dave! Spiffing!¡± ¡°I saw you get the message to Johan,¡± said Dave in greeting next to Rupe¡¯s ear. He handed over a piece of paper. ¡°Here¡¯s everything about Harry¡¯s opponents until he hits Brodeur. If he manages to beat her, I¡¯ll do the rest of his opponents.¡± ¡°Ha-haa! Fair enough, me-sir, fair enough!¡± chortled Rupe. ¡°It¡¯s off to bed for a good sleep for Harry there.¡± Rupe gestured over his shoulder at a red haired man of average build with long legs and rosy cheeks who was currently preening in front of a couple of celestials he didn¡¯t have a chance with. ¡°So! See you bright and early at the bookies, eh? Now go rescue your fighter. Tally-ho!¡± ¡°Indeed so,¡± said Dave with a genuine smile. ¡°Until then.¡± Johan was being held up by a gorgeous bronze rank woman who¡¯d manoeuvred Johan into a social situation he couldn¡¯t extract himself from without being impolite and was angling to get him to have a cup of coffee with her and her friends to keep chatting the night away. She was clearly intending to keep Johan from sleeping before the tournament. Dave walked smartly up to the scene. ¡°Mister Schmidt?¡± asked Dave in a sharp, loud voice. Everyone in the conversation turned to glare at him. He felt an aura spike from the bronze ranked woman bounce off his camouflage and his HUD confirmed the ability was on cooldown. He ignored it. ¡°You are needed at the temple. Come at once!¡± Johan looked relieved to see Dave and immediately excused himself from the group, offering a polite bow to the woman. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Lady Danae, duty calls. Perhaps another time.¡± The bronze-ranked woman¡¯s smile tightened, but she nodded graciously. ¡°Of course. Good luck in the tournament, Mister Schmidt.¡± ¡°Ulterior motives, Johan. Remember?¡± whispered Dave as they walked away. ¡°She was trying to stop you from sleeping.¡± Johan gave a sheepish grin. ¡°I know but she was being friendly.¡± ¡°Friendly so long as you¡¯re her lapdog, I bet. Trapping you with politeness is just as rude as using chains. Just more socially acceptable. Now, let¡¯s get you some rest. You¡¯ve got a tournament tomorrow.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like not trusting people,¡± complained Johan. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, mate,¡± said Dave with a wry smile. ¡°We¡¯ll just win this tournament and get back to spending time with normal, trustworthy folk as soon as this tournament¡¯s over, okay?¡± ¡°Cor, that sure sounds swell,¡± said Johan, looking wistful. They made their way through the winding streets back to their lodgings. The night was cool, and the city was beginning to quiet down as the excitement of the evening subsided. Dave manifested Tzu to keep an eye out for any potential threats, but the streets remained mostly empty, save for a few late-night revellers. Back at his quarters at Hero¡¯s cathedral, Dave ensured Johan was settled in and ready for bed. ¡°Remember, don¡¯t let anyone distract you tomorrow. Focus on the matches and just do everything Greenwood trained you to do.¡± Johan nodded, his earnest eyes shining out of his face. ¡°I will, Dave. Thanks for looking out for me. The big city sure is a strange place full of strange people.¡± Dave smiled, patting Johan on the shoulder. ¡°Get some sleep, champ. Tomorrow¡¯s a big day.¡± Dave retreated to his own room next to Johan¡¯s, nodding at the clergymen who were subtly patrolling the hall as he passed them. He reflected on the evening''s events. The tournament was shaping up to be exactly what it appeared to be, which was a warning sign in and of itself. He suspected that would change tomorrow when they found out that Johan wasn¡¯t just a country bumpkin. Still, he felt a glimmer of hope. The churches were on his side. Once the nobles knew Johan was a genuine threat, they¡¯d almost certainly try to get him disqualified for something on the basis that he was a peasant and they¡¯d be embarrassed losing to him. But, they¡¯d need grounds and Johan had drilled the tournament rules every day for the last two weeks. It was also a good bet that they didn¡¯t know about the collection of historical tournament results and commentaries in Knowledge¡¯s library which Dave had access to and with Stop And Think, he¡¯d definitely be able to cite examples in the last fifty years of similar events that didn¡¯t result in disqualifications to counter the noble¡¯s puffed up accusations. Slipping into bed, Dave allowed himself relaxation and felt himself untense from the rigours of the last few hours. Tomorrow would come, but he¡¯d prepared. Chapter 30: The False Edge
Current Quests
Justice For Courbefy: Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use¡­ Chosen Of Knowledge: Escort Hugh on his journey to becoming a fully awakened iron¡­ Chosen Of Hero: Assist Johan as he competes in the Avril Reyer Birthday Tournament... Making A Magnate: Dominion wants you to hire at least two employees to expand your¡­ Healer¡¯s Materials: Gain Healer¡¯s favour by donating alchemy ingredients to the church¡­ Investigate Dapcher Orphanage: Investigate Dapcher orphanage for signs of exploitation. Abel¡¯s Mace: Return Brother Abel¡¯s missing mace to the church of Soldier. He was last¡­ Rescue the Lucas¡¯s Daughter: Retrieve Charlotte Lucas, the warehouse owner¡¯s¡­ Lost Treasure Map: Find and return an old treasure map stolen from, Marielle Lecuyer¡­ Wolf Menace: Hunt down a pack of mischievous foxes terrorising the livestock of Villars. Haunted Mill: Investigate the abandoned mill outside Limony that''s said to be haunted¡­ Embarrassing Request: Gather rare herbs from the dangerous swamp for Duerne''s¡­ Merchant Escort: Safely escort a merchant caravan through bard-infested woods to¡­ Mine Monsters: Clear out the rat monsters that have infested The Old Mine, a popular¡­ Ancient Ruins Exploration: Explore and map out the ancient ruins that have recently¡­ Missing Scout: Locate and rescue a missing scout who was last seen investigating¡­ Bridge Repair: Collect and deliver materials needed to repair a bridge that connects two¡­ UnKill Streak 5: Complete a five day streak of not killing anybody! Potion of Prosperity Delivery: Deliver a potion of prosperity to the midwife in Houlbec. Merchant''s Goods Recovery: Recover stolen goods in Confolens from the bandits that...
Dave used Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas on himself before approaching an official tournament bookmaker. He could feel his heart fluttering, attempting to rise into his mouth. Which was odd because he technically didn¡¯t have functional internal organs anymore but, he guessed, old habits stick around. He walked over as the previous better left, hyper aware of his own body. The bookmaker, a rotund celestine with a calculating gaze, greeted him with a nod. ¡°What can I do for you, Mister?¡± she asked, her tone professional but indifferent. Dave clenched his jaw, steeling himself, feeling a bead of sweat trickle down his neck. Now that he was about to do it, he felt more certain than ever that betting was not for him. The large coin purse felt leaden as he took it from his inventory. ¡°Put this on Johan Schmidt to win his first match,¡± he said, glad to hear his own voice steady, though his mind screamed that in gambling, the house always won. The bookmaker put the coins on a device that measured the amount and started consulting a table that calculated the odds but glanced up as Dave took out six more smaller bags. ¡°I¡¯ve labelled them,¡± said Dave, giving a small nod and displaying ¡®Johan Schmidt: To reach semifinals in the duels¡¯ written on the fabric. ¡°Thank you, sir,¡± said the celestine with the same professional neutrality. Dave¡¯s mind raced. He was very glad of his aura camouflage or else he knew for certain that he¡¯d have been picked out by those with the skill to see it as someone worth paying attention to. He found himself wiping his hands on his coat and suddenly realised his palms were clammy. The pressure of what he was doing pressed down on him. Even though it wasn¡¯t really just him, he still felt partially responsible for all the collected money as its conveyor to the bookmaker. What if Johan lost? The amount of collective money that the clergy could muster up was surprising. All that gold invested in faith in Johan and, by extension Dave felt, in him too. He focused on breathing for a moment and letting the anxiety just wash through him. When the bookmaker had finished looking up the odds and handed Dave a copy of the ticket. He forced a confident smile and slipped it into his inventory with a slight tremble in his hands. ¡°Will that be all, Mister?¡± asked the Bookmaker, making the unfocused Dave jump. ¡°What? Oh, yes. Yes, thank you,¡± said Dave. ¡°Fortune bless your wager, Mister,¡± said the Bookkeeper. She¡¯d clasped something beneath her blouse when she¡¯d said it which Dave recognised as something that the common folk of Oullins were doing that morning at any clergy related to the event at all, whether it be Hero or even Warrior, who¡¯d be invoked to open the contest. ¡°Thank you, Miss,¡± said Dave. ¡°Yours too.¡± The cyan haired celestine grinned at him for a moment before composing herself and calling the next better forward. After last night, word had spread like wildfire through the city that the divine will applicant wasn¡¯t anything like the rumours. He was a commoner. Just like them. In the tournament. And, the common people had latched onto it. It¡¯d originated with house staff overhearing the nobles they worked for, no doubt. Dave hadn¡¯t heard yet how the Reyers were taking it but his guess was ¡®badly¡¯. The city had been supporting the home girl until now, and still did, but not with the enthusiasm Johan, the Adonis clone who walked the path of the parade with a smile on his face, had inspired from the common folk. With the bets placed, Dave went to breakfast with Rupe and Harry who¡¯d both also got taken up in the hype and placed a few bets themselves. Rupe had spread his pocket money out between Harry, Johan and a parlay bet of all of the top six winning their first match. Harry had just put everything he could scrape together on himself. Fortunately, Rupe had managed to convince him to bet only on himself to win his first match, not the whole thing. ¡°Uncle, look, it¡¯s that book loving swot of yours,¡± said Harry with a grin. He was a rangy teenager of seventeen and shared his uncle¡¯s red hair and pale skin but his mannerisms were more of the cocky youth than Rupe¡¯s joviality. ¡°Indeed it is, young Harry,¡± retorted Dave. ¡°Although I must insist you not act as my master of ceremonies on this occasion. It¡¯s only breakfast.¡± ¡°Ha! Spiffing!¡± exclaimed Rupe, enjoying the turnabout of Dave treating his overconfident nephew as staff. Harry scowled at Dave who grinned back. The Ainsworths weren¡¯t like other noble houses. They were so far away from political centres that they mostly socialised with their subjects rather than other nobility and, as a result, the other nobles treated them only as peerage for two reasons. Firstly, that the Ainsworths were nobility for the same reasons other families were nobility, so to deny the Ainsworths was to open the doors to their own dispossession. Secondly, under the leadership of Arthur Ainsworth, Rupe¡¯s brother, the Ainsworths could give the premier hunting experience for the well-to-do and thus, everyone wanted to be on polite terms with them. Even if they did say ¡®please¡¯ and ¡®thank you¡¯ to their servants. The trio ordered food and drinks and gave each other a run down of everything the other had missed last night. Rupe had been instrumental in engaging Johan in a group chat for an hour that had solidly cemented the aristocratic opinion of him as a rural buffoon. Johan had grudgingly played along with it and allowed his lack of formal education to be highlighted again and again by first Rupe and Harry but then other nobles who thought to get in a jibe on the unfailingly polite farm boy who hadn¡¯t read any of the classics. Rupe had been very careful to interrupt when someone had asked if Johan had ever read any books at all! Dave didn¡¯t know the answer but thought Rupe was right to avoid risking Johan answering with a list of weapon¡¯s manuals. In any case, the odds against Johan had gone up two points since yesterday, which Rupe thought was spiffing. ¡°So, what¡¯s your plan for your first opponent, Harry?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Luca Rossi, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Harry had gone over Dave¡¯s notes from last night. Especially Luca Rossi, his first opponent. Luca, was an elf of the Flos Duellatorum school which meant he would favour a low guard, a beating parry that would fling his opponent¡¯s sword aside and, according to the rumour mongers of the previous night, enjoyed darting in and out with single attacks over prolonged exchanges. Harry switched to a look that was all business. ¡°Alright, Booker,¡± said Harry, shrugging in the teenage way of forced nonchalance. ¡°Lots of feints to keep them moving the sword tip, get him tired or confused and work my way in. What about the next round? After I¡¯ve beaten Luca?¡± ¡°Maria Kostopoulos and Ahmed Hassan,¡± said Dave, manifesting Tome and having it open to a single page for both. ¡°Both are similar to yourself; local area names that nobody¡¯s really seen. I¡¯ve only been able to summarise what might be true based on who¡¯s been training them.¡± Harry nodded seriously with Rupe glancing over his shoulder at Tome. Kostopoulos was in an area famous for producing highly technical fighters and Ahmed from a school across the Byzas Strait that made aggressive, hard-hitting fighters. ¡°Ahh, they¡¯re just sea-blown southerners,¡± said Harry in an attempt at bravado. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with them, hey uncle Rupe? My real opponent is that Brodeur!¡± ¡°Oh, I dunno,¡± teased Dave. ¡°She¡¯ll be no problem right? You¡¯ve got a big enough head, just throw your hat at her.¡± Rupe threw his head back and laughed heartily. Even Harry grinned bashfully. Their food was served and each popped a spirit coin in their mouth and began eating to get the bitter taste of the coin out of their mouth. Before they¡¯d struck up another point of conversation they all saw Hugh leading Johan towards them. There were some other contestants and associated staff with them, Dave used Stop And Think to look up names from several teams and note them all down, although Hugh and Johan said their goodbyes and good lucks to their escort and approached Dave and the Ainsworths. ¡°Morning,¡± said Dave, getting the attention of some staff. ¡°What was that all about?¡± Hugh fumbled his words while Johan spoke up. ¡°Hugh was attacked in a cowardly fashion while walking between cathedrals this morning,¡± said Johan, his eyes flashing with righteousness. ¡°One of the Winters¡¯ trainers abandoned all faith and dared to cross this warrior of Knowledge.¡± Johan smiled fiercely at the flabbergasted Hugh and patted his shoulder. ¡°But our humble friar here put the bestial draconian in his place.¡± ¡°Smashed him!¡± said Harry, savagely. ¡°Well, I say!¡± said Rupe. ¡°Whatever happened, my good friar? Please! Sit, sit! Tell us your tale. Waiter! Waiter, yes, a pot of Phonecian black. With haste!¡± ¡°Well, I do say,¡± said Hugh in response to the attention on him that was silently asking for the details. ¡°A simple matter really. I was walking and then a well dressed Draconic asked me to stop a moment for Knowledge. Naturally, I did and he shoved me into that alley after the wheelwright on Imperial Parade and he held me by the collar, threatening with his other fist. He was unhappy about Johan¡¯s heritage and inclusion in the tournament and made specific mention of us being on the same team but while he was jabbering about blood or such, I realised I could jolly well fight back so, I popped right under that arm he was holding me with and did that move from the other day. The suplex, yes - from a body-lock, I believe,¡± Hugh looked abashed. ¡°Anyway, it all caused something of a stir when I turned him in. What with him being associated the way he was.¡± ¡°Gracious Gods,¡± announced Rupe. ¡°That¡¯d get the tournament organisers involved!¡± ¡°Indeed it did,¡± said Johan, who¡¯d taken a seat and quietly ordered a hearty breakfast with a voice and smile that¡¯d made the waitress¡¯s heart flutter. ¡°By the time we¡¯d left, the Winters had made everything worse by stalwartly claiming the whole event was a tale of imagination.¡± ¡°I guess they didn¡¯t know Hugh is of Knowledge?¡± said Dave. ¡°Well, obviously I can¡¯t be sure,¡± said Hugh. ¡°But they knew enough to accost me on the path between the library-cathedral and Hero¡¯s cathedral. To know that as well as my association with you?¡± ¡°Nah, it¡¯s a puzzle isn¡¯t it?¡± said Dave as Hugh trailed off. ¡°Even Harry here knows not to argue with Knowledge clergy. No offence, Harry.¡± ¡°Spiffing!¡± ¡°No, I agree with you,¡± said Harry, who was wearing a puzzled expression and indicated himself and Rupe. ¡°Our type gets private tutoring and learns early enough not to screw with Knowledge clergy.¡± ¡°Quite so, quite so!¡± agreed Rupe with a wink at Hugh. ¡°Those Knowledge folk, they always know.¡± ¡°Anyway,¡± said Hugh. ¡°A few of the other teams insisted on sending an escort with me to the arena. Just to ward off any other wayward souls and as an apology for the terrible hospitality of the Reyer family. You know, I think the Reyers are losing a lot of friends over this tournament.¡± ¡°So, the Winters will probably get a huge fine, a whole lot of public embarrassment as well as a penance pilgrimage,¡± said Harry with a grin. ¡°And now we¡¯ve got something to tease the Reyer-aligned teams with.¡± ¡°Oh-ho! You dare, you scamp? You dare?¡± exclaimed Rupe, ruffling his nephew¡¯s hair. ¡°Throwing them off their game is fair play, uncle Rupe!¡± said Harry with a grin. ¡°I like to attack when my opponent is speaking,¡± said Johan mildly. ¡°They¡¯re often distracted while speaking.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because you can distract opponents by existing,¡± said Harry, looking Johan up and down. ¡°What''d they feed you out there in the alp lakes?¡± ¡°Fresh milk and healthy, mountain air,¡± said Johan with the absolute conviction of a country lad quoting his mum. ¡°Uncle, we¡¯ve got to try out that milk,¡± quipped Harry. ¡°Ha-Haa! That we do, boy. That we do. Spiffing!¡± If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
The group finished up their breakfast, leaving coins on the table, and went to their assigned dressing rooms. Even on the small walk between the cafe to the competitors entrance of the arena, Johan was hailed by strangers who wished him Hero¡¯s blessings. In a world without image sharing media, Dave supposed that the rumours that flew around this morning must have also included an accurate description. Which wouldn¡¯t have been difficult, Dave reasoned, looking at the larger-than-life appearance of the farmer¡¯s son. ¡®He¡¯s the one who looks like a walking statue¡¯ would have sufficed and if there was still any doubt, once you got close enough, his aura would settle over people with its gentle but firm, neighbourly feeling of protection. A common person standing next to Johan would instinctively feel he was looking out for them. Most of everyone else too. Dave felt a pang of sadness that Sam couldn¡¯t be here to support Johan and be part of the crowd. He knew she¡¯d absolutely love it but she had adamantly refused to entertain any notion of joining an event where there was a certainty of silver rankers and, he knew, she was right. Sam was already hiking from farm to farm offering her services with Slimy and healing folk as she went. The team would meet back up with her the morning after the tournament. Hugh found Johan¡¯s room, with a little bit of Goddess assistance in the warren of stone that was the arena¡¯s business side of things, and walked inside to change into the special clothes that the weapons bouts required. The bouts were under ¡®bare fighting¡¯ rules which meant ¡®bare of armour¡¯. Still, they wore an ankle to wrist outfit of thick cloth with an arming jacket over the top, socks, stout shoes, inner and outer gloves. Everything about the bouts was standardised. You couldn¡¯t even bring in your own weapon which was, if anything, an advantage for Johan because Greenwood had trained him with the no-frills standard edition of every sword. Once dressed, it was approaching the second hour of the day and the sun was casting a golden hue over the great crystals that refracted the sun into the bustling arena. Athletes from all corners of the realm gathered and their teams filed onto the sands in their fencing uniforms, their teams in various fashionable garb, and all gave a sense of anticipation to get started that hung in the air. ¡°Want to wait in here or on the sand?¡± asked Dave. He knew that being on the sand of the arena around the competitors and their teams might reveal more information but Johan¡¯s nerves took precedence. He needn¡¯t have worried. ¡°The sand,¡± said Johan with a boyish grin. Johan was definitely in his element and just happy to be there. His exuberance practically shone from him, unable to be contained any longer as he strode confidently towards the arena. The guards on the gate to the arena let Johan through and attempted to be petty and bar Dave and Hugh access saying that Dave would be more comfortable in the stadium with other people like him and Hugh, although they respected the gods, had no business here. Dave teleported past them with a recent purchase. A rod that allowed a short-distance teleport, about twenty metres, with an hour-long cooldown. Not the most reliable with that cooldown but cheap to purchase because of it. One of the guards almost pursued but was stopped by the warning hand of the other who recognised that abandoning their post to chase Dave, who actually did have permission to be there, around the area wasn¡¯t a good move. They turned back to where they thought Hugh was and saw him already in air form climbing straight up. They followed him with their eyes as Hugh airwalked directly over their heads and then down an imaginary ramp to back to his friends. The guards gave a sour look to Executive Services to which Dave responded with a rude gesture. ¡°Dave!¡± admonished Johan. ¡°Fuck ¡®em,¡± said Dave. ¡°They can be professional.¡± Executive Services threaded through the nobility in the arena to the one Johan had been assigned; north circle, red flag. A member of the local Hero clergy, an elven woman with amber hair and lithe build, was already waiting for them there. Hugh put a hand on Dave¡¯s shoulder. ¡°There¡¯s also being seen to be polite in public,¡± said Hugh, pointedly looking around. Dave sighed, his shoulders slumping. ¡°Guys, I gotta tell you,¡± he said, gesturing around at the gathered upper crust of society milling about on the sand. ¡°I am getting real sick and tired of being polite to these inadequate people who act like the sun shines out of their arse.¡± He sighed again, shaking his head. ¡°Can we skip politeness, win this tournament and fly out of this fucking city?¡± The look of social exhaustion on his face made even Johan stop. Hugh pulled a face and just nodded. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t worry, Dave,¡± said Johan with a gentle smile that belonged on the cover of Dentist Weekly. ¡°There¡¯s my opponent over there, they look ready. I¡¯ll make the challenge as soon as the ceremony is over. It won¡¯t take long, you¡¯ll see.¡± ¡°That¡¯d be nice, mate,¡± sighed Dave. ¡°That¡¯d be nice.¡± They arrived at their designated place and Mother ¨¦lise Dubois, the representative of Warrior on Johan¡¯s team, nodded solemnly in greeting. Johan gave Dave a brotherly clap on the shoulder. ¡°Cor! Great!¡± said Johan. ¡°I¡¯ll go let them know.¡± Before Dave or Hugh could say anything, he turned around and marched across the duelling circle they¡¯d just arrived at with a straight back and the body language of pure respect for self and for others. Heads turned to watch him. They usually did, he was a marble statue given life and topped with gold, but this time also because his behaviour was unusual. He hailed the other team¡¯s trainer, something that was allowed in the rules, talking to your opponent was not, and beamed wholesomeness at the celestine woman who maintained a neutral disdain on their face for Johan. Johan had a quick exchange with the woman who gave a curt nod and they both walked away from each other, back to their respective teams. ¡°I think they agree,¡± said Johan. ¡°No need to waste time. The match will begin as soon as the arena blessing is done. Dave looked at Johan in wonderment that could detect no cynicism in the young man at all who¡¯d, no doubt, just been subject to sly double-speak from the other team implying that their agreement to not waste time was because they considered Johan a waste of time and wanted to be him ASAP. But no, there was no indication that he had talked to someone unpleasant at all. Just an unfairly handsome young man smiling at the world around him like he wished the best for everyone and everything he could see. No, Dave had to correct himself. Not ¡®like¡¯. He really did think that.
The area had four circles in it defined by wooden railings that the matches could take place in until the quarter finals when the whole arena would be given over to the matches. There were little flags indicating where the fighter and their team should assemble. Other athletes and their teams not fighting yet similarly gathered in the areas between the circles. Everyone was waiting for the second hour to arrive, which was when the ceremony to bless the arena would begin. The Warrior clergy were already looking bored and standing next to a raised platform that had some magical voice projection equipment on it so it couldn¡¯t be long until things got under way. A couple minutes more and a hush fell over the arena as one of the figures in ornate ceremonial armour stepped onto the raised platform at the centre. The Bishop of Warrior, an elf of commanding presence, raised his arms, and the crowd fell silent. His voice, light and resonant, carried across the open space on the projection magic. ¡°We gather today to witness the strength and skill of our finest warriors. May the Warrior¡¯s spirit guide and protect you in your battles in this arena.¡± The Bishop gestured to his subordinates who moved forward to the edge of the arena and pressed their hands onto parts of the enormous magic circle that encompassed the entire arena. With his Eldritch Eyes, Dave could see flows of magical blood, flesh, renewal, time, swiftness and dimension come together and begin enmeshing with each other, affecting everyone within the arena. They were all silver rank magic, which was appropriate for iron rank safety. The elf clergyman continued, lifting a large ceremonial sword high above his head, the blade catching the morning light. ¡°In the name of the Warrior, I bless this arena and all who compete. May your courage never falter, and may you honour the Warrior with every strike and spell.¡± A cheer erupted from the crowd as the elf came away from the speech projection magic and touched his now glowing sword to the magic circle, completing the ritual. Johan took a knee and muttered a quick prayer of thanks to Warrior. The elf returned to the voice projection equipment. ¡°In the name of Warrior, let the bouts begin!¡± the bishop declared, stepping back from the podium. The clapping died down and Johan began the challenge ritual by kneeling in front of a Warrior acolyte assistant who snapped a suppression collar around his neck, stepping into the duelling circle, turning left and walking along the edge of the circle until he reached a weapon¡¯s rack there and indicated which weapons he intended to use to the same assistant as earlier. The acolyte put a red ribbon over the heaviest arming sword and the largest heater shield. Johan¡¯s opponent, Maria Bianchi, a runic woman, immediately accepted the challenge and took the suppression collar around her neck, stepped into the ring, turned left and also indicated a one handed sword, but one slightly longer that tapered to a finer point, and a smaller, round shield. The weapons selection rules were easy; each competitor would indicate their preferred weapon selection. Each weapon or shield was classified as either one handed or two handed, and the rules for that difference were always up for fierce debate, but once they were in the racks the competitors could select up to two hands worth of equipment. If one of the competitors only indicated one hand worth of equipment and their opponent had indicated two hands worth, they were first offered a selection of gloves and gauntlets that could be used to grasp the opponent¡¯s blade. If that offer was refused, their opponent would have to either remove a selection down to a single handed weapon or make a new single handed weapon selection. Johan had been lucky to get an opponent who allowed him his preferred choice. From what Dave had read most competitors selected single handed and only chose the glove if they thought they were stronger than their opponent. Otherwise, they¡¯d fence one handed and only risk grasping their opponents blade if they had to. A barehanded grab on a weapon risked a sudden tug cutting deep and ending the bout but a bare hand could also grapple an opponent¡¯s armour or clothing with more dexterity. Johan and Bianchi donned their shields, accepted their swords from the assistants, saluted with swords across their faces and advanced across the duelling ring at each other. In that instant, Dave recognised how dangerous Johan was and how utterly screwed his opponents were. Johan moved with a fluidity and grace that belied his powerful frame, moving across the circle with a casual ease and settling into a guard position with the grace of a dancer just as he came into range. In contrast, Bianchi competently advanced across the sand in a wide stance, with her shield extended and her sword in a high guard. A sharp ¡®thock!¡¯ noise announced Johan¡¯s first probe against Bianchi¡¯s defences. It was a blink-and-you-miss it thrust that smacked into the top of Bianchi''s shield. Dave had surely missed it, he was focusing on Johan¡¯s footwork at that moment and only saw Johan¡¯s withdrawal to a relaxed, neutral guard in his periphery. It was so fast. Bianchi took a half-stumbling step back and raised her shield in response to the attack and then advanced forward herself with a thrust and overhand cut that Johan retreated from, just out of her reach. The two combatants circled for a moment, vying for position when Johan thrust into the same part of her shield again but this time instead of stepping back to neutral, he sidestepped to the right. Again lowering her shield, Bianchi moved forward and counter-attacked around her shield towards Johan¡¯s new position with an overhand, diagonal cut. Johan, who smoothly sidestepped and pivoted to Bianchi¡¯s left, started raising his shield to her attack but, with a flick of the wrist, his sword rose like a flash to meet her wrist. Both combatants froze with a silver rank shield of force over them. Johan¡¯s sword was buried deep in Bianchi¡¯s wrist with a small amount of blood pushing out into the minute space under the shield of force. ¡°Winner, Johan Schmidt!¡± announced the three ringside assistants. In a few seconds the forcefield faded and Johan flicked his sword downwards while Bianchi withdrew her own hand, dropping the sword and clutching at her wrist for a moment but the arena-wide magic had already healed the wound. Johan stood formally and saluted his opponent. Bianchi left her sword on the sand and stalked away without looking back. ¡°What¡¯d you think?¡± said Johan, as soon as he¡¯d formally exited the ring, grinning like a maniac. ¡°Indeed, it was¡­¡± Hugh gestured at the ring, lost for words. ¡°To be clear,¡± said Dave seriously. ¡°While I am sick of these people, I¡¯m more invested in you winning this thing than you setting a new tournament speedrunning record.¡± Johan laughed like Dave had told a joke. ¡°No, I just took the first opportunity that she presented,¡± said Johan, getting technical. ¡°Did you see how she blinded herself with her shield and swung before she could see again?¡± Dave used Stop And Think and Library Of The Mind to instantly relive the event and notice what Johan said. It was true, after Johan¡¯s thrusts her counterattacking arm was extended while her shield was still raised. Time returned and he nodded at Johan. ¡°So, if I kept my own sword and shield low where she could see them, I thought she might overcommit to an attack at the head and Master Greenwood always says; ¡®flick cuts are real cuts¡¯ and made me train them.¡± Johan beamed at both Dave and Hugh after his enthusiastic tirade who desperately tried to find something to say. ¡°Just privately,¡± said Dave to Johan in an undertone. ¡°How do you think Lady Bianchi would measure up to Greenwood¡¯s standards?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to tell a lie,¡± said Johan softly, looking around furtively. ¡°But she¡¯s the kind of novice that Greenwood spends six months training up sometimes.¡± He gestured furiously with his hands in an attempt to ward off Dave interpreting his words as cruel. ¡°Not that she¡¯s bad, of course! Lots of potential! Just flinches on shield defence a bit and some sloppy bladework, using curves instead of straight lines. Nothing that couldn¡¯t be fixed in a few months of hard work! Please, don¡¯t say anything. I don¡¯t want her to feel bad.¡± ¡°I promise, I won¡¯t breathe a word,¡± said Dave and retreated into his own thoughts. The Reyers hadn¡¯t fixed this tournament, they¡¯d invited real contenders for their daughter to beat. In fact, Dave¡¯s research suggested that Maria Bianchi wasn¡¯t even a personal invite. The invite had been to her sword school in northern Italy, the Lombardy region if Dave recalled correctly. He didn¡¯t know what it was called here but that¡¯s where it was. She was the best iron ranker that the entire region could send and Johan had called her a novice. ¡°Well,¡± said Hugh, bringing joviality back to the celebration. ¡°All I can say is that it was spectacular. My Lady says that you¡¯re the fastest finish in this round.¡± Hugh¡¯s face suddenly went cross eyed then wide eyed. ¡°Dave, we need to talk! Johan, stay here and wait for your next fight. We¡¯re going to collect Dave¡¯s winnings.¡± Dave manifested Tzu. ¡°Johan tell Tzu everything you can about the fight. Tzu listen to everything that Johan says and ask as many questions as you like,¡± said Dave and allowed himself to be dragged away by Hugh. ¡°What¡¯s this all about, mate?¡± said Dave as he was dragged along past the rude guards from earlier and onwards. Hugh was not normally this assertive and it was concerning him. Dave¡¯s eyes scanned over Hugh¡¯s body and detected no mind altering magic upon him. ¡°Not here,¡± said Hugh, striding on. Hugh took Dave to the betting area where the bookmakers were and into a booth covered by a privacy formation reserved for those who didn¡¯t want just anybody to see their riches. ¡°I need all of your essences and awakening stones,¡± said Hugh abruptly. ¡°And all of your spare magical items, just in case.¡± ¡°What for?¡± asked Dave, although he was already handing them over. ¡°No, no, no,¡± said Hugh. ¡°You keep hold of them. I just need them. To make something called a side bet with certain individuals that my Lady has promised to identify for me but I¡¯ll need them to make the bets for the awakening stones that those people have which I can use.¡± ¡°Something called a side bet?¡± asked Dave. ¡°You don¡¯t even know what that is, do you?¡± Hugh shook his head, eyes full of certainty. Dave had already resigned himself to this but that certainty was confirmation. ¡°Okay, why am I making the bets? No, wait! It is because you¡¯re Knowledge clergy and nobody will take the bet?¡± Hugh just nodded at Dave. ¡°Alright, okay,¡± said Dave. ¡°But it can¡¯t be me either. I¡¯m just a nobody, peasant hanger-on.¡± ¡°Well, if you say so but who - No, you can¡¯t!¡± ¡°It has to be -¡± ¡°He¡¯s never gambled in his li-¡± ¡°He¡¯s the only one who can drive them mad enough to take the bet!¡± ¡°He won¡¯t do it, he¡¯s too nice!¡± ¡°You couldn''t ask your lady for a way to convince him?¡± There was a moment¡¯s silence as Hugh checked. ¡°My Lady is silent.¡± ¡°Fuck. It¡¯s up to us.¡± ¡°Indeed, yes.¡± There was silence for a moment and then Dave shot Hugh a look that Hugh recognised. ¡°What was that? That¡¯s your idea look. What was it?¡± Dave tilted his head from side to side and made a grimace. ¡°Uhh, this wouldn¡¯t count as a mission from a goddess, would it?¡± said Dave, delicately. ¡°A religious sort of thing?¡± ¡°Well, indeed, I suppose it could be? Why - Oh! No! We can¡¯t do that to Johan!¡± ¡°We can! He¡¯s very religious!¡± ¡°I¡¯m religious!¡± ¡°You¡¯re not in a tournament!¡± ¡°And if I was?¡± ¡°If your wins were guaranteed, I¡¯d profit off them too!¡± ¡°You¡¯d lie and tell me I was on a mission from my goddess?¡± ¡°Would it help you win?¡± ¡°Well - Hey! That¡¯s not the point!¡± ¡°Ah-ha!¡± ¡°What do you mean, ¡®ah-ha¡¯? What¡¯d you just prove?¡± ¡°That it would help you win. And, it¡¯ll help Johan win knowing that he¡¯s serving the gods. We¡¯re going to boost Johan¡¯s confidence and help him win by telling him that you have confirmed that Knowledge Herself is on his side and that she wants awakening stones!¡± Dave raised a finger against Hugh¡¯s protests. ¡°Knowledge herself is on Johan¡¯s side,¡± continued Dave. ¡°Because, she wants you to have those awakening stones, yeah? She wants that. Therefore, she wants Johan to win and win in the most noble-infuriating way possible so that you can have awakening stones. Agreed? Run it by your Lady if you have to. Does She object?¡± Hugh looked scandalised, expectant, confused and then despondent. ¡°She doesn¡¯t object.¡± ¡°Okay, then buck up,¡± said Dave. ¡°We have to convince the kindest, most wholesome man we¡¯ve ever met to shit-talk a bunch of nobles he¡¯s never met.¡± Chapter 31: Being The Heel
Current Quests
Justice For Courbefy: Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use¡­ Chosen Of Knowledge: Escort Hugh on his journey to becoming a fully awakened iron¡­ Chosen Of Hero: Assist Johan as he competes in the Avril Reyer Birthday Tournament... Making A Magnate: Dominion wants you to hire at least two employees to expand your¡­ Healer¡¯s Materials: Gain Healer¡¯s favour by donating alchemy ingredients to the church¡­ Investigate Dapcher Orphanage: Investigate Dapcher orphanage for signs of exploitation. Abel¡¯s Mace: Return Brother Abel¡¯s missing mace to the church of Soldier. He was last¡­ Rescue the Lucas¡¯s Daughter: Retrieve Charlotte Lucas, the warehouse owner¡¯s¡­ Lost Treasure Map: Find and return an old treasure map stolen from, Marielle Lecuyer¡­ Wolf Menace: Hunt down a pack of mischievous foxes terrorising the livestock of Villars. Haunted Mill: Investigate the abandoned mill outside Limony that''s said to be haunted¡­ Embarrassing Request: Gather rare herbs from the dangerous swamp for Duerne''s¡­ Merchant Escort: Safely escort a merchant caravan through bard-infested woods to¡­ Mine Monsters: Clear out the rat monsters that have infested The Old Mine, a popular¡­ Ancient Ruins Exploration: Explore and map out the ancient ruins that have recently¡­ Missing Scout: Locate and rescue a missing scout who was last seen investigating¡­ Bridge Repair: Collect and deliver materials needed to repair a bridge that connects two¡­ UnKill Streak 5: Complete a five day streak of not killing anybody! Potion of Prosperity Delivery: Deliver a potion of prosperity to the midwife in Houlbec. Merchant''s Goods Recovery: Recover stolen goods in Confolens from the bandits that...
¡°Oh dear,¡± said Dave, still forcing a smile. ¡°Indeed,¡± agreed Hugh, keeping up his whiskery smile. Johan had gone through the weapon¡¯s bouts like a hot knife through butter and had just qualified for the finals all while calling out the nobility as blasphemous before the gods the entire way. Before the anticipated awkward conversation with Johan, Dave and Hugh had gone to Dubois to help, to which she¡¯d been receptive. Despite her fair, elven skin, Mother Dubois gave the sense she was made of tough leather, clad in her ceremonial mail with prayers woven in. Her eyes, as sharp as a hawk¡¯s, sharpened more at their words and then relaxed. A small explanation later and she seemed relieved that the two of them had figured out that Warrior was insulted by being invoked in a tournament that was a pretext for bribery. So, all three moved to Johan to have that talk and, initially, Dave and Hugh had been thinking to encourage Johan to maybe give a cocky grin after winning? Some fancy footwork during a fight? Definitely raise his sword and acknowledge the crowd after a win. Dubois, however, had grabbed Johan by the lapels, shook him and told him to start acting like Hero¡¯s chosen and Warrior¡¯s choice pick. She had let him know in no uncertain terms that the gods themselves had conspired to put him in this tournament as a warning about the consequences of blasphemy and it was his holy mandate to be the instrument of that warning. Dave and Hugh had kept silent and nodded along with poker faces at the unexpected intensity of Dubois but none of them, not even Dubois, had anticipated how wholeheartedly Johan would embrace her words. He''d taken those words into his big, farmboy heart and after that, he hadn¡¯t just played the part; he¡¯d become it. As customary, once the fights reached the quarterfinals, each fighter was given time to speak before the match. Before Johan, the fighters just stated their name, where they resided, their school or trainer and added some fancy description of how honourable, skilled or badass they were. Then Johan had stepped up for the quarter finals. ¡°I am the Chosen of Hero,¡± he¡¯d said, ¡°given unto Warrior himself to bring the respect He deserves to this tournament. For it is known that the grand prize was already designed upon a competitor before the first blow was given and yes, ladies and gentlemen, in that blasphemy Warrior¡¯s divine blessing was still asked for upon these games!¡± The crowd, normally abuzz with conversation while the fighters talked, went deathly quiet for Johan¡¯s speech. He continued. ¡°This is a blasphemous insult to the god of martial challenge! But Warrior has selected me to correct this mistake and give those blasphemers a path to forgiveness. To my opponents I say, my blade is the will of the god Warrior and with Him as my strength, I will carve a truth into this arena: That false piety shall not be allowed to be a cloak for greed. Let those who face me know, they do not stand against mere steel, but against divine judgement!" The crowd was burbling now, some pointing to the clergy of Warrior who were staffing the event. He was saying this in front of the bishop of Warrior and the bishop wasn¡¯t intervening. ¡°As proof of my divine mission,¡± continued Johan to the louder and louder cheers of the common folk in the crowd. ¡°Proof that one need not blaspheme Warrior to satisfy Trade, I submit to you my own challenge,¡± he glanced at Dave who poured every coin, essence and awakening stone he had into a large brazier that had been carried out by two of the bookkeepers on staff. ¡°Such is my faith that the gods have selected me that I have put all the riches I own in a winner-takes-all pot before you. Throw in your coin! Beat me! If you think you are righteous!¡± After this speech, he¡¯d beaten the sixer, Abelard Perrot, in the quarter finals decisively. Perrot was a sword and shield fighter, just like Johan, but unlike Johan¡¯s highly adaptable way of fighting, Perrot was an aggressive pressure fighter. Always coming forward, forcing his opponent to retreat and overwhelming their defences. As he came forward against Johan, even with the suppression collar on, Johan used his great strength and promptly sheared off a third of Perrot¡¯s shield. For the first time in the tournament, Perrot wasn¡¯t the one setting the pace and being forced to retreat. Johan kept up the pressure and soon caught him in the face with a thrust that nobody doubted would have gone through his cheekbone, skull and brain. The semi finals had followed a similar template but with more intensity. The speeches of the remaining three nobles had an insistent note of the importance of their own heritage and dignity but were like a rotten gate before the battering ram of Johan¡¯s righteous fervour. When he spoke he dared all who believed this tournament was made in good faith before Warrior to place their goods of Trade in the brazier as he had done once more. The pot was substantially bigger now since his winnings from Perrot were in there too. Johan had played the crowd and personally goaded three nobles, allies of the Reyers, to put their riches in. One of them was from Hugh¡¯s quest and Dave watched with relief and trepidation as the nobleman arrogantly put an awakening stone of harmony in the treasure pile. Then, one suppression collar and weapons selection ritual later. Johan had beaten Georgette Brodeur. This fight had taken longer than the others. Georgette favoured a hanging guard; one with the hilt of her long sabre in the air and the blade hanging forward-down. She had forced a one handed selection against Johan who¡¯d selected the longest and heaviest rapier. Against her slow moving but well balanced counter-slashing style, Johan used a lot of lateral movement, probing at her blade with his stronger muscles and heavier weapon. After a few exchanges that challenged them both, Johan eventually succeeded in knocking aside Brodeur¡¯s blade long enough to slash deep into her thigh. After that he¡¯d just returned to circling and probing again until Brodeur¡¯s blood loss activated the arena¡¯s magic. Johan had, once again not inventoried his winnings in a clear indication that the pot would be kept for the next round. As expected, on the other side of the bracket, Avril Reyer defeated her opponents. Dave had to hand it to her. She was the real deal and although she was insulted by the insinuations of Johan¡¯s speeches, Dave noticed that her own speeches insisted on her own virtues and readiness to fight before Warrior and not, Dave noticed, her innocence. Now, it was late afternoon and Reyer was facing off against Johan in the finals of the weapon¡¯s bouts. The crowd was a mix of commoners and nobles, easily distinguishable by the quality of their seats, and all were cheering for their representative and hissing at the other competitor. Time was signalled meaning that either competitor could begin the match. Johan was hanging back, giving time for the nobles queuing up at the bookmakers to add to his treasure pile. There were two piles now. Johan¡¯s personal, winner-takes-all pot, that was all his winnings so far, and since the semifinals, an even larger brazier of sidebets had been added as well. It was basically a place where the audience could publicly display who they were betting on by adding to the pot. People were shouting out their bets and tossing in coins and/or valuables from the sidelines. Many a wealthy merchant and disgruntled noble, especially those whose team had already been knocked out of the bouts, had defiantly approached that bookkeeper and tossed in some coins while glaring up at the windows to the social club where the most powerful of the elites watched on. Rolling her eyes at the delay, Avril Reyer begun the suppression collar ritual, kneeling in front of the Warrior acolyte to have it snap around her neck and stepping into the ring. Being himself, Johan bowed politely in the style of commoners and knelt to take a collar. Reyer immediately selected a long rapier, glaring at Johan who intentionally took his time, letting the staff move the hovering treasure piles into the arena gates before carefully selecting an identical weapon to Reyer. They both saluted each other with their swords and the match began. Although she¡¯d acted impatient mere moments before, Reyer advanced on Johan with a measured step. It was Reyer who opened with a lightning-quick thrust towards Johan¡¯s hands. Although she gave no hint of the movement before it came. Johan somehow read her intentions and faded back slightly, drawing his hand closer to his body and staying just beyond the tip of her rapier before riposting back over the top at her arm, just as quickly as Reyer. She twisted her wrist and caught Johan¡¯s blade on her crossguard but it was a close thing. Johan finished the exchange with his own, now signature, lightning quick, unanticipated thrust that Reyer had just attempted to imitate. Johan smiled at her briefly as he leisurely pursued her retreat, Reyer scowled back and suddenly, Dave understood the exchange. She¡¯d attempted to assert herself over him by using his own move to drive him back, but Johan had simply rode the wave of the attack and shown her how it was supposed to be done. Dave smirked now too. ¡°Having fun, little hayseed?¡± said a voice in Dave¡¯s ear. Dave¡¯s head whipped around and found a bronze ranked presence right behind him. He used Stop And Think to identify the individual as soon as his vision made them selectable in his UI. It was a celestine woman with polished silver hair named Aur¨¦lie Laurent. Epistemology showed that his own notes listed her as on a team from Camargue, to the south, and that her family had good relations with the Reyers. Most tellingly she was wearing a cruel smile. It seemed like the nobility had moved to quietly intimidate him. Dave formulated a plan and let time flow around him again. ¡°FUCK OFF!¡± shouted Dave into the held-breath atmosphere of the arena. Several people closeby looked at Dave in confusion, including Laurent. ¡°I¡¯m betting on Johan and this woman is trying to intimidate me! Blasphemer!¡± The woman raised her hands in stunned denial. ¡°No, I¡¯m just -¡± ¡°No, he¡¯s with Johan¡¯s team, I saw him earlier,¡± said a bronze rank runic, pointing at Dave. His UI identified him as a merchant, ¨¦tienne Flamant. ¡°What¡¯s her name, Dave?¡± asked Hugh loudly, who¡¯d torn his eyes off Johan and leaned over. ¡°Her name is Aur¨¦lie Laurent and her family has close ties with the Reyers!¡± said Dave loudly, taking the hint. Laurent scowled at Dave. ¡°You¡¯ll regr-¡± she interrupted herself, glancing at Hugh, promptly gathered up her skirts and left. ¡°I fucking hate these people,¡± muttered Dave, shaking his head and turning his attention back to the fight. ¡°What¡¯d I miss?¡± ¡°Not much,¡± said Hugh, his own eyes back on the match. ¡°My Lady says they¡¯re still just probing.¡± Dave nodded and stared at the contest with the rest of the stadium. Johan was using his superior reach to apply pressure and keep Reyer from initiating her own offence but she was retreating intelligently to Johan¡¯s weak side and spiralling away from him as she went so as to not get backed up against a wall. Occasionally she would counterattack but from what Dave could see and the mutterings of conversation around him, Johan was matching her speed, reading her feints and not letting her take the superior angles on him. ¡°I think he¡¯s trying to piss her off,¡± muttered Dave in Hugh¡¯s ear. ¡°Maybe get her tired?¡± ¡°Oh, I wouldn¡¯t know,¡± said Hugh. ¡°How can you tell?¡± The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°It reminds me of something people do in unarmed combat,¡± said Dave. ¡°Find an advantage and keep pushing it until your opponent reacts or sometimes you find something they¡¯ve trouble dealing with and you keep doing it until they get tired and then push it really hard so it gets through.¡± ¡°Indeed, something just changed, though,¡± said Hugh, gesturing at what Dave was also looking at. Johan had changed his footwork and was no longer pursuing Reyer in a circle around the arena but was moving to his own left as he went, herding her towards the wall. Understanding this, Reyer reversed direction to go the other way but Johan danced out that direction as well, following her with the nimble footwork that was so surprising in a man of his stature. The fight slowed as Johan backed Reyer up against the wall with light touches of blades and deft footwork that was a language between the fighters that Dave couldn¡¯t follow. Then it was like he blinked and Reyer moved to a bind with Johan, a weak position for the smaller person as Dave understood it, but as Johan applied pressure, she used her smaller stature to duck her body under Johan¡¯s hands and brushed past him, regaining the centre of the ring and drawing her blade across Johan¡¯s leg as she ran. The cut was weak and didn¡¯t make it far through the thick fabric that the fighters wore for the bouts but the bloodied cloth around the shallow cut marked the largest injury anybody had gotten all tournament on Johan. Smiling and gesturing at the mark on his clothing in respect, Johan once again pursued Reyer but this time with a more frantic pace. He smiled and laughed as he crossed blades with Reyer as though the cut she¡¯d landed had invigorated him. Johan thrust his blade forward in a blur of speed and precision, his strikes came faster and with more force that sometimes rocked Reyer¡¯s footing. He seemed to be dancing on the balls of his feet as he fought, each step calculated to keep Reyer guessing where he¡¯d be next. The crowd first murmured and that murmur became a roar as he executed a series of rapid thrusts and parries in a long exchange with Reyer. After side-stepping and brushing by Reyer after a particularly aggressive thrust, Johan switched his sword to his left hand while they pivoted back towards each other. Reyer glared at him suspiciously but Johan just smiled happily and resumed fighting. The crowd reacted with a collective sense of curiosity. Normally switching to one¡¯s off-hand mid-fight was something done during a mutual break in action or done within fighting range to intimidate a lesser opponent but Johan had carefully picked an opportunistic moment to do so, suggesting strategy. Johan advanced on Reyer with his left arm out, holding the rapier. Reyer held her ground and met Johan at this new angle, testing him. Johan thrust, she parried. He thrust again and she parried. Johan did a double thrust, stepping left as he did so across the line of Reyer¡¯s sword arm and lowered his rapier. Reyer slashed savagely diagonally down from her high parry towards Johan¡¯s neck, out to her right. And both fighters were instantaneously covered in a protective bubble when the false edge of Johans blade flicked up into Reyer¡¯s wrist. The same move he¡¯d won his first fight with, but with his left hand. ¡°WINNER! JOHAN SCHMIDT OF WARRIOR!¡± ¡°Oh, shit!¡± said Dave loudly through a grin as the stadium roared, the expensive seats in outrage and the others in jubilation. ¡°That¡¯s going to bruise some egos!¡± he shouted in Hugh¡¯s ear over the noise. ¡°Beating her with the same move he used at the start.¡± ¡°Did he indeed?¡± shouted Hugh. ¡°Oh, I suppose it was like that, wasn¡¯t it? The same cut? Yes, indeed.¡± ¡°Where the fuck are we going to sleep tonight?¡± asked Dave, laughing despite himself. ¡°Holy ground is holy ground,¡± yelled Hugh between shouted cheers. ¡°We¡¯ll be fine in the cathedrals.¡± ¡°Okay, how are we getting there?¡± asked Dave loudly. The noise of the crowd was lessening from a solid constant that occupied the entire eardrum to merely very loud celebrations or complaints as Johan and Reyer were thawed from their full body shields and healed. Reyer picked up her sword and, although glaring, had the dignity to go through the ritual of the formal bow and exit from the ring correctly. Upon formally exiting the arena himself, with his suppression collar removed, standing silhouetted in the tunnel leading to the working parts of the arena like a painting of a demigod, Johan summoned his sword into his hand and raised it above his head to the crowd once more. He stood like that, shifting left and right as though to personally thank everyone for coming and, before overstaying his welcome, retreated down the tunnel. ¡°Let¡¯s get back there with him, grab one of the staff, tell them to ask Dubois to find us and plan how we¡¯re going to avoid assassination tonight, yeah?¡± said Dave. Hugh nodded.
Earlier that day, ¨¦lise Dubois adjusted her robes, the emblem of Warrior glinting on her sash in the soft light as she stepped into the comforts of the arena social club. The room¡¯s mood was alive with music and the poised discussions of nobles, a stark contrast to the fervour of the crowd outside. Her eyes quickly found Baron Franchet, amid a group of aristocrats and flanked by flunkies. She approached him like one who has a god on their side. "Baron Franchet," ¨¦lise called, her voice clipped yet calm. "I must insist on a moment of your time. It concerns the will of Warrior and his clergy." The Baron looked up, curiosity lighting his eyes at being spoken to so by a mere bronze. "Of course, Mother Dubois," he said patiently, excusing himself from the group and joining her in a quieter corner of the room behind a privacy screen. "How may I assist you?" "It concerns the tournament and the will of Warrior," ¨¦lise began, her tone measured and serious. "The clergy of Warrior views the original motivations of this tournament as an affront to the values of Warrior." Franchet nodded, his interest piqued. "Go on." "Your desire to thwart the ambitions of the Reyers and the Craftsmen''s League aligns with Warrior''s wish to see this tournament be a true test of martial skill," ¨¦lise explained. "Although you have loyalty to your esteemed peerage and the crown, deference to the gods comes first. Don¡¯t you agree?" ¡°The gods can be fickle,¡± mused Franchet. ¡°Where one frowns another smiles.¡± ¡°Just because Warrior does not play your mortal games does not mean he is ignorant,¡± snapped ¨¦lise. ¡°You have the opportunity to please my God, thwart your political rivals who mean to steal your trade opportunities, to embarrass them publicly and there will be an awful lot of money in it for you. Now stop fighting Warrior when he is trying to bring gifts!¡± "And what do you propose is my role before Warrior?" Franchet asked testily, changing tack and leaning in as though doing her a favour by acquiescing. "Your role is psychological," ¨¦lise said. "Feign solidarity with your fellow high born and be outraged with them that the one who represents Warrior is low born.¡± ¨¦lise ignored the scowl and undisguised aura flow that suggested he wouldn¡¯t be feigning those emotions. ¡°Lead them make great bets on the noble fighters against Schmidt. Make whatever excuses you need to keep them betting, especially the items on this list from these people.¡± ¨¦lise handed over the list she¡¯d gotten from Hugh. ¡°Knowledge wants them,¡± said ¨¦lise in response to the baron¡¯s raised eyebrow. ¡°Just make sure that you¡¯re the one handing over the bags of coins when placing the bets so that you can secretly write Schmit¡¯s name down for the bets of your own supporters.¡± ¡°You seem overly confident that this villager will win,¡± said Franchet, looking down his nose at ¨¦lise. ¡°Share with me this confidence and I will do as you say in Warrior¡¯s name.¡± She hovered for the characteristic moment while Warrior spoke and then continued. ¡°Schmidt was trained by a swordmaster named Greenwood. Ask one named Lord El¡¯Afar about past gladiatorial champions of the empire to hear her name and bend the conversation there naturally. El¡¯Afar speaks highly of her abilities. She¡¯s one of his top ten.¡± Despite his silver rank control, Franchet felt his eyebrows raise a fraction. El¡¯Afar was a bit of a fight fanatic. Duelling, bouts, gladiators, teams and even jousting or peasant wrestling, El¡¯Afar had been watching it for as long as most silver rankers had been alive. Great fighters populated his memory so, being in his top ten was remarkable. "Ah, I see,¡± said Franchet, his eyes gleaming with understanding. ¡°Villager, but trained properly.¡± He pressed his index fingers against his lips. ¡°I thought Schmidt moved well but I didn¡¯t believe it was¡­ well, never mind now. It seems I¡¯m in Warrior¡¯s debt getting out early and now I get to salvage what satisfaction I can. If anyone questions my class loyalties I can at least display Schmidt¡¯s champion heritage, and salvage some honour there." ¨¦lise nodded, satisfied. "You know their weaknesses. Make them overconfident. Bet big." Franchet nodded, turned swiftly to the privacy screen and lowered it abruptly. ¡°If that¡¯s all you have to say, Mother Dubois then I wish you good day,¡± Franchet said with stiff formality. ¡°It is, Baron Franchet,¡± said ¨¦lise, inclining her head politely. ¡°I shall take my leave of you.¡± Baron Franchet inclined his head the barest minimum for politeness as ¨¦lise left his company and stalked towards the group he¡¯d been talking to earlier that contained Everard Reyer, Lucia Romano of the Craftsmen¡¯s League and other high ranking nobility. He seemed to bristle as he went, his expression one of barely contained indignation. His voice, however, was carefully controlled as he began to speak, deliberately speaking loud enough that all present knew he intended ¨¦lise to hear. "Gentlemen," he began, his tone sharp with barely restrained ire, "I no longer desire to talk of trade. I¡¯ve just had the displeasure of an audience with one of Warrior¡¯s clergy, and I must say, the arrogance of some individuals knows no bounds!" The other nobles, already sensitive to the presence of ¨¦lise Dubois in their midst, turned to him with raised brows. Her presence was like a rotten egg at a party. A clear discomfort to everyone in the room but ¨¦lise, standing by the bar and ordering a drink, made no effort to hide her pious, condescending demeanour as Franchet continued. "Can you imagine the gall?" Franchet continued, his voice growing louder, "This must be some kind of test of faith, ladies and gentlemen! There is no other explanation. That a god as powerful as Warrior would only send a mere bronze to our presence and presume to lecture us on piety! And worse, she had the audacity to suggest that this upstart commoner, this¡­ Schmidt, is somehow Warrior¡¯s chosen instrument!" ¡°Well, of course, old boy,¡± said Lord Reyer, rolling his eyes theatrically. ¡°We invited all the real competitors within Dominion¡¯s grace. Warrior¡¯s token peasant is just all he could find in a hurry!¡± The room was now fully attentive to the chortling rulers and bankers, the scattered groups of chattering nobles turning their attention to the two parties who were, moments ago, locked in tense discussion about trade rights. The nobles both lightened up to this new development and simultaneously bristled at the Warrior clergy in the room. Dubois made sure her presence was like salt in a wound, her calm and confident demeanour a stark contrast to their growing outrage. "In fact, what is this insolence?¡± Franchet demanded, his voice rising in fervour. ¡°Are we to take seriously that Warrior could find no one to represent him among us?¡± ¡°Hear, hear!¡± called a lady that Reyer only recognised as one having a ministerial position. ¡°This is clearly Warrior acting alone, putting some peasant brute where he doesn¡¯t belong!¡± ¡°Well said,¡± said another more sedately. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be the first time that the clergy of a god went too far outside their patrons¡¯s sphere. Remember that news from a few months back about that town in South Berberia? That scandal with Healer?¡± There was a general murmur of ascent. ¡°The other gods will aid us, if we but pray,¡± announced Franchet amid the hubbub. ¡°I say we call upon those gods to aid us against Warrior¡¯s lack of respect for his boundaries and ask them what they think.¡± ¨¦lise took a slow sip from her glass, her eyes half-lidded with satisfaction as Franchet stoked the flames of their pride and carefully directed the conversation to let the nobles talk themselves into believing simultaneously that from Warrior, this was a test of faith, the he acted alone without the blessings of the other gods and that the the local Warrior clergy were outside their mandate. ¨¦lise let her smugness show in her aura, knowing that it¡¯d make them even more mad. She noted happily with respect to the point of Warrior acting alone that they¡¯d all somehow forgotten or dismissed that Schmidt was a chosen of Hero and merely Warrior¡¯s representative for this tournament and that he also had a friar of Knowledge on his fight team. Still, she felt no need to correct them on that account. She enjoyed her drink and even started on another while the nobles straightened their story out, making sure they were definitely on the side of right in their self imposed narrative until she heatd Baron Franchet¡¯s voice cut above the rest. "I say no!" Franchet declared, pounding his fist on the table for emphasis. "If this commoner scum and his allies believe they can best us, let them try. And let us make an example of them! We will show them why we are above them. Why Dominion holds us close! Why Trade blesses our vaults! Let¡¯s show them that nobility isn¡¯t just a title, but a force to be reckoned with!" There was a murmur of agreement among the nobles, and Franchet seized the moment. "Let us raise the stakes, gentlemen," he said, his voice taking on a conspiratorial tone. "If the Schmidt boy wants to make winner-takes-all bets on every match from now until tournament end let us join him, and let us call every coin, every essence, awakening stone and magic item that we place into the pot a donation to Dominion. Let Him know that we hold the faith!¡± Baron Franchet reached into his breast pocket and withdrew two velvet bags of silver coins and three awakening stones; of skies, spears and fire, and put them on a large, silver platter. ¡°I¡¯ll be staking a significant sum myself, a show of my faith in our noble fighters of good stock. Let us see if this so-called chosen one can stand against the full weight of our true power, lineage and fortune. Let us leverage our collective power¡­ against Schmidt" The suggestion hung in the air for a moment before Reyer, clearly unwilling to be outdone by his rival, spoke up. "I¡¯ll match your bet, Franchet. Let¡¯s see how this commoner fares when he¡¯s fighting against more than just what¡¯s in the arena." He swept food off a platter in front of him and put two bags of silver and three awakening stones of his own down. ¡°And I¡¯ll raise you,¡± he also put down a magical figurine of a mouse, ¡°And, I will donate the work of the people of my house who can discern an iron ranker¡¯s magical abilities!¡± Another noble quickly followed suit. "And I. I won¡¯t be bested by some lowborn swordsman." She put down a harmonic essence and three bags of coins. ¡°I will bring the people of my house into the audience so remove the peasant pretender¡¯s support. Let him smile into a crowd of hate!¡± One by one, the nobles pledged their fortunes, their competitive spirits flaring as they sought to outdo one another. The atmosphere in the room shifted from indignation to a kind of fevered anticipation, each noble eager to prove their dedication to superiority. ¨¦lise watched with a satisfied smile as the nobles unwittingly walked into the trap she had relayed but Franchet had set. And Johan Schmidt, with the blessings of Hero and Warrior, would be the instrument of their undoing. As the nobles finalised their bets, their conversation turned to Johan with a mixture of contempt and simmering fury. The man who had dared to call them blasphemers, who had challenged their status and questioned their piety, would now face the full brunt of their ire. And ¨¦lise knew, with a certainty from Warrior himself, that Johan would rise to meet that challenge. "May the best man win," Franchet said with a sly smile, raising his glass in a mock toast. "Indeed," one of the nobles replied, his voice dripping with disdain. "Though I suspect we all know who that will be." The laughter that followed was harsh and mocking, but ¨¦lise paid it no mind. She did, however, allow her anxiousness about an iron ranker bearing the brunt of a full aristocracy¡¯s ire to seep through in her aura. She knew that by the time the tournament was over, the nobles would be laughing much less and would be feeling vengeful. An iron ranker and his team would be much easier targets than a church. She winced internally, promising herself that she¡¯d do her best to see them spirited away from the city the moment the tournament was over.
Later that evening after Johan¡¯s win at the bouts, ¨¦lise was approached by Booker, the team manager of Johan¡¯s little adventuring outfit. The man had an uncanny knack of knowing where people were around him. ¡°Booker we need to talk,¡± she said. ¡°Actually, that was why I was looking for you,¡± he replied, surprised. ¡°You go first.¡± ¡°We need to discuss how we¡¯re going to get your team out of Oullins once the tournament is over,¡± said ¨¦lise briskly, cutting to the chase. ¡°Actually, that''s what I wanted to talk about too,¡± said Dave, relief flooding across his features. ¡°In fact, more immediately, how are we even going to safely get back to the cathedrals? There are at least four people tailing both me and Hugh and I¡¯m pretty sure we¡¯re not allowed to kill them.¡± ¡°They¡¯re¡­ probably listening in as well, Mister Booker.¡± ¡°I know,¡± he said tiredly. ¡°But the novelty of this gaming world is wearing off and the aristocracy is making me feel a bit murder-hobo.¡± Chapter 32: Gearing up
Current Quests
Justice For Courbefy: Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use¡­ Chosen Of Knowledge: Escort Hugh on his journey to becoming a fully awakened iron¡­ Chosen Of Hero: Assist Johan as he competes in the Avril Reyer Birthday Tournament... Making A Magnate: Dominion wants you to hire at least two employees to expand your¡­ Healer¡¯s Materials: Gain Healer¡¯s favour by donating alchemy ingredients to the church¡­ Investigate Dapcher Orphanage: Investigate Dapcher orphanage for signs of exploitation. Abel¡¯s Mace: Return Brother Abel¡¯s missing mace to the church of Soldier. He was last¡­ Rescue the Lucas¡¯s Daughter: Retrieve Charlotte Lucas, the warehouse owner¡¯s¡­ Lost Treasure Map: Find and return an old treasure map stolen from, Marielle Lecuyer¡­ Wolf Menace: Hunt down a pack of mischievous foxes terrorising the livestock of Villars. Haunted Mill: Investigate the abandoned mill outside Limony that''s said to be haunted¡­ Embarrassing Request: Gather rare herbs from the dangerous swamp for Duerne''s¡­ Merchant Escort: Safely escort a merchant caravan through bard-infested woods to¡­ Mine Monsters: Clear out the rat monsters that have infested The Old Mine, a popular¡­ Ancient Ruins Exploration: Explore and map out the ancient ruins that have recently¡­ Missing Scout: Locate and rescue a missing scout who was last seen investigating¡­ Bridge Repair: Collect and deliver materials needed to repair a bridge that connects two¡­ UnKill Streak 5: Complete a five day streak of not killing anybody! Potion of Prosperity Delivery: Deliver a potion of prosperity to the midwife in Houlbec. Merchant''s Goods Recovery: Recover stolen goods in Confolens from the bandits that...
Johan¡¯s chest swelled with pride at the thought of being a groundbreaking iron ranker. He was still thinking about flying into Hero¡¯s cathedral last night on that ¡®hung glider¡¯. Dave, in his infinite dry wit, had remarked at the time that he was more likely a ¡®sky breaking¡¯ iron ranker. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± said Dave from Johan¡¯s elbow, breaking him out of his reverie. Dave was double checking all of Johan¡¯s under-armour straps. Johan was following Master Greenwood''s advice and getting someone else to do the final gear check. Just in case. ¡°Cor, Dave,¡± said Johan and smiled. ¡°But, that hung glider you got us to the cathedral with, that was something different, eh?¡± ¡°Hang glider,¡± said Dave with his little smile. ¡°And yes, they¡¯re a bit intense. I know I was a bit overwhelmed when my old housemate first took me out. I thought you handled it well, though.¡± ¡°It was amazing, Dave!¡± said Johan. ¡°Do you really think it could have been a world first?¡± ¡°First without magic, maybe,¡± said Dave, checking the straps on the other side now. ¡°Unbelievable! I don¡¯t think Hugh liked it much, though.¡± ¡°I just didn¡¯t like the lack of control,¡± said Hugh, shuddering. ¡°Goddess knows you¡¯re crazy enough to commission a floating airship but that¡¯s an airship. It has sails and rigging and a crew. Last night was just a frame with a dead, unmoving wing on top. Unnatural!¡± ¡°Worked, didn¡¯t it?¡± said Dave, shrugging. ¡°When Rupe confirmed that most tracking items don¡¯t do vertical, flying away just made sense.¡± Hugh just blew air through his thick beard in response but Johan noted his smile through the whiskers. ¡°Okay, done. I¡¯ve confirmed that the arming doublet is correctly attached to the arming hose,¡± said Dave. ¡°What armour goes on first?¡± Johan pointed to the table where he¡¯d laid everything out. ¡°From left to right, Dave,¡± said Johan. ¡°Pass me the boots and sabatons first, if you please.¡± ¡°Well, explain to Hugh how your equipment works while you¡¯re putting it on,¡± said Dave and then looked at Hugh. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve ever actually explained it to you?¡± Hugh grinned sheepishly into his beard and Dave smirked cheekily. ¡°Indeed, you have,¡± said Hugh. ¡°But I keep forgetting. The items themselves are fine but just all that¡­ mechanics, stuff?¡± He waved his hand. ¡°It¡¯s like you¡¯re putting together a picture from pieces of different puzzles. I just can¡¯t remember it.¡± ¡°Perfect last minute presentation for Johan then,¡± said Dave dryly and nodded his head at the giant blond. ¡°Explain your gear to Hugh. Hugh? Ask questions if what he says isn¡¯t clear.¡± Hugh muttered into his beard but gestured for Johan to begin. ¡°Boots of Unyielding Stride,¡± began Johan, determined to make his friends proud and go through each item, one-by-one missing nothing. As he spoke, he recalled fondly that Dave had spent considerable effort putting this collection together from the iron rank pieces volunteered by clergy of all churches.
Item: Boots Of Unyielding Stride
Location: Feet Tags: Armour, movement, resistance. Rank: Iron
Description Increases the wearer¡¯s resistance to movement debilitating effects.
Detailed Information
The boots Dave selected to keep Johan mobile were donated by a Dominion priestess; Ayaan Hassan. When they met, Johan felt her to be statuesque and commanding. Her dark skin had gleamed under the red light that streamed down from the high, stained glass dome that covered Dominion¡¯s cathedral. It made her look like a stormcloud on the horizon at sunset. She locked eyes on him and Dave as they approached, Dave not making the proper abasements, as was his way. ¡°Isn¡¯t the big guy around here usually on the noble¡¯s side?¡± called Dave across the empty room, ending with a common man¡¯s bow as he stood before the priestess. ¡°Dave! Blasphemy!¡± sputtered Johan. He would have to have a talk to this man soon. ¡°Oh, no, no, no,¡± said Priestess Hassan to Johan. Up close, she was the most resplendent woman with the slickest smile Johan had ever seen. ¡°Lord Dominion very much is the ¡®big guy¡¯ around here. The biggest, even. He knows that Dave¡¯s words were heartfelt, so there is no blasphemy.¡± She turned to Dave. ¡°And yes, he usually is but the Lord Of Obedience does as he will. And, does not explain himself.¡± At Dave¡¯s inclining of the head in acceptance, she laughed shrilly and handed over the boots. ¡°Such games! Consider these your first steps towards greater things, Johan,¡± said the priestess. ¡°The Lord Of Obedience says you¡¯ll give them back when you rank up to bronze.¡± ¡°Oh! Really? Th- then in holiness, I obey,¡± stammered Johan, his face lighting up. ¡°Such a good, obedient man, you are,¡± said the priestess, gazing fondly upon Johan¡¯s face. ¡°Cor, blimey!¡± Johan gave his most dazzling smile up at the priestess. ¡°Do you really think so? You say that in your holy place? In front of Him?¡± Priestess Ayaan Hassan smiled at Johan and Dave like the cat that got the cream. ¡°Yes, I have said that, Johan Schmidt. Now obey and go.¡± Johan immediately turned to obey. ¡°You go on, Johan,¡± said Dave. ¡°I have a matter of faith to discuss with our good priestess here.¡± The priestess grinned happily which Johan took as her agreement and he walked swiftly out of the church. Dave stared suspiciously up at the priestess the whole time before speaking. ¡°Something, something, His Lord Obedience doesn¡¯t come when called, something, something, Nobles, he¡¯s called Dominion, not Negotiation?¡± The priestess grinned as before but her eyes and aura sparked with gleeful viciousness. ¡°Go away now,¡± she laughed. ¡°As you command,¡± said Dave, bowing and leaving amid the sound of her mirth.
Item: Knightly Armour Of Vampire Poison
Location: Body Tags: Armour, counter-execute, healing. Rank: Iron
Description Temporarily infuse body-free blood in the area with healing energy, similar to a health restoration potion. This is a counter-execute effect, the healing potency scales exponentially with your own level of injury.
Detailed Information
With his feet armoured, Johan moved on to explaining all the intended uses of the armour he¡¯d borrowed. Johan remembered the bronze-rank retired vampire hunter from Death¡¯s clergy, Marygold Durand, who¡¯d loaned this item to him. Dave had selected it, Johan explained, because counter-execute abilities were perfect in conjunction with his Hero¡¯s Spirit ability. They¡¯d come to the old, battle-worn veteran¡¯s manor home. Her once-dark hair had long since mostly turned silver, cropped close to her scalp to keep it out of the way of her face which bore the lines of countless nights spent hunting in the dark, with a single deep scar running from her temple to her jawline. Her gaze was sharp, unyielding, and there was a coldness to her demeanour that softened slightly with Johan¡¯s presence and brought out a smile when she uncovered her old, iron-rank tools of her trade they¡¯d come here to see. ¡°Good armour,¡± she¡¯d said gruffly, tapping it like an old friend. ¡°Plate over the important bits, mail covers everything else,¡± she nodded satisfactorily. ¡°It¡¯ll do the job.¡± She handed the armour set over to Johan¡¯s waiting arms. ¡°Sorry but, I¡¯m curious. For vampire hunting, doesn¡¯t this armour only work as intended after, you know, you¡¯ve lost the fight a bit?¡± Dave had asked. ¡°No offence, Mother.¡± ¡°No, quite so, quite so¡± said Mother Durand in response to Dave''s precocious question. ¡°That¡¯s something I figured out myself after a couple of years where I¡¯d almost died a couple of times using the set. Yep! Better off killing the vampire before it bites you than blowing it up with your last breath. Aren¡¯t you using it for a duel, though?¡± ¡°Plenty of blood in duels,¡± said Dave with that smirk of his. ¡°You going to watch?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t miss it,¡± said Mother Durand in a voice that was almost hungry with anticipation. ¡°From the common seats but I¡¯ve got a pair of those farseer glasses so I won¡¯t miss a thing.¡± The aggressively eyebrowed old priest clapped a weathered hand onto Johan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You stick it to them young man, hey?¡± ¡°Yes, Mother!¡± said Johan. ¡°Thank you, Mother.¡±
Item: Amulet Of The Accelerated Narwhal
Location: Neck Tags: boon, piercing, stacking, whale. Rank: Iron
Description Every attack you make while holding a pointed weapon grants a stackable boon that lowers the cooldown of your whale essence abilities.
Detailed Information
Johan¡¯s legs were now armoured and he slipped on the amulet while Dave was getting the hauberk ready to put over his head. Johan¡¯s memory of acquiring the amulet brought a smile to his face as he explained it to Hugh. Dave hadn¡¯t told Johan why they were picking it up, and Johan, thinking he was being polite, hadn¡¯t pressed for details. Later, he¡¯d confessed to Dave that he knew what it was for at the same moment he¡¯d explain it to the nun! They¡¯d both had a good laugh but ever educational, Dave had also made it a lesson in asking questions if he didn¡¯t understand something, a point that Johan was starting to appreciate more and more. Dave always seemed to have the answers, and what fascinated Johan was how Dave seemed happiest when confronted with a question he hadn¡¯t been asked before. He¡¯d never met a man like that. What a mind, indeed! They had arrived at a small chapel by the river that had ocean water running down the walls which was then being collected in rivulets that ran between the pews to a central drainage. It kept the air thick with the scent of salt and brine. Inside, they were greeted by a stern-faced nun, her skin weathered from years spent at sea. Sister Delphine was all she introduced herself as. Her Ocean insignia gleamed on her robes. She eyed them both with a stern, calm acceptance of one who would weather whatever the world brought her way. They exchanged greetings and pleasantries before the plain speaking old nun cut to the surge. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but why do you want this?¡± the nun had asked, her voice rough like the waves she had likely spent her lifetime on. ¡°Oh, sister!¡± Johan began earnestly. ¡°If there''s any reluctance, we wouldn¡¯t presume-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mistake me, young man,¡± the nun interrupted, practically shoving the item into Johan¡¯s chest. ¡°Take it, take it! I just don¡¯t know why you, in particular, are taking a whale essence item.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Johan hesitated, but Dave stepped in. ¡°Johan has a pointy sword that consumes stacking buffs for smites,¡± he said simply. The old nun stared hard at Johan, her sea-bitten cheeks narrowing as she carefully considered this information. ¡°Well, good,¡± she concluded, her tone resolute. ¡°Very good.¡±
Item: Ring of Healing Honey
Location: Finger Tags: Bee, boon, recovery, stacking Rank: Iron
Description Whenever the wearer touches a flower in combat, that flower is consumed and a portion of magic honey is generated to become the gemstone of this ring. Consuming the honey portion grants a temporary boon to health regeneration as well as a stackable, temporary boon to the potency of bee essence abilities.
Detailed Information
Item: Ring Of Restorative Flowers
Location: Finger Tags: Bee, boon, recovery, stacking Rank: Iron
Description Whenever the wearer suffers a hostile status effect, a magic flower is generated in the vicinity. Touching these flowers grants a temporary boon to the stamina regeneration of the user as well as a stackable, temporary boon reducing the cooldown of bee essence abilities.
Detailed Information
With his hauberk on, Dave had helped Johan strap on the rest of his upper body armour while Johan explained the rings he¡¯d be using to Hugh. He placed them reverently on the fingers of his gloved hands and thought about the nice but odd fellow who¡¯d handed them over. Johan had hesitated as he watched the unidentified silver ranker descend from the sky on a giant bee familiar, the buzzing of its wings almost deafening. He hadn¡¯t said which church he was from or who he was. Just a letter summoning them to this time and place with a silver-ranked paper letter. That Dave had kept. Despite the man''s imposing presence striding towards them, Johan had learned that asking questions, no matter how obvious the answer might seem or how late in coming, was always the best approach with Dave. So, he turned to his friend. "Dave, what are these items for this time? I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯re for providing both buffs and smite boons, right?¡± Dave gave him a knowing smirk and nodded. "Exactly that, mate. More buffs, more smites, more better. Perfect for your ability set." He adjusted his face ruefully. ¡°Well, perfect enough for bee essence gear.¡± Johan nodded thoughtfully, glad his suspicions were confirmed, but his attention quickly turned back to the silver ranker who was now dismounting his bee. The man''s expression was irritation mixed with relief, and Johan couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit uneasy as he approached them. ¡°You¡¯d be Dave and Johan?¡± said the man without any preamble. ¡°That¡¯s us!¡± said Dave. ¡°We didn¡¯t catch your name?¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather remain anonymous,¡± said the man, unceremoniously tossing a magic ring at each of them. ¡°What¡¯d you recon?¡± Johan noticed the characteristic stutter of Stop And Think in Dave¡¯s expression. He¡¯d probably used his identification abilities to look up all the details of the items and double check them against his notes. ¡°Perfect,¡± said Dave, brusquely. ¡°Where do you want us to drop them off after the tournament?¡± ¡°Yeh, actually, you can keep them,¡± the silver ranker said, gesturing hopelessly. ¡°I thought if I held onto them for long enough over the years I¡¯d get nostalgic but no. Just bringing them in today brought back the smell and the taste and - No, don¡¯t get me wrong, they¡¯re great items and sure, tasty and pleasant at first but, oh, by the woods, after five years I just¡­ No, I still can¡¯t stand it. Take them!¡± ¡°We can pay, Mister -¡± began Johan, stumbling to do The Right ThingTM. ¡°NO!¡± the silver ranker interrupted, his voice sharp. ¡°The only payment I will accept is you taking these damn things away from me. Go!¡± As the man¡¯s aura flared, Johan and Dave felt a nudge, almost a physical push, intentionally tinged with his genuine relief the rings were leaving, encouraging Dave and Johan on their way. Respecting the man¡¯s wishes, they turned and walked away. Just as they were about to leave, the silver ranker called out from on top of his mount. ¡°Oh, and Johan?¡± Johan turned back. ¡°Yes, Mister?¡± ¡°Give them hell, won¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Oh! Ha!¡± said Johan, grinning awkwardly but feeling confidence rising within. ¡°Yes, Mister!¡±
Item: Squid Ink Gauntlets
Location: Hands Tags: conjuration, obscurement, movement Rank: Iron
Description Invest a medium amount of mana and clap these gauntlets together to simultaneously project a cloud of ink into the environment and be projected rapidly backwards. Cost reduced to low mana if in a watery environment. Cooldown 20 seconds.
Detailed Information
Item: Tabard Of The Blood Bubbler Crabs
Location: Back Tags: Animate, blood, minion, myriad Rank: Iron
Description Blood, or blood-adjacent viscera, that is absorbed into the tabard is multiplied and animated into crabs made of that blood. The crabs count as allies of the wearer and will fight their enemies. The crabs retain all of the properties of the blood that made them.
Detailed Information
Johan had almost finished armouring up from bottom to top quite quickly with Dave¡¯s help. Sabatons, greaves, cuisses, hauberk, pizaine, plackart, breastplate, pauldrons and vambracers. He¡¯d memorised all the names from a book Master Greenwood had when he was six. He¡¯d felt so proud and grown up doing that. Now here he was covered in the stuff. He picked up the gauntlets he¡¯d chosen while Dave readied the tabard and paused for a moment after ending his explaining to Hugh about how the flowers from the ring didn¡¯t need to actually touch your skin. Equipment you were wearing was considered ¡®self¡¯ enough. ¡°Hey, remember what Mother Aemiliana said, Dave?¡± said Johan. ¡°Get the blood from the other guy?¡± said Dave. Johan and Hugh grinned at Dave''s dry humour. ¡°No, about the gloves, you goose!¡± said Johan, chuckling. ¡°Yes, she was impressed that you asked what happens if you face downwards and then clap,¡± said Dave, grinning with them. ¡°Well, you must say,¡± said Hugh, his eyes twinkling. ¡°Tell all!¡± ¡°Oh, it was the look on her face,¡± said Johan, grinning and reminiscing. ¡°Yeah, I really like these gloves,¡± Dave had said. ¡°I reckon you¡¯re going to get a lot of use out of them in your matches.¡± ¡°You still think I can use them to go upwards, right?¡± said Johan. ¡°Yep! Actually ¨C Oh look, that¡¯d be the contact right there, wouldn¡¯t it? You can ask her yourself. Mother Theodora Aemiliana, priest-militant of Warrior.¡± Dave pointed at a tall and imposing woman with sun-baked skin and an iron gaze levelled at some trainees doing drills on pontoons next to the dockside training yard. Mother Aemiliana moved on the pontoons with the ease of someone who had spent more years on the deck of a ship than on solid ground. Her hair, streaked with silver, was tied back in a no-nonsense braid, and the scars that criss-crossed her muscular arms told stories of battles fought in the depths of the ocean. Johan approached with his usual humility, radiating wholesome respect and curiosity. Dave followed a few paces behind, his sharp eyes taking in everything. Theodora noticed their approach and turned to face them, her expression softening just a fraction. "You must be Johan," she said, with the voice of an authoritative teacher. Her voice commanded respect, while encouraging a reply. "Yes, Mother," Johan replied, nodding earnestly. "You answered a call to arms that my friend Dave here put out,¡± he gestured at Dave who touched his hat respectfully. ¡°I understand you might have some things that could help me in the tournament, of course, if you¡¯d be so kind. I hope it¡¯s not too much trouble, Mother." Theodora studied him for a moment, her eyes narrowing as if assessing his worth. ¡°Well,¡± she sighed. ¡°Warrior says you¡¯re the real thing.¡± Her face relaxed into acceptance and then, with a swift motion, she reached into a dimensional pocket and pulled out a blue tabard that shimmered with an eerie, almost living quality. The fabric seemed to ripple like the surface of the ocean in the light, and embroidered in a continuous pattern were small, sand bubbler crabs with claws raised as though to grasp, all in a deep, crimson thread. "This is the Tabard of the Blood Bubbler Crabs," she said, holding it out for Johan to inspect. Dave quickly poked it with a finger and put the description of the tabard on Tome for Johan to see. "My favourite little allies in battle. Underwater, you see, the blood spreads out so, getting it on the tabard is pretty easy. Might be a little harder in the arena sands? ¡°Mayhaps so, Mother, but Dave insists that it¡¯s the right choice and I find his reasoning sound,¡± said Johan. Mother Aemiliana raised an eyebrow at Dave who still had his nose in Tome. ¡°Hmm? Oh, yes,¡± said Dave. ¡°Johan has two abilities that make him considerably more capable when he has allies. Show her Tome.¡± Dave spun his bobbing book familiar around who flipped through some pages quickly and opened up on the desired pages for Mother Aemiliana to read. ¡°Aura Of Retribution and Shield Of The People.¡± ¡°Ahh, I see,¡± said Mother Aemiliana, nodding as she skimmed the pages. ¡°Yes, well, this tabard will ensure you¡¯re never alone in the fray. So, you¡¯ll get that" She continued nodding. ¡°Just a word of advice though; try and use the other guy¡¯s blood.¡± Both Dave and Johan laughed although Johan also beamed at Mother Aemiliana¡¯s approval of his abilities. Johan then took the tabard into his bag, reverently running his fingers over the detailed embroidery. He could almost feel the power within it, as if the crabs in the embroidery were straining to get out. "And these are the Squid Ink Gauntlets," Mother Aemiliana had said, taking them out of her dimensional pocket and holding them out for Dave to touch before placing them in Johan¡¯s hands. "Good escape armour. When the monsters in the deeps closed their maws, it was these gauntlets that made sure I was never between them. I expect they¡¯ll keep you safe in that tournament as they did for me under the waves. Although it¡¯ll cost you a coin¡¯s worth more mana, not being underwater like I was." Johan accepted the gauntlets with a deep bow, his fingers tracing the intricate tentacle patterns etched into the metal. "Thank you, Mother," he¡¯d said, his voice filled with gratitude. Theodora gave a curt nod. "Remember, these are on loan. I expect them back after the tournament, along with a victory to show for it. Assuming the armour passes inspection, of course." ¡°Yeah, they do,¡± muttered Dave, going over the details of the item. "I''ll do my best to make you proud," said Johan, smiling at Mother Aemiliana and feeling his own determination to make it true. ¡°He actually will,¡± said Dave. ¡°It¡¯s almost unbelievable how hard he¡¯ll go to make good folks proud.¡± Johan looked at Dave funny. Didn¡¯t everyone do that? Dave could be such a cynic at times. Johan liked that word. Cynic. Dave had taught it to him. ¡°Oh, Mother Aemiliana, I must ask,¡± said Johan, bowing. ¡°As the experienced user of this item, I think you would know. Can you use these gauntlets to go up?¡± ¡°Yes, Johan. You can go upwards with them,¡± said Mother Aemiliana in her best teacher voice. ¡°And, what happens then, mother?¡± asked Johan. Mother Aemiliana just looked at Johan with the most dumbfounded expression. ¡°Well, then you¡­ go down again!¡± she said carefully, trying not to pull a face. Dave burst out laughing and was quickly quelled somewhat by Mother Aemiliana¡¯s stern look. Hugh laughed at Johan¡¯s retelling of the events as well. ¡°Indeed, what happened after you got your foot out of your mouth?¡± asked Hugh. Johan waved his hand, indicating that Dave should complete the embarrassing tale. ¡°I explained that Johan was concerned that the gloves could have some enchantment on them to keep you suspended, like how a lot of wind essence abilities give you a slow fall?¡± said Dave, looking at Hugh who nodded. ¡°She got a lot less severe when she found out Johan had just phrased a valid concern badly. She even pointed it out to her students as an example of the kinds of things they should be thinking about when selecting gear.¡± Hugh slapped Johan¡¯s armoured shoulder in a friendly manner. ¡°You just can¡¯t stop impressing fight trainers wherever you go, can you?¡± said Hugh. ¡°Well, obviously, I¡¯ve seen you train with the gauntlets, they don¡¯t have any suspension. Is that good or bad for you?¡± ¡°Oh! Good,¡± said Johan. ¡°Very good. It allows me to stay moving so, I can be offensive or defensive. Depending on what I¡¯m using them for.¡± ¡°Offensive?¡± asked Hugh. ¡°What did I miss? Don¡¯t they send you backwards?¡± ¡°But if I face away from my enemy and use them, I go forwards,¡± said Johan, his face grinning happily. ¡°Haven¡¯t you seen him practising that jump-spin-clap move?¡± asked Dave. ¡°He¡¯s done it every day.¡± ¡°Oh? Indeed. Well, I must say, my memory has been a little off recently,¡± waffled Hugh into his beard. ¡°Nevermind that, of course. What¡¯d Mother Aemiliana say then?¡± ¡°Nothing much,¡± said Dave. ¡°She let the class wish Johan luck, wished him luck herself, I took a bunch of their coins into the betting pool and we left. I think Johan promised to help her with some lessons when he returned the items.¡± ¡°I did!¡± said Johan. ¡°She¡¯s got a sharp mind, though, doesn¡¯t she, Dave? That Mother Aemiliana, I¡¯ve got a feeling that not much gets past her!¡± ¡°I feel that too,¡± said Dave wryly. ¡°She put three months'' wages on you.¡± Hugh raised his eyebrows in appreciation. ¡°I won¡¯t let her down,¡± said Johan, with a steady conviction.
Item: Empathy Band
Location: Head Tags: Aura, magic Rank: Iron
Description: For low mana-per-second, this headband will allow you to channel an attuned aura.
Detailed Information
Everything was armoured except for his head now and the announcer was already introducing the coming duel to the audience. It was soon time to finish armouring up and be led by that helpful staff member who¡¯d just knocked on the door to lead them down the arena tunnel. ¡°Hold on a second Johan,¡± said Dave, interrupting his explanation of why the Empathy Band was a superior selection to the Helm Of The Dawn Guardian. ¡°Do you want the band over or under the padded coif?¡± ¡°Under, please and thank you,¡± said Johan. ¡°The weight of the coif helps to hold it in place.¡± ¡°No problem,¡± said Dave. It was a funny colloquialism of Dave¡¯s that Johan liked. ¡®No problem¡¯. The way he said it, suggested a certain attitude that if there were to be a problem, the speaker would be sure to solve it. Johan was certain his dad would get along well with Dave¡¯s folks. ¡°So, which church did you get this from?¡± asked Hugh. ¡°You¡¯ve fondly mentioned all the other churches with glowing recommendations?¡± ¡°Oh! Well, because it¡¯s common equipment in places like Rimaros, Dave thought there might be one in the Heroic armoury for trainees,¡± said Johan, in apologetic eagerness to tell Hugh another glowing recommendation. ¡°The armourer down there is really nice.¡± ¡°What happened when you went there, then?¡± asked Hugh with his whiskery smile. ¡°Every church is offering you their best and you¡¯re here visiting me, lad?¡± said the armourer, a burly man with a grizzled beard and eyes that spoke of paternal patience. ¡°In the trainees armoury?¡± ¡°Yes, Mister Germain!¡± said Johan brightly. ¡°Perchance you have an empathy band in your armoury?¡± ¡°That I do, lad. That I do,¡± said the armourer into his beard. ¡°Just the one. Not much call for them around these parts. Come on, let''s go pick it up.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± exclaimed, pulling himself up short. ¡°I can¡¯t go in. The sign says staff only, mister.¡± The old fellow seemed confused for a moment and then smiled at Johan in a fatherly fashion. ¡°That¡¯s the sign, lad but I¡¯m the armourer and I say you¡¯re allowed in. Alright?¡± ¡°Cor! Well, alright Mister Germain!¡± ¡°What¡¯s it for, anyway? Odd bit of kit for a big fight?¡± ¡°Oh! My team leader, Dave - Detective Booker? Yes, he has an aura that makes equipment better, but my aura only makes other auras better so he thinks if I have an empathy band -¡± ¡°Ooh, I see, I see lad,¡± said Germain, nodding. ¡°Dave says that spending one of my equipment selections on making everything else better will be a good investment.¡± ¡°And what do you think, lad?¡± asked the armourer sceptically, stopping next to a shelf and taking down a simple, cloth band that could have been mistaken for a simple headband to keep the hair out of the eyes, except for the exquisite rune stitching. He paused, waiting for Johan¡¯s answer. ¡°I think I feel stronger and fight better when I¡¯m in Dave¡¯s aura,¡± said Johan, beaming his most beautiful smile at Germain. ¡°And I trust him!¡± Heroic armourer Jules Germain nodded, relenting. ¡°Sign here, lad,¡± said Germain, returning Johan¡¯s smile and holding out a clipboard. Johan signed. ¡°You know,¡± said Germain. ¡°My boy, Jacq, really admires you, Mister Schmidt.¡± ¡°Aww, that¡¯s really nice to him, Mister Germain!¡± said Johan, his face the picture of earnestness. ¡°You tell him I said thank you for that, won¡¯t you? ¡± ¡°I think I will, lad. I think I will,¡± said the armourer, chuckling. ¡°Now you get going and practise with that strip of cloth on your noggin.¡± ¡°I will, Mister! Make sure you tell Jacq!¡± said Johan over his shoulder, retreating from the armourer who was good naturedly shoving him out. ¡°You¡¯re a good kid,¡± the armourer muttered. ¡°Hope you win.¡± Chapter 33: The Duels
Current Quests
Justice For Courbefy: Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use¡­ Chosen Of Knowledge: Escort Hugh on his journey to becoming a fully awakened iron¡­ Chosen Of Hero: Assist Johan as he competes in the Avril Reyer Birthday Tournament... Making A Magnate: Dominion wants you to hire at least two employees to expand your¡­ Healer¡¯s Materials: Gain Healer¡¯s favour by donating alchemy ingredients to the church¡­ Investigate Dapcher Orphanage: Investigate Dapcher orphanage for signs of exploitation. Abel¡¯s Mace: Return Brother Abel¡¯s missing mace to the church of Soldier. He was last¡­ Rescue the Lucas¡¯s Daughter: Retrieve Charlotte Lucas, the warehouse owner¡¯s¡­ Lost Treasure Map: Find and return an old treasure map stolen from, Marielle Lecuyer¡­ Wolf Menace: Hunt down a pack of mischievous foxes terrorising the livestock of Villars. Haunted Mill: Investigate the abandoned mill outside Limony that''s said to be haunted¡­ Embarrassing Request: Gather rare herbs from the dangerous swamp for Duerne''s¡­ Merchant Escort: Safely escort a merchant caravan through bard-infested woods to¡­ Mine Monsters: Clear out the rat monsters that have infested The Old Mine, a popular¡­ Ancient Ruins Exploration: Explore and map out the ancient ruins that have recently¡­ Missing Scout: Locate and rescue a missing scout who was last seen investigating¡­ Bridge Repair: Collect and deliver materials needed to repair a bridge that connects two¡­ UnKill Streak 5: Complete a five day streak of not killing anybody! Potion of Prosperity Delivery: Deliver a potion of prosperity to the midwife in Houlbec. Merchant''s Goods Recovery: Recover stolen goods in Confolens from the bandits that...
The Team had been given an expansive room at the top of the area. It took a special restricted lift to get to which made Johan embarrassed but, as Dave had noted, it had better security which they badly needed. All the top contenders had been given one, The rooms ringed the very top of the arena and were laid out with a viewing window that allowed a far seeing enchantment, a lounge, a bar and a small practice area. Johan adjusted the empathy band and gave it a quick test before he took his coifed great helm from Dave and placed it upon his head. Dave was looking a little morose so Johan reached down and put his hand on Dave¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Is something bothering you, Dave?¡± said Johan with tenderness. ¡°Oh, I was just wishing Sam could be here, you know?¡± said Dave with a little half-smile. ¡°She¡¯d really love all this, wouldn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°Yes, she would,¡± said Johan, smiling beautifully. ¡°Indeed, she would,¡± said Hugh through a bushy smile similar to Dave¡¯s. Johan put his other armoured hand on Hugh¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Then it¡¯s a good thing she has three friends here who can tell her all about it,¡± said Johan, his aura of friendliness radiating out from himself. ¡°Well, let¡¯s get you down that tunnel and go win a fuckin¡¯ trophy,¡± growled Dave. ¡°Language!¡± said Johan. ¡°Oh, for fucks sake,¡± said Dave, rolling his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re about to stab six nobles into submission, let me swear!¡± With one final check of helmet straps, Johan nodded to the staff as he passed and led the way through the arena halls, the dim light and echoing footsteps sounding unnaturally loud until they were encompassed by the noise of about thirty thousand people as they got closer to their destination. They reached the end of the tunnel and paused, the roar of the crowd loud enough now to vibrate the heavy tunnel doors. Dave placed a reassuring hand on Johan¡¯s shoulder and shouted into his ear. ¡°You¡¯ve got this, mate.¡± Johan nodded back and turned to Hugh who nodded at him, his bushy smile full of confidence. Johan took a deep breath, thanking the gods for good friends. The doors began to creak open and the noise of the crowd was a physical thing. It occupied the ears and wouldn¡¯t let any other sound in. Johan just strode into the arena like he owned it. Just like Master Greenwood had told him to. Paternoster was already there, having been announced first. She was facing away from him and looking to her arena-side supporters. Continuing with his master¡¯s advice, he summoned his sword and shield to his hands and raised them to the crowd, turning as he went to acknowledge every single person who might wish to see him. He made it to his designated starting circle and the enormous hourglass floating over the arena began running down, indicating when the fight would begin. Master Greenwood had told him once that it was very important to be seen and acknowledge the crowd. After all, they¡¯d paid to be here. The least he could do was to let them get a good look at him. And, they were so nice to cheer for him. Eventually, the great hourglass was almost done and he took up a guarded position in his circle. Knowing that the magic of the arena would carry his voice, Johan, ready to duel Emeline Paternoster, The Cindercloud of Lutetia, spoke for all to hear. ¡°I am Johan Schmidt, Chosen of Hero, here by the divine will of Warrior.¡± The bell sounded indicating the start of the match. He released the valve of the bloodletting device Dave had installed in his shield arm and began running at her. ¡°I come with the counsel of Knowledge by my side, clad in armour entrusted to me from the gods.¡± Paternoster released a series of magical, burning projectiles that Johan calmly raised his shield against and ran through without flinching. ¡°To those who hold Them in irreverence, know that today, I am Their instrument,¡± he leapt over a pit trap Paternoster summoned in his path. ¡°And know that they are insulted.¡± Back in the posh viewing room, Dave leaned forward, eyes glued to the arena. ¡°Oh,¡± said Dave. ¡°Oh, he doesn¡¯t give a fuck does he?¡± Beside him, Hugh worked his mouth soundlessly, going through several expressions before finally reaching some kind of conclusion. ¡°He¡¯s¡­ Is he better now that magic¡¯s allowed?¡± They watched from their well appointed room as Johan announced his piece and simply charged down Paternoster. She tried to stop him, she really did. Dave found himself nodding in approval at her use of Ember Volley at the head and then a level change to put the pit at the feet. Most people would still have their chin in the air when the pit came but Johan had jumped the two metre pit and continued sprinting at her like she¡¯d stolen one of his mum¡¯s biscuits. Dave saw it when Johan put his shield arm against his tabard and squeezed the sponge part of the device Dave had gotten an artificer to make. He smirked to himself in satisfaction. The rules forbade going into the arena with anything consumable that made your abilities better. Ice essence users weren¡¯t allowed to carry in buckets of water, plant essences users weren¡¯t allowed to show up with a backpack full of leaves, and so on and so forth. There was, however, no rule against showing up with a venipuncture kit already in your arm, some tubing and a bladder with a sponge inside it. So long as there was no blood in it before the match. Paternoster retreated and cast Binding Chains causing chains to leap from the sand around Johan but as she cast the spell, he was already doing his practised jump-spin-clap manoeuvre. Trailing bloody crabs and a couple of flowers shooting from the ground, Johan used Ram¡¯s Charge to close the last of the distance but was forced to hunker behind his shield in response to Paternoster¡¯s Inferno Burst which shot a wave of fire in all directions from her. Behind his shield, he squeezed the contents of the bladder onto his tabard and several more crabs fell away from him while a flower bloomed to his right. He quickly shoved a dollop of summoned honey into his mouth. Johan advanced on Paternoster once more. Paternoster shook off her slow start and began the combination of arena-wide apocalyptic abilities she was known for. She managed to cast Summon Storm. Dave looked at the ability¡¯s details in his UI. Not bad. It summoned a cloud that covered the area in stinging wind and rain and she could spend extra mana for a lightning strike. Then she started to cast Volcanic Eruption, which would put a small, magic volcano in the centre of the arena. Dave checked that ability too. At iron rank it¡¯d be about two or three metres tall, belch toxic smoke and small, hot cinders that¡¯d burn if they landed on you. Johan used Ram¡¯s Charge again to rapidly close with Paternoster, rapidly sprouting flowers all around him due to the amount of effects Paternoster was placing on him. He used Cat Swats The Mage to quickly smack a spell from her lips with his shield but Paternoster was an expert with the halberd she carried and soon had Johan back on point, out of range. Johan responded by touching several flowers and filling up his mouth with honey pieces for a moment before rushing back at her. The furious pace was not much like the bouts at all and felt more akin to the fight game Dave had learned in the MMA octagon. If he¡¯d had to guess, he¡¯d say that Johan was the one setting the pace of the fight. It wasn¡¯t that Paternoster wasn¡¯t having any successes, in fact she got a few pieces of the Volcanic Eruption on Johan already along with most of her other elemental damaging effects, but from what he¡¯d heard described about her usual defensive strategy, Dave figured Paternoster was having a harder time of it than usual. There was a knock at the door to the oversized, fancy locker room. ¡°Oh, do come in,¡± said Hugh, managing to take his eyes off the action and rush to open the door. ¡°Yes, yes, we¡¯re expecting you, Lords Ainsworth. To the viewing window, the match is underway.¡± ¡°Spiffing!¡± The footsteps of three people behind him announced the arrival of Rupe, Harry and Hugh beside him at the viewing window. ¡°Rupe, Harry,¡± said Dave, nodding at them briefly which they each returned, barely looking at him. ¡°How about those groups, hey? Stacked?¡± ¡°Not even hiding they cheated,¡± muttered Harry, watching Johan intentionally allow Paternoster¡¯s halberd to knock his shield down and impact lightly on his shoulder so he could made an attempt at trapping it there with his sword arm but she very cleverly stepped in and fired another Ember Volley, point blank, at Johan¡¯s hip, forcing him to abandon the move. ¡°Spiffing!¡± cheered Rupe. ¡°No, I mean the play, not the cheating. I¡¯ll have you know, Dave, my good fellow, that neither Harry nor I shall be attending the gala nor any other formal event of this tournament in protest.¡± The top six had been distributed across the tournament in such a way that none of them would meet each other before they met Johan. It was so improbable as to be an admission of conspiracy. ¡°Well, I dare say,¡± ventured Hugh, ¡°perhapsyou could still attend a few beers with friends to celebrate Johan¡¯s victory at the end of the day?¡± ¡°Yeah, or mine!¡± said Harry with bravado. ¡°Confidence is good,¡± said Dave, nodding his head at the fight. ¡°But, here and now, tell me what we¡¯re looking at Lord Harry-who¡¯s-going-to-win.¡± Harry''s bravado was as real as any teenager¡¯s but he¡¯d been matched up against Abelard Perrot in the first round and was unlikely to win. Still, he put a cocky grin in place and gave a rundown of the fight in front of him. ¡°Look, I¡¯ll admit it, they¡¯re good fighters,¡± Harry squinted his eyes at something in his view. ¡°Wait, how¡¯d she injure his shield arm? Wasn¡¯t that blood?¡± ¡°Self-inflicted,¡± said Dave. ¡°He squeezes his blood onto that tabard to make little crab minions so that his ally protecting shield and retribution aura can work.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s wild!¡± said Harry, his grin returning. ¡°Yeah but, I think he¡¯s killing it. He¡¯s got really slick sword work. Most fencers are taught to take a break and reset after an exchange, but he¡¯s just in her face the whole time, like Perrot¡¯s style. Relentless.¡± ¡°Okay, said Dave. ¡°And I was wondering earlier, the back and forth of the duel seems more present here than in the bouts? More reckless?¡± ¡°Magic healing,¡± said Harry without taking his eyes off the action. ¡°It lets you take more risks. Can afford a cut to get a powerful ability in, you carry?¡± Dave grunted in understanding. ¡°Whose strategy do you think will work first?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Well, your boy¡¯s pushing the pace but he¡¯s not getting in,¡± said Harry with a wicked grin. ¡°Paternoster¡¯s going to slowly burn him down once she gets her full set of spells going. Just burn and poke to victory. Her usual.¡± ¡°Looks like she¡¯s poking his shield,¡± said Dave, smirking. ¡°Yeah, but - Oh, his shield ability -¡± ¡°I say, Harry,¡± said Rupe, twigging to what was going on. ¡°Don¡¯t you think he¡¯s eaten a lot of those honey lollies?¡± ¡°Yeah, every time he -¡± Harry twigged. ¡°Oh, she¡¯s forgotten his shield and - and everything.¡± Johan sheltered behind his shield once more. Paternoster had gotten lucky and her spell that made a net of shadows had stuck to him this time. While he was held fast, he squeezed more of his own blood into the tabard and chewed on the honey in his mouth with gusto while Paternoster used the time she¡¯d bought holding him still to conjure a floating cloud platform. Johan used Hold Your Heidels! on her and the net stuck to his opponent who wasted no time in casting a spell that added small but powerful whirlwinds to the miniature storm that was hanging over the arena. The whirlwinds collected the damaging cinders of the mini-volcano and carried them towards him. The net ability was released on Johan and he sprinted back at her. Tap, tap, tap, went the halberd against his shield and Johan felt three more stacks of People¡¯s Shield develop to protect him. He¡¯d noticed early that Paternoster met his advance not with a brace to receive his charge but with nimble feet and multiple probing thrusts with her halberd to keep him back. He jinked to the side and advanced again. Tap, tap, tap. Another three. She was charging up his shield very nicely. Paternoster broke her defensive pattern by attacking with her halberd before Johan came in again but he parried and used Kingfisher¡¯s Riposte to hit her wrist. Her gauntlets took the blow but he could tell it¡¯d hurt her through the armour and he quickly shoved another portion of honey into his mouth, feeling the stack of Potent Bees rise even higher. The health regenerating boon from the honey as well as the two stacks of Kingfisher¡¯s Riposte were not out-pacing Paternoster¡¯s damage but with the reduced damage from the already dozens of People¡¯s Shield stacks, Johan could feel that the overall loss had slowed to a trickle and would reverse if she let up. He pushed the attack once more, alternating between blocking with his shield and parrying for Kingfisher¡¯s Risposte. She¡¯d learned very early not to try and cast a spell unless she had Johan on point or else he¡¯d knock it from her lips with a Cat Swats The Mage shield attack. So he constantly zigged and zagged on the attack to keep it available. Johan kept the pressure on her, he¡¯d remembered what Master Greenwood had said about opponents that needed a lot of abilities to chain together; keep the fight pressure on them and half the time, they¡¯ll forget where they¡¯re up to. The amount of crabs in the arena was piling up now and he was starting to use them with Shield Ally for extra manoeuvrability to avoid Paternoster¡¯s partially-directed whirlwinds full of fiery destruction. Then, Johan made a mistake and winced in realisation. She¡¯d hidden her mouth behind her halberd¨Cshe¡¯d used a short guard¨Cand used the noise of a whirlwind going past to cover her casting Binding Chains and he was unlucky enough that his boots didn¡¯t manage to resist the effect like the last three times. He was bound in place. ¡°By the fury of the heavens, let the stars fall and ignite the earth in flames!¡± incanted Paternoster triumphantly. It was actually quite impressive she¡¯d made it through the incantation without stumbling over the words because Johan had thrown his sword at her, which had slapped into her raised vambrace with an alarming ringing noise. Strong As A Grazer allowed Johan to throw heavy objects at enormous speeds. A meteor rock arced down from the sky, right at Johan. The ability had a few moments of impact delay, hence the need to bind him with the trap essence ability, but he used the moment of time to quickly squeeze some more blood onto his tabard, throw one of the resultant crabs at Paternoster and swallow a mouthful of honey before bracing himself behind his shield. ¡°Ha!¡± shouted Paternoster in triumph but the joy of the attack was soon lost from her face as a Hold Your Heidels! net emerged from the smoking impact area and Johan¡¯s silhouette came flying out backwards a moment later. Johan figured she¡¯d clearly expected more from such a powerful ability and he didn¡¯t blame her. It had really hurt! Probably caused a lot of that internal bleeding that Dave was always looking out for. Johan mentally shook himself. He should have trusted his shield more. It was one thing to know that he had damage reduction. It was another to disregard safety and use it. He landed close to Paternoster after the small flight the Squid Ink Gauntlets had taken him on and brazenly walked through her every-direction-flame ability and steeled himself to ignore the burning trap she¡¯d just cast in the path of his next step to buy herself time. He¡¯d eaten a whole bunch of honey, touched an entire bouquet¡¯s worth of flowers and certainly been attacking with a pointed weapon for some time now. He figured it was time for a good smite and a health race to the end of the match. Paternoster still had the Vulnerable debuff from just now when she¡¯d casually swatted Johan¡¯s blood bubbler crab out of the air while the meteor was coming in. Stepping through the flaming trap on the ground, Johan used Ram¡¯s Charge to rush in shield first, batter her halberd aside and slash once again at her wrists with his sword, but this time he smited. A transcendent edge with sides of disruptive and resonant force discharged itself upon impact through and into Paternoster¡¯s wrist as all of Johan¡¯s stacked boons powered the hit. ¡°Fucking hell!¡± ¡°Spiffing!¡± ¡°Goddess!¡± ¡°Wild!¡± The viewing party in the fight team room was stunned. They¡¯d seen Johan smite practice dummies but it didn¡¯t compare to what the ability did to a person. The smite attack had been nothing short of devastating. The energy discharge from his sword had flashed as it struck Paternoster¡¯s wrist, cutting through the gauntlet and severing her hand off. Although the cut was clean, there¡¯d also been some force discharge into the surrounding flesh which rippled through it like a wave, crumbling the severed hand brutally and distorting the shape of Paternoster¡¯s wrist-stump. A gasp rippled through the spectators, followed by a stunned silence as the implications set in. Paternoster staggered back, clutching the stump where her hand had been, blood spattering across herself and Johan whereupon little crabs fell to the ground. With only one hand and in immense pain, Paternoster¡¯s control over her halberd faltered. The weapon that had so reliably kept even Johan at bay with quick thrusts and warded him back with heavy, precise swings was now too heavy for her to use properly. As for Johan¡¯s condition, he was pretty beat up. He was down perhaps half of his health, maybe a bit less, most of which had been removed by the meteor. Johan battered Paternoster with strong blows until the inevitable happened. With a final, powerful swing, Johan knocked the halberd from her grip, sending it thumping to the sands and then thrust his sword into her sternum. As expected, Johan¡¯s killing blow was accompanied by Paternoster¡¯s Immortality ability activating. A healing light blazed from under her skin, all through her body and her wounds closed, pushing Johan¡¯s sword out. For a moment, it seemed as though she might rally, but Johan, no doubt taking a nugget of wisdom from Greenwood, decided that if he couldn¡¯t hurt his opponent, he¡¯d just make them ineffective. In the paralysed moment of Paternoster¡¯s Immortality taking effect, he reached out and grasped the haft of her halberd with his shield arm. So, Paternoster came out of her moment of immortality at about half health, staring up at Johan¡¯s noble figure, sword in hand, surrounded by flowers with sweets falling from a strong hand that was holding her own weapon fast and completing the picturesque scene, a magical apocalypse of her own making that still raged around them although, inside his great helm, Johan was aware of his comically loud chewing noises. The crowd, both in the arena and in the viewing room, went silent as Paternoster, to her credit, made the smart move and immediately released the halberd and tried to run. Johan used Ram¡¯s Charge to make her stumble and swept his sword in low and deep using the hilt to catch an ankle and sent Paternoster sprawling. She used her AoE Inferno Burst but Johan walked through it and used Hold Your Heidels! to tie up her limbs and make it harder for her to rise from the arena sands. He kicked out her arm she was using to push herself up from the ground and used a toe to flip her onto her back. ¡°Surrender!¡± demanded Johan, foot on her chest, sword levelled at her neck. ¡°Flames rise and shield me!¡± was the response he got. She¡¯d cast Fire Shield. A defensive ability that encased the caster and burned attackers. Alas, not a surrender. So, with his arm on fire, Johan pushed his sword into Paternoster¡¯s chest. ¡°WINNER, MISTER JOHAN SCHMIDT OF WARRIOR!¡± There was a fanfare of trumpets that came after the announcement. Both Johan and Paternoster were encased in that silver-rank force field and were being infused with healing magic that returned Paternoster¡¯s hand. As soon as the force field dropped, Johan bowed formally to Paternoster who returned the gesture with an awkward nod of her head and she immediately started walking towards the arena tunnel, leaving her halberd for the arena staff to pick up. Johan, however, lingered. He took off his helm and raised his sword to the crowd, taking everyone in and smiling like he wanted to personally thank everyone for being there. He gestured repeatedly to the increasing pile of treasure he was accumulating that was pushed out on a hovering platform, displaying everything he¡¯d taken so far. Hugh and Rupe had already left the viewing room to go and meet Johan at the arena tunnel leaving Dave to reflect on what he¡¯d just witnessed while the arena staff cleaned the sands and the next match was announced. Baudouin Fosse against Sophia Morales who, according to Dave¡¯s notes, was some chump from Spain. Harry had stayed behind to make sure that the room was never empty and thus nobody could come inside to sabotage anything. Right on cue, there was the sound from the door of someone roughly trying the handle followed by a loud, insistent knocking. ¡°Open up!¡± came a leonid¡¯s voice. He quickly looked at Harry with a finger to his lips and wrote ¡®attack immediately if they break the door¡¯ on a spare bit of paper. Harry nodded. They both took cover behind some furniture. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you could lock these doors from the outside,¡± said a non-leonid voice. ¡°Well then, there¡¯s obviously somebody in there,¡± replied the leonid. ¡°Hey, open up! We just want to talk.¡± Dave rolled his eyes at Harry who looked a little scared. Dave was scared too but was also feeling the confidence of someone who had an inventory full of incendiary grenades so the emotions evened out. The two thugs bickered about breaking down the door before abandoning their quest. Johan, Hugh and Rupe returned a minute later looking righteous, troubled and fuming, respectively. ¡°Ran into the thugs?¡± asked Dave. ¡°They tried to intimidate Johan,¡± said Hugh. ¡°It didn¡¯t work.¡± ¡°I will tell their mothers what they have been up to,¡± muttered Johan, going over to the bar and putting the kettle on. ¡°Even if I have to apologise for disciplining them so.¡± Dave looked at Hugh and Rupe. ¡°I say, I¡¯ve never heard such vitriol from a young man¡¯s mouth,¡± said Rupe. ¡°Now, now things get a bit bawdy on hunts, let me tell you, Harry here has heard some things his ears are too young for.¡± His nephew grinned. ¡°But their behaviour was unconscionable! I don¡¯t blame you in the slightest, Johan, my good fellow!¡± Dave looked questioningly at Hugh who groaned. ¡°Two sons of minor lords accosted us in the hallway, Johan was polite but Rupe called them out on their lack of honour. They started insulting our mothers and fathers but then they suggested something unfavourable about sisters and¡­ ¡± Hugh looked at Dave who indicated he should keep talking. ¡°Johan - ahh - lost patience.¡± Dave¡¯s eyes bored into Hugh. ¡°Johan suplexed the leonid, slapped the man across the face and then took off his belt and spanked them.¡± In the quiet room, Dave burst into laughter, soon followed by Harry and then everyone else. ¡°Oh, nothing will come of it,¡± said Dave. ¡°You could have stolen all their stuff and nothing would have come of it. This top floor needs an aura-imprint to get to, right? Unless they¡¯re on the list, they weren¡¯t supposed to be up here, and if they were on the list, they¡¯re with another team and weren¡¯t supposed to be near our rooms.¡± ¡°Heaven¡¯s and surges, I¡¯m glad you think of things like that, Dave,¡± said Johan, steeping some tea. ¡°I thought I would surely get into some trouble for losing my temper like that.¡± ¡°Nah, you¡¯re a big shot duelist now,¡± said Harry with a mischievous grin. ¡°You can do anything you want. Smash bottles on the wall, swear at people, don¡¯t pay for stuff. Nobody¡¯s going to kick you out of the tournament.¡± ¡°But, I don¡¯t want to do any of that,¡± said Johan, looking at Harry with concern. Rupe cuffed Harry around the back of the head. ¡°We¡¯re going to have a talk later,¡± said Rupe. Harry scowled. ¡°I think the point is that you can bodily remove people from your area and nobody will care,¡± said Dave, also looking at Harry. ¡°And, I¡¯ll be joining that talk, Harry. You have very dark, concerning ambitions.¡± The next fight was being announced and the room, tea and all, were brought to the viewing window. Baudouin ¡®The Iron Lion¡¯ Fosse was introduced first, and Dave thought that was a pretty cool fight name. He jogged into the arena with light armour and two short scimitars and didn¡¯t say anything remarkable, just announced himself and his teachers. Sophia ¡®Everliving¡¯ Morales came next with a similar vibe to getting onto the sands and saying nothing remarkable. The hourglass ran out, the fight started and it was, Dave considered, a one-sided beatdown. Dave¡¯s notes had Morales as a confirmed sickle and life essence user with an unknown third essence that gave the harvest confluence. Probably a harmonic or balance essence. Dave supposed that perhaps Fosse was just a bad matchup for Morales because from the start, Fosse just turned into a giant, metal lion, ran at her and pounced. After that, The Iron Lion basically shook her until the force fields came on. Dave used Stop And Think to go into his UI and use the full screen combat log that had just scrolled by at blurring speed. After a good while going through it all, he figured it out. Fosse hadn¡¯t used a single ability twice and he¡¯d burned through a full three quarters of his mana in the dozen-or-so seconds that the match had lasted. Dave respected the strategy; mana inefficient but high burst damage followed up by continuing to attack with a high base DPS. In contrast, Morales had tried a couple of control abilities, both resisted, and mistimed a movement ability while being held in The Lion¡¯s mouth. It was definitely a bad matchup for Morales. ¡°I think Fosse has some equipment similar to Johan¡¯s boots,¡± said Dave, coming back into the stunned silence of the viewing room. ¡°Oh, that¡¯d make sense, yes,¡± said Johan. ¡°Oh? Yes?¡± said a mystified Hugh. ¡°It looked like she tried a couple of spells but nothing happened,¡± said Johan, shrugging. ¡°I thought maybe they were delayed healing abilities like Sam¡¯s and she just expected to survive longer but if the spells were resisted that also makes sense.¡± Nobody questioned it. Johan seemed to have a sixth sense for knowing what people were doing in a fight. After all, he¡¯d just come out of a duel with one of the best iron ranked duelists in the whole empire and only made a single bad guess during the match. While the arena was being raked and set up for the next match, Dave filled everyone else in on the details he¡¯d gleaned from his UI and they confirmed his initial impression that it was just a bad matchup and what it meant for Johan¡¯s upcoming match with Fosse. It was a short discussion. ¡°He¡¯ll fight completely different against me,¡± concluded Johan after everyone had contributed their thoughts. ¡°He¡¯ll have to. Just with the armour I¡¯m wearing he won¡¯t do half the damage he did to Morales. Unless we believe he is a false duelist?¡± ¡°No, no, no,¡± said Rupe. ¡°Those top six have all fought each other a few times. He wouldn¡¯t be in the conversation if he had only one strategy.¡± He shook his head. ¡°No, my new friends, I¡¯m afraid this match we¡¯ve just seen isn¡¯t going to help our Johan here one bit!¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± said Johan, beaming at everyone. ¡°Without you all, I wouldn¡¯t even know what essences he had or what kind of abilities to expect until now. Thanks to you all, I¡¯ve had an entire day to think about it and I think if I just fight the way that Master Greenwood taught me and pray to the gods with all my heart. I think I¡¯ll win.¡± ¡°You are just too much sometimes, you know that?,¡± said Dave, flatly. ¡°That sounds like a compliment, Dave,¡± said Johan, smiling down at him. Dave rolled his eyes and just hugged the blond giant. His friends chuckled. The next match was about to be underway and everyone made themselves comfortable at the viewing screen.
Much of the morning rolled by with match after match being decided quickly. It was, honestly, Dave thought, a little dull. Most of them seemed to be duelists too scared to engage. They¡¯d mostly just stay back unless trying to land a magic combination of powerful strikes/abilities. It niggled at him. He held the niggle in the back of his mind while watching some matches and then, the penny dropped and he figured it out. ¡°Ohh, shit!¡± he said loudly. ¡°Everyone¡¯s doing fuckin¡¯ bullshido!¡± Everyone in the room looked at him. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d better explain that, huh?¡± Everyone nodded. ¡°Basically, where I¡¯m from there are martial arts that don¡¯t fight. Some of the names of those martial arts end in ¡®do¡¯ and in my native language ¡®bullshit¡¯ is a rude, slang term for nonsense. So, nonsense-martial-art, you get me?¡± ¡°Oh!¡± said Harry grinning. ¡°Like Mad Mari?¡± ¡°Ha! Spiffing!¡± cried Rupe. ¡°I¡¯d forgotten about her.¡± He turned to the blank faces of Executive Services. ¡°This mad adventurer from a few years ago who had this idea about ¡®strengthening her body¡¯ and threw herself against trees all day as ¡®training¡¯ and enters the staff competition at the county fair every year unarmed.¡± He shook his head. ¡°We ended up having to ban her from the fair. She still lives in the woods training to this day!¡± ¡°In the woods? Into the woods, at great speed¡­¡± quipped Harry quietly. ¡°Yeah, yeah, that!¡± said Dave, glad to have found a cultural touchstone. ¡°That, but kind of starting with a good idea. I mean - yeah, down there. Look at that pose? What¡¯s going on there?¡± Everyone turned to the arena below where one of the fighters was standing, spear in hand, on one leg with her arms raised, bellowing out a spell that shot snakes at the other fighter, who went into a horse stance with shield extended in front and warhammer pointed directly at his opponent. The warhammered fighter received the snake projectiles on his shield and bellowed his own spell. The warhammer shot like a rocket into the chest of the posing spear wielder, knocking them over. The force fields kicked in as the back of their head snapped into the ground. ¡°WINNER, LUCA PETROVI?!¡± ¡°Yes! That!¡± said Dave loudly, gesturing at the sands. ¡°What the fuck was that? Those ridiculous poses. Harry? Johan? I haven¡¯t seen either of you posing like a statue.¡± ¡°Ahh, don¡¯t look at me,¡± said Harry. ¡°I do bows, you carry?¡± ¡°You most certainly do not just ¡®do bows¡¯, you little scoundrel,¡± said Rupe, ruffling his nephew¡¯s hair. ¡°The amount we spend on swordmasters for you!¡± ¡°Baah!¡± scoffed Harry. ¡°My father taught me more about melee than those losers.¡± ¡°Wait!¡± said Dave, raising a hand to ward off Rupe¡¯s ire. ¡°Why do you say that, Harry?¡± ¡°I dunno!¡± replied Harry with the full-body shrug typical of gangly teens everywhere. ¡°They just, you know? Do nothing. You carry? Like they¡¯ll spend half an hour getting you to turn your wrist or something and then you try it with the village kids and they just smack your sword away and stab you -¡± ¡°You hadn¡¯t got up to the fade and riposte!¡± said Rupe, going red in the face. ¡°Let him speak,¡± said Dave, raising his hand again but smiling at Harry. ¡°So, this swordmaster taught you something and it didn¡¯t work?¡± said Dave. ¡°Show it to Johan.¡± Harry walked over to the weapons racks and picked up a rapier. ¡°It was something like; this,¡± he said, doing a thrust and emphasising a wrist turn throughout the motion. ¡°Oh, yes, La Vega¡¯s vine hand,¡± said Johan, lighting up. ¡°Master Greenwood said that it¡¯s favoured by the masters from the Tarraco region. It has its uses!¡± Dave turned to Harry. ¡°The swordmaster didn¡¯t tell you the uses, did they?¡± ¡°Nuuuh,¡± Harry teenage-moaned in complaint. ¡°He just caned my hand when I did it wrong.¡± ¡°Hugh, tell your Lady Goddess that I¡¯m disappointed with this - these people¡¯s teaching techniques,¡± said Dave. ¡°No, she¡¯s already with you,¡± said Hugh, nodding. ¡°Harry, spar a little with Johan,¡± said Dave. ¡°Just play fighting. Johan, show Harry a use case of that¡­ twisty-thrust.¡± ¡°La Vega¡¯s vine hand,¡± said Johan, ¡°Or, more generally, a pronate thrust.¡± Harry and Johan saluted and began duelling lightly, going back and forth but within a handful of seconds, Johan had blocked to his upper right and instead of moving back to his centre, had fallen into a lunge and twisted his hand over while thrusting into Harry¡¯s belly. ¡°Ah, touch! You got me!¡± said Harry with a bashful grin. ¡°I advanced with my point offline, didn¡¯t I? Argh! I always do that.¡± Dave gestured at them both. ¡°Neither of you did any posing, I notice,¡± said Dave. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Yeah, well, that¡¯s because my father taught me to just get stuck in, you carry?¡± said Harry. ¡°Was your father taught in Friuli by any chance?¡± asked Johan, open faced curiosity shining forth. ¡°His instructor was, yes!¡± said Harry. ¡°Cor, I knew it!¡± said Johan, snapping his fingers. ¡°I should have known since yesterday. The way you fight favouring strong movements. Lots of beating your opponent''s blade aside. Master Greenwood always said that¡¯s a signature of Friuli schools.¡± ¡°And what was that shit we just saw on the sands with the high spear punch-me-in-the-face pose?¡± asked Dave. He gestured again to Harry and Johan. ¡°Clearly, the posing isn¡¯t needed? What the hell were they doing, Johan? Without Greenwood around, you¡¯re the expert here.¡± The gentle giant fidgeted awkwardly. He didn¡¯t like speaking badly of others but he answered the question. ¡°That pose is from a style favoured by some Walsh tribes,¡± said Johan. ¡°It¡¯s perfectly functional.¡± He winced at Dave''s sceptical glare. ¡°But, yes, yes, yes, steady on. She wasn¡¯t using it right. Master Greenwood taught it to me as something she calls a transition pose.¡± He selected a two-handed sword off the rack and walked up to a training dummy. ¡°See, you approach in high guard, get your opponent off balance somehow - maybe with a feint - but go into boar rushes down the mountain instead. He accompanied his narration by advancing on the dummy with his sword high, handguard level with his face, faked a downward slash with his shoulders and footwork but instead, rose up onto one foot with his hands well over his head, momentarily in the exact same pose as the woman in the area had been in, and then crashed down into the training dummy with all of his weight in a strong blow. Johan turned back to everyone. ¡°Master Greenwood did say when she was teaching it to me that some of the Walsh like to take and hold the pose to ward back their enemies with the threat of a strong attack,¡± said Johan, speaking mainly to Harry who was listening to Johan with rapt attention. ¡°but she said that they fight in groups. She finds it¡¯s not good for bouts or duels because, as we saw with that poor woman, you¡¯re very vulnerable to ranged attacks.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t even the hammer that finished her,¡± said Dave. ¡°I saw it and double checked with my combat log, it was the fall that stopped the match. Cracked the back of her head on the sand.¡± ¡°Tally ho, hold up a square minute there, old boys!¡± said Rupe pompously. ¡°Are you telling me my family has wasted hundreds of silver coins on useless masters?¡± ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t say -¡± began Johan, kindly. ¡°I¡¯ll say it,¡± interrupted Dave. ¡°If I have to. Especially if what the master that Harry just mentioned is typical?¡± Harry nodded, rolling his eyes with as much long-suffering disrespect as his body could express. ¡°But I looked him up!¡± said Rupe, indignantly. ¡°He was a regional winner in Pontus through iron and bronze ranks! Competed and placed well in tournaments for twenty years before opening a school!¡± ¡°He probably has a few genuinely good tricks or combinations that actually do work well,¡± said Dave. ¡°That¡¯s how these things work where I¡¯m from. I trained with a few guys from - ugh, how do you say? Lesser styles? Anyway, they¡¯d always get off their trick in training but because we did unarmed fighting, it didn¡¯t finish you, so after whatever trick they¡¯d done you could play defensive, find ways to counter the trick and a minute later, you¡¯d just dominate them.¡± ¡°Master Greenwood calls them a one-minute-champs,¡± said Johan nodding sagely. ¡°Lots of talk and done after three thrusts.¡± Dave clenched his jaw to keep his face straight. Rupe¡¯s moustache quivered dangerously. Harry grinned and opened his mouth to say something but from behind Johan, Hugh came to everyone¡¯s rescue and shook his head vigorously at Harry. ¡°What is it?¡± said Johan, who¡¯d noticed the silence. ¡°Oh, nothing, Johan,¡± said Harry quickly. ¡°Just odd phrasing for us city folk. Hey, can you help me with my two-sword fighting? It¡¯s a pretty wild style and I¡¯m thinking I¡¯ll try it against Perrot.¡± Suitably distracted, Johan¡¯s innocent mind remained intact just a little longer. Point made, Dave, Hugh and Rupe returned to watching the arena fights. The current fight had two duelists who were clearly more interested in casting magic at each other while hiding behind shields and playing who-runs-out-of-mana-first. Dave watched with mild amusement until one eventually fell over. Now that they¡¯d talked about it, they couldn¡¯t stop seeing it and pointing it out to each other when one of the fighters did some obvious training poses during the coming fights. They also noted when, as Dave predicted, they often had those one or two good combinations or tricks that had fight ending potential and kept spamming them, over and over. He had to admit, having a single, super well-drilled move that ended with something pointy in your opponent''s chest wasn¡¯t the worst idea in armed combat. He was particularly impressed by one fighter whose trick-move was a simple and effective one-two where they¡¯d blast their opponent with winds powerful enough to make them stumble and then hurl a spear, that accelerated with the wind, at their off-balance opponent. Very good magic-physical synergy. Everyone watched the other top six have their fights. Glovis Garson fought against someone with a shape-changing powerset. Clovis was extremely mobile, using shields to deflect ranged attacks while constantly casting control spells from his flute and faun essence. Fighting Clovis looked frustrating. Like you¡¯d be chasing illusions before being suddenly attacked. Georgette Brodeur fought a crocodile-themed ranger, that was Dave¡¯s impression; A runic with solid defence abilities who attempted to advance behind shield abilities, distract with crocodile themed spells of ambush and then swing down with a two-handed sword. Brodeur led him on a slow death as she loaded him up with afflictions, some were cast as spells and more applied with the touch of her weapon, and just fought with her rapier while going backwards and using genuinely impressive awareness and reflexes to avoid the worst of the ambushing, death-rolling spells from the crocodile essence. Johan and Harry ended up practising together, refining melee escapes until Harry was summoned to the tunnel by the arena staff. Everyone from Executive Services wished him luck and stayed behind in the viewing room. Harry was announced as ¡°Lord Harry ¡®Trollslayer¡¯ Ainsworth¡±, apparently that meant he¡¯d tracked and killed a troll without assistance, and Lord Abelard ¡®The Arsenal¡¯ Perrot. Their speeches were simple. ¡°I am Lord Harry Ainsworth of Shuckletonshire, here to test my mettle humbly before the gods.¡± Curiously, Perrot¡¯s speech was also without bravado or classism. ¡°I am Lord Abelard Perrot, I came to fight before Warrior and win the tournament prize.¡± Perrot then put his oddly-shaped helm on his head and started pacing within his starting ring. Harry grinned and started bouncing on the balls of his feet at the back of his own ring, nocking an arrow. Dave wondered for a moment about Perrot¡¯s helm that looked entirely made of enchanted glass but put the thought aside for later. The sand ran out of the great hourglass, the bell sounded and the match was on. Perrot had stopped pacing and started running at Harry just as the sand was running out and left his circle at a sprint with his shield up. Harry had done something similar but had started running around the arena circumference. He fired arrows as he ran which all thunked into Perrot¡¯s shield except one which missed. Dave¡¯s combat log let him know that Harry had used Rebounding Shot. It went over Perrot¡¯s shoulder on purpose, bounced off the far wall and started coming back. As Perrot closed in, Harry used Piercing Shot against the shield just as the Rebounding Shot came in. Perrot jinked to the side slightly, away from the arrow coming in from behind, which Harry used to escape from being pinned against the arena wall but he¡¯d come in range of Perrot¡¯s abilities. Perrot cast Infinite Blades which made clones of the sword that Perrot was holding multiply in a fan out of his real blade and the copies flew at Harry who had to use Elusive Maneuver to avoid all but three of the blades, which gave him superficial cuts to his legs when they hit. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s not good,¡± said Dave. Harry was supposed to save all his escape abilities for exiting melee, where Perrot would be able to grind him down. ¡°Ah, he¡¯s putting on a spiffing show, though,¡± said Rupe. ¡°Spiffing!¡± And, it was true. Having escaped from being pinned against the wall by Perrot, Harry was now circling the arena anti-clockwise but was soon reminded that being anywhere in the arena with someone who has the vast essence was dangerous. Perrot used a spell called Arsenal Barrage which summoned a series of spears, javelins, arrows and other projectiles onto the sands which started launching themselves at Harry, one-by-one like a machine gun. While Harry was dodging those projectiles, Perrot cast Galactic Barrage and a rain of swords fell from the sky as well in an area-wide attack. In dodging Perrot¡¯s combination attack, Harry accidentally moved towards Perrot who used Weapon Storm to make an area of violently spinning weapons behind Harry, boxing him into melee and then - Dave had to use Stop And Think to keep up - Perrot used a series of magically-enhanced strikes in order:
  • Guardian''s Strike: A shield bash that temporarily disables the target''s abilities.
  • Armoury Assault: Calls forth an array of weapons for a multi-hit combo attack.
  • Cosmic Slash: Draws power from the cosmos, delivering a strike of immense energy.
  • Stormbreaker: Channels a lightning-infused strike that shocks and stuns targets.
  • Swift Cleave: Executes a rapid, powerful strike that cuts through armour.
  • Aegis Bash: Smashes enemies with a shield, creating a shockwave that knocks them back.
Dave looked at his notes. A six-ability combo. Seven really, considering that Aegis Bash knocked Harry back into the Weapon Storm. It was basically a stun-lock combo: Guardian strike, hit, hit, Stormbreaker, hit, hit. Nasty. Dave let time return. Harry ran out the back of the Weapon Storm looking worse for wear - he was at about half health - and activated his own combo. Dave winced. He was supposed to wait until he¡¯d baited out a couple of Perrot¡¯s damage reduction abilities. Still, maybe Harry figured he didn¡¯t have enough time left to wait. Harry put Predator¡¯s Mark on Perrot, making him easier for Harry to track and detect and then cast Hunter¡¯s Bond on himself with Perrot as the target, forcing Perrot to see out of Harry¡¯s eyes. Harry closed his eyes and started shooting at Perrot. He opened with a Tracking Arrow which he deliberately shot high into the air and let its tracking property guide it to his marked target and then shot two more arrows which lodged in Perrot¡¯s armour taking off a bit of his health but then at the next snap of the bow, Perrot activated Barrier Surge which was a long cooldown, body-encasing shield that reduced all same-rank damage to nothing. Harry cast Silent Hunter and ran to a different angle while he waited out Perrot¡¯s shield. When Barrier Surge ran out, Harry used his biggest ability, Enchanted Arrows, selecting ¡®explosive¡¯ from the effects, with Eagle Eye Precision and Slow Aim to get the best shot possible. He aimed the perfect shot, right where the gorget of Perrot¡¯s armour met the helmet. He shot and immediately swore as Perrot used Reflective Guard, and reflected the damage right back, taking a good chunk of Harry¡¯s health. The shock was enough to shake harry from Hunter¡¯s Bond and the boon went away. His own vision returned, Harry shot two more ordinary arrows, one into Perrot¡¯s leg and one into his shield before Perrot collected himself. Perrot was on about half health but Harry was much lower and couldn¡¯t afford to take any more damage. Perrot took advantage of this and boxed him in with AoE spells before walking Harry down and finishing him off in melee. The force field came up, freezing them with Harry¡¯s back against the wall and Perrot¡¯s sword halfway through his guts. ¡°WINNER, LORD ABELARD PERROT!¡± said the announcer with the usual fanfare of trumpets. ¡°Spiffing!¡± cheered Rupe at the viewing glass, clapping loudly. ¡°He put on a good show, didn¡¯t he now? Just spiffing! Practically pincushioned Perrot before falling. Bravo, me lad! Spiffing!¡± Dave, Hugh and Johan clapped along with less exuberance but full support of Rupe in his familial pride. ¡°Excuse me, I must get the boy,¡± said Rupe, rushing off. ¡°Spiffing!¡± He came back a couple of minutes later with a sweaty Harry and three other uncomfortable-looking nobles. ¡°Friends of yours?¡± asked Dave, standing at the door. ¡°Ah, Dave!¡± said Rupe. ¡°These peers, Marqu¨¦s Hernando de la Vega, Duchess Livia di Moretti and Baron Jacques de Saint-Pierre. They have been asked to leave the social club! Can you believe the cheek?¡± Dave paused for a moment doing the mental maths on any of these aristocrats being a spy of some kind but the warm glow of Johan¡¯s presence radiated from behind him. ¡°All gods-loving people are welcome here,¡± said Johan with his perfect smile. ¡°Please come in.¡± Dave reacted quickly, pulling the door open and bowing them inside. ¡°We only have the comforts that came with the room,¡± continued Johan. ¡°So, please, forgive the lack of leisure suitable for those of your eminence.¡± Marqu¨¦s Hernando de la Vega swaggered in, vibrant in red and yellow, demanding attention. His left hand rested confidently on his rapier and he smiled like one thinking of a joke, possibly one that deserved a coy wink at any moment. Behind him, Duchess Livia di Moretti glided in, her emerald gown trailing in the air upon winds of magic. She gazed sharply about the room radiating an air of quiet command, serenely assessing everything down her nose. Baron Jacques de Saint-Pierre came last, his deep blue coat barely containing the tense energy beneath. His jaw was set, eyes blazing, as though ready to cut through any frivolity with a single glance. The baron was bronze rank and immediately started imposing his presence over the room. ¡°With that invitation said,¡± said Dave, giving Johan and then the nobles a meaningful look. ¡°This is our space, our rules. The purpose of this place is to provide Johan somewhere where he can prepare for his fights so, if you please, there¡¯ll be no aura jostling in here. In this place we¡¯re all equal before the gods.¡± ¡°You dare -¡± began de Saint-Pierre. ¡°Of course he dares!¡± said de la Vega with a big smile. ¡°This is his house!¡± He walked up to Dave and kissed him on the cheek. ¡°It is that kind of thinking that has created this whole mess!¡± ¡°He¡¯s right, Jacques,¡± sighed di Moretti, extending her hand to Dave and curtsying. Dave bowed and brushed his lips against the back on her fingers. ¡°We have been selected by the gods to rule the common folk but that doesn¡¯t mean They¡¯ve put us in Their hierarchy.¡± di Moretti gave a matronly smile at the room. ¡°Baron de Saint-Pierre was the most vocal of us before leaving the club. I fear his blood is still up.¡± Johan approached the bristling man with hand extended. ¡°Then I must thank you, Baron, for we are like minded in our love of the gods. Your Dominion-given place is not in question. My friend Dave comes from a society of direct speech and means no disrespect. We merely beg your help in seeing the will of Warrior, who has been invoked for this tournament, made real. Know that you are among agreeable friends here,¡± said Johan, sincerity coming off him in waves. The baron straightened his back, took Johan in and shook his hand firmly. ¡°Thank you, young man, thank you,¡± said Baron de Saint-Pierre gruffly, shaking Johan¡¯s hand vigorously. Behind him, Rupe and Harry stopped sweating bullets. ¡°It is good to know that someone knows their place around here.¡± He glared at Dave. ¡°I can forgive much if it be the will of the gods.¡± Dave bowed to the man, stretching his paper-thin patience further. ¡°I apologise if I caused offence, my good baron,¡± said Dave. ¡°I hail from Ahitereiria where Dominion¡¯s hand rises and falls upon all folk as He sees fit within the whims of Fortune, for it is a different land with different needs. I am still learning the ways of this land.¡± Dave felt the baron¡¯s aura expand onto his aura camouflage but was quickly shooed back by similar aura motions by de la Vega and di Moretti. ¡°Sounds like a place of madness,¡± harrumphed the baron. ¡°But, I will leave that to Him.¡± ¡°Thank you, Baron de Saint-Pierre, and please let me say,¡± Dave extended his hand and used his rudimentary aura control to show his authentic feelings on the matter, ¡°It¡¯s pretty awful when you know you¡¯re right but everyone in the room refuses to listen.¡± The baron looked down his nose at Dave, but shook his hand. ¡°Well, today we all know that sensation,¡± said de la Vega with a playful smile. ¡°Please, Jacques, you are blocking the doorway! Let Rupe and Harry in. Without them we would have the choice between the worst arena seats or our rented rooms in the city!¡± The baron started but quickly stepped to bow Rupe and Harry into the room apologetically, nodded at Dave and allowed Johan to lead him to the bar. What the fuck, Rupe? Dave wrote on a piece of paper. Rupe and Harry paused and sent their most apologetic, sheepish looks. They clearly hadn¡¯t thought it¡¯d go like that. Dave rolled his eyes and gestured with his head at the chairs in front of the viewing glass which he followed them to. Easy going people like Harry and Rupe often had trouble getting into the mind of someone with a superiority complex.
Baron Claude Franchet hadn¡¯t felt this kind of excitement since his adventuring days. The gathered nobles were going over a list of Johan¡¯s most probable abilities, as given by their various secret-finders. Their faces were taut with concentration as they poured over and over his abilities and only found more strengths. So far, their collective conclusion had been the one everyone had seen within the first five minutes of knowing his abilities; don¡¯t go near him. ¡°Alright, I think I have a plan for young Baudouin,¡± said Adriana Villaverde, elvish peerage from the mountains in Iberia who occasionally coached students in the spear. ¡°I think if he ignores the sword and gets in hard and fast and really gets behind that shield, he¡¯ll be able to out-damage the peasant.¡± ¡°And, what if the peasant fights back?¡± asked Matteo Grimaldi, another would-be strategist from Citt¨¤ Eterna, the major city in the boot of the empire. The man was involved in wine import/exports and followed the iron/bronze duelling scene in his home region. ¡°Well, yes of course, but hear my reasons, won¡¯t you?¡± said Villaverde. ¡°Now, we know he gains those stacks if he dodges, if an attack misses him, if he eats those sweets or touches one of those flowers. Now, he can¡¯t do any of those things while Baudouin is holding him down and raking him with those claws. Being in that close can also stop him from using that shield which makes him harder to damage, no?¡± ¡°Well, yes but again, what if he fights back?¡± asked Grimaldi. ¡°With his strength ability? Or with his shield-charge? Or uses that net which we just found out interacts with his strength ability for its power?¡± ¡°Do you have a better idea?¡± said Villaverde aggressively. ¡°No, but -¡± ¡°Well, be quiet then!¡± ¡°- yours is still trash.¡± They glared at each other. Claude clamped down on the urge to chuckle at their childishness and stepped in to keep the peace. Earlier he¡¯d allowed dissent to heighten emotions with the plan to direct those feelings into reckless betting but it hadn¡¯t worked. Instead, a few of the particularly submissive, pious members had started talking sense so he¡¯d had to ask them to leave. He¡¯d rudely suggested the idea that they should seek out comfort in the understaffed viewing room that the Schmidt boy was no doubt occupying. Thinking about that reminded him that a couple of Isabelle Duval¡¯s thugs had snuck onto the viewing room floor and tried to rough up the room while Schmidt was out. Luckily, they hadn¡¯t the courage to break the door down and had been found in the hallway by Schmidt who¡¯d thoroughly embarrassed them with a spanking. He¡¯d gotten lucky. He couldn¡¯t condemn that kind of thing, it¡¯d go against the story he was trying to sell, but he also didn¡¯t want such attempts to be successful, because then he might lose his bets. ¡°Lord Grimaldi, Countess Villaverde,¡± said Claude in a conciliatory tone. ¡°While we can all agree that the boy¡¯s weakness is at range,¡± he gestured at the list of abilities of both fighters. ¡°We know for a fact that Baudouin, the fight that matters for now, doesn¡¯t have any ranged power himself. So why don¡¯t you put your heads together and see what you can think of to use in Baudouin¡¯s abilities to close that distance?¡± Claude smiled to himself. They¡¯d spend the next half an hour coming up with ability combinations that Baudouin would have already perfected himself just for situations just like this. But, let them feel useful. It would only increase their confidence. ¡°Baudouin¡¯s not going to be able to do it,¡± muttered Reyer in his ear. Claude walked over to the viewing glass and gazed down into the area with his hands behind his back. ¡°I know Reyer,¡± said Claude softly, using his aura to ensure the words didn¡¯t carry. ¡°But in his defeat, he¡¯ll provide valuable insights for your daughter to beat him.¡± ¡°You think it¡¯ll come to that?¡± said Reyer. Claude had personally brought in the subtle magic that¡¯d rigged the groups so that Reyer and Schmidt could only meet in the finals. ¡°I do, old boy, I do,¡± said Claude with a slyness that he enjoyed all the more because he knew his rival would read it wrongly. ¡°With every moment that boy spends on the sands, the more we notice weaknesses in his technique. Have you noticed he drops his sword tip momentarily when he disengages?¡± Claude had only noticed it because he was a silver ranker. Perhaps a bronze ranker with an eye for sword technique could also see it but the moment was too brief for an iron ranker. Thankfully, Reyer had never trained in melee and just nodded along. ¡°And remember, Reyer,¡± said Claude, withholding no satisfaction from his aura. ¡°That betting pot the boy has going. It¡¯s winner takes all.¡± Reyer just grinned greedily and left to join the strategic discussion.
Having the three extra nobles in the room turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Despite the rough start, with the first three in, one of them being a bronze ranker, they¡¯d gotten messages to fellow aristocrats in the same position and soon, there was another ten in the room. All had agreed to the conditions of no aura nudging against the fight team and Baron de Saint-Pierre, who believed in taking charge of any situation, took it upon himself to use his bronze rank to enforce this. Despite being quite terrible at following the rule himself, he seemed to be of the mind that if he wasn¡¯t allowed to force his soul onto the lower ranks, nobody was. Fortunately, those occurrences of attempted aura dominance seemed to be a force of habit from the collected aristocrats rather than actual malice. Dave hated it. He was hating this society, this world he¡¯d found himself in, where shaking someone by the soul was considered a perfectly mundane way of asserting one¡¯s authority over anybody else in the vicinity. Rupe was holding court at the gathering, chatting to everyone and keeping the conversation flowing between the matches speculating about what could have been if a fighter had done this or that or worn different armour. He was a talented armchair general, Dave thought. Between matches, sometimes during if the matchup wasn¡¯t interesting, the collected nobles would laugh and have at Johan with practice weapons, laughing the whole time at how he did this or that movement perfectly, or with a twist they admired. The three bronze rankers in the room, led by Baron de Saint-Pierre managed to land the occasional hit on Johan but mostly, Johan¡¯s practice sword would land first, instantly becoming pliable and floppy, as the comic safety magic of those practice weapons worked. In short, Dave had nothing to do, so he studied. Dimensional Magic: Bridges Across Reality by Sorin Zephyros was the least self-fellating book on the subject that bothered with iron rank teleportation and he¡¯d been trying to reconcile what the book was trying to get across with his observations from the silver rank portal Brisset made. He was reading about destination targeting when a shadow fell across Tome and cleared its throat. Dave looked up from his book and found himself face-to-face with a young elf who stood there with a relaxed, upright posture that he somehow affected to look almost lazy. Despite his slender frame and below-average height for an elf, he looked lithe and graceful enough to spring to the ceiling and his eyes danced with the same kind of mischievous sparkle to them as Marqu¨¦s Hernando de la Vega. Perhaps more so. A smooth, disarming smile played on his lips as he projected a roguish coolness with half-shut eyes that suggested a certain calm self-satisfaction. If he was still in his home reality, Dave would have compared the elf to Jeff Goldblum or Antonio Banderas. Everything about him spoke of effortless, almost feline elegance, from the way he moved to the way he talked. ¡°Hello, you are¡­ Booker, are you not?¡± He brushed a charming smile over Dave. ¡°And, to whom am I speaking?¡± asked Dave, rising from his seat and extending his hand in greeting. ¡°Lord Diego Noguera,¡± said the elf, bowing with a flourish and taking the proffered hand. ¡°But please, call me Diego! I want us to be friends.¡± ¡°And, you can call me Dave. Now, What are the strings attached to this friendship?¡± Diego threw back his head and laughed, twirling into the seat next to Dave. ¡°I see you¡¯ve met the peerage! Ha!¡± said Diego. ¡°I think you have the right attitude. No! Our friendship will come from a professional arrangement. You see, Friar Hugh suggested that you are trying to become something of a detective, no?¡± ¡°I am,¡± said Dave guardedly. ¡°Excellent!¡± announced the vibrant man. ¡°I believe that one of my family¡¯s suppliers in the city is stealing from us. The good friar said this would be a speciality of yours?¡± A yellow exclamation mark appeared over the dandy¡¯s head and Dave glanced over the quest.
Quest: A Stealing Supplier?
Description: Gain information about a supplier that Lord Diego Noguera suspects is stealing from his family.
Objectives: Find incriminating evidence that the supplier is stealing from Lord Diego Noguera or prove the suppliers innocence.
Reward: 120 Iron Spirit Coins.
Detailed Information
Dave accepted the quest. ¡°Tell me about this supplier,¡± said Dave, his voice all business and gesturing for Tome to come, flapping clumsily into his hands. ¡°Luciana Delgado,¡± said Diego, enthusiastically going along with Dave¡¯s mode switching. ¡°She purchases magical items for my family and we sell them on the world adventurer market.¡± Dave looked up the name. In the course of her legal work on behalf of the Remore estate Brisset had been finding opportunities to get Dave access to private files. Among them were city taxation records. He looked up Luciana Delgado and saw a steady stream of taxes paid to the city over the course of the years. He did a graph and plotted it through time and it had a slight upwards trend. ¡°May I have access to your family¡¯s records?¡± Dave asked. ¡°You may have access to all the invoices of Luciana Delgado,¡± replied Diago with a smirk. ¡°For now.¡± Dave used Stop And Think repeatedly under Diago¡¯s energetic gaze while browsing through Delgado¡¯s invoice history and graphed each of Delgado¡¯s purchased items by time of purchase against purchase price and market price. This was something Dave was uniquely suited to do with unique items, as magic items often were priced in a broad sense that wasn¡¯t entirely accurate but Epistemology could query local value on the day of purchase. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s not looking good,¡± said Dave, showing Diego a graph a few real-time seconds later that he¡¯d drawn on some summoned paper he¡¯d flicked into his hand. ¡°There¡¯s a consistent trend of Delgado invoicing you for an average of about seven percent more than the local selling price. Now, sure magic items are subjective and all but after twenty items, a consistent trend like that is telling. Wait, hang on,¡± said Dave peering critically at Tome and flicking back and forth between the invoices it was pretending to be. ¡°Is she that dumb?¡± Diego was staring at Dave like a hungry man stares at a scrumptious dinner. Dave, somehow, failed to notice. ¡°She fucking is,¡± said Dave, grinning. He flipped through the pages quickly, pulling out numbers into another graph that he drew on yet another conjured piece of paper. ¡°Look, she did it with the bulk alchemical ingredients too. Because they¡¯re all the same item, the cost doesn¡¯t vary, there¡¯s no haggling, errors are reduced. Anyway, see?¡± Dave pointed at the graph. ¡°You can pinpoint an almost exact date she started. See? When the market started rising as we came out of summer she let her own prices rise just a little bit more and kept them up. She¡¯s stealing from you by overcharging her invoices and pocketing the difference.¡± Dave looked up to see the grey question mark over Diego¡¯s head had turned yellow. He mentally pushed his aura against Diego¡¯s lightly to turn the quest in and watched the coin counter go up in his HUD. ¡°That is amazing,¡± said Diego, with obvious relish. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to look at any more files for now. Oh? What is it?¡± Diego was looking at Dave looking at the exclamation mark over Diego¡¯s head. ¡°I can tell you have something else you¡¯d like done,¡± said Dave. ¡°Oh? You can tell? Stupendous!¡± said Diego, laughing with his usual exuberance. ¡°Yes, I would like you to find the sellers with me she was buying from and look through their invoices. Were they aware of the overcharging? It is an interesting question.¡± Dave ran it over in his head and nodded as he accepted the quest. ¡°Yeah, but tell me where you¡¯re staying so I can visit you a day or two after I escape this evening,¡± said Dave. ¡°Escape? From - Oh, yes. Of course,¡± said Diego, catching on. ¡°Perhaps you could use some allies? No?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say no,¡± said Dave. ¡°Hey, everybody!¡± announced Diego to the room with sudden happiness. He waved the graphs that Dave had given him. ¡°Dave here is a detective! He can solve local financial crimes! My purchaser was ripping me off and Dave found them out in about five minutes! Come, come!¡± Diego gestured to his peers whose attention went from bored to piqued. ¡°He said that to expand his clientele, he is available for free today only.¡± The faces of the dozen or so nobles in the room went from piqued to serious. Far from the kind of people to look gift heidels in the mouth - they were, in fact, the kind of person who¡¯d take any heidel and sell it to the knackers if it gave them any trouble - they rounded on Dave and he saw yellow exclamation marks appear above their heads. Diego smiled wickedly. ¡°How about I set myself up in the corner there next to the viewing glass and I¡¯ll have my familiar bring you over to me between matches, one-by-one where we can throw up a privacy screen and have an innocent chat?¡± suggested Dave. There was a general murmur of agreement behind Diego who was grinning like a maniac. ¡°Well, there¡¯ll be plenty of time in the day so, nobody worry! Everyone will get a turn so¡­ you first? Good time for you?¡± Dave pointed at Countess Marina Valencia, an Iberian noble who was also in Healer¡¯s clergy as a travelling collector of rare knowledge. ¡°It is, yes,¡± said Valencia. She turned to excuse herself from her company. ¡°Let us continue later, Lord Hampshire.¡± Dave spent the rest of the day cycling between clerical matters with the nobles and watching Johan fight his murder¡¯s row of opponents. Right after lunch he fought Baudouin Fosse. Fosse had beaten his previous opponent by opening with three abilities he always used; Transform, Razor Claws and Iron Skin, which gave his characteristic form. The transformation into the form of a lion imitated a strength ability which, like Johan, increased the damage of his special attacks and increased his agility. Comfortably in Lion form, he just charged his opponent, knocking them down with Pounce, lay on top and just mauled them to victory. Dave noted that the iron lion used a high burst DPS combo, Pounce, Savage Bite, Rending Claws, Kinetic Claw, Lion¡¯s Roar - a loud, stunning effect ability - and Claw Barrage. He was pretty much out of mana by the end of it but Dave appreciated the effect. After the combo his opponent was very much depleted of health and still lying on their back underneath a couple of hundred kilograms of aggressive, armour-wearing lion. Fosse finished them off quickly enough after that. Against Johan, Fosse had intelligently selected a more paced strategy. He¡¯d clearly intended to fight in iron lion form, do a lot of damage and then disengage for a while to recharge his mana pool by channelling an ability called Mana Magnet which gave mana regeneration commensurate with the amount of iron in the area. As it turns out, Fosse could summon a wall of iron so there was quite a lot of iron in the area. Unfortunately for Fosse, Johan felt no need to stop hitting him. His every attempt to disengage was met by Johan reengaging with Hold Your Heidels!, Ram¡¯s Charge or sometimes with Shield Ally using a blood bubbler crab. With Johan whittling him down, he eventually transformed back into iron lion form and attacked Johan in a blaze of glory, rendering himself unconscious when his mana ran out. A couple of detective sessions later, Johan was facing Clovis Garcon, who¡¯d won his previous bouts in the same fashion; he¡¯d confuse, distract and misdirect his opponent with charms and illusions while stabbing them to death. His style had a kind of deliberate randomness to it. For instance, just when Dave thought Garcon was using his magical shielding abilities only to cover lapses in his defence, he¡¯d use it to deliberately tank a special ability and literally jump ¡ª Mountain Leap was the ability ¡ª into a reckless attack. He¡¯d summon spectral animals by also-summoned moonlight to seemingly retreat to heal but actually be using the display to disguise a cast of Wild Growth behind his opponent, trapping them between a horde of spectral allies and a temporary but dense wild hedge. And, he did it all with a mad, beguiling smile. Johan weathered a lot of damage before his strategy against Garcon became obvious to everyone who wasn¡¯t already privy to it; once he had five stacks of Kingfisher¡¯s Riposte as well as the Healing Honey buff from his ring and he activated Boss Music. Boss Music was a sound-based effect which competed with Garcon¡¯s flute essence abilities. The effects of the flute abilities included an attack speed debuff, at will auditory illusions, a shield and a melody-based constant heal-over-time. With that dispel and a lot of the pressure taken off him, Johan just let his buffs accumulate; five stacks of wind blossom, kingfisher¡¯s riposte and mage swatter all made him formidable beyond his rank. According to the magic his abilities worked by, attacking illusions counted as attacks and he was doing so much damage on each swing that Farmer Reaps The Fields ensured that there was no safety within melee distance of him. After his setup was complete, the second half of the match was just Johan being a human blender of destruction to anything near him. It ended with him at half health still holding onto all his stacks of buffs, unwilling to attempt a smite in case he lost them to an illusion. Once the force fields melted away from both combatants and Johan¡¯s sword was removed from his belly, Chevalier Clovis Garcon¡¯s shoulders slumped for a moment in defeat for a moment before his mad grin returned. He proceeded to salute Johan properly with his rapier and strut straight-backed off the arena sands while Johan acknowledged the crowd. Although clapping along, there were some mutters in the viewing room. ¡°Can¡¯t say he isn¡¯t consistent.¡± ¡°He just¡­ hits them. Over and over.¡± ¡°It¡¯s spiffing!¡± ¡°Oh, come on, that¡¯s not fair. Sometimes he hides behind his shield.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the flair? The art?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to watch.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m watching but you have to admit it¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Well, yes, it lacks the usual pazazz. He¡¯s actually being highly technical.¡± The debate continued until Johan returned because Harry rudely brought up the topic. To Johan¡¯s delight. Johan gladly explained every detail of high fights, drawing everyone in with his aura of friendliness to ask questions. Apparently, having the opportunity to ask for personal insights from champion-material like Johan was rare and he entertained the room between fights by explaining things to look out for. He gave the example of a moment in the last duel where Clovis gestured with his weapon when casting a spell that gave Johan an opening to begin the strong attack he¡¯d done that¡¯d sent Clovis retreating. Dave listened in with one ear while going over old, conflicting family records detailing where a shipment of ranked metal goods had sunk thirteen years ago. The semifinals were soon on and Johan faced Georgette Brodeur, who had, so far, displayed a strategy that Dave could only describe as nasty. In a good way. She was what people called an affliction specialist, which meant their abilities were focused around DoTs and debuffs. That ability set that wasn¡¯t normally good at duels because while all the DoTs and debuffs were ramping up, the opponent would normally just go all out and bring the affliction specialist down which would technically make them the winner even if the lingering DoTs would have killed the other fighter a minute later. Brodeur had a couple of things going for her which made this difficult for her previous two opponents. Firstly, she was an amazing defensive swordswoman. Advancing on her if your name wasn¡¯t Johan Schmit was basically asking to be cut by her sabre. Secondly, it seemed like all of her equipment was movement enhancing which paired well with two of her sand essence abilities; Quicksand Step was a wide area spell that made the ground shift into quicksand but only for her enemies and Sandtrap Strike was a low cooldown special attack that imparted an affliction that slowed and slowly rooted the struck person in place. So, basically, if her opponent didn¡¯t finish the fight quickly, she¡¯d eventually just immobilise them and fill them up with DoTs until they collapsed. She was calm, methodical and smart in her victories. Johan dealt with this by throwing his shield at her feet to trip her and running in, bellowing a battle cry. Much more aggressively than usual. The pre-match ritual had fired him up. It was all the usual until Brodeur had walked in accompanied by several high ranking nobles, including Everard Reyer, who preened in their finery while Brodeur introduced them and accepted Johan¡¯s challenge in the harshest of terms, condemning his education, his heritage and in particular accusing his parents of raising him badly. They really did go too far and although everyone knew it was just for show and to get an emotional reaction out of Johan, the crowd muttered uncomfortably. The nobles then smugly doubled the amount of riches in the all-or-nothing pot, boldly stating that Johan could also have their coats and shoes if he won the match and then they left. Dave smirked, clicking around at the items they¡¯d put in. In the riches, awakening stones of harmony, a myriad, liberty, adventure, and purity awakening stones. Every stone on Hugh¡¯s list. And, so that¡¯s how the match started with Johan sprinting towards Brodeur, timing his exit of his starting circle with the bell, hurling his shield like a frisbee and shouting, ¡°For Master Greenwood, my dad and my mum!¡± Only Dave, who had one eye on the combat log in his HUD, noticed that Johan had just used Threads Of Fate, the reveal in this tournament of the day-long cooldown ability that turned the probability of a single event perfectly in the user¡¯s favour. Johan¡¯s shield dipped in flight, skipped across the arena sands, dismissed by Brodeur as no threat¡­ until it lodged perfectly between her feet on her first step backwards. She even spun as she fell and went down, face first into the sand. In those precious moments Johan did the jump-clap-spin move he¡¯d been working on all week, summoned a new shield to hand and used Ram¡¯s Charge over the last bit of distance. Brodeur had been regaining her feet and managed to put an affliction on him, Inevitable End, but Johan was already there, tackling with his weight, armour, metaweight and all, onto her, dropping her to the ground. She got the point of her sabre caught on the mail of Johan¡¯s inner elbow which managed to prick his skin before he achieved full mount on the prone woman and twisted her sabre out of her grasp. Dave winced at how unfair affliction specialists were as her plethora of afflictions attempted to load up on Johan from just that one, little prick; Foreboding Strike, Portentous Blade, Desert¡¯s Grasp, Gritstorm, Sandtrap Strike, Necrotic Touch, Bleeding Edge, Dreadful Edge and Doomblade Strike. Johan¡¯s attacks were lessened even though he resisted a couple of the afflictions. Dave was pretty sure she must have an item that made her afflictions difficult to resist or else most of those afflictions would have been resisted by Tough As Old Boots, but even though most got through, it wasn¡¯t enough to save Brodeur. Dave felt a surge of pride as Johan kept his weight off his opponent and pinched her between his knees. He¡¯d drummed that to Johan last week; you stay on top by ensuring that the person on bottom never has control of your weight. Brodeur wasn¡¯t completely inexperienced at wrestling but Johan was by far the bigger and stronger and she could do nothing to stop him. She wriggled a bit and pushed at him for a moment to no avail while Johan half-sworded his weapon in both hands and shoved it into her face. She ended up using an item to escape with her face mutilated, covered in blood. She hadn¡¯t teleported, she¡¯d become intangible and rushed several metres into the direction she¡¯d been facing off to the side. Without skipping a beat, Johan simply used Hold Your Heidels! and took three running steps and hacked at her with an overhand swing that was just a distraction for an ankle pick. He scooped Brodeur up by the ankle, held her upside down and, ignoring the afflictions she cast, demanded a surrender. One more affliction spell later and he deftly got the point of his sword between her armour at the hip then shoved his sword down into her torso before the silver rank forcefields and healing magic swamped the arena. ¡°WINNER, JOHAN SCHMIDT!¡± The area burbled with shock and surprise before building up into an aggressive cheer for Johan¡¯s brutal victory. ¡°Well, I do say,¡± said Rupe into the silence of the viewing room. ¡°The Brodeur¡¯s said some unseemly things about his parentage that don¡¯t bear repeating, what-do-you-say?¡± The room came alive with outraged chatter all clamouring to agree that yes, the Brodeur¡¯s did have that beatdown coming. Dave didn¡¯t bring up his quibble that perhaps Georgette herself had been caught up in the schemes of her elders and didn¡¯t deserve to be the brunt of such a public humiliation. But, he told himself, apples tend not to fall far from their trees. She probably was perfectly comfortable with the plan until it stopped working. He¡¯d judge if he ever got to know the woman. Johan¡¯s return to the viewing room was heralded with some awkwardness that his presence soon washed away. Somehow, he engaged all the fight enthusiasts in the room about the importance of grappling and limb control when duelling. Especially when you had a strength ability. It was something Dave had brought up with Johan a few times in training and he¡¯d taken it in. It just made sense. If you had a strength ability and were next-level stronger than your opponent, just grab their wrist. Or, even their weapon. What¡¯s your opponent going to do? Break the grip of the person who can casually bicep curl their entire body? Dave left him to it and got back to crime solving. Time passed this way until Johan had the semifinals with Seigneur Abelard Perrot. Johan entered with his usual bold challenge looking the very picture of knightliness. Perrot¡¯s entrance was subdued. He entered by himself, with no escort and, again, merely stated his name, his trainers and that he hoped to win favour in Warrior¡¯s sight to win the prize. Johan bowed deeply to him in reply. ¡°Oh, this is spiffing!¡± chortled Rupe, staring at the fighters as the hourglass ran. ¡°I wonder what boring strategy Johan is going to win with this time, eh? What do you think, Harry?¡± ¡°Probably pick him up and throw him out of the arena,¡± said Harry, getting some laughs from the room. As it turned out, Johan¡¯s boring strategy was to be an almost preternaturally good swordsman until Perrot was saved by the force fields. Still, Johan lost three quarters of his health getting there. Although ¡®boring¡¯ in the sense of flashy moves, poses and banter, nobody took their eyes off the six minute and thirteen second slugfest between Johan and Perrot. Although Perrot didn¡¯t have a strength ability, Dave¡¯s HUD informed him quite early in the fight that he had an ability called Meta-Weight Slingshot. It basically allowed him to store whatever meta-weight was leveraged against him and output it right back which he did pretty much the whole fight because, hilariously, Johan was still so new to his abilities that he hadn¡¯t figured out how to not be strong all the time yet. So, Johan would crash and bash into Perrot who¡¯d absorb it and body-check Johan right back from behind his shield. Every time they smashed into each other, the crowd roared with delight. The fight wasn¡¯t just entertaining the half-drunk patrons who wanted to see blood either. There was a level to the fight that those who cared to see it enjoyed. Perrot had a lightning-infused strike that came with a stun effect and a slashing attack that left a line of fire on the ground. He was very deliberately using neither of them to avoid inflicting a condition on Johan that¡¯d activate his rings. Also, Perrot had two abilities that would strike all enemies in range, Infinite Blades and Weapon Storm, from his vast and arsenal essences respectively, which he intelligently alternated between to constantly reset the number of blood bubbler crabs to zero. Johan had smites and his stacking buffs, Perrot had special attacks that ignored armour, or were powerful enough to be dangerous through armour, as well as having better stats by just being further through iron rank but, in the end, Johan won by just plain being better at sword fighting. That was it. The force fields stopped the match with Johan¡¯s sword deep in the enchanted glass dome that was Perrot¡¯s helm ¡ª Dave figured he must have an ability from his vast essence that let him see in every direction ¡ª but Perrot himself only a moment away from a serious go at thrusting his sword through Johan¡¯s lightly armoured armpit and into his chest. It was a great match with a great finish and Dave clapped along with everyone else. After the healing, they both formally saluted each other and Perrot even took off his helm and held out his hand for a handshake, which Johan, of course, took, taking off his own helm so they could exchange words. Johan had another speech about how much he appreciated the crowd for cheering them both on and how much he respected Perrot for putting honour first as a true member of the nobility and just how much they both loved the gods. Dave was already lining up his next client. It was getting late in the day and there were still three more nobles who wanted a session with him although he¡¯d gained a bit of time because Diego Noguera had left the room at some time. He didn¡¯t recall exactly when. He¡¯d only noticed it at all because he¡¯d written everyone down on his schedule. For a flamboyant man dressed in artistically clashing silks, Diego Noguera sure was stealthy. As usual, Dave waited for the hubbub around Johan to die down a little before congratulating him and giving him some encouraging words for the future. ¡°Alright, Dave? Don¡¯t you worry about me one jot!¡± said Johan in reply. ¡°Master Greenwood has been training me for this all my life and I feel just swell! Now, I think she¡¯d have a thing or two to say about my footwork a couple of times in that last match,¡± he grinned sheepishly at Dave, shaking his head, ¡°but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve let her down. Don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°I know she¡¯d approve, mate,¡± said Dave, holding back from covering his face with his hands at how ridiculous an idea it was that anybody would find anything about Johan¡¯s performance less than adequate. ¡°In fact, how about after this tournament we make a point of flying up there in that boat of mine and drop off some recording crystal copies for her? You can go over them together.¡± ¡°Cor, really, Dave?¡± said Johan with absolute sincerity. ¡°Would you really do that?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try to fit it into the schedule,¡± said Dave with a confident nod and a pat up on Johan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s the finals after everyone has their little self-important speeches so get over there with Harry and de Saint-Pierre and start warming up, thinking about your game plan and all of that, hey?¡± ¡°Cor, right you are, Dave!¡± said Johan, with a boyish smile. ¡°Thanks for everything¡­ Mate!¡± Dave didn¡¯t wince. It was a well meant attempt. Chapter 34: The Finals
Current Quests
Justice For Courbefy: Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use¡­ Chosen Of Knowledge: Escort Hugh on his journey to becoming a fully awakened iron¡­ Chosen Of Hero: Assist Johan as he competes in the Avril Reyer Birthday Tournament... Making A Magnate: Dominion wants you to hire at least two employees to expand your¡­ Healer¡¯s Materials: Gain Healer¡¯s favour by donating alchemy ingredients to the church¡­ Investigate Dapcher Orphanage: Investigate Dapcher orphanage for signs of exploitation. Abel¡¯s Mace: Return Brother Abel¡¯s missing mace to the church of Soldier. He was last¡­ Rescue the Lucas¡¯s Daughter: Retrieve Charlotte Lucas, the warehouse owner¡¯s¡­ Lost Treasure Map: Find and return an old treasure map stolen from, Marielle Lecuyer¡­ Wolf Menace: Hunt down a pack of mischievous foxes terrorising the livestock of Villars. Haunted Mill: Investigate the abandoned mill outside Limony that''s said to be haunted¡­ Embarrassing Request: Gather rare herbs from the dangerous swamp for Duerne''s¡­ Merchant Escort: Safely escort a merchant caravan through bard-infested woods to¡­ Mine Monsters: Clear out the rat monsters that have infested The Old Mine, a popular¡­ Ancient Ruins Exploration: Explore and map out the ancient ruins that have recently¡­ Missing Scout: Locate and rescue a missing scout who was last seen investigating¡­ Bridge Repair: Collect and deliver materials needed to repair a bridge that connects two¡­ UnKill Streak 5: Complete a five day streak of not killing anybody! Potion of Prosperity Delivery: Deliver a potion of prosperity to the midwife in Houlbec. Merchant''s Goods Recovery: Recover stolen goods in Confolens from the bandits that...
Once more Avril displayed a parry-riposte to Lady Alethea Montrose¡¯s thrust. The bronze-ranked leonid from Lutetia took the training sword to the chest, which went limp with the substantial contact, and smiled toothily to the clapping audience in the social club. Avril grit her teeth. ¡°Behold, my daughter can also train with bronze rankers!¡± boasted her father to the assembled audience. ¡°See? It is not a thing of transcendence to merely train up a rank.¡± Avril grit her teeth, smiled and curtseyed at the still-clapping people in the social club she was putting on this pointless demonstration for immediately prior to her finals match. That my father fixed, she thought furiously. A fixed tournament would put a stain on her reputation that might take all of bronze rank to scrub out. And, on her birthday! Her father had instructed her to do this to uphold the family honour and the honour of their entire society in one hand while venerating Deceit with the other. She should have been in the viewing room practising instead of here. Not that Montrose was a bad sparring partner, her swift thrust and body type made her a good substitute for the peasant boy that Avril would be facing, but there was so much pomp and circumstance in the social club around her father. He¡¯d never understood duelling and had always been a source of lukewarm support for her at best. At worst, he¡¯d bring her vocation into his schemes, not tell her the details and then blame her when it all went wrong. Like what was happening now. Avril checked the large clock in the room and then swept her eyes to the door and, as she suspected, there was the presence of an arena staff member there wearing the coat which indicated a tunnel doorman. The silent signal that it was time for Avril to go. ¡°Papa,¡± said Avril, pulling gently at his arm that he was using to parade her around. Her father either didn¡¯t hear her over the hubbub or pretended not to hear while he was greasing the social wheels of the house with - Oh, she couldn¡¯t remember. Some duchess from Byzasopolis who traded in salt. ¡°... I do, Reyer, I do,¡± said the duchess to her father. ¡°My faith has brought me to leverage those orchids of mine in Marne for this.¡± The duke next to the duchess handed over a bag of coins to her father which her father passed onto her without even looking at her. ¡°Papa,¡± said Avril again, insistent. ¡°And you, young lady Avril,¡± said the still unknown duchess, looking proudly at her. ¡°You¡¯ll be the one making our divine right manifest. The gods have seen it, of course, but just between you and me,¡± she leaned in conspiratorially. ¡°I think keeping me from surge-holding with the Monets will qualify you as a chosen of Hero. When all is said and done!¡± Her father made himself laugh with the duchess and Avril managed a grimace with upturned lips. ¡°Hahahaha! In my lands for sure!¡± continued the duchess. ¡°You know what they¡¯re like at home, don¡¯t you, Everard?¡± ¡°Papa!¡± said Avril, wrenching her arm from her father. ¡°I have to go, the arena is waiting!¡± Her father¡¯s eyes flashed with outrage for a moment for embarrassing him but in the moment, he relented, turning his eyes back to the duchess. ¡°Well, it seems it¡¯s time for my little pumpkin to start armouring up!¡± said her father to the duchess, ¡°but don¡¯t even act for a moment as though that could happen. ¡° Her father gave a gloating, self-satisfied smile. ¡°I have made arrangements, my good duchess Volakis. Have faith.¡± Yes, that was her name. Duchess Seraphine Volakis of Byzasopolis. Majority owner family of the normal through bronze ranked salt mines that imported to the empire¡¯s capital. ¡°Do excuse me, Duchess Volakis,¡± said Avril with a curtsey, ¡°but I must away. You understand, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Of course, child, of course,¡± said Volakis, waving her fingers. Avril turned and left, scooping up the betting donations as she left and leaving her father to find his own way out of the damned social club. She was halfway to the lifts by the time he caught up to her. ¡°Avril!¡± called her father, glancing around to make sure nobody of importance could see before hurrying to catch up with her. ¡°What will everyone think of you walking off without me? It makes us look weak. As a family.¡± ¡°Yes, papa,¡± said Avril, stepping into the elevator. She sure agreed they looked weak as a family. ¡°That was a masterful show, Avril,¡± said her father, hopping on the elevator to the viewing rooms with her. ¡°The way you outclassed Montrose in front of everyone in the club was exactly what we needed to remind the peerage of the confidence they should place in us. Your victory in the finals will seal our reputation, and that will seal our connection to the Craftsmen¡¯s League. Your outburst notwithstanding, of course. You¡¯re lucky I was there to smooth things over with Volakis. You realise that if we can make a connection with her that it could be our family who uses the Craftsmen¡¯s League to make a connection between Oullins and Byzasopolis? You¡¯ve got to think of these things, Avril! Today¡¯s win could very well set the tone for your political career.¡± Avril heard but ignored her father¡¯s insistent prattling. ¡°Papa, I can¡¯t focus on that right now,¡± she said, changing the subject. ¡°I need to put on my armour and find my correct spiritual state or I may lose focus during the fight and I know you don¡¯t want to do that, papa.¡± ¡°Of course!¡± said her father like it was his own idea. ¡°You¡¯ve read all the reports from the information brokers?¡± ¡°Yes, father,¡± said Avril, coming to the table where her armour was laid out and shrugging off the hunting clothes her father had insisted she wear in the social club as ¡®more propper¡¯. She put on a light arming doublet and hose, letting the magic in them shrink to fit her closely. ¡°You remember in the latest report that his smite attacks can be parried or otherwise misdirected?¡± said her father, the exact words of the report. Avril hid her rolling her eyes from her father while strapping on her thin plate cuisses to her legs. Of course they could be misdirected - a parry was just a type of misdirection - and that advice was the first thing every instructor, mentor or duelling book said about defending smites. She currently had neither the time or patience to instruct her bone-headed father about how much more she knew about duelling than he did. Not that he¡¯d even pretend to listen. There was a knock at the door, which blessedly broke her father¡¯s caravan of thought and he even went to the door to answer it. Avril wasn¡¯t going to look a gift heidel in the mouth and enjoyed the brief moment of her father¡¯s presence being concentrated elsewhere. ¡°Ah, Avril?¡± called her father from the door. ¡°I¡¯m just going to wait for you at the elevator.¡± She looked up from strapping on her light, mail skirt at this strange turn of events. Her father was practically winking at her as he left the room and a high ranking servant she didn¡¯t recognise entered the room and bowed. It was most improper - not that Avril cared - for her father to leave her alone with an unknown servant like this. Avril spoke first, as etiquette dictated. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t recognise you Mister¡­¡± ¡°Master Alaric Voss,¡± said Voss. ¡°I have ostensibly come at the invitation of your father to help you into your armour. May I?¡± Avril recognised the name. The majordomo of the local Geller house. What the damn was her father thinking? ¡°Please do, Master Voss,¡± said Avril, schooling her face and emotions. ¡°The breastplate is next.¡± Voss walked over and picked up the breastplate with the confidence of one representing enough economic power to underwrite a city and lowered it over her head with the skill of a trained squire. ¡°Lady Geller passes on her regards and her best wishes for you to win this tournament of your honour,¡± said Voss with the detached politeness that was proper of him. ¡°Please relay to her my thanks,¡± said Avril, knowing that some kind of reply was expected. ¡°House Reyer is ever thankful for the close connections we share with House Geller in this city. It is especially an honour to be in Lady Geller¡¯s thoughts during her time of mourning like this.¡± Contrary to her father¡¯s impression, Avril did pay attention to the local goings on amongst the peerage. She just didn¡¯t obsess over it. She remembered Ross Geller, Lady Geller¡¯s recently dead son, she¡¯d duelled him once in practice. He was a high mobility, high damage brawler and not subtle at all about signalling his next move. Avril¡¯s impression of him was of a man who fought wildly but with no ability to lose gracefully and Avril desperately hoped that House Geller wasn¡¯t about to ask her for any heartfelt messages of loss. ¡°It is about that loss which House Geller wishes your assistance,¡± said Voss smoothly as he positioned her backplate correctly to her doublet. Avril¡¯s heart skipped a beat. ¡°It would ease Lady Geller¡¯s heart if you were to win your tournament,¡± continued Voss, no doubt pretending not to notice Avril¡¯s anxiety. ¡°And to that end, she has elected to loan you some items from the family vault.¡± With her breastplate secured, the Geller majordomo walked around the table and placed three items on the table, two rings and an amulet, parallel to her own rings and amulet she¡¯d used all tournament. ¡°Here is the description of the items as given by Adventure Society standards,¡± said Voss, ignoring the fact that Avril had frozen in confusion and placed three strips of paper on the table with her gear. ¡°I¡¯ve handled the equipment change paperwork. Your opponent is associated with people who have displeased House Geller and my mistress would appreciate seeing you put them all in their place. I trust you understand, Mademoiselle?¡± ¡°Oh, uh, of course, Master Voss,¡± said Avril. This was quite the last minute update and she wasn¡¯t sure she appreciated it. ¡°But, if you please, could you step outside while I finish preparing myself for the duel? I like to pray and meditate for focus before each match, you understand?¡± ¡°Of course, Mademoiselle Reyer,¡± said Voss, with his smooth detachment. ¡°I have conveyed all that House Geller intended to say and shall take my leave. Shall I inform your father to expect you? Or ask him to return?¡± ¡°Please let him know to expect me,¡± said Avril, letting the man bow himself out of the room. Avril grit her teeth, shaking her head while pulling taught the straps holding her rerebraces and vambraces to her doublet. Yes, of course her father wouldn¡¯t see any problem with completely changing her equipment right before the finals. All of that practice she did was silliness anyways, according to him. She grumpily picked up the pieces of paper to read the items now that her hands weren¡¯t full. ¡°May as well throw Clovis in there on Schmidt¡¯s shoulders for all the surprises I¡¯m getting,¡± grumbled Avril to herself. She read the items.
The Adventure Society hereby identifies the item as a ring of sword dancing. A ring of sword dancing is activated with a low investiture of mana per second to allow a weapon to fly free of the user and yet be controlled by their hand nonetheless. The strikes of such a weapon will still carry all other effects that would occur as though it was wielded in the user¡¯s hand.
The Adventure Society hereby identifies the item as a ring of returning. A ring of returning allows an item that the user attunes to and can comfortably carry in one hand to be summoned to the user¡¯s hand which occupies this ring. This is not a teleport effect.
The Adventure Society hereby identifies the item as a blood mana amulet. A blood mana amulet restores mana to the user when they are involved in an action that draws blood from a living being.
Avril¡¯s jaw hit the floor. The ring of sword dancing was worth more than the rest of her kit put together. The other two weren¡¯t exactly cheap either, although in the case of the ring of returning, that was mostly due to high demand. Many spear and knife essence users had them. The blood mana amulet was, despite its dark associations, an amazing item. If you bled, it gave you mana, if your enemy bled, it gave you mana. Her heart thumped as she looked at the items. She had to put them on. Her father had clearly been part of the arrangements to get them here and he¡¯d almost certainly banish her to Berbia if she didn¡¯t use them. Besides, the items were so good. She looked over them again and slipped them on her fingers and around her throat to feel the magic flow. It felt so good. Avril sighed. She had to admit, with these items, she¡¯d definitely win. With a constant mana supply and a dancing sword always at Schmidt¡¯s neck, she¡¯d practically pour special attacks and spells into him until the victory trumpets. She sighed again, pulled a face and then finished gearing up. It was the only choice. A minute later, Avril brushed past her father into the elevator down that already had a floating salver in it for her to put all the coins and magic items her father and Baron Franchet had guilted, bullied and cajoled everyone to bet on her. As though she was some kind of peasant who¡¯d work harder because there was a chance at gaining some coins. She¡¯d tried to protest to her father that she¡¯d lost tournaments before but he¡¯d told her to shut her mouth and smile. ¡°We¡¯re running late, Avril,¡± said her father, as though he wasn¡¯t the cause. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, papa,¡± said Avril. There was silence for a moment before she spoke again. ¡°Is there anything else you¡¯d like to say before I go onto the area sands, father?¡± ¡°I was going to wait until afterwards, Avril but I must say, I am grateful for the opportunities you¡¯ve opened up for us -¡± ¡°For you,¡± said Avril. ¡°- Yes, for me,¡± said her father without skipping a beat. ¡°After this we will finally be taken seriously in Byzasic sea trade -¡± ¡°You will be,¡± said Avril. ¡°Yes, yes, yes,¡± crowed her father. ¡°Leading House Reyer to the rightful place the gods ordained.¡± ¡°Papa?¡± said Avril in her sweetest voice as the roar of the crowd started to invade the ears. ¡°Yes, pumpkin?¡± ¡°Papa, it¡¯s my birthday. Please stop talking about yourself.¡±
Johan waved to another face he recognised in the audience from earlier. A little boy who couldn¡¯t be more than eight years of age who was holding a sword and shield made of two crossed sticks and a box lid respectively. It reminded him of his first day with Master Greenwood and his heart swelled with pride thinking about how far he¡¯d come. If only Master Greenwood could see him now. The tunnel doors opened and admitted Mademoiselle Reyer. Duchess Livia di Moretti had taught him Reyer¡¯s proper name and he was very proud to know it because, as her grace - another title she¡¯d taught - had said, he didn¡¯t want to embarrass himself and give the wrong title when talking about his opponent! Imagine that! It¡¯d be like calling his dad a blacksmith. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Johan turned to acknowledge his opponent as she walked to her starting circle on the sands and held out his arms and lowered them to indicate to the audience that he wished to hear her. It worked just like Master Greenwood had told him it would. A special language between the gladiator, or duelist, and the audience. He hoped he was making her proud. The audience quietened to a mere overwhelming babble and Avril spoke. ¡°Good people of Oullins, I am Avril Reyer and I come with confession, people of Oullins and beyond,¡± said Reyer, pouring a large bag of coins and magic items into the floating, winner-takes-all brazier Johan had brought in with him and left next to her circle for just this purpose. ¡°I confess to the insult to Warrior that my family has done in heresy. It is as Mister Schmidt has steadfastly claimed; my father organised this tournament with only the design of accepting the prize of it through me. A political bribe, of a sort, for family ambitions I now renounce before Warrior whom I can only pray to for forgiveness. My father loves me but he has tied his love of me and his love of Trade¡¯s domain together and before you all I say, may he return to the grace of the good gods again.¡± Goodness but Johan couldn¡¯t help but notice the arena had gotten quiet. Family strife could be so terrible. He really hoped that Mademoiselle Reyer¡¯s father would find forgiveness in prayer sooner rather than later. He listened with baited breath as she continued. ¡°To begin my familial penance, I say two things; Firstly that even should I win, I will not take the prize but donate it to the church of Trade for it to be auctioned where I shall have to bid for it fairly by the rules of Trade. Secondly, that I owe Mister Johan Schmidt and his people an apology for the unkindness we have shown them. Despite the way he speaks and acts to his betters, my family, and all nobility, are supposed to remain his betters and act with a proper dignity.¡± The audience clapped enthusiastically and Mademoiselle Reyer curtseyed, indicating with her hands that Johan could reply. ¡°Mademoiselle Reyer,¡± said Johan to everyone in the arena, somehow smiling at her through his great helm. ¡°I just wanted to say, whatever the outcome of this match today: Happy Birthday.¡± He paused for a moment to give the audience time and began to sing. ¡°Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you.¡± Johan led the audience in the loudest rendition of the birthday song he¡¯d ever heard. He enjoyed the shocked and embarrassed smile that Mademoiselle Reyer wore the whole time. He knew that¡¯s how it was supposed to be on your birthday, your face red with self conscious embarrassment surrounded by singing people. He did his best to clap the loudest he could on his shield when the song was done. The clergy of Warrior had been nice enough to hold off on turning the hourglass until the song was done. The audience kept clapping and shouting ¡®hurrah¡¯ while the sands ran down. Both he and Avril bounced on their toes in the arena, feeding off the energy of the crowd. ¡°One last cheer for Mademoiselle Reyer,¡± said Johan to the audience as the last of the hourglass sands ran out. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t be here without her!¡± The crowd roared jubilantly as the last grain of sand dropped through the neck of the glass, the bell rang. Johan ran at Mademoiselle Reyer and she at him.
Avril couldn¡¯t. Fucking. Believe it. She publicly renounced her family, definitely getting herself sent to Berbia if she was lucky, and all this bumpkin could respond with was heartfelt wishes and getting the entire arena to sing her happy birthday? But she couldn¡¯t stop smiling! Her heart had gone from feeling leaden to feeling light and fluttering, like a feather in the wind. Well, she thought to herself, nothing for it now but to win my tournament, try to buy my armour and get used to the desert. She rushed the giant man, half-cape flapping over her shoulder. In his armour he was almost as big as a leonid and she knew he had a strength ability but Unyielding Blade would ensure that any blade she held was never broken or knocked aside. It often dumbfounded other duelists with strength abilities and even Baudouin Fosse struggled with it. As they closed to melee, Avril threw her rapier at Schmidt¡¯s head who raised his shield to block. ¡°Woah there!¡± said Schmidt and Avril inwardly cursed as that net attack flew out from under his shield and held her fast. She didn¡¯t try to strain against the conjured ropes that used his enhanced Power for their hold-strength. Instead she waited, weaponless, to receive Schmidt¡¯s charge. Schmidt closed with her, shield up. Avril spent the extra mana to summon her sword into her hand and used Draw Strike as soon as he was in range. Her reverse-slash was blocked by his sword but the momentum of his charge continued and he ran head-first into the unyielding blade. His head snapped back but as his hips went forward he kicked out, connecting an armoured boot with her body. Avril was forcibly reminded of an overconfident incident she¡¯d had back at normal rank with an angry cow. A kick with a solidity that gave no pretence that the kicker would be moved by her. Might ability, then. Probably not just strength ability, she thought as she went with the kick and improvised a backwards somersault to her feet. Several of those little, red crabs fell from beneath Schmidt¡¯s shield. Avril smirked and used Blade Dance which allowed her to strike at five nearby targets. She got the three crabs and Schmidt twice but despite her distracting cape flourish he returned one of those blindingly fast thrusts into her breastplate. Definitely a Might ability, Avril thought to herself as she reeled from the blow. Her breastplate started to glow faintly with sunlight from absorbed power. She recovered, casually feinted at his head, flicked her living cape at his eyes and went for the hip with her rapier but pulled her hand back as the big commoner threatened to take her wrist off. Again. She couldn¡¯t help but appreciate the setup his thrust gave to his overall game. With his long reach and shield it was easy to get frustrated and try for wide swings to get around his forward-facing defences, during which he¡¯d attack the hands or arms. So, Avril leaned into her magic. The feel of his aura put him at a very low iron which would normally indicate a duel with no problems but the way his abilities came together, it just meant he¡¯d have to take a bit longer in the fight. Perhaps a damage combo rotation or two more for him than if he¡¯d been higher rank. It¡¯d been the same for Avril herself when she¡¯d been a low iron ranker beating the iron rank cobble-holes in Oullins. Avril used her damage rotation; activate Mastery Of Arms which gave a dozen or so heartbeats of enhanced Might, Speed, Recovery and Spirit. Then use Phantom Strikes, Piercing Thrust and Penetrating Cut, all armour-ignoring abilities, with a generous smattering of mundane, opportunistic cut-and-thrust. It surprised Schmidt this first time and he almost interrupted her flow with a punched shield to her torso but she got into and out of range otherwise safely. With the onslaught over, Schmidt followed her retreat cautiously and did a long thrust to which she tried to use Master¡¯s Parry but the powerful ability was met with a parry of Schmidt¡¯s own. Avril tried to throw her cape around her opponent¡¯s sword to weigh it down, even a little through his strength ability, but had to release it and dodge hurriedly when Schmidt made the better decision to just shield-charge her again. Avril used Defensive Stance to buy time for the armour ignoring parts of her damage rotation to come back online, those abilities all shared the same short refractory period with Mastery Of Arms being about once a minute, and so she danced out of reach, keeping him on point and waiting Schmidt out. Seeing her defensive, Schmidt squeezed blood onto his tabard and several little blood crabs dropped to the sand. Again, Avril darted in to use Whirlwind Slash but her aura senses told her that she¡¯d missed at least three. Schmidt backed off a step and threw one with his shield arm a few metres away behind him. Avril activated her Ray of Sunshine armour and snapped it out of the air with a beam of light and clenched her jaw a moment later as she realised he¡¯d dropped three others next to his foot while she¡¯d done that. The little crabs started burying themselves in the sand and she mentally marked the spot. Perhaps feeling like he was on a timer - she couldn¡¯t read anything of his face below his greathelm - Schmidt began putting the pressure back onto Avril in return, who retreated. It was her game plan, that she and her sword instructor had come up with themselves this morning, no thanks to today¡¯s armchair strategists. The idea was to avoid attacking Schmidt unless the attack was likely to be successful and thus, deny him chances to dodge and parry which would, in turn, give him stacks of those boons which made him faster and stronger. Functionally, this meant a lot of feints and a lot of quick retractions with rapid footwork if it looked like he might parry. Despite herself, Avril was relishing this unique challenge that the peasant was delivering. She¡¯d never before had to find a way to win that relied on the inactivity of her opponent. Naturally, Schmidt was no fool. Peasant though he was, he hadn¡¯t made it to the finals of her tournament by accident. He reacted to Avril¡¯s overly defensive stance by going on the attack. He started using his shield as a weapon more to overwhelm Avril with a relentless assault. She cursed inwardly at that. He¡¯d rightly identified that only her sword could hold off his increased Might so attacking with two weapons forced her to be already parrying, blocking or moving away from the next attack he was throwing at her and she wasn¡¯t always successful. Avril was badly bumped and bruised over the next minute of battle but she got off two more instances of her unblockable damage rotation in that time as well as a couple of opportunistic thrusts. Unfortunately, Schmidt had adapted to her as well. Her living half-cape would normally be a great asset, flicking to and fro at her will, often wrapping around her opponent¡¯s weapon for a moment while she landed a sneaky thrust but Schmidt had clearly fought against someone who fought similarly to Avril before because she found that connecting to Schmidt¡¯s weapon was basically asking to be yanked off her feet and he only fell for each different distraction she could do with it once. He¡¯d also taken to crouching down before squeezing blood onto his tabard before immediately stepping over the blood crabs which made them difficult to target with Blade Dance. She didn¡¯t give up on wiping them out when she could but resigned herself to simply retreating rather than risk hitting his shield and dealing with them later using her aura senses. Even so, that was mentally taxing. Avril¡¯s retreats and refusals to exchange with Schmidt kept the stacking buffs from his abilities down but his relentless attacks still fueled that whale essence stacking boon nobody had been able to figure out. Although slow to charge, the smites he delivered were all potential fight enders, she¡¯d parried two of the three but the last one had buckled her left cuisse with the force and the leg throbbed painfully with every step after that. So she activated Swift Recovery, which would give her health and mana for each swift essence ability used for several seconds. She used Blade Dance, Flash Step and Between the Raindrops over those seconds to little offensive effect, which felt like a waste but at least she could move properly again. She flared her cloak in front of Schmidt¡¯s face but instead of retreating he just blindly advanced, shield first, into her thrust and then swung at her arm, hitting the rerebrace but battering and staggering her anyway. Avril spent the time until her next damage rotation tracking back over the sunlight of her previous steps using Defensive Stance to increase her parry chances as she went. Her footwear, Shoes of the Sunlit Path, would leave trails of sunlight that could absorb ambient mana and restore her mana should she stand in the same place later. Those sunlit trails worked well with her Daylit Helm of Mana, which increased her mana recovery so long as the helm was in sunlight. Her bracers and earrings were also sunlight-based passive mana restoration items so the natural back and forth of battle tended to restore much of her mana. Although she could definitely spend it all very quickly if she wasn¡¯t careful. Swift Recovery had restored some health and stamina and her defensive journey around the sands had restored her mana but Avril still felt she had a while to go to take down the armoured juggernaut who was still coming at without rest. Even Abelard Perrot would have said something clever by now but Schmidt lived and breathed the idea of why talk when one could sword? She activated Mastery Of Arms again with Piercing Thrust, Penetrating Cut, Phantom Strikes and a Tempest Blade thrown on the end because why not? The rotation damaged Schmit as badly as before but he wasn¡¯t staggered in surprise this time and after the Mastery Of Arms boon was over, he used that cursed net again, battered her and then smited. She almost missed parrying it and had to reach at an awkward angle, getting punched in the helmet with his shield instead. Still, what that smite did to the sand made Avril glad for her choice. The duel continued in this pattern for some time with Avril wearing Schmidt down by cutting through his armour and he battering against her armour so hard that he rattled her anyway although, she felt, she had the advantage. He just couldn¡¯t land combos or gain momentum. Every time he tried, one of her four defensive abilities; Uncanny Reflexes, Defensive Stance, Ghost Step or Between The Raindrops, would show their use. He activated that song-ability he had that gave small health-droplets when he hit his opponent but Avril figured he did that because he wasn¡¯t doing anything else in that moment. He wasn¡¯t really hitting her with more than glancing blows much. She also felt she had the advantage because of an ability called Ultimate Technique. An arrogant, prideful name but she liked the ability. It was an execution attack that was costly in mana and stamina but basically impossible to avoid. She¡¯d ended many a duel by using it twice in a row thanks to her Renewed Effort ability reset or by mixing it in with her usual Mastery Of Arms damage rotation. Because of that, Avril had confidence that if the match went into a long, drawn out fight with blood on both sides, she could end it with that and so, as Schmidt showed his stubborn resilience, taking her damage rotation again and again, she resigned herself to the long fight. The fight wore on and eventually, Schmidt started using more of his equipment and abilities properly but, by her estimation, far too late. He started using those clapping gauntlets to escape when she used Mastery Of Arms and had an ability similar to Between The Raindrops that helped him parry and dodge by the smallest amounts to get him through the danger. He also began bringing inconvenient objects into existence around her with Adventurer''s Tools. Like, fifty feet of coiled rope just dropped around her neck. Or a wooden box right behind her which she almost fell over. Still, his health dropped, he became more bloody by the minute and despite being bumped, rattled and badly shaken, mostly by Schmid¡¯s shield, Avril was coming out ahead. Eventually, she pulled the trigger. Flash Step to teleport behind him, Mastery Of Arms, Piercing Thrust, Penetrating Cut, Phantom Strikes and, finally, Ultimate Technique, Renewed Effort, Ultimate Technique. There she stood, rapier in hand with the blade firmly in his guts up at upward angle beneath the breastplate but the arena shields didn¡¯t activate. ¡°I¡¯ve never used this ability before,¡± said Schmidt, taking off his helmet and throwing it to the ground. Avril jumped back, wary of Immortality. There¡¯s no way he had that ability. Perhaps with his Hero essence? It couldn¡¯t be. He looked terrible, if handsome, clutching at the mortal wound on his belly that those little blood crabs were pouring out of, piling up in his hands. ¡°I guess it¡¯s time to use the armour,¡± he murmured hazily. Avril had half a moment of confusion before a blaze of red light exploded out of him. She flinched away but it did not hurt her. She felt fine. She turned back to Schmidt just in time to see him bring a handful of little red crabs to his face and stuff them greedily into his mouth. ¡°What the f-¡± whispered Avril at the odd behaviour before noticing that Schmidt was standing back up, completely healed. ¡°I apologise for the deception Mademoiselle Reyer,¡± said the beautiful villager as his blond hair rippled in a wind only it could feel and his smile made her heart skip a beat, ¡°But I¡¯ve been holding back. I¡¯m going to fight you properly now.¡± Avril managed to take her eyes off that perfect jawline and catch up with reality. As the commoner scooped up his dropped sword, the thoughts flying through her head coalesced into an image of what¡¯d happened and she cursed herself for not seeing it. Damn! None of them had. That knightly armour of vampire poison he was wearing, it had a counter-execute effect. She remembered reading it; ¡®all blood that is absent from a body shall be infused with healing energy as a counter-execute effect¡¯. Avril¡¯s mind raced. Every blood bubbler crab was made of his blood. Counter-execute effects became more powerful as the user became closer to death. Schmidt had a death delaying ability. He¡¯d activated that counter-execute while he had no health. Now, every single one of the, possibly hundreds of, blood bubbler crabs in the arena was now a maximally potent healing potion. She surged forward as fast as she could and used Whirlwind Slash, destroying dozens of the healing blood crabs that were crawling into Schmidt¡¯s pockets but Avril could already tell it was too late, he was wearing a potion belt that Avril hadn¡¯t paid any attention to, why should she? It was a perfectly ordinary way of dressing here. Except now, his magically protected potion belt was full of healing crabs. Maybe I can use some myself? She thought, but the thought had no time to continue. In response to her Whirlwind Slash, Schmidt had crashed forwards himself but instead of battering her, as he¡¯d previously done, he hooked his shield arm over her sword arm and held her like a vice. Oh, fuck! She thought, willed her cape to flick up over his face and quickly drew a hunting knife from her belt. She stabbed the knife up into the side of his crotch where the leggings met the hauberk. Schmidt wincered but didn¡¯t let go. Avril watched as a blood crab crawled out of his coif and into his mouth and managed to use Ghost Step to break the giant¡¯s grip just before his sword thrust into her armpit. Avril ran. It was still half a minute until Mastery Of Arms came again when she could match his strength and exceed his other physical attributes. Perhaps she could chain together her defensive abilities? Ghost Step ran out and she activated Defensive Stance but as Schmidt had discovered through the rest of the fight, the increased ability to dodge and parry was not so useful against a full-bodied shield-charge. She blocked it with her Unyielding Blade but the renewed commoner ducked in low and hooked his shield arm around her sword arm again. Stuck in a grapple, she managed to lever her sword into a position where it was slicing into the back of his unarmoured head but she despaired as another healing crab crawled out of his clothing into his mouth. Changing position, Schmidt abandoned his shield, gripped the cloth of her shoulders and tripped her to the ground. ¡°Yield!¡± he commanded standing over her. She activated Between The Raindrops to escape but all the heightened awareness and perception of the ability did was reinforce the futility of her situation when he used that damned net. ¡°Woah, there!¡± he said. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you could give me ten seconds or so?¡± asked Avril to the incredibly handsome man towering over her. She was doing her best to keep him on point while on the ground with a sword levelled at her chest. She could feel Master Of Arms coming back soon. ¡°As many seconds as you like, Mademoiselle,¡± said the tall blond through a dazzling smile. He bowed, keeping her on point the whole time. And then, flicked his hand out and gripped her blade in his gloved hand. ¡°But I¡¯ll be taking this, I¡¯m afraid.¡± Her eyes went wide. Her senses told her belatedly that he¡¯d used that ability she¡¯d sensed earlier that was similar to Between The Raindrops to so perfectly snatch a blade out of the air without cutting himself. She experimentally tugged and twisted her rapier for a moment but against his enhanced strength, she could barely budge the weapon in his grip. Schmidt smiled confidently as he lifted the blade and her with it up towards the point of his own sword. ¡°Yield?¡± he asked again. His blade was at her neck. Master Of Arms had come back around. She could feel it. Perhaps she could¡­ No. She¡¯d match him for a dozen seconds of struggle but then this would end just like the Paternoster fight he¡¯d finished earlier. He had control of her weapon and an arena full of health potion equivalents. ¡°I yield,¡± said Avril, her shoulders slumping. Well, at least she could take her mind off that templar armour she¡¯d wanted. She released her grip on her weapon and stood with her arms open and palms out in sign of surrender. ¡°WINNER! JOHAN SCHMIDT OF WARRIOR!¡± Chapter 35: The Armour
Current Quests
Justice For Courbefy: Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use¡­ Chosen Of Knowledge: Escort Hugh on his journey to becoming a fully awakened iron¡­ Chosen Of Hero: Assist Johan as he competes in the Avril Reyer Birthday Tournament... Making A Magnate: Dominion wants you to hire at least two employees to expand your¡­ Healer¡¯s Materials: Gain Healer¡¯s favour by donating alchemy ingredients to the church¡­ Investigate Dapcher Orphanage: Investigate Dapcher orphanage for signs of exploitation. Abel¡¯s Mace: Return Brother Abel¡¯s missing mace to the church of Soldier. He was last¡­ Rescue the Lucas¡¯s Daughter: Retrieve Charlotte Lucas, the warehouse owner¡¯s¡­ Lost Treasure Map: Find and return an old treasure map stolen from, Marielle Lecuyer¡­ Wolf Menace: Hunt down a pack of mischievous foxes terrorising the livestock of Villars. Haunted Mill: Investigate the abandoned mill outside Limony that''s said to be haunted¡­ Embarrassing Request: Gather rare herbs from the dangerous swamp for Duerne''s¡­ Merchant Escort: Safely escort a merchant caravan through bard-infested woods to¡­ Mine Monsters: Clear out the rat monsters that have infested The Old Mine, a popular¡­ Ancient Ruins Exploration: Explore and map out the ancient ruins that have recently¡­ Missing Scout: Locate and rescue a missing scout who was last seen investigating¡­ Bridge Repair: Collect and deliver materials needed to repair a bridge that connects two¡­ UnKill Streak 5: Complete a five day streak of not killing anybody! Potion of Prosperity Delivery: Deliver a potion of prosperity to the midwife in Houlbec. Merchant''s Goods Recovery: Recover stolen goods in Confolens from the bandits that...
Dave sighed at the pile of paperwork in front of him. The Reyer team had issued several official protests aimed at disqualifying Johan. It was all nonsense of course. Pretty much all of it was stuff he¡¯d anticipated with Brisset and written up ahead of time. It was just a case of going through the intentionally long, meandering language of each protest with the officials. ¡°Okay, venepuncture response here,¡± said Dave, flicking his fingers for another Scribbler''s Instant Image on yet another boilerplate rebuttal. The official he was handing it to was smiling patiently, also aware that Dave was wading through bureaucratic bullshit and resigned to being grateful that at least Dave had the decency to be succinct and format his rebuttal like a sane person. Dave flicked his fingers again. ¡°That one¡¯s against the ¡®peasant¡¯s can¡¯t bear weapons¡¯ charge,¡± continued Dave. He¡¯d actually had to look that law up half an hour ago. Baron de Valmont had proclaimed it two hundred years ago using emergency powers during an adventurer¡¯s riot. Unsurprisingly it¡¯d been rescinded as soon as the riots were over. Dave flicked his fingers at document after document casting Scribbler¡¯s Instant Image each time. ¡°This one¡¯s for the ¡®ungentlemanly touching¡¯ accusation.¡± Flick. ¡°That¡¯s for the illegal residence accusation.¡± Flick. ¡°That¡¯s the blasphemy laws one.¡± Flick. "And, the banditry accusation.¡± ¡°Thank you, Mister Booker,¡± said the Warrior official. She indicated the three clergy behind her. ¡°Neutral members of Knowledge, Justice and Dominion shall pass judgement on the arguments as soon as the gods see fit and you will be summoned to hear the response¡­ let¡¯s face it, within the hour.¡± Both Dave and the Warrior official cast a glance at the three clergy. The Dominion and Knowledge acolytes had already finished. Only the Justice clergy was meticulously going through each legal argument before referring to Dave¡¯s rebuttal. ¡°I¡¯ll just have faith that the Lady will let Hugh know if I¡¯m needed again,¡± said Dave. The official smirked at him and bowed his head politely. Dave was, in fact, summoned somewhere else twenty minutes later by an ominously happy Lord Diego Noguera who brought with him a shitstorm of urgent news and activity. ¡°Okay, let me get this straight,¡± he said to Diego who was grinning happily, trying to sum up the news as they strode towards the social club. ¡°The dirty nobs insisted a little too hard that Johan really, definitely wanted a cash payout instead of the armour, de Saint-Pierre soul-smacked an iron ranker hard enough that they divulged that the armour is missing, Warrior clergy has marched into the social club, nobs made up some rights that don¡¯t exist, Dominion clergy marched into the social club, nobs decided that they¡¯d been peacefully talking all along actually, everything is tense and you dropped my name into it?¡± ¡°Exciting, yes?¡± said Diego. ¡°That¡¯s one word to describe it, yes,¡± said Dave dryly. ¡°I will not believe that the noble people of these lands are capable of something like this,¡± said Johan, striding behind them like a friendly wall. ¡°They must have been manipulated!¡± ¡°They tried to have you disqualified for ¡®attacking your betters¡¯ during the tournament and you have trouble believing they might commit thievery?¡± asked Dave with obvious sarcasm. ¡°Some monsters play as men,¡± said Johan zealously but still, there was a slight tightening of his lips as they approached the social club doors. Diego, still beaming happily, ignored the doormen with the completeness of those born wealthy and strutted into the social club, leading the trio. ¡°Here he is, everybody!¡± announced Diego, waltzing into the social club with a wide grin like he owned the place. Some of the patrons glanced up from their expensive drinks at the appearance of their inferiors in the club - they probably categorised the staff as helpful furniture - and a few shifted themselves to better pay attention to the ongoing drama. Dave reluctantly stayed with Diego under the gaze of the nobles and gazed right back, mentally clicking each of them and making sure to get the name of each one. While Diego grinned and enjoyed the attention, Dave took in the room. It stank of wealth. The disgusting kind, dressed in silk and gold that hid decadence and degeneracy. The kind he¡¯d seen in high end clubs and casinos back home. Johan followed Dave closely and his innocence missed what Dave¡¯s attention couldn¡¯t avoid. Johan was smiling, nodding and bowing at anybody who made eye contact with him. It made Dave shake his head and smile at the lad. ¡°This is Detective Booker! Detective, this is everybody. And, you all already know Mister Schmidt!¡± Dave ground his teeth while bowing in the style of a commoner presenting themselves to nobility. Fortunately, he was saved being paraded in front of the local inbred aristocrats by all eyes sliding off him and resting with great ease upon the magnificent, broad-shouldered figure of Johan who bowed wholeheartedly in turn. A susurration of murmurs rippled through the room. One man, Everard Reyer he was labelled as, stood near the fireplace, his hawk-like gaze narrowing in suspicion as Diego introduced Dave. ¡°What the gods is this, Noguera?¡± Everard¡¯s voice quietly cut through the air like a knife aimed at Diego¡¯s throat. ¡°You said you had a solution! Now you¡¯ve brought this¡­ peasant here to embarrass me? You dare?¡± Diego somehow laughed softly in the face of the higher ranked will bearing down upon him. ¡°Oh, come now, Lord Reyer. He is on Mister Schmidt¡¯s team!¡± Diego reached behind him and pulled Johan to the fore as evidence of this. Johan bowed low to Reyer. ¡°Dave here,¡± Diego did the same to Dave who bowed minimally, ¡°already knows about this little accident and besides! His position as Schmidt¡¯s ally only makes him motivated to find the prize, no? He has some certain skills, he wants to help his friend and he is very professional. Show him one of your agreement papers, my good detective!¡± Everard¡¯s lips curled slightly, but he said nothing in response to Dave drawing a boilerplate non-disclosure agreement from his inventory and holding it out. One of Reyer¡¯s lackeys took it. ¡°See?¡± said Diego, beaming as though Reyer was reading the agreement paper with enthusiasm. ¡°This solves your problems, Reyer, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Diego suddenly looked mischievous. ¡°You don¡¯t want the detective here to embarrass you, but he already knows the scandal! But, you can hire him to solve the riddle of the misplaced armour and have him legally bound to silence if you just sign there.¡± Diego punctuated the point by tapping the page where the Reyer¡¯s signature would go. Dave added his own dramatic flair by flying a pen out of his pocket and having it hover over the page Reyer angrily eyed the other nobles for confirmation that the paper would do just that and they nodded. Suddenly, Dave saw it. Diego had known that Reyer wouldn¡¯t accept handling anything given to him by Dave and used that to make sure that he could announce it to the room so that Reyer wouldn¡¯t be able to hide that a potential solution to all of his problems was in front of him, because the other nobles would have read the non-disclosure agreement first. Diego had backed Reyer into a corner who was glaring at Dave. Dave was painfully aware that between himself and Diego, only he had the lack of social rank that Reyer could aim any ire at. Dave cleared his throat. ¡°Look,¡± he said, his voice cutting through the tension with professional calm. ¡°My lords and ladies, nothing in that contract is binding or exclusive to me being the only investigator. How about we all just show me the scene. I¡¯ll take a look around, and ask a few questions. If I can¡¯t solve the case, your own investigator can look it over when they get here, no harm done, Right? And if I do solve it, then this whole mess is cleared up before any of that embarrassment happens, right?¡± There was an uneasy shuffle among the nobles, but no one spoke up. Reyer just glared. ¡°Right, yes!¡± exalted Diego, ignoring the icy atmosphere on purpose. ¡°Case solved, no scandal, no whispers. It¡¯s everything you wanted, isn¡¯t it Reyer? Ah! Baron Franchet!¡± Diego Bowed at the tall, stern figure that¡¯d appeared in his audience. ¡°Don¡¯t you agree?¡± ¡°I agree that Mister Schmidt¡¯s team would have most motivation to embarrass their betters, now that their moment of fame is over,¡± said Franchet imperiously. Johan flushed but Dave rallied. ¡°Then have me shadowed by someone you trust to ensure that I solve the crime instead of plant evidence against you,¡± said Dave. ¡°Yes!¡± said Diego, clicking his fingers. ¡°Of course, that is everything you ask for, no?¡± Diego leaned in, lowering his voice conspiratorially, ¡°I¡¯m sure our good detective here knows quite well that the armour is just... misplaced.¡± ¡°That¡¯s my leading theory so far,¡± said Dave dryly, his eyes flicking over Diego whose eyes were glinting with amusement; however, Dave groaned under the collective pressure of the presences in the room crushing him. Everard Reyer set his jaw and stepped forward. ¡°Very well,¡± he said. ¡°If you insist, Lord Noguera. Let''s get this farce over with. Perhaps ¡®Detective Booker¡¯s¡¯ insights will assist the real investigators when they arrive.¡± Reyer turned to a lackey. ¡°Summon my daughter, and have her show these men to the armour storage.¡± Reyer was really leaning into the social convention of not directly addressing people who were his social lessers. Dave''s whole body hurt with how badly he wanted to tweak Reyer¡¯s nose but instead turned to his HUD.
Quest: Where Is The Prize?
Description: The templar armour, first place prize of the Avril Reyer Birthday tournament has gone missing. Use your abilities to try and find out why.
Objectives: Collect leads about the disappearance of the templar armour that was the first place prize for the Avril Reyer Birthday Tournament.
Reward: 120 Lesser Spirit Coins per lead.
Detailed Information
Dave accepted the quest and turned his attention back to Diego. ¡°It¡¯s alright, I know where it is,¡± Diego was saying. ¡°Your daughter can meet us there. Onwards, Detective Booker! Come, swordsman Schmidt!¡± Diego whirled and practically skipped from the room, not out the door but further into the club. Dave bobbed a bow to the aristocrats and trailed in his wake. Johan adorably attempted to bow properly to every lord and lady he passed and practically stumbled his way across the room. Diego turned back often to grin at the display. Once in the staff area, the glitz and gold-leaf-everything fell away and the noises switched from hushed tones with harp music and chimes to the sounds of catering staff trying to do their jobs. The walk to the secure storeroom where the armour was last held was short and the three had to wait until Reyer arrived. When she arrived, she rounded the corner and walked quickly up to the trio, blue half-cape draped casually over her left shoulder. The same she¡¯d used in the tournament. Her legs opened the split in her long skirts revealing blue leggings as she stalked the trio down, one hand resting casually on her rapier. The arms were covered in a white, loose-fitting blouse over which she¡¯d placed a close-fitted, sleeveless doublet of sturdy, dark leather. Avril¡¯s auburn hair was tied back in a ponytail and she was wearing a hawk-like gaze that she¡¯d inherited from her father. ¡°Good,¡± said Avril in clipped tones. ¡°Let¡¯s get started.¡± Johan began a bow but Avril cut him off. ¡°Stop that,¡± she snapped. ¡°I just endured my father talking about my place in life, yet again, and saying-not-saying to screw up your investigation so that he can still give your prize to me later after you¡¯ve already accepted the cash payout. So, get on with it.¡± Johan short-circuited, stuck halfway through a bow and moving his mouth like a goldfish, unable to break out of his hard-coded politeness. Thankfully, Diego continued without him. ¡°Excellent, excellent! Please open the door to the room where the templar armour was stored!¡± Reyer opened the door and stepped back. Reyer, Diego and Johan went in but Dave hung back a bit and scribbled a note to Johan. It¡¯s her birthday and it sounds like her father is demanding achievements from her instead of celebrating her. Talk about anything but her rank or her family. He floated the note into Johan¡¯s hand and then joined the investigation. The trophy room where the armour had been stored before the matches was both grandeur and utility. Dark wood-panelled walls framed glass display cases of trophies, shields, medallions and display weaponry. Below it all, pale marble floors reflected a ghost of the room back under the glow of enchanted sconces, giving the illusion of walking in a much larger space. In the centre was the raised pedestal, where the armour should have been. A velvet-bottomed, square glass display case with a simple, wooden frame that should have held the armour. The room had the solemn feel of a grand museum, a bit like visiting a church in the early morning hours when nobody was around. Or, how the Louvre might feel if you could get rid of the everpresent horde of tourists. ¡°That¡¯s where it was,¡± said Diego, gesturing dramatically at an ornate cabinet that Dave could see laced with magic formations. ¡°The armour was there. Under lock, key and curse.¡± Dave¡¯s HUD had quest sparkles over quite a few objects in the room. He started with the one in front of him. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll get started. It might be a while so, Reyer, if you get bored, Johan was wondering about that thrust you opened today¡¯s match with.¡± Her scowl turned on Johan who was projecting wholehearted embarrassment and apology in such quantity that her expression softened. ¡°It - was very¡­ good,¡± Johan managed to sputter while physically restraining himself from bowing. Dave left them to chat as Diego, practically hopping up and down, drew his attention to the cabinet. ¡°The lock was undisturbed when Reyer senior last checked,¡± said Diego. ¡°No sign of tampering, he said.¡± Dave crouched down, inspecting the glittering object carefully. It was one of those magic items where moving parts of the object would change how the leylines of the formations wrought upon it interacted. Too intricate to pick without a lot of skill and magical knowledge, as well as the tools for both. He manifested Tome, flicked a piece of paper into his hands and focused on copying down the formation. ¡°Tome give me the most comprehensive selection that describes this formation,¡± said Dave. Tome fluttered open, blowing pages to a page from Secure Designs by Valeria Di Luca. He used Stop and Think to read the page. ¡°Huh,¡± said Dave, coming back to reality. ¡°The lock hasn¡¯t been tampered with but it¡¯s holding more mana in the formation than the background magic has. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Diego was watching him like a hawk but Dave was about his work now, following the leylines from the keyhole to the lock and out of the lock to the cabinet itself. ¡°Yes, of course the lock hasn¡¯t been tampered with,¡± muttered Dave, face close to the square glass cabinet and briefly noticed his HUD show a hundred and twenty lesser coins added to his inventory, ¡°The thief ignored the lock. They took the whole front panel off. See here? Cleaning marks. Someone brushed a cleaning cloth along the hinges, you can see the marks, but the rest of the cabinet is spotless. I¡¯m betting someone with a cleaning ability normally cleans here. Reyer? Can you witness this?¡± ¡°- from Rimaros, yes but mostly they - Oh, yes, detective. What is it?¡± ¡°Cleaning marks on the hinges but none on the rest of the cabinet indicating that the hinges were tampered with.¡± ¡°Oh? Yes. Yes, I see it. Anyway, as I was saying I¡¯ve met a few good duelists from Rimaros but mostly they¡¯re monster hunters there.¡± Johans eyes were alive with wonder as Reyer was telling him about duelling metas in different parts of the world. Diego pulled Dave back to the case. ¡°So, you know how they got into the case, what does that mean, my friend?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± said Dave flatly. ¡°Let me check the rest of the room.¡± Dave went over the other sparkly bits of the room his HUD was lighting up. There was a pair of formations, intertwined and hidden in the sconces that lit the room. ¡°Okay, this one¡­¡± he checked Tome, ¡°basically sets off the alarm if a limb leaves the floor while touching an item. This one¡­ yes, alarm if any flight, telekinetic or the like magic is mixed with an item.¡± Dave walked frantically around the room with Diego at his heels while Johan and Reyer debated the finer points of when a duelist should use half-swording. ¡°Alright, both formations are still complete with no sign of tampering, and there would be signs of tampering because the runes are engraved into the bronze,¡± muttered Dave. Two hundred and forty lesser coins became his. ¡°So how did they move it?¡± mused Dave, staring at the cabinet. ¡°You tell me!¡± said Diego. ¡°You¡¯re doing so well!¡± ¡°Hrmf,¡± grunted Dave. ¡°I¡¯ve done nothing but prove they got in. We already know that! The damn armour is missing. The burglar popped the pins out of the hinges, opened the front panel and must have carefully twisted the panel off the latch of the lock but then made the armour not-armour to¡­ wait. You can do that. ¡°Tome, The Essence Of Power. Go to the summary.¡± Tome flapped open to a page from The Essence of Power: A Treatise on Magical Essentialism by an Archmagister Edric Thalassar. Dave flipped quickly through several pages using Stop and Think to spend only a moment of real time on each page. ¡°Yes, if you can make one object essentially part of another, usually larger object then the essence of the original object is subsumed by the larger object,¡± said Dave, still completely focused on the book. ¡°What does this mean?¡± said Diego, hopping from foot to foot. ¡°It means that whoever did this has studied templar armour,¡± said Dave, rubbing his chin. ¡°Or, is some kind of magic savant. If Thalassar is right, because the armour is magical they¡¯d not only have to physically but magically interact with the object in a way that treats it as non-armour. Like maybe connect it to a mana source, some fire quintessence and call it a space heater or something? Doesn¡¯t matter. In order to change it magically, they¡¯d have had to know the magic of the armour beforehand as well as be able to afford the quintessence that this kind of magic would need.¡± ¡°Ahh, but they still have to take it out of the door,¡± said Diego, pointing. Dave looked at the door they¡¯d walked in by and he was surprised that the door frame was also sparkling. It¡¯d been behind him when he walked in and he¡¯d missed it earlier. He walked to it and started inspecting its formation. ¡°Okay, sure this is¡­ much more¡­ Yeah, the formation here breaks each item into component parts to check. It¡¯s just that,¡± Dave used Magican¡¯s Megre Magics in the doorway with a few experimental boundary and shield projections,¡± yeah, it¡¯s easily blocked but the guard outside would¡¯ve noticed someone opening the door and installing a blocker¡­¡± Then it hit him and he practically ran to the last sparkling quest indicator in the room. He barely noticed the hundred and twenty lesser coins notification in his chat log and accepted the next stage of the quest without reading it. He ran up to the rectangular bit of wall and placed his hands upon it, running them back and forth over the innocuous bit of wood panelling. There were lines in the wall at the edge of the sparkle indicating that this was a hidden compartment. Dave selected it in his UI and used Epistemology with ¡®opening mechanism¡¯. He pushed the wall hard with both hands. There was an audible click and the wall opened to reveal a cupboard full of cleaning equipment. ¡°Ahh, you¡¯re changing sides?¡± said Diego, happiness still all over his face. ¡°Hiding the evidence now? I thought crystal wash at a crime scene would be too much of a give away, no? Nothing cleans better but it takes aura residue with it, yes?¡± ¡°What? No! That¡¯s not it. It¡¯s¡­¡± Dave hesitated as he looked into the cupboard. There was a sparkle over one of the bottles of crystal wash. He noticed that it had less dust over it than all the other bottles in there, apparently the inside of the well-camouflaged cupboard didn¡¯t need to be as clean as the rest of the room. ¡°This one!¡± said Dave, snatching up the bottle and pushing it at Diego. ¡°I don¡¯t know how but the - what the fuck?¡± Dave had pushed the bottle into Diego¡¯s chest who¡¯d reflexively taken possession of it and in that moment, it¡¯d started showing dimensional magic. Just like a magic bag. A magic bag that¡¯d been concealed with a ritual designed to dissolve when picked up by the person whose aura imprint matched the caster¡¯s. Dave looked at Diego with saucers for eyes. Diego¡¯s grin could have given Sam¡¯s best a run for her money. ¡°YOU DID IT!?¡± whispered Dave being both quiet and loud in his disbelief. Diego gave an open-mouthed smile and nodded enthusiastically. ¡°Ugh¡­ What? Why?¡± ¡°I stole it so that you could find it!¡± said Dieg and winked. ¡°When it seemed like Johan over there was going to win, I wanted to make sure he got his prize. Reyer would never let his prize slip away. Too much ego. And, when you said you were a detective I knew. I knew that the gods had put you in my path to be my friend!¡± ¡°Ugh, you¡¯re going to have to explain that one to me,¡± said Dave. ¡°Dave, my now and forever friend,¡± said Diego as solemnly as he could with his mischievous smile. ¡°I¡­ am The Silk Cat.¡± And with that, he reached inside his voluminous coat and drew out a cat-shaped piece of folded silk which he placed inside the cupboard. ¡°One second,¡± said Dave, nonplussed. He used Stop and Think and Epistemology to look up The Silk Cat. According to several wanted posters and some Adventure Society documentation, The Silk Cat was an iron rank burglar of high society who left a signature cat of folded, black silk at every scene. Dave came back to Diego. ¡°Ummmmm, yeah. Wow, okay, that¡¯s a lot,¡± said Dave. ¡°Ugh¡­ why are you The Silk Cat?¡± ¡°Ah! Yes, thank you. Such a good question,¡± gushed Diego. ¡°I must expect such questions from the only detective good enough to solve my little game.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± said Dave. His eyes flicked to Johan and Avril who were deep in their own conversation and completely missing the confession taking place. ¡°Because it¡¯s fun!¡± said Diego with his happiest grin. ¡°And my essence abilities. It¡¯s all stealth, mobility, deception. You know? If I join an adventuring team, I¡¯m just a lowly scout! Weeks and weeks slinking through wet forest, cold and miserable but,¡± his eyes twinkled, ¡°as a cat burglar? Warm and safe in hotel rooms, planning my next exciting heist! Oh, and the difficulty! Oh, my friend, you wouldn¡¯t believe how much more quickly my abilities grow. So many security features are above iron rank. I evolved a racial to overcome rank disparity with my abilities in only six months of being a burglar. Can you believe it? And you, my friend. Yes, you are being to be what takes me to bronze and beyond as I, the greatest bronze rank thief am pitted against you, the greatest bronze rank detective! Ha!¡± Dave¡¯s head whirled as he kept up with the strangely coherent insanity. ¡°So you stole the armour to see if I could find out it was you who stole it?¡± ¡°Yes, yes! And more!¡± said Diego excitedly. ¡°My family has had dealings with the Reyers. Reyer senior worked in trade taxation before his recent promotion to minister, you see? All ego, he is. I knew he¡¯d never hand over the prize he intended for his daughter. When it looked like Johan could win, I knew something must be done and when Johan himself told me you were a budding detective, I thought that perhaps the gods had placed you in my path.¡± He looked at Dave with tears of happiness in his eyes. ¡°And they did! Dave, my friend. As soon as you solved that little crime without leaving your seat? I knew we were destined! Destined to be together, side-by-side, sharpening each other¡¯s wits, progressing through the ranks as gentleman thief and brilliant detective.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± said Dave, only succeeding in keeping his face straight because he couldn¡¯t move it. ¡°For now, should we tell the others I¡¯ve solved the case?¡± He indicated Reyer and Johan who were animatedly discussing their ideas for beating opponents with prehensile weapons. ¡°Ha! Yes!¡± exclaimed Diego. ¡°I give you full permission to keep my secret however you like. A detective as glorious as you surely knows what to say, eh? Avril, Johan! Come look at this! Dave has found the armour!¡± Then he reached into the false bottle and in full view of both Johan and Reyer, drew out what Dave could only call a work of modern art. The armour was part of a diorama of a kitchen scene with the helmet as a pot, breast and backplates as benches and the rest artfully arranged as shelving and furniture. The entire piece was moving slightly with the gloves, which were playing the part of chefs, little aprons and all, moving little vegetables back and forth. ¡°Uuuugh,¡± said Avril, her lip curling in confusion. ¡°Why is¡­ Well, it¡¯s¡­ nice,¡± said Johan, equally confused. ¡°No, it makes sense. Tell them what you found, Dave,¡± said Diego, grinning and winking at Dave. ¡°Ah, yeah,¡± said Dave, giving Diego the most suspicious look he¡¯d ever thrown. ¡°The thief hadn¡¯t completed stealing it -¡± ¡°And it was The Silk Cat!¡± interrupted Diego, unable to contain himself. ¡°See, Avril? Right there is the cat.¡± Both Reyer and Johan craned their heads to see into the cleaning cupboard. ¡°Yes, The Silk Cat was hiding the armour in that false flask there. It had a magic concealment spell over it in the cupboard but I noticed the flask didn¡¯t have dust on it so I looked closer. It¡¯s actually a dimensional container. I guess the Cat figured that cleaners wouldn¡¯t care to investigate unfamiliar supplies and guessed they wouldn¡¯t have magic sight abilities even if they did?¡± ¡°Oh, this is one of those bulk ones,¡± said Reyer, turning the container over in her hands and passing it onto Johan. ¡°Accepts bundled items like crates in a single slot. You normally see them on Adventure Society delivery jobs. Best way of getting supplies to remote towns.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know,¡± said Dave truthfully. ¡°But I need you to witness here, Lady Reyer.¡± He walked to the central display cabinet with Reyer and Johan tagging along, their interest stirred. ¡°The thief came into this room and, when they were alone, popped the pins out of the hinges of the cabinet - you remember the hinges - and, without moving their feet put the armour into this pre-arranged display which made the essence of the armour dissolve into the work of art. Now that it was art it could be moved and, The Silk Cat, clever as they are, put the whole thing into the dimensional container, put the container into the cupboard and then just walked out of the room! No doubt, in their deviousness, The Silk Cat intended to return weeks after the investigation was over with an artful way of sneaking the container out. Possibly while posing as a security technician running tests.¡± Diego, who¡¯d been puffing up with pride at Dave¡¯s praise of The Silk Cat, nodded happily in agreement. ¡°How did you know to look in the broom cupboard?¡± asked Reyer. ¡°I didn¡¯t even know it was here, actually.¡± ¡°The exit door is almost impossible to sneak anything past without equipment that a guard outside would notice,¡± said Dave. ¡°And when I confirmed that none of the magic in the room had been tampered with, I deduced that since the armour had not passed the door, it must still be in the room. I poked around a little, found the broom cupboard and disturbed the concealment ritual when I happened to pick up the curiously dustless bottle.¡± Diego dramatically ran a finger along the side of a dusty bucket in the cupboard and held the finger up for inspection to Reyer and Johan who both nodded. ¡°Do we take the whole thing?¡± said Reyer. ¡°To the social club, I mean?¡± ¡°Yes, I think so,¡± said Dave. ¡°Diffuse the political-religious debate going on, right?¡± ¡°I can only hope,¡± said Reyer, rolling her eyes. ¡°Hey,¡± said Dave, smirking. ¡°Lighten up. It¡¯s your birthday. Maybe it¡¯ll work out? There¡¯s clergy in there. Perhaps the gods will gift you a few hours of peace and quiet, hey?¡± In response, Reyer dramatically slumped her whole body in that teenage way.
Dave took a backseat at the explanation in the club. Among his ¡®betters¡¯ he wasn¡¯t to speak unless spoken to and he¡¯d asked Diego to do all the speaking anyway. For his part, Diego really played up that Detective Booker was the only investigator who¡¯d managed to thwart The Silk Cat and, contrary to Dave¡¯s expectations, the nobility seemed to all sit up more straightly at the news. It seemed The Silk Cat had been more newsworthy than he¡¯d initially thought. With the armour returned, extracted from its artwork, looked over and approved as undamaged by one of the silver-rank apprentices who¡¯d helped make it, the award ceremony was held in the arena without delay. There were a lot of speeches that Dave ignored while he studied magic. Naturally, those same speeches held Johan¡¯s rapt attention but eventually, the armour was given into his possession by the insincerely smiling Everard Reyer to the applause of the entire crowd. There was an after-party in which Johan was the guest of honour but, not being a noble, Dave wasn¡¯t allowed in. He left Johan at the ballroom door in the care of Avril Reyer and started wandering back to the viewing room where he¡¯d left Hugh thinking that maybe they¡¯d have a quiet beer and play cards. Then he noticed he was being followed. Dave adjusted his meandering walk, turning a corner. The two heavy-set pursuers came around that same corner several moments later. Dave smirked back at them and they gave up any pretence of just happening to be there and started walking quickly and with intimidating purpose. Dave also began walking quickly away from them. Another corner later he found two more thugs coming at him from the front, which forced him to the stairs down a level to the arena basement storage. Dave tried the door and was surprised to find it unlocked. He was sure it should have been. At the bottom of the basement stairs, Dave took two items out of his inventory, threw them on the floor, manifested Tzu and waited for his pursuers while surrounded by spare chariot parts, straw targets and other arena props. ¡°They said you was a smart one,¡± said the lead thug, stopping at the bottom of the stairs when he saw Dave waiting for him. His three compatriots lined up beside him. ¡°Yeah, no point running. Only one way out, right?¡± said Dave, and channelled mana into the rope he was holding. A large cargo net sprang up over the four thugs and started shrinking. ¡°What the?¡± ¡°Hey!¡± The other two just spun about in mute confusion. The net kept slowly shrinking. ¡°Smart enough to know that if you herd me to where nobody can sense you beating the hell out of me, nobody can sense you either.¡± said Dave. Still holding the control rope, he moved a few steps to the corner of a large tarpaulin he¡¯d put down below the cargo net and propped the metallic ring in the corner on the handle of a cauldron. The net kept shrinking. It¡¯d already gone from loosely draped over the four men to a little restrictive. ¡°Hey!¡± ¡°Let me out or I¡¯ll -¡± One of them tried to use a magical attack to break the rope. The last shot a stream of crystal shards at him that Tzu intercepted with force beams. ¡°Pointless, mate,¡± said Dave, nodding at the elf trying to break the rope. ¡°They¡¯re built tough to move cargo and I splurged on the bronze rank version. You know, this reality has some marvellous stuff.¡± Dave moved to another tarpaulin corner and propped it up against a broken training dummy. ¡°These nets, for instance, they¡¯re designed to enlarge and shrink. One size fits all so the longshore workers don¡¯t have to waste time changing nets.¡± The four thugs were squeezed snugly together now. Each of them going through various methods of escaping the net. One shot a cone of force at Dave but it only knocked him off his feet. ¡°Good try,¡± said Dave, picking himself up from the mess that''d come off the shelf he¡¯d been knocked into. ¡°Not enough. Weird how this universe doesn¡¯t emphasise ranged combat more. Hitting people before they hit you is something of a principle where I¡¯m from. ¡°You fucking peasant!¡± ¡°Let me out of this right now or my father -¡± ¡°Hey! Hey, come on. This isn¡¯t funny. Come on!¡± ¡°Friends! Friends! Stop! Shut up! We can¡¯t -¡± The net shrank tighter around them. It was pressing into their skin now, starting to restrict their movements. ¡°She¡¯s right, you can¡¯t get out,¡± said Dave, putting another corner of the tarpaulin between two crates. ¡°Unfortunately for you, this reality doesn¡¯t have workplace safety regulations. And, I¡¯m pretty sure this cargo net will shrink harder than your bones are sturdy. I got the idea when I was in the pub two weeks ago and overheard a longshoreman. Got his finger stuck in the net and the shrinking nipped it right off.¡± ¡°No! No, stop!¡± ¡°I can pay! Mister Booker, my family can pay.¡± ¡°Just let us go, he can pay!¡± ¡°Please, my children! Stop!¡± ¡°You know, I¡¯m part of a family too?¡± said Dave, flicking a cardboard, double-ended hook into his hand and using it to connect the last corner of the tarp to a prop chariot. ¡°Got a mum and dad who love me. Didn''t stop any of you.¡± ¡°We were just going to slap you around a bit. Honest!¡± ¡°Granted,¡± said Dave. Jumping up to sit on a bench. He leaned forward and rested his arms on his knees. ¡°But while we¡¯re being honest, if Reyer had told you to kill me, you wouldn¡¯t have hesitated.¡± ¡°No-no-no-no-no!¡± ¡°Please, please! ¡°Almighty gods, forgive me my sins and protect me -¡± The last just closed her eyes, clasped her hands together beneath her chin and drew shuddering breaths. ¡°And, I¡¯m sick of people like you,¡± said Dave, staring them down. ¡°Anyway, bronze rank industrial machinery isn¡¯t even a quarter of the price of iron rank arms and armour. How about that, hey?¡± The voices had degenerated into a variety of gasps and wheezes as the net closed like a python, tight enough to squeeze the air from their lungs. ¡°I guess,¡± said Dave, pausing for a moment to acknowledge a loudly cracking bone, ¡°I want you so-called nobility to die knowing it wasn¡¯t bravely in battle doing heroic deeds. You¡¯re dying because you tried to bully a peasant. You¡¯re fucking idiots. I even had time to monologue.¡± The crunching started and Dave was careful to watch the whole time. Soon parts began streaming out between the rope mesh like freshly squeezed garlic. He hurried to lift up an edge of the tarpaulin that the blood was pooling towards. ¡°Although, honestly, I¡¯d have preferred to just delete you over monologuing,¡± remarked Dave to the soup of humanoid remains. ¡°This takes too long. And, you might have escaped if you¡¯d acted fast enough. At least two of you could¡¯ve squeezed through the mesh at the start.¡± Dave took a minute to retrieve his now hand-sized cargo net which he cleaned with Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas and inventoried. Next, he slowly walked in a circle, gathering the corners of the tarpaulin together until he was holding a large sack of assorted body-bits and blood which he tied off with string. Then, he reached back, took the false crystal wash dimensional container out of his inventory, popped the lid and pressed the opening against the sack, letting the dimensional magic grasp it, simultaneously shrink it and suck it into the opening. Dave spent another minute putting everything back where he found it, using Library Of The Mind to make sure and Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas on the mess he couldn¡¯t fix. Then he left the room and walked back to the viewing room, once more reading with wonder the details of the armour Johan would wear for his entire adventuring career.
Item: The Templar¡¯s Armour Of Righteousness
Location: Arms, body, feet, hands, head, legs. Tags: Armour, boon, disruptive force, growth item, movement, resistance, resonating force, shield, survival. Rank: Iron (growth from iron to gold).
Description This full set of plate armour completely covers the wearer, providing total protection and offers the following effects:
  • Utmost resistance to damage.
  • Utmost resistance to hostile magic.
  • Resistance to forced movement effects.
  • Enhances melee attacks to exist within all non-physical realms.
  • Reduces damage from falls or landings, redirecting the force outwards.
  • [Repelling Field] activation over armour gaps in response to damage in that area.
  • Maintains a comfortable internal environment. This effect includes [Air Filter], [Water Breathing] and [Air Supply] abilities.
  • Repairs damage over time. Can reconstitute itself from near-total destruction.
  • Adapts fit to the wearer, within a certain range.
  • Auto-donning within a certain range.
  • Self-cleaning over time.
  • Invisible inside-to-outside helm enchantment.
Detailed Information
Chapter 36: Deals And Leaving
Current Quests
Justice For Courbefy: Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use¡­ Chosen Of Knowledge: Escort Hugh on his journey to becoming a fully awakened iron¡­ Chosen Of Hero: Escort Johan on his journey to joining the Adventure Society. Making A Magnate: Dominion wants you to hire at least two employees to expand your¡­ Healer¡¯s Materials: Gain Healer¡¯s favour by donating alchemy ingredients to the church¡­ Investigate Dapcher Orphanage: Investigate Dapcher orphanage for signs of exploitation. Abel¡¯s Mace: Return Brother Abel¡¯s missing mace to the church of Soldier. He was last¡­ Rescue the Lucas¡¯s Daughter: Retrieve Charlotte Lucas, the warehouse owner¡¯s¡­ Lost Treasure Map: Find and return an old treasure map stolen from, Marielle Lecuyer¡­ Wolf Menace: Hunt down a pack of mischievous foxes terrorising the livestock of Villars. Haunted Mill: Investigate the abandoned mill outside Limony that''s said to be haunted¡­ Embarrassing Request: Gather rare herbs from the dangerous swamp for Duerne''s¡­ Merchant Escort: Safely escort a merchant caravan through bard-infested woods to¡­ Ancient Ruins Exploration: Explore and map out the ancient ruins that have recently¡­ Missing Scout: Locate and rescue a missing scout who was last seen investigating¡­ Bridge Repair: Collect and deliver materials needed to repair a bridge that connects two¡­ UnKill Streak 5: Complete a five day streak of not killing anybody! Potion of Prosperity Delivery: Deliver a potion of prosperity to the midwife in Houlbec. Merchant''s Goods Recovery: Recover stolen goods in Confolens from the bandits that...
¡°You ungrateful child!¡± sputtered Avril¡¯s father, his presence filling her world, his will bearing down on her. "I secured that priceless armour for you! Traded countless favours, wagered our family¡¯s future, and now you refuse them? You¡¯ve cost us everything!" Avril just glared up at her father. Saying anything now would just make him angrier but she wasn¡¯t giving in. She wasn¡¯t going to lie about Booker solving the case. ¡°You won¡¯t see another tournament under my watch, young lady. Not a one!¡± continued her father. They were behind a privacy screen at the victory ball but Avril was certain that her father¡¯s ire was palpable beyond it. So embarrassing. She wanted to say so many things. He just didn¡¯t understand! It was about winning the reward, yes, but winning the reward because it was your reward. Johan had won! It wasn¡¯t her reward anymore. Everyone would know she was a cheater if she wore that armour. Nobody serious would duel her at Bronze rank. Gods, anybody she beat at iron would mutter that she was a cheat! ¡°I¡¯m sorry, father,¡± was all Avril said to her feet, just wanting to get away. ¡°Sorry? I¡¯ll give you something to be sorry about!¡± her father raged. ¡°You, young lady, will be going on a pilgrimage. Of penance! With a vow of poverty! I will see to it. Nothing but coins shall pass your lips until you reach the holy statue in Byzantopolis! You shall wear only holy vestments of Purity! Bare feet upon the ground!¡± Avril looked at her father in alarm at the mention of Purity. Seething in his rage he¡¯d forgotten even Betrayal Day. Her look reminded her father of his mistake and he struck her across the face. He looked at his hand in shock and then glowered at her anew. He¡¯d never hit her before. Monster cores or not, his bronze rank made the thoughtless blow hard enough to bruise but it was the shock of it that struck to Avril¡¯s heart. Her father had hit her. It was¡­ unseemly. Something that peasants did to their disgusting children in stories and her father¡­ Overcome, tears welled up in Avril¡¯s eyes and she ran away. ¡°You are confined to family grounds, young lady. Confined!¡± called her father to her retreating back.
¡°Here we are, Mademoiselle Paternoster,¡± said Johan as he approached the viewing room. ¡°I¡¯m sure Dave will be happy to hear you out.¡± Mademoiselle Paternoster thinned her lips in a polite attempt at a smile. Johan smiled back genuinely. You have to give a little to get some back, his mum always told him! He knocked on the door. ¡°Oh, hello!¡± said Hugh, opening the door. ¡°Indeed, another guest for the party? I¡­ suppose¡­¡± Hugh trailed off into his beard, looking over his shoulder at Dave and, surprisingly, Lady Reyer, who¡¯d fought so skillfully that very afternoon. Johan gave a friendly wave. To show he meant well. ¡°Hugh, did you just reveal Reyer¡¯s presence here while turning to ask if she wanted her presence here to be known?¡± said Dave, smirking. Hugh worked his mouth and the door back and forth before chuckling at the ground in embarrassment. Johan decided to clear things up before the situation got more confusing. ¡°Actually Dave, Mademoiselle Paternoster here impressed upon me that she has something important to ask the both of us privately. I promised her that I would bring her before you and here we are,¡± said Johan, smiling at everyone. He didn¡¯t want anybody to feel they weren¡¯t welcome but he knew they¡¯d respect a private conversation, so long as he was clear. Dave raised his eyebrows but nodded. He was always skeptical that Dave, after all, he was a detective! But Johan knew he wasn¡¯t wise to the ways of the world like Dave was. He certainly didn¡¯t have access to all the learning that Dave had! So he felt that he was right to ask his book-bound friend¡¯s opinion on this matter. ¡°Well, let''s arrange some chairs,¡± said Dave, picking up a privacy screen that came with the room and walking away from the table he was seated at and to the viewing area with its plush armchairs. He spun one with his hand, bumped another around with his foot and lifted the third chair into place to form a triangle and continued the motion into a smooth bow, as casual as you please. ¡°Mademoiselle,¡± said Dave, bowing Paternoster into a seat which she took. However, he merely nodded at Johan. ¡°Good to see ya, Johan. Those nobs treat you right?¡± ¡°They behaved like leaders of the lands,¡± said Johan. He felt this was true. Dave tapped him lightly on the shoulder and grinned. Johan was beginning to understand the rules of Dave¡¯s strange friendliness. The less he did, the more he liked you. That¡¯s how it worked. It had been a slight and casual bow for Paternoster just then, which meant that Dave was wary, but willing to make friends. On the other hand, when he¡¯d met Reyer senior earlier today, He¡¯d given a full bow from the waist with correct foot and hand placement. Johan was pretty sure that meant he thought that the esteemed nobleman was a chump! How Dave came to such conclusions, Johan didn¡¯t know but Dave was a clever guy. Perhaps there were sides to Reyer senior that Johan hadn¡¯t seen yet. Like that Krump family that¡¯d been driven out of town when Johan was eight. ¡°I am - sorry to have interrupted your celebrations, Detective,¡± said Paternoster as stiffly as she was sitting, perched on the edge of her luxurious armchair. Johan loved these chairs. ¡°But, Johan and I were talking at the victory ball and we got to talking. To cut the cheese quickly, he said that you may be amenable to rectifying a wrong that my family has placed itself into?¡± She talked just like Dave did. Such word selection! Johan just knew they could be friends and his heart swelled with joy. ¡°Might be,¡± said Dave, his posture and tone, a mixture of casual ease and hard edges that Johan admired. ¡°You¡¯ll have to actually tell me what you want at some point.¡± Dave gave a little smile. Just enough to show he was being playful, not cruel. ¡°But, maybe it¡¯ll help if I give you my word that any personal details you give me won¡¯t be repeated outside of this conversation?¡± Paternoster nodded and then collected herself. These two were just peas in a pod! ¡°My father bet some family heirlooms in the winner-takes-all pot,¡± confessed Paternoster, her cheeks flushing. ¡°And I¡¯m here to beg for their return.¡± ¡°Huh,¡± said Dave, giving her a shrewd look. Johan noticed the subtle flicker that meant Dave had used his time stopping ability. He flicked a piece of paper into his hand and gestured four pens to write a quick list. ¡°Is this the lot? It¡¯s all that¡¯s marked as ¡®Paternoster heirloom¡¯ in our inventories.¡± ¡°Yes it is,¡± said Paternoster, lowering her eyes and reading the list down her nose. ¡°What must I do to secure their return? I will take to my knees and promise to serve you, if I must.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you dare,¡± said Dave, in an affronted tone that Johan was pleased to hear. Dave hated being put above people in any way. His mother said it was a sign of a good heart. Johan supposed it was because Dave¡¯s culture did that less-respect-is-more -friendship trick. ¡°They have a monetary value. Your family are landholders. Why not just buy them off Johan?¡± ¡°Oh, she did offer, Dave,¡± said Johan quickly. He didn¡¯t want any confusion on the matter. ¡°But, she asked the name of my majordomo and I figured that¡¯s you! What with your abilities being suited to this kind of task. We got to talking and I convinced her to just come see you.¡± ¡°Good man,¡± said Dave in approval. Johan internally congratulated himself for making the right decision. ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± confirmed Paternoster, bowing her head in shame. ¡°And, compounding my embarrassment, my father emptied the petty coin -¡± ¡°No fear,¡± interrupted Dave, waving a hand with casual acceptance. ¡°I can accept the items being sold at current market cost in delayed instalments over the next year or two. To preserve the Paternoster name you can make the payments to my secretary who will invoice them as financial equity to my new research company; Booker Materials, but you¡¯ll receive no shares. Agreed?¡± ¡°Ah, excuse me?¡± said Paternoster, taken aback. ¡°You¡­ have a different idea?¡± asked Dave, his face open. ¡°No, it¡¯s just - the offer is generous and I accept, Detective,¡± said Paternoster. ¡°I am aware that these items are worth more than the market price of similar items,¡± continued Dave. ¡°But I need goodwill more than I need an extra ten percent on a sale. Besides, Johan here likes doing nice things like this. If honour demands you do me more then, speaking positively about our team, Executive Services, and my companies will suffice. If your conscience will allow it.¡± ¡°My conscience, Detective?¡± asked Paternoster. ¡°Yes, I wouldn¡¯t ask you to lie,¡± said Dave. ¡°Just that you be aware of my team, my companies and mention them in polite company should you feel it appropriate. If you don¡¯t feel it, then I will take that as feedback that I need to make a better company.¡± ¡°That is a very respectable position,¡± said Paternoster carefully. Johan was becoming sure that she¡¯d steeled herself for a shameful meeting where she¡¯d be forced to become Dave¡¯s adventuring lackey and was wrongfooted by Dave¡¯s lack of interest in such a thing. ¡°Shall we arrange a time to have the details¡­¡±. Paternoster¡¯s voice trailed off as her eyes fell on a piece of paper Dave had been writing while they talked. Johan¡¯s quick skim of the paper revealed it as a draft agreement. ¡°This is a draft agreement that the items discussed will be exchanged for the market value of similar items as of today. Please see my business manager, Lianne Lane, to arrange the final details such as exact dates of payment. Here¡¯s her address. The items shall be handed over the moment an agreement is formalised.¡± Dave used his flying pens to float a copy of the draft into Paternoster¡¯s hands and handed the other copy to Johan. ¡°If you¡¯ll each sign both copies of the agreement to have an agreement,¡± said Dave, like it was a normal sentence, ¡°then we can call this meeting closed and return to our respective celebrations.¡± Johan smiled at Paternoster as they exchanged documents for signing. ¡°I¡¯m glad you came with me, Mademoiselle Paternoster,¡± said Johan. ¡°Didn¡¯t I say that Dave would surely think of something that¡¯d solve all of our problems?¡± For her part, Paternoster just smiled shyly up at Johan before once more schooling her face and demurely lowering her eyes to the page she was signing. ¡°Before you go, Mademoiselle,¡± said Dave. ¡°I have an interest in purchasing some mobility items much like you were outfitted with today. Are there any secrets or specific suppliers you could tell me about?¡± ¡°Oh! Well, I suppose I could,¡± said Paternoster with surprise, her eyes jerking away from Johan¡¯s face. ¡°Since we¡¯re going to be business partners, I think I can tell you that. Yes. The family supplier Rochefort in the adventurer¡¯s market in Lutetia. I¡¯ll mention you. ¡°Most kind of you,¡± said Dave with his casual, minimalist bow. ¡°Will you allow me to walk you back to the victory ball, Mademoiselle Paternoster?¡± said Johan, bowing just the way Master Greenwood has taught him. ¡°Yes. No. I mean,¡± Paternoster stumbled over her words while staring into Johan¡¯s baby-blue eyes. ¡°I believe I have imposed enough on today¡¯s victor and wish to return to the ball unattended but I thank you for the kind offer.¡± Johan led Paternoster to the door and bowed her outside to which she curtsied without inclining her head in response, as was propper from noble to commoner, and swept away. ¡°Bloody exhausting,¡± said Dave, throwing himself into a chair across the table from Lady Reyer once the door had closed. ¡°No wonder you nobles always want to kill something.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just tired and hungry,¡± said Hugh, pouring beers from behind the bar. Dave scowled, saw Lady Reyer looking imperiously at him and scowled more. ¡°Ho! What¡¯s going on here then?¡± said Johan suddenly, inserting himself into the interaction before Dave did something he¡¯d regret to a lady of the land. ¡°It certainly is swell to see you, Lady Reyer.¡± ¡°Actually, I wanted to talk to you, Mister Schmidt,¡± said Reyer, her noble countenance resting on Johan, who sat up straighter. ¡°She insisted on it,¡± remarked Dave dryly. Johan got the feeling that Dave was annoyed at Lady Reyer and the dirty look she threw at Dave spoke of a recent history. ¡°Do you have any manners at all?¡± said Lady Reyer. ¡°Speaking about me like that?¡± ¡°Which question would you like me to answer first?¡± said Dave in a flat tone. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s not answer any of those questions,¡± said Hugh, arriving at the table with beers and a bread-and-cheese platter. ¡°Indeed, Lady Reyer asked for Johan, our gentleman has arrived so why don¡¯t we just let her speak without any further fraying of tempers? Lady Reyer, if you will.¡± ¡°Mister Schmidt, I¡¯d like to speak with you privately about your team,¡± said Lady Reyer. Such was her intensity that she almost forgot the presence of Dave and Hugh. Johan saw the source of conflict now. She had come to this room to see him and since Dave and Hugh were here, she¡¯d expected to be waited upon, as was proper for one of her station, but Dave hadn¡¯t told him his own station because, as Dave would see it, that was ¡®tooting your own horn¡¯. In his own words. An odd phrase but Johan liked it. ¡°Lady Reyer,¡± began Johan, performing a seated bow as best he could. ¡°I fear you are under misapprehensions that my friends have not had the opportunity to correct. This entire room has misunderstanding wrought upon it.¡± ¡°I - I see,¡± said Lady Reyer, her face going ashen. ¡°Have no fear, good lady. Today has been a great day for the gods delivering unexpected good news but first, we must all understand each other. I do not wish to question your noble senses but you asked about my team?¡± ¡°Yes, I wish to privately discuss your team,¡± said Lady Reyer. Dave figured out what was happening, sighed in frustration and slumped forward, pinching the bridge of his nose. Lady Reyer seemed not to notice. ¡°Lady Reyer, with greatest respect,¡± said Johan as kindly as he could. ¡°I am not the intended leader of this team.¡± ¡°But - You¡¯re the leader,¡± said Reyer in obvious confusion. ¡°Oh, is it Lord Noguera? I saw you were speaking?¡± Dave was still pinching the bridge of his nose and had graduated to shaking his head. ¡°The intended leader of team Executive Services is Detective Dave Booker,¡± said Johan gesturing to the ignored Dave. Lady Reyer¡¯s attention whipped to Dave was still shaking his head and, at that moment, taking a pull of beer. ¡°Hi,¡± said Dave with that casual ease that Johan so envied. ¡°I¡¯m still here, welcome back to other people existing. Oh, and if you push your will against mine like that again, I¡¯m going to forget that you came here as a frightened girl asking for help and bodily throw you out the door.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t mean that!¡± said Hugh, swiftly raising his hands. ¡°Lady Reyer, please don¡¯t do anything rash, we are all friends here.¡± ¡°Hugh, I appreciate you being a peacemaker for the last hour but she is not my friend. She has been a miserable cloud since she arrived and I¡¯m tired of tolerating her looking down her nose at me, giving those indignant sniffs and refusing to elaborate.¡± He turned to Reyer. ¡°Woman, say what you need to and then fuc-¡± Johan clamped a hand over Dave¡¯s mouth before he could complete such a rude sentence. ¡°Lady Reyer,¡± said Johan as quickly as he could. ¡°Detective Booker is a gentleman and scholar in the lands of Ahitereiria!¡± Lady Reyer went through a variety of emotions and settled on open mouthed puzzlement. ¡°And while I still respect you as a liege lord of mine,¡± continued Johan, once again bowing while seated, ¡°The air of the table tells me that you may have mistaken him for a servant and expected him to wait upon you until my return?¡± Lady Reyer¡¯s face moved and she started flushing red with embarrassment. ¡°Hugh is a man of the cloth and unwise in the way of etiquette,¡± said Johan with the kindest smile he could muster. ¡°And Dave is a foreigner to our ways. I¡¯m sure that he made foreign attempts at etiquette that passed unnoticed. Please, good lady, this is all a misunderstanding.¡± ¡°Attempts at etiquette, Mister Schmidt? The first thing he did was turn his back on me and offer to drink at the same table. I don¡¯t care what you call eti-¡± ¡°And the first thing you did,¡± interrupted Dave, ¡°was look down your nose at me and demand to be entertained. Now, you were upset so I overlooked your behaviour. Hugh and I even put away -¡± ¡°I was not upset!¡± argued Lady Reyer. ¡°By what right do you pass comment upon me?¡± ¡°The right of anybody who can see tear streaks on your face, girl,¡± said Dave. ¡°Lady Reyer!¡± interrupted Johan, before she could express the anger that was showing in her face. ¡°As I said, the good detective is a gentleman and a scholar in his own lands. I would beg of you to consider his rights in that light.¡± ¡°If I may be so bold as to interrupt,¡± said Hugh, shyly inserting himself into the argument like a timid mouse. ¡°But, Lady Reyer, how would you treat an instructor from the Remore Academy? After all, they famously have no titles nor peerage. Surely, you wouldn¡¯t go so far as to call such a person a servant?¡± Dave clearly had something biting to add but kept his peace and merely sighed angrily. ¡°They¡¯re different,¡± said Lady Reyer, not looking at Hugh. ¡°Cool. I¡¯m different,¡± said Dave. ¡°Lady Reyer,¡± said Johan quickly, before she could snap back at Dave. ¡°I do believe this entire situation has been a misunderstanding. I can assure you that outside of formal occasions, Dave here is a reasonable and generous man. Please, do not call me a liar on this account.¡± ¡°For the sake of my opinion of you, Mister Schmidt,¡± sniffed Lady Reyer haughtily, "I am willing to listen to your words and overlook the company you are keeping." ¡°I¡¯ll take what I can get,¡± said Dave in response to Johan¡¯s pleading look. ¡°That¡¯s all settled then!¡± said Johan, beaming at everyone. ¡°See? We can all be together again. With that done, Lady Reyer, please speak openly with us all.¡± Lady Reyer hesitated, glancing very obviously at Hugh and Dave. ¡°Anything you say to Johan, we¡¯ll both eventually end up learning about,¡± said Dave, his casualness extending to selecting cheese and bread from the platter while he talked to one of such noble blood. ¡°And even though I will admit to an active dislike of you and your kind, I have enough nobility about myself to keep secrets secret. Unlike your type.¡± ¡°Do not paint all with the same brush, Dave,¡± said Johan. ¡°The blood of Dominion¡¯s chosen runs righteous and true. They are the best of us! You will see their goodness when we start adventuring. I guarantee it.¡± Johan felt his chest swell with sympathy for Dave and pride at what they were going to do together. ¡°I¡¯m sorry detective but what do you know of actual nobles?¡± asked Lady Reyer. ¡°Are you not new to the Byzasic Empire?¡± ¡°New and attacked by an aristocrat who¡¯d joined the Builder cult within my first minute here,¡± said Dave, popping a small square of cheese into his mouth with his usual, calm demeanour. ¡°It was Betrayal Day, Lady Reyer. The very day he arrived in these lands,¡± said Johan. ¡°You can¡¯t seriously be -¡± ¡°Before you think that I¡¯m mixing up your peers and the Builder cult,¡± said Dave in a deadly serious tone. ¡°The first non-Builder cult aristocrat I met was Ross Geller. Who convicted me at a glance of ¡®poaching¡¯ ¡®his¡¯ monsters and demanded I kiss his boots before attempting to arrest me. I had to flee for my life.¡± Dave locked eyes with Lady Reyer. ¡°Oh,¡± she said simply. ¡°And then I was kidnapped by Lady Geller, who almost killed me because I was unlucky enough to meet her son before he died, then I came here and experienced the scheming and dishonourable conduct of the tournament.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean -¡± ¡°What I am asking of you, Lady Reyer,¡± said Dave raising a hand to ward off her protestations, ¡°is to understand my dislike of nobility ought to be natural given my experiences.¡± ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t know,¡± said Lady Reyer. ¡°That¡¯s quite a list, detective.¡± ¡°And now you do know,¡± said Dave. ¡°And, for those willing to listen, my patience was always available, as is my discretion. Now, do tell us why you came here, Lady Reyer. Please.¡± Dave gave the first smile Johan had seen him give Lady Reyer and beamed encouragingly at her himself. She took a moment to collect herself, straightened her back and addressed everyone at the table. ¡°Mister Schmidt, during the award ceremony we were talking and you promised that someday we would go adventuring together.¡± Dave lowered a piece of bread he was raising to his lips, slumped his shoulders and started draining his beer stein instead. ¡°I do remember that, Lady Reyer,¡± said Johan, smiling that someone so high would remember what he¡¯d said. ¡°May I -¡± ¡°You¡¯re in,¡± said Dave, as though in defeat. His calm, nonchalance extended to refilling his stein from a large pitcher. ¡°On the condition you put aside nobility, peerage, bloodlines and all of that nonsense while you¡¯re with us.¡± ¡°I had actually hoped to travel incognito,¡± admitted Lady Reyer, surprise slipping through her controlled demeanour. ¡°A great day for the gods delivering unexpected good news,¡± said Hugh, giving the table his whiskery smile. ¡°Johan you soothsayer.¡± Johan chuckled and even Lady Reyer allowed herself a small smile at the unexpected convenience of the outcome. Dave just sighed heavily and looked at Lady Reyer and shot her a question. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose it¡¯d be too much to ask the gods¡¯ latest gift to the team if you can help us leave the city without getting mugged by the peerage?¡±
Madeline checked her timepiece. Three minutes until the hour. Time to go. She stood from her desk, picked up the file marked ¡®Dave Booker¡¯, quickly went over her notes and portaled to the maintenance airfield outside Oullins. ¡°Good to see you, Brisset,¡± said Booker with a functional nod. She liked that about him. Functional. Someone who could make things happen. People like that were hard to get and she felt good about getting some Remore hooks in this one. They walked a short distance to a meeting room that Booker had commandeered from some airship engineers. ¡°Pleasantries?¡± asked Booker, holding up a piece of paper that had a list of various sweet biscuits, pastries and drinks on it. ¡°No,¡± said Madeline. She liked that he only attempted to ply her with pleasant distractions as an option and took the refusal with a neutral acceptance. He was just so¡­ functional. ¡°Then let¡¯s get started,¡± said Booker. ¡°Where are we on the Geller front?¡± ¡°She is incessant with rage. I have negotiated something of an agreement with Franchet that will function like what you call a restraining order on her,¡± said Madeline. ¡°He has forbidden her from engaging with anybody associated with her son¡¯s death. My sources tell me that you are not the only one who has been brought before her against their will and my feeling is that my pressure merely gave the baron an excuse to act.¡± Madeline didn¡¯t normally like to bring speculations to a fresh iron ranker but she judged that Booker was sensible enough to realise he shouldn¡¯t act on higher ranked business. ¡°Franchet also met with several Adventure Society officials and word is that he¡¯s asking them to crack down on procedural indiscretions. Specifically, things like telling concerned parents where their children are adventuring.¡± ¡°Oh, I see,¡± said Booker, nodding. ¡°If they can¡¯t tell Lady Whatsherface where her little darling is, they¡¯ll know for sure they can¡¯t tell Geller where I am.¡± He clenched his jaw for a moment. ¡°Good for me but will probably make her even more mad. Do you think she¡¯s becoming crazed in her grief?¡± ¡°I do,¡± said Brisset, glad Booker had taken the right meaning from the news. ¡°I was going to recommend active avoidance of Oullins and anywhere you hear of a Geller or anybody connected to them.¡± ¡°Noted. What with Hugh and Sam on the team, going into big cities will only be done with a disguise from now on,¡± said Booker. She could feel he had nothing more to say on the matter. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Onto the ship, the captain insists on a name for the vessel,¡± said Madeline. ¡°I made a list,¡± said Booker, reaching into his pocket and handing over a slip of paper. ¡°I like the top three; the Aeronaut, the Enterprise and the Flying Vitesseman but I think he¡¯ll like the last one the most.¡± Brisset looked at the last entry. ¡°The Second Wind,¡± said Brisset. She smiled. ¡°It fits.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s almost a shame,¡± said Booker in his more dry tone. ¡°Those other names would be a nice homage to some really inspirational ships back home.¡± ¡°Focus on the here and now,¡± advised Madeline. ¡°It¡¯s your ship but it¡¯s the crew¡¯s life. Buy a pleasure craft when you hit silver and name it whatever you want.¡± ¡°Good idea!¡± said Booker, clearly filing her half-sardonic idea away for later. ¡°How are we doing for crew?¡± ¡°Crew of fifteen. A mixture of young engineers, old hands and the only mate who still wanted to work with Captain Dimont.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the one who remembers him when he was young?¡± ¡°Correct.¡± ¡°How¡¯s the ship been flying?¡± ¡°Well enough, after you told Dimont to stop shouting at the engineers.¡± ¡°He¡¯s still shouting at the mate, isn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°He shouts at her on principle.¡± Dave nodded. She was the one who¡¯d taken the blame for the enchanted tattoo across Dimont¡¯s back that made alcohol the wearer drank taste like rancid milk and then made them vomit. ¡°Well, the resentment of his crew is an issue but at least he¡¯s on board with the ship being a dry ship. I¡¯d want the ship dry no matter who was captain but I don¡¯t think anyone else would agree to it. Sailors just love their grog too much.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± said Madeline. ¡°You¡¯ve read the personnel reports?¡± ¡°Yes, and I agree with your assessment. The crew is likely to get along even though there¡¯s potential for them leaning into an engineers against deckhands dynamic. I think I¡¯ll try to keep them all focused on the idea of an experimental ship and we¡¯re all figuring things out together.¡± Madeline paused for long enough to allow Dave to keep speaking. He merely gave a slight nod. She continued onto the next topic. ¡°Hydrogen generation is proceeding as planned. Costs are already down to lessers on the irons. Did you go over the plans?¡± ¡°Yes, seems fine. Those interconnected meshes will increase the surface area nicely. I reckon that whole project is underway properly. Did you make any headway on galvanisation?¡± ¡°None, I¡¯m afraid. Still full of impurities.¡± ¡°Sorry, I can¡¯t remember more. I know it uses lye and another sodium-based chemical in the solute. Oh, and about electromagnets. I completely forget how they¡¯re supposed to make electricity. I know it has something to do with moving magnets near copper coils with an electrical current.¡± Dave sighed and clenched his jaw in frustration at his inability to remember the most simple things about basic physics and chemistry. It was so frustrating. Give him a modern laboratory with a shelf full of chemicals, centrifuges, fume hood, various fridges, incubators, multiple samples of human cell lines and double-distilled water on tap and he could investigate which chemicals would cure any disease you could throw at him. It was amazing how useless he felt without all of that modern infrastructure that his previous job had been built on. ¡°Anything else?¡± asked Madeline. It was a short meeting. They¡¯d just about got Booker set up in this world. She¡¯d be setting him free to go adventuring soon. ¡°Will Miss Lane have any trouble setting up a materials research company?¡± ¡°I can only guess what that is so I¡¯m going to guess; no. Why?¡± ¡°Oh, I secured funding for one from the Paternosters in exchange for some heirlooms. Yeah, I¡¯m thinking of looking for this stuff called bauxite. Really good metal to work with back home.¡± ¡°I shall look forward to seeing it discovered here. Onto the next point; Master Remore would like the following items identified.¡± Madeline lay several items on the table from her pocket. ¡°Oh, yeah. No problems!¡± Booker began touching each item in turn, interacting with his outworlder racial that overlayed his sight and then using his abilities to print the results onto leafs of paper he brought from his inventory. ¡°Out of my own interest,¡± said Madeline. ¡°Is that the Reyer child I saw on my way in?¡± ¡°Yep!¡± said Booker between concentrating on abilities. ¡°She joined us recently in response to Johan being a good, polite boy.¡± His face twisted slightly. ¡°I figured she¡¯s spying on us or something, but I don¡¯t think we¡¯re going to do anything worth spying on. Just completing contracts. And, we really need someone with adventuring experience as well as another damage dealer. She fits the bill perfectly so I snapped her up when she asked. You know anything?¡± ¡°Word is she had an argument with her father at the victory ball.¡± ¡°Ah, running away from daddy then? Not spying? Nevermind. Could be a bit of both. Running away and spying? Or whatever. I¡¯ll let her tell me when she wants me to know.¡± ¡°You might make an enemy of her father.¡± ¡°Good point. I¡¯ll try and make sure that me and my team are positioned as merely the transport she used to run away. Thanks.¡± He finished up in a few more moments and gestured at the table in general. Madeline took the items back into her inventory. ¡°You¡¯re welcome, Booker. Until our next meeting.¡± ¡°To confirm, that¡¯s the 24th, right? Just before the Adventure Society intake?¡± ¡°Correct.¡± ¡°Until then, Brisset.¡± He offered a hand which she shook and then left. It felt cordial. Madeline hadn¡¯t told him about the academy already experimenting with the compressed hydrogen and oxygen gases to project burning naptha in a destructive fireball that seared the skin from yards away. She wondered if she should.
Hugh led them to the market district of Chaponost with his own quest ability. The town on the outskirts had a large aquaduct-side set of stalls to walk past with a charming selection of all shops down aqueduct lane, as it was called. It reminded him of visiting Heidelberg markets as a student. The region was florally picturesque and there were historic buildings - well, constructions - to gaze upon. Sam was a source of vicarious enjoyment on the expedition. It was two days after the tournament but Dimont and the other aeronaughts on the Second Wind had assured her that Chaponost was well away from anybody¡¯s route. Her isolation from the last two years had been hard on her so travelling around the outlying towns of Oullins for the last week had been healing for her. She loved being with people and was happily flitting from one stall to the next, eating street food and staring at the goods on display. Brisset had sent Sam advice about what to look for when it came to buying some comfortable, fashionable clothes but first they were going to the armourer she recommended. Daviau Journeyman Armoured Supplies. Philip Daviau was still working towards his mastery of smithing and, while improving his skills, maintained a good business of banging out affordable, solid pieces suitable for house guards and budget iron rankers but mostly, they were going there because Dave had heard there was a young but talented and eccentric apprentice enchanter who had a specialty for changing the magical properties of equipment without losing much potency in the item. What Dave knew of enchanting could be summarised on a single sheet of paper but he understood that changing the enchantments of an item was basically similar to bleaching your hair and re-dying it; it was very easy to lose quality and very hard to keep it a hundred percent. Hugh pointed out the place as their enjoyable market stroll came to it. Hugh and Johan, not needing armour, planned to drop Sam and Dave off and go browsing the weapons displays and note anything that looked promising and so, the group split with waves goodbye and the pair strolled into the open air armour shop. ¡°Good morning, mister and miss! How can we help you?¡± asked a man who was bashing holes in some leather strips but put down his tools, wiped his hands on a clean cloth and walked over with a hand extended. ¡°Philip Daviau, are you interested in my display pieces? An order? Or, something else I can help you with?¡± Sam took his hand and shook it gently, smiling up at him with her most winning smile. ¡°Good morning, mister Daviau! I¡¯m Samorn Khantong. I need five sets of plate suitable for humanoid summons. Here is their padding layer, if it helps!¡± Sam took an extremely thick example of under armour padding designed to fit over her skeletons and held it up in front of the armourer. ¡°Humanoid summons?¡± probed Daviau. Sam hesitated. She was terrible at lying. Even when she practised. ¡°They¡¯re a pixelax variant. They have a ribcage made of twigs and look pretty creepy so we¡¯re covering them completely. They fit inside these padded clothes pretty good so, basically, armour for a really skinny person, these dimensions and you¡¯re set,¡± lied Dave. Sam nodded and smiled in confirmation at Daviau. ¡°Perhaps it would be easier if you just summoned the creatures?¡± offered Daviau. ¡°I can¡¯t! They would be very expensive to summon here,¡± said Sam without a lie. It might cost her life. Daviau and Sam started talking about armour details, drawing a few pictures and talking about materials while Dave browsed the gear on display, looking at the minor magical effects he could see. He summoned Tome to his hands and started taking notes. ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡± said a brown-haired man who looked like he was trying out for the unremarkable person olympics. Dave gazed at him like he was a work of art. It was like meeting a TV background extra in real life. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Mister, but you look like you are trying to steal trade secrets and if you are please don¡¯t but if you aren¡¯t I¡¯m sorry?¡± accused the man in the most placid manner possible. ¡°Oh? No! No. If I¡¯m stealing trade secrets then I want in on this trade and the secrets legitimately. Sorry, Dave Booker,¡± said Dave, holding out his hand. ¡°James James,¡± said James, flopping his hand at Dave¡¯s. Dave applied his poker face. ¡°What trade are we talking about, James?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Enchanting?¡± asked James. ¡°I feel like that shouldn¡¯t be a question?¡± asked Dave James shuddered in the manner of the socially awkward stuck in the no-man¡¯s-land of uncharted conversation. ¡°I feel like I should point out that I¡¯m from Ahitereiria,¡± said Dave. It was this plane¡¯s Australia continent except that here it was an inhospitable land with diamond rank background magic. It took powerful top, diamond rank adventurers to make colonies there but there were a few. Dave had checked. ¡°One of the bubble colonies? Oh, you must have seen so much magic!¡± said James, staring down the street with repressed excitement. ¡°Actually no!¡± said Dave glumly. ¡°Sorry to be a dampener but the community leaders kept us normal folk well away from all of that for, you know, obvious reasons considering the power there.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, that would make sense because it¡¯d be much easier to make a null zone than make it safe.¡± ¡°Yep! One teleportation accident later and here I am becoming an adventurer so, what about these enchantments? Never seen it been done myself.¡± ¡°Oh, enchanting is the best. I love enchanting because you can imbue magic into an item while it''s being made because if you do it which it''s made you can put it inside the item where it¡¯s more powerful so most magic item creators imbue in the making but they¡¯re limited to items that they can make but if you¡¯re an enchanter then the makers hire you to make all the items so it¡¯s better,¡± said James in one extremely long sentence to a chair leg near Dave without taking a breath. ¡°Enchanting is your favourite thing, isn¡¯t it?¡± said Dave with a grin. ¡°Yes! I love it! All the different things you can do! Did you know you can enchant flowers to sing just by growing them into the right pattern?¡± ¡°You mean by planting them in the right pattern or growing their stem in the right pattern?¡± James¡¯ eyes, staring at the aqueduct, lit up with happiness at the thought. ¡°I could do both, you know I could make them sing and be a mana lamp.¡± ¡°Wait, is that what you did here, on this piece?¡± said Dave, pointing at a breastplate. ¡°I thought I saw overlapping magic and couldn¡¯t figure it out but you put a different enchantment on each layer of the armour, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes! I was stuck doing the checker-pattern technique for years and managed that breakthrough last year but now the self-cleaning attribute is more efficient and the quintessence charge lasts four times longer.¡± ¡°Nice! Done anything with high tensile fabrics?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve used a bit of trap weaver silk but it¡¯s tricky to use but you can turn it into a fabric.¡± ¡°I have some trap blinder silk hanging around somewhere? Is that any good?¡± ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t stretch as well so I think it¡¯s used in glue.¡± ¡°Huh! Weird. It¡¯s not reconstituted into a different kind of fabric?¡± ¡°Maybe? I just do enchanting.¡± ¡°Fair enough. Where do you get most of your raw materials?¡± ¡°You need coin and quintessence for almost everything but the best stuff is actually if you can get good at breaking down items because you can more than double your profit on buying restricted essence kit.¡± ¡°Restricted essence kit?¡± ¡°Yes, people with looting powers sometimes get items that relate to abilities from restricted essences? Well, of course nobody wants to buy them. Even most enchanters don¡¯t want to be associated with them.¡± ¡°Afraid of some kind of taint?¡± ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s just superstition. You see, bad enchanters don¡¯t know how to separate the quintessence properly so they keep getting impure extractions but if you measure everything properly and draw the rituals properly it¡¯s easy and once you¡¯re good enough to do that you can extract all the quintessence instead of the half or three-quarters that the others get and then you¡¯re making heaps of coin just on breaking down stuff so you can do whatever you want for the rest of the day like make a new wand which I really want to do because I have a new idea for a wand.¡± ¡°So, if you¡¯re a good enchanter, you can buy restricted kit on the cheap and take all the magic out of it? And sell it at a good margin?¡± ¡°Or use it for your own enchanting for an even better margin, carry?¡± ¡°But, the enchanters who aren¡¯t that good can¡¯t extract all the magic from the items and leave a bit of evil behind?¡± ¡°Something like that, yeah, the process is called disenchanting and they get the solvent ratios wrong because they don¡¯t measure when the ambient mana is calm which means they sometimes get a bad reaction and extract the restricted quintessence instead which they think is bad luck but really it isn¡¯t because they did it wrong and if they wanted to not get restricted quintessence, which is actually restricted, only the essences are restricted but that¡¯s what it¡¯s called but if they actually wanted to extract the quintessence without a bad reaction they¡¯d just extract it all because they only get the bad reaction because they¡¯re trying to leave the restricted quintessence behind.¡± ¡°Sounds good. I¡¯ll remember that when I do my fist disenchanting,¡± grinned Dave. ¡°Really? You want to do enchanting? I can show you!¡± ¡°Woah, not yet, mate,¡± said Dave to a surprised face. He telekinetically brought a stylus to Tome hanging in the air. But definitely in the future. I¡¯ve got Eldritch Sight, a magic book for rituals, Tools Of The Magister and a personal dimensional space that is great for carrying stuff. Enchanting seems ideal, yeah?¡± ¡°Gods yes!¡± laughed James right at the table he was leaning on. ¡°Those are magical researcher abilities but aren¡¯t you an adventurer, though?¡± ¡°Yeah, me and Sam there. She¡¯s a healer-summoner and I¡¯m a booker. She solves most of the problems and I blast the ones she can¡¯t. Do you think you could enchant cheap-single use objects? Like a piece of wood where if you start falling for too long it slows your fall? ¡°Oh, yeah, easy because I wanted to make some wax seals that¡¯d make a loud noise when someone who wasn¡¯t supposed to touch it, touched it because I heard an adventurer complain that her teammate always opened the pay envelope while nobody was looking but the master said nobody would but anything like that so I did make it.¡± ¡°But how about a one-use item that¡¯d save someone from falling off a cliff?¡± ¡°Ha, yeah, I could do that, it¡¯d be really easy but I already know that adventurers already have slow fall belts so my master won¡¯t like it if I made them.¡± ¡°How do you like working here, James? Good place to learn? Lots of opportunities?¡± James shot a nervous glance at Daviau. ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± he said to his feet. Dave made up his mind in that instant. ¡°You¡¯ve been told your whole life to look people in the eye, haven¡¯t you?¡± said Dave. James quickly shot his eyes at Dave with a pained expression. ¡°I don¡¯t need you to look at me, I know it¡¯s difficult,¡± said Dave, staring down the street, away from James. ¡°It feels uncomfortable for you, doesn¡¯t it? And you don¡¯t know why. And you just want to be enchanting and talking about enchanting all day, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, I sure do think that¡¯d be really great,¡± said James with a huge smile across his face, looking towards the back door of the shop. ¡°Tell you what,¡± said Dave. ¡°I¡¯ve got a pretty big enchanting order and I want you to do it all, but I also want you to come with me on my flying ship. We¡¯re going to go over every town we can, buy all the restricted kit we can, turn it all into quintessence, make as many cool items as we can and I¡¯ll let you see how they work in combat. You want to come? You won¡¯t even have to look at anybody you don¡¯t want to?¡± ¡°Sweet gods, you¡¯d let me watch my own items working in combat? Oh, I really, really want that, sir!¡± said James, shivering with enthusiasm and inspecting the pencil he was holding really closely. ¡°Let me speak with Daviau,¡± said Dave. ¡°I¡¯ll figure something out. You can learn enchanting from a book, right?¡± James nodded at the wall beside Dave with a silly grin. ¡°Nice. No problems for your apprenticeship them. So, while I still know nothing, do you have any enchantment recommendations for a booker like me?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Oh, bookers are easy, yes! The mana surge enchantment. Gives a full mana pool on a long cooldown. Most people prefer a mana regen enchantment because at iron rank they¡¯ll get more after about six hours but as a booker, you want mana surge because you¡¯ll get an extra spell when you use it and it doesn¡¯t interfere with other mana regen buffs or potions so you can still use them to get an extra spell.¡± ¡°Nice. How much will that set me back?¡± ¡°Set you back?¡± ¡°Sorry. Saying where I¡¯m from. Set me back monetarily is what it means. The cost?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Never done one before,¡± said the awkward, bland man, focusing his eyes on the floor, looking for the centre of the planet. ¡°Well, let¡¯s put that at the start of our list of commissions, hey? Anyway, it seems like Sam and Daviau have figured out their details and I need to order some armour too.¡± Dave and James waited a few moments as Mister Daviau and Sam finalised her order and she pointed to Dave as the one holding the coin. ¡°Will that be all, Mister¡­?¡± asked Daviau. ¡°Booker,¡± said Dave. ¡°Oh! And you are a booker!¡± blurted out James. Daviau gave James a long-suffering look and James suddenly found one of the display pieces extremely interesting. ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± said Dave with a smile. ¡°Funny coincidence. I guess I must have an ancestor who worked in a library, hey?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t guess, Mister Booker,¡± said Daviau professionally. ¡°You will be making the purchase for Miss Khanthong?¡± ¡°She¡¯ll be making the purchase. I just carry her money,¡± said Dave with a nod. ¡°My personal inventory stacks coins.¡± ¡°Ah! Of course! The bonds of friendship bring trust, and trust brings convenience. You are happy with the estimate?¡± smiled the armourer displaying the quote he¡¯d written the price on. Five suits of rough but durable plate armour with a minor self-repairing enchantment. Individually cheap but all five added up to about the price of a single good suit of armour. Still, it was about what he expected. ¡°I¡¯d just like to add my own purchase. I need some armour.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have to be more specific than that! Unless you want to buy my entire stock. What kind of armour? How mobile are you? Any abilities to consider?¡± ¡°Fair enough!¡± said Dave with a self-deprecating grin. ¡°My mobility is mostly me riding around on a summoned horse, sorry, heidel or pini, and I¡¯m a booker with Tools Of The Magister, so mostly I shoot from well behind a guardian type.¡± ¡°Ah! From heidelback? You¡¯ll be wanting a look at the classic hunting armour,¡± drawled Daviau lazily, going over to a display piece and rapping his knuckles on it. ¡°A strong breastplate and helm with durable, reinforced clothing. The helms are over there. Many of the local nobility who enjoy hunting get essence powers that can be used while mounted and this is what they prefer.¡± ¡°Not for some stupid nobility reason is it?¡± asked Dave sceptically. ¡°Not at all, Mister Booker. Mounted hunting, which is how you are describing yourself, is easier when unencumbered by armour. So I am told.¡± ¡°May I?¡± asked Dave, indicating at the helms. ¡°By all means,¡± indicated Daviau. Dave picked up a helm and held it above the breastplate. It looked shockingly similar to a napoleonic-era cavalry set he¡¯d seen in London. He guessed that this plane of existence had developed a similar solution to the same kinds of cavalry problems in his home universe. ¡°Then I want the full mounted man¡¯s cuirass that¡¯ll keep anything out of my chest cavity. If that means adding a half-gorget or a placard then do it. And, can I have the helm without the crest and add a glass face-shield?¡± ¡°Of course, sir, what sort of visibility would you like on the helm?¡± ¡°Full visibility,¡± said Dave. ¡°A dome of shatter-proofed glass, like a normal person¡¯s version of what Abelard Perrot used recently in the local tournament.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t see it, sir,¡± said Daviau. ¡°Perhaps if you can explain.¡± ¡°Give me a minute, I can make a sketch of what I¡¯m thinking,¡± said Dave. Eventually, with Daviau¡¯s help, Dave ended up with a sketch on some scrap paper that looked to Dave like a Napoleonic dragoon helm with attachments inspired by motorcycle helmets and probably the armour from Halo. ¡°This is an interesting design, Mister Booker,¡± said Daviau. ¡°You reckon it¡¯ll work? In your professional opinion?¡± asked Dave. ¡°It will protect you, for sure! Most adventurers just use an open faced helm until they can afford something with a one-way invisibility enchantment but this item fills an interesting middle ground, sir. The magical glass will be the most expensive part since we don¡¯t want that shattering into your eyes but with a high collar on your clothing and this helm your vital organs will be very protected from any damage. May I ask why you made these design choices?¡± ¡°I have two healers on the team so, as long as those vital organs are working, I will live. That¡¯s why I want the chest completely covered. As for the helm, every moment I¡¯m not shooting my wand accurately is lost damage for my team so I want good visibility as well as something to stop mud, sweat or blood from getting into my eyes,¡± said Dave. ¡°That makes sense, Mister Booker. I have some suggestions for the design to better suit your purpose, if you will allow me, perhaps? Daviau took to the sketch and laid out some ideas for design changes and simple enchantments which Dave accepted. ¡°Now, for the main enchantments, do you have anything -¡± ¡°Mana surge for the cuirass and I believe that with an astral lantern familiar, burning eyes for the helm?¡± ¡°Perfect choices, both,¡± said Daviau, noting them down. ¡°Thank you, Mister Daviau. Now for one more thing, I¡¯d like to have James here as an in-house enchanter for my adventuring team. Now, I know it¡¯s unusual but James seems confident that he can turn a profit by disenchanting items and my team has access to some pretty fast transport so, my proposal is, you get a cut of the profit from his disenchanting, for the inconvenience of a missing apprentice and I get the rest. Besides, I¡¯ve met lads like him before and we both know he''ll be reading about enchanting all day so he won¡¯t really be delayed, will he?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve truly met people like him before?¡± said Daviau with interest. ¡°Yep!¡± said Dave lightly. ¡°Looks everywhere but at you when you¡¯re talking, hyper-fixates on doing things that don¡¯t matter, won¡¯t shut up about their special interest. Am I right?¡± Daviau glowered at James who paid special attention to a leather-working tool on the bench. ¡°In truth,¡± said Daviau quietly. ¡°He¡¯s here because Master Guillory couldn¡¯t stand trying to discipline him anymore. Guillory is a hard man who doesn¡¯t tolerate disrespect and James wouldn¡¯t look at him when talking to him.¡± Daviau shook his head. ¡°The poor boy ended up crying whenever the master came into the room. I brought him out here two years ago and he¡¯s stopped the rotten weeping but I still cannot coax him to behave like a proper man.¡± He sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t want him boxed about the head five times a day but my charity only reaches so far, Mister Booker.¡± ¡°He is behaving exactly as the gods intended him to,¡± said Dave, trying to keep a hard tone out of his voice. ¡°I know, Mister Booker, I know. The boy is touched by one of them, Knowledge knows which one, but with an apprenticeship it is the master¡¯s duty to make them a craftsman and if the boy cannot even look at a customer¡­¡± Daviau gestured hopelessly. ¡°Let me worry about that,¡± said Dave gently. ¡°After all, I¡¯ve known a few people like that. They¡¯re not like everyone else. Most of us know the direction of our craft and what society needs from us but the gods didn¡¯t give us the talent and motivation to be great. His kind, the gods have given ample talent and motivation but nothing else. They just need someone to help navigate other people.¡± ¡°Well, you speak like you already know him, I¡¯ll give you that,¡± said Daviau. ¡°But I am also responsible for the boy¡¯s good health. I cannot send him away unless I know he will be treated well.¡± ¡°When I return next week for the orders I will bring a friar of Knowledge who can speak to the boy''s health in my care, will that satisfy you?¡± ¡°The week? I don¡¯t work lazily, Mister Booker. Three days,¡± said Daviau. ¡°Bring your friar in three days as well as - boy! How much will Mister Booker¡¯s entire order cost?¡± Staring seriously at the floor, James shuffled over and handed over a boilerplate work order with the sums already done. ¡°Do you accept the price?¡± asked Daviau. Dave used Stop And Think with Epistemology to check. It was a little expensive but not by enough to bother an attempt at haggling. Dave figured, pay the man what he was worth and keep him happy. ¡°I do,¡± said Dave, signing at the bottom. Daviau also signed the sheet, went to the counter and used a non-magical machine to make a copy which he handed to Dave. ¡°It has been good working with you, Mister Booker. I look forward to seeing you in three days,¡± said Daviau, extending his hand. ¡°I¡¯ll be happy to see you then too, Mister Daviau,¡± said Dave, shaking his hand. ¡°See you then, James! Thanks for the talk.¡± Dave waved at James which was returned in the confused manner of someone used to being ignored. When they were out of the shop, Sam turned to Dave. ¡°I thought you were just going to order enchantments from him?¡± ¡°That was before I met James, Sam,¡± said Dave. ¡°He¡¯s having a horrible time. I think he¡¯s autistic which isn¡¯t accepted well in any society, let alone this one, which is annoying for James because what he has isn¡¯t a sickness. He just likes different things to the rest of us.¡± ¡°Did he tell you life story?¡± asked Sam, confused. ¡°No, he just talked about enchantments.¡± ¡°Enchanting? Is really difficult magic!¡± ¡°Apparently so but with him around, we have a good excuse to buy every restricted item we find in all the markets,¡± grinned Dave. ¡°And just hand off the best ones to you.¡± Sam¡¯s eyes went wide and her grin lit up as she laughed. ¡°Dave? Really?¡± ¡°Sure! As well as a good cover for buying your stuff, enchanting actually seems pretty cool. Expensive to pursue but a good way to get the exact items I want for myself, right?¡± ¡°But it¡¯s very hard and very expensive!¡± ¡°We¡¯re rich as hell right now and James is a talent who can turn a profit with disenchanting so we can handle difficult and expensive. Besides, with a lack of competition for death essence items, you¡¯ll probably end up with some really powerful ones for disenchantment scrap prices.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± said Sam, smiling happily up at Dave. ¡°I didn¡¯t think of that!¡± ¡°I¡¯m rather counting on it,¡± said Dave. ¡°Since I¡¯m going to be really item dependent to remain relevant in combat so mine are going to be really expensive.¡± ¡°Is fine!¡± said Sam with her sympathetic smile. ¡°You are strong in your own way.¡± ¡°Yeah, true,¡± said Dave slyly. ¡°But, I might try to buy a few other ways to be strong if I can.¡± Sam laughed. ¡°Why did you pick armour enchantment today?¡± ¡°I asked James what I should buy and he told me.¡± ¡°Dave, you shouldn¡¯t trust the people in the store like that!¡± ¡°Did James really look like a salesman to you, Sam?¡± Sam hid her guilty smile with her hand and shook her head. Dave grinned back. ¡°He¡¯s just a shy geek who wants to share his knowledge to anybody who¡¯ll listen. I guarantee he knows the name of every enchantment in the books he can get his hands on.¡± ¡°What¡¯s a geek?¡± ¡°Someone whose head lives inside books more than anywhere else.¡± Sam turned this information over in her mind for a few moments and then turned her happiest grin back to Dave. ¡°Dave you are a geek!¡± said Sam and laughed with her hand over her mouth.
With days to spare before the Adventure Society trials, Executive Services, figured it was best to go through Dave¡¯s backlog of quests in the Oullins area. He¡¯d already completed Dominion¡¯s quest: Making A Magnate the moment he stepped on board the Second Wind as its owner, having technically hired the entire crew as employees in that moment. Dave was a little surprised as the amount of business he was making in this reality but figured that it was probably easier for him to see gaps in the market, having come from a capitalist society into this feudal one. Doing one last big shop in the city, Dave and Hugh investigated Dapcher Orphanage in Oullins for signs of exploitation. Turn out, no signs of exploitation, just a big kid that the warden couldn¡¯t. Hitting the other kids, stealing food, and such. The quest was already complete but the orphanage had Dave and Hugh feeling charitable so they did all the kids a favour and dropped their bully off at a mill where there were five older, stronger children. Dave wished the smelly, little bastard luck before he left. While they were there in the city, Dave and Hugh cleared out the Mine Monsters quest over lunch. Turns out ¡®The Mine¡¯ is a popular bar in the Monluc area of Oullins and the monsters were just stone chewer rats. Dave looked them up in the Adventure Society living monster list which said they were dangerous enough if there was a rat king but, there wasn¡¯t. Another quest down, coins in the bag, they both moved on. They moved onto the kidnapped kid quest, Rescue Lucas¡¯s Daughter, because it seemed time sensitive so, the same day they left the city. Dave and Hugh reunited with Sam, Johan and Avril aboard the Second Wind and got themselves dropped off at the quest markers that popped up while flying over the indicated forest on Dave¡¯s map. They discovered that the ¡®gang¡¯ that¡¯d kidnapped Sarah Lucas was an awkward bunch of local boys who had a cubby house in the forest. Little Sarah Lucas had run away from home and was sulkily living in their cubby house. She was cold and hungry so Johan easily talked her into letting us fly her home. Quest done. The next day, they started with the quest to gather rare herbs from the dangerous swamp. Turns out, the herbs were for a poultice to ward off a rare, magic resistant STI. Hence the quest name; Embarrassing Request. And, the dangerous swamp? Dangerous because of a magical plant monster with a paralytic toxin. Obviously, a paralytic and a swamp at the same time is dangerous but when you can have Johan, who has Tough As Old Boots, jump off from an airship right on top of a quest marker, it really minimises the issue. Dave harvested a few of the plants for study before they left. The team had hoped that the Ancient Ruins Exploration quest would get exciting but, actually, the ruins were just the ancient remains of some kind of experimental house that was also a work of art. Or, something like that. None of them paid that much attention to researching the quest. The ruins could rearrange themselves and the Magic Society would periodically send someone out to just check that the magics there weren¡¯t arranging themselves into an array and building up any unusual charge. They weren¡¯t. Quest done. With all the local quests done in only two days, the team flew back to Chaponost at a leisurely pace. Hugh floated the idea of heading back into the city to pick up new quests but agreed with the negative consensus in the end. The team had everything they needed and everyone had a reason to keep a low profile in society, what with Builder cultists after Hugh and Dave and aristocrats after Johan and Avril. Captain Dimont was happy to fly the team back to Chaponost in a large radius around the city, all the while dropping in on any building they passed that looked like it needed the snow pushed off it. Good practice for standing lookout, he said. Mid afternoon in the cold of the winter and the Second Wind¡¯s altitude, the team arrived in Chaponost. Without fuss they paid for their armour and had a long discussion with James James¡¯ master, who¡¯d come out to see him off out of a sense of professional obligation. He seemed a rough old sort who had treated James badly out of sheer frustration of what else to do. Dave rather pitied the man¡¯s lack of imagination but was still glad to be taking James away from him. The master seemed happy enough to let James go once Hugh had made promises that James would continue his education and showed that they¡¯d already purchased James some of the more common enchantment manuals. The old bastard was really only afraid for his reputation and didn¡¯t want an apprentice who didn¡¯t progress to journeyman tarnishing his ¡®good name¡¯. Dave had plans for that, though. For now though, Dave set James up on board with a workspace and got back in the air. James spent the entire first day aboard looking for what he thought must be the hidden flight mechanisms and going over the minor enchantments on the gas envelope. The entire thing. He checked the entire envelope for enchantment integrity. It took him all day but he seemed happy to do it. Sam kept an eye on him to make sure he didn¡¯t distractedly undo his safety clips and fall. The team spent another four days aloft just flying around, helping people clear snow from their barns and just getting used to life on board the Second Wind until, under Her guidance, Hugh pointed them to a little village called Domarin where they¡¯d wait for the caravan of Adventure Society aspirants.
¡°Of course, Johan put the armour on as soon as he could. Started the old-fashioned way until I reminded him about the auto-donning feature. Big mistake. The chest plate hit him like a battering ram, the gauntlets latched on like bear traps, and the helmet? Oh, the helmet rocketed at his neck. It didn¡¯t just aim for his head¡ªit tried to debride his skull on the way up, scraping like it was removing rust. He was gasping and crying out, but it all happened so fast, none of us knew what to do. Years later, I met the Forge-Master who made it. By then, I¡¯d figured out the issue: they¡¯d built the auto-donning feature based on the their own measurements. When I pointed that out? They nearly lost it¡ªdenied it, insisted it was user error. Nutcase said it with a straight face. Proof that rank doesn¡¯t equate to intelligence. Anyway, Johan decided to stick with putting the armour on the normal way after that.¡±
  • Excerpt from The Booker Interviews, 2686th year of His Majesty Byzas The Great¡¯s rule.
Chapter 37: Abilities And Life
Current Quests
Justice For Courbefy: Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use¡­ Chosen Of Knowledge: Escort Hugh on his journey to becoming a fully awakened iron¡­ Chosen Of Hero: Escort Johan on his journey to joining the Adventure Society. Making A Magnate: Dominion wants you to hire at least two employees to expand your¡­ Healer¡¯s Materials: Gain Healer¡¯s favour by donating alchemy ingredients to the church¡­ Abel¡¯s Mace: Return Brother Abel¡¯s missing mace to the church of Soldier. He was last¡­ Lost Treasure Map: Find and return an old treasure map stolen from, Marielle Lecuyer¡­ Wolf Menace: Hunt down a pack of mischievous foxes terrorising the livestock of Villars. Haunted Mill: Investigate the abandoned mill outside Limony that''s said to be haunted¡­ Merchant Escort: Safely escort a merchant caravan through bard-infested woods to¡­ Missing Scout: Locate and rescue a missing scout who was last seen investigating¡­ Bridge Repair: Collect and deliver materials needed to repair a bridge that connects two¡­ UnKill Streak 5: Complete a five day streak of not killing anybody! Potion of Prosperity Delivery: Deliver a potion of prosperity to the midwife in Houlbec. Merchant''s Goods Recovery: Recover stolen goods in Confolens from the bandits that...
Ability: Teleport Ally
Essence: Adept Rank: Iron 0 11% to iron 1 Awakening Stone: Dimension
Type: Spell Tags: Dimension, Teleport Cost: Medium mana
Cooldown: 20 seconds
Description Teleport an ally you can touch.
Detailed Information
From the won awakening stones, Hugh had gotten some new abilities. Of this particular ability, Hugh had thought he¡¯d be using it to teleport allies in and out of danger. While he expected Dave to come up with a wild idea or two about how to use it, he wasn¡¯t expecting what Dave called an ¡®artillery barrage¡¯. ¡°Yeah, teleportation. It¡¯s just super accurate artillery, right?¡± said Dave. ¡°Since you can just teleport something that an ally is holding and Johan can easily hold a hundred kilos or so, then together, you two together can put a hundred kilos of explosives anywhere within two kilometres every twenty seconds.¡± Dave looked around at the carefully expressionless faces of his friends. Except for Sam who was smiling with sympathy. The moons shifted rapidly across the daytime sky. ¡°That seems very destructive,¡± said Avril, carefully. ¡°It¡¯s supposed to be,¡± said Dave. ¡°Putting destructive stuff next to my enemies. I like that.¡± ¡°What about levelling up your skills?¡± said Avril, insistent. ¡°You need to challenge yourself to rank up.¡± ¡°Win first!¡± squeaked Sam, happily. ¡°Skills later!¡± Avril looked confused. ¡°Ahh, perhaps I could lend some clarity,¡± waffled Hugh through his beard. ¡°You will have been taught, of course, the primacy of levelling abilities?¡± Avril nodded. ¡°You need to rank up to maintain the honour of the family and protect the grounds during the monster surge,¡± said Avril. ¡°Dave believes that putting progression first, as you¡¯ve been educated your whole life, kills more adventurers than it¡¯s worth.¡± ¡°But¡­ a bronze rank adventurer is worth ten or more iron ranked -¡± ¡°Those numbers are exactly my point,¡± said Dave. ¡°Why not go into the monster surge with ten or more iron ranked adventurers instead of one bronze ranked adventurer?¡± He raised his eyebrows to Avril in challenge. ¡°As you said, together they¡¯re worth a bronze and the best part is that you don¡¯t have to tell any mums and dads about their little baby being ripped apart by ogres in the years leading up. We all win.¡± ¡°But they¡¯re not as good,¡± insisted Avril. ¡°The lower ranked are too easily overwhelmed. I¡¯m sorry Dave, but you don¡¯t understand. This is something that you need a proper education about.¡± ¡°Oh, I know it, Avril,¡± said Dave. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m coming up with these little tricks in scavenged mirage chamber time while the crystals are undergoing quality control testing!¡± It briefly rained custard. ¡°These little tricks will have to be better,¡± remarked Avril. ¡°They will be,¡± breathed Sam with her supportive smile. ¡°Remember when you think falling paper will not be so good?¡± Avril¡¯s face twitched at the same time as a pine forest populated itself over distant hills that hadn¡¯t been there five minutes ago. A long row of barns filled with barrels of the strangest substances had manifested at some point in the last hour and Dave had announced he¡¯d use them as target practice. Avril had scoffed and bet that his ¡®soft, paper creations¡¯ wouldn¡¯t break even one. The earth-heaving destruction of the first barn under the meteoric impact of a three ton three dart of falling, compressed paper from a mile up had been terrifying. ¡°Ah. Yes,¡± said Avril. ¡°Then, I will withhold judgement until the final build but you¡¯re definitely going to need a faster explosion.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s easily done,¡± said Hugh with his characteristic whiskery smile. ¡°He could use one of those common anti-theft formations to set off the explosion.¡± ¡°...The ones that go eek?¡± ¡°Ah, yes. Except they won¡¯t be eek, they¡¯ll be going kaboom.¡± ¡°And the explosions will be bigger,¡± said Dave. ¡°These are just fireballs. Liquid explosions. I¡¯m going to get some dynamite.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± asked Avril. ¡°Something my university flatmate wrote an assignment about but shouldn¡¯t have,¡± said Dave, pulling a funny face. ¡°It explodes properly, ripping through stuff with a shockwave.¡± ¡°What¡¯s a shockwave?¡± asked Sam, all innocence. ¡°I can¡¯t say exactly, not my field,¡± said Dave to the faces of his friends who were increasingly concerned. ¡°It¡¯s like a ripple in the air that can shatter glass or, if powerful enough, shatter humans. A bit like resonating force magic except natural.¡± Avril shuddered. ¡°It sounds mighty, Dave,¡± said Johan with his confident smile. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see one!¡± ¡°I can wait,¡± quipped Avril. ¡°Come now,¡± said Johan, all heart. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to see powerful weapons such as what Dave describes holding back the worst of the monster attacks on our strongholds? Think how many lives could be saved?¡± A snow covered cottage manifested a small distance behind Avril. ¡°Ahh, but that¡¯s not how she¡¯s been trained to think,¡± said Dave, a cunning smirk on his lips. ¡°She¡¯s a nob. She¡¯s imagining the weapons I¡¯m trialling and my ambitions to make them more efficient being used on her familial house and it makes her uncomfortable because she knows her father¡¯s enemies would do that if they could.¡± Avrils eyes widened and her face lost all emotion. ¡°You can stop the aura defences,¡± said Dave, rolling his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not reading you. You¡¯re just not unique. You¡¯re exactly like every other ulta-rich person I¡¯ve ever met. Secretly terrified that your rivals will do to you what you¡¯re happy to do to them.¡± ¡°How dare y-¡± Avril stopped at his condescending raised eyebrow. She looked around at the rest of the team who were looking askance at her and she inwardly cursed. She¡¯d done it again. Hugh had been very patient, explaining everything to her these last weeks. Explained things such as, phrases like ¡®how dare you¡¯ were nothing more than proof that the speaker was wrong, the common folk knew it, they always had, and only obeyed after it was uttered because of the implied violence the nobles like her would bring if they didn¡¯t. She¡¯d always been told that it was her noble birth that was being respected by the commoners whose dull minds would forget and need reminding. ¡°I take it back,¡± said Avril calmly, ¡°But I resent the implication that my family is inherently evil.¡± ¡°Indeed, I feel like she has a point there,¡± said Hugh, casting his whiskery smile from Avril to Dave. ¡°Yes! Avril is good Dave,¡± opined Sam lightly, sending Avril a relieved smile. ¡°She¡¯s displaying remarkable restraint,¡± said Dave who proceeded to bow. ¡°I shall recant my insult and have it refashioned more carefully, under your guidance Avril, so as to only include those deserving of it.¡± ¡°Teamwork makes the dreamwork,¡± said Avril, smirking as she took one of his phrases for herself. ¡°In that spirit,¡± said Hugh, ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you have any ideas, Avril? About the teleport?¡± ¡°I do actually,¡± she said.
The team spent the next ten minutes finding every large object they could in the farmyard that¡¯d been manifested around them halfway through the time in the mirage chamber. After they¡¯d filled up the bulk storage jar that Dave had mysteriously acquired with the objects, the jar was handed to Johan who was teleported straight up about four hundred yards. Under the influence of his slow fall belt, he began drifting down slowly and hurling the contents of the jar at targets they¡¯d drawn in the grass. ¡°Nah, Avril, this is working pretty good,¡± said Dave, shading his eyes against the now erratic sun, following the arc of a barrel of - apparently - butter as it cratered onto one of the target sites. ¡°The plough worked better than I thought it would¡¯ve,¡± remarked Avril. ¡°It exploded!¡± interjected Sam happily. ¡°I can only suppose there was some tension in the parts holding the blade,¡± muttered Hugh. ¡°Must¡¯ve been,¡± said Dave. ¡°Was that a barrel of flour?¡± asked Avril, indicating the latest impact. It¡¯d landed over the butter area. ¡°That or some really white sawdust,¡± muttered Dave, peering at the pale dust cloud with his friends. ¡°Just need milk and eggs,¡± smiled Sam. The team chuckled and slapped Sam on the back who was grinning proudly at her joke. A pine forest in the distance caught on fire sending up a plume of grey smoke to the east. ¡°Hello, there¡¯s your oven,¡± chuckled Hugh. The laughter redoubled for a moment. Johan soon landed among them and Dave manifested Tome then floated some pens into position, waving his friend''s to come together. ¡°Okay, we¡¯ve done teleport Johan while he¡¯s charging, Avril while she¡¯s charging and teleport Johan while swinging but the conclusion is that we¡¯re better off teleporting someone who doesn¡¯t get the astral sickness, right?¡± asked Dave, going over entries in Tome. ¡°Nausea before battle is dreadful,¡± said Johan sadly. Avril nodded earnestly. ¡°So, maybe teleport me to a good shooting position or Hugh teleports himself in is the best option?¡± ¡°Best option is going to be objects,¡± said Avril, causing some raised eyebrows. ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand me, I don¡¯t see it as a killing strategy like you describe, Dave, but having a weighted net teleported over me right before receiving Johan¡¯s charge would be most disruptive.¡± ¡°Good feedback, good feedback,¡± said Dave, writing it down. Suddenly, Dave¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Avril, what about sneezing powder?¡± Avril¡¯s eyes went wide with the same gleam. ¡°Oh, that would be so - Oh, but it¡¯d affect us - No, wait. Johan has that air filter. So do you!¡± She looked at Dave with a wide grin. ¡°Maybe we all get air filters?¡± asked Sam, smiling up at her friends. ¡°Maybe we do,¡± said Avril, nodding her head sagely. ¡°Well, it¡¯s down as an idea,¡± said Dave, his pens scratching along Tome. ¡°What of the other things we tried?¡± ¡°Well, I say the falling bundles of arrows was better than falling rocks,¡± said Hugh, gesturing to their impact zone. ¡°But like Avril said, if we can¡¯t get the timing right we¡¯ll never hit anything moving.¡± ¡°Good enough for attacking a bandit encampment, though?¡± inquired Dave, his pen hovering. ¡°Oh, indeed.¡± ¡°Definitely.¡± ¡°I think so!¡± Johan just nodded grimly. ¡°And opinions on the ¡®Johan tossing farm equipment at everyone¡¯ strategy?¡± asked Dave. ¡°Oh, simply the best.¡± ¡°Devastating.¡± ¡°I like it!¡± ¡°It is a mighty thing!¡± ¡°Might good, mighty good,¡± quipped Dave cheekily as he wrote down a positive response. ¡°So, ideas for future tests are bombs that scatter alchemical powders or objects that¡¯ll shatter like that plough and send metal blades scattering in every direction? And perhaps an upgrade to the falling arrows. Perhaps some light javelins or plumbata?¡± Everyone nodded. ¡°How would any of you feel about large, falling darts that also scatter alchemical powders or scything blades from their shafts?¡± ¡°We¡¯d feel like we¡¯re a bit worried about your violent imagination,¡± said Avril. ¡°But go on and do it if you¡¯re determined to chill us in our nightmares.¡± ¡°If it will keep my family safe, I will suffer the nightmares,¡± said Johan, exuding bravery. Dave shook his head in amusement. ¡°You people can look at someone shooting flames out of their hands like it¡¯s normal but kinetic bombardment makes you uncomfortable,¡± said Dave. ¡°It¡¯s the lack of magic,¡± said Avril, wincing. ¡°It¡¯s abnormal. It shouldn¡¯t work that way. Things aren¡¯t supposed to just fall out of the sky and kill you like that.¡± Dave shook his head in disbelief. ¡°Alright, time to play with your next ability then, Hugh.¡±
Ability: Free Ally
Essence: Life Rank: Iron 0 8% to iron 1 Awakening Stone: Liberty
Type: Special ability Tags: Recovery, movement. Cost: Low mana
Cooldown: 20 seconds
Description Removes any effect that impedes an ally¡¯s movement for the next few seconds.
Detailed Information
Even Dave struggled to find alternative uses for Free Ally. But, he got there. ¡°Well, the most notable thing about the ability is that with good aura control, which you have, you can ¡®friend¡¯ a foe and cast it on them which normally wouldn¡¯t be useful.¡± Avril, Hugh, Johan, Sam and Tzu were looking with interest at a large diagram Dave was pointing at while he explained. There was a stick figure labelled ¡®Johan¡¯ holding his sword and shield next to a barn. ¡°You see, it¡¯s that old nugget about the essentialism of the object,¡± continued Dave. ¡°Basically, if you¡¯re holding something comfortably in your hand or just having it about yourself, magically it counts as yours - part of the magical object that is the individual who is you.¡± Dave circled the sword and shield and drew lines from them that converged to where he wrote ¡®also Johan¡¯. ¡°But, if it suddenly becomes attached to another object that you can¡¯t control, that relationship is disrupted.¡± Dave carefully folded the paper so that the shield touched the wall of the barn. ¡°That particular object is no longer part of the magical object that is you.¡± Dave waved his hand over the line from the shield to ¡®also Johan¡¯, erasing it and drew a new line to where he wrote ¡®barn¡¯. ¡°Therefore,¡± concluded Dave. ¡°Free Ally can be used as a disarm, maybe even a disrobe, spell if we can attach a very large object to another object that our enemies are holding.¡± ¡°Except, how do we do that?¡± asked Avril, biting her lip below her furrowed brow. ¡°Well, I suppose there¡¯s various ways,¡± muttered Hugh. ¡°King¡¯s glue would work, of course.¡± ¡°How you going to convince someone mid-battle to cover their own shield in king¡¯s glue?¡± said Avril, still sceptical. ¡°We put the glue on a large weight,¡± said Dave, ¡°and Johan slaps the weight onto his enemy¡¯s shield. Although, any one of us could do the same trick with one of those pet carrier dimensional spaces to pull out a pre-prepared object but if we miss we¡¯ll probably have a quarter-tonne, king-glued chunk of pig iron stuck to the ground.¡± ¡°Alright, let''s do it. I have some king¡¯s glue,¡± said Avril, reaching for her belt. ¡°And I want to see if this works,¡± said Johan, manifesting his shield on his arm and leading the party towards the closest barn. Over the next ten minutes they tested every combination Dave had suggested and more. They all worked. It was like a cheat code. Attach a heavy thing to someone¡¯s sword, shield, armour, belt or whatever and it wouldn¡¯t count as part of them anymore. With that in place, a bit of aura control on the part of Hugh, a single cast of Free Ally and another piece of adventuring equipment liberated itself from one of the team onto the wall of the barn. ¡°Well, I say, the theory is definitely well established,¡± said Hugh, pushing experimentally against the backplate and breastplate that was still hanging there. ¡°Yes, I didn¡¯t think that¡¯d come off,¡± said Avril, nodding at the breastplate Hugh was toying with. ¡°Me neither,¡± said Dave, distinctly missing his body armour. ¡°And, now I think I need to build an enormous electromagnet.¡± His friends looked at him. ¡°A magnet, powered by electricity. They can be strong enough to pick up cars. Carriages, sorry.¡± They all paused to consider Dave¡¯s words. ¡°Yes, that¡¯d do it.¡± said Avril. ¡°Shall we move onto your last new ability?¡± asked Dave, looking at Hugh. ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t see why not,¡± said Hugh, smiling through his beard.
Ability: Mix Elements
Essence: Mystic Rank: Iron 0 5% to iron 1 Awakening Stone: Harmony
Type: Special ability Tags: Area, control, damage, elemental, variable. Cost: Variable
Cooldown: None
Description You can mix an element with the element of your current form for a unique effect. Fire and water makes a superheated steam cloud on touch (low mana per second). Fire and air makes an explosive gust of air on touch, useful for movement (low mana per second). Fire and earth makes a hot area of earth within range (high mana). Water and earth makes an area of mud that is difficult to move in (medium mana). Water and air makes a fog cloud within range (low mana per second). Air and earth makes hidden sinkholes or flimsy, stone columns within range (low mana).
Detailed Information
¡°Ooh, so many!¡± said Sam with wide, appreciative eyes. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°It¡¯s a complex ability to be sure,¡± said Avril distractedly as she went into the detailed information displayed on Tome, trying to make sense of it. ¡°Forget it, Avril,¡± said Dave. ¡°I spent an hour last night trying to figure it out. I think this is one of those things where it¡¯ll make sense after we see it. Hugh!? Fire it up, mate!¡± Hugh was standing ten metres away next to another barn which they¡¯d drawn a target on the wall with some jam they¡¯d found. He was preparing to go through his Mix Elements abilities in order of the description. The trees in the background changed species, colour and shape at odd moments but that was neither here nor there. The problem with the first ability, Steamcloud, was that they didn¡¯t know how much or over what surface area. Was this just some haze? Or a boiler explosion? They were about to find out. ¡°Alright!¡± called Hugh. ¡°Well, I¡¯m indeed¡­ doing it now!¡± Hugh took to water form, raised his hand, closed his eyes and activated his ability. CRACK! ¡°By the lady!¡± blurted Hugh, shaking his watery hand and proceeding to cast Heal on himself.. Everyone else on the team had jumped. ¡°Ooh! I get it now,¡± said Avril. ¡°It¡¯s like a smith starts quenching glowing iron in water.¡± Dave groaned with her in revelation, suddenly making sense of the detailed information. ¡°It hurt me!¡± said Hugh. ¡°I didn¡¯t think it was supposed to hurt me?¡± ¡°No, no, no,¡± instructed Avril. ¡°This was confusing in the text. You are protected from the heat of the initial blast but because you¡¯re not in fire form and, as such, not protected from the heat that comes out of the initial blast.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s highly directional,¡± said Dave. ¡°That¡¯s why the words were so difficult to understand. Lots of geography words on top of other geography words. Doesn¡¯t matter, extend your hand and do it at the tip of your middle finger. That should work.¡± Avril backed Dave¡¯s words up with approving gestures and nodding. Hugh tentatively extended his arm. Crack! Hugh winced and withdrew his arm but didn¡¯t shake his hand with pain and soon smiled at his friends. The noise hadn¡¯t been as big - he¡¯d invested less mana into this one - but he¡¯d not been hurt this time. Sam clapped and beamed her happiness at him and the others followed suit. ¡°That felt a lot better,¡± said Hugh, his confidence returning. ¡°Hang on, I¡¯ll try a longer blast.¡± ¡°Stronger too,¡± interjected Dave. Hugh nodded and extended his hand. CRACK-KHSSSSSSSSS! The initial explosion of the superheated water was followed by a continuing hissing expulsion of visible steam from the area in front of Hugh¡¯s fingers that misted and warped the air. The group cheered for Hugh, who looked abashed but pleased. ¡°Okay, do it on me,¡± said Dave. The maintenance team said they switched on god-mode so their injuries wouldn¡¯t decrease their health and couldn¡¯t hurt beyond a nasty sting. Hugh put his hand on Dave¡¯s chest and activated his ability. CRACK! ¡°YEEOOW!¡± howled Dave, stepping backwards and screwing up his face against the pain. He gingerly removed his tunic to reveal the already red flesh beneath. ¡°Oh! That is mean!¡± The flesh was already turning to normal and Dave warily probed the edges of the affected area with his fingers. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s going to be a good compliment to any wrestling you can do. Just steam-clean your opponent¡¯s skin.¡± ¡°We know what it¡¯s used for now,¡± said Johan, nodding as sagely as his youthful personality could allow. ¡°The heat of the steam causes damage that you can channel into your enemies.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s wet¡­ fire damage?¡± asked Avril. ¡°More safe, won¡¯t start fires,¡± smiled Sam. ¡°Hang on, I have an idea,¡± said Dave. Everyone rolled their eyes. A minute later, Hugh had his finger firm against one end of a sturdy, cardboard straw. ¡°And I just¡­¡± said Hugh, looking at Dave, confused. ¡°Yep, right in front of your finger before the wad,¡± said Dave. There was a muffled crack and a wet wad of paper flew out of the far end of the straw and smacked sharply into Dave¡¯s neck. ¡°Argh!¡± ¡°Cor!¡± ¡°Lady!¡± ¡°Hey, it worked!¡± Sam¡¯s hands flew to her mouth. The initial reactions over, everyone had a bout of nervous laughter except Dave. ¡°Why¡¯d you point it at me!?¡± asked Dave in dismay. Hugh¡¯s mouth moved without articulating sounds and he gestured around in a way that suggested he had no idea what he was doing. ¡°You alright?¡± chuckled Sam, giving Dave¡¯s arm a gentle pat. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± said Dave, shaking his head and smiling. ¡°I just wasn¡¯t expecting Hugh to last minute point the pea shooter straight at me after I¡¯d just finished explaining its function.¡± ¡°Sorry, sorry,¡± muttered Hugh sheepishly. ¡°Well, be sorry by scaling it up,¡± said Dave. ¡°Johan, Adventurer¡¯s Tools us up some metal pipes of different diameters. About two feet long. Avril, could you please nip over to the impact zone of that crate of tubers and bring us back a few that¡¯ll fit into the pipes?¡± Both adventurers nodded and did as Dave asked while Dave explained how a potato gun worked. Not a minute later, Hugh was pointing a one-inch diameter pipe directly at the side of a barn with his hand forming a seal over the back of the pipe. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to do it!¡± warned Hugh. CRACK! Came the muffled ability almost simultaneously with a thump sound of the potato leaving the pipe at considerable speed. Unfortunately, Hugh had lowered the pipe immediately prior to activating the ability. The potato piece bounced off the ground, off the barn wall and smacked solidly into Avril¡¯s chest. ¡°Hey!¡± protested Avril loudly, glaring at Hugh. ¡°Sorry! Sorry,¡± said Hugh. ¡°Twice in a row? At the last second?¡± asked Dave, looking at Hugh in wonderment. ¡°How do you do that?¡± ¡°Natural accuracy,¡± sang Sam, grinning. ¡°I don¡¯t - I didn¡¯t mean - terribly sorry,¡± blustered Hugh, blushing. ¡°Let¡¯s just aim into the field,¡± said Dave, indicating the field that¡¯d been grass, heather and sand dunes over the course of the last hour. ¡°See how big of an object you can shoot out.¡± It turned out, after a little experimentation with materials, Hugh could propel about a three pound projectile up to about two hundred yards. ¡°So, we¡¯re all thinking impact grenades, yeah?¡± said Dave. ¡°I am now,¡± said Avril. ¡°Sorry, what?¡± asked Hugh mildly. ¡°He wants you to shoot a grenade out of the tube that explodes when it hits the ground,¡± said Avril. ¡°What if it explodes in the tube,¡± said Hugh with an expression that was remembering the time Johan had tried to throw one of Dave¡¯s incendiary grenades that he called ¡®Molotov cocktails¡¯ too hard. ¡°Well, I expect he¡¯ll have to think of a way to avoid that, won¡¯t you Dave?¡± said Avril coyly. ¡°Yes,¡± said Dave with a fake smile that fooled nobody. Hugh scowled. They¡¯d been curious about the fire and air combination, especially since it¡¯d been described as internal. The moment Hugh first tried it with his hands and shot himself backwards a little way down the street, everyone had figured it out and Dave suggested Hugh projecting his ¡®jet engine¡¯ through his feet instead. Projecting it through his feet, Hugh shot into the air like an errant party balloon on a desperate bid for freedom. He started spiralling and turned off the ability before he passed out, air walking back to his friends holding his head and muttering mournfully to himself. As the minutes ticked by and the maintenance crew checked the environmental colour settings, Hugh got the hang of his new ability and was thoroughly enjoying flying. Something that iron rank powers rarely allowed, especially for such low mana per second. ¡°Huh, your cheap cost is because your flight is the combination of two abilities,¡± said Dave, looking into the mechanics of the ability. ¡°In flesh form, the thrust could only help you move faster on the ground but in fire and air forms you¡¯re lighter and the forms also amplify the jet propulsion so you can fly quite well.¡± ¡°Bless the goddess but this is fun,¡± said Hugh, smiling almost as wide as Sam. ¡°I suppose you¡¯re going to spoil it all and think of ways to kill things with it.¡± ¡°Nah,¡± said Dave wryly. ¡°We can just use all the things we¡¯ve already thought of and have you deliver them quicker now. So, you have fun!¡± Hugh chuckled and did a barrel roll. Sam sidled over to Dave while Avril and Johan called ariel trick requests to Hugh and whispered in Dave¡¯s ear. ¡°You didn¡¯t say he can burn people while he takes off.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll figure it out,¡± said Dave, smiling at Hugh. Sam grinned with mirth up at Dave. Maintenance informed the party they were switching to night time tests soon so they skipped ahead to testing the water and air combination next. As they thought, it produced a cloud of fog. Good for breaking line of sight but, as they discovered, also greatly increased the potency of Sam¡¯s mist walker familiar. It was a pretty straightforward ability that didn¡¯t have any hidden mechanics even for Dave to find so they moved on. Thinking the description of the air and earth combination might be best seen with the remaining light, they did that next. They discovered that it basically injected air or transformed the air in the dirt along a small line or to a small radius, or vice versa; injecting earth into or transforming the air into earth. The consistency of the creation was brittle and crumbly, like the softest of loam or the most fragile of pumice, and would easily fall over or even be walked through. Although it only worked on natural soil, not rocks or metal, they all immediately saw the utility of throwing out a sinkhole as an area control ability and, with Sam¡¯s demonstration, also quickly saw how bracing a spear on the other side of the brittle, rock wall would skewer a pursuer. With the sun yanked out of the sky and an OOPS SORRY I DIDN¡¯T WARN YOU from the maintenance technicians, the team moved onto the last two abilities in the now cool, night air. They really tried to get the fire and earth combination to do something other than be a summoned mound of unbearably hot gravel but that¡¯s what it did. A good control ability - it was hot enough to burn the skin but it¡¯d take extended contact to do real damage. Thanks to Dave¡¯s UI they learned quite quickly that it had a secondary effect: It radiated enough heat that even being near it drained stamina. ¡°Well, that¡¯s pretty good,¡± said Dave, nodding seriously and looking at his friends. ¡°If any other group tries to hunker down behind fortifications, chain-casting this will get them to move. It¡¯s slow area control, but unless they have some ability to put it out, it¡¯s pretty sure area control.¡± ¡°Indeed, I believe you said, Dave, that perhaps snuffing out flames might be a use for the last ability?¡± said Hugh. ¡°Despite it clearly reading as movement hindrance in the text?¡± ¡°It is both!¡± chirped Sam brightly. ¡°Try, Hugh, try!¡± She gestured enthusiastically at the heat mound, as they¡¯d begun calling it, and stood back. ¡°Well, I suppose why not?¡± said Hugh. He extended his hand towards the heat mound and activated the water and earth combination, turning the area into knee deep mud. ¡°That¡¯ll slow a villain down,¡± said Johan, nodding respectfully. ¡°You know, I almost lost my boots in the river when I was a boy? You¡¯ve got to respect mud.¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s test it out,¡± said Dave, rapping Johan on his armoured chest with his knuckle. Johan waded into the knee-deep mud, his Strong As A Grazer strength allowed him to slosh through the area with ease. Dave, however, sank into the thick, clinging muck, his pace slowing to a crawl. ¡°Oh, wow,¡± said Dave. ¡°It¡¯s quite runny up top but gets thicker and more gluggy as it¡¯s deeper. Hang on, I¡¯m taking off my shoes before I lose them.¡± Dave paused for a moment, taking off his footwear in his UI, and then continued trying to walk. A second later, he stopped trying to push his feet through and adopted an out-and-in-again gait through the mud. ¡°Yep!¡± he continued. ¡°This is the best way to walk through it. Yeah, anybody who gets stuck in this is going to struggle to leave. Pretty good ability!¡± He paused for a moment, dipping his hands into the mud. ¡°And it¡¯s warm! From the heat mound.¡± ¡°Ah, warm but cool enough to snuff out a fire though,¡± said Hugh, coming to the edge and reaching out to help Dave. ¡°No, no, no!¡± said Dave, waving away the help Hugh was offering to get out. ¡°It¡¯s actually quite nice.¡± ¡°The mud?¡± asked Avril, incredulously. ¡°Yeah!¡± said Dave, using his inventory to remove his armour and most of his clothing then experimentally sitting down in the warm mud. ¡°Now that I¡¯m in, it¡¯s pleasantly warm and it feels kind of nice.¡± Hugh experimentally dipped a foot in. ¡°Oh, Goddess, yes that¡¯s lovely.¡± He cast off his habit and lowered himself into the mud with Dave. ¡°Can you believe -¡± began Avril, turning to the other two and interrupting herself in shock. Johan and Sam were in the process of disrobing. ¡°Mother said I should be bold,¡± said Johan defensively. ¡°And try new things.¡± Sam just grinned happily up at Avril and, stripped to her undergarments, jumped in, giggling. ¡°I swear, it¡¯s like every time you four try to prove my education wrong about peasants you turn around and - Oh! No, I get it,¡± said Avril. She¡¯d disdainfully dipped her hand in and then changed her mind. She began disrobing and Dave cleaned her hand with Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas so she could strip down to her under clothes with more dexterity. ¡°Feels like a warm hug from the earth,¡± said Sam as Avril lowered herself into the mud. Although mud it wasn¡¯t a foul, rotten mixture. It was a viscous clay with a pleasant texture. ¡°Yes,¡± said Avril, luxuriating in the feeling. The heat of the clay was soothing and penetrated deeply into her muscles. ¡°Dirty but undeniably pleasant.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± grunted Dave, standing up. ¡°I can clean, bathing in water exists and these aren¡¯t even our real bodies.¡± He reached into his dimensional space at his waist and passed a cold beer to everyone before sitting back into the warm mud. ¡°We''ve been at this a while and it¡¯s a good moment to relax and see what our abilities can do in the dark,¡± said Dave. He punctuated the point by casting one of his illusion spells above them. He¡¯d tried to make falling stars appear in the sky but the illusory pigments of Maestro¡¯s Instant Image Of Many Forms couldn¡¯t produce their own light. ¡°And what they can¡¯t do,¡± said Avril, raising her beer to Dave. ¡°To limitations!¡± said Dave, raising his bottle in a toast. ¡°To helping people!¡± sang Sam, raising hers. ¡°To honour and glory,¡± said the golden voice of Johan, also raising his beer. ¡°To learning and Knowledge,¡± said Hugh. The bottles clinked together and the team drank as strange lights blazed on and off in the sky of the mirage chamber and, from the comfort of a warm mud bath, each of them toyed and experimented with their essence abilities in the dark.
Serge was feeling the best he¡¯d felt in years. A deck beneath his feet, a crisp wind on his face and he was captain of the ship. He hated it. No. He hated himself. He didn¡¯t deserve any of it. Not with what he¡¯d done. His hands shook and his breath shuddered. Serge distracted himself, staring at the fire away on the earth his crew was gathered around, smoking and drinking. Drinking. He stared thirstily down at their silhouettes. Drinking. That sweet stupor denied to him thanks to that gods damned, thrice cursed, blundering barnacle of a boy and his mate who¡¯d betrayed him! ¡®Detective¡¯ Booker. Ha! Stupid name. ¡°Stewing in dark thoughts, Captain?¡± Serge jumped. It was Booker. Slithering serpent of a youth had a quiet step for a landlubber. ¡°Is that against that safety hierarchy of yours too?¡± he asked in a deliberately surly tone. ¡°Alas, no,¡± said the smirking dandy. ¡°Be as sullen as you please. Whatever makes you happy, Captain.¡± ¡°Happy?¡± growled Serge, incensed. ¡°What do you mean, happy?¡± ¡°The¡­ emotion of happiness?¡± said Booker, mocking Serge with his confusion. ¡°How am I supposed to be happy around here, hey?¡± seethed Serge. ¡°You! You yellow bellied son of a trog, you just can¡¯t help yourself, can you?¡± He tried to stop himself from chewing out this sea-louse of an excuse for a man who was, against all good sense before the gods, his ship¡¯s owner and his employer but he couldn¡¯t stop. The anger had a momentum that his sense couldn¡¯t stop. ¡°You put your fingers in everything,¡± raged Serge, wiggling his appendages at Booker. ¡°I discipline my crew, you call me into a ¡®meeting¡¯, we show the new hands the ropes and, oh! Guess what? Another ¡®meeting¡¯. Cuckold on me own ship! In front of the crew! A laughing stock! Why don¡¯t you just fly your real colours and cut my balls off to carry around in that magic belt pouch of yours, eh?¡± The blistering rodent had the nerve - the nerve - to pull a face with raised eyebrows like he was considering it. Serge felt his insides boiling and thundered on. ¡°You¡¯re always there. Watching. Just watching with your ratty, little eyes! You and the mate! Thundering typhoons, you don¡¯t think I see the two of you conspiring against me? I don¡¯t even know why I¡¯m here half the time. You and the mate getting all those clips put up all over the place, those little latches, all behind my back, the crew smirking at me. Let me run my own damn ship!¡± He stomped closer to the unmoving prat, his wooden leg loud upon the deck. ¡°Except it¡¯s not my ship, is it?¡± growled Serge fiercely. ¡°And you remind me every. Single. Day. And to top it all off, TO BLOODY TOP IT OFF! I can¡¯t even have the mercy - the sweet, gods-given mercy of a good, cold drink upon my lips to wash away the cares of the day and relax.¡± The sallow-cheeked youth just cocked his head to the side like some mangy dog and was silent for a few long breaths, deep in thought. Serge thought about slapping him across the face but he¡¯d seen the boy training. The lad had a knack for inexplicably holding people immobile with no apparent effort. ¡°Tell me, Captain,¡± said Booker in that calm, calculated tone of his. ¡°When was the last time you actually drank to relax? Not some other reason?¡± Serge¡¯s temper flared but the boy¡¯s calm presence seemed to grow in stature. Fucking essence training. He cursed. Of all the things he¡¯d said for the boy to have issue with, he¡¯d brought up that? He hated the boy more and once over again because he knew it was true. He hadn¡¯t drank to relax since before¡­ that time. The accident. ¡°Still, I¡¯m glad you¡¯ve finally aired grievances,¡± continued the automaton. ¡°No more of this ¡®yes sir, no sir, nothing wrong sir¡¯ nonsense you normally give me in our meetings.¡± Serge reddened. What was he supposed to say in front of the ship¡¯s owner? Tell them everything that went wrong? Give them the excuse they needed to take your ship away from you? The jackals! ¡°I¡¯d address them but I know for a fact that this is one of the easiest ships the crew have ever worked,¡± said the bean counter. ¡°So, the problem is you.¡± ¡°Me, eh?¡± said Serge, reddening in anger. ¡°How do we know it isn¡¯t you and all your soft, milque-toast interfering with the on board discipline?¡± ¡°Employee feedback meetings,¡± said the little prick flatly. Serge¡¯s anger didn¡¯t have a response to that. ¡°Forms!¡± spat Serge, changing tack with the wind of the argument. ¡°Meetings! What would you know about running a crew? Keeping the men in line? Have you ever had to keep a wallowing wreck afloat during a squall in a storm? The crew has to be hard! Tough! Not one man among them can flinch from their duty! Not one! Or we all go down!¡± ¡°Do you know what a chirurgeon is, Captain?¡± said Booker, like an unexpected sand bank of words in the path of Serge¡¯s rage. ¡°Some kind of¡­ kill-or-cure healer for the worst ailments,¡± said Serge. ¡°I met someone in a bar once with a little, onyx knife who said they were a chirurgeon. Couldn¡¯t hold her beer though.¡± ¡°They cut people open to heal the ailments inside,¡± said Booker. ¡°They¡¯re common in negation zones like where I¡¯m from.¡± Serge stayed silent, in the face of this unholy madness. ¡°But as with all acts of mortal hands,¡± continued the detective, ¡°there are errors in the process. Chirurgy on the wrong body part or on the right body part but wrong procedure. That kind of thing, you know? Honest to the soul mix-ups.¡± ¡°Sounds stupid,¡± grumbled Serge. ¡°It was,¡± agreed Booker. ¡°Because it took many, many years to implement the simple solution of just writing on the skin before the surgery. Stupid right? But it took all those smart healers hundreds of years to start site-marking as a regular practice.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t compare me to a thundering Chirurgeon, Booker! They -¡± ¡°Captain, you are in a highly experimental flying machine.¡± Serge didn¡¯t have an answer to that and so he hated Booker even more to compensate. ¡°Perhaps more relatable to you is machine guarding? There¡¯s a little of it downstairs on the steering mechanisms,¡± said Booker, raising his eyebrows. ¡°Bah! Everyone knows not to touch anything to do with the tiller!¡± said Serge dismissively. ¡°Everyone has known that for centuries, Captain, any yet, the injuries persist, do they not?¡± Serge didn¡¯t answer and returned to hating the over-informed prig. ¡°Just think, Captain, a few well-placed bits of tin and someone, somewhere will never have their hand crushed and live a life of poverty. With widespread adoption of the safety measures it adds up to thousands of happy, healthy lives. No visits to penny pinching healers, no families spending their child¡¯s essence fund on silver-ranked healing so they can make it through the next winter. Is that worth a bit of harmless tin put over the tiller?¡± ¡°Bah! You¡¯re making a storm out of some wind there,¡± said Serge, turning his back on Booker. ¡°You say that yet somehow,¡± said the detective with a smirk that Serge could practically hear, ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll even try to sell that opinion to the crew.¡± Serge fumed. ¡°You don¡¯t actually care about my hierarchy of control safety procedures, do you?¡± said Booker, smirk still infuriatingly audible. How did the lily-livered mongrel know when he was right? ¡°Why don¡¯t you just go ahead and tell me all about myself, Detective Answers?¡± said Serge, turning to roll his eyes at Booker. ¡°Okay,¡± said the weed with a shrug, using that word that was unique to the outlander¡¯s dialect. ¡°You¡¯re brooding in your dark thoughts because you¡¯re jealous of your crew getting shit-faced and you watching - or even knowing about them getting shitfaced makes you feel bad because it makes you think about the reason that you drink.¡± Serge spun, slapped Booker hard across the face and glared at the uppity popinjay. Booker turned his head with the blow and looked triumphantly back at him. ¡°You, of course, realise that slap is the equivalent of a confession, right?¡± He launched himself at the traitorous rat with a roar to the same effect as last time. The skilled, little bastard ducked underneath his arms, took Serge around the waist in an eyeblink and casually swept his pegleg out, causing Serge to gently fall to the deck in the control of the outlander¡¯s hold. ¡°You think you¡¯re the only alcoholic the world has ever seen?¡± said Booker, his voice right next to Serge¡¯s ear, boring into him. ¡°Or that your miserable life is an original story?¡± ¡°Shove off,¡± growled Serge back. ¡°No,¡± said Booker smugly, lying half-on Serge, retaining his hold on Serge¡¯s arms. ¡°Actually, we¡¯re going to have a little chat about how you lost your leg.¡± Serge said nothing so Booker continued. ¡°It¡¯s no secret. You can ask around the drinking holes frequented by sailors anywhere in Francalbia to get the general layout of the story.¡± Booker popped to his feet, releasing Serge and started leaning on the railing like they were having a friendly chat. ¡°Hotshot young sailor, saves an idiot noble by sailing out a storm in a pleasure craft, becomes a hero. You were on top of the world, invited to all the parties. Then tragedy; the accident happened. A young noblewoman died, you lost your leg and nobody wanted anything to do with you. After that, you just crawled into a bottle and never came out.¡± Serge made his ungainly way upright, glaring at Booker the whole time, leaning against the forward mast. ¡°It¡¯s a tragedy played out by somebody in every generation,¡± continued Booker in a bored voice. ¡°Young man does something exceptional, gains notoriety, riches, women, et cetera. He parties too hard, gets addicted to something and falls from grace, driving away everyone around him.¡± The detective nodded seriously for a moment with a far away look on his face. ¡°Yep, usually happens to athletes where I¡¯m from.¡± The night was silent for a while save the noises of the ship at anchor. ¡°It goes like that does it?¡± grunted Serge, looking away. ¡°You tell me,¡± said Booker with a shrug. ¡°The stories speculate wildly about the fine details and about your own internal monologue but I¡¯m pretty sure the broad brush strokes are accurate.¡± Serge stomped the two steps to the railings to lean on them next to Booker. He thought about pushing the little prig overboard, but didn¡¯t. ¡°And that¡¯s what everyone knows, is it?¡± he asked. ¡°Anybody who cares to find out whatever came of that promising, young lad they remember all those years ago,¡± said Booker. ¡°He crawled into a bottle and never came back out,¡± said Serge flatly, staring down at the bonfire where his crew was still drinking and swapping tales. ¡°Yes, but did that come before or after the accident?¡± asked Booker, who took a teapot and cup from his inventory space, filled up a cup with a steaming, black liquid and passed it to Serge. The drink had a bold, toasty aroma. He took a sip. It was nutty, strong, bitter and quite unpleasant. Good. He liked it. ¡°Before,¡± said Serge, focusing on the drink. He took a bigger sip and swirled it around his mouth, making sure every tastebud got a hit of the hearty, bitterness. It was the kind of horrible that he could enjoy. He deserved this. Booker took another cup out of his pocket space and poured himself some of the drink too. Serge noted with some approval that the snooty lady didn¡¯t shame himself by adding any milk or sugar to take the manly edge off the taste. ¡°So, you get on the booze because you¡¯re going to all the parties,¡± said Booker, taking a measured sip. Serge noticed him wincing at the bitterness but letting the drink linger in his mouth, truly tasting the drink properly despite himself. Good. The lad deserved some bitterness. Let him taste it. ¡°But the booze makes you bad at your job,¡± continued the lad. ¡°Or, just reckless - it doesn¡¯t matter - you have your accident and then you keep drinking. Partly because it¡¯s a habit, mostly because you want to forget, right?¡± ¡°I still want to forget,¡± muttered Serge, tipping a great, steaming gulp of black liquid into his mouth and slowly swallowing, letting the bitter taste hit his tongue, the robust, nutty, kind of unpleasant flavour fill his mouth and the dry, cotton aftertaste linger. Yes. Good. ¡°But then your life starts falling apart and you move on from drinking to forget the accident to drinking to forget that you¡¯re sad and eventually, you¡¯re drinking to forget that you¡¯re ashamed of being a drunk.¡± ¡°Sounds like you know everything about me,¡± said Serge dryly, giving the poncy lad a surly look and holding his now empty cup towards Booker. ¡°Not you specifically,¡± said Booker, taking out the teapot and refilling Serge¡¯s cup with the horrible liquid. ¡°I just know the shape of the story. I don¡¯t even really need you to colour in the details if it¡¯ll upset you.¡± ¡°How kind,¡± said Serge through a glare and a clenched jaw. ¡°But I do need you to stop acting like you¡¯re a special, tragic boy the gods have picked out for special punishment,¡± said Booker. The words were delivered flat and simply but they went into Serge¡¯s head like blows of a smith¡¯s hammer. ¡°Everyone¡¯s fucked up, Captain. Everyone.¡± Serge turned to the young detective to say something defensive but the words died on his lips. The look in the lad¡¯s eyes said he could back it up. Like he had seen into the realms of banished gods and returned. Serge took a tip of the perfectly awful drink. ¡°You can¡¯t be much more than twenty winters,¡± he said. ¡°What do you know about the gods fucking your life?¡± The lad took a long draw on his cup of awfulness, savouring the taste before answering. ¡°I¡¯ve killed people because I delayed potions due to quality concerns about the alchemy. I¡¯ve walked through the kid¡¯s cancer ward at the healer¡¯s temple. The magic-resistant stuff, you know? Seen their smiles and then had to snuff out their hope because the person who¡¯d been selling them a cure had faked their data,¡± the lad talked with a far away look in his eye, a leaden tone in his voice. And regret. ¡°I stood by while those above me did a cost-benefit analysis on thousands of lives. Not because of any concern for a lack of resources, no. Because, they wanted their annual bonus of more coins than the people they could have cured would ever hope to see. I watched those people use the fruits of my work to decide who lives and who dies but worst of all, I had to watch how easily they ignored the lives, took the money and congratulated themselves on a job well done before throwing me away.¡± Booker took another respectable sip of the drink and stared down at the bonfire with Serge, watching the silhouettes sing, dance or play cards around a table by its flickering light. ¡°Alright, Booker. So, we¡¯re all fucked up,¡± said Serge. ¡°What of it?¡± ¡°Well,¡± said the lad, coming out of his reverie and fixing his sharp eyes on Serge, ¡°we unfuck ourselves, Captain Dimont. The world breaks us down and we have to put ourselves back together. But, you¡¯ve spent about two decades crying to yourself instead. Tell me, what gives you the fucking right?¡± Serge blanched at the challenge in Booker¡¯s tone and angrily took a sip of the hot brew, calming himself. ¡°Don¡¯t answer,¡± said the lad, which was helpful because Serge didn¡¯t have one. ¡°But what gives you the right to avoid putting yourself back together like everyone else has to? Pretty much everyone in this crew has lost a family member during a surge. Hell, some of them have probably lost kids! Can you imagine that? Burying your own child?¡± The lad shook his head while exhaling heavily and Serge took a mouthful of bitter fluid while thinking about it himself. He found he couldn¡¯t imagine but he could imagine that it must feel pretty thundering bad. ¡°So, everyone else has tragedy in their lives and has to work past it but Captain Serge Dimont gets to brood about his accident until the end of time? Vomiting on himself and shitting his own pants the whole while?¡± Booker gave him a savage look. ¡°Nah, fuck that. Captain Dimont can bloody well put himself back together like everyone else.¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying I¡¯m a coward, Booker?¡± said Serge quietly. ¡°I think a brave man can shirk his duty,¡± answered Booker without flinching. ¡°That he can, that he can,¡± admitted Serge, taking another gulp of wonderful, liquid regret to empty the cup again. He¡¯d never really considered it like this before. He¡¯d made sure he¡¯d not been sober enough to consider anything. ¡°Arr, I¡¯ll make sure to avoid vomiting on myself and shitting my pants,¡± said Serge, getting another refill from the blistering dandy. He glared at the lad. ¡°No guarantees I won¡¯t vomit on you instead, boy.¡± ¡°Or shit in my pants?¡± asked Booker sardonically. ¡°No guarantees,¡± said Serge, taking another sip of that wonder-drink that curled the tongue. ¡°Fair enough. I am at your disposal, Captain,¡± said Booker with a mock bow. Serge watched as Booker refilled his own recently empty cup from the teapot. ¡°In that case, Booker, I¡¯d like to know what this drink is,¡± said Serge, yet again, savouring every aspect of a sip from the sudden bitterness or the start to the unpleasant, dry aftertaste. ¡°Roasted dandelion roots with redbush and a dash of salt,¡± said Booker, wrinkling his face against the taste as he took a long sip. ¡°I thought you¡¯d like it. It¡¯s the perfect drink to compliment an unpleasant conversation, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°Aye, more than that, Booker, more than that,¡± said Serge, taking in a deep breath of the robust aroma before another appreciative sip of the perfect bitterness. ¡°It¡¯s the perfect drink to sum up life.¡± Chapter 38: Intake Trials
Current Quests
Justice For Courbefy: Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use¡­ Chosen Of Knowledge: Escort Hugh on his journey to becoming a fully awakened iron¡­ Chosen Of Hero: Escort Johan on his journey to joining the Adventure Society. The Miller Collection: Scour the countryside for health potion recipes that use common¡­ Abel¡¯s Mace: Return Brother Abel¡¯s missing mace to the church of Soldier. He was last¡­ Lost Treasure Map: Find and return an old treasure map stolen from, Marielle Lecuyer¡­ Wolf Menace: Hunt down a pack of mischievous foxes terrorising the livestock of Villars. Missing Scout: Locate and rescue a missing scout who was last seen investigating¡­ UnKill Streak 1: Go one day without killing anybody! Potion of Prosperity Delivery: Deliver a potion of prosperity to the midwife in Houlbec. Merchant''s Goods Recovery: Recover stolen goods in Confolens from the bandits that...
Domarin was a pleasant enough village to wait in for the Adventure Society¡¯s caravan of aspirants to come rolling by. It was about ten kilometres south-east of Oullins. I was studying The Perpetual Currents, Volume I by Henrietta de Lavigne to fill time. It was a very repetitive treatise on sources of background magic and reading it would¡¯ve been a dreary experience if not for the fact that I could look up at the view of a cute, country church and a snow-decked cobblestone street. It was nice here. Hugh was with me studying his own book. He¡¯d actually picked up a copy of Dimensional Magic: Bridges Across Reality by Sorin Zephyros in order to better understand his own new abilities. It was ironic, really. We worried so much about, and put so much effort into, getting cleanly away from the tournament with all our prize money and then, under his goddess¡¯s direction, we did the awakening ritual with three of the awakening stones that betting on Johan had won us. He absorbed the first one, an awakening stone of dimension, and what do you know, he got Teleport Ally. So, that solved everything. Now he was just researching this new ability of his, comparing Zephyros¡¯s observations with what I could see when he used the ability. Sam was flying around on the Second Wind. Of all of us, Sam was loving flying the most. You could often see her on the bowsprit, sometimes leaning on the rails or just climbing to a spot in the rigging and gazing at the landscape flowing by below. Even the captain could be spotted smiling at her from time to time. Johan was using his enormous strength and friendliness to help someone or other. The clergy from the church that I was sitting in front of had directed him to some old widow who needed furniture moved but that was an hour ago. Johan could move furniture with one hand so he¡¯d no doubt got to chatting with the old dear and, through her, found someone else who needed the help of a strapping young man who could casually lift a cart. Avril still hadn¡¯t told me that she¡¯d run away from her family but that was for the best. The more I had plausible deniability, the less trouble I¡¯d be in when her father found out where she was. At the group¡¯s urging she¡¯d cut her hair short and let me cast an illusion over her face to avoid recognition. Then we¡¯d sent her off to browse the markets and just watch people. She was trying to travel with us incognito so I¡¯d convinced her to just go watch how non-nobility acted. The way they stood, spoke and walked. The idea was that ¡®Avril Garnier¡¯, the name we¡¯d all introduced her to the crew as, wouldn¡¯t be recognised by anybody who¡¯d just happened to have been in Reyer manor at some point and seen one of her portraits. She seemed to be enjoying herself the last few days so I mostly didn¡¯t worry about her. But, it¡¯d been a few days aloft and, wanting a few hours out of the wind, me and the whole team except Sam had opted to be dropped off in Doramin early. Ironically, the caravan we were waiting for was late. ¡°The Lady says that there was a wheel thrown,¡± said Hugh suddenly. ¡°I admit, I was expecting it to be a noble tantrum,¡± I said. ¡°She says of them there were several but they didn¡¯t slow anything down,¡± said Hugh. ¡°My thanks to the Lady,¡± I said. Another half-hour later, Captain Dimont sailed the Second Wind in low over the church and Sam jumped out, activating her slow fall belt as she went. Hugh and I pocketed our things and went to meet her. ¡°Captain says they are twenty minutes,¡± smiled Sam as she landed gently in the middle of the street. Johan arrived ten minutes later having extracted himself from stacking wood closer to a large family¡¯s door. ¡°Good day, my friends!¡± called Johan as he came close. ¡°Avril told me Captain Dimont made the flyover. The caravan is close?¡± ¡°Ten minutes,¡± said Hugh. Three heidelless carts were winding along the road. A single adult rode in the lead cart next to a long pole with a lantern on the end which they moved like it was guiding the way. I reckoned the lead cart was enchanted to follow the lantern and there were similar lanterns on the backs of the first two carts. Two other adult figures accompanied the carts. One rode atop a heidel beside the caravan which I could even see at this distance was a summoned beast and another ran easily alongside. The trays of each cart were suspended on springs providing some relief for the boisterous teens who were packed in the trays. Except, I noticed, no boisterous play in the cart at the rear. And, It was only half full. It took a moment for me to see that the people in the rear cart were dressed in more earthy tones with only a stripe of yellow from a kerchief or a red hat splashed in to provide colour whereas the front two carts were resplendent in colours. A difference that spoke of commoners and nobles. It seemed that the nobles would rather cram together than even sit in the same cart as the peasants. Pricks. As the carts drew closer and closer it was also clear that the difference was more than a reserved deference to the nobles. The first two carts seemed in good spirits, singing and displaying energetic body language but the commoner¡¯s cart was subdued and the people therein tried not to look around. Not good. The team watched as the caravan rolled up to us. A wizened, grey-haired, at least silver-ranked woman was controlling the direction-lantern. Despite the anti-aging effects of magic rank smoothing her skin, the woman managed a wizened look. It was something about the quality in the eyes and her presence. She was old. Old in a way that I couldn¡¯t understand but her presence wasn¡¯t unpleasant. Like a martonly, old aunt who could give sage advice to her family, smiling down from on high. She wore simple, priestly garb that bore the symbol of Knowledge but the simple raiment, if anything, enhanced her presence. Without words it said ¡®I don¡¯t need anymore¡¯ and put her beyond any thoughts of fashion. ¡°Her enlightenments upon you,¡± said the matronly woman to Hugh, bowing her head when they came within talking distance. ¡°Her enlightenments be shared,¡± replied Hugh, also bowing his head. ¡°You must be Friar Hugh Abberton,¡± said the clergywoman with a gentle smile. ¡°Indeed, Mother.¡± ¡°I am Mother Superior Eleni Dukas. May I presume your companions are Dave Booker, Samorn Khantong and Johan Schmidt?¡± asked Mother Dukas, looking at each in turn. ¡°Just so, Mother,¡± said Johan, giving his smile. He was wearing his templar armour and looked very fetching standing there in its mirror finish. His perfect smile and a slight breeze making his blond hair sway subtly in the wind. I merely nodded along in Johan¡¯s wake. As Sam smiled nervously in mine however, it seemed like her desire to shrink into the background drew Mother Dukas¡¯s warm smile to Sam. ¡°Sawadee ka,¡± said Mother Dukas, giving Sam a wei. ¡°Waaa! Sawadee ka!¡± greeted Sam in return, her smile becoming incandescent with happiness upon finding someone who could speak her native tongue. Dukas and Sam had a quick conversation in Siamese while the rest of the caravan reined in, which left Sam squirming in happiness and grasping her hands in front of her body while Dukas bathed Sam in a motherly smile. ¡°Wonderful,¡± said Dukas, turning her attention back to the whole party. ¡°May I present instructor Elira Konstantinos and instructor Basilios Drakos.¡± She gestured to the heidel riding adult and the running one respectively. Konstantinos smiled and nodded at us but Drakos didn¡¯t deign to notice. Dead give away which one was raised by sane people. ¡°Just get in the cart,¡± said Konstantinos. ¡°Pleasantries will have to wait, we¡¯re running late. The other aspirants can fill you in on what¡¯s happening.¡± ¡°I have my own mount?¡± I asked, already walking to the last cart. ¡°There¡¯s enough inequality already in this test where every aspirant¡¯s supposed to be equal,¡± remarked Kanstantinos with a smirk, jerking her head at the carts. Drakos scoffed at the horizon. ¡°Indeed, lucky us. We¡¯ll have to make nice, then?¡± said Hugh pleasantly, giving his whiskery smile to the people in the cart as he climbed in. The instructors returned to their places in the caravan; one each side, between the two carts. The aristo kiddos jeered at Executive Services as we walked to the last cart. ¡°Get in ya cart!¡± ¡°Scum suckerrrrrrrs!¡± ¡°Good day, fellows!¡± said Johan to the last cart, bubbling with excitement. Not even the inhibited replies of his fellow commoner aspirants took an iota of Johan¡¯s enthusiasm away from him. I didn¡¯t think anything could. After all, today was another childhood dream of his coming true. ¡°What¡¯s with the long faces, folks?¡± I asked, kick starting the conversation I knew Hugh and Johan would finish. The caravan started rolling and under the influence of Johan¡¯s inspiring presence and Hugh¡¯s friendly beard, over the next minute it came out that the nobs were throwing stuff at the commoners and just generally bullying them. Johan was still in denial about the ¡®noble blood¡¯ doing such a thing when an egg smashed across his pauldron, splashing his face and spraying the people around him with yolk and white. ¡°How - dastardly conduct!¡± sputtered Johan. The kids in the next cart were crowing with vindictive laughter. I waved my hand at Johan, starting Grand Mage¡¯s Gravitas, much to the interest of my follow commoner-cart folk. Sam was curled up with her knees to get chest, trying to shrink away from being noticed by the children of nobles. ¡°What¡¯s that you¡¯re doing?¡± asked an elf who¡¯d introduced herself as Valleron. ¡°Cleaning spell,¡± I said and looked around at the others in the cart. ¡°I¡¯ll clean everyone who wants it.¡± Johan was still in disbelief and looking to instructor Drakos for support but Drakos, running between the second and third carts, didn¡¯t care to notice. I saw that Konstantinos, still riding between carts first and second, had shot a reproachful look backwards and outright stared down those in the first cart who did more than snicker but no help came. ¡°Indeed, this is the cruelty of unfettered youth,¡± remarked Hugh, raising sticky hands to me. ¡°We¡¯re on our own, Johan,¡± I said and manifested Tzu. ¡°Look, it¡¯s me and you at this end of the cart. Just summon your shield,¡± I twirled my hand, creating a block of cardboard that unfolded into a large square with holes at the corners, ¡°I¡¯ll cover his side of the cart and you cover yours. Tzu, buddy? Intercept anything they throw, will you?¡± =Prepare to sally forth, Dave!= buzzed Tzu. =The overconfident enemy will not expect your attack.= ¡°Hey! A talking lantern, you carry that?¡± asked a woman called Fournier who¡¯d recently been smiling at Johan and touching her hair. ¡°I carry that,¡± I said awkwardly, not understanding the local teenage lingo but braving those waters in the way of lost adults everywhere. There were a few more half-hearted attempts to throw food but it either impacted off of the shields or grazed off of our backs, which were easily cleaned. With the threat of immediate humiliation gone and my prestidigitation having cleaned everyone - first those who copped the egg and then everyone else in general because Valleron described the sensation as strangely pleasant - the mood in the cart became more relaxed. Valleron, Fournier, Lefevre, Payne and Blackwood were the names of my fellow non-aristocrats testing for Adventure Society membership. Sam and I sat quietly, alternately following the conversation or reading from a news sheet on Tome. Hugh and Johan were a tag-team of bearded wisdom and charming knight to the others, only interrupted by the occasional thwap of something against our shields or that Tzu shot out of the air. I¡¯d almost forgotten how much of a pest the cart in front was trying to be until Tzu blared a warning. =Warning!= My head snapped up to see a bottle, trailing milk in flight but already too close for me to react but I hadn¡¯t counted on Johan using Slow Motion Scene to deftly catch it by the neck and return the item. Neither had they. A bolt of disruptive force, intended to hit the milk bottle mid-flight, smacked into Johan¡¯s breastplate. ¡°Excuse me? Instructor Drakos?¡± I called, waving. ¡°They¡¯ve gone too far.¡± Drakos swept his eyes across the scene disdainfully. ¡°Are any of you going to do something about that milk?¡± he said with a meaningful look at our cart which communicated that he expected them to make us pay. ¡°Really?¡± I said at Drakos. ¡°They shoot actual dangerous bolts at us and you¡­ Oh, fuck it.¡± I turned back to the rest of the people in my cart. ¡°That fucking does it,¡± I said, and waved my hand at the ground and using Pauper¡¯s Paper Production to make a paper towel and again to make a pile of cardboard straws. ¡°We¡¯re fighting back.¡± A minute later, there were shouts of alarm from cart two as Tzu buzzed a signal, Johan and I lowered our shields and all nine occupants of cart three shot balls of chewed paper through the wide straws at their tormentors. Johan and I quickly lifted the shields again. ¡°Instructor! Instructor!¡± whined one of the nobles to Drakos. ¡°The peasants are spitting on us! It¡¯s disgusting!¡± I quickly scribbled a note on a piece of paper in my pocket as Drakos rounded on the cart pressing his will down upon each of us in turn. ¡°What do any of you think you are doing?¡± said Drakos haughtily, looking down on us like a hawk. ¡°I will make sure this is reflected in your results.¡± ¡°They literally shot one of us, instructor Drakos,¡± I said calmly. ¡°When that didn¡¯t phase you, I figured -¡± I put the note in front of Hugh¡¯s face. ¡°Your sour stories will also be reflected -¡± ¡°It¡¯s true, my good sir. Indeed, Instructor Drakos,¡± waffled Hugh as confidently as he could. ¡°I don¡¯t care for your lies, commoner¡± seethed Drakos. ¡°Well, birds of a feather shall flock together. I¡¯ve a mind to fail you all¡­¡± The caravan suddenly slowed, causing Drakos to look to the front but he cringed as the will of Mother Dukas loomed and clamped down on the entire caravan, halting all speech as would the arrival of a strict school principal. Everyone fidgeted awkwardly under the pressure as Dukas, in full Mother Superior mode, carefully dismounted the lead cart and walked straight over to Drakos who was pretending as hard as he could that he was choosing to stare at the ground. ¡°Drakos, instructor though you may be, I will not be tolerating blasphemy,¡± said Mother Dukas. ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± said Drakos, confused. ¡°I don¡¯t understand, Mother,¡± corrected Mother Dukas. Dukas clenched his jaw twice before correcting himself. ¡°I don¡¯t understand, Mother,¡± said Drakos, some haughtiness returning to him. ¡°These peasant children are spitting on their betters. It¡¯s unconscionable! Mother.¡± ¡°And why are they spitting on their betters?¡± asked Mother Dukas. ¡°I cannot pretend to know the mind of such people, Mother¡± said Drakos airily. ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask?¡± said the Mother Superior crossly. ¡°You¡¯ll get a truthful answer. Or, did you somehow miss the mark of holy orders right in front of you?¡± Her eyes flicked to Hugh. Drakos also turned to look and he went pale, immediately realising he¡¯d just accused Hugh of lying. A terrible insult to Knowledge clergy. Dukas continued. ¡°Think carefully about how much that star on your badge is worth, young man!¡± Drakos glowered at the occupants of cart two and cart three in outrage of the position he clearly felt we¡¯d put him in. ¡°Don¡¯t look at them, look at me, Drakos,¡± snapped Mother Dukas. ¡°I think that I allowed some competitive horseplay between the two carts and some aspirants went too far on both sides,¡± said Drakos. ¡°What¡¯s the punishment for attacking another aspirant with abilities?¡± I interjected. Mother Dukas raised an eyebrow at Drakos in a clear indication that she expected an answer. ¡°Immediate failure and ejection from the test for a year,¡± said Drakos, staring at the frosty treeline. ¡°It was an accident, he moved!¡± burst out the one who¡¯d shot before Drakos glared him down. ¡°Okay, what¡¯s the punishment for stupid pranks that get people shot?¡± I retorted. ¡°That¡¯s enough, Mister Booker,¡± ordered Mother Dukas sharply, her presence pressing down on me. ¡°Your point is taken.¡± I bowed slightly in her direction. ¡°Instructor Konstantinos and Instructor Drakos,¡± said Mother Dukas. ¡°Come and speak with me away from these little ears.¡± The three walked a short way to be out into the mushy field beside the road, out of earshot and began a discussion but the discussion was coloured by the stormcloud presence of the cross Mother Superior Dukas which blanketed the entire area. ¡°You idiot, foreigner,¡± hissed Valleron. ¡°They¡¯re going to wring our families.¡± I thought about that for a second. ¡°You mean the nobles would probably remember the names of those who¡¯ve wronged them and tell those people¡¯s liege lords?¡± ¡°Yes, you clod,¡± said Valleron with exasperation. ¡°Please don¡¯t try to be one of those unsoverigned crazy types trying to save us all.¡± I quickly used Stop And Think to look up that unsoverigned was a social movement that didn¡¯t believe in leaders. They lived in the wilds to escape the ¡®sin of city life¡¯. ¡°You¡¯re only making life worse for us all before you die in the monster surge.¡± If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. I considered this for a moment. ¡°No, I¡¯m not stopping,¡± I said, ¡°Do you need help relocating your family?¡± Valleron¡¯s mouth opened and she made sounds but no words. I just waited silently. ¡°Dave, leave her alone,¡± said Hugh under his breath. ¡°No, Hugh,¡± I said seriously for once. ¡°This is important. I¡¯m not tolerating that.¡± I gestured at the nobles who were eyeing us impetuously. ¡°I¡¯ve paid taxes for too many years to tolerate that behaviour in public. Not the entitlement, not the self centred attitude and definitely none of the abuse,¡± I continued in a quiet voice. ¡°You¡¯re crazy,¡± said Valleron, leaning away from me. ¡°And you¡¯re a bootlicker,¡± I hissed more savagely than I felt. ¡°You¡¯re just trying to climb high enough that the nobles piss on on everyone else instead of you. Such fucking courage.¡± A heavy hand gently placed itself on my shoulder and I felt a surge of friendly warmth run through me. Like stepping from shadow into sunlight. ¡°That¡¯s enough, Dave,¡± said Johan. I deflated. ¡°You don¡¯t get it either,¡± I said, staring up at the blonde giant, shaking my head in disbelief as I stared into his baby-blue eyes. ¡°You¡¯re part of the problem, mate. You think nobles have some inherent goodness inside but look at them! They¡¯re right there with their petty cruelty. They¡¯re just mean, violent people whose ancestors killed their way to the top. How do you not see it?¡± ¡°I see it,¡± said Johan, hair blowing in the wind as I looked up at him. ¡°I just choose to believe in good.¡± ¡°You fucking idiot.¡± He actually fucking smiled at me. ¡°Take a break, Dave,¡± said Johan. ¡°Sam, Hugh? See to Dave. I need to smooth things over with the others.¡± And with that, he actually just walked over to the noble kids, bowed and started talking to them. I didn¡¯t hear what he said, but it must have been good because they actually pretended to listen. ¡°Dave,¡± said Sam quietly. She was wearing her most gentle smile. ¡°Please be happy.¡± ¡°This fucked up world conspires against me but I¡¯ll try,¡± I promised Sam. ¡°But, I¡¯m probably going to end up killing half of those little shits.¡± ¡°Oh, you shouldn¡¯t say outrageous things like that,¡± said Hugh into his beard. ¡°No, I¡¯ve already got a start,¡± I said. ¡°I killed four nobles with a cargo net under the arena before we left. I¡¯ve been meaning to tell you both but it¡¯s hard to bring up in conversation.¡± They both looked at me with open mouths. ¡°Oh, would you look at that?¡± I said pointing over their shoulders. ¡°The adults have consensus.¡± Drakos was leading the walk back to the carts. The cloud that was Mother Dukas was no longer storming, but still present and stern. ¡°Squire Wells, after consulting with my colleague Instructor Konstantinos and the chaperone Mother Superior Dukas, I¡¯ve decided that your behaviour was merely reckless, not intentional and so, does not warrant immediate failure and ejection from the test however,¡± he glared at Wells with a terrible venom, ¡°your chances of passing make me strongly suggest you stop at the next town and send a message to your family.¡± Wells, the shooter, hung his head. From what I understood, this meant that he would be recorded as merely not passing the test. Being ejected from the test usually came with a length of time before you could apply again and sometimes even a ban. ¡°Mister Booker,¡± said Drakos, turning his envenomed glare on me. ¡°For your lip, you¡¯ll be cleaning everyone¡¯s gear at the end of each day.¡± He tried to bear down on me but I just stared blankly back and gave a half-shrug. ¡°Alright,¡± said Konstantinos with an awkward amount of false happiness. ¡°With that unpleasantness out of the way. I think that perhaps everyone¡¯s emotions are a bit high because we¡¯re been so cramped,¡± she forced a smile at everyone. ¡°So, I¡¯m going to extend the caravan and those of you with mounts may ride between the carts, how about that?¡± There was a general murmur of relief. A few of the nobles perked up and Sam also looked up hopefully. ¡°Alright then!¡± continued Konstantinos as though she¡¯d received an enthusiastic cry. ¡°We¡¯ll space the carts out and you can stay between them or within an arm''s length of the side but any more and we¡¯re tossing you back into the cart.¡± Konstantinos and Drakos both immediately made for the guide lanterns and attached them to the rudders which were taken from their storage behind the rider¡¯s seat. I took Sam by the hand and subtly walked up to Konstantinos during the commotion of taking mounts from packs and summoning them. On Sam¡¯s behalf with her pleading eyes backing me up, I got Konstantinos¡¯s attention. She turned her eyes on me and I pointed skyward. ¡°Can we go a bit further away if we have a flying transport?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ unusual,¡± answered Konstantinos, turning her eyes on Mother Dukas who was close by. ¡°And would be up to our silver chaperone.¡± Sam had clasped her hands under her chin beneath a beaming smile with puppy-dog eyes, all directed straight at Mother Dukas. ¡°I¡¯d like to see any iron rank flying transport that you think you have about your person, Mister Booker,¡± said Mother Dukas. ¡°Does it have anything to do with that airship I saw Miss Khantong exit over Domarin? ¡°Mother,¡± I said, savouring the moment. ¡°It is the airship that was over Domarin. I can signal it, with your permission? Thank you. Hugh! Signal the Second Wind!¡± ¡°Indeed, just a second,¡± said Hugh, getting some copper-based dust he¡¯d purchased from a specific alchemist just for this situation out of his cupboard-like inventory. ¡°Ah, here we go.¡± Raising dust-filled hands into the air, Hugh used Project Elements and shot a pillar of green fire metres into the air that left a green smoke drifting upwards. He did this at regular intervals for the next minute until a flashing signal light could be seen from the silhouette of the airship from the north east. ¡°Well, there she is, Mother,¡± said Hugh. ¡°What do you think?¡± The Second Wind, which had been trailing the caravan from the horizon, was now tacking towards them. ¡°I don¡¯t recognise the model at all,¡± said Mother Dukas simply. ¡°No magic emission, wind powered. May I ask for what reason you purchased a stealth model at iron rank?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not how it is at all, Mother. Of course, I must say, I understand why you¡¯d think that, Mother. You see, that the ship is no airyard stealth model but a pioneering test of null-magic flight,¡± said Hugh proudly. ¡°It¡¯s more a budget model than anything else, I¡¯d say,¡± I confessed to the impressed clergywoman. ¡°Most expensive thing on it is¡­ well, I probably shouldn¡¯t say. It¡¯s a joint venture with someone Remore family associated. ¡°Gracious Goddess and me,¡± said Mother Dukas, watching the ship as it sailed in, tacking left and right against the wind as it came. ¡°It¡¯s really fun!¡± Sam piped up from Dukas¡¯s elbow. Dukas immediately smiled down at Sam. ¡°It might be dangerous dear,¡± mothered Dukas. ¡°Is fine!¡± beamed Sam. ¡°Dave makes everyone have safety items! He even has spare to provide during flight. Dave loves safety! But, Captain hates it.¡± Sam covered her mouth and giggled. ¡°But he does what Dave says anyway because crew does what Dave says.¡± ¡°Hierarchy of hazard controls,¡± I murmured distractedly. ¡°Always.¡± Several of the nobles had already de-carted and gotten their mounts out. A couple were paper squares that kept miraculously folding out until a full heidel was revealed, one summoned a giant canine and quickly threw a saddle blanket, saddle and then fitted a bridle and reins. Three more had just taken out carved, wooden figurines that took a heavy toll in mana before the user tossed the figurine and it grew into a real sized animal. Even one of the commoners had summoned a giant wheel to which they attached a harness inside to ride. I figured I might be needed on the Second Wind so I kept my own mount item stowed away. Besides, if I summoned it, it¡¯d creep everyone out. The caravan was rearranged with space between the carts for riders and there was a notable release of tension as the commoner¡¯s cart was removed from projectile range which, I think, was the intention of the change from the start. Especially since when one of the aristocrat children idled back towards the commoner¡¯s cart and reached causally into his pocket, Drakos outright slapped the young lord with his aura. Clearly, Drakos believed that the noble right to haze commoners stopped where the aristo-brats couldn¡¯t endanger his job. The Second Wind sailed in soon after slowing to match our speed and dropped a weighted rope ladder from one of the booms. It was a difficult manoeuvre to get right but Dimont and the crew had practised this all week. Mother Dukas had decided that she would decide if the airship was suitable for the trials after she had inspected the craft for safety, which Sam was enthusiastic about. As the rope slowed next to the cart, Sam jumped onto it and started climbing up with a big smile on her face. However, Mother Dukas took a large, red-velvet armchair with a honey-coloured wood frame out of her inventory and put it in the air beside the cart then, handing over her steering duties to a volunteered aspirant, she seated herself gracefully in the chair and flew it up to the Second Wind. The caravan continued rolling along for about half an hour before Dukas was seen again. ¡°This is quite the flying machine you¡¯ve come up with, Booker,¡± said Mother Dukas by way of greetings, flying straight-backed in her armchair. I noticed her clothes and hair were completely free of any wind. ¡°So, you consider it safe enough?¡± I asked. She eyed me sternly from her chair. ¡°I have my doubts, Booker. But, the extensive safety procedures the mate explained in exhaustive detail made me pleased enough that when it eventually falls from the sky, everyone will make it to the ground under the power of magic like the gods intended.¡± ¡°Thank you, Mother,¡± I said gratefully. It was practically an endorsement. Mother Dukas returned to her place driving the front cart. Johan had rejoined us while the carts were being reorganised and with a simple ¡®Come, my friends¡¯, and the mere existence of his neighbourly aura, he led all the remaining commoners up to the Second Wind. Only Hugh and I remained in the cart preferring less wind and a floor that didn''t randomly float. A few hours of travel later, in which both Hugh and I studied, the caravan halted and we were guided off road at a run by the instructors. We stopped several kilometres later and all of the other commoners not from Executive Services, were panting, clutching at their knees by the time we stopped running. It was like they hadn¡¯t trained. Too busy earning a living to train? Maybe. I¡¯d have to ask. ¡°Hey, you need a hand?¡± I asked one of them quietly, who glared up at me between breaths. He¡¯d obviously taken it in a way I hadn¡¯t intended. Fuck but I was bad with people. ¡°Can anyone guess why we¡¯ve stopped here?¡± said Drakos in a loud voice. I managed to clamp my own mouth shut before saying that it was because this was where he¡¯d chosen to stop. ¡°We have stopped here because there¡¯s a large group of pixelax nearby,¡± continued the instructor. I rolled my eyes and tuned out the self-important weed¡¯s speech. I passed the time reorganising my inventory until I heard Johan¡¯s voice. ¡°Cor, but I think I could do just that, Instructor!¡± he said. I quickly used Stop And Think and scrolled back through the chat log. Blah, blah, blah, pixelax, big group, blah, blah, over the next hill, blah, blah, blah, pixelax strategies, blah, who thinks they can fight them. With context, it was clear that Drakos was setting up a rhetorical question and we were supposed to answer that a contract like this was supposed to be done with a team. Johan didn¡¯t get that hint. It was pretty clear that he thought Drakos was asking about bravery and who had enough to try and take them all down. ¡°Oh really, Schmidt?¡± said Drakos, sauntering up to Johan with his hands on his hips. ¡°You think you can do it?¡± Oh fuck. ¡°The way you say it, Instructor Drakos, it sounds like they have to go,¡± said Johan, all heart. ¡°And if, like you say, I¡¯m the only one on the contract then I¡¯m the one to do it!¡± Drakos¡¯s face darkened and then brightened with a smile of ill intent. ¡°Then do so, Mister Schmidt. With my blessing.¡± Well. Johan had fallen into that trap. The only solace I could find in the situation was that the instructors weren¡¯t allowed to let him die. I followed Johan at a distance with the rest of the aspirants. He made no attempt at stealth or tracking. He just plonked his helm on his head, summoned sword and board to his hands and strode determinedly at the monsters until he was amongst them. ¡°Great gods,¡± cursed Drakos, flicking his hand against Konstantinos in a ¡®come on¡¯ gesture and they both started running at the distant Johan. I was nervous for Johan until I clicked on one of the pixelax. They had very few hitpoints and Johan could hit really hard. I got my first real look as a pixelax and five of its fellows opened the ambush. They had long, thin limbs of wood that looked like it was all thorns and splinters but they were only a metre high. ¡°Let him try,¡± I said, sending the words with a gesture to Konstantinos with Swift Message Of The Mind. Konstantinos put a restraining touch to Drakos¡¯s arm and they paused, watching Johan who was already reacting to the ambush he¡¯d walked into. The first five were but a quarter of the entire number and with their speed, I could see why so many pixelax would be considered dangerous without a group; Their tree-like appearance gave them good camouflage and their speed allowed them to overwhelm with numbers and anybody without movement abilities probably wouldn¡¯t escape them. Johan needed no such escape opportunity. He crashed into the pixelax like an avalanche. His Ram¡¯s Charge smashed the first one in front of him to the ground and then he jumped on it to kill it. He pivoted, grinding the snow beneath his feet, graceful as a dancer and hacked through pixelax he¡¯d just passed on his left. Farmer Reaps The Field sent a series of weaker strikes propagating through the pixelaxes adjacent to the one he¡¯d just hit but, even half of one of Johan¡¯s mighty blows was enough to deal mortal cuts to two pixelax and stagger another three. The whole swarm was descending upon Johan in a moment but in response he merely backed up a single step only to aim more carefully at the centre of the swarm with his devastating strikes. His defence was his offence. Johan¡¯s sweeping strikes cleared a zone in front of him into which he¡¯d step and pivot to the next threat and repeat the same move. Twice the pixelax bunched up enough that he doubled up on area of effect damage, being physically strong enough to cut through multiple enemies in a single blow while Farmer Reaps The Field propagated echoes of those unstoppable strikes to the entire mob. He took damage, a sharp hand slipping under a vambrace, splinter-teeth at the back of his knee, and bludgeoning from the monsters hurling their limbs against him but Johan was merely bloodied as the last monster fell to one of his signature, perfect thrusts. He saluted the instructors with his sword and began talking with them. They were far too far away for us to hear but my peers had enough words of their own. ¡°Sweet gods, Favreau. You¡¯re going to fight him?¡± said one labelled Joelle Lachapelle. ¡°Yes!¡± said Favreau with obvious bluster. I mentally tuned out their noise but made my chatbox larger and periodically kept up with what they were saying. The nobles had clearly made some kind of future plan with Johan earlier that involved Favreau fighting Johan, probably a duel, and they were now questioning the wisdom of that plan. The commoners were just making awestruck noises and asking Hugh where Johan was from and such. The trio walking towards us eventually returned, having finished their conversation. ¡°Now that Mister Schmidt has finished showing off,¡± said Drakos, throwing a dirty look at Johan as though he¡¯d done the opposite of exceed expectations. ¡°We¡¯re going to be splitting you all up from your friends and fighting as teams for the next few days. Now, we¡¯re going to run to the next contract and then back to the carts before sundown comes. Follow me!¡± The commoners who¡¯d looked tired on the run here slumped with despair but straightened their backs when Johan beamed at them and patted their shoulders. ¡°Johan, we can sneak them stamina potions if they need it,¡± I muttered to him. ¡°Also, you fucked up the instructors¡¯ lesson. They were trying to show the importance of having a team for safety reasons but your mob clearing power ruined it. Go and apologise to them both. I watched Johan in glances as I ran. His face slowly went through confused to shocked and then to mortified. He started striding ahead to catch up to the instructors. I send a Swift Message Of The Mind to Konstantinos to forewarn her of the overwhelming humbleness heading her way.
The day dragged in a haze of running, instructor-assigned teams, and aristocrats patting themselves on the back for getting carried. It was pretty obvious to me that the instructors were picking teams with a clear skills gap that was supposed to be overcome. The instructors knew what they were doing. They were showing the nobles that they needed to use the commoners properly. Just using blood and failure as teaching points. I figured they wouldn¡¯t be grateful if I spoiled the game so, I only told my team. For my group, I¡¯d been saddled with three nobles. Young, fast and eager to prove themselves. Not a tank, not a healer among them. Not that they seemed to notice. I could see it in their eyes when they glanced at me, the same old disdain. ¡®Booker¡¯ they spat, like it was a slur and rolled their eyes. So, naturally, they rushed into the goblin next we¡¯d been assigned without a plan. All three of them had movement or charge abilities and all three of them became victims of goblin traps while I was still jogging to catch up. By the time I arrived at the battle at my own pace, they¡¯d broken free of the traps and defeated the goblins but they¡¯d lost a lot of hit points. Drakos, our ever-icy instructor, asked why I hadn¡¯t run faster to help. I told him the truth. No sense rushing into the same trap as them. He made a remark about foresight, loud enough for them to hear. Maybe one of them even got the point. Maybe not. Johan, Sam, and Hugh fared better. The nobles in their groups were the same; big on ego, small on tactics, but at least they knew how to lean on ¡®the help¡¯. Johan became a walking shield, and the other two kept everyone in their respective groups alive with healing spells. The nobles would charge, the commoners would serve, and that¡¯s the way the world was supposed to be. When the sun completed its slow retreat into the west, we¡¯d made it back to the caravan and we were told to make camp. The wind had a sharp bite to it that enchanted clothing could take the edge off but couldn''t ignore, and the nobles wasted no time in demanding shelter. That¡¯s when I cast Comfortable Country Cabin, which I¡¯d prepared in the morning for just this moment. The cabin wasn¡¯t much, just something warm and cosy but in a place like this, it was a haven. I¡¯d already summoned one for the Second Wind crew at sunrise, a little act of kindness I did for them daily. With my spell quota drained ¨C my early morning spent spell slot still had a couple of hours left ¨C I had nothing left when the nobles came knocking. They demanded I conjure them a cabin, ¡°by right,¡± they said. As though my magic automatically belonged to them. I told them the truth; first of all, get fucked, secondly, I was out of spells. I wasn¡¯t lying either. My current spell loadout each day for the trials was two cabins, two origami golems, Bibliomancer¡¯s Gravitropic Meteor and Dead Man¡¯s Lightning Of Accuracy. They started making moves towards a tantrum, but Drakos put an end to that. He had a code, at least. Displays of superiority were allowed, but petulance was not. The noble kids slunk off, exuding bitterness under their fine cloaks, while the rest of us settled into the cabin I¡¯d summoned. Drama over, Isabelle Fournier suggested drinks and cards, so we set up a table with a fire that I gestured to a raised plate in the middle, and started dealing out cards. Hugh was out, he couldn¡¯t lie and Johan was out, he¡¯d promised his mum he wouldn¡¯t gamble, but Sam and I joined in, placing small bets, pretending we weren¡¯t all tired and on edge. Johan conjured furniture as we needed it, making sure things were civilised. We chatted. It was nice but there was something underneath it all I couldn¡¯t shake. Casual, like it wasn¡¯t meant to mean anything. Then I realised that was it. They were casual with each other. I used Stop And Think with Library Of The Mind to check. It was there. These four; Isabelle Fournier, Adrien Lefevre, Charlotte Payne and Elodie Valleron all spoke to each other like they knew each other. If true, it was quite the statistical anomaly. None of them had the same accent. Adrien Lefevre, sitting across from me, tossed in a few coins and spoke like a man thinking aloud. ¡°Hey, Booker, I appreciate you sticking it to the nobles. It¡¯s just¡­ we don¡¯t want any backlash, you know? The mighty will fall but we¡¯re just iron rankers. We need to be part of something if you want to shift the ground under their feet.¡± I scowled half-heartedly, but I was listening now. Charlotte Payne, next to him, smiled, slow and easy, her eyes on the fire. ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± she said. ¡°People like us, we need to keep our head down. There¡¯s something bigger at play. Bigger than any noble.¡± The air suddenly felt heavier, like the fire couldn¡¯t reach the whole room. ¡°Well,¡± I said and played my cards, tossing in a bet, ¡°I¡¯m receptive to that. What¡¯s the deal?¡± This was unexpected and I was alert now. If I didn¡¯t interrupt them, maybe they¡¯d just keep talking. There was more going on in those words than frustration with the aristocracy. They weren¡¯t angry, forlorn or any other emotion I¡¯d seen with the nobs; they were... expectant. Excited even. Isabelle Fournier, her gaze distant, spoke up next. ¡°Sometimes I wonder what it¡¯d be like... if we could rebuild things. Wipe the slate clean, you know?¡± Her tone was dreamy, but had an edge to it, like hard liquor. ¡°A lot better,¡± I said with conviction but perhaps, I realised, not the same conviction as my fellows. We were talking about revolution, about toppling the nobles. That much was clear but there was something else under the surface of what she was saying that I was missing. Like I¡¯d zoned out in the middle of a lecture and now I had to figure out what the topic had moved on to. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so confrontational to get it, Dave,¡± said Adrien, leaning forward and dealing another hand with too much precision for the card novice he claimed to be. ¡°You can¡¯t fight them by being like them. Don¡¯t you deny it. You act like you like what¡¯s best for everyone else. Just like a noble, but you¡¯re not.¡± I didn¡¯t respond right away. Sam was also looking interested. She had no love of nobility either. She¡¯d joined a revolutionary group when she was the same age as these kids because a noble had cheated her family out of their farm. I looked around the table noticing the cards get shuffled and the way the light flickered off their faces. Expectant faces. I wasn¡¯t sure if I liked where this was going. Adrien¡¯s voice dropped, low and persuasive, the kind of tone a man uses when he¡¯s trying to sell you something. ¡°You don¡¯t have to fight them,¡± he said. ¡°There¡¯s no need for all that confrontation. Something¡¯s coming, something stronger than they could ever hope to stop. Why stand in the way when you could... step aside? Let the nobles get what¡¯s coming to them. Maybe even... help things along.¡± ¡°What are you getting at?¡± I said. I couldn¡¯t stop an eager smirk crossing my face. ¡°Nothing,¡± Adrien said quickly, too quickly. ¡°Just... things are changing, that¡¯s all. All the recent¡­ situations. Nobody¡¯s happy and there¡¯s a lot of¡­ talk. Talk that the aristocrats are for the old world. And you could have a place in the Build-ing of a new one.¡± he smiled at me. ¡°And then, they¡¯ll get what¡¯s coming to them. You¡¯ve got skills. You could have a place in that.¡± That slip. ¡®Build-ing¡¯. He¡¯d stuttered and his smile faltered, just for a moment. Old world. New world. The words hung in the air like smoke. The Builder. I leaned back in my chair, feeling the weight of the room change. The fire¡¯s warmth was a mockery against the cold tingle that crept down my spine. I wasn¡¯t looking at revolutionaries. I was looking at Builder cultists. They were watching me now, all of them, eyes like coals in the dark. They thought they were recruiting me. ¡°I¡¯d like a place in that,¡± I said, ignoring the leaden pit in my stomach. ¡°How about my team helping all of you through these trials and you give us some introductions afterwards?¡± Adrien¡¯s grin broke the tension in the room. Isabelle, Charlotte, and Elodie exhaled, grinned and exchanged glances, nodding slightly. ¡°I think we can work something out,¡± Adrien said, his voice smooth, as though we¡¯d just struck a deal at a market. ¡°Stick with us, Dave. Help us get through this mess, and we¡¯ll make sure you meet the people with the power to build new things.¡± ¡°Then it¡¯s a deal,¡± I replied, masking my fear behind a calm facade. I¡¯d just been recruited into the Builder cult. ¡°But now that we¡¯re talking of tomorrow, we¡¯re going to need some rest. I don¡¯t think tomorrow¡¯s going to be easier.¡± The cards were swept away, and the atmosphere shifted to one of camaraderie that I felt ill at ease in. As I settled onto the cot next to Sam she shot me a wide-eyed look. She¡¯d been listening. The Builder cult had tried to kill her too. It was difficult to process what¡¯d just happened. These dunces thought they were clever but had just recruited me, the assassination target of the attack on chateau Chamois, into their cause. Or, was I the dunce? Difficult to know. I wrote a note to Sam. Play along. I think I can use these guys. Also, Slimy takes first watch. Tzu takes second. I¡¯d just added spy to my resume. Chapter 39: Further In
Current Quests
Justice For Courbefy: Find justice for the victims of the corrupt mayor of Courbefy. Use¡­ Chosen Of Knowledge: Escort Hugh on his journey to becoming a fully awakened iron¡­ Chosen Of Hero: Escort Johan on his journey to joining the Adventure Society. The Miller Collection: Scour the countryside for health potion recipes that use common¡­ Abel¡¯s Mace: Return Brother Abel¡¯s missing mace to the church of Soldier. He was last¡­ Lost Treasure Map: Find and return an old treasure map stolen from, Marielle Lecuyer¡­ Wolf Menace: Hunt down a pack of mischievous foxes terrorising the livestock of Villars. Missing Scout: Locate and rescue a missing scout who was last seen investigating¡­ Potion of Prosperity Delivery: Deliver a potion of prosperity to the midwife in Houlbec. Merchant''s Goods Recovery: Recover stolen goods in Confolens from the bandits that¡­ Pass The Trials: Pass the trials to join the Adventure Society.
¡°Mister Schmidt, I notice you also cut all the grass in the area again? Old foes of yours?¡± ¡°Oh! Force of habit, Instructor. Sorry!¡± Johan had just lead a team against a bronze ranked monster called a suicide hare. Although, in retrospect, he had to confess that, really, he¡¯d led them away from the suicide hare. It was a truly terrible monster to behold. The instructors had allowed Johan to read from Tome before confronting the fiend. At first Instructor Drakos had been inclined to disallow it saying that not having purchased a monster index before adventuring was a lack of foresight we should have to learn from but Instructor Konstantinos had successfully argued that Johan could easily afford it and simply hadn¡¯t purchased one merely because of his ready access to Dave and Tome. Dave. Johan smiled thinking about the man. He couldn¡¯t believe it when Johan had looked up the monster. He¡¯d slowly collapsed to the ground with his hands over his face and shaken in silent laughter for a full minute at the sight of the terrible beast! He¡¯d tried to explain but Johan wasn¡¯t sure he had understood his friend properly. Something about the tale of a champion called Monty Python who had a transcendent grail and encountered a suicide hare in his adventures. Dave waved his hands saying that he thought the suicide hares were just legends and excused himself to go have a cup of tea, leaving Tome with Johan. The hares were noted in the monster index as hyper aggressive, with gemstones for eyes that could be harvested then cut to be used as focusing elements in many magical items and their fur was infused with elemental magic, making their pelts desirable for enchanters but this bounty was not for the faint of heart. Johan now had first-hand experience of the guile held within a suicide hare. The ravenous monsters would attack from hiding and fling themselves among their prey with a wild abandon that couldn¡¯t be contained and, when they bit, it penetrated deeply, cleaving flesh and bone! Johan nodded to himself, reflecting that retreat had definitely been the correct option. Thankfully, they¡¯d read in Tome that the Hares didn¡¯t like to go into water, something about their elemental fur being wet, so Johan¡¯s team had decided to wait until it was near a small, tributary river before their ill-fated attack. ¡°Good enough,¡± said Instructor Konstantinos. ¡°A better response would have been to refuse the contract but I understand that Instructor Drakos didn¡¯t phrase the offer as a request.¡± She and Drakos shared a momentary competitive stare. ¡°They ought to have refused the offer anyway,¡± said Drakos, airily. ¡°An adventurer needs the confidence to assert the limits of their abilities.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± admitted Konstantinos. ¡°So, although you didn¡¯t use the best solution, your immediate retreat in the face of being outmatched is, as I said, good enough.¡± Drakos clenched his jaw at a distant mountain. ¡°Thank you, Instructor,¡± said Johan to Konstantinos and turned to Drakos. ¡°And you, Instructor. Where to next?¡± ¡°Actually yes,¡± murmured Konstantinos, also turning to Drakos. ¡°Where should we go next? That¡¯s the last of the teambuilding isn¡¯t it? Solo tests now?¡± Johan felt like he wasn¡¯t supposed to be hearing this but he hadn¡¯t been dismissed either and so, hovered awkwardly as motionless as a grazer calf as Mother Superior Dukas joined the conversation. ¡°There¡¯s no silver zones to the east,¡± said Dukas, whose demi-god level hearing had no doubt heard everything. ¡°We¡¯ll get more monsters if we split up so why don¡¯t one of you use that magnificent airship that the Booker boy owns and take it across the river?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not letting his betters on it,¡± snapped Drakos. That was true. Sort of. Avril was on the Second Wind but Dave flatly refused to let any of the Adventure Society aspirants on board. Drakos had asked why and Dave had answered with his truly unique casual lack of care about anything in the world and said that it was because they were a bunch of C-words. Johan had been shocked, amused and then shocked that he was amused! And, Dave had just stood there with a perfectly straight face! He didn¡¯t even bat an eye. Johan could only wish he had such nerve! If not Dave¡¯s cynicism. Dave meant well, of course. ¡°He¡¯ll agree to it if I ask nicely and the young lords and ladies are made to remember to act like they¡¯re guests when on board,¡± said Mother Superior Dukas. ¡°Your goddess told you this?¡± asked Drakos. ¡°Common sense told me, my dear boy,¡± said Mother Superior Dukas in her most matriarchal tone. ¡°Now come.¡± And, so they did. Mother Superior Dukas swept away, leading the group straight to Dave. ¡°Booker,¡± said Mother Superior Dukas. Dave had time to raise his eyes from Tome with an open expression for the arriving group. ¡°I would like us to use your airship to cover more area for the next part of the trials with some of the noble-born on board? They will, of course, be well supervised.¡± Dave grunted, taken aback for a moment. ¡°So long as it¡¯s my idea of well supervised and not theirs,¡± said Dave, nodding. ¡°Although, I admit, they¡¯ve been a lot more tolerable since Johan had a word with them on day one. I just want some reassurance that some entitled dimwit won¡¯t be endangering my crew or anybody else on board.¡± Johan squirmed uncomfortably at the attention suddenly directed at him. He¡¯d challenged the young scions to enact their noble virtues righteously for the duration of the trip and if they did, as judged by Instructor Drakos, they could challenge any lowborn to a feat of arms at the end. Should they win, Johan would give them an awakening stone from his party¡¯s collection. Executive Services didn¡¯t have the rarest awakening stones, but had stones of the hunt, of the winds and of several types of animal which were known to be desirable. Naturally, their noble nature had demanded they accept the challenge to rise above others. ¡°They shall be supervised by Konstantinos,¡± reassured Mother Superior Dukas. ¡°And I shall impress upon them her ability to fail them for any failure of decorum.¡± ¡°Wait, hang on¡± said Dave and his face flickered as he used Stop And Think. ¡°No, damn. It should be Drakos with me on the Second Wind.¡± Everyone, even Drakos, who¡¯d been staring hard above Dave¡¯s head, did a double take in surprise. Dave and Drakos were two cats in a tub, as his mum would say. ¡°If the goal is to cover more ground then the best split is all the aspirants with mounts go with Konstantinos,¡± Dave explained. ¡°You can summon a few mounts yourself to make up the numbers, right?¡± Konstantinos nodded. ¡°Yeah, so that¡¯ll be twelve mounted and thirteen flying,¡± said Dave. ¡°If we put normal people on all the borrowed mounts we can even have an almost even split of classes too. Which would be good to allay any accusations of favouritism, right?¡± both instructors nodded. ¡°And, the nobs view you as one of them,¡± Dave nodded at Drakos. ¡°So, I think they¡¯re less likely to try and get away with anything if it¡¯s you telling them what to do. No offence, Konstantinos, but because you were born a commoner, those little shits think taking instruction from you as a novelty to weasel out of. From Drakos, they view instructions more strictly. ¡°No offence,¡± scoffed Drakos at the horizon. ¡°No offence meant to her,¡± clarified Dave with casual ease. ¡°I mean every offence to -¡± ¡°Booker,¡± warned Mother Superior Dukas. Dave took a breath and clenched his jaw. ¡°Apologies, Mother,¡± said Dave. ¡°Just assure me, Instructor Drakos, that if the lord or ladylings are not on their best behaviour you¡¯ll personally throw them overboard or¡­ what-have-you?¡± ¡°I assure you, Booker,¡± said Drakos haughtily, ¡°that the upper class under my supervision will behave as I expect of guests in my own house or suffer my wrath.¡± ¡°Thank you kindly, Instructor Drakos,¡± said Dave, giving the bow of a commoner to a liege lord. ¡°Please make your selections. I shall await you with the captain on my ship.¡± Drakos gave the return bow of a liege lord dismissing a subject and moved off to collect and explain what was happening to the aspirants who were arrayed and separated by blood across the meadow they¡¯d been watching Johan¡¯s embarrassing but necessary retreat from. ¡°Come along, Booker,¡± said Konstantinos. ¡°I¡¯m going to get the hare.¡±
Some time later, Dave had been told to do the first solo fight when a small pack of gnolls had been spotted. ¡°Yeah, I get it. You need to see what I can do if I get separated from my team.¡± ¡°Instructor,¡± muttered Instructor Drakos in correction. ¡°I mean, I understand the assignment, Instructor Drakos,¡± said Dave. ¡°Looks like four gnolls, the contract says a pack of gnolls, I¡¯ve read the entry on gnolls so there could be more. I¡¯ll approach with caution. Is there anything else, Instructor Drakos?¡± The Second Wind drifted lazily backwards on its moorings as the last of the aspirants who didn¡¯t have slow fall abilities or equipment finished climbing down. Dave¡¯s audience stood in groups separated by blood, waiting for his one man task to begin. Dave began by taking a new item out of the inventory at his waist. Johan recognised it immediately; Reins Of The Discordant Steed. Johan winced, remembering the last time he¡¯d seen Dave use it. Brisset had purchased it on Dave¡¯s behalf in Pranay. Items with descriptions that referenced the dark gods were always unpopular and with the recent divine betrayal of Purity, more unpopular than ever so this mount had actually cost Dave very little of his wealth which was why Brisset was so confident in purchasing it on his behalf. Dave invested some mana into the reigns and threw them in front of himself. Light warped, upwards became inwards, gravity became a thought you could see in and, from the eldritch un-space around the reins a creature formed that was hard to look at, lifting Dave into the air as it imposed itself into reality. The thing that crawled from the eldritch space defied biology and belonged in nightmares. Its eight spindly, arachnid legs moved with a disjointed rhythm, each step a jarring staccato as raptor-claw tips struck the snow, unnaturally connected in pairs at each knee of its predator-like limbs. Its grotesque body, a blend of raptor and spider, stretched and twisted unnervingly, making it impossible to tell where one creature¡¯s influence ended and the other¡¯s began. Patches of coarse, arachnid fur covered its frame, while oily, iridescent scales gleamed faintly, refusing to reflect light properly. Trying to discern where one texture shifted into another was an uneasy task, as if the creature¡¯s form rebelled against coherence. Glowing, multifaceted eyes, too many for comfort, pulsed with an uncaring, alien intelligence, flickering with a light not its own, as though the natural light of the world recoiled, refusing to touch what lay inside. Its scythe-like claws hooked into the ground, while its maw, filled with needle-thin teeth, opened and closed with soft, unsettling clicks, as if it were tasting the air of a reality it didn¡¯t belong to. An aura of wrongness emanated from it, warping the very space around it, as though its mere existence was an affront to nature, time, and sanity alike. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°KraKa-ka-ka-ka,¡± the creature half-clucked in a muted, muffled way that made everyone listening think the aberration¡¯s throat wasn¡¯t meant for vocalisation. Dave¡¯s chattering audience of onlookers took a collective step back and many of the familiars present outright hid behind their bonded masters. ¡°What¡­ is¡­?¡± ¡°Sweet gods! What¡¯d you summon Booker?¡± ¡°That feels wrong.¡± ¡°...the way it moves or the way it looks at you¡­¡± ¡°I will never forget this.¡± ¡°Booker,¡± said Instructor Drakos with perfect, icy calm. ¡°You¡¯re not supposed to bring your own monsters to the trials.¡± ¡°Heh, good one, Instructor,¡± said Dave with an appreciative chuckle. ¡°You don¡¯t seem affected?¡± asked Instructor Konstantinos who was, like Johan himself, looking straight at Dave and nowhere else. ¡°I think it¡¯s part of one of my racials,¡± said Dave and then waved. ¡°See you all soon.¡± He turned the skittering aberration and made straight for the gnolls. Johan had grown up his whole life only hearing of the dog-headed, beclawed monsters named as gnolls but he¡¯d been a little surprised to learn from Tome that similar iron rank monsters appeared all over the world. They were called margols in the great continent across the Byzas Strait where they were slimmer with larger claws, in Bharatakhanda - what a name - their features were described as more subdued with a shorter snout but would sometimes use weapons and in the jungles around Rimaros they were the feared Nahual who would attack at night in droves. Dave rode into battle on what he insisted was mundanely called an ¡®arachnoraptor¡¯ and when Johan felt his attention slipping back to the history and variants of gnolls, he knew that there was no denying that Dave was just not that interesting to watch fight. Honestly, he felt that Drakos should just give Dave the Adventure Society badge now so they could do something else. He forced himself to watch Dave¡¯s battle and at least appreciate the planning and repetitive efficiency of it. Dave had opened up the battle by throwing a flaming grenade onto the closest gnoll and riding away, exactly matching the speed of the gnoll while turning in his saddle and shooting the pursuing monster with that wand enhancer that James had so cleverly made. When the gnoll closest to him died, he just did the same thing again with the next gnoll. He did this over and over while riding in a wide loop of a path. An endless path of slow death. Dave had shown this technique before in training. He¡¯d called it ¡®kiting¡¯ and described it as a very practised method of his culture that he was keen to implement in this new place he found himself in. Johan found more glory in feats of arms with sword and shield but in the end, he decided that his mum was right; happiness takes a different path for every soul. After an excruciatingly long wait, Dave came skittering back on that disturbing mount. Johan understood why Dave insisted on using it though, in spite of its unsettling feel, it was a very, very fast mount. ¡°Critique, Instructor Drakos?¡± asked Dave, dismounting and pocketing the reins while the mount shrank jerkily and irregularly into un-spaces with no apparent discomfort. ¡°It was a bit slow,¡± remarked Instructor Drakos. ¡°No spell slots today?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t have to use them, Instructor,¡± said Dave with a shrug, ¡°Maybe I could have got two at the start with falling paper bricks but I¡¯d rather save spell slots for staying alive over maybe killing two gnolls.¡± ¡°Thank you, Booker,¡± said Instructor Drakos, dismissing Dave. ¡°Everyone back on the¡­ transport.¡± The Second Wind had anchored in a clearing behind them, drifting in the biting winter wind. When the crew saw the aspirants approaching they threw rope ladders and lines over the side. Johan took one of the lines and started pulling himself up hand-over-hand as did others with strength or weight reduction abilities. Most of everyone else started scrambling up rope ladders. ¡°All aboard?¡± bellowed Captain Dimont, sending a respectful look at Drakos who nodded after a moment. ¡°Good. Weigh anchor! Let¡¯s get underway to the next stop. Mister Booker, to the helm, if you please.¡± It wasn¡¯t a request. Dave''s map ability could give Captain Dimont a second by second knowledge of his exact location and since Telekinetic Scribe allowed him to erase his own pen strokes, he could safely write on the maps. At the raised section at the back of the ship where Captain Dimont stood, Dave started pointing at a map and the captain got them moving on an east-south-east heading to the next stop. The Second Wind sailed over the frostbitten landscape that glittered with melt, over trees, streams and all other aspects of the landscape that could drifted past while Sam leaned over the rails smiling at all of it. She was perfectly safe with her slow fall belt, of course, but Johan kept an eye on her just in case. It¡¯d be inconvenient to have to circle back and pick her up. The Second Wind had a very wide turning circle. ¡°Right there! Monster!¡± shouted Adrien Lefevre, jolting Johan from his thoughts. ¡°Where away?¡± called the Captain, leaning heavily on the railings and his remaining leg. ¡°Right there!¡± shouted Adrien, not understanding that pointing was quite useless for anybody trying to navigate. Adrien¡¯s family were servants on a rural estate, familiar with the workings of the household. A skill that Johan had learned was surprisingly complex but it made sense. Those noble houses could get quite big. ¡°Due east, Captain!¡± called Stibbons, one the the nearby hands. ¡°Half a mile!¡± Captain Dimont commanded the airship to an angle that¡¯d bring it over the indicated area. ¡°Monsiours de Bourbon, de Montmorency, Mademoiselle de Laval and Blackwood,¡± said Instructor Drakos. ¡°Make yourselves ready to disembark from altitude.¡± ¡°Good luck, Edward,¡± Johan clapped his fellow commoner¡¯s shoulder as they passed. The four named adventure society aspirants went and stood with Instructor Drakos at the back of the ship. Two of them had slow fall equipment and the other two had abilities that negated fall damage. The latter were remarkably common. Usually some kind of special attack they could use against the ground. ¡°Hold her steady!¡± bellowed Captain Dimont after a quiet word from Instructor Drakos. Instructor Drakos and the four aspirants checked the ground for good landing spots one last time and leapt off the back of the Second Wind which the Captain proceeded to put into a circling pattern above the area. Johan stood in the designated area away from where the crew worked and gazed down at the distant figures about to take on the large pack of ratlings. Drakos was arranging the aspirants in a concave line to each fall on the foraging ratlings at once. Although the opening of the attack would be simultaneous, Johan had no doubt that Instructor Drakos had instructed that they not work together. They were testing the ability to fight alone today but it seemed that often the monsters were just too many, so the exercise became multiple aspirants fighting ¡®alone¡¯ at the same time. Dave had been an exception and was given the first one-man-only encounter since his damage wasn¡¯t enough to reliably keep up with the other aspirants. The four on the ground engaged. De Montmorency used a song essence ability and attracted more than their share of ratlings. Drakos intervened and used his own abilities to redirect the ratlings towards de Laval and Blackwood instead. Blackwood jumped, clearly shaken, at the unexpected addition of the extra ratling and used a couple of explosive, long cooldown abilities to regain the upper hand. Johan winced a little. The encounter otherwise went well with each aspirant defeating their ratlings. The Second Wind descended to pick them up. Once she was on board, Edward made for Johan. ¡°Johan, buddy, I need help,¡± he said in an undertone. ¡°I need you to help me. The look both instructors just gave me. I dunno. I really need an Adventure Society badge and I can¡¯t mess this up. I can¡¯t!¡± Johan just smiled down at his new friend, washing away Edward¡¯s desperation and filling him with hope. ¡°Let¡¯s go talk to Dave,¡± said Johan, moving to put a guiding arm around his shoulders. ¡°I can help you with swordplay but strategy? Planning?¡± He gave the other man a wink. ¡°You want Detective Dave Booker.¡± Fifteen minutes later, Edward carefully held in his hands what Dave called a ¡®process flow diagram,¡¯ centred around a ¡®damage rotation.¡¯ As he made his way across the swaying deck, his expression was a mix of determination and wonder, Johan eavesdropped with satisfaction as Edward approached Adrien, Charlotte, and Elodie, who were already eyeing the diagram with curiosity. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Adrien asked, leaning closer as Edward displayed the paper. ¡°This¡­ is a damage rotation,¡± Edward replied, a hint of excitement creeping into his voice. ¡°I gave Dave a look at my abilities and he broke down the most efficient way to use them in a fight. Take a look! He even has these little side-paths for if things go wrong.¡± Charlotte was intrigued despite herself. ¡°How does he know this will work? Does he have an information ability?¡± ¡°Yes and it¡¯s pretty precise,¡± Edward said, nodding. ¡°You should ask him to make one for you too. It¡¯s not at all how we¡¯ve been fighting. It¡¯s not ¡®gumption¡¯ and ¡®feeling the moment¡¯ like we¡¯ve been told by the highers. He just talked with me about how I like to use each ability, my weapon preferences and a bunch of other things and then he made this and¡­ well, I think it just makes sense. I like it.¡± ¡°Maybe we should take a look,¡± said Charlotte, exchanging a piqued glance with Elodie. ¡°What do you think?¡± Elodie eyed the paper with both suspicion and hope. ¡°Let¡¯s see how you do in the next fight, Ed.¡± Johan beamed, already knowing the result. Dave¡¯s careful planning was starting to win them over.
Adrien relentlessly drilled his new battle method with Johan for an hour before his chance to shine arrived. His essence combination of wheel, lightning, and resolute formed a juggernaut confluence. Volunteering at the next monster encounter, he was dropped alongside another aspirant onto a pack of galezard. Some encounters involved the entire group disembarking for a better view, like Dave¡¯s lone battle, but for most, those fighting leapt off the back with Drakos while the rest did their best to watch from the poop deck. Adrien had borrowed Elodie¡¯s slow fall cape - a piece of equipment the commoners had to share - and settled to the ground, already summoning the giant mono-wheel that marked his combat style. Johan smiled as Adrien resisted the urge to open with his only movement ability, dodging the hail of thunderous attacks the galezards hurled at him the mundane way, and closed in for melee. When the Second Wind was close in its controlled drift, it was possible to see Adrien¡¯s lips moving as he fought, concentrating fiercely on doing it RightTM. His lightning-tipped spear attack landed with the force of his charge, followed by a crushing wheel strike. Then Adrien spun the wheel on the monster for extra damage, activated Resolute Defence, attacked once more and disengaged. There were a few other abilities mixed in, but Johan couldn¡¯t see the flows of magic the way Dave could, and he certainly didn¡¯t have Dave¡¯s ¡®combat log¡¯ - something he envied. As a result, he missed many of the finer details, but he still thought it was a strong showing from Adrien. Adrien maintained his momentum, rolling out and away, relying on his speed for safety until another opportunity to strike came. The almost mechanical but mesmerising battle bore Dave¡¯s hallmark approach. Adrien¡¯s repeated spear charges on lone monsters with swift disengagement showed marked improvement over his previous method, which had been to ¡®get in, stay in, and use everything in an attempt to overwhelm¡¯. In the earlier group fights, Adrien had sometimes needed to be saved from monster aggression, but now, talking himself through the process with white knuckles on his spear, when three galezards descended on him at once, he extricated himself from danger using Whiplash Snapback without any hesitation, and, to Johan¡¯s relief, didn¡¯t focus on trying to hit monsters with the line of force damage produced by the ability - a mistake that had previously left him scratched up by a dire wolf. When Adrien returned to the ship, grinning triumphantly, Charlotte and Elodie exchanged a glance and their eyes scanned the deck, seeking out Dave.
Booker leaned back against the rail of the airship, posture relaxed as the biting wind whipped around him deep in thought with his spellbook on the foredeck, framed against the sunset. Charlotte and Elodie had sidled up to him during a lull in the nightly disembarking. Their manner was easy with the camaraderie the day¡¯s events had left between them. ¡°Booker,¡± Charlotte began, her voice low but carrying an edge of earnestness, ¡°we really owe you for all your help. We wouldn¡¯t have gotten this far without you.¡± Elodie nodded with Charlotte¡¯s words. ¡°You¡¯ve made a big difference for us, you know? It¡¯s difficult when you can¡¯t afford an information ritualist. Everyone can feel their abilities but we can¡¯t break them down the way you can on a whim. And, well, it¡¯s given us a real chance of passing these trials.¡± ¡°Just helping out,¡± he said, with a wry smile and a casual shrug. Booker turned his eyes back to the tips of the distant alps as the Second Wind bobbed at the end of its anchor. ¡°Besides, I¡¯d have done it for everyone if the nobs hadn¡¯t been such pricks, you know?¡± Booker didn¡¯t try to push his will on them, didn¡¯t press for gratitude - unlike the nobility he despised, he didn¡¯t need it. He¡¯d helped them, without question, because they¡¯d needed it. He was exactly the kind of person they needed. Charlotte exchanged a look with Elodie. They¡¯d agreed to cross this line but still, it was a lot. ¡°There¡¯s more we want to talk about. You¡¯ve been¡­ good to us. More even, than we expected, honestly,¡± Charlotte said carefully. ¡°And we think you should know more about what¡¯s really going on.¡± Booker turned his head slightly, just enough to let them know he was listening. He waited patiently, content. They knew he¡¯d been keeping an eye on them from the start, piecing together everything about everyone. Thank the Builder he was on their side but also¡­ maybe he wasn¡¯t ready yet to know about the Builder. ¡°Our sponsor gave us essences and pushed us to these trials faster than they should have, I realise that now,,¡± said Elodie, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper in her confession. ¡°Our cause lost a lot of people in the recent troubles, and our sponsor needs replacements.¡± She didn¡¯t say ¡°Betrayal Day,¡± but they knew that Booker would feel the unspoken weight in her words. She thought she was being vague, but he knew exactly what she was hinting at; the day Purity revealed Their true self. She was just glad that she could still deceive the detective a little longer. He was no doubt thinking that the ¡®revolution¡¯ had taken losses the same as the hated aristocracy. ¡°And now,¡± Charlotte cut in, leaning closer, ¡°we have the opportunity to repay you for everything you¡¯ve done. Our trust has been earned, Booker, and we want our sponsor to know about you. Your help. The sponsor thinks bigger than just the trials; this is about toppling the whole system and I know you¡¯re with us. You already have our gratitude but you¡¯ll also have a place with us when everything changes.¡± Booker kept his expression neutral, although a flicker of dark amusement crossed his face for a moment. ¡®Revolution¡¯, they called it, which was still true on a deeper level. It was a fight to tear down the oppressive system. And now Booker was with them. Booker nodded, as Charlotte and Elodie had known he would. He¡¯d been in the revolution before he even knew it existed. Soon, he¡¯d see, as they had seen, that the Builder and Purity¡¯s plan was the only way to make things right. ¡°We¡¯ve an opportunity coming up,¡± Elodie said quietly, glancing around to make sure no one else was listening. ¡°A night-time attack on the caravan. The higher ups have orchestrated it. We¡¯re going to make sure it¡¯s the perfect chance for us to show that we belong in the Adventure Society. Maybe score some extra recognition and get a star on our badges while we¡¯re at it.¡± A smile curled at the corner of Booker¡¯s lips, though it didn¡¯t reach his eyes. The look of a man who knew he¡¯d just achieved checkmate. ¡°Sounds like someone¡¯s got quite the plan,¡± he said, his tone dry, almost amused. ¡°I¡¯m in! And, I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s happening on the last night? Because, that¡¯s the only night we know where we¡¯ll be.¡± They smiled back at him, pleased he could keep up. ¡°You got it, Detective.¡± Charlotte and Elodie walked away, leaving him alone on his airship with the wind and the growing darkness. They had Booker on their side now, and they had a grand future with him on their side. Booker would be a part of the revolution he was hoping for and more. Because, Lord Builder was already waiting, ten steps ahead.