ã€ŠThe Cloudfarers [A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure]ã€‹


 Chapter 1: A Fogging Clog

    The brickwork tunnels below the Thistlethorn estate were narrow and cramped, and the fog that flowed through them smelled permanently of rotting mistweed. And these were just some of the things Rylan disliked about carrying out fog-condenser maintenance.

    Unfortunately, like most people who lived in the vast cloudsea, the inhabitants of Thistlebloom Island were entirely reliant on condensers for their water needs, and regular maintenance was not optional. And as the estate¡¯s youngest indentured servant, Rylan was usually the first pick to go perform it.

    That didn¡¯t mean he had to like it.

    Worse than the smell and the lack of space, were the cold and the fogging damp.

    Rylan shivered as another icy drop of water splashed onto his head. The freezing droplet immediately ran down his flaxen locks to his forehead, passing beneath his glowband¡ªif you could call it that.

    The slim cloth headband had the tiniest hexagon of glowmetal glued onto it, and while Rylan enjoyed watching the colours shimmer over the Divine Metal¡¯s surface during his breaks, its purplish-red glow barely even reached his feet through the thick vapour. Thus, he was forced to keep one hand on the chilly brickwork while he shuffled forward, moving as fast as he dared over the rocky, uneven ground.

    The icy drop continued down his forehead and across the bridge of his nose until it could go no farther, then leapt off and dripped onto his deep-brown kelp tunic. Rylan paid it no heed; the fabric already clung to his skin anyway, drenched and cold like his apron after an evening shift washing dishes.

    There was one thing he did like about the fog: the sense of floatiness it provided. Down in the cold mist, things didn¡¯t seem to weigh as much, allowing him to jump much higher and farther, with softer landings to boot.

    It was almost enough to give him a sense of freedom.

    Almost.

    It was hard to enjoy the floaty sensation when¡ªdespite his average height¡ªhe had to literally hunch over to avoid scraping his head against the brickwork overhead. It was even harder to feel free with the heavy metal anklet on his right leg.

    By now, he was used to the extra weight. Still, each step served as a physical reminder that he was mere property until he repaid his debt. To prevent chafing, the anklet was lined with wool on the inside¡ªthe Thistlethorns at least took good care of their belongings¡ªbut the skin beneath often itched like crazy, especially during humid, sweaty summers.

    Or after being soaked by airborne water.

    Happy fogging birthday to me.

    It wasn¡¯t really his birthday, probably. That was hard to figure out for a Cloudgift. Still, it was the anniversary of the day he¡¯d been found, so for all intents and purposes, he treated it as such.

    More importantly¡ªto Rylan, anyway¡ªit was the day that he knew for certain that he was of age. Which meant he was eligible to gain... a Skill.

    The odds of getting one were incredibly slim, of course, but surely his years of preparations would amount to something. All he had to do was demonstrate to Ethereon that he deserved one.

    But first, he had to finish his last chore for the day.

    The water pressure had been steadily dropping all over the estate, so his job was to visit the cisterns on all of the various buildings within the compound to manually clear the mistweed out of the condensation grids.

    The fog inlet down in the small marina was equipped with a heavy grate to prevent fogfish or anything worse from swimming in, but it couldn¡¯t block tiny seeds from drifting through and inevitably ending up getting sucked into the fog-attracting grids.

    Travelling through the tunnels and fogtubes was not strictly required for the task, but it was by far the fastest way to access each of the condensers in turn, and today especially, Rylan didn¡¯t feel the slightest bit like taking the longer, drier way around.

    Passing by the junction that led to the collector on top of the greenhouse, he expertly ducked the arc where the tunnel he was in crossed beneath the foundation of the guards¡¯ barracks. The tunnels that served as a conduit for the fog were a bit of a maze, but by now, Rylan could navigate them blindly.

    Soon enough, the ground started to slope up, heading for the opening of the copper tube that led all the way up to his final stop: the cistern at the top of the tower, the tallest building in the walled-off compound.

    He¡¯d heard the original fogtube leading there had gone straight up, but after one-too-many blockages in the vertical section, the Thistlethorns had it torn down and redone so that it spiralled up around the tall stone building. Rylan was quite thankful for that decision today, as it meant he could just walk up the tube, rather than take the long way around and go through the trouble of requesting access to the tower¡¯s roof.

    Maintaining grip on the shiny interior of the tube did require some care, as it was always damp. A problem that was exacerbated by the small hexagons of cool, aquamarine cloudmetal spaced out along the top and sides of the tube¡¯s interior.

    Cloudmetal was always cold, which, combined with its ability to attract fog, made it perfect for keeping food from spoiling, fighting off the summer heat, and, of course, for condensing fog into drinkable water.

    The flat, hexagonal pieces placed in the fogtube helped draw the fog all the way up to the roof. However, it also triggered some condensation to form prematurely, especially in the parts of the tube that were in the tower¡¯s shadow, causing a thin trickle of water to constantly run down the centre.

    Unwilling to spend anymore time down here than he needed to, Rylan planted his feet on either side of the tiny stream, grabbed onto the handrails, and started to climb.

    As he made his way up, the sound of the steady drip-dropping of water falling from the condenser at the top grew steadily louder. He could already tell it wasn¡¯t operating at peak capacity, both from the sound and the sluggish rate at which the water vapour seemed to be travelling up the pipe.

    The fog was thicker than usual as well, which at least had the added benefit of lightening him further, thus making his climb easier. In fact, by the time he at last stepped out of the top end of the copper tube, he felt light as a feather.

    Despite his haste, he allowed himself a brief moment to roll his neck and straighten his back.

    Standard procedure was to close the hatch at the top of the tube and wait for the fog to clear up a little, before proceeding to a visual inspection of the condensation grid. But that was the slow way to do it, and Rylan had no stomach for slow today.

    A few careful hop-steps forward through the soup-like fog brought him to the stone cistern without stubbing his toe. Reaching into it with one hand, he checked the water level, hoping against hope that it would be fine.

    It was clearly too low, so with a sigh he pulled his already mostly full bag around to hang in front of his chest, faced the cistern, then jumped up and forward.

    For a moment, he was suspended entirely in the floaty fog, his right hand stretching up, reaching for something just beyond him. Then his hand hit the condensation grid¡ªa mesh of pure cloudmetal hanging over the cistern¡ªand his fingers closed around the cool material.

    Within the fog, it was easy enough to hang from a single arm. Frankly, the hardest part was keeping his body from swinging back and forth like a very slow pendulum as, with his other hand, he started feeling around for the clumps of mistweed clogging up the mazes of the grid.

    The fog was very thick so close to the condenser, so his fingers blindly sought out the weeds tangling up and insulating the cloudmetal, depositing them in his bag one by one, until he couldn¡¯t find any within reach. Then he moved his grip along the grid, and continued.

    By the time he couldn¡¯t find any more mistweed, his bag was full and his fingers were freezing.

    He found the edge of the grid, gripping the metal with both hands as he swung forward, then released. Falling down through the fog was scary, but with its floaty qualities, not too dangerous. Not from three feet up, anyway.

    He¡¯d heard stories of people falling off cloudships. Those rarely ended happily.

    He touched down gently and found the fogtube in short order, the thick fog already thinning a little after his efforts. Standing at the top, he briefly hesitated, tempted as always to just slide down.

    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    As a child, he¡¯d done it on a few occasions. He and Zahra had run up and slid down the tube until they were blue-lipped and shivering, giggling all the way. Of course, those days were long gone now, with him having come of age, and his best friend not far behind.

    Somewhere around the ten-year anniversary of his arrival, the bamboo sticks they¡¯d been using as mock swords had been plucked out of their hands, and replaced with thicker bamboo poles that had brushes and rags on the end, while their loose shirts and breeches turned into stiff, ill-fitting uniforms.

    All of a sudden, rather than children with nothing better to do than attend Master Gullfeather¡¯s morning classes and play pranks on the staff, they had become the staff.

    As the daughter of the head chef, Zahra had some leeway when she whined and complained, but Rylan was, after all, a Cloudgift. He was indebted to the Thistlethorns for taking him in, for feeding and clothing and sheltering him.

    Starting at age ten, he¡¯d been expected to start earning his keep, and Miss Amberleaf, the Thistlethorns¡¯ head of housekeeping, had no patience for indentured servants, regardless of their age. He¡¯d learned that the hard way.

    With a sigh, he bowed his head, gripped the handrails and went down the slow way.

    Finding your way out of the maze of tunnels was, paradoxically, easier than finding your way in. All you had to do was walk against the direction the fog was flowing in¡ªand it was flowing a lot faster now.

    Well, it would actually be quicker to exit the way Rylan had come in, through the hatch down below the servants¡¯ quarters, but of course, it wouldn¡¯t be appreciated if he stepped out of there now, dripping wet. It was really more of an entry-only kind of hatch.

    So instead, Rylan simply hurried on. Soon enough, he reached the grate at the fog inlet. The flow was moving so quickly there now, it actually made it a little difficult to fumble the key he¡¯d checked out earlier into the lock.

    With the grate secured behind him again, Rylan stepped out of the cramped brickwork tunnel, onto the sandy cloudbed of the small marina.

    The fog immediately cleared a little, and he spotted some vague silhouettes of people in the distance, no doubt tending to the mushrooms growing there on a thin layer of substrate, checking them for parasitic growths and whatnot.

    His appearance was met with the happy bleating of a couple of nearby mistsheep, that quickly started to waggle their little tails and paws in order to drift closer to him.

    Smiling, he took off his bag and shook out the collected strands of mistweed, causing them to float towards the mammals that happily started to chew.

    Sometimes, he sorted out a few fresh shoots to sneak back to his room as a snack, but he didn¡¯t feel like it today. It wasn¡¯t like his diet lacked mistweed anyway.

    Besides, the mistsheep were cute. The bubbles of light, fog-free air trapped in their greasy wool was what kept them afloat, and it made them look like they were all hanging inside a personal little cloud.

    You just had to avoid walking beneath them when they, well...

    A shepherd in the distance¡ªeasily recognised by the stained, extra-wide-rimmed hat and the thirty-foot, hooked bamboo pole¡ªbrought a hand to his mouth and whistled. A split-second later, one of his trained fogseals enthusiastically came swimming over to Rylan, sniffing and circling him once before it started to chase the still-chewing, wayward cattle back to their herd.

    Rylan¡¯s smile faded as he stood there a moment longer, watching as they slowly faded out of view. Peering into the swirling fog, he could almost imagine he was out in the vast cloudsea, delving into its mysteries. In actuality, the marina was only a small, closed-off section that belonged to the estate; a watered-down version of the massive ecosystem that covered the vast majority of the land. Of course, even if he had been standing in the real thing, his anklet would not have let him get far.

    With an empty bag and a sigh, Rylan turned around and started making his way up through the loose sand. As he did, however, the fog in the enclosed harbour thickened around him again, indicating the presence of a cloudship somewhere above him.

    Most larger vessels incorporated some cloudmetal in their hulls, as having thicker fog around them improved their buoyancy and thus carrying capacity. When walking beneath them, however, it was a real pain in the¡ª

    Rylan swore out loud as he bonked his head on something.

    ¡ªskull.

    Reaching up, he quickly found he¡¯d been bopped on the crown by a flat, spongy span of bone, probably the rib of a fogwhale. Most floats were constructed like that. They often used an entire ribcage to form the exterior support, with the spine serving as a keel, and thickly woven kelp stretched taut between the ribs, dented slightly inward due to the force exerted by the heavy fog.

    Inside it would be space to store cargo, between carefully preserved and greased gas bladders from fogwhales, which the majestic creatures used to stay afloat.

    The kelp tarpaulin itself should be enough to keep out the fog and keep the ship adrift, but redundancies were important. The last thing a sailor wanted was to have to make an emergency landing down on the cloudbed.

    Feeling out the contours of the float, Rylan made his way around it until he finally stepped out of the driftline¡ªthe topmost layer of the cloudsea¡ªand into the warm sunlight beaming down from the clear blue sky. As usual, there wasn¡¯t a single skycloud in view.

    Taking off his glowband and rubbing his sore head, he shot a glare at the offending cloudship. It was a simple craft, consisting of two long, thick floats with a small bamboo cabin painted a jolly red suspended between them. On one side of the cabin hung a bone harpooncaster¡ªa wicked-looking, oversized crossbow with a harpoon as its payload, used to hunt fogfish out on the open clouds¡ªand on top stood a small bench, from where a sailor could hold the reins of the marlins hitched to the front.

    The two long, pointy-nosed fogfish were floating upside down right now, seemingly catching some rays on their pale bellies. Meanwhile, two weathered, unkempt men dressed in brightly coloured tunics spun from soft bamboo fibre were unloading bamboo crates from inside the floaters and stacking them on the stone dock. They were doing so under the close inspection of Ava, a blonde woman in her early thirties who served as the Thistlethorns¡¯ sous chef.

    Judging by the intense gesticulating Ava was doing at a third sailor, a similarly brightly dressed woman, the haggling wasn¡¯t quite done yet.

    Rylan remained standing there for a moment, shivering as the warm sunlight slowly warmed his soaked tunic and britches, and stared at the sailors in their comfy-looking shirts who were probably about to set off again, out onto the open cloudsea.

    His thoughts inevitably turned to a different cloudship, one painted a jolly orange, but that one hadn¡¯t docked here in seasons.

    Finally, Ava handed over a jingling pouch. The lady sailor opened it briefly, the soft cyan glow bathing her face betraying the presence of valuable Quint Cubes among its contents, before she closed it again, nodded, and they shook hands. Then Ava turned around and caught sight of Rylan.

    Rylan¡¯s stomach sank as the blonde sous chef¡¯s eyes lit up and she strode over with purpose, the skirt of her white-striped, pale-blue livery swishing with every step.

    He¡¯d broken the first rule of life as an indentured servant: always look busy. But it was too late to start walking away now.

    ¡°Ah, Rylan, excellent,¡± she started as she came up to him. ¡°Seth could really use your help carrying in these crates.¡± She pointed her thumb over her shoulder at the surly, slouched boy who was standing next to the stacks and stacks of crates in question, looking highly unmotivated.

    Rylan barely managed to hold back a groan. ¡°Actually, I need to go hand in my keyring and glowband,¡± he replied. ¡°And then I¡¯m done for the¡ª¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Ava said, waving off his ¡®concerns¡¯. ¡°Those can wait; all of these need to go to the pantry and I don¡¯t want any of it to spoil, so go ahead and help Seth out.¡±

    Rylan snapped his mouth shut with a click, biting down the retort that was welling up inside of him, that Seth would be able to handle it alone, if he just put in some effort for once. It was an uncharitable thought, even if it was true. And Seth wasn¡¯t the cause of his trouble.

    ¡°Ava, please,¡± he tried, hoping against hope. ¡°I¡¯m of age now. I¡¯d really hoped to have some time to¡ª¡±

    ¡°Look, Rylan,¡± Ava said with a sigh, cocking a hip and resting her hand on it. ¡°I know you¡¯re in a hurry to clear your debt, but honestly, betting on gaining a Skill is not the way to do it. The odds of getting one are like one in a thousand!¡±

    ¡°Are they now?¡± Rylan asked, calmly folding his arms over his chest. It was nothing he hadn¡¯t heard before. ¡°I guess the Thistlethorns must be insanely lucky then.¡±

    She waved her hand dismissively. ¡°That¡¯s different. They¡¯re nobles. That¡¯s not our lot in life. If you want to clear your debt faster, take my advice, and start showing some initiative. You think I worked my way up to sous chef by pulling faces about extra chores? You¡¯re not bad with a knife, and you¡¯ve actually got some feeling for spices. Now if you could just muster up some motivation, you¡¯ve got the makings of a decent cook.¡±

    That was about the last thing Rylan wanted to be. He hated working in the Thistlethorns¡¯ loud, sweltering, chaotic kitchen.

    ¡°Who knows,¡± Ava continued, either unaware or uncaring of his distaste. ¡°Maybe if old Zelim stops in a year or four, five, you could be up for my job! Now, are you going to carry those crates, or do I have to go get Miss Amberleaf?¡±

    Rylan stopped himself from grinding his teeth. The classic sugarcane and whip, except it was a withered husk of a sugarcane. There was no way Zahra¡¯s father was stopping in five years. The man probably wouldn¡¯t stop working until he dropped. But Rylan knew all too well that arguing was pointless.

    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am,¡± he said instead.

    Ava clapped him on the shoulder. ¡°Good lad.¡± And she was off.

    With a sigh, Rylan turned towards Seth, who was already grinning at him, exposing the gap between his front teeth for all the world to see.

    ¡°Thanks for the help, Rylan, appreciate it.¡±

    Seth had only recently started working on the estate, and while Rylan¡¯s first impression of him wasn¡¯t great, he was willing to give the lanky boy the benefit of the doubt. After all, since a little while ago, he had a vacancy for a friend.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure,¡± Rylan replied absentmindedly, already mentally calculating how long this chore was going to take. There were thirty-seven crates, so if he carried twenty-five and Seth carried at least twelve, he could probably be done in an hour and a half, two hours tops. There¡¯d still be some time left, and he wasn¡¯t scheduled for dinner prep today.

    As he selected two relatively light crates to pick up together, Seth scoffed, picking up only a single one as expected.

    ¡°You know we¡¯re getting paid by the hour, right?¡± Seth said as they started moving through the loose sand surrounding the small marina.

    Rylan wasn¡¯t actually getting paid by the hour. He was getting paid by the day, and expected to be available for work at all hours. But he didn¡¯t feel like correcting the lazy boy.

    ¡°If you¡¯d rather do this alone, I¡¯m perfectly fine with that,¡± he said instead. ¡°You could really take your sweet time with these.¡±

    ¡°Well let¡¯s not be hasty here,¡± Seth hurriedly replied, shifting the bamboo crate up in his grip as they walked up a few stone steps and replaced sand for a path of crushed shell that crunched under their shoes, lined by grass and actual trees.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do be hasty, please,¡± Rylan retorted, shooting Seth a look. ¡°I¡¯d like to spend some time this afternoon that¡¯s just me and Ethereon.¡±

    ¡°Wait, you¡¯re putting serious effort into getting a Skill?¡± Seth asked, having the audacity to sound surprised. ¡°Fog, I thought Ava was joking. There¡¯s not much you can do about it, you know? It¡¯ll either happen or it won¡¯t.¡±

    Rylan managed to hold himself back from scoffing, if just barely. Getting into another fruitless argument would only slow down the work.

    ¡°Why not just work off your debt the old-fashioned way?¡± Seth continued blithely. ¡°I mean, you¡¯ve been working for what, four years now?¡±

    ¡°Six.¡±

    ¡°Well there you go, how many more can it take?¡±

    Rylan let out a sigh. ¡°You really want to know?¡±

 Chapter 2: Inordinately Indebted

    ¡°Do I really want to know how long it¡¯ll take to clear your debt? Sure,¡± Seth replied casually, shrugging his shoulders. ¡°Why, is it going to be some big, shocking¡ª¡±

    ¡°Twenty-three years, at the current rate.¡±

    Seth swore as he nearly fumbled the bamboo crate he was carrying. ¡°Fog! Seriously?!¡±

    ¡°My pay covers housing, food, and clothing first,¡± Rylan intoned, carefully keeping his voice steady. ¡°What¡¯s left to be subtracted from my debt isn¡¯t all that much.¡±

    Right now, he was making five silver florins and two bronze quarters per sixty-day season. However, his living expenses over that period amounted to four silver florins and four copper bits¡ªhalf a bronze quarter. That left him with only a single silver florin, one measly bronze quarter, and four copper bits going towards his debt.

    With six seasons in a year, that amounted to a whopping total of eight silver florins and two bronze quarters, which hardly made a dent in his remaining debt of just over two hundred florins.

    What hadn¡¯t helped either, was the sum of twenty-five florins that had been added to his debt to pay for the anklet he¡¯d been fitted with after he tried to run about a year ago. That had set him back at least three years.

    ¡°That¡¯s messed up,¡± Seth finally said.

    Rylan grunted. They¡¯d just passed the barracks, so they were about halfway to the main building, which housed both the kitchen and the pantry. Could he perhaps convince Seth to run back with him to save time?

    ¡°But at least you live in comfort,¡± the lanky boy added with a shrug, proving that he really didn¡¯t get it after all. ¡°Honestly, your life would probably suck less if you weren¡¯t trying so hard to pay it off quicker, you know? You gotta learn to enjoy the ride.¡±

    Rylan sped up, the anklet pulling down his right foot with each step, Seth¡¯s amused snort serving only to fuel the fire blossoming in the pit of his stomach.

    ¡°Whatever, man!¡± Seth called after him. ¡°Have fun running yourself ragged for no good reason!¡±

    Rylan ignored the lazy clodpoll. He knew what he wanted out of life, and it wasn¡¯t this. One way or another, he would move to one of the free cities, get a job there, and support himself.

    That¡¯s what he¡¯d been trying to accomplish when he ran. For all their faults, the Thistlethorns had fed him, clothed him, raised him, and he had no intention of repaying that with ingratitude. He¡¯d just wanted to pay off his debt to them on his own terms, with employment of his own choosing. Preferably something that didn¡¯t involve cooking.

    And, of course, he¡¯d hoped to track down his birth parents, get some answers at the very least.

    However, he¡¯d failed, and the odds of him getting away now seemed slimmer than ever, so he¡¯d gone back to his original plan: pay off his debt as fast as possible. No matter how he sliced it, only by unlocking a Skill and thus becoming one of the revered Quinthar could he become debt-free in a somewhat sane timeframe.

    Any Quinthar, even the ones with just a single, Emerald-Grade Skill, could find decent employment. They definitely didn¡¯t scrub pots and pans or clean out fog condensers; that kind of work simply did not befit their station.

    Getting a combat Skill would probably be best. Quint Cubes went for about a bronze quarter a pop and Ethereon supposedly rewarded several for the slaying of even weaker Malequints¡ªthe various mana-powered creatures that topped the food chain in the depths of the cloudsea. But frankly, he¡¯d be happy with any Skill.

    Not much was known about how people got Skills¡ªat least, not publicly¡ªbut some things were common knowledge. One thing everyone knew was that to gain a Skill, you needed to meet its Attribute prerequisites. That was a problem, because Rylan didn¡¯t know his Attributes, and never would unless he became a Quinthar and got access to his Status.

    But that¡¯s where his preparations came in.

    If he didn¡¯t know what Skill he qualified for, he would just have to try all of them.

    Hence, practically every spare moment he¡¯d found over the previous few years¡ªand that went double for last year¡ªhad been spent practising everything he¡¯d heard could manifest a Skill, often together with Zahra, though her drive wasn¡¯t quite as high as his.

    He¡¯d done needlework until his fingers bled, run laps until he¡¯d wanted to vomit, and a small, horizontal scar on his right cheekbone showed how close Zahra had gotten to poking his eye out when they¡¯d tried fencing with sharp bamboo sticks.

    That had been the end of that particular undertaking. Rylan had always felt he looked rather plain in general, but he was kind of fond of the light purple tint of his eyes. More importantly, it was one of the few clues to his ancestry, as the pigmentation was pretty uncommon.

    Of course, even without fencing, they¡¯d still had plenty to practise.

    About a year later, he¡¯d broken his wrist doing tumbles; that had been a miserable summer. His options for Skills had been so limited he¡¯d even resorted to working on his singing¡ªuntil Zahra had begged him to stop.

    But after it had healed, they¡¯d been right back at it, shooting dull bamboo arrows with simple self-made bows, juggling with handcrafted cones, and throwing knives they¡¯d ¡®borrowed¡¯ from the kitchen.

    They¡¯d gotten a massive telling-off when Zahra¡¯s father had found out about that. As head chef, he was very protective of the kitchen¡¯s knives¡ªand even more so his own, which no one else was allowed to use¡ªso he¡¯d naturally confiscated the borrowed property immediately.

    It was a real shame, cause Rylan felt he¡¯d been getting pretty good at throwing them.

    ¡°Hah!¡± a feminine voice shouted, interrupting his stewing with a flash of light and a clang of metal on metal. On a small court to the left of his path, Lord Bryce Thistlethorn was sparring with his firstborn and heir.

    Helen was in her early thirties, and gave off an almost primal, predatory vibe as she weaved the tip of her spear in an ever-changing pattern, her boots somehow barely crunching the crushed shell underfoot as she circled her father.

    Her silver-blue hair was tied back in a ponytail with a worn leather strap. Her gambeson¡ªmuch like the surcoat Lord Thistlethorn wore over his cuirass¡ªwas a deep crimson; the greater Thorn family¡¯s traditional colouring. Both garments were emblazoned with numerous depictions of their branch¡¯s coat of arms as well¡ªa stylised blue thistle flower.

    Lord Thistlethorn kept his sword and shield raised towards her as she circled, waiting for her strike with the stoic calm of a weathered cliff, his own silvery-blue hair and beard impeccably trimmed and groomed as always.

    Rylan couldn¡¯t help but slow down, his irritation momentarily forgotten as Helen lunged forward again with her spear. A shimmering white glow came to life around her hands, rapidly extended up along the shaft of the weapon¡ªmade of actual wood¡ªand reached the steel spearhead only at the very culmination of her thrust.

    Despite the impressive display of her Spear-Fighting Skill, Lord Thistlethorn used his shield to slap the attack aside with seemingly little effort. If he was using a Skill as well, Rylan couldn¡¯t tell.

    The man then proceeded to move forward with speed belying his age, and several clashes of his sword against her spear later, he had his blade pressed against her neck. Or more precisely, against the shimmering, barely visible layer of white light surrounding her skin. Her Mana Shell, Ethereon¡¯s gift of protection to his mighty Quinthar.

    ¡°You¡¯re still overextending, Hel,¡± Lord Thistlethorn spoke in a deep voice, ¡°You have to consider your...¡±

    He trailed off as his eyes fell on Rylan. What little Rylan could see of the bushy silver-blue eyebrows beneath his helmet knitted together ever so slightly.

    This was the second time today he¡¯d made the mistake of not looking busy, but before he could heft his two crates a little higher and start moving again, Helen turned her head and spotted him.

    ¡°Hey Ryles!¡± she exclaimed, a smile lighting up her face as she pushed Lord Thistlethorn¡¯s sword aside with her bare hand. ¡°Whatcha got there, anything good?¡±

    Rylan glanced uncertainly at Lord Thistlethorn as his daughter sauntered up to him, wiping some sweat off her brow with the back of her hand. While he was used to her familiar tone, hearing it in front of Lord Thistlethorn felt weird, his presence stifling.

    ¡°Ehm, I haven¡¯t actually checked yet,¡± Rylan replied honestly, nodding down at the bamboo crate¡¯s lid. ¡°But it smells like crab.¡±

    She pulled a face.

    Despite himself, Rylan smiled, his shoulders losing some of their tension. Seeing her make that face reminded him of simpler times, when she¡¯d tried to insist that Rylan call her his older sister, and he¡¯d teasingly kept referring to her as Aunt Helen, due to the large age difference.

    Just last week, she¡¯d approached him with a conspiratorial grin, just to press a sugary treat in his hand¡ªactual honeyed nuts¡ªlike she¡¯d used to when he was little. Rylan had rolled his eyes and said he wasn¡¯t a child anymore, but she¡¯d just winked and left.

    They had been just as delicious as he remembered.

    She cocked her head to the side. ¡°Why do you have a green stain on your forehead?¡±

    ¡°Oh! I bumped my head on the bottom of the trade vessel just now. I guess some algae must¡¯ve rubbed off on me...¡±

    She frowned, leaning in closer. ¡°You hit your head?¡± Her free hand twitched upward as if she were about to reach out.

    It was too much, too familiar, especially under Lord Thistlethorn¡¯s heavy gaze. No matter how he looked up to her, and despite how she treated him, he was her family¡¯s property, not her little brother or nephew. That had just been a silly child¡¯s fantasy.

    Just like getting the Singing Voice Skill. Helen actually had that Skill, which, in hindsight, was probably the only reason he¡¯d sincerely tried to gain it as well.

    The heat of embarrassment filled his body and he stepped back, lowering his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I barely felt it... milady.¡±

    She winced and opened her mouth, but Lord Thistlethorn interrupted, clearing his throat. ¡°Let the boy get back to his chores, Hel. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s eager to get them over with.¡±

    The man wasn¡¯t wrong, but the dismissive tone still made some tiny childish part of Rylan cringe in on itself.

    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    Helen stood in front of him a moment longer, then glanced down at his right ankle and sighed, her shoulders slumping a little. ¡°Right... Don¡¯t work too hard, all right? You gotta take care of yourself.¡±

    Then she lifted her spear, turned around, and got back into a fighting stance.

    Rylan hefted his crates and hurried on after Seth, who had passed him by in the meantime. He kept his gaze level as he overtook the lanky boy once more, ignoring his snickers.

    The fire in his belly, momentarily forgotten, blazed anew.

    Just twelve to thirteen trips up and down, then I can show Ethereon what I¡¯ve got...

    By the time Rylan was done his clothes had mostly dried, so when he returned to his room to grab his assorted equipment, he didn¡¯t bother changing.

    He did take off his shoes to avoid dirtying the woven mistweed mat that covered the cold stone floor, then quickly darted in to grab the bulging sack from where it was propped up against his bamboo dresser.

    In his haste, he failed to spot the handle of one of his hand-crafted juggling clubs poking out of the side, and it got between his legs, sending him sprawling onto his futon.

    His room was cozy and his furniture sparse, but at least he didn¡¯t have to share with anyone, so there was no one to witness his pratfall. One small mercy.

    He hurriedly extricated himself from his blankets and scooted to the door where he pulled his shoes back on. Getting back to his feet, he paused for a quick glance in the polished bronze mirror next to his door.

    Seeing the mess that were his flaxen locks, he sighed and started to straighten it out. However, he gave up after about three seconds of minimal effort, unable to be bothered.

    Miss Amberleaf would berate him for looking unpresentable again if she spotted him, but that was easily avoided, simply by avoiding her.

    So with the sack slung over his shoulder, he took the back exit out of the large stone building and sped to the small bamboo forest nestled in between the servants¡¯ quarters and the outer wall.

    He used to do his Skill training outside of the compound as much as inside, but that was before his attempt to run. The guards knew not to let him out now, and even if they did, the anklet would activate if he got too far from the estate.

    He couldn¡¯t quite tell how it worked, as the outermost layer of the anklet was nothing but a solid casing of bare steel, but from the engraved logo he knew it was the real deal: modern mana-powered runegear produced by the Thorn family itself.

    Of course, as Rylan wasn¡¯t a Quinthar, it couldn¡¯t drain his mana to power itself, and thus had to be powered by a Quint Cube. He¡¯d seen it get inserted into a small cubical recess lined with copper-coloured runes before they put it on the first time. Other than that, he strongly suspected it contained deepmetal, as upon activation, the anklet would grow heavier and heavier, until he could no longer even lift his foot.

    The one time he¡¯d pushed his luck while out on an errand, the guards who¡¯d found him had needed a wheelbarrow to get him back so the Thistlethorns could unlock it and turn it off. And add the cost for the fresh Cube to his debt.

    Rylan quickly weaved his way through the fast-growing stalks towards the little clearing in the centre, where Zahra was already waiting for him, sitting in the grass in her livery.

    She glanced up from her needlework, brushed some brown curls aside with russet-coloured fingers, and grinned. ¡°Took you long enough. I thought you had the afternoon off?¡±

    ¡°I did,¡± Rylan replied with a sigh. ¡°Ava felt otherwise.¡±

    Zahra winced, sympathy in her silvery-grey eyes.

    ¡°How¡¯s your project coming along?¡± Rylan asked as he put down his sack and started his warm-up, stretching out his sore fingers and rotating his tired shoulders.

    Zahra excitedly held up the half-finished garment she was making for Loukas, the young guard she was courting. ¡°I think it¡¯s getting somewhere!¡±

    Rylan looked over the patchwork cloth, pieced together from swatches in all kinds of colours, but failed to spot any kind of pattern in it. ¡°If you say so...¡±

    Zahra narrowed her eyes at him, sitting up a little straighter. ¡°You know I¡¯m in possession of needles, and know where you sleep, right? You want to try that again?¡±

    Rylan laughed as he drew his bow from the sack and danced out of her reach, just in case. ¡°Of course, my apologies. I meant to say it looks amazing!¡±

    Zahra nodded primly. ¡°That¡¯s more like it. Just you wait; he¡¯s going to love it!¡±

    Rylan was sure he would. Especially after Zahra¡¯s mother, Miss Brightwind, put the last hand to it and fixed any mistakes Zahra might¡¯ve made. But he wisely didn¡¯t mention this.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. Who knows, he might propose on the spot!¡±

    Some red crept up on Zahra¡¯s cheeks, further darkening her skin. Being pasty and pale himself, Rylan had always been a little jealous of her complexion. Personally, he couldn¡¯t get a tan to save his life.

    ¡°He¡¯d better,¡± she grumbled, ¡°If he doesn¡¯t ask me soon, I¡¯m going to start casting a wider net.¡±

    Rylan shook his head fondly. It was pure bluff and they both knew it. Zahra was sick to the stomach, walking on clouds for her ¡®warrior.¡¯ Thankfully, Loukas seemed to return her feelings¡ªand was no longer as tongue-tied around her as he¡¯d used to be.

    ¡°I bet he would¡¯ve asked already,¡± Rylan teased, ¡°if he didn¡¯t shit his britches at the prospect of facing your father.¡±

    Zahra scoffed. ¡°My dad¡¯s a total softie! I really don¡¯t understand why people find him so intimidating.¡±

    Rylan shook his head, but didn¡¯t reply, knowing the argument to be futile. Instead, he nocked a simple bamboo arrow, lifted his bow in front of him, and took aim at the simple straw target Zahra had painted for him.

    Zahra quietly continued her needlework as he prepared to launch into his routine of the past couple of days.

    Because of course, he hadn¡¯t just been patiently waiting for the day he knew for sure he was of age; he¡¯d been demonstrating his abilities every day for a week or two now, hoping to be recognised by Ethereon just one day earlier.

    Without success, so far.

    But today would be different. It had to be. Today was the anniversary of when he¡¯d been found, so it really wasn¡¯t too farfetched for it to be his actual birthday, which would explain why Ethereon hadn¡¯t paid any attention to him yet.

    Some people said Ethereon was actually the Seventh Great Spirit and the true overlord of Zenith¡ªthe Great Spirit pantheon. Others claimed there were only six Great Spirits, and that Ethereon wasn¡¯t a spirit at all but something else entirely. Rylan wasn¡¯t sure what to believe, but he always figured it couldn¡¯t hurt to start with a little prayer regardless.

    ¡°Blessed Ethereon, guide my hand today,¡± he whispered, his eyes closed.

    Then he opened them, drew his bow, took aim, and released.

    About an hour later, after showing off his archery, tumbling, fencing, needlework, sword-fighting, sneaking, his ability with a slingshot, and even plain running, with a sinking feeling in his stomach, Rylan was demonstrating what he¡¯d saved for last; his juggling.

    There were more Skills he¡¯d heard of, of course, but those either didn¡¯t suit him, or required the kind of weapons and tools he couldn¡¯t easily obtain.

    He obviously couldn¡¯t get his hands on something as extravagant as actual wooden juggling clubs either, so he¡¯d improvised, making his own from split pieces of bamboo that he¡¯d woven together, with clay and rocks added in the hollow interior for weight.

    Right then, however, he wished he¡¯d added a little less weight, as his arms were still heavy from lifting crates, and his sluggish fingers kept fumbling his clubs before he could get into a rhythm.

    He stubbornly kept trying, but after about fifteen minutes, he missed another catch, and his heavy, self-made club dropped right onto his big toe.

    Normally, the sight of him hopping around, swearing up a storm, would probably have sent Zahra into a fit of laughter. Today she was deathly silent, her eyes following him with a pity that stung Rylan almost as much as his toe.

    When the throbbing lessened to a dull ache, he flopped down on his back in the grass and just stared up at the clear blue sky with teary eyes, feeling empty.

    ¡°It¡¯s not fair,¡± he mumbled after a while.

    Zahra hummed softly.

    ¡°It¡¯s not fair!¡± he repeated, rolling over to punch the ground a few times, imagining Seth¡¯s stupid face there as he did.

    Zahra put down her needlework with a sigh. ¡°We always knew it was a long shot. But it¡¯s not like you can¡¯t still get one, right? Maybe you just need a little more practice...¡±

    ¡°When?!¡± Rylan exclaimed. ¡°When am I supposed to practise if I¡¯m always doing stupid chores?!¡±

    Zahra bit her lip. ¡°You know,¡± she said after a moment. ¡°There¡¯s one thing you haven¡¯t tried yet. I know you¡¯re not going to like this, but... if you asked Soren, I bet he would help you.¡±

    Rylan lifted his face off the ground and stared at her, incredulous. ¡°Ask Soren for help?! Over my dead body.¡±

    Zahra let out a sigh. ¡°I¡¯m just saying, he would. And he has a Skill now, so¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to ask him for help,¡± Rylan bit out, his hands clenching into fists. ¡°Soren Thistlethorn does not want me to be free. If he did, I wouldn¡¯t be wearing this fogging anklet!¡±

    Zahra pursed her lips, but didn¡¯t contradict him.

    Rylan got up and started pacing, the weight at his ankle pulling him down with every step feeling extra aggravating somehow. The mention of Soren getting his first Skill had soured his mood further. His former friend had become a Quinthar about half a season ago, on the very day he¡¯d come of age. Every day longer it took Rylan was a day he was further behind.

    And of course, his odds were only about one in a thousand in the first place. Meanwhile, apart from Lady Dionne¡ª¡ªSoren and Helen¡¯s mother¡ªall of the Thistlethorns were Quinthar. That was four out of five: clearly not a coincidence.

    ¡°They know things we don¡¯t,¡± Rylan muttered, not for the first time. ¡°They have to!¡±

    Zahra shrugged. ¡°Maybe. It probably helps a lot that they can afford Enhancers.¡±

    Rylan grunted. The precious gems¡ªrewards from Ethereon to brave Quinthar who conquered its Dungeons¡ªwere the only confirmed way to permanently increase one¡¯s Attributes for a non-Quinthar.

    ¡°That can¡¯t be enough though,¡± he argued. ¡°Not for all of them to get Skills.¡±

    ¡°Well, maybe they even bought Pearls of Inspiration.¡±

    Rylan scoffed. ¡°Yeah, right. Those are impossible to get. Why would anyone sell them?¡± Consuming a Pearl of Inspiration was supposed to put one into a special state that would guide them into obtaining a Skill. Even Quinthar would kill to obtain them. ¡°Come on, think about it: how old is the greater Thorn family? They must have lists of Skill requirements by now. Not to mention ways to improve your chances of getting one.¡±

    There were a ton of rumours about things you could do to draw Ethereon¡¯s attention. Some people insisted the best way to obtain a Skill was to practise naked under the moons and stars, others claimed there were offerings one could perform, or that Skills had secret, additional requirements one needed to meet outside of just Attributes.

    Many things Rylan had heard smelled of superstition, and thus he hadn¡¯t been desperate enough to go out naked in the light of the moons.

    Yet.

    But the Thistlethorns were a branch from a truly ancient family. If anyone knew which things worked and which didn¡¯t, it¡¯d be them.

    ¡°If nothing else, they definitely know some secrets about Voice Skills,¡± he concluded.

    Voice Skills were a somewhat peculiar category of Skills that applied mana to the voice to various effects. Everyone knew the relatively niche Skills were the Thistlethorn¡¯s specialty. Especially the current head of the family, Countess Beatrice Thistlethorn¡ªHelen and Soren¡¯s paternal grandmother¡ªwas renowned for her supposedly lethal Voice Skills.

    It had happened a long time ago, but Rylan would never forget the day he¡¯d been cleaning a window, when she raised her voice somewhere inside the building. The stonework itself had trembled, and the window he¡¯d been cleaning had outright shattered.

    He still wondered what she¡¯d been so mad about.

    Zahra brushed a hand through her curls and shrugged. ¡°Well, if you¡¯re not going to ask Soren, then short of eavesdropping or snooping around, I don¡¯t know how you¡¯re going to find out what secrets they have.¡±

    Rylan frowned at her. ¡°Snooping around? What, you think they¡¯ve got that kind of information just lying...¡±

    He stopped in his tracks.

    Zahra glanced up at him. ¡°What? What is it?¡±

    ¡°The library. In the tower,¡± Rylan replied, his eyes wide.

    Zahra stared at him, her face growing more concerned as his excitement grew. ¡°You know the library is restricted, right? Heads of staff and Thistlethorns only.¡±

    ¡°Exactly,¡± he whispered heatedly. ¡°Because they¡¯ve got knowledge in there that they don¡¯t want to see spread!¡±

    ¡°Or,¡± Zahra hissed back, ¡°because books are precious and expensive! They don¡¯t grow on clouds, you know?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s on the top floor. We could get to the roof through the fogtube, then climb down onto the balcony, then you could jimmy the lock!¡±

    ¡°Rylan, that¡¯s crazy!¡±

    Rylan knelt down in front of her and grasped her hands.

    She looked at him wide-eyed as he started to plead.

    ¡°Please Zahra... I can¡¯t take it anymore. I¡¯m on my feet all day and by the time my chores are done, I¡¯m too tired to think, let alone practise. If my efforts until now weren¡¯t enough, then there¡¯s no way I can impress Ethereon under these circumstances. And if I don¡¯t do something, anything, I¡¯m going to be forty before I¡¯ve cleared this fogging debt. Please, help me; you know I can¡¯t do this without you!¡±

    Zahra blew out a breath. ¡°You¡¯re serious about this? You really want to break into¡ª¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    She held his gaze for a moment longer, then bit her lip. ¡°When would we do it?¡±

    Rylan¡¯s heart jumped for joy. ¡°Now!¡± he blurted out.

    ¡°What? But¡ª¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s perfect!¡± he quickly interrupted. ¡°Dinner preparations are about to start; almost everyone will be busy in the kitchen and we¡¯re both free today! In fact...¡± He patted his pockets and excitedly fished out a key ring. ¡°I¡¯ve still got the keys to the tunnels! Ava told me handing them in could wait.¡±

    Zahra glanced back and forth from the keys to his beaming face a few times, then groaned. ¡°I¡¯m going to regret this, aren¡¯t I?¡±

    However, the mischievous twinkle in her eyes and the smile tugging at her lips betrayed her excitement, a mirror to his own. Truth be told, Zahra had been a driving force in many of their childhood shenanigans.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be just like old times,¡± Rylan promised, ignoring the little voice in the back of his head that said it wouldn¡¯t, couldn¡¯t be, because they¡¯d still be missing their third partner in crime.

    Soren Thistlethorn.

 Chapter 3: The Heist

    Rylan¡¯s stomach twisted and roiled as he snuck down to the basement of the servants¡¯ quarters. Zahra was right in front of him, a coil of rope hidden beneath the once-white apron she wore over her livery.

    ¡°This is crazy,¡± Zahra whispered to him the second he reached the bottom. ¡°I must be foggy in the head...¡± She was wringing her hands, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet, but there was an infectious giddiness in her darting eyes.

    ¡°You definitely are,¡± Rylan replied quietly, producing the key ring. ¡°But I accept you just the way you¡ªow!¡±

    Zahra threateningly balled the hand she¡¯d just smacked his shoulder with into a fist. ¡°Needles, bed; don¡¯t make me repeat myself. Now open the hatch!¡±

    Rylan chuckled, but handed her the glowband¡ªshe¡¯d need it more than him down in the tunnels¡ªand did as instructed.

    The unlocked hatch produced a loud creak as they opened it, the hinges clearly due some grease. Rylan nervously glanced back at the stairs down into the basement.

    Truth be told, he was no stranger to punishment.

    The first time he¡¯d rebelled had been when he was ten, only a day or two from the onset of his new, chore-filled existence. Unfortunately, it hadn¡¯t taken them all that long to find him hiding in the pen with the mistsheep rather than scrubbing floors. That night, he¡¯d been forced to watch the other children eat, before he was sent to bed with nothing but salty cheeks and the sounds of his grumbling stomach as company.

    A week later he¡¯d ¡®accidentally¡¯ knocked over a vase, and that was the first time he¡¯d been stuck in the cooler, a small stone room where¡¯d he¡¯d spent the night with nothing but a thin blanket and a bamboo bucket.

    And of course, there was the anklet.

    He wasn¡¯t sure what kind of punishment breaking into the Thistlethorn¡¯s private library would merit, but he¡¯d much rather not find out.

    But the stairs remained empty; no one came to investigate the noise. And why would they? He was being paranoid.

    They descended into the floaty fog, the smell of rotting mistweed welcoming them as they closed the hatch behind them without locking it¡ªjust in case they needed to make a quick getaway.

    The basement had at least been lit through some barred windows at ground level. Down in the brickwork tunnels that connected the fog inlet to the condensers¡ªwith only the glowband Zahra was wearing to light their way¡ªit was almost pitch-black.

    Of course, Rylan hardly needed to see to navigate the place. Taking Zahra by the hand, he easily led the way through the cramped tunnels, warning her about sudden steps down or up and where to watch her head.

    Soon enough they reached the copper tube that spiralled up around the tower.

    ¡°Remember not to put your feet in the water coming down the middle,¡± he cautioned. ¡°If you slip and fall here, even with the fog lightening you...¡±

    ¡°I know I know!¡± Zahra hissed back. ¡°Just start climbing!¡±

    He did. Slowly.

    Even when Rylan put his feet down as gently as he could, it seemed to still produce a sound that echoed through the tube, though the steady drip-dropping from the condenser at the top drowned out most of it.

    The trip seemed to take forever, but eventually they made it to the metal dome at the top that housed the condensation grid and the cistern.

    ¡°Give me the rope,¡± he said, holding out his hand through the thick fog.

    ¡°Let¡¯s try that again, shall we?¡±

    Rylan rolled his eyes, but put on a posh accent. ¡°My sincerest, apologies, milady. May I perchance have the rope, please?¡±

    ¡°Why of course! You needn¡¯t but ask.¡±

    Rylan snorted, accepted the offered length of rope, and jumped lightly up to the condensation grid. There, he hooked his legs over the cold, wet cloudmetal, and looped the rope around one of the supports where it was bolted to the metal dome. Only when he was certain the knot was secure and would be able to hold their weight even outside of the fog, did he drop back down.

    In the meantime, Zahra seemed to have found the door in the side of the metal dome that led out onto the roof, and by the sound of it, was trying out keys. Rylan followed his ears towards her, and found her just as the lock clicked. The door swung open, revealing a view Rylan knew to be breathtaking, but had no interest or time to admire.

    Some fog spilt out onto the flat, circular rim that surrounded the condenser chamber, but most of it remained inside, the attractive force of the grid of cloudmetal too strong, and the few wisps that did escape quickly dissipated in the heat radiating off the sandstone roof.

    Crouching low, they snuck to the edge of the flat rooftop, where they lay down to peek over.

    The small balcony outside the library was right below them, with the spiralling fogtube passing just beneath it. The balcony was outfitted with two wicker chairs with plush cushions on top of them, and a small table. Perfect for an afternoon read in the sun, Rylan supposed.

    Thankfully, the sun was already close to setting, and there was no one in sight. Well, in the distance he could spot some fellow servants walking across a path of crushed shell, and a bored guard patrolling the walls, but no one was looking up.

    This was it. So far, they hadn¡¯t really done anything wrong yet, nothing they couldn¡¯t talk their way out of. That was about to change, big time.

    Rylan looked over to Zahra, and she met his gaze. He read nerves and anxiety in her expression, but there was also a glint of excitement in her silvery-grey eyes that elicited a brief flare of nostalgia.

    He lifted his brows, silently asking whether she wanted to continue, and she nodded.

    Taking a deep breath, he mentally said a little prayer to Zeph the Great Spirit of the Storm. Blessed bringer of change, please lend me your winds and guide me to freedom.

    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    Then he hefted the rope over the edge and dropped it.

    Crouched against the warm sandstone wall, a safe distance from the library balcony¡¯s railing, Rylan watched his best friend try to work an apparently rather tricky lock, and considered that there was something uniquely ironic about trying to win his freedom, by breaking in.

    Zahra¡¯s brown curls fluttered in the cold, staticky wind, and her fingers trembled as she attempted to use a small knife and a hairpin to pick open the lock of the double doors leading into the Thistlethorn¡¯s private library. She paused for a second to wipe her hands on her greasy apron, then doubled down on the task.

    Despite her shaking digits and sweaty palms, Rylan knew better than to try and take over. Zahra had a knack for picking locks and jimmying windows. He knew better than anyone, as her talent for it had played a major role in many of their childhood hijinks.

    Like that time they¡¯d snuck into the pantry after Grumpy Gordo had fallen asleep at his guard post, and they had set free all of the frogs from the foguariums they were kept in.

    Rylan would never forget the shriek the old man had let out when he was awoken by one of the critters jumping into his boot, right before they turned a corner.

    With nothing to do but wait for the moment, he allowed himself a glance at the murmuration of starlings as it swarmed over the cloudsea.

    As they danced through the orange-tinted sky, their wings bathed in the last rays of the setting sun, he envied them.

    Not for their ability to fly, so much as their lack of bounds. They could go wherever they pleased, unbothered by guard-patrolled walls or mana-powered anklets. They could do as they pleased, without anybody shouting at them for ¡®slacking off¡¯ at their assigned tasks, even when they¡¯d worked their ass off to finish early and earn some time for themselves. They were unburdened by expectations, and relationships, and debts.

    For that, he envied them. And, fine, for their ability to fly as well.

    If only he got a Skill for that.

    Some motion on the cloudsea caught his attention then. A small, sleek vessel was approaching, one he didn¡¯t recognise. It had no sails¡ªnot even a kitesail¡ªnor did it seem to be pulled by any fogfish. Instead, it appeared to be a thin tube of bright-yellow metal, skating over the foggy surface with similarly coloured metallic wings to provide additional lift.

    Wait, is that skymetal? An entire ship made of skymetal?!

    That would explain how it wasn¡¯t falling straight down through the clouds. Skymetal was the Divine Metal linked to Zeph, and it weighed nothing. It did have mass, it just wasn¡¯t affected by the pull of gravity at all.

    There was a famous story of a warrior who had wielded a pure skymetal sword. One day, during a friendly spar, he¡¯d gotten disarmed, and his sword had been sent tumbling up, and up, and up... and nobody had ever seen it again.

    That¡¯s why in practice, people rarely made anything from pure skymetal, and this strange, winged ship too, was probably some kind of alloy, as it started to sink down into the fog a little farther when it slowed down upon its approach to the marina.

    Still, the amount of skymetal that had to be incorporated to make it float at all had to have cost a small fortune.

    Rylan was pulled from his deliberations when all of a sudden, with an audible click, the lock gave way.

    He shared an excited look with Zahra, all thoughts of the docking vessel forgotten as she cautiously pushed down the creaking handle, and opened the door a sliver. With bated breath, he took in the dim room¡¯s quiet, listening for carpet-muted footsteps, the crinkle of paper, or any other sign of life. But all he heard was the shrill calls of the gulls circling overhead and the drip-dropping of the fog condenser, echoing through the spiralling copper tube that passed right beneath the balcony.

    Zahra slipped inside ahead of him, curiously glancing around at the row of freestanding shelves made of actual wood that divided the room into neat little lanes.

    ¡°All right,¡± Zahra whispered excitedly as he stepped in after her, moving quietly as the fog. ¡°You start on that side, I¡¯ll start here!¡±

    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am,¡± Rylan replied with a joking bow, before he hurried to the furthest shelf to begin his search, trailing trembling fingers down leathery spines, turning his head this way then that to read the titles.

    The Thistlethorns had a lot of books, and in his excitement it took him an embarrassing amount of time to realise he was checking out the romance section.

    How titles like Shrouded Seduction, Whispers in the Fog, and Night of Steam hadn¡¯t given it away to him sooner, he¡¯d never know.

    Which of them even reads this trash? Helen?

    It didn¡¯t seem like something she¡¯d be interested in. Rylan had never heard of her even meeting with a suitor, seeming to care for nothing but her spear and her Skills. He could respect that.

    Perhaps Dionne, then?

    It felt strange to think about dignified Lady Thistlethorn reading things like that. Rylan liked her, as she always smiled at him and never said a mean word, but deep down he was also disappointed by her distance, that she hadn¡¯t really taken him in as her own.

    Shaking his head, he quietly hurried to the next aisle. This time, he started with a quick skim of the spines, which informed him that this shelf was stocked with book after book about botany.

    Pass.

    On the shelf below, he found books about food and cooking.

    Hard pass.

    Rylan had spent more than enough time in a kitchen for one life, so the last Skill he wanted was Cooking.

    It wasn¡¯t until he got to the other side of the aisle, that a book caught his attention.

    A Brief History of the Performing Arts was not exactly what he was looking for, but it was enough to make him waver, his fingers itching to pull it off the shelf and leaf through it.

    While using a combat Skill to hunt Malequints for Cubes was probably the fastest way to clear his debts, deep down he dreamed of using a Skill to busk on the streets of a free city, maybe perform in taverns or the like.

    But in order to achieve that, he had to stay focused. He needed secrets, not tips and tricks or history lessons.

    As he moved to the next aisle, however, his eye caught a book lying open besides an oil lamp on a small desk, next to the door leading to the hall. He made his way over to the dim corner, and pulled the spring-loaded plunger on the lamp. The firemetal tip crashed into the ignition plate with a sharp ¡®ping,¡¯ which seemed awfully loud in the quiet room, causing Ryan to freeze even as a flame sprang to life.

    It remained silent in the hall.

    Only when he was certain no one was coming, did he carefully lift the book and hold its cover in the soft glow of the lantern¡¯s lit wick. Fancy gold lettering proclaimed its title to be ¡®The Glorious Rise of the Hermean Empire.¡¯

    Rylan had heard the word used as a descriptor before, like people calling something exceedingly clever a ¡®Hermean insight,¡¯ but he¡¯d never heard of their empire, so he guessed it no longer existed.

    What drew his attention, however, was the symbol on the cover: a hexagon containing a small flame. It seemed oddly... familiar.

    The symbol tugged on something deep inside of him, and despite all his urgency, he found himself sitting down and bending over the open pages, driven by a desire¡ªnew, yet equally fervent¡ªto figure out where he¡¯d seen it before.

    Unfortunately, the book was written in what appeared to be a somewhat older dialect.

    Curious as he was, Rylan did not have the time to decipher it. However, right as he was about to get up and move on, his eyes fell on a drawing of... a ship? The strange vessel appeared to be made entirely of wood, and moreover, had a mast about as tall as the ship was long, with a rather large sail attached to it.

    His brows furrowed as he studied it dubiously. Much like a ship made of skymetal, one made entirely of wood would be wildly expensive, and moreover, it wouldn¡¯t even work! Even the lightest of woods was still far too heavy to float on the cloudsea by itself, and with a sail like that, even a mild breeze would capsize a ship that narrow. The idea seemed on the level of a portcullis made of pure gold: just as extravagant as it was stupid. Perhaps this is simply a rejected, conceptual invention of some kind?

    As he went to flip the page, to see if there were any more strange pictures, he was further surprised by the paper, which felt much thicker than the flimsy bamboo-based stuff he was used to jotting notes on.

    Unfortunately, Rylan was so caught up in studying the odd book and its mindboggling sketch, that, despite the door being right next to his desk, he didn¡¯t notice the sound of a key wiggling inside of its lock.

    Not until it clicked, anyway.

 Chapter 4: Busted

    Rylan¡¯s heart practically jumped out of his chest as the lock clicked open. In stunned disbelief, he watched the handle go down. A soft gasp from the other side of the library caused him to lock eyes with Zahra before she quickly ducked behind a shelf.

    The only upside to his position right next to the door was that it opened towards him, providing him a crucial moment¡¯s reprieve. As the door swung open, he crouched down as quickly and quietly as he could, then ducked under the desk. Only when he spotted the neat black loafers of the last person he¡¯d hoped to see here, illuminated by the warm glow coming off the top of his hiding place, did he realise his mistake.

    He¡¯d left the oil lamp on.

    ¡°Hello?¡± Miss Amberleaf asked after a moment, her stern voice tinged with confusion. ¡°Who¡¯s in here?¡±

    When no answer was forthcoming, she started moving towards the back of the room. Towards Zahra.

    Rylan¡¯s mind steamed at full force. Miss Amberleaf hadn¡¯t fully closed the door, so if he timed it right, he could probably slip out unnoticed.

    But Zahra couldn¡¯t. And even if her punishment would probably be milder than his¡ªwhat with her father being head chef and all¡ªher being punished at all for his gullbrained scheme was unacceptable.

    Before he could even fully consider the ramifications, Rylan crawled out from under the desk, stood up, and loudly yawned, stretching his back.

    Miss Amberleaf spun on her heel, her squinty eyes immediately honing in on him. Her pinched lips, that made her look like she was permanently sucking on a particularly uncooperative piece of hard, sour candy, drew even tighter. ¡°Mister Cloudgift. What in the name of the Great Spirits are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°Miss Amberleaf?¡± Rylan asked, covering his yawn with a hand as he groggily blinked at her. ¡°What time is it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s almost fifth bell,¡± she replied curtly as she walked over, her steps muted by the carpeted floor, until she stood in front of him with her arms folded over her black uniform. ¡°Now explain yourself!¡±

    The days Miss Amberleaf towered over him were long gone, and Rylan could now easily see the top of her grey bun, which looked painfully tight as always. However, despite the height difference having swung his way, he couldn¡¯t help but feel like a little kid standing in front of her.

    Rylan scratched the back of his head, pretending to still be disoriented with sleep. He¡¯d always been good at thinking on his feet, but Miss Amberleaf knew him. His story would have to be fogproof.

    ¡°Well, I, ehm, I was sent to fetch a book,¡± he hesitantly started. ¡°But... while I was looking for it, someone locked the door. I was in the back, and I didn¡¯t notice until after I¡¯d found the tome, and I guess I ended up falling asleep waiting for it to be opened again...¡±

    Miss Amberleaf narrowed her eyes at him, the wrinkles around them growing deeper as a result. ¡°What book were you sent to fetch?¡±

    A slight creak came from the direction of the door to the balcony, causing Miss Amberleaf to glance over her shoulder.

    ¡°Oh yes, ehm, this one!¡± Rylan said, reaching back to hurriedly close and pick up the opened tome before practically shoving it in her face for her to inspect. ¡°Did you say it was fifth bell already? Fog, that means I¡¯ve slept for over an hour!¡±

    ¡°Language!¡± she snapped.

    ¡°Right, sorry ma¡¯am,¡± he replied, acting properly chastened. Personally, he¡¯d always felt it silly that she considered the use of the word ¡®fog¡¯ as an exclamation to be swearing. ¡°Anyway, I should really go deliver this, I¡¯m already¡ª¡±

    ¡°To whom?¡± she asked, holding up a hand to stop him as he tried to shuffle past her towards the door.

    ¡°Sorry?¡± he asked, even as he mentally went down the list of people who could¡¯ve possibly asked him to do such a thing. It was not a particularly long list, and none of the people on it sounded all too believable to him.

    Miss Amberleaf seemed to be coming to the same conclusion. ¡°Who sent you to fetch a book from the private library? And how did you get in, for that matter? That door is normally kept locked.¡±

    ¡°It¡ªit was open when I got here,¡± he stammered, feeling his face grow flush as his lie started falling apart. Perhaps he could still avoid the worst punishment if she believed he was just a curious fool, rather than a tower-scaling, lock-picking burglar.

    And at least Zahra had gotten away. Probably.

    Miss Amberleaf huffed, taking a menacing step closer to Rylan and repeatedly poking a sharp-nailed, bony finger into his sternum to emphasize the ends of her sentences. ¡°I get the feeling, Mister Cloudgift, that you are not being entirely truthful with me. If you have something to confess, I suggest you do it now, for with every lie, you are but deepening the pit of deception that will ultimately bury you.¡±

    Rylan tried his utmost not to react to her stale breath washing over his face. ¡°Look... I, ehm...¡±

    Suddenly, the door they were standing by burst open. ¡°Rylan, what is taking so long?¡± a voice demanded. It swung shut again, revealing the second-to-last person Rylan had wanted to see there.

    Soren Thistlethorn.

    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    The young master kept the distinctive silvery-blue hair of his family short-cropped and slicked back, his amber eyes gazing down coolly from the sharp cheekbones they perched on. With his perfectly straight back, he somehow looked taller than Rylan, despite being about an inch shorter.

    A swell of bitterness welled up in Rylan¡¯s throat, but he swallowed it back down.

    ¡°Milord!¡± Miss Amberleaf exclaimed, a hand brought up to her chest, then she seemed to remember herself and performed a curtsy.

    ¡°Ah, my apologies for startling you, Miss Amberleaf,¡± Soren said, idly brushing a hand down his crimson doublet, as if to smooth some non-existent creases, before stepping forward to face Rylan. The rapier on his right hip swung from the abrupt motion, unfortunately stopping just shy of Miss Amberleaf¡¯s shin. ¡°There you are. I see you¡¯ve managed to find it, at least,¡± Soren continued, holding out his hand with an air of exasperation. ¡°Well, go on, hand it over!¡±

    Rylan numbly held out the book. Soren impatiently grabbed it, then used it to bop the top of Rylan¡¯s head. ¡°Why is it that when I send you to fetch a book, I end up having to come get it myself, hmm?¡±

    ¡°My apologies. I got locked in here,¡± Rylan replied woodenly.

    Miss Amberleaf cleared her throat exaggeratedly, glaring daggers at Rylan from the side.

    ¡°Milord,¡± Rylan added reluctantly.

    Soren sighed, somehow managing to express a lifetime of disappointment with the sound, before turning back to his family¡¯s head of housekeeping. ¡°Did you need Rylan for anything, Miss Amberleaf?¡±

    ¡°Oh, no, that¡¯s quite all right, young master,¡± she stammered, seeming flustered by the sudden interruption. ¡°I was just... no matter. I¡¯ll take my leave, with your permission.¡±

    He gave her a prim nod, upon which she curtsied again, and after a brief moment of hesitation, left the room.

    The second the door clicked shut, Soren blew out a breath of relief, his posture slumping a little. But only a little. It wouldn¡¯t do for a proud Thistlethorn scion to actually relax for a moment, after all.

    Rylan crossed his arms over his chest, and studied the boy who had been his friend from the first moment he could remember to about a season ago, when he¡¯d come to ask for help, and Soren had rewarded his trust with betrayal.

    They hadn¡¯t really talked since, thanks in part to Rylan actively avoiding his former friend. Unfortunately, he could hardly walk away now, not with Miss Amberleaf potentially lingering in the hallway. Zahra should have pulled the rope up, so climbing¡¯s probably out too...

    ¡°That was close,¡± Soren finally said. ¡°You¡¯re very lucky I happened by.¡±

    Rylan grunted noncommittally.

    ¡°You could thank me, you know?¡± Soren added after a moment, his voice light.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t ask for your help,¡± Rylan¡¯s mouth said, some of the bile he¡¯d been holding in slipping out against his wishes.

    ¡°No,¡± Soren simply said, folding his arms over his chest as well and cocking a hip. ¡°You didn¡¯t need to. That¡¯s what friends are for.¡±

    The muscles beneath Rylan¡¯s right eye twitched, pulling at the scar tissue on his cheek, but he bit his tongue, not wanting to give Soren the satisfaction of his reaction at the obvious provocation.

    ¡°What were you thinking?¡± Soren continued, shaking his head. ¡°You know what, don¡¯t answer that; I know what you were thinking, and I can tell you right now, there aren¡¯t any answers in here.¡±

    Rylan raised his brow to shoot Soren an unbelieving look. ¡°Are you seriously trying to convince me your family doesn¡¯t know the secrets to gaining Skills? Seriously?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m saying there are no secrets,¡± Soren replied, unfolding his arms to gesticulate. ¡°Gaining Dancing took me years of training and a bunch of expensive resources.¡±

    ¡°No secrets, huh?¡± Rylan echoed, a touch of scorn creeping into his voice despite his best efforts as he unconsciously straightened his back and leaned forward. ¡°Would you care to tell me the Attribute requirements of your Skill, then?¡±

    For a moment, Soren seemed to hesitate, then his jaws audibly clicked shut and he spoke through gritted teeth. ¡°You know that¡¯s not information to be shared lightly. My grandmother would punish me severely if she found out I revealed that outside the family. And even if you knew what the Attribute requirements were for certain Skills, you still wouldn¡¯t know what to go for, because you don¡¯t know your Attributes!¡±

    Rylan shrugged with feigned nonchalance while his heart pounded in his ears, his body convinced he was in a fight, even if no fists had flown. Yet. ¡°So? I could make an educated guess, at least.¡±

    ¡°You can do that now!¡± Soren exclaimed, throwing up his hands in exasperation. ¡°You¡¯ve got nimble fingers. If you keep at it with stuff like juggling and needlework, you could very well unlock a Skill someday, but to be honest, I don¡¯t see why you¡¯d want to!¡±

    Rylan actually laughed at that. But it was a sick-sounding, mocking laugh. ¡°Wow. Really? Nothing comes to mind? Somehow, I find that hard to¡ª¡±

    ¡°You think it will magically fix your life!¡± Soren snapped, leaning in closer, some colour creeping up his cheeks. ¡°That it will make everything better, like being a Quinthar doesn¡¯t come with new obligations, responsibilities. If you¡¯d seen half as much of the kingdom as I have, maybe you¡¯d realise how good of a life you actually have here, eating three meals a day and sleeping on clean linens every night, and perhaps you¡¯d stop trying to run from it!¡±

    ¡°Yeah? Well it¡¯s hard to see much of the world when you¡¯re outfitted with one of these,¡± Rylan sneered, lifting up his right leg a little and shaking it, ¡°because the person you thought was your friend couldn¡¯t handle being left behind.¡±

    Soren reared back as if struck. ¡°You can¡¯t actually believe¡ª¡±

    ¡°Milord?¡±

    ¡°¡ªWhat?!¡±

    The young serving girl peeking her head out of the doorway cringed, her face contorting in a way that made it look like she was about to cry.

    Rylan understood the feeling. And while he pitied her for the scare she¡¯d been given, he was secretly quite happy that she¡¯d interrupted before their argument could really get out of hand.

    Soren sighed deeply, his left hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose for a moment, before he looked up at her and continued in a much calmer voice. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Libbee. I shouldn¡¯t have... raised my voice at you. Please tell me what matter requires my attention.¡±

    ¡°Apologies for interrupting, milord,¡± she said, bowing her head and looking down at the floor. ¡°I was sent to fetch Rylan, they need him in the kitchen.¡±

    Soren¡¯s brows creased slightly. ¡°Why? He¡¯s not on the roster.¡±

    Rylan glanced at him, a little perturbed that Soren seemed to know his schedule.

    ¡°Guests have arrived unexpectedly, and Chef Zelim was asked to expand tonight¡¯s menu to a five-course meal; they need extra hands.¡±

    Rylan blinked, recalling the skymetal ship he¡¯d seen coming in earlier.

    ¡°Guests?¡± Soren repeated dumbly. ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°Vidric Talon and his retinue, milord.¡±

    Rylan¡¯s brows twitched. Not a Bloodtalon or a Hawktalon, but an actual Talon.

    Well, that certainly explained the last-minute menu change. While the Thistlethorns were a branch of the Thorn ducal family themselves, and not directly subservient to the Talons, they still couldn¡¯t afford to offend someone from another main branch ducal family.

    ¡°I see,¡± Soren said with a sigh, running a hand over his slicked-back hair. ¡°I should probably get moving then before my sister causes a diplomatic incident by doing something foolish like challenging him to a duel and winning. But this conversation isn¡¯t over, Rylan. I¡¯ll come find you later.¡±

    ¡°Of course, milord,¡± Rylan replied bitterly, keeping his eyes carefully lowered as he bowed and left the room.

 Chapter 5: Incessant buzzing

    Rylan found Zahra leaning against the wall at the bottom of the servants¡¯ stairs.

    She looked up at the sound of his footsteps, eyes wide. ¡°Rylan! What happened?! Are you¡ª¡±

    He held up a hand, and she bit off the rest of her sentence. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Didn¡¯t get in trouble.¡±

    ¡°What? How¡¯d you talk your way out of that?!¡±

    He shook his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t. Soren did. More importantly, did you learn anything?¡±

    Zahra¡¯s mouth opened and closed a few times, like a beached fogfish. ¡°I¡ªno, sorry. I barely had time to look at all the spines...¡±

    Rylan sighed. ¡°I figured. Well, I need to¡ª¡±

    However, Zahra caught his sleeve as he tried to brush past her. ¡°Hold on, Soren helped you escape? Did you two finally talk?¡±

    The hope in her voice was painful to hear.

    Rylan gritted his teeth. ¡°If him giving me a speech about what a foghead I am for breaking into the library counts as us talking, then yeah, I guess we did.¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± She deflated.

    Rylan sighed. ¡°Look, I¡¯ve got a surprise extra shift in the kitchen to attend to, we¡¯ll talk later, yeah?¡±

    ¡°Oh... all right then,¡± she said, before finally releasing his sleeve.

    He took two steps, then slowed down and glanced back over his shoulder. ¡°Oh, and Zahra... Thanks for today.¡±

    She made a brave effort at a smile. ¡°No problem. It was actually pretty fun! Like old times.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Rylan replied wistfully. ¡°Like old times.¡±

    Rylan made his way out of the tower and headed for the main building, already dreading his upcoming shift.

    As he walked, he couldn¡¯t help but replay his earlier confrontation with Soren in his mind, and his anger started bubbling up again.

    Stop trying to screw up a good thing? Really, Soren?!

    That was about the most hypocritical thing Rylan had ever heard. Because he¡¯d had a good thing going, and Soren had screwed it up.

    Rylan cast a forlorn glance at the marina, his eyes searching, always searching, for a ship painted a jolly orange. The Fresh Dawn was a small trade vessel run and owned by Mister and Misses Deeptide, with the assistance of their daughter, Olivia.

    They were some of the friendliest people Rylan had ever met, and over their many visits to the isle of Thistlebloom, Rylan had become quite fond of them, especially Olivia...

    In fact, the last time they were here, Rylan had been sat down by the older couple, and asked about his future plans, and whether he might be open to them buying out his debt, so he could come work for them instead.

    Naturally, he¡¯d been overjoyed at the idea of leaving behind his stupid chores and becoming a cloudsailor.

    And the first people he¡¯d told had been Zahra... and Soren.

    He had still been working up the courage to go speak to Lord Thistlethorn about the offer when he¡¯d heard that the Deeptides had already left without him.

    He¡¯d been confused, but assumed that he¡¯d misunderstood something about the timeframe, that perhaps, they¡¯d needed to collect their savings before they could return to buy his freedom.

    But they didn¡¯t return.

    After some digging, he found out that the Deeptides¡ªwho had been some of the Thistlethorns¡¯ most regular suppliers for over a decade¡ªhad suddenly been asked to leave and not return before receiving written permission, with no official reason given.

    Rylan had not even gotten the chance to say goodbye.

    At the time, he¡¯d been too distraught to realise the obvious, so when, after weeks of driving himself crazy, he¡¯d hatched up the plan to go looking for them, he¡¯d made one crucial mistake.

    He¡¯d asked Soren for help.

    Stewing in his emotions, Rylan continued stalking up to the main building¡¯s entrance, where he practically flung open the door.

    He¡¯d barely set foot inside before the world tilted. Suddenly, he found himself looking up at the ceiling. A metal-encased hand gripped his throat none-too-gently and a pair of bright-green eyes shrouded by bronzed skin and deep-brown hair bored suspiciously into his.

    ¡°Woah there,¡± a young man wearing luxurious yellow robes chuckled lightly as he peered over the shoulder of Rylan¡¯s assailant, his violet eyes shining with mirth. ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯s much of a threat, Tammi.¡±

    ¡®Tammi¡¯ didn¡¯t seem to agree, as she kept Rylan pinned for a moment longer, running her eyes up and down, before she finally let go of his throat, rising slowly.

    Rylan immediately gulped for breath, idly noting that she looked younger than he¡¯d initially suspected¡ªonly a few years older than him¡ªand that not just her hand, but her entire left arm was covered in shiny metal. Other than that, she was wearing a yellow surcoat over what looked like black leather armour, had a matching vambrace covering her right forearm, a shield on her back, and a sword on her left hip.

    Importantly, both the young man¡¯s robes and his bodyguard¡¯s surcoat were emblazoned with a massive black talon.

    Apparently, Rylan had almost run into Vidric Fogging Talon, the important guest he was supposed to quickly go make food for.

    He got up to his feet in a daze, and gave a shoddy bow. ¡°Ap-apologies, milord,¡± he spoke hoarsely, his throat straining with the effort, ¡°I was told to hurry, but I shouldn¡¯t have rushed...¡±

    ¡°Lift your head, boy,¡± the young noble said, despite looking like he barely had a year or two on Rylan.

    Rylan hesitantly did so, keeping his eyes lowered.

    ¡°You¡¯re doing great,¡± Vidric assured him. ¡°Now look at me.¡±

    Rylan did as he was asked, raising his eyes to meet Vidric¡¯s, who stared at him for a moment.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°Rylan, milord.¡±

    ¡°Last name?¡±

    ¡°Cloudgift.¡±

    Vidric¡¯s brows rose about a quarter of an inch. ¡°I see. And how old are you, Rylan Cloudgift?¡±

    Rylan swallowed. ¡°Ehm, I¡¯ve just come off age, actually.¡±

    ¡°Have you now?¡± Vidric mused, his deep purple eyes twinkling. ¡°Congratulations. Well, I believe you had somewhere to be? Carry on then.¡±

    Rylan blinked, then bowed once more, before woodenly turning around and heading for the nondescript door hiding the servants¡¯ staircase.

    ¡°Hey Tammi,¡± he heard Vidric ask behind him. ¡°How do you feel about castratos?¡±

    For some reason, a chill ran up Rylan¡¯s spine at the innocently posed question.

    ¡°Why?¡± the girl asked dryly. ¡°Are you thinking of starting a choir?¡±

    ¡°Something like that,¡± came the amused reply.

    Rylan didn¡¯t stick around to hear more, rubbing his sore throat as he rushed up the stairs. That girl¡¯s grip was scary strong. I bet she¡¯s a Quinthar... She¡¯d have to be, to directly serve a Talon. Fog, what are they doing in this backwater?

    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    All thoughts of mysterious nobles and their bodyguards fled Rylan¡¯s mind the moment he entered the kitchen, chased away by the heat, the mouth-watering smells, and the utter chaos that he knew was somehow strictly organised.

    Ava looked up from where she was expertly carving up a large fogfish, and immediately hailed him down. ¡°About time!¡± she shouted over the clamour of over a dozen people working in a cramped kitchen, her knife never slowing. ¡°I need those scallops ready ten minutes ago, so grab a knife and get shucking!¡±

    Knowing better than to try to make himself heard over the noise, Rylan simply gave her a thumbs-up, and headed for the knife rack.

    On any given day, three meals had to be prepped. First of all, dinner for the Thistlethorns, which was usually a lavish three-course meal¡ªwhich today had been extended to five because of Vidric. The menu for today seemed to have a slow-roasted hog as the main, and the scent coming from the oven as Rylan passed by instantly had his mouth watering.

    He swallowed his saliva and disappointment, knowing he¡¯d never taste a bite of it. The only one in the kitchen who would was Zahra¡¯s father, Zelim.

    It was hard to tell what the head chef was thinking as he stood in front of the oven, because his mouth was covered almost entirely in bushy grey facial hair. Despite having shared the Brightwind dinner table quite frequently when he was younger, Rylan wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d ever seen the man¡¯s teeth.

    At least he had loosened up a little around Rylan ever since Zahra had started dating Loukas. Well, that was to say, he no longer glared at Rylan while bringing down his cleaver with excessive force as he chopped the meat. It was a miracle the man still had all his fingers. Despite Rylan¡¯s utter lack of romantic interest in Zahra, who truly was like a sister to him, the man¡¯s rejection still stung.

    Then again, if he¡¯d had a daughter, he probably wouldn¡¯t have liked her spending all her time with an indentured Cloudgift either, he bitterly considered.

    The head chef kept his intense gaze locked on the roast lying underneath the blazing firemetal as Rylan slipped by and grabbed one of the few remaining kitchen knives, already fearing its dullness.

    Cooking with firemetal definitely wasn¡¯t cheap¡ªthe contraption had to burn through Quint Cubes at a prodigious rate¡ªbut the Thistlethorns wanted excellence for their meals, and they could afford it.

    The second meal that needed to be prepared every day, was for the Thistlethorns¡¯ guards.

    The metal-glad men and women ate hearty meals every day, and today they were getting fillet of fogfish and omelettes made from gull eggs, served with sheep¡¯s cheese.

    Their food was being cooked over burning bricks of dried mistweed, but it didn¡¯t smell any less delicious for it as Rylan passed by towards his station.

    That was probably actually the worst part of working in the kitchen, Rylan considered. Getting to see and smell all of the delicious food he wouldn¡¯t be eating.

    For the third meal that needed to be produced every day was for the servants, and it was the same almost every day. Rice, mushrooms, and mistweed. Maybe some fresh bamboo shoots if they were lucky.

    All of the green growing inside of the compound¡ªand its greenhouse¡ªwas actually the exception rather than the rule. The plants relied fully on an irrigation system fed by the extensive network of fog condensers Rylan helped maintain. Outside of the estate¡¯s walls, the ground above fog-level was generally cracked and dry.

    The only safely arable land around the island was found in lagoons, where the shallow fog kept the ground moist, yet let through enough sunlight for crops like rice and bamboo to grow at a decent pace. More importantly, they could be fenced off for safety, and used to concurrently raise fogfish and crabs that in turn ate the weeds and pests that might otherwise ruin the harvest.

    Mushrooms were mainly grown at the bottom of the much deeper marina, and finally mistweeds were grown on plantations floating further out, and harvested by ship.

    Simply put, the areas available for food production around the island were optimised and stretched to their limits to produce as much food as quickly as possible, with little variety. Not for common folk, anyway.

    After all, why waste precious crop space on slow-growing stuff when the nearby free city of Cliffport would buy up nearly everything the Thistlethorns could throw at them at a premium?

    Thus it was rice, mushrooms and mistweed, every day.

    Over the years, Rylan had developed quite a distaste for the mush of bland grains, slimy fungi, and the chewy, almost rubbery texture of the boiled dark-green plants.

    Rylan wistfully eyed the speckled green eggs in passing. Once upon a time, he, Zahra and Soren had climbed the cliffs on the south side of the island, and gotten quite a few scrapes to collect some of those suckers. These days, he wouldn¡¯t dare, as food theft was taken very seriously.

    With a sigh, he arrived at his station, and reached blindly into the foguarium to grab one of the fist-sized scallops. He yanked it free from the sandy bottom of the tank and brought it out, ignoring the wild writhing of its thin segmented legs.

    He put it down on his workstation and chopped off its spindly limbs with force, as the knife indeed proved rather dull. At least its blade was thick and sturdy, so he didn¡¯t have too much trouble wedging it into the small gap between the shells, and leveraging the scallop open.

    After scraping and washing the viscera off in his station¡¯s sink, Rylan cut the scallop¡¯s main muscle free, deposited it in a bowl, and moved on to the next, the first drops of sweat already starting to bead on his forehead.

    Blessed Zeph, is it too soon to start praying to you for release from this kitchen? he mentally mused, only half to himself. I could really use some winds of change right about now... Fog, I¡¯d take just any kind of cooling breeze.

    Rylan always felt a bit awkward praying. On the one hand, he¡¯d heard too many stories about spirit encounters to discount their existence. On the other, there rarely seemed to be any definitive indication in those stories that people were dealing with the specific Great Spirit they attributed their encounter to. Therefore, he wasn¡¯t entirely convinced that Zeph existed, let alone that She would listen to his pleas for help.

    Still, he figured it couldn¡¯t hurt to ask.

    There was only a single wide-open window in the kitchen, and the warm early evening breeze that rolled in a few moments later unfortunately did little to alleviate the sweltering heat, let alone bring him any freedom. Worse, a thick fly saw it as an opportunity to fly in and come buzzing around his head, probably attracted by his little wastebin, but Rylan ignored it.

    It wasn¡¯t half as annoying as the buzzing in his other ear.

    ¡°Hey Rylan,¡± Seth spoke from the station next to him, where he was leisurely cutting up mushrooms. ¡°Got a Skill yet?¡±

    Rylan didn¡¯t reply, simply grabbing another scallop and continuing, pausing only to blow upwards to dislodge the fly after it landed on his nose.

    Seth chuckled. ¡°I guess not, huh, or you wouldn¡¯t be here. Unless you got Shucking. Wouldn¡¯t that be something?¡±

    ¡°Shucking is not a Skill,¡± Rylan replied blandly, his heartbeat accelerating at the provocation despite his resolve not to let it get to him.

    Seth had seemed like a laid-back fellow, if a bit lazy. Perhaps Rylan¡¯s effort had been somewhat half-hearted, but he¡¯d still at least tried to open up to Seth about his woes. He hadn¡¯t expected his sincerity to be rewarded with mockery. It was just disappointing, really.

    ¡°Not a known Skill,¡± Seth countered. ¡°Just think about it: you could be the first!¡±

    Rylan felt his jaws clench and made a conscious effort to relax them before he replied. ¡°Maybe if you focused some of this extra energy into your chores, you¡¯d be a bit more effective at them.¡±

    ¡°Ah, yeah,¡± Seth replied as Rylan shook his head to discourage the amorous fly from landing on his face again. ¡°You see, that¡¯s just the thing. I like being ineffective. It¡¯s a fine line to walk, but if you show just the right amount of incompetence, you get to keep your job, without ever being saddled with difficult tasks or additional responsibilities.¡±

    The muscle next to Rylan''s right eye twitched, the fire in his belly blazing.

    ¡°Really, you could stand to learn a thing or two from me,¡± Seth continued proudly, as he casually carved another mushroom into slightly misshapen chunks, clearly making no effort to make nice cuts.

    ¡°I¡¯d really rather not,¡± Rylan snarled, chopping the legs of his next scallop with unnecessary force, angrily shaking his head to deter the fly still buzzing around him. ¡°I¡¯m not the type who foists his work off on others.¡±

    Seth shrugged happily. ¡°Suit yourself. Having fun with those scallops? Looks like a yucky job. Guess Ava didn¡¯t trust me not to muck it up, or I¡¯d probably be doing it... oh well.¡±

    Rylan opened up his mouth to shoot back a scathing reply, when his hand, trembling with rage, slipped.

    Dull as the kitchen knife was, with how hard he was trying to pry it into the small opening between the scallop¡¯s top and bottom shell, it had no trouble sinking deep into Rylan¡¯s thumb.

    Rylan hissed, sucking in a breath as the pain hit him. Unfortunately, the fly chose that moment to attempt a landing on his lips, and ended up sucked into his mouth.

    Hacking and coughing, Rylan managed to spit the blasted cretin out, only for it to buzz away happily.

    Seth lost it, having to hold himself up on his station not to sink through his knees laughing. ¡°Oh Great Spirits,¡± he wheezed. ¡°That was perfect! Hey, maybe you could get a comedy Skill!¡±

    Standing there, knife still in hand, the taste of copper on his tongue from the throbbing thumb he¡¯d reflexively stuck in his mouth, Rylan saw red.

    For one glorious moment, he imagined stabbing Seth. Then his eyes found a better outlet for his rage: the fly. It had landed on a bamboo sign hung on the wall about ten feet away, a stupid thing that read, ¡®Watch your fingers; in this kitchen, it¡¯s chop or be chopped!¡¯

    In that moment, Rylan wasn¡¯t sure which he hated more: the fly or the sign. It didn¡¯t really matter, because they had decided to align oh so conveniently.

    A strange heat rose within him. Without another thought, he flipped his knife up, caught it by the still-bloodied tip, and drew it back over his shoulder. Then he stepped forward and, with a practised motion, hurled the blade at full force.

    His knife spun through the air, performing a perfect one-hundred-eighty-degree turn as it passed through the centre of the kitchen. And on the other side, it pierced through the fly¡¯s back point-first, before sinking into the soft compressed bamboo beneath.

    The still-quivering knife came to a rest there, having neatly split the fly into two perfectly symmetrical halves, right on the dot over the ¡®i¡¯ in the word knife.

    Cries of surprise rang out, and a rare hush fell over the kitchen.

    ¡°You... wait, you actually hit it?¡± Seth asked, sounding dumbfounded.

    Rylan stood there, frozen in surprise, barely registering the question. Not because he¡¯d hit it, though. To be honest, the moment the blade had left his hand, he¡¯d known it would. He¡¯d felt it.

    No, what had surprised him, was the voice that had suddenly started talking to him, seeming to originate from inside him somehow.

    ¡¶Quintessence anomaly detected,¡·a cool voice spoke, its gender hard to pin down.¡¶Spirit mutation threshold exceeded, proficiency requirement met, Attribute requirements met. Congratulations. You are eligible to obtain the Skill: Knife-Throwing. Do you accept?¡·

    I... I did it!

    Rylan could feel his face try to split into two from the width of his smile. He turned to Seth, looking the bewildered boy dead in the eyes as he said, ¡°I accept.¡±

    ¡¶Initiating Skill Conversion. Please prepare for Ethereon integration in three, two, one...¡·

    Rylan hastily sat down on the ground, leaned back against his station. The last thing he saw before his eyes rolled back into his head and everything went dark, was the growing understanding, sheer disbelief, and delicious, delicious envy in Seth¡¯s eyes.

 Chapter 6: Hospitality

    The second the library¡¯s door clicked shut behind his best friend, Soren carefully put down the book and let out a quiet groan, taking a moment to rub his eyes with the palms of his hands.

    So, it was as he¡¯d feared. Rylan did blame him, and probably had been avoiding him. Great. Just fogging great.

    Auris grant me strength...

    Whether the Great Spirit of the Sun¡¯s gentle rays would bolster him would remain to be seen, because, as usual, Soren didn¡¯t have time to do anything about his fight with Rylan. He had expectations to meet, responsibilities to uphold.

    Like going out to greet Vidric Talon. The young nobleman might not hold a title yet, but from what Soren had heard, he had been making waves in social circles, and was considered by many to be a strong contender for the position of heir to his grandfather, Duke Talon.

    Moreover, Soren¡¯s grandmother had warned him many times never to insult a Talon. After all, while their holdings might not be the largest, their main branch held a monopoly on the elusive Contract Skill.

    It had always seemed odd to Soren that no one else could seem to gain the Skill. Then again, it could simply be a case of no one who¡¯d acquired it being willing to openly practise it, lest they evoke the Talon¡¯s wrath...

    But before he played host, he would make sure his friends¡ªplural, as he assumed Zahra had been in on this¡ªhadn¡¯t left behind any evidence of what had obviously been a break-in.

    It was a small rebellion, but he''d found there was meaning in those. They kept him sane.

    He didn¡¯t discover Zahra hiding between the shelves, but he did find the door leading outside to be unlocked, and spotted a curly brown hair on the sandstone floor of the otherwise empty balcony.

    Satisfied that the story he¡¯d overheard Rylan improvise through the door would hold up with his assistance, he made his way out of the library, blowing out the oil lamp and locking everything up behind him.

    Then he started to hurry over to the main building. His earlier remark about Helen had only been partially in jest. He really was worried about her conduct. Especially as lately, she¡¯d quite often been singing a song she¡¯d picked up from a sailor about the shape of Duke Talon¡¯s¡ª

    To his surprise¡ªand slight relief¡ªright as he reached the main building, Vidric Talon stepped out.

    The young nobleman¡¯s blonde hair was coifed immaculately, and he was wearing a finely weaved yellow spider-silk robe bearing the Talon crest that was cinched at the waist, but looked like it still had plenty of room to hide things beneath. Similarly, his smile was casual and aloof, but his violet eyes had a sharp gleam to them as they cut across the grass and fell onto Soren.

    Walking just half a step behind him and to his side was a lady that, judging by her livery and equipment, served as his bodyguard.

    The way she scanned her surroundings and held herself gave Soren the impression that she was steady, cool, and professional, despite her youth. She exuded a quiet confidence, the kind that was born from experience, and couldn¡¯t be faked. The kind such a young woman really shouldn¡¯t have.

    Soren¡¯s eyes naturally drifted to her left arm for a moment, but he¡¯d been taught better than to stare.

    ¡°Ah, splendid,¡± Vidric said as he made his way over. ¡°You must be Soren.¡±

    A muscle next to Soren¡¯s eye twitched at Vidric¡¯s familiar tone. Frankly, addressing Soren directly by only his first name without any honorifics like that could be considered rather rude, but well... Vidric probably didn¡¯t care, nor did he need to.

    ¡°Thar Talon,¡± Soren said, lifting an arm and touching the outstretched fingers of his left hand to the outer corner of his eye in a Quinthar salute. ¡°A pleasure to make your acquaintance.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure, I¡¯m sure,¡± Vidric said, sounding amused as he lazily returned the gesture.

    The moment they both had their fingers touching their eye, Ethereon spun into motion, hijacking Soren¡¯s vision. The world turned grey, the only splashes of colour being the light welling up from inside of them.

    Familiar green light spilled from Soren¡¯s chest, but the light seemingly coming from a spot deep inside Vidric was blue. His spirit wasn¡¯t Emerald like Soren¡¯s, it was Sapphire, one grade higher, indicating Vidric had at least one Sapphire-Grade Skill.

    The young Sapphire Quinthar dropped his arm, and the monotone world disappeared. Blinking, Soren followed suit, as Vidric started looking Soren over from top to bottom, even going so far as to walk around him, one hand stroking his chin as if he was studying a work of art or something similar.

    Suppressing the urge to turn with the circling noble, Soren glanced at Vidric¡¯s bodyguard to gauge what she thought of her master¡¯s bewildering behaviour. However, the girl just looked at him impassively, like she thought there was nothing odd going on.

    ¡°I hope our hospitality so far has been satisfactory,¡± Soren said, electing to pretend he thought nothing of it either. ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected to find you out here unaccompanied...¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Oh, yes,¡± Vidric said, waving away his concerns and coming to stand in front of him. ¡°I¡¯m having a great time! Lord Thistlethorn was kind enough to offer to entertain me in the parlour, but I declined in favour of a stroll, and he excused himself to go freshen up. Say, help remind me, your mother would be...?¡±

    Soren stiffened. The question was as unexpected as it was rude, but he knew exactly what Vidric was getting at.

    Due to the age difference between him and his older sister, people liked to whisper that Soren, rather than being Bryce and Dionne¡¯s legitimate child, was perhaps actually Helen¡¯s son, born out of wedlock.

    Soren had a contentious relationship with his irresponsible sister¡ªthe bane of his existence¡ªbut after overhearing the rumour one too many times, he¡¯d still started to wonder, and confronted her about it.

    Helen had laughed so hard she¡¯d fallen off her chair. Soren no longer wondered.

    ¡°The Lady Dionne Thistlethorn, of course,¡± he managed to say, fighting not to give away his embarrassment at the question.

    His grandmother had taught him better than that as well.

    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    ¡°Of course, of course,¡± Vidric replied smoothly, as he cocked his head to the side, squinting at Soren like he wasn¡¯t so sure at all.

    Soren¡¯s left hand twitched, itching to rest on his rapier¡¯s pommel, even if just for the calm it would bring him, but the girl¡¯s eyes zeroed in on it immediately, her body tensing.

    Soren didn¡¯t need to salute her to know she was a Quinthar as well and was likely a far more experienced combatant than him; otherwise there was no way she¡¯d have gotten her job. So he swallowed and took a deep breath. He would not be the cause of a diplomatic incident.

    Before he could say anything more however, he heard a commotion from the open kitchen window on the second floor, cries of anger and surprise coming out.

    Then he felt something strange, a rush of something, brushing over his spirit like wind flowing over bare skin, except inside his chest.

    ¡°Oh my,¡± Vidric said, turning to the window as well. ¡°Was that one of your family members, do you think?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure...¡± Soren replied honestly, leaving out that he had no idea what the sensation had been.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem likely,¡± the girl spoke up. ¡°I believe that¡¯s the kitchen.¡±

    ¡°It is indeed,¡± Soren said in response to Vidric¡¯s questioning look, a little surprised that she¡¯d known, and still not entirely sure what was going on.

    ¡°A servant then,¡± Vidric mused. ¡°Still quite fortuitous. I wonder what Skill it is. Probably Cooking, I suppose.¡±

    ¡°Someone just received a Skill?¡± Soren asked, despite himself. ¡°Is that what that feeling was?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve never experienced it before?¡± Vidric asked with a slight smile. ¡°Well, I suppose you must¡¯ve been the last one to gain a Skill on this island... until now. Ethereon¡¯s interference is something only Quinthar can feel. Anyway, I must say this is quite exciting! Shall we go have a look?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Soren replied automatically, not that he had much of a choice. For some reason, though, his heart had started beating like a drum.

    It can¡¯t actually be Rylan, right? Oh man, I¡¯m not sure if he¡¯d laugh or cry if he really gained Cooking...

    They arrived at the entrance to the kitchen just in time to see a limp body personally being carried out by Chef Zelim.

    Soren¡¯s stomach flipped. It was Rylan! His best friend had actually done it, gained a Skill all by himself!

    An uncontainable smile broke out on his face as the chef gently put Rylan down in the hall, propping him up against the wall.

    The man spotted Soren then and gave his customary, curt little bow. ¡°He¡¯s just fainted from the heat, milord,¡± he rumbled. ¡°Seen it happen a hundred times. No cause for alarm.¡±

    ¡°Just fainted?¡± Ava asked, coming out with her hands on her hips. ¡°You coddle that boy too much, Zelim. He threw a knife through the kitchen!¡±

    ¡°Did he now?¡± Vidric drawled, his eyes twinkling. ¡°Who did he throw it at?¡±

    Ava glanced his way, then did a double-take, and quickly dropped her arms and curtsied. ¡°Milord! Ehm, he seems to have thrown it at a sign, not a person.¡±

    One of the kitchen hands listening at the doorframe¡ªSoren didn¡¯t know his name, so he must¡¯ve been new¡ªscoffed.

    Vidric¡¯s eyes immediately zeroed in on the poor fellow. ¡°You. What¡¯s your name, boy?¡±

    The boy¡¯s eyes widened, the blood draining from his face. ¡°M-me? Ehm, Seth, milord.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re doing great, Seth,¡± Vidric assured him. ¡°Now tell me, why did you make that noise?¡±

    The boy swallowed. ¡°Ehm... well, he did hit the sign, milord, but it¡¯s... it¡¯s not the only thing he hit.¡±

    Vidric made a little noise of intrigue, then strode towards the packed opening of the door with the kind of confidence only a true noble could possess. The kitchen hands immediately scrambled aside to make way.

    His bodyguard smoothly fell into step behind him, snapping her head back and forth to glare at the staff, her braided hair whipping one in the face as she stalked past.

    Soren cast another glance at Rylan, but his friend seemed fine, and was most likely in the process of being integrated by Ethereon, so he decided to perform his duty as host and followed in after.

    He was surprised at the swell of heat that met his face as he entered the kitchen, having not been in there while it was in use in a long time. His stomach growled a little at the scents, but he ignored it and quickly made his way over to the sign Vidric was staring at.

    When he got there, he finally understood what Seth had meant.

    The knife was still stuck in the bamboo, and on either side of the blade was half a fly.

    Despite himself, Soren snorted with laughter.

    ¡°Well, that all but confirms it, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Vidric mused, violet eyes twinkling as he turned back to Soren. ¡°Seems like your servant has just unlocked Knife-Throwing. Congratulations.¡±

    Soren made his way out of the kitchen with the sign under his arm, the knife still in it. Taking a memento from the moment one became a Quinthar was traditional, after all.

    It would look great over Rylan¡¯s bed. Or in the living room of a small apartment in Cliffport, a small voice in the back of his mind said.

    He suppressed a frown at the old, childish fantasy that had popped up unbidden. Moving to a free city together was something he, Rylan and Zahra had used to talk about quite a bit when they were younger. The life they¡¯d dreamed up had been full of expectations Soren now knew to be unrealistic, but the basic concept still held... a certain appeal.

    With Rylan¡¯s new station, it suddenly seemed almost attainable.

    Almost, because Soren¡¯s grandmother would never allow Soren to leave.

    The fantasy was quickly forgotten when he walked out into the hall and saw his friend being lifted by two guards. Soren opened his mouth to speak, but then spotted her.

    Beatrice Thistlethorn was not some kindly old lady who served cookies and tea. Her spine remained unbowed, her skin mostly unwrinkled, and though her hair may have gotten a bit more silver, the blue still shone through.

    Well, actually, she did drink a lot of tea, but that was for her voice. The days she raised it were rare, but when she did, it could shake the whole compound.

    While Soren¡¯s father might be making most of the day-to-day decisions, he hadn¡¯t officially taken over the title. And there was no question about who was really in charge.

    ¡°Take him to the cooler,¡± Soren¡¯s grandmother said sternly, her voice cutting through the din like it wasn¡¯t there. ¡°And be careful,¡± she added when one of the guards almost lost grip on the pit of Rylan¡¯s arm, her piercing grey eyes boring into the poor woman¡¯s skull, who promptly ducked her head and proceeded to very carefully lift Rylan up farther.

    ¡°The cooler?¡± Soren repeated in surprise. ¡°But he gained a Skill!¡±

    His grandmother shot him a look. ¡°He also threw a knife through a busy kitchen. I think he could use some time to cool off, wouldn¡¯t you agree?¡±

    Soren blinked, hearing Vidric snicker behind him. ¡°I... Yes, ma¡¯am.¡±

    She nodded, then turned to Vidric and made an actual curtsy, something Soren had rarely witnessed. ¡°Thar Talon, what a pleasure to receive your visit. I really wish you¡¯d given us some advance notice, so that we could¡¯ve better prepared your reception...¡±

    ¡°My sincerest apologies, Countess,¡± Vidric replied smoothly, inclining his head. ¡°I heard some entertaining rumours, and I¡¯m afraid my enthusiasm got the best of me.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Beatrice Thistlethorn replied flatly as she folded her hands together with interlocked fingers, leaving Soren with the distinct feeling that there were things going over his head, matters he wasn¡¯t privy to. ¡°Would you care to join me in our parlour until dinner? I¡¯m afraid our young friend may have caused a bit of a delay, but I¡¯m sure we can have some refreshments brought over.¡±

    She glanced at Ava, who immediately bowed her head, and headed for the pantry.

    ¡°I would be delighted,¡± Vidric replied, even though he¡¯d apparently declined a similar offer from Soren¡¯s father earlier.

    ¡°Excellent. Are you coming, Soren?¡± his grandmother asked, her tone making it clear that it wasn¡¯t really a question.

    Soren threw a mournful glance back down the hallway leading towards the cooler, and sighed. ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡±

    Rylan would be unconscious for a few more hours, anyway.

    As Soren trailed after his grandmother¡ªstill holding the sign with the knife pinning the fly under his arm¡ªhe smiled. Now that his friend had actually gained a Skill, at least mending their relationship would be a little easier. Probably.

    And at least it isn¡¯t Cooking.

 Chapter 7: Windows to the Spirit

    Rylan groggily rubbed his eyes and sat up, the world spinning around him. His surroundings were pitch-black, and for a moment he wondered where he was.

    Then the rancid smell of the bamboo bucket hit him, and he suddenly knew his exact location.

    I¡¯m in the cooler?! What the fog¡ª

    The events from before came to Rylan in a rush. He¡¯d been working in the kitchen, Seth had been pissing him off, and there was this fly...

    His eyes widened, not that it helped him see.

    I have a Skill! I¡¯m a Quinthar!

    And from his last memory before Ethereon started ¡®integrating¡¯ him¡ªwhatever that meant¡ªSeth had realised as much.

    And yet, Rylan was still in the cooler.

    I bet Seth didn¡¯t tell them I gained a Skill, so they locked me in here as punishment for the incident or something.

    Normally, he¡¯d be pissed off, and probably praying to Zeph for a change, a swift release from his confinement, but right now, Rylan was too elated to really care.

    He¡¯d already gotten his change. Compared to him gaining a Skill, the fact that he¡¯d ended up in the cooler again was a minor matter.

    He pinched the skin on the back of his hand to make sure he wasn¡¯t dreaming. Pain had never been such a relief, but he still couldn¡¯t help but worry that it somehow hadn¡¯t happened, that it wasn¡¯t real.

    Well, he¡¯d just have to check.

    Rylan cleared his throat. ¡°Ehm, Blessed Ethereon,¡± he spoke softly, partly out of reverence, and partly out of an inane worry that someone might hear him talking to himself and think he¡¯d gone foggy in the skull. ¡°Might I perhaps see my Status?¡±

    For one long, terrifying moment, nothing happened. But then, he felt a prickling in the back of his neck, like someone¡ªor something¡ªhad briefly glanced at him, and a rectangular frame of light appeared before him, hovering in the air.

    He watched wide-eyed as more light swirled in front of him, forming glowing letters and numbers that filled in the centre of the frame.

    Status

    Mana Pool: 10/10

    Attributes

    Strength 1

    Dexterity 3

    Endurance 1

    Mind 0

    Perception 3

    Presence -1

    Free points: 3

    Skills

    Knife-Throwing, Rank 1

    Quint Structures

    Mana Core, Tier I

    Mana Pool, Tier I

    Quintessence Credits: 100

    Rylan gaped at the floating text in wonder. Tears welled up in his eyes but he hurriedly wiped them away when they started to make the letters blurry.

    It¡¯s real... I really did it.

    After taking a moment to compose himself, he scooted back against the rough stone wall, and started poring over his Status Window. I guess I can kind of see why people call it that, with the border around it, and the way you can still see through it.

    Sitting there cross-legged in the dark, damp room, he hungrily went over the glowing lines one by one, recognising some things from stories, and trying to make sense of others.

    He actually had mana! One of the simplest ways to make money as a Quinthar was to sell mana to power things like firemetal for heating or cooking, or glowmetal for illumination. It wasn¡¯t worth a lot, as a single Quint Cube could be expended for as much as 1000 points of mana¡ªas long as it was drained very slowly¡ªbut still.

    A Quint Cube was worth about a bronze quarter and a bit or two. As there went eight copper bits into a bronze quarter, that meant it was about 100 mana to a copper bit.

    His current Mana Pool was worth a whole tenth of a bit... and it refilled for free! It was essentially a wellspring of value, which he knew could be improved. But he¡¯d get to that section later.

    First, he pressed on to his Attributes, the things he¡¯d always dreamt of knowing.

    For starters, his Strength was a 1. Well, that was pretty all right, he supposed, he hadn¡¯t even necessarily expected it to be net positive.

    From what he understood, the Attributes were boosts provided by the spirit to the flesh. In that sense, muscles had little to do with the Strength Attribute, except as contrast. If you saw a skinny guy lifting a lot of weight, he probably had a high Strength Attribute.

    His Dexterity, however, was actually a 3!

    High, as he¡¯d always hoped and suspected. The cut he¡¯d made into his thumb earlier really had been a rare occasion, as his fingers had always felt rather nimble, and he rarely stumbled or fumbled anything. It was very gratifying to see that he¡¯d been right, and that his spirit was indeed reinforcing his coordination.

    An Endurance of 1 was not bad either. It made Rylan wonder if that was something innate, or if that was something he¡¯d developed in his spirit by being stubborn and working hard.

    His Mind was a 0, which... well, to be honest, it was the Attribute Rylan probably understood the least. It had something to do with thinking, clearly.

    He was quite sure he wasn¡¯t stupid. Then again... if he was stupid, would he be able to tell?

    Rylan''s brows drew together.

    Of course, Attributes were supposed to just be boosts. If a very buff person could have a low Strength score, then surely a smart person could have a low Mind score, right?

    Satisfied with that explanation, Rylan moved on.

    His Perception was at a 3 as well!

    This was a little unexpected to Rylan. He¡¯d realised he was sharp-eared, and had a well-developed sense of smell, but the extent of it caught him off-guard. Then again, this was only a boost, so maybe his natural senses were a little dull, and his Spirit just compensated for it?

    Rylan shook his head, deciding not to dive too deep into that mist-eel¡¯s den of thought.

    Finally his Presence was a -1.

    Rylan stared at that number for a while.

    From what he understood, Presence was the Attribute linked to most social Skills. Did this mean his spirit was underdeveloped in this area compared to some baseline, or was it actively hindering his ability to connect to the people around him?

    He hoped it was the former, but if it was the latter, well, he supposed that just meant it really wasn¡¯t his fault if he rubbed people the wrong way sometimes, right?

    Except... he now actually had the means to do something about it. He had received three free points upon gaining his first Emerald-Grade Skill, after all.

    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Rylan stared at his free points for a long time. Tempting as it was to spend them right away, improve himself in a very noticeable manner, he knew what a limited resource the points represented.

    There were not a lot of ways to increase one¡¯s Attributes. Supposedly, it could occur from natural growth of the spirit, but that was a very slow process.

    Then there were Enhancers, the different kinds of precious gems rewarded for clearing Dungeons, but Dungeons didn¡¯t exactly grow on clouds, and they were generally hogged either by noble families or free cities.

    Theoretically, Rylan could always stumble upon some hidden Dungeons while exploring the Cloudsea, but the odds of finding one in the immediate vicinity of an inhabited island were obviously rather slim, and the deeper one went into the Cloudsea, the harder it was to find one¡¯s way back.

    By contrast, the free points from Ethereon were¡ªin a weird way¡ªeasier to obtain. However, Ethereon¡¯s rewards came with diminishing returns. For his second Emerald-Grade Skill, Rylan would only get 2 points. From the third on, only 1.

    And of course, the most important use for those points was to raise his Attributes to meet the requirements for new Skills. But he still had no idea what those requirements were!

    His eyes fell on the next part. His Skill: Knife-Throwing, Rank 1.

    He frowned.

    ¡°Ehm, Blessed Ethereon, could I trouble you for a little more information about my Skill?¡±

    This time, the reaction was practically instantaneous, and another window popped up to the right of his Status.

    Knife-Throwing

    Rank 1

    Effects

    Blade guard

    Stable flight

    Forceful impact

    Attribute Requirements

    Strength ¡Ý 0

    Dexterity ¡Ý 3

    Perception ¡Ý 3

    Ooh, so the Skill protects my blade, stabilises its flight, and increases its impact...

    Rylan couldn¡¯t help but note that it said nothing about improving his accuracy, or the blade¡¯s speed. Other than providing a more stable flight, his Skill didn¡¯t seem to change the arc of his throw at all...

    I definitely need to practise!

    While his fingers itched to get started with that¡ªand to try out his new Skill¡ªRylan was sitting in a small, dark, bare room without any knives on him, so he moved on to the Attribute Requirements.

    While he¡¯d learned basic arithmetic, he wasn¡¯t familiar with the symbol in between the names of his Attributes and their numeric values. However, the moment he laid eyes on them, Ethereon seemed to whisper its meaning into his spirit, and he understood it to mean ¡®equal to or greater than.¡¯

    That meant the requirements for the Knife Throwing Skill were a minimum of 0 in Strength, 3 in Dexterity, and 3 in Perception. Well, even with what he felt were pretty high Attributes, he¡¯d just barely met those requirements... It was starting to make sense why only one in a thousand people unlocked a Skill.

    The question now was, what other Skills did Rylan meet the requirements for? Or rather, could he meet the requirements for, after distributing his free points...

    I could raise either my Endurance or Strength to 3, and use the last point to bring Presence up to 0. If other Skills have similar requirements, that should open up a whole bunch of them, right?

    On the other hand, he only knew the Attribute requirements of a single Skill now, which was not a lot to go on. Moreover, Sapphire-Grade Skills probably had some kind of requirements too. If he could get one of those, the rewards would probably be much greater...

    Rylan gritted his teeth, his enthusiasm souring a little.

    The Thistlethorns clearly still had him at a large disadvantage in terms of information. Perhaps it was even enough to explain why nearly all the Thistlethorns were Quinthar. Maybe Enhancers had simply made the difference by allowing them to meet the Attribute requirements they knew existed for certain Skills, thus massively increasing their chances to gain one.

    Shaking his head, Rylan firmly decided he wasn¡¯t going to make any hasty decisions, and turned back to the final section of his Status Window.

    ¡°Blessed Ethereon, might I know more about my Quint Structures?¡±

    A split second later, a third window popped up, to the left of his Status.

    Quint Structures

    Installed

    Mana Core, Tier I

    Mana Pool, Tier I

    Available

    Mana Core Tier Up (1000 Q)

    Mana Pool Tier Up (1000 Q)

    Mana Shell (100 Q)

    Quintessence Credits: 100

    Rylan read over the new window with great interest.

    He¡¯d never heard of Mana Cores before, but when he focused on the unfamiliar words, Ethereon once again seemed to whisper meaning into his spirit.

    So an Emerald-Grade, Tier I Mana Core produces approximately 1 point of mana per hour...

    Despite himself, Rylan was a bit disappointed at that. His dream of getting rich quickly by just selling his mana seemed to be out of reach, for now.

    But it can be upgraded!

    It seemed like asking Ethereon to install or upgrade Quint Structures in his spirit wasn¡¯t cheap, however. Focusing on the letter Q, Rylan quickly came to understand that each unit of Quintessence was equivalent to a Cube. He¡¯d known Quinthar were capable of absorbing those, but had never really quite understood what they needed them for. It seemed pretty clear now.

    One thousand Cubes to upgrade a Mana Core to the next Tier... that¡¯s insane!

    A thousand Cubes... that was worth over 300 Silver Florins; more than enough to settle his debt.

    However, at the very bottom of the window, it also stated his current budget, which was a full 100 units of Quint! 100 Cubes!

    ¡°Blessed Ethereon,¡± Rylan said, nervously licking his lips. ¡°Might I... withdraw a Cube from my reserves?¡±

    He held up a shaky hand, and after a moment... a voice spoke inside his head.

    ¡¶Local Cube conversion requested. Generating 1 Quintessence Cube at a cost of 10 Quintessence Credits.¡·

    ¡°What? No!¡± Rylan quickly exclaimed, retracting his hand like he¡¯d burnt it. ¡°Stop! Abort conversion!¡±

    ¡¶Process terminated, Credits refunded.¡·

    Once he¡¯d recovered from his heart attack, Rylan opened his mouth. ¡°Blessed Ethereon, why... why does a Cube cost ten Credits? Aren¡¯t they worth exactly one Credit?¡±

    ¡¶Query not understood.¡·

    Rylan blinked. Query... not understood?

    He was starting to get why some people believed Ethereon wasn¡¯t one of the Great Spirits. Not that he really understood what the Great Spirits were, or what they were capable of, but he felt like this wasn¡¯t it. Ethereon seemed so... mechanical. Lifeless.

    ¡°Ethereon,¡± he started after a moment. ¡°Forgive me my rudeness, but... who or what are you, exactly?¡±

    ¡¶Query not understood.¡·

    Rylan¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°Then, can you tell me about Skill requirements?¡±

    In lieu of an answer, the window displaying his Knife-Throwing Skill closed, then reopened. Rylan stared at it, but didn¡¯t get anything from the glowing letters.

    ¡°Ethereon, please list all the Skills for which I meet the requirements,¡± he tried.

    ¡¶Query not understood.¡·

    Rylan sighed, leaning his head back against the rough stone. It seemed like Ethereon wasn¡¯t going to be much help in closing the gap in knowledge he had with the Thistlethorns...

    But I don¡¯t need to stay beholden to them. I can find other people to teach me.

    In the meantime, he decided to hold off spending any of his stored Quintessence on the only Quint Structure he could afford: the Mana Shell.

    As awesome as it would be to have a protective layer of mana covering his body¡ªand no matter how much the conversion rate might hurt¡ªif push came to shove, he might need the Cubes more.

    Now he just needed to wait for someone to let him out of the cooler, so he could show off his new Skill, and have a nice chat with the Thistlethorns about the anklet, and his future.

    His stomach growled, reminding him that he¡¯d missed dinner... and probably wouldn¡¯t be getting any, since he was in the cooler. Bunch of clodpolls. Just wait till they find out!

    As if on cue, Rylan heard approaching footsteps echo through the hall.

    He got up and carefully felt his way to the door, wary of accidentally kicking over the bucket. It was probably empty, but you could never be too sure.

    With his ear pressed to the door, he could easily hear the sound of a chair scraping over stone in the distance, followed by a greeting.

    ¡°Hey Loukas,¡± a voice spoke. Even through the thick bamboo, Rylan immediately recognised it as belonging to Grumpy Gordo, the oldest of the Thistlethorns¡¯ guards. ¡°What brings you to my impromptu little guard post this evening?¡±

    ¡°Got a letter here for your ward,¡± the young guard that Zahra was courting replied. ¡°Arrived by gull in the afternoon, but I guess Rylan never swung by the post station. Is he awake yet?¡±

    ¡°Not sure,¡± Gordo grunted. ¡°Haven¡¯t heard any cursing or complaining yet, but Rylan¡¯s been in the cooler a time or two, so who knows. Let¡¯s have a look, shall we?¡±

    Rylan blinked. Wait, is Gordo here to guard me? Why though? And a letter? Who could possibly be sending me a letter? Is it just an excuse for Loukas to pas me a message from Zahra or something?

    Footsteps approached the door, then, accompanied by the sound of jingling keys, so Rylan backed up a little, but they just came to a halt in front of the door, and it didn¡¯t open.

    He still flinched when three loud bangs rang out, the sound of a fist hitting bamboo. ¡°Oy, you awake, kid?¡±

    Rylan huffed out a breath. ¡°If I wasn¡¯t before, your smell certainly would have woken me as you approached.¡±

    ¡°Good!¡± Gordo replied, the grin evident in his voice. ¡°Evening naptime is for little kids, not young punks like yourself.¡±

    Despite himself, Rylan felt a smile coming on. ¡°Then how come I always seem to find you asleep at your post?¡±

    Gordo let out a short burst of laughter. ¡°He¡¯s awake all right. Have at it.¡±

    Receding footsteps accompanied by jingling keys and off-tune whistling let Rylan know Gordo was moving away again, leaving Loukas by the door.

    ¡°Hey bud,¡± Loukas said softly, ¡°You all right in there?¡±

    ¡°Well, the bathtub is a little small,¡± Rylan replied dryly, ¡°but other than that, I¡¯m most satisfied with the accommodations.¡±

    Loukas chuckled. ¡°Sounds like you¡¯re doing all right, then. So... is it true? Did you really get a Skill?¡±

    Rylan¡¯s mouth fell open. ¡°What? How do you know about that?¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s true then?¡± Loukas asked excitedly. ¡°Rylan, that¡¯s amazing, congratulations!¡±

    ¡°Thanks Lou, but, seriously, how do you know?¡±

    ¡°How could I not? It¡¯s all everyone¡¯s talking about!¡±

    Rylan stared at him, uncomprehending. ¡°But... if everybody knows about it, then why am I in here?¡±

    It was silent for a moment. ¡°That¡¯s a good question,¡± Loukas soberly replied. ¡°It¡¯s kinda... weird, isn¡¯t it? Hey Gordo, when are you supposed to let him out?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not!¡± Gordo shouted back. ¡°Was told they¡¯d come for him in the morning, but that¡¯s the next guard¡¯s problem; my shift ends in two hours!¡±

    ¡°What the fog is going on?¡± Rylan muttered, partially to himself.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Loukas said slowly. ¡°But if Zahra or I find out, we¡¯ll let you know. Oh, almost forgot: here¡¯s your letter.¡±

    With a noise of metal scraping against metal, the hatch in the door opened up a sliver, and in the dim glow that momentarily entered the pitch-dark room, Rylan saw a tiny length of bamboo slip through before it clattered onto the cold stone. Then the hatch closed again, leaving him in the dark.

    ¡°Hang in there, Rylan,¡± Loukas said. ¡°I¡¯ll be back later if I can.¡±

    Then his footsteps started to recede.

    There actually is a letter? Wait, how in the hazy depths am I supposed to read it in here?!

 Chapter 8: Small Talk

    As usual when he entered the parlour, the smells of leather and pine momentarily transported Soren to the distant past.

    When they were little, he, Rylan, and Zahra used to hang out here a lot during the colder among the six seasons; especially Tempis, the storm season, and Tenebris, the dark season. They would drink warm tea sweetened with sugarcane and play card games like clodpoll, gullcatcher, and sharks¡ªhis favourite¡ªwhile huddled up beneath a blanket draped over a little table. His father or grandmother would come by once in a while to check on them, and touch up the mana capacitor embedded in the centre of said table, to keep the firemetal radiator that hung beneath blazing.

    It was currently Solis, the bright season, so the little table stood bare, no blanket-skirt in sight, and the mana capacitor was empty.

    With a soft sigh, Soren put down the sign he¡¯d still been holding on to, and took a seat.

    Meanwhile, Vidric let out an amused-sounding hum as he slowly spun in the centre of the room, taking in the expensive, leather-clad, wooden furniture and tapestry-decorated walls. ¡°My my... how cozy!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m glad you approve,¡± Beatrice Thistlethorn replied, delicately sitting down in an ornately carved chair and barely glancing at her grey-haired personal maid who stepped up to pour her usual glass of warm brandy. ¡°Please, do take a seat, and let Tilda know what you¡¯d like. Will your attendant be partaking?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take a cherry wine, or any kind of berry wine if there¡¯s none on hand,¡± Vidric replied as he took place in the centre of a leather couch, bouncing up and down for a moment as if to test the seating. ¡°And don¡¯t worry about Tammi; she¡¯s as dull as drying clay when she¡¯s working.¡±

    Soren glanced over at the impassive, dark-haired bodyguard, who¡¯d taken up position leaning against the wall, and had to agree.

    Etiquette around Quinthar servants was complicated. Generally speaking, they deserved a seat at the table by their own status, but at the same time they were subservient to their contractor, and thus couldn¡¯t be treated on the same footing.

    ¡°I see,¡± Soren¡¯s grandmother said, before launching into a diatribe about the apparent disappointment that was last year¡¯s cherry harvest from Summit and the wine produced from it, and her heartfelt concern for this year¡¯s.

    To his surprise, Vidric agreed wholeheartedly, claiming he¡¯d been ¡®forced¡¯ to delve deeper into his reserves of ¡®acceptable¡¯ wine than he¡¯d liked.

    Despite himself, Soren found his attention drifting, his gaze often landing on the sign at his feet.

    His attention was drawn back to the conversation when his grandmother asked about the peculiar ship Vidric had apparently arrived in.

    ¡°It¡¯s a recent acquisition,¡± the young Talon said, clearly quite pleased. ¡°A full Aetherium deck and cabin, and a hull of Aetherium shell plating on a cloudmetal keel. It¡¯s truly amazing how fast and smooth it can glide across the driftline. Honestly, I can¡¯t imagine having to go back to my previous ship; the boredom would likely drive me insane.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the mass ratio, some thirty percent cloudmetal, seventy percent Aetherium?¡± Soren¡¯s grandmother asked politely.

    ¡°Seventy-five,¡± Vidric corrected with a smile. ¡°I wanted a little more storage capacity.¡±

    Soren blinked. He came here in a ship that¡¯s seventy-five percent perfectly weightless skymetal, and it¡¯s his?

    That certainly said something about Vidric¡¯s status within the Talon clan.

    Skymetal wasn¡¯t like cloudmetal, which could simply be won from fog condensate through electrolysis; it was one of the Divine Metals, which could only be found underground, and deposits were rare.

    Moreover, because of its properties, skymetal was perhaps the most sought-after Divine Metal¡ªeven more so than firemetal or glowmetal. Even Duke Talon couldn¡¯t afford enough of it to build each of his grandchildren a pleasurecraft, and thanks to their monopoly on Contracts, the Talons were rich.

    A part of Soren had always felt that glowmetal¡ªor Aurorium, as it was properly called¡ªought to be considered the most precious Divine Metal. After all, most sane people considered Auris the chief of the six Great Spirits. Alas, that was not how markets operated.

    ¡°Impressive,¡± Soren¡¯s grandmother said.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Vidric replied, twirling his glass of deep-red cherry wine by the stem. ¡°I¡¯ve been quite fortunate. Of course, luck has smiled on your family as well. You must be quite pleased with the young talent you¡¯ve got on your hands.¡±

    Beatrice paused, then gave a slight smile, an undercurrent of tension seeming to arise in the room. ¡°Of course. I¡¯m ecstatic.¡±

    ¡°Clearly,¡± Vidric replied with a twinkle of amusement in his deep violet eyes. ¡°Young Quinthar with combat Skills are hot commodities. And Knife-Throwing, no less.¡±

    Soren¡¯s brow furrowed at that statement. Before he could pull his expression back into something resembling the calm and collected one his grandmother always had him practise, Vidric glanced over.

    ¡°As Emerald-Grade Skills go, Knife-Throwing is a relatively rare one,¡± he explained with an indulgent smile. ¡°And one with excellent potential. Decently dangerous at medium range, absolutely lethal from up close...¡±

    Behind him, his bodyguard made a quiet, contemptuous sniff.

    ¡°Yes yes,¡± Vidric said, waving at her without even looking back. ¡°I know you¡¯d just bully them with that big shield of yours and close the distance, but not everyone is you, Tammi. In the right setting, Knife-Throwing can be a true nightmare, especially when combined with Knife-Fighting. Then, the humble knife suddenly becomes one of very few weapons that allows one to fight competently in melee as well as at range. And Knife-Fighting is generally considered easier to acquire.¡±

    ¡°Which is why I¡¯m sure young master Talon understands that the boy isn¡¯t for sale,¡± Beatrice said, before taking a sip.

    Vidric laughed. ¡°Oh my. And I hadn¡¯t even made an offer yet.¡±

    ¡°And you needn¡¯t bother. Our staff is like family. I could never put a price on them. However, it is still fortuitous that you¡¯re here...¡± Beatrice paused, folding her hands together, interlocking her fingers. ¡°It¡¯s only right for a new Quinthar in our employ to be offered a proper Contract, after all.¡±

    Vidric stopped in the middle of raising his glass to his lips, his brows rising slightly. ¡°Really? I was under the impression the Thorns tend to... frown upon the use of our services.¡±

    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    ¡°The Thorns don¡¯t bother us too much,¡± Soren¡¯s grandmother claimed with a wave of her hand. ¡°They prefer to stay holed up in their little fortress, tinkering with their toys.¡±

    Soren blinked, surprised at his grandmother¡¯s dismissive tone. He¡¯d never heard her speak about Castle Thornholm and the famously advanced mana-powered runegear of the Thorns like that before... In fact, he distinctly recalled her praising it as ¡®the closest anyone¡¯s come to the masterful runeforging of the ancient Hermean Empire.¡¯ What is she playing at?

    ¡°Toys,¡± Vidric repeated amusedly. ¡°That¡¯s one way of putting it. Though I suppose to you their castle may as well have been built of sand. I¡¯ve heard much of your voice; I hope age hasn¡¯t affected it?¡±

    ¡°My voice is fine,¡± Soren¡¯s grandmother replied calmly. ¡°I drink a lot of tea.¡±

    ¡°Glad to hear it, Countess,¡± Vidric replied. ¡°What a waste it would be for the Kingdom to lose such a powerful instrument. You¡¯d think the Thorns would show you more appreciation.¡±

    ¡°I have no quarrel with the Thorns,¡± Soren¡¯s grandmother said, her lips thin. ¡°However, at times, practicality has to win out over politics. The boy is indebted to us. Clear terms of employ will set everyone¡¯s mind at ease.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Vidric replied, his eyes twinkling. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be happy to oblige. In fact, seeing as I¡¯m already imposing on your hospitality, I¡¯ll even waive our usual Contracting fee.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too kind, Thar Talon,¡± Beatrice said. ¡°But since you insist, we¡¯ll accept.¡±

    She leaned back slightly, while Vidric lifted his glass and took a sip, neither breaking eye contact. In some ways, it felt to Soren like a battle had just been fought. He had the vague impression his grandmother might have come out on top, yet Vidric seemed not at all ill at ease.

    However, he had a hard time focusing on the social struggle, as he had to make every effort not to look like his head was spinning. She wants to put Rylan under a Contract? But... practically none of our Quinthar staff are under Contract!

    Not that their family had that many Quinthar working for them, as they were rather expensive. The captain of the guard was one¡ªhe had Halberd-Fighting¡ªand he kind of needed to be, as his job was to lead patrols through the cloudsea around Thistlebloom. Then there was the botanist who helped his mother in the greenhouse, and finally the tailor, who preferred to live in the nearby city of Cliffport, but came by every season with new clothes for the Thistlethorns.

    Of those three, Soren was pretty sure only the captain was under Contract, and even then, only because he¡¯d wanted instruction on Vocal Skills as a signing bonus.

    A clattering noise caught his attention, then, and he turned to find Ava and Zahra, with the latter holding a tray of snacks. Another slight tremor travelled down his friend¡¯s arms as she fully entered the room, but she managed to keep her tray still while she set it down on the little table.

    Soren frowned. If he hadn¡¯t known her as well as he did, he¡¯d have thought she was just nervous. But he recognised the clench in her jaw, the slight narrowing of her eyes. She may have been a little shaken, but she wasn¡¯t nervous. She was pissed.

    Did she catch the part about the Contract? Oh man...

    Ava bowed and cleared her throat. ¡°Dinner will be served in fifteen minutes; our apologies for the delay.¡±

    With that, she bowed once more, and left, Zahra hurrying after her with a somehow angry pep in her step.

    ¡°Splendid!¡± Vidric said, before quaffing the rest of his wine, grabbing two snacks, and practically jumping up from the couch. ¡°I¡¯d be most appreciative if someone could show me to my accommodations; I¡¯d love to freshen up.¡±

    Soren watched mutely as Tilda led him out the room at a nod from his grandmother, with ¡®Tammi¡¯ slinking right after them. The bodyguard hesitated for a moment at the exit, turned to briefly bow to Beatrice, and only then stalked out of the room.

    This left Soren alone with his grandmother, who let out a soft sigh as the door clicked shut.

    As he stared at her, he felt a familiar indignation bubbling up. Unlike usual, however, he was having trouble pushing it down.

    His grandmother apparently took note, frowning slightly in a way she hadn¡¯t done once during her verbal spar with Vidric. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Soren? I thought you¡¯d be happy for your friend.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Soren demanded, the word spilling out almost against his will. ¡°Why do you treat him like this?¡±

    Her frown deepened. ¡°Who? Vidric?¡±

    ¡°No, Rylan!¡± Soren exclaimed, finding himself standing up and gesticulating as he continued. ¡°First you send the Deeptides away, then you put an anklet on him, now you want to put him under Contract? Why?!¡±

    His grandmother¡¯s face turned to stone. ¡°Sit down and lower your voice.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d rather¡ª¡±

    ¡°Sit. Down.¡±

    Soren swallowed, and took a seat.

    His grandmother took him in for a long moment, as if to see whether he¡¯d behave, then nodded once. ¡°We are not fools, Soren,¡± she said curtly. ¡°Rylan has made it quite clear that, despite everything we¡¯ve done for him, he would very much like to leave our estate. If it were anyone else, I¡¯d have suggested giving him a taste of life in a free city, and simply waiting for it to chew him up and spit him out. However... I in fact do care about the fool boy, as do your parents and sister. Which is why we choose to protect him against his own foolishness.¡±

    ¡°By treating him like a prisoner?¡±

    ¡°He tried to run away through the cloudsea, Soren,¡± his grandmother snapped. ¡°Would you rather have had him eaten by a cloudshark or a pack of hungry armadons?¡±

    Soren frowned, folding his arms over his chest. Frankly, that had been exactly the worry that had driven him to confess what he¡¯d learned about Rylan¡¯s plans last time. However, the outcome had not been what he¡¯d expected or hoped for...

    He¡¯d hoped that when his family learned how persistent Rylan was, that they¡¯d relent, and let him leave. Instead, they had doubled down.

    ¡°Well then,¡± his grandmother continued, giving him no chance to translate his thoughts into words. ¡°You understand we did what we had to. Of course, considering his new status, it will obviously not do to keep him locked in that anklet. Which means we¡¯ll need a new means to... disincentivise any foolishness. Hence, a Contract. And make no mistake, we¡¯ll offer him a fair deal; he¡¯ll serve us for a short while, a decade or so, and then he¡¯ll be free to do as he pleases.¡±

    Soren¡¯s mouth fell open. ¡°A decade?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll work out the details in negotiation,¡± his grandmother said with a sigh. ¡°But that¡¯s what I¡¯ll be pushing for. You won¡¯t truly understand the folly of youth until you¡¯ve had a few decades under your belt to reflect on your own. Trust me.¡±

    Soren¡¯s jaw was starting to hurt a little from how hard he was clenching it, so he physically forced himself to relax it, drawing his face into the expression his grandmother expected of him. ¡°What if you fail to come to an agreement?¡± he asked, considerably calmer than he felt.

    His grandmother took a sip, crinkling her eyes at him in approval. She allowed the silence to linger for a moment longer, seeming to consider his question. ¡°We won¡¯t,¡± she finally said with certainty. ¡°I can offer him what he wants most.¡±

    Soren raised a brow at her. ¡°You mean his freedom?¡±

    Her small smile told him she appreciated the subtle barb, the mildness of his sarcasm. ¡°No. Information.¡±

    His brows drew together. ¡°What, like Skill Requirements and such? Couldn¡¯t he gain that from other sources?¡±

    ¡°I mean information. That¡¯s all you need to know right now. Now, have I answered your questions to satisfaction?¡±

    His frown deepened, as he recalled his initial question. ¡°Keeping him here, the contract... you¡¯re saying you¡¯re doing all of that because you care about Rylan? And, what, I¡¯m supposed to believe his new value doesn¡¯t weigh into your considerations?¡±

    ¡°Everything weighs in my considerations,¡± she replied, a sharp glint in her eyes. ¡°That is the burden of leadership, of responsibility. Take this to heart, Soren; when you inherit my position, you cannot make judgements based solely on emotions and sentimentality. Do you understand?¡±

    Soren felt his shoulders want to droop at the reminder, but he forcibly kept them squared. ¡°I... yes ma¡¯am.¡±

    Apparently, Helen had ¡®neither the disposition nor the will¡¯ to inherit the title of Viscountess currently held by their grandmother. Thus, his grandmother had decided that after his father, the title would pass on to Soren.

    ¡°Good.¡± She leaned back in her chair, seeming satisfied. ¡°Keep that chin up, Soren. If I¡¯d had any doubts about you, I would have started training one of your cousins. But I see a lot of myself in you.¡±

    Soren glanced at her, conflicted feelings rising in his chest.

    ¡°We have an important guest today,¡± she continued. ¡°After dinner, I expect you to accompany Thar Talon wherever he goes until he retires for the evening, is that clear?¡±

    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡±

    ¡°Good. Now, go freshen up.¡±

    Soren stood up, his fingers feeling strangely wooden as he picked up the sign and made his first few steps towards the door.

    ¡°Oh and Soren,¡± she added as he laid his hand on the handle of the door. ¡°Whatever you do, don¡¯t let Thar Talon get near Rylan without my supervision.¡±

 Chapter 9: The Art of Communication

    As Rylan¡¯s hands quested blindly over the rough, cold stone floor in search of the message canister, he internally cursed Loukas for just dropping it in. Thankfully, the cooler wasn¡¯t that big, and it didn¡¯t take long for his finger to stumble across the small bamboo tube.

    He returned to his previous position, sitting cross-legged against the wall, with his prize in hand and no idea what to do with it.

    There were rules to the cooler. One of them was no light.

    Holding the canister up against the minuscule amount filtering through gaps in the doorframe, he could barely make out the ridges along the short length of bamboo. He shook it, but whatever was in there was clamped too tightly to move.

    With a sigh, he put it down next to him, closed his eyes, and leaned back. Honestly, this is just... torture.

    Who could have possibly written him a letter anyway?

    Rylan¡¯s eyes shot open as one possibility came to him. The Deeptides!

    In a flash, he reached out to grab the tube again and started prying it open. It took some turning, twisting, and finagling, but he eventually managed to pop the small cork, and shook out a small, rolled-up strip of crisp bamboo paper.

    He stared at its faint outline, but no amount of squinting made the words he presumed to be on it visible, let alone legible.

    Instead, he brought it up to his nose, and sniffed it, hoping to catch the familiar spicy odour he associated with the Deeptides. Unfortunately, the scents he detected were mostly mundane ones: ink, bamboo paper, and gull. There was a faintly familiar undertone of something else, but he couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on it.

    Well, that wasn¡¯t the worst idea, actually.

    Rylan started running his fingers over the bumps and creases of the paper, hoping to decipher its contents. He thought he could recognise a letter or two here and there from a conspicuous loop, a free-hanging dot or slash, but... it wasn¡¯t enough.

    Then his finger brushed across something odd, a spot of rougher texture near the top of the paper. Or perhaps the bottom. In hindsight, he had no idea if he was even holding it the right side up. With a frown, he lightly scratched at the suspected stain with one nail, before bringing his finger to his nose.

    The moment he did, he realised it was the source of the undertone he¡¯d noticed earlier. It smelled coppery, like the fogtubes. Or blood.

    Wh-what the fog?!

    With his heart beating in his throat, Rylan sprang to his feet, nearly kicking the blasted waste bucket in his haste towards the door.

    ¡°Gordo!¡± he shouted, pounding on the thick bamboo for good measure. ¡°Hey, Gordo! Are you there?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s all this ruckus?¡± Gordo¡¯s sleepy voice responded. ¡°Is it time for my shift change?¡±

    ¡°Gordo! Please, I need a light!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Gordo replied annoyedly. ¡°Come on, Rylan, you know the rules as well as I do.¡±

    ¡°Please, I need to read this letter, it¡¯s important!¡±

    Gordo snorted. ¡°How do you know it¡¯s important if you can¡¯t read it?¡±

    ¡°Gordo, please!¡± Rylan repeated desperately. ¡°It smells like blood!¡±

    ¡°So?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean so? It¡¯s blood!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s called a paper cut, kid. And I hate to break it to you, but if whoever wrote you was bleeding badly at the time and nobody¡¯s done something about it in the meantime, then it¡¯s probably too late.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t you just...¡±

    ¡°No. Forget it, kid; I¡¯m not getting in trouble over your impatience. Just go take a nap and it¡¯ll be morning before you know it.¡±

    Rylan gritted his teeth, leaning his head against the door in defeat. For a moment, he considered asking the grumpy guard to read it to him, but... something inside of him balked at the idea. He had no idea what the contents of the letter were, but it was addressed to him, and he definitely wasn¡¯t about to share it before he found out what it said.

    Come on, there has to be some way to get light in here; I¡¯m a Quinthar now, damnit!

    Well, he could have Ethereon convert him a Cube and try to read by its glow, of course, but he wasn¡¯t crazy. That was far too expensive. Plus, a single Cube might not even produce enough light to read by.

    He blinked. ¡°Oh! Ethereon, could I see my Status Window again, please?¡±

    The window opened up in front of him in an instant, but he barely glanced at it, instead quickly holding up the paper to the light coming off the¡ª

    To his utter surprise, the paper remained pitch-black, even as he held it right next to the glowing letters hanging in the air. In fact, now that he looked around, the light coming off the Status Window didn¡¯t seem to touch anything. Not the walls, not the floor, not even him.

    Damn...

    He¡¯d assumed the letters to be made of mana, and therefore to give off light in all directions, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the case. Then again, he supposed he¡¯d never seen anyone else¡¯s Status either, so perhaps it made sense that it wasn¡¯t actual light...

    Another idea hit him, and he swiftly spun back towards the door. ¡°Gordo!¡±

    ¡°Now what?¡± the guard complained. ¡°Can¡¯t you leave me to na¡ªI mean, guard in peace?¡±

    ¡°I need a letter opener.¡±

    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    ¡°What could you possibly need that for?¡±

    ¡°To open my letter!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, nice try. Loukas showed it to me just now; it was in a canister, not an envelope.¡±

    ¡°The cork is stuck. I need something to help whip it out so I can get to my letter.¡±

    Gordo seemed to consider this for a moment. ¡°I thought it smelled like blood.¡±

    ¡°The canister smells like blood.¡±

    ¡°Uh-huh. I thought you couldn¡¯t read the letter because it was too dark?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s very dark inside the canister. So can I have one?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Please?¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± Rylan asked, putting on his best pleading tone. ¡°There aren¡¯t any rules against it, are there?¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯s pointless! You won¡¯t eb able to¡ª¡±

    ¡°Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplea¡ª¡±

    ¡°AAGH, FINE!¡± Gordo finally yelled. ¡°If it¡¯ll shut you up! But you¡¯re not getting a light source, and that¡¯s fogging final, you hear me?!¡±

    ¡°Yes sir,¡± Rylan replied, trying and failing to hold back his grin, lest Gordo heard it in his voice.

    He listened intently to the sound of Gordo¡¯s muttering and footsteps fading in the distance, then to the silence that followed. It seemed to take an eternity, but at long last, Gordo returned, walking all the way to his door this time.

    ¡°Hey kid,¡± Gordo said after a moment, sounding uncharacteristically serious. ¡°I¡¯m not a gullbrain, you know? If what I heard earlier is true... this letter opener is a lot more dangerous in your hands than probably anyone else¡¯s on this estate right now.¡±

    Rylan stilled, listening intently.

    ¡°Just... don¡¯t make me regret giving it to ya, all right? Can you promise me that, Thar Rylan?¡±

    Rylan swallowed, his stomach flipping excitedly at the title. ¡°I won¡¯t. Promise.¡±

    ¡°Fine then.¡±

    The hatch opened with a clang before a small, shiny blade was offered through it, and not just dropped this time. Rylan gratefully took it, fighting the urge to snatch it out of Gordo¡¯s hands.

    ¡°There you go, have fun with it,¡± Gordo grumbled. ¡°And don¡¯t disturb me again, you hear me?¡±

    ¡°Thanks Gordo!¡±

    ¡°Yeah yeah...¡±

    And with that, Gordo yawned loudly, and started shuffling back to his post.

    In the dark, Rylan lifted the innocuous blade in front of his face, and tried, for the first time ever, to activate his Skill.

    And nothing happened.

    One upside to being in the cooler, Rylan found, was the lack of distractions. With his full attention focused on the problem at hand, it didn¡¯t take him too long to realise what he was doing wrong.

    His Skill wouldn¡¯t activate, because he wasn¡¯t throwing his knife.

    So, for lack of a better idea, he started carefully lobbing the blade at the door, making sure it couldn¡¯t accidentally land in the bucket. It was probably empty at the moment, but there was a difference between empty and clean.

    If Gordo heard or was annoyed by the repeated clattering of the small metal implement on the stone floor, he didn¡¯t mention it. Frankly, Rylan suspected that the old guard had already fallen back asleep.

    Rylan quickly fell into a rhythm, becoming familiar with the shape and weight of the letter opener. Soon enough, he started feeling something whenever he drew it back.

    A tingling that ran up his arm, prickling his fingers.

    He started making the motion as slow as he could while actually still ¡®throwing¡¯ the knife, focusing fully on the strange sensation.

    And then, all of a sudden, as he drew it back once more, something clicked.

    He pushed against something, and the gentle tingling sensation became a surge of warmth that flowed through his arm, up to his fingers, and out into the small blade.

    It promptly started to shine with a faint white glow which charged up over the course of a second before levelling out. The end result was still barely enough light to read by, but it was something.

    Before Rylan could even grab his letter, however, the glow flickered and went out.

    Undeterred, he kept trying. Now that he¡¯d succeeded in activating his Skill once, he was confident he could do it again.

    The second time he activated it, he decided to follow through and actually threw the knife. It hit the door with a solid thunk, and the usual clatter... stayed out.

    Even though he¡¯d hardly put any strength into his throw, Rylan found it embedded deeply into the thick bamboo, and had to really pull hard to get it loose.

    Whoops. Better be careful with this thing...

    After some more experimentation, he found that the Skill didn¡¯t appreciate being interrupted. As soon as he halted his throwing motion, the mana would start fizzling out, leaking away into the air or something. When he checked his Mana Pool after a total of six attempts, he found he¡¯d used up exactly 0.6 points of mana.

    So one activation uses about 0.1 points of mana then? That would mean I could use it a hundred times in a row!

    As he watched, his Mana Pool ticked back up to 9.5 out of 10.

    Right, my Mana Core regenerates a full point of mana per hour, so that¡¯s about 0.1 point every six minutes, so it would actually even be a little more than a hundred times in practice.

    Still, it seemed like 0.1 points of mana wasn¡¯t all that much, as the light his letter opener gave off was pretty weak.

    I guess my Skill will grow stronger as it ranks up...

    Since he still had plenty of mana left, and nothing better to do, Rylan kept trying. He ended up spending about two-thirds of his Mana Pool over the better part of an hour, before he finally reached an unstable truce with his Skill, where it wouldn¡¯t deactivate as long as he slowly waved his blade in front of him in throw-like motions.

    The white glow coming off the blade was still weak and flickery, but at least it stuck around

    With his other hand, he carefully retrieved the rolled-up letter from where he could now actually see it lying on the floor, and started to unfurl it.

    Rylan¡¯s brows furrowed more and more as he tried to make sense of the smudged, barely legible scrawl in the dim light.

    ¡®Dear Rylan,¡¯ he was pretty sure it started. ¡®I ... ... much time, ... ... hand won¡¯t ... shaking, but I ... I owe ... ... much, ... least. I ... ... regrets. I wish I¡¯d ... ... ... sooner. I wish I ... ... ... ... up. But ... ... matters, ... matters, ... your safety. Unfortunately, ... ... ... efforts, I ... they suspect. Your ... asked ... ... to contact ... ...¡ªI ... know ... ... ... told you ... I ... say much ... either, ... ... letter falls ... ... wrong ...¡ªbut I ... ... warn you: ... coming. ... ... treasure your jewels, stay ... ... ... Anonymity ... your ... defence. If ... ... fails and ... ... ... ... assistance, ... to ... Knackered Hag, ... ask ... ¡°... Nosed Art¡± Sincerely, ...¡¯

    Rylan stared at the last word for a long time. It was scratched out, but he could still tell that it was short. It could be a name... but some part of him suspected it wasn¡¯t.

    The light coming off his letter opener sputtered out then, as he failed to keep the motion going properly. His arm had been getting tired anyway.

    With a sigh, he sank back against the wall.

    After all his effort, he¡¯d still barely produced enough light to read some of the letter. Still, from what little he¡¯d deciphered, he was pretty sure it hadn¡¯t been sent by the Deeptides.

    Overall, it seemed rather... ominous. His safety was mentioned, the word ¡®warn¡¯ was used, plus there was something about someone suspecting something and about using anonymity as his defence?

    Well, that plan was probably shot. He was a Quinthar now. He couldn¡¯t have drawn much more attention to himself if he¡¯d tried.

    The oddest part was perhaps the bit about treasuring his ¡®jewels.¡¯ As far as he was aware, Rylan had never owned anything as precious as that. Was he supposed to? Had someone robbed him as a baby or something?

    Also, what was the Knackered Hag? The capitalisation seemed to suggest it was the name of some place or establishment, but he¡¯d certainly never heard of it.

    Right as he was about to try and reactivate his Skill to see if he could decipher some more of the sloppy handwriting, he heard quiet footsteps approach down the hall.

    Perking up his ears, he could vaguely hear Gordo snoring in the background, so whoever it was had managed to sneak past the guard.

    Why though?

    With his heart beating in his throat, and the ominous words of the letter still fresh in his mind, Rylan considered what to do. Should he call out, ask who was there? Should he try to wake Gordo?

    The footsteps stopped in front of his door. Then, with a creak that seemed ear-piercing in the silence, the hatch opened a sliver, revealing a pair of silvery-grey eyes.

    ¡°Zahra!¡±

 Chapter 10: Hide and Seek

    Even in the dim light from the hallway, there was no way Rylan wouldn¡¯t recognise his best friend. He smiled as her barely visible eyes crinkled happily at his voice. Before he could do much more than whisper her name, however, her hand appeared before the narrow slit, beckoning him closer.

    Rylan quickly obliged, kneeling down in front of the door.

    ¡°Is it really true, Ry?¡± Zahra whispered, excitement tingeing her voice. ¡°Did you actually do it?!¡±

    Rylan grinned. ¡°That¡¯s Thar Ry to you, ma¡¯am.¡±

    ¡°Great Spirits, that¡¯s amazing!¡± she gushed. ¡°Congratulations!¡±

    ¡°Hey,¡± Loukas complained from beside her in a fake-wounded tone, ¡°I already told you he confirmed it, didn¡¯t I? Do you trust me that little?¡±

    ¡°Oh hush, it¡¯s just hard to believe, all right?¡±

    ¡°Hey,¡± Rylan said, matching Loukas in tone. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean? Did you ever even believe in me?¡±

    Zahra rolled her eyes. ¡°Yes yes, you¡¯re both foggin¡¯ hilarious.¡±

    ¡°Aw, thanks hon,¡± Loukas replied, the grin clear in his voice.

    ¡°Anyway, I would¡¯ve come sooner, except it was all hands on deck with the serving,¡± Zahra continued, turning serious. ¡°But Rylan... before dinner, I overheard something. The Thistlethorns want to put you under Contract.¡±

    He frowned. ¡°Oh? Well, I guess I still need to finish clearing my debt...¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t mean just a regular contract, I mean a capital-c Quinthar Contract. They want Vidric to use his Skill to bind you in their service... for a decade.¡±

    Rylan froze, his heartbeat rapidly quickening. ¡°What?!¡±

    While working for the Thistlethorns for another decade was markedly better than another twenty-three years, it was still preposterous.

    Rylan didn¡¯t know the exact amount a Quinthar could expect to earn, but he was positive it was easily upwards of ten times what he was making now. Making fifty silver florins a season, he should be able to pay off his debts in a year.

    Also, they wanted a Contract? He wasn¡¯t entirely clear on how those worked, but he knew the main point: a Quinthar under Contract couldn¡¯t use their Skills without permission.

    Fog that.

    ¡°What in the hazy depths are they thinking?!¡± he whispered harshly.

    ¡°We don¡¯t know, man,¡± Loukas replied after a moment.

    White-hot, boiling anger erupted in Rylan¡¯s stomach, and unable to contain himself, he got up to start pacing the short-short length of his room.

    ¡°First the Deeptides, then the anklet... now fogging this?!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Ry...¡± Zahra whispered, her eyes shiny.

    It was so unfair. He¡¯d worked so hard to become a Quinthar, and now they were going to use the very fact that he was a Quinthar against him to bind him more tightly to them than ever before. In hindsight, he really should¡¯ve considered that rising in value in their eyes might not necessarily be a good thing. But what else could he have done? And what the fog was he supposed to do now?

    Well, there was one thing he could do to prevent this whole mess...

    Rylan stopped in his tracks, as a sick sense of clarity washed over him. ¡°They¡¯re never going to let me go, are they? I don¡¯t even know why... but I¡¯m not fogging having it. I¡¯m getting out of here, one way or another.¡±

    ¡°Wha¡ªwhat are you saying, Ry?¡±

    Rylan sank back down in front of the door, taking in Zahra¡¯s wide eyes. ¡°I¡¯m going to do the only thing I can do. Run. I have to.¡±

    ¡°You mean... right now?¡± Zahra sputtered.

    ¡°If not now, then when? You want me to wait until after Beatrice Thistlethorn comes marching in here with Vidric Talon to ¡®negotiate¡¯? What happens if I say no, huh? Is she just going to take that, or will she use her Voice Skills on me and make me sign whatever she wants?!¡±

    Zahra frowned. ¡°Can she do that? I don¡¯t know that she can...¡±

    ¡°Well, they wouldn¡¯t tell us if she could, would they? Either way, I¡¯m not risking it.¡±

    ¡°What about your anklet, though?¡± Loukas asked.

    That was an excellent question.

    After Rylan had been fitted with it, the first thing he¡¯d done was naturally to have Zahra look at its lock. Unfortunately, the Thistlethorns seemed to have taken the possibility of lockpicking into account, as the fogging thing was fitted with a strange triangular lock that required a matching key.

    No amount of Zahra¡¯s fiddling had accomplished anything.

    ¡°We¡¯ll have to find the key,¡± Rylan whispered decisively. ¡°That is... if you¡¯re willing to help me?¡±

    Zahra and Loukas shared a glance. Some unspoken communication passed between them, before Loukas nodded and Zahra turned back and took a deep breath. ¡°Of course we are. Do you have an idea of where they keep it?¡±

    Well, Rylan certainly had his suspicions.

    Twice a season, Helen came to over to shift the anklet to his other leg, so he¡¯d seen said key often enough. He wasn¡¯t sure why she always did it herself. Maybe the Thistlethorns simply realised she was the only one of them he could tolerate right about now, and didn¡¯t trust anyone else with the key. After all, it was rather unique, and couldn¡¯t easily be replaced if lost.

    He''d always had rather mixed feelings about the process. On the one hand, he was grateful for the relief it brought, and about how apologetic and gracious Helen always was about it, but it also served as a reminder of the nightmare he was living.

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Anyway, while he¡¯d mostly written escape off as a valid option, he¡¯d still been surreptitiously keeping track of where she was coming from and going with the key. Which was why he knew it wasn¡¯t kept in the family safe down in the barracks with the rest of their valuables, probably because opening the heavy metal door was such a hassle.

    No, all the signs pointed towards her keeping it somewhere in the main building, the very one they were in.

    ¡°Helen¡¯s personal suite,¡± Rylan therefore whispered determinedly. ¡°I¡¯m positive that¡¯s where she keeps it, though it¡¯ll probably be well hidden. Fog, did the Thistlethorns finish their dinner? What time is it?¡±

    ¡°Nearly tenth bell, but dessert has yet to be served!¡± Zahra whispered back.

    ¡°Really? Wow, they¡¯re running late.¡±

    Zahra¡¯s eyes crinkled mischievously. ¡°Well, that¡¯s what you get when the menu is changed to a five-course meal at the last minute, and then someone causes a scene in the kitchen by nailing a fly to the wall with a knife.¡±

    Rylan grinned. ¡°Then we better hurry! Loukas, you¡¯ve got a master key that fits this door, right?¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Loukas whispered awkwardly. ¡°I do, but¡ª¡±

    ¡°But what, Loukas?¡± Zahra asked sharply. ¡°I thought you wanted to help!¡±

    ¡°I did¡ªI do¡ªbut that was before you got so loud you woke Gordo!¡±

    Rylan¡¯s heart sank, and a tense silence fell over them.

    A moment later, it was broken by a heavy sigh. ¡°Nope,¡± Gordo spoke loudly. ¡°I¡¯m too old for this shit. Since I¡¯m clearly dreaming, I think I¡¯ll just keep my eyes closed and continue my lovely nap.¡±

    ¡°Well... that changes things,¡± Loukas said, a grin evident in his voice. ¡°Stand back, Rylan!¡±

    Rylan hastily scrambled back, grabbing his letter and opener and shoving them in his pockets as the door swung open. He then hurried out, blinking until his eyes adjusted to the dim light of Gordo¡¯s oil lamp. ¡°All right, let¡¯s get going; we don¡¯t have long!¡±

    ¡°Way ahead of you,¡± Zahra shot back in a whisper, already halfway down the hall towards the nearest staircase. As Loukas closed and relocked the cooler, Rylan hurried after her, only taking a moment to slow down when he passed the ¡®sleeping¡¯ guard.

    ¡°Thanks, Gordo,¡± he said softly. ¡°This means a lot.¡±

    ¡°Just don¡¯t die out there, kid,¡± the guard mumbled, opening his eyes for a moment just to give him a wink.

    Then Rylan was off again, Loukas hot on his heels as he quietly sprinted up the stairs.

    Helen¡¯s suite was on the top floor of the main building, three stories high, and the cooler was naturally in the basement, so they had three flights of stairs to cover.

    Thankfully, as the staircase they took was near the back of the building, they didn¡¯t run into anyone on their way up. Of course, it would be much easier to be spotted out in the hallways, but the top floor was considered somewhat of a private area for the Thistlethorns, so there shouldn¡¯t be anyone loitering.

    Still, better to be safe than sorry.

    Zahra was waiting by the door at the top of the stairs, and held up a hand to stop them. ¡°I¡¯ll go on ahead,¡± she whispered. ¡°Loukas is not supposed to be on duty, so my presence here would be least suspicious. If you hear the cry of a gull, the coast is clear for you to come over.¡±

    ¡°The cry of a gull?¡± Rylan echoed quietly. ¡°How will we know it¡¯s not just a gull?¡±

    ¡°Oh, you can tell the difference,¡± Loukas whispered, panting a little, ¡°trust me; I¡¯ve had to endure her attempts for days now.¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± she hissed, her eyes narrowed at the young guard¡ªwho just grinned back¡ªbefore she slipped through the door.

    Rylan just shook his head fondly. ¡°Really don¡¯t know what you see in her, mate.¡±

    Loukas let out a quiet laugh. ¡°She¡¯s out of my league, and you know it.¡±

    ¡°Well, I wasn¡¯t going to say anything, but now that you mention it...¡±

    Right as Loukas started to make mock-threatening gestures at him, Rylan stilled, as he heard a most unwelcome sound coming from the landing.

    ¡°What are you doing up here, girl?¡± the stern voice of Miss Amberleaf asked.

    Fog! Why is it always her!

    If Rylan didn¡¯t know any better, he¡¯d think Miss Amberleaf had some obscure Skill for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Something like Busybodying, or Fogging-Over-Rylan.

    But no, she wasn¡¯t a Quinthar. Just the bane of his existence.

    ¡°Oh!¡± he heard Zahra exclaim. ¡°Ehm, Lady Dionne sent me to check if the guest chambers had clean linens.¡±

    ¡°What? Clean linens?!¡± Miss Amberleaf asked, affronted. ¡°Of course they have clean linens! They haven¡¯t been used in¡ª¡± She fell silent for a moment. ¡°Well, they should have clean linens...¡± she muttered. ¡°Perhaps I better make sure. You go on back and tell the Lady they were spotless, you hear me?¡±

    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am,¡± Zahra replied.

    Rylan let out the breath he¡¯d been holding, and shared a glance with Loukas. Nice job, Zahra!

    A moment later, Rylan heard an odd, hoarse noise that sounded somewhere between someone trying to clear their throat or dry-heaving, and he frowned in confusion.

    ¡°That was the signal,¡± Loukas whispered helpfully.

    ¡°Seriously?¡± Rylan asked, even as he opened the door, fighting back the laugh that threatened to bubble up. ¡°In what world was that a gull?!¡±

    Zahra glared at them from a ways down the hall, seeming to suspect the source of their snickering, and beckoned them to hurry on over.

    They quietly sprinted down the hall, taking a right turn¡ªthe opposite way of the guest-chambers¡ªand circled around to Helen¡¯s suite.

    Zahra opened the door and briefly peeked in before turning around and dragging Rylan inside by the wrist.

    Rylan¡¯s laugh finally escaped.

    ¡°I¡¯d love to hear your impression of a gull later,¡± Zahra hissed at him, red-faced. ¡°Now stop laughing and find that key!¡±

    Rylan mockingly bowed to her and turned around to rush towards the fancy wooden dresser.

    Zahra quietly opened the walk-in closet, while Loukas started looking under the bed, of all places.

    Rylan was in a decidedly strange, giddy mood as he pulled open the first drawer with shaking hands. The idea of running, of finally being free¡ªa free Quinthar no less¡ªelated him. At the same time, his stomach was in knots from anxiety, with anger still simmering beneath.

    The first drawer he opened was full of rolled-up shirts, stylish but utilitarian, with hardly any ruffles or lace. He felt around beneath them, but found nothing.

    He opened the next one, his eyes widening at the contents. After hesitating for a moment, he decided to¡ªrather than reach in¡ªshake the drawer back and forth for a bit. Hearing nothing clattering around, he pushed it shut again, relieved. He¡¯d figured Helen was too dignified to hide the key amongst her underthings, anyway.

    The last two drawers in the dresser contained socks, pyjamas, and various knickknacks. Feeling around, he did come across a suspiciously well-hidden stack of letters, but nothing remotely key-like, so he withdrew and glanced around for his next target. As he did so, he spotted Loukas lifting the mattress off the luxurious wooden frame of the massive bed, while, judging by the noises coming out of the closet, Zahra was rummaging through bamboo crates.

    Internally, Rylan shook his head at the young guard¡¯s methods, but left him to it and moved on to the ornate armoire.

    To his surprise, it wasn¡¯t filled to the brim with weapons like he¡¯d half-expected. Instead, it contained mostly what looked like crafts materials: sheets of paper and brushes, bundles of wool in various colours, a half-finished knitting project, and a sizable collection of painted clay pots.

    He looked through it as best he could without making a racket, but found nothing. After standing back up, he swayed on his feet for a moment, his breath coming in fast and high.

    How long do we have before dinner is finished? What do I do if I can¡¯t find it, should I try to find a knife to chuck at it with my Skill?

    Rylan pulled up the right leg of his britches, and took another look at the solid metal anklet, his stomach sinking. By Ethereon¡¯s grace, Quinthar were supposed to heal miraculously fast, but he wasn¡¯t sure how fast that really was. Moreover, he knew there were Quinthar with mana-powered prosthetics, so cutting off his foot was probably a bit much.

    Fog! What am I going to¡ª

    ¡°Ooh, ooh!¡± Loukas suddenly exclaimed, with his hand halfway up an end table. ¡°I found a secret compartment! And guess what we have here...¡±

    Rylan¡¯s breath hitched as the young guard drew his hand back out, holding... a triangular key.

    ¡°Loukas, I take it all back; you¡¯re a genius!¡±

    ¡°Thanks Ry¡ªhold on, what do you mean you ¡®take it all back¡¯?!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, I¡ª¡±

    Before Rylan could finish his sentence, however, the bell started ringing, and not in the normal, soft way it did to indicate the hour.

    Zahra froze in the closet¡¯s exit, and they all listened as the guard captain used his Booming Voice Skill to loudly proclaim: ¡°Rylan has escaped from the cooler! Find him immediately!¡±

 Chapter 11: Until Next Time

    Upon hearing the captain¡¯s booming voice from outside, for a moment, Rylan stood there with his mouth open, stunned.

    Zahra, however, practically flew out of the closet. ¡°Loukas, key!¡± she hissed, holding out a hand as she rushed towards Rylan.

    The young guard tossed it over. She caught it even as she sank down in front of Rylan, gesturing at him to hurry up and present his ankle.

    Shaking himself out of his stupor, Rylan got down on one knee as well and hastily pulled up the leg of his britches to expose the metal band, engraved with the stylised thorny rose of the greater Thorn family. He practically held his breath as she inserted the key and twisted.

    There was a quiet click inside the infernal device, followed by a familiar sensation of loosening around his ankle as the ring¡¯s locking mechanism released.

    However, in his excitement, he wasn¡¯t quick enough to keep the heavy metal device from dropping onto the carpeted floor with a heavy thud.

    Cringing, he glanced over at Loukas, who was listening at the door.

    ¡°I don¡¯t hear any¡ª¡± Loukas cut himself off with a frown, as the sound of running footsteps and opening doors could be heard from the distance.

    ¡°Fog!¡± Rylan cursed, as he got up to his feet. ¡°I¡¯d hoped to at least have time to grab some supplies, now I don¡¯t even know how I¡¯m supposed to get out of here unnoticed!¡±

    Zahra smiled, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she reached into her apron. ¡°You know, in all the commotion, I never did get to hand these back in,¡± she said, pulling out a familiar set of keys and a glowband. ¡°Think we can get you up on the roof from the balcony?¡±

    ¡°I think we¡¯re about to find out!¡± Rylan replied, grinning wide enough that it hurt his cheeks.

    Loukas grunted as Rylan moved his right foot from the young guard¡¯s shoulder to the top of his head, and pushed off as hard as he dared. The light coming from the three moons that were out right now¡ªplus the multitude of stars¡ªglinted off the lacquered roof tiles as he struggled against gravity.

    On any other night, Rylan might have stopped to admire the rings around milky white Nebul, or the vibrant red of Calori. Right now, the only moon he had eyes for was bright blue Tempi, as it was linked to Zeph. Was it shining down a blessing upon him? He could only hope.

    Next to them, the door to the balcony opened as Zahra came out, having stayed behind to quickly straighten things up in the room.

    ¡°Why isn¡¯t he up there yet?¡± she hissed.

    ¡°Would you like to¡ªugh¡ªtake over?¡± Loukas grunted in reply.

    The roof had been a bit higher up than they¡¯d hoped, but Rylan was making good headway. As his friends bickered softly, he slowly but surely pulled himself up and over the edge.

    When he was finally fully onto the slanted roof, his heart racing, he let out a sigh of relief, only to tense up again from distant shouting.

    After a brief moment of panic, he concluded that they probably hadn¡¯t spotted him. But still, there was no time to lose. Staying flat against the roof, he popped his head over the edge and grinned down at Zahra and Loukas. ¡°All right, wish me luck!¡±

    Zahra beamed back, though there was a tremor in her smile. ¡°Good luck, Ryles. Don¡¯t forget to wri¡ª¡±

    ¡°Wait,¡± Loukas interrupted. ¡°What about supplies?¡±

    Rylan shook his head. ¡°Too risky to try and grab something now. I¡¯ll have to catch what I eat. It shouldn¡¯t take me too long to make it to another island. Then I¡¯ll hitch a ride to a free city, probably Cliffport or Summit.¡±

    Cliffport was the city closest to Thistlebloom, only half a day of sailing away. That made it perhaps not the best hiding spot, but it was also the place they¡¯d always talked about moving to and getting an apartment together.

    ¡°What if we grab some?¡± Zahra asked.

    Rylan frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I want you to take that risk for me, you¡¯ve already done so much...¡±

    ¡°Come on, man, you at least need a bedroll and a condenser,¡± Loukas insisted. ¡°It gets really cold down there at night, and if you get lost in the cloudsea without a condenser, you¡¯ll die of thirst in days!¡±

    Rylan bit his lip, considering it. When he¡¯d planned to run last time, he actually had prepared stuff like that. Just because he was a Quinthar now, that didn¡¯t mean he was safe from the more mundane dangers of the cloudsea.

    On the other hand, the clock was ticking until someone spotted him up on the roof, and he didn¡¯t want his friends to get in trouble.

    Before he could make up his mind, a noise from the hallway filtered through to the balcony, causing all of them to freeze for a moment. After glancing over, Zahra whipped her head back up. ¡°Just meet us by the basement entrance; we¡¯ll get everything you need!¡±

    ¡°Fine!¡± Rylan whispered back, relenting. ¡°Oh, grab some knives if you can! And something to strap them to my body with!¡±

    His Skill would be useless without them. The little letter opener he still had in his boot was not going to get him far.

    ¡°Just go!¡± Zahra hissed back, waving him off as she hurried after Loukas, back into the room.

    As the door shut behind her, Rylan took a deep breath and carefully started crouch-walking up the slanted surface towards the little metal dome housing the cistern on top.

    It rose from the very middle of the rectangular building, and, unlike the tower, was fed by a straight fogtube that came up along the roof at an angle.

    Rylan¡¯s heart beat in his throat as he tried key after key on the exterior door, feeling very exposed so high up on the roof. Down below, he saw guards with oil lamps moving around in pairs, searching through bushes and keeping an eye from the watchtowers lining the walls.

    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    So far, none of them had looked up.

    Finally, the lock clicked. The door thankfully swung open soundlessly, and he closed it behind him as quietly as he could.

    Never before had he been so relieved to be surrounded by fog, and utter darkness.

    Despite the cold metal hurting his skin, Rylan kept his ear pressed to the hatch leading into the basement of the servants¡¯ quarters. It seemed no one had thought to search the fogtunnels yet, but when someone inevitably did, Rylan had no intention of getting caught.

    Seconds passed like minutes, and minutes like hours as he waited. With little else to do, he prayed to Zeph.

    ¡°Blessed spirit of skies and storm, bringer of change,¡± he mumbled, his eyes closed and his hands clasped over his head in supplication. ¡°Please send your winds to guide me, that I may find my path to freedom.¡±

    When he finally heard footsteps coming down the stairs, his heart practically jumped into his throat, but he quickly recognised them, and twisted the key to unlock the hatch.

    Zahra smiled at him as he carefully pushed it open and walked up out of the mist, but it didn¡¯t quite reach her eyes. ¡°Loukas should be on his way with a fog condenser and bedroll soon,¡± she said, placing down the backpack she was shouldering. ¡°He got roped into the search.¡±

    ¡°Makes sense,¡± Rylan replied, his initial spike of excitement at seeing her quickly fading as he took in her subdued mood.

    She loosened the drawstring on the sturdy kelp backpack, kneeling down next to it as she pulled it open. ¡°Right, so we got you about a week¡¯s worth of rations¡ª¡±

    ¡°Wait, you stole food for me?¡± Rylan asked, aghast. ¡°Zahra! What were you thinking?!¡±

    ¡°Relax,¡± she said, rolling her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s from my parents¡¯ pantry, not the Thistlethorns¡¯. I¡¯m not stupid.¡±

    Rylan breathed a sigh of relief, before she continued.

    ¡°Anyway, you¡¯ve got plenty of uncooked rice, some dried mushrooms and cloudweed¡ªnothing fancy, I¡¯m afraid¡ªand a simple pan with a firemetal heating element to boil water and prepare meals with. Oh, and some leftovers from our dinner, since you skipped yours.¡±

    Rylan gratefully accepted the paper-wrapped package, opening it to find rice balls. His stomach rumbled at the smell, so he immediately produced one and took a bite, only to find they were stuffed with a delicious paste of what he suspected was ground redgill filet, spiced to perfection.

    Zahra was so lucky to have a chef as her father.

    While munching, Rylan watched carefully as Zahra pulled out one thing after another to show him. She¡¯d clearly taken the liberty to raid his dresser, as she quickly produced the small pouch of coin he¡¯d kept stashed in there, plus the sturdy boots and the light-brown, wool-lined leather coat he wore in the colder seasons. Helen had gifted him that one a year or two ago, but it thankfully still fit.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to need to bundle up; it gets really cold down there, especially at night,¡± she warned him, her brows crinkled with worry. ¡°Loukas is always red-faced and shivery when he returns from patrol.¡±

    Rylan nodded, already sitting down and tugging off his work shoes with his free hand. ¡°Good thinking; I¡¯ll put them on right now. Though I hope not to spend too long down there, of course...¡±

    ¡°Well, you never know what might happen, so it¡¯s best to be prepared,¡± she replied firmly. ¡°Speaking of which, as requested, I brought you some knives.¡± Zahra carefully took out a cylindrical leather package, which she then rolled out to show off the handles of seven different knives, each sticking out of its own little pocket.

    Rylan¡¯s eyes immediately went wide. ¡°Is that your dad¡¯s personal knife roll?!¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t have time to actually make it wearable for you,¡± Zahra said apologetically. ¡°But I¡¯ve included some leather straps here, and put a sewing kit in this pocket, so hopefully you-you can...¡±

    She sniffed, taking a moment to take a deep breath as she wiped at the corner of her eye.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Rylan said quietly. ¡°For everything.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk like that,¡± Zahra said, shaking her head, a tremble in her voice. ¡°Like we¡¯re never going to see each other again. I can¡¯t stand it.¡±

    Wordlessly, Rylan crumpled and tossed the paper that had contained the leftovers, and shuffled over to pull her into a hug. Zahra clung to him as sobs started to wreck her body.

    ¡°As soon as I get to a free city, I¡¯ll write you every week,¡± he murmured into the crook of her neck. ¡°And once I¡¯ve settled my debt, and gotten a little stronger... I¡¯ll visit. Or pay for you to visit me, we¡¯ll see.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to miss you like crazy,¡± Zahra sobbed, and Rylan felt his own eyes tearing up as well.

    The door at the top of the stairs opened then, causing them both to tense up. Thankfully, it was only Loukas, who quickly made his way down the stairs, clutching some stuff in his arms.

    Zahra finally let go of Rylan, still sniffling, and smiled warmly at the young guard.

    Loukas grinned at them and quickly placed down a thick bedroll and a small metal device shaped roughly like an hourglass.

    ¡°The bottom twists off into a handy cup like this,¡± Loukas said with a quick demonstration. ¡°It doesn¡¯t have a huge capacity, but since you¡¯re a fancy Quinthar now, you can charge the cloudmetal with mana from over here, if you want a quick refill.¡±

    Having finished putting on his leather boots and wool-lined coat, Rylan got up to pull Loukas into a hug as well. ¡°It¡¯s perfect, thank you so much.¡±

    The young guard stiffened at first, clearly surprised by the affection, then chuckled and hugged back. ¡°You¡¯re welcome, buddy. Just don¡¯t forget about your old pal Loukas when you become a fancy lord or something.¡±

    Rylan snorted as he drew back. ¡°Couldn¡¯t if I tried. Trust me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take that as the compliment it was clearly meant to be,¡± Loukas replied with a big grin, before his eye fell on the leather that Zahra was carefully rolling back up. ¡°Wait, is that what I think it is?!¡±

    Zahra glanced up at him, mischief dancing in her still-reddish eyes. ¡°I said I¡¯d get knives, didn¡¯t I?¡±

    Loukas looked a little sick as she stuffed it back into Rylan¡¯s new backpack. ¡°Oh man, your dad¡¯s going to be so pissed...¡±

    Zahra shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll handle him.¡±

    She beckoned Rylan to kneel down next to her then, and proceeded to show him the rolled-up straps of cloth hanging from the sides and how to use them to tie the bulky bedroll on top.

    He ended up stumbling a bit from the weight as he slung it onto his back. Loukas steadied him, then showed him how to adjust the straps with the buckles.

    Finally, the young guard hesitated for a moment, then took the sheathed dagger off his belt, and held it out for him.

    Rylan started to reach for it, then stopped halfway. ¡°Are you sure? Won¡¯t you get in trouble for this?¡±

    He shrugged with an easy-going smile. ¡°Maybe. But those knives in your backpack aren¡¯t going to help much if you run into something tonight. Go on, take it.¡±

    He did, and hooked the sheath over his belt. He wasn¡¯t sure if his Skill would recognise the dagger as a knife, but even if it didn¡¯t, he¡¯d at least have a dagger.

    Finally, there was nothing left to prepare.

    ¡°Well, I guess this is it,¡± Rylan said. ¡°You should probably both get out of here soon, join the search or whatever. You know, try not to look too conspicuous.¡±

    ¡°You worry about yourself,¡± Loukas replied resolutely, putting an arm around Zahra¡¯s, who leaned into the touch appreciatively. ¡°We¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    ¡°Good luck out there, Rylan,¡± she said, her voice starting to tremble a bit again. ¡°And be careful.¡±

    Rylan nodded. ¡°I will. Thank you. Both of you. And... I won¡¯t say goodbye, so how about this instead: until next time.¡±

    ¡°Until next time,¡± Zahra agreed, smiling at him.

    ¡°Until next time,¡± Loukas echoed.

    With that, Rylan took a deep breath, turning around, and walked down into the roiling mist.

    As he turned around one last time to close the hatch behind him, he saw Zahra bury her face into Loukas¡¯s neck, and felt the tears in his own eyes spill forth as well.

    The bulky backpack¡ªand particularly the bedroll on top¡ªmade manoeuvring through the tunnels a little more difficult than usual, but at least the fog helped reduce the weight, and navigating towards the exit was as easy as ever.

    All Rylan had to do was move against the flow, and he was no stranger to doing that.

    He reached the heavy outer grate that led into the marina without any trouble, and did his very best to unlock and open it as quietly as he could. Afterwards, he didn¡¯t bother closing it or removing the keys.

    If it were up to him, he¡¯d never need either again.

    Rylan kept his ears and eyes perked as he took his first step out into the thick syrupy fog that filled the marina, but despite this, he still nearly jumped as he heard a most unwelcome sound from beside him.

    ¡°Hello, Rylan,¡± Soren said, from where he was leaning against the outer wall next to the heavy grate.

 Chapter 12: The Great Escape

    Frozen at the sound of Soren¡¯s voice, Rylan failed to react in time as the young Thistlethorn scion dramatically tore what looked like a white, knitted scarf off his own head, revealing a thick glowband with a generous piece of glowmetal beneath, and took two swift steps to get in Rylan¡¯s now well-lit face.

    Gritting his teeth, Rylan straightened his spine and looked his former friend in the eyes. ¡°Let me pass, Soren. There¡¯s no stopping me this time.¡±

    ¡°Think about what you¡¯re doing here, Ryles,¡± Soren said, shadows playing over his face in the shifting reddish-purple glow coming from his forehead. ¡°I know my family isn¡¯t perfect, but they took you in, didn¡¯t they? They clothed and¡ª¡±

    ¡°¡ªand I¡¯ll pay my debt,¡± Rylan cut in. ¡°In money, exactly how your family indicated they want me to repay them. But I¡¯m not staying here for another fogging decade!¡±

    Rylan took a diagonal step forward, but Soren stepped with him, staying so eerily in sync that he had to wonder if the boy was using his Skill.

    ¡°Look, I guess Zahra overheard my grandmother mention she wants a decade,¡± Soren said holding a hand up to Rylan¡¯s chest as he pleaded. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯ll be a decade; if you turn back now and come with me, I can help you negotiate!¡±

    Rylan snorted.

    ¡°I¡¯m serious!¡± Soren said. ¡°Your actions thus far are excusable. Frankly, the cooler was not a fitting place for someone of your station. You can leverage that to gain more freedom in your Contract, but you first need to show my family some goodwill! Trust is a two-way street.¡±

    ¡°You know, that¡¯s the truest thing you¡¯ve said all day,¡± Rylan replied coldly. ¡°You¡¯re so right... trust is a two-way street.¡±

    ¡°Ryles...¡±

    Rylan leaned forward, getting in Soren¡¯s face. ¡°Tell me, when was I last shown an inch of trust by your family? And where was that two-way street when I trusted you?!¡±

    Soren fell silent. A flicker of light from the right reminded Rylan that there were more people out there looking for him, and that he couldn¡¯t waste time.

    So he put a hand on the hilt of his dagger. ¡°Please move. I¡¯m not going to ask again.¡±

    Soren¡¯s eyes flicked down, then back up, and hardened. However, he didn¡¯t reach for his rapier, instead spreading his arms wide. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Ryles, but you¡¯ll thank me for this some¡ª¡±

    Soren was cut off by Rylan¡¯s fist hitting his chin. Or trying to hit it, anyway. A thin, shimmering barrier glowed up white as his hand made contact¡ªSoren¡¯s Mana Shell¡ªwhich softened the impact to a shove. The young Thistlethorn still stumbled back a step, blinking at Rylan in surprise, but probably only because of the fog lightening him.

    ¡°Seriously?¡± Soren complained, like he wasn¡¯t about to rat Rylan out again.

    That was all the young nobleman managed to bring out before Rylan stepped in, grabbed him by the upper arm, and used his hip as a lever to fling Soren back towards the heavy grate.

    The fog made lifting him up easy, and the look on Soren¡¯s face as he went flying was incredibly satisfying. The flash of white that erupted when his back hit the metal bars told Rylan his former friend would be fine, so he wasted no time in turning around and running off into the mist.

    ¡°He-he¡¯s over here!¡± Soren finally cried out behind him. ¡°He¡¯s making for the cloudsea; stop him!¡±

    Rylan gritted his teeth, but managed to suppress the urge to turn around and keep punching Soren until his Mana Shell gave out and he could actually hit the clodmonger. Instead, he kept running, in so far as he was able to. He¡¯d never actually run through the fog before¡ªlet alone while carrying a heavy backpack¡ªand it was proving more difficult than he¡¯d expected. He found himself stumbling and nearly faceplanting several times, before he got into a rhythm of long strides.

    It didn¡¯t help that the faint light of the moons filtering through from above was barely enough to get a rough feeling for the shape of the sandy cloudbed below him. Ironically, the only thing that made running somewhat doable was the abundance of artificial light sources running around in the mist.

    One such source suddenly veered towards him, rushing in from the side. ¡°I see him!¡± the unidentifiable female guard shouted, raising her oil lantern high as she ran to intercept him.

    Its warm orange glow perfectly outlined the bamboo fence around the mushroom patch Rylan had been about to run into.

    Swearing internally, he jumped, managing to get one foot on the fence and push off even further. The guard looked up in stunned surprise as Rylan took a flying leap that carried him entirely over her head and deeper into the field of mushrooms.

    The extra weight from his backpack caused him to lose his footing upon landing, but he managed to quickly scramble back upright and kept running, taking extra care to keep his feet in between the rows and rows of mushrooms.

    More orange lights and shouting started to converge on his position, but they were mostly behind and to the side of him now, and their glow just served to light his way. Soon enough, the fence on the other side of the farm showed up, and Rylan hopped over it.

    Soon, the last obstacle between him and true freedom showed up in front of him.

    The marina was naturally not truly open to the cloudsea; no one would agree to tend to the mushrooms if a hungry cloudshark could just swim in and take a bite of them. Instead, the gap between the ends of the wall on either side was filled with a large steel net, that could be raised and lowered to let ships pass through.

    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    The thick steel cables of the net glinted in the orange glow of a dozen approaching lanterns, and as Rylan drew near, he quickly tried to orient himself.

    Come on come on, where is the... oh!

    Recognising a large, particularly shaped boulder on the cloudbed, he veered off to the right.

    He was now running practically parallel to the net, which meant the guards who¡¯d been approaching from his right were coming frighteningly close, but he just kept his gaze on the stone foundation that anchored the net from beneath.

    Suddenly, however, a figure appeared from the swirling mist in front of him.

    Rylan skidded to slow down as the approaching lights revealed the impassive face of the dark-haired bodyguard he¡¯d met earlier that day.

    Tammi raised a brow upon seeing him, slowing her run to more of a stroll. ¡°Guess you¡¯re not as dumb as you look.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah?¡± Rylan replied, breathing slightly faster from exertion as he kept slowly moving forward as well, fighting to keep his eyes off the net, lest he give away his intentions. ¡°What makes you say that?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not forcing me to hurt you.¡± She glanced at the guards that were now closing in and slowing down as well as they formed a half-circle at about twenty feet from Rylan, and relaxed her pose, seeming satisfied to let them handle it.

    Rylan came to a complete stop and flicked his gaze over the encirclement, right as Soren pushed his way through to the front.

    ¡°All right, that¡¯s close enough,¡± the young Thistlethorn barked. ¡°Thanks for the assistance, Thar Tammi, but¡ª¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Tamina,¡± the dark-haired girl shot back curtly.

    Soren took a deep breath. ¡°My apologies, Thar Tamina. My gratitude for your assistance, but this is an internal matter, and we¡¯ll take it from here.¡± He turned to Rylan and reached out a hand. ¡°Come on, Ryles... It¡¯s over. Please don¡¯t make this any harder on yourself.¡±

    Rylan glanced at the outstretched hand, then slowly shook his head. ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not over. Not quite.¡±

    As he said that, his hand once more slowly reached down towards the dagger on his waist.

    Soren blanched, and the guards around him bristled and started reaching for their maces and swords.

    Tamina narrowed her eyes, and equally slowly started raising her metal-clad left arm, all the while sinking into a ready stance.

    Then, in a single, smooth motion, Rylan spun around, lifted the heavy steel net, and ducked underneath with his bulky backpack.

    Rylan had found this spot¡ªthe one spot where the bottom of the net had come loose and was no longer properly bolted down¡ªwhen he¡¯d been working out a way to escape the first time around. While he¡¯d told Zahra about it, he¡¯d never quite gotten around to sharing that particular detail of his escape plan with Soren, as he barely saw the older boy even then.

    The first time around, he¡¯d been caught before he¡¯d even gotten to use it, but not this time. This time, he got to enjoy the shocked gasps as the heavy net dropped back down behind him with a deep clang while he started running again with a big grin on his face.

    He knew it wouldn¡¯t hold them up too long, but he also knew that wouldn¡¯t matter. The area they¡¯d have to comb to find him was about to expand massively, and he had no intention of making it easy either.

    A sudden, sharp turn to the left was followed by a milder curve to the right, his steps as long as he could make them, just to make it harder to follow his tracks. The cloudbed was growing darker as he ran from the lanterns, but it was mostly sand on a gentle downward slope, so he felt quite safe running down. Even if he did fall, the fog would probably turn it into a mostly harmless tumble.

    As he ran, Rylan felt the urge to laugh bubble up inside him.

    While he¡¯d been outside of the compound plenty, he''d never actually been off the island before. After having been confined for so long, running down into the unknown was exhilarating.

    However, the pursuit wasn¡¯t over yet, so he kept his joy bottled up, lest he gave away his position.

    Behind him, Soren was shouting things. Part of it was orders, part of it was directed at him. ¡°Rylan, stop! You¡¯re going to break your neck!¡±

    Naturally, Rylan ignored him and kept running, keeping a good pace and making sure to change directions every so often.

    After a while, however, the terrain started to level out and became rockier. He took a tumble over some kind of shell and scraped his elbow. As he got up, he found that the shouting behind him had grown dull and distant, and was starting to become drowned out by the ambient sounds of the cloudsea.

    Not that there were a lot of those. There was a kind of soft susurration from the flowing fog, some chittering from what were likely crabs moving across rocks, and some distant, keening calls that indicated the presence of a pod of fogwhales¡ªnothing alarming.

    For a moment, Rylan wondered if he should keep running at all, or if it was safe to slow down. But then he picked up another sound.

    Rapidly approaching, running footsteps.

    Glancing back, he spotted the telltale purplish-red light from Soren¡¯s glowband, heading straight for him. With an internal curse, Rylan set off again, rushing forward blindly.

    Fog, how am I going to shake him?

    Perhaps he could try jumping from rock to rock to avoid leaving tracks for a while, then find a place to hide, and see if Soren passed him by?

    On the other hand, stopping seemed risky. What if Soren was chasing him by hearing? Rylan¡¯s footfalls seemed pretty quiet, but he was breathing rather hard.

    Before he could make a decision, an unexpected patch of darkness in the fog in front of him triggered a kind of primal fear that made him skid to a stop.

    His heart skipped a beat as, all of a sudden, he found himself right at the edge of a drop that went straight down.

    The bottom was impossible to see through the swirling mist. But then, he could by now barely see twenty feet in front of him. It could be just a little hop down. Or an epic fall straight to two broken legs and a shattered skull.

    The fog made falling things accelerate down slower, but if you fell for long enough, you would still reach an impressive speed.

    As Rylan languished in indecision for a brief moment, however, the footsteps rapidly came closer.

    ¡°Got you!¡± he suddenly heard Soren shout, before the footsteps accelerated.

    In a flash, an image presented itself to Rylan. Him, jumping aside at the last second, followed by Soren going flying off the cliff and falling... who knew how far down.

    His stomach plummeted, and before he could even think about it, he found himself turning around and opening his mouth. ¡°Soren, stop!¡±

    Soren¡¯s face appeared out of the mist with a relieved expression. However, that quickly changed to alarm as Rylan raised his arms in front of him and braced himself.

    White light flared beneath Soren¡¯s feet, then, and somehow, impossibly, his pace decreased from a full sprint to a sedate jog in the course of two steps. In fact, his Mana Shell hardly even flashed as he smacked into Rylan, but due to the floaty fog, Rylan was still forced back by the impact.

    His first step back caught solid ground. The second... only beneath his toes.

    Thankfully, he didn¡¯t need a third. Teetering on the very edge of the cliff, they came to a halt.

    ¡°Sweet Zenith,¡± Soren breathed out. ¡°I told you to be careful!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the one that almost ran us off the¡ª¡± Rylan paused, as he heard another set of footsteps rapidly approaching. ¡°Cliff!¡± he quickly shouted. ¡°There¡¯s a cliff!¡±

    He got the words out only just in time, as Tamina came leaping over a rock, and had to seriously dig her heels in the sand to avoid crashing into Soren¡¯s back.

    ¡°Fog!¡± she cursed, coming to a stop with one hand on Soren¡¯s shoulder, her bright-green eyes widening at the dark behind them. ¡°That was far too close!¡±

    Her exclamation was followed by the most awful sound Rylan had heard in his entire life. The horrible groan of rock giving in.

    One moment Rylan was standing, the next he was falling, as the edge of the cliff crumbled away beneath his feet.

    The world tilted, and then, for the first time ever, Rylan got to experience true weightlessness, as the three of them tumbled down into the fog.

 Chapter 13: Landings

    Rylan¡¯s hopes that it would perhaps just be a short drop were quickly shattered as the fog started streaming past him faster and faster.

    Arms and hands clutched onto him in a confusing tangle of limbs, and it took him a moment to realise his own grip on Soren was just as tight. A black braid smacked him in the face, insult upon injury, but Rylan had no breath to do anything but scream as they fell.

    A keening call from a nearby fogwhale was the only answer.

    I¡¯m going to die, aren¡¯t I?

    The realisation hit him like a punch to the stomach. All the training, all the effort he¡¯d put in, wasted. His glorious future as a Quinthar immediately cut short.

    Well... at least he¡¯d die a free man.

    He closed his eyes and felt himself going limp as he wondered if Soren, at least, would live.

    Would the Mana Shell be enough to protect his friend? Rylan wasn¡¯t sure, and somehow that hurt more than the thought that he was about to die himself.

    Finally, after what felt like an eternity¡ªbut surely could only have been seconds, even in the fog¡ªRylan¡¯s left shoulder hit the ground.

    Except for some reason, the ground stretched.

    While the impact was still quite painful and knocked every last bit of air from his lungs, it was nowhere near the bone-shattering smack Rylan had dreaded.

    Whatever he had landed on stretched and stretched, slowing them down. Rylan half-expected to be bounced right back up, but then there was a terrible ripping noise, as the stretched material tore open and swallowed them. After dropping another few feet, Rylan¡¯s left shoulder once more took the fall, this time on a squishy warm surface where he came to a complete halt.

    Lifting his head¡ªwhich felt oddly heavy¡ªRylan took in the strange space they had entered by the purplish-red glow coming off Soren¡¯s glowband.

    It wasn¡¯t until a loud, pained call reverberated through the flesh around him, that he realised what had happened.

    ¡°We-we hit a fogwhale!¡± he gasped, his shoulder protesting as he struggled upright. ¡°Fog! We must¡¯ve slipped right between its ribs...¡±

    Having gotten to his knees, Rylan attempted to stand, but the spongy flesh beneath his feet sank down as soon as he put weight on it, causing him to stumble and fall back down.

    Sitting up, Soren looked around wild-eyed. ¡°All right, nobody panic, but I think we¡¯re in its stomach!¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t exactly help me not panic!¡± Tamina snapped, her frightened expression becoming visible as she sat up as well, one hand on the hilt of her sword. ¡°But wouldn¡¯t a stomach smell worse?¡±

    Soren turned to Rylan. ¡°Rylan! How do the insides of stomachs smell?!¡±

    ¡°Why are you asking me?!¡±

    ¡°Because you¡¯ve spent time in a kitchen!¡±

    ¡°Well I usually try not to cut open stomachs when I cook! But I believe Thar Tamina is right; there¡¯s no food in here, nor any fog. It¡¯s probably a gas bladder!¡±

    ¡°You think we¡¯re in its lungs?!¡± Soren asked, aghast.

    ¡°Gasbladder,¡± Rylan repeated sharply. ¡°Fogwhales don¡¯t have lungs; they¡¯re permeable to air! Well, except for these bladders, which they use to... to stay afloat.¡±

    They all looked up at the fog spilling in through the rip above them simultaneously.

    ¡°How many gas bladders does a fogwhale have?¡± Tamina asked, sounding like she was dreading the answer.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m not sure,¡± Rylan stammered. ¡°I¡¯ve only seen them in floaters on ships... At least two, I reckon.¡±

    ¡°Auris preserve us,¡± Soren muttered.

    Almost as if on cue, a shudder passed through the fogwhale and it dropped a few feet, sending them all flying through the small chamber before it stabilised again.

    As he scrambled back onto his knees, Rylan became aware of a low thrumming that passed through the tissue, like the roar of wind brushing past the tower during a storm.

    ¡°Do you hear that?¡± Soren asked in alarm. ¡°Great Spirits, how fast are we going?!¡±

    Before anyone could answer, another loud, pained call tore through their little chamber. Then suddenly, it started to roll.

    Rylan flew into what had only just been the side of the gasbladder, and bounced off, before landing right next to the rip.

    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    Soren landed on the other side of the hole, while Tamina ended up in front of it... mostly. Rylan saw her eyes widen as her legs slipped through. The fog rushing past on the outside seemed to grab onto her and start dragging her out immediately.

    Before he could think about it, Rylan reached over and got hold of her armpit.

    She frantically clamped onto his arm, and while it slowed her down, it didn¡¯t entirely stop her momentum. Instead, Rylan was starting to get dragged closer to the hole.

    ¡°Soren, help!¡± he bellowed.

    His former friend snapped to attention, and quickly grabbed onto Tamina¡¯s other armpit, preventing her from dragging Rylan out with her.

    ¡°It¡¯s trying to shake us loose!¡± Soren shouted over the howling fog outside.

    ¡°You think?!¡± Tamina yelled back.

    They clung to each other for a couple of long seconds more, until finally, the whale gave up and rolled back over, causing them to fall back down. However, as they lay in a pile, panting from the exertion, the roar coming from outside only intensified.

    Rylan groaned as he rolled off of them, staying within arm¡¯s reach, but the whale didn¡¯t try to shake them out again.

    He glanced up to see more fog spill into the bladder through the tear that Tamina was no longer plugging up. ¡°Fog, we¡¯re too heavy for it; it¡¯s going to crash!¡±

    ¡°Rylan,¡± Soren burst out frantically. ¡°Have you purchased your Mana Shell yet?!¡±

    ¡°Eh, no. Do you think I¡ª¡±

    ¡°Yes! Hurry!¡±

    ¡°That might not be the best idea, actually,¡± Tamina chimed in. ¡°You¡¯re probably going to need those Credits for healing.¡±

    Wait, healing costs Credits?!

    ¡°He can¡¯t heal if he¡¯s dead!¡± Soren snapped. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to her, Ryles! I¡¯ve got Credits in reserve; do it now before it¡¯s too late!¡±

    Rylan glanced back and forth between Tamina¡¯s scowl and Soren¡¯s pleading face.

    ¡°Rylan,¡± Soren said. ¡°Please trust me.¡±

    Rylan held his former friend¡¯s gaze for a moment longer, then took a deep breath. ¡°Ethereon, please install a Mana Shell Quintessence structure in my spirit.¡±

    After a brief instance of nothing, Rylan felt a tingling on the back of his neck, and a sense of presence, of awareness, swept over him, much stronger than last time he¡¯d spoken with Ethereon.

    ¡¶Quintessence Structure installation requested. Deducting 100 Quintessence Credits. Commencing Mana Shell installation in three, two, one...¡·

    As the count ended, Rylan got the distinct impression that a powerful gust of something was rushing at him from afar, and he instinctively braced for impact. However, when the ¡®gust¡¯ hit him, it turned out to actually be more of a warm breeze that flew straight through his skin into his chest, and touched upon something he hadn¡¯t known was there.

    He sat there, perplexed, as the stream of energy continued for long seconds, until finally, it tapered off.

    A few more seconds passed, and Rylan waited with bated breath.

    ¡¶Quintessence Structure installation successful,¡·Ethereon told him, before the sense of awareness faded again.

    Rylan let out a sigh of relief. That had honestly been faster than he¡¯d expected. Perhaps he¡¯d live to see the next day after all!

    ¡°Great!¡± Soren exclaimed, sitting up onto his knees and leaning towards Rylan with an almost manic look in his eyes. ¡°Now hurry up and fill it.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Rylan asked, blinking. ¡°You mean it¡¯s not active yet?¡±

    ¡°The Mana Shell doesn¡¯t power itself,¡± Soren explained quickly, his face anxious. ¡°Like with Skills, it needs to be charged with mana from your pool, but charging it is really easy! It normally charges automatically from your mana overflow, but if you¡¯re in a hurry, you can just access your pool directly and push some mana out through your skin!¡±

    Rylan just stared at him.

    ¡°Told you you should have saved you credits,¡± Tamina muttered. She sounded calm, but the fingers of her right hand were trembling on her knee.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll teach you!¡± Soren hurried on. ¡°All right, close your eyes and feel for a ball of warmth in the middle of your chest.¡±

    ¡°You realise we¡¯ll probably crash any second now, right?¡± Tamina asked, moving to kneel on Rylan¡¯s other side, facing the direction the whale was moving in and seemingly bracing herself.

    ¡°Thar Tamina, with all due respect,¡± Soren said through gritted teeth. ¡°Please be quiet.¡±

    She grunted, but fell silent, her eyes focused on the dimly lit wall of flesh in front of her.

    Rylan took a deep breath and closed his eyes, his head still spinning.

    ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± Soren coaxed. ¡°Try not to think, just feel.¡±

    That was easier said than done with the roar of the fog streaming past outside the speeding whale, but as the seconds ticked by and they didn¡¯t crash, Rylan slowly started to relax.

    As he focused on his chest, after a bit, he found himself becoming very aware of his heartbeat. But that wasn¡¯t the goal, so he kept searching, sensing. As he kept at it, his breath started coming deeper and deeper, slower and slower. Eventually, Rylan somehow managed to almost forget about his surroundings. And then, finally, he felt something. An unfamiliar warmth, below his sternum.

    ¡°I think I found it,¡± he said, keeping his eyes closed.

    ¡°Good!¡± Soren called out over the howling roar from outside. ¡°Now push it out through your skin; the Quintessence Structure in your spirit will do the rest!¡±

    Rylan focused on the small ball of warmth beneath his sternum and tried to get it to move, but it was like trying to move a single ear or nostril. It just wouldn¡¯t budge.

    ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± Tamina suddenly hissed. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill this thing.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Soren cried out. ¡°Why?!¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯s only taking us deeper and deeper into the cloudsea!¡±

    Rylan¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He frowned, but kept his eyes closed as he listened.

    ¡°That¡¯s a good thing,¡± Soren claimed. ¡°Rylan needs time to prepare!¡±

    ¡°Do you have any idea how fogged we already are?!¡± Tamina shouted heatedly. ¡°We should¡¯ve killed this fogging whale the moment we landed in it, then we might¡¯ve had a shot at finding our way back!¡±

    Rylan clenched his fists. Fog, she¡¯s right... there¡¯s no telling how far it¡¯s already brought us, or in what direction. If we can¡¯t find some kind of path or signpost down there...

    A shiver ran down his back at the thought of being lost down in the cloudsea, and he redoubled his efforts.

    ¡°Well it¡¯s too late for that now,¡± Soren replied reasonably. ¡°Let¡¯s worry about where we are after we land.¡±

    ¡°After we ¡®land?¡¯ That¡¯s what we¡¯re calling it now?!¡±

    As they bickered, Rylan gave up on subtlety, and just tried to push the ball of warmth as hard as he could. His head started to shake from the effort, and he found he was holding his breath, but he persevered in trying. Then, all of a sudden, something gave. Warmth spilled out of the point in his chest, spreading out into his body before naturally exiting through his skin.

    His eyes snapped open, and he watched in wonder as wisps of light spilled from his pores, coalescing into a shimmering barrier.

    ¡°Hey, I think I did it,¡± he exclaimed. ¡°I think I¡ª¡±

    The world tilted, and a wall of flesh came flying at him.

 Chapter 14: Proper Priorities

    Rylan was cut off mid-sentence by the wall of flesh that slammed into him. Once again it stretched and stretched, then tore. A white light flashed in front of his eyes as his head smashed into something, and then he was flying through the fog, spinning uncontrollably.

    Dazed as he was, he barely registered when he landed bonelessly on a sandy incline, tumbling head over heels a few times before he slid to a stop.

    His head was pounding, his ears were ringing, and for a few seconds he just lay there, facedown. Finally, he managed to gather some semblance of thought and, despite hurting all over, spat out some sand and rolled himself over onto his back.

    His eyes creaked open, but everything remained dark.

    For a brief moment, he entertained the horrifying idea that he might¡¯ve hit his head hard enough to go blind. Then he noticed a faint glow, originating from somewhere down his body.

    With a supreme effort¡ªand shoulders that felt like they were on fire¡ªhe managed to crane his head up, and spotted the source: his coat pocket.

    Trembling fingers reached down, and after two failed attempts, fished out the glowband Zahra had given him. The piece of glowmetal on it was significantly smaller than the one Soren had been using, but its faint reddish-purple glow had never looked more beautiful.

    With slow, careful motions, Rylan wrapped the strap around his right hand, situating the tiny hexagon over his knuckles. Then, with a pained groan, he rolled onto his knees, waited for the world to stop spinning, and slowly stood up.

    His left ankle buckled when he tried to put weight on it, and he almost fell, but the floaty fog gave him enough time to catch himself on his hands and stay upright.

    The ringing in his ears was getting fainter, but to his growing concern, he still didn¡¯t hear anything other than the gentle susurrus of the fog around him.

    He swallowed. This... had not been the plan. He¡¯d been prepared to travel through the cloudsea for a bit, but that was under the assumption that he¡¯d stay in the shallow regions, where the light of the moons could reach. Where he¡¯d be able to find waymarkers and paths used by trade caravans and patrols, and the worst threats were hunted down or scared off.

    This wasn¡¯t that. This was the deep cloudsea. The wilds. His escape had turned into a survival scenario.

    Well, they were all Quinthar, so surely they''d be fine. But... he should probably still find the others.

    Rylan may have been stubborn, and perhaps occasionally on the reckless side of impulsive, but he wasn''t suicidal.

    He let out a sigh, and squared his aching shoulders. ¡°Soren?¡± he finally called out. ¡°Thar Tamina?¡±

    There was no response.

    Fog. How far was I launched?

    Rylan turned slowly, pointing the glowmetal on his fist at the sand around him.

    Thankfully, his landing had resulted in some pretty clear tracks down the sandy incline he was at the bottom of, so he at least had a clear indication of what direction he¡¯d come from.

    For lack of a better idea, he started hopping up the slope, occasionally testing out his left foot, and calling out with increasing volume.

    He had to stop once every few seconds from spells of dizziness, but after a while, he still reached the place he¡¯d landed. Apparently, he hit the slope right next to a rather sizable rock, and despite it being covered in soft blue moss, he was very glad he hadn¡¯t hit it.

    Fog, I hope the others landed well...

    He kept hopping, and a little while later, reached the top of the incline, startling a nearby crab that quickly scurried away. Then he took a deep breath, lifted his glowing fist up high and shouted harder than he had thus far. ¡°Is anybody there?!¡±

    His voice echoed off something in the distance. Then, finally, he got a response.

    Reddish-purple light bloomed up in the distance, followed by a voice. ¡°Rylan?!¡±

    ¡°Soren! I¡¯m over here!¡± Rylan called, a relieved smile splitting his face despite himself.

    ¡°Are you hurt?¡± came the reply.

    Rylan thought that over for a moment. ¡°I¡¯ve been better!¡±

    ¡°Stay there! I¡¯m coming over!¡±

    The distant purple-reddish glow suddenly intensified, morphing into a multitude of shimmering colours. He¡¯s channelling mana into his glowband!

    As the light came closer, the sound of footsteps approaching at a decent pace became audible.

    ¡°Is Thar Tamina with you?¡± Rylan called out when Soren¡¯s silhouette came into view.

    ¡°No!¡± Soren replied, lowering his hand from his forehead. His glowband quickly dimmed again, the shimmering colours growing muted before the glowmetal returned to its basic reddish-purple glow. ¡°I lost track of her when I got flung out, ended up landing in the middle of this huge anemone.¡±

    ¡°You lucky clodpoll,¡± Rylan grumbled. ¡°I had to skid like thirty feet through the sand.¡±

    ¡°Not that lucky, actually,¡± Soren replied ruefully. ¡°The fogging thing stung me all over.¡±

    Rylan barked out a laugh, which resulted in another spell of dizziness sweeping through him, and he ended up losing his footing and falling forward onto his hands and knees.

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    Soren cursed, running the last few steps and kneeling down before Rylan. ¡°Are you all right? That¡¯s a nasty bump on your forehead... Did you hit your head?¡±

    Rylan blinked up at his former friend¡¯s worried face, then sat back on his haunches with a frown. ¡°I... yeah, I think I did, actually. On one of its ribs, probably...¡±

    Thinking back, the Mana Shell Soren had insisted he get may have just saved his life. However, he wasn¡¯t quite ready to admit that to his former friend¡¯s face.

    ¡°I also maybe sprained my ankle at some point,¡± he said instead.

    ¡°Ethereon,¡± Soren called out suddenly. ¡°Please transfer 30 Credits to Thar Rylan.¡±

    Within half a second, a familiar voice spoke in Rylan¡¯s head.

    ¡¶Incoming local transfer of 30 Quintessence Credits. Do you accept?¡·

    ¡°Ehm, sure,¡± Rylan replied after a moment, with mixed feelings.

    Thirty Cubes was a lot of money; it was more than Rylan had previously made in a month.

    ¡°All right,¡± Soren said. ¡°Now ask Ethereon for an hour of accelerated recovery.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure this is necessary?¡± Rylan couldn¡¯t help but ask. ¡°I mean, I feel mostly fine, and¡ª¡±

    ¡°Rylan,¡± Soren interrupted earnestly, holding up a hand. ¡°We¡¯re in the depths of the cloudsea, with no idea what¡¯s out here. We need you better than ¡®mostly fine,¡¯ and fast.¡±

    Rylan swallowed, glancing around. Something darted through the dark at the edge of his vision, which suddenly seemed far more oppressive. ¡°Right,¡± he replied. ¡°Ehm... Blessed Ethereon, would you please accelerate my recovery for an hour?¡±

    ¡¶One hour of recovery acceleration requested. Accelerated recovery costs 10 Quintessence Credits per hour. Do you accept?¡·

    ¡°Yes,¡± Rylan said, trying not to wince at the sting of the price.

    That sting, like many others, was quickly soothed by the warm breeze of energy that surged into his chest and from there, spread outward with every beat of his heart.

    He groaned in relief as he rolled his stiff shoulders.

    ¡°Better, right?¡± Soren asked knowingly. ¡°I¡¯ve only had to use it once, when Helen hit my knee a little too hard during a spar. If it still hurts in an hour, you can get another one, though I¡¯d suggest you save the remainder in case of emergency. I have more still, but...¡±

    Rylan nodded, absentmindedly unwrapping the glowband from his fist and strapping it around his head instead. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t waste our resources.¡±

    ¡°All right, priorities,¡± Soren said, standing up and holding out a hand to help Rylan to his feet. ¡°First we need to find Tamina, see what condition she¡¯s in.¡±

    Rylan hesitated only for a brief moment before he accepted Soren¡¯s hand and let his former friend help him to his feet. The throbbing in his ankle had gone down to a dull ache, so he carefully tested how much weight he could put on it.

    ¡°After that,¡± Soren continued, ¡°I guess our biggest need is a source of water, then finding some shelter.¡±

    ¡°Well, water shouldn¡¯t be an issue,¡± Rylan said, ¡°I¡¯ve got a fog condenser in my¡ª¡±

    Rylan froze mid-sentence, his eyes widening.

    Soren looked at him questioningly. ¡°What? What is it?¡±

    ¡°My backpack! I lost my backpack!¡±

    Soren blinked. ¡°Fog! All right, think: at what point did you lose it?¡±

    ¡°I¡ªI¡¯m not sure,¡± Rylan stammered. ¡°After I hit my head, probably, but I don¡¯t know...¡±

    He trailed off, bringing a hand up to pull aside the neck hole of his tunic. Soren leaned in closer with a frown, his glowband illuminating the angry red welt on Rylan¡¯s shoulder, and cursed. ¡°Looks like it got torn right off...¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Rylan agreed. ¡°I think... it might still be inside the whale.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Soren replied after a moment. ¡°I guess that direction is as good a place to start looking for Tamina as any.¡±

    Finding the carcass of the crashed whale proved trickier than expected. Thanks to the tracks left by his landing, Rylan had a rough idea of the direction they should head in, but it was hard to be sure they were still going straight with the way the terrain curved up and down, and forced them to move around or over rocky outcrops covered in soft blue moss.

    As they had no idea how far they¡¯d been thrown, it was hard to know if they were still heading towards the carcass or had already passed it by.

    But then Rylan picked up a rather rank scent, and stopped in his tracks as a big lump of tissue came floating by. Rylan had trouble identifying it, until it rotated far enough, and then Rylan wished it had remained unidentifiable.

    It was one of the whale¡¯s eyes, were apparently light enough to float on the fog by themselves.

    He and Soren shared a glance, and kept moving. They were clearly heading in the right direction.

    Soon enough, they came across a greasy splatter of tissue that seemed to have landed right next to a rather large anemone, its tentacles lazily drifting through the fog, looking for unsuspecting fogfish and whatever else it ate.

    ¡°Is this brain?¡± Rylan muttered, scrunching up his face at the smell. ¡°I think it might be... It was heavy enough to splat down, anyway.¡±

    Soren shrugged. ¡°Then we must be getting close, right?¡±

    Close turned out to be a relative term.

    As they continued walking¡ªoccasionally calling out for Tamina¡ªthe rank odour only became stronger, and they came across more and more drifting blobs and splattered massed of whale tissue. However, they weren¡¯t the only ones attracted by the smell. Chittering sounds increased in frequency and volume as they approached the crash site, and it quickly became more and more common for them to see things darting around the edge of what the glowbands could illuminate.

    Just fogfish, feeding on the floating buffet, Rylan hoped.

    The upside of all the activity was that the noise it produced seemed to be helping them pinpoint the epicentre of the impact, but there were downsides too.

    Soon, they had to pick their way around a giant crimson crab fighting over a clump of meat with an unfamiliar creature covered in brown, overlapping plates that made it look not unlike a cross between a hound and a suit of bulky, brown leather armour.

    ¡°What the fog is that?¡± Rylan hissed at Soren as they skirted around the conflict.

    ¡°An armadon,¡± Soren replied curtly. ¡°One of the many things our farmers lose sheep to down in the cloudsea. Don¡¯t get too close; they may not be all that big, but they¡¯re vicious.¡±

    Thankfully, both the crab and the armadon were preoccupied with the piece of whale, allowing them to easily slip by.

    Next, Rylan¡¯s heart practically jumped into his throat when he spotted the silhouette of a six-foot-long buoyhead cloudshark floating by overhead soundlessly.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Soren whispered. ¡°They¡¯re all scavengers, and there¡¯s plenty of food; let¡¯s just hurry. Oh, but don¡¯t forget to refill your Mana Shell, if you haven¡¯t yet.¡±

    Cursing himself for not thinking to do so earlier, Rylan tried to concentrate on the ball of warmth beneath his sternum while they kept moving.

    Even under the circumstances, finding it was a lot easier the second time around. This time, it only took Rylan half a minute to get it to budge and release some mana, and soon he had another glimmering shell around his body. It quickly faded from view, but he could still feel its power hum around him as he moved.

    Just as he finished, they finally came across the first sizable piece of whale.

    One of the whale¡¯s massive fins lay propped up on some rocky outcrops in the sand, and they ducked underneath to continue. It sloped down towards the other end, and they ended up needing to crawl the last bit before making it out on the other side.

    There, they found it to still be mostly attached to the whale¡¯s massive torso. Or the front half of it, at least. Through the dense fog, Rylan could vaguely see some light from his glowband reflected by what he suspected was its spine sticking out of the rear end.

    ¡°Tamina?!¡± Soren called once more, with his hands around his mouth. ¡°Are you here?¡±

    To Rylan¡¯s utter surprise, there actually was a response this time. A kind of muffled shouting, which seemed to come from nearby.

    ¡°Tamina?!¡± Soren called back excitedly. ¡°What are you saying? I can¡¯t hear you!¡±

    More muffled shouts followed, sounding suspiciously like swear words.

    Rylan rushed forward, following the noise, until he ended up standing right next to a part of the whale¡¯s torso.

    Oh. Oh!

 Chapter 15: A Breached Whale

    ¡°Careful, Thar Tamina!¡± Rylan yelled at the whale¡¯s flank as he unsheathed his dagger¡ªwhich had thankfully not gotten lost during his brief flight. ¡°I¡¯m going to cut you out!¡±

    ¡°Oh fog, she¡¯s still inside?¡± Soren asked as Rylan dug his blade into the rubbery skin. ¡°Hang in there; we¡¯re coming!¡±

    Soren first reached for the hilt of his rapier, but quickly seemed to think better of it and grabbed the dagger off his own belt. Stepping up next to Rylan, he started carving as well.

    Even together, it took them a good two minutes to get through the thick outer layer of foamy blubber. When they¡¯d finally breached the interior, Rylan stepped forward to reach inside. He grimaced as his arm slid into the fogwhale¡¯s greasy, airy flesh, but persevered. However, even with his arm in up to the shoulder, he still couldn¡¯t find anything.

    ¡°I can¡¯t reach her like this,¡± he said as he drew back. ¡°I¡¯m going in there. If I kick my right foot twice, pull me out, all right?¡±

    ¡°You got it, Ryles. Good luck!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m coming in, Tamina!¡± Rylan shouted. Then he took a deep breath, and plunged his upper body into the side of a whale carcass.

    His glowband was useless inside so he kept his eyes closed and his ears perked for Tamina¡¯s muffled shouting, and tried to reach out towards her through the lightweight viscera, but his hands found no purchase.

    Any creature that could float in the cloudsea was by necessity low-density. If not for that¡ªand the floatiness provided by the fog¡ªthe weight of all the tissue above Rylan would likely have made what he was trying impossible, but as it was, he felt kinda like he¡¯d plunged himself into a tub of sturdy, greasy foam. As long as he angled his head right, he found he could even breathe some air let through by the permeable tissue, though it tasted funky in his mouth.

    Rylan forced himself not to think about how the syrupy liquid that covered him was basically the fogwhale¡¯s equivalent to blood, and pushed deeper. However, that quickly became significantly harder, as he lost his purchase on the sandy cloudbed.

    Soren said something, his voice muffled, and he felt his former friend grab his ankles, and start to push.

    Rylan quickly slid in deeper, trying not to panic at the claustrophobic sensation of being more and more enclosed in a pitch-black space as he angled his arms towards the source of the muffled noises. His hips went in, then his thighs, then his knees...

    Finally, when he was nearly up to his ankles inside, he touched something different, something a little sturdier.

    A hand snatched his wrist in a painfully tight grip, which he quickly returned. He kicked his right foot twice.

    Soren started to pull, his grunts muffled through the thick layers of viscera. It took a moment, but then Rylan started to slide inexorably backwards.

    Inch by inch, he was being dragged out, and Tamina with him.

    Her grip on his wrist was truly bone-grinding, but he just endured it, relying on the accelerated recovery from Ethereon to soothe the pain.

    He felt a little lightheaded when his head finally exited the whale, but he wasted no time in getting to his feet and pulling Tamina the rest of the way out.

    When her own head exited, she gulped in a deep breath, before immediately flying into a fit of coughs, some of the gunk dripping down her face getting sprayed onto Rylan. He just kept pulling, sinking to his knees only when she was all the way out.

    She similarly collapsed, clutching onto him with her head on his shoulder, as her body started wrecking with sobs.

    Rylan held onto her one-armed, his other arm still completely numb from her stranglehold, and just let her cry. He¡¯d experienced about twenty seconds of being inside, and shuddered to think of what actually being stuck in there would have been like.

    Like being buried alive, inside a corpse.

    Soren sat down next to them, blew out a relieved breath, and patted Tamina on the back.

    For a minute or two, none of them spoke a word.

    Finally, Tamina¡¯s sobs faded, and she drew back.

    ¡°You, ehm, you all right?¡± Rylan asked carefully as she staggered to her feet and started wiping the worst of the various whale fluids off her once-yellow surcoat.

    ¡°Yup,¡± she replied hoarsely, keeping her eyes lowered and sounding very much the opposite of all right. ¡°A little bruised, but otherwise fine. Thank you... for getting me out.¡±

    ¡°I hate to ask,¡± Soren started, ¡°but did you happen to see a backpack in there? We think it might still be around here, as it got torn off Rylan¡¯s back during the crash.¡±

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t see much of anything, actually,¡± she replied, the tremor in her voice belying her dry tone as she continued to avoid their eyes. ¡°But I didn¡¯t feel anything I would describe as a backpack.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a fog condenser in there,¡± Rylan explained, standing up as well, and shaking some greasy stuff from his fingers. ¡°We need to find it if we don¡¯t want to go thirsty.¡±

    ¡°And I think we better hurry,¡± Soren added, looking up with a tense expression, ¡°because this carcass is attracting a lot of attention.¡±

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Rylan followed his gaze, and swallowed as he saw several long shapes floating overhead. More sharks. Great.

    Tamina nodded fervently as she wrung out her black braid. ¡°Sounds like a plan. I guess we better¡ª¡±

    She was interrupted by a sudden burst of bright blue light from nearby, which was immediately followed by a flash of heat.

    They all turned towards it. Rylan lifted a hand over his brow and squinted against the sudden glare coming off what looked like a stream of blue fire.

    The oddly coloured flames swiftly died down, but the light they¡¯d provided was immediately replaced by a spreading orange glow originating from none other than the bottom half of the whale. Somehow, it was on fire, and the warm light spread by the crackling flames helped illuminate their surroundings.

    On one side of the burning lower half stood a truly huge armadon, easily twelve feet long and five feet tall. One of its pointy, armoured ears was torn clean off, the scar extending onto its armoured cheek, and half of its tail was missing, but the quadruped looked no less imposing for it, thanks in no small part to the ominous orange glow coming off its razor-sharp teeth.

    On the other side floated a nightmarish creature: a massive, octopus with deep-blue tentacles and bulging eyes. Flows of white mana buzzed around its prehensile limbs in circular motions, and as Rylan watched, it used one of said limbs to lash out in a whip-like motion.

    The armadon jumped aside, but was still hit on its flank, and to Rylan¡¯s surprise, the tentacle actually slashed through its protective plates and left a bleeding gash on the creature¡¯s thick hide, causing it to hiss and back off a little.

    By this point, some of the smoke from the earlier blue flames had wafted over, and Rylan had to force himself not to retch at the overwhelming scent of rotten gull eggs.

    ¡°Malequints!¡± Tamina hissed, reaching for the sticky shield on her back.

    ¡°Fog!¡± Soren cursed. ¡°We better get out of here!¡±

    ¡°No, wait!¡± Rylan said, his mouth going dry and a slight tremor moving up his arm as he lifted it to point at something. ¡°Look...¡±

    Right there, behind the two fighting Malequints, from a jagged broken rib sticking out of the burning carcass... hung his backpack.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me,¡± Tamina said with a sigh.

    ¡°Maybe we can come back for it later?¡± Soren suggested hesitantly.

    Rylan scoffed. The shoulder straps were torn, and the pack appeared to be hanging from the bedroll, supported only by the leather straps it was attached with. Moreover, the flames were already licking its bottom. ¡°There¡¯s not going to be anything to come back to, we have to grab it now!¡±

    Soren scratched his neck. ¡°Well, we just need the condenser, right?¡±

    Tamina shook her head. ¡°Rylan¡¯s right,¡± her voice growing a little firmer, more sure. ¡°Even if we could find the condenser after this whole mess is over, it¡¯ll probably be melted to slag by then, and possibly trampled. Or swallowed whole. It¡¯s already a small miracle that we¡¯ve spotted it; we can¡¯t risk losing sight of it again.¡±

    Soren let out a sigh. ¡°All right... then I guess we need a plan.¡±

    As they had no time to come up with anything complicated, the plan remained simple. Soren¡ªthe only one not completely covered in highly flammable whale-grease¡ªwould try to snatch the backpack. And if he ended up attracting the attention of the Malequints in the process, Tamina and Rylan would distract them.

    The three of them crouch-ran closer, avoiding various other scavengers that were moving in for the feast as best they could, before Soren split off to move around the raging battle.

    Tamina had her shield out and latched onto the metal covering her left arm, but Rylan played with the hilt of his dagger uncertainly. There were more knives in the backpack, of course, but the dagger and letter opener were the only ones he had on him.

    Throwing his dagger seemed like a great way to lose it, but, well, that was how his Skill worked. What else was he supposed to do?

    Tamina glanced at him, and seemed to immediately grasp his dilemma. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± she spoke softly. ¡°Someday you¡¯ll be able to take down creatures like these with just your knives, but right now, you¡¯re not likely to even hurt them, and we¡¯re only a distraction anyway. Just grab a rock or something.¡±

    Rylan sighed, but nodded, and started looking for a suitable projectile. After he¡¯d found and grabbed a nice fist-sized piece, he turned back to her. ¡°You really think so?¡±

    ¡°Do I really think what?¡±

    ¡°That I¡¯ll be able to kill huge creatures like these with my knives someday?¡±

    She shrugged. ¡°Crazier things have happened. But to be honest, I don¡¯t think we have great odds of surviving down here long enough for you to experience that kind of growth.¡±

    Rylan tried not to dwell on that, focusing instead on watching Soren pick his way closer to the burning mass of whale. Despite the fog constantly being pulled into the roaring flames, the fire was definitely not dying down. If anything, it was growing bigger and hotter, which was a problem, as the backpack hung about ten feet back into the conflagration.

    Soren was trying to get closer, but as Rylan watched, a nearby piece of bloated whale skin burst open, releasing a gout of flame that had Soren backing off with his arm in front of his face.

    ¡°Fog,¡± Tamina cursed. ¡°Maybe this wasn¡¯t the best idea... what Skills does Soren even have?¡±

    ¡°As far as I know, he only has one: Dancing,¡± Rylan replied.

    ¡°Dancing?!¡± Tamina repeated, incredulous. ¡°So he doesn¡¯t have a combat Skill yet?¡±

    Before Rylan could reply, the battle between the Malequints reached a fever pitch. The armadon leapt up, straight at the giant octopus, and bit down at the base of one of its tentacles.

    In response, the floating monstrosity lashed it with its limbs, leaving shallow cuts all over the armadon, but it refused to let go. In the end, the octopus undulated its body to move over the burning whale, and proceeded to rip its own tentacle clean off, before disappearing in the mist.

    The armadon, still with the tentacle in its mouth, fell straight down, into the edge of the fire.

    Right in front of Soren.

    For a brief moment, Rylan feared the hulking creature would land on top of his former friend¡ªor almost as bad, on top of the backpack.

    It didn¡¯t, however, instead falling right in between.

    Soren flinched back upon its landing, half-turning to run, but then stopped.

    Rylan realised what his former friend was planning a mere moment before it happened, and had no time to do anything but drop his jaw as white light flashed underneath Soren¡¯s feet and he leapt forward, onto the flailing armadon.

    Three swift, rhythmic strides with glowing boot soles brought Soren up along the length of the armadon, to its head, where he promptly kicked off to soar towards the broken rib.

    ¡°Well, damn,¡± Tamina muttered.

    The moment Soren landed on the rib, the thing started to topple over, but he handily snatched the backpack off, then leapt again, pirouetting over the armadon and the expanding sea of flames below him before sticking his landing in the sand.

    ¡°Did that twirl seem necessary to you?¡± Tamina asked, doubt colouring her voice.

    Rylan shrugged. ¡°Maybe his Skill required it?¡±

    Soren, meanwhile, triumphantly held up the lightly singed backpack, bedroll and all. To Rylan¡¯s relief, it looked relatively unharmed, all things considered. He¡¯d have to fix the straps, of course, but that¡¯s why Zahra had packed him a sewing¡ª

    The massive armadon emerged from the flames behind Soren, covered in burning grease, and its beady black eyes focused murderously on the young nobleman¡¯s back.

 Chapter 16: Run

    The massive armadon seemed entirely unfazed by the burning grease covering its thick hide, its full attention on Rylan¡¯s triumphant former friend, who had just used its head as a springboard.

    ¡°SOREN, RUN!¡± Rylan yelled.

    Soren didn¡¯t run. He glanced back, froze for an instant, then started moving towards them sideways in a pattern Rylan vaguely recognised as a quickstep, which seemed somehow faster.

    More importantly, he was heading straight for them.

    The oversized armadon behind him snorted out twin jets of yellowish vapour, one of which caught fire from the flames clinging to the side of its head and burned a bright blue. Then it charged.

    As one, Tamina and Rylan turned and ran, with Soren hot on their heels. Rylan¡¯s first step was a little awkward as he braced himself for the pain in his ankle, but to his surprise, it didn¡¯t come. It seemed Ethereon¡¯s recovery acceleration had done an excellent job while he¡¯d been preoccupied with digging into the side of a whale.

    That¡¯s not to say he could move comfortably. His britches squelched with every step, soaked as they were with highly flammable whale-grease.

    Why¡¯d it have to be a fire-breathing Malequint of all things?!

    Rylan had heard of people who¡¯d died in the cloudsea in a variety of ways, from falling into a hole and getting stuck, to eating the wrong thing, to being eaten themselves. He¡¯d never heard of anyone being burned alive within the dense fog, and he was not keen to be the first.

    Soren actually overtook them with his strange sideways quickstepping, twisting his head this way and that as he did, clutching the backpack to his chest as he illuminated their surroundings with his glowband. ¡°This way!¡± he suddenly called out, veering off sharply towards the cloudwhale¡¯s large fin where it lay propped up on some rocks nearby.

    He flew down to his knees mid-stride, leaned his upper body back, and¡ªholding the backpack to the side like a dance partner¡ªsomehow slid underneath through the sand. Tamina hesitated only a fraction of a second before she followed on all fours.

    Behind him, Rylan heard an ominous sound, like a bellow inflating.

    Swearing, he practically dove underneath the fin. There was just enough room next to Tamina that they could both pass through side-by-side and it was a good thing too, as right then, a gout of blue flames washed over the sand behind them.

    Thankfully, only some of it managed to spill underneath the fin, and while Rylan did not appreciate flames licking his heels as he crawled away, it wasn¡¯t enough to set the grease that covered him on fire.

    The fin sloped up away from the armadon, so they were quickly able to get up into a crouch and start running after Soren again, who was jogging ahead while occasionally glancing back.

    Suddenly, the fin was lifted up behind them, giving them space enough to stand upright. The heavy thuds of the armadon¡¯s feet behind them told Rylan all he needed to know.

    He hunched his shoulders in anticipation of another blast of blue flames, and kept running. However, it didn¡¯t come, and they managed to make their way out of the enclosed space unburnt.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t it spew flames just now?¡± Rylan panted at Tamina as they chased Soren. ¡°It could¡¯ve easily gotten all three of us!¡±

    ¡°It couldn¡¯t! Has to build up more of that vapour first!¡±

    Wait, has she fought one of these before?!

    Rylan didn¡¯t have time to think more about it, as they continued their mad dash over the uneven terrain, jumping over grey boulders and colourful corrals, weaving between startled crabs and undulating anemones.

    No flames came washing over them, but the armadon didn¡¯t give up either, seemingly utterly enraged at having been used as a footbridge.

    ¡°Did you have to use its head as a springboard, Soren?¡± Rylan complained between breaths.

    Soren just lifted the backpack over his head in reply.

    He seemed to be leading them roughly in the direction he and Rylan had come from earlier, a suspicion that seemed confirmed when they hit a sandy downward slope. They barrelled down it at excessive speed. Rylan found himself struggling to move his legs fast enough to keep up, until he noticed Tamina taking short leaps, more or less bouncing down the hill in the floaty fog rather than running as he was trying, so he quickly copied her.

    However, the armadon had its own technique for moving down the hill.

    A disconcerting rumbling had Rylan craning his head back for a moment, only to see the massive creature curled up into a ball which was now rolling down at increasing speed.

    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Somehow, even this didn¡¯t seem enough to douse the flames clinging to its armoured hide.

    If it wasn¡¯t for the lightening effect of the fog, Rylan had no doubt the beast would have overtaken them in seconds. Under the circumstances, it was still gaining on them at a frightening pace.

    Despite the burning in his legs, Rylan pushed off harder, throwing caution to the haze as he took larger and larger leaps down the hill, the thick fog whistling past his ears as he flew. Cursing, Tamina followed his example.

    At long last, they caught up to Soren, who looked surprised at their sudden appearance, before the soles of his boots lit up again and he sped up into a quickstep.

    Then the bottom of the slope came into view, and just beyond it, strange round shapes loomed in the fog, barely visible in the orange glow of the burning beast rolling after them.

    ¡°Look!¡± Tamina called out, pointing at the closest shape. ¡°We gotta jump!¡±

    Rylan still wasn¡¯t sure what he was looking at, but he decided to trust her judgment. After two more hops, he sank deep through his knees, and despite the leaden feeling in his legs, pushed off as hard as he could.

    His two companions had more or less jumped simultaneously, so they ended up arcing through the floaty fog side by side. As the round shapes came closer, Rylan suddenly realised what he was looking at.

    They were the caps of truly giant mushrooms, large enough to drive a cart under. In fact, there appeared to be an entire forest of pale fungi stretched out before them.

    The three of them crashed into the closest cap at high speed, causing it to buckle down slightly, then spring up again, which launched them back into the fog.

    Rylan flipped head over heels, flailing his arms and legs in an effort to stabilise his body, as below him, the armadon proceeded to crash into the stalk, causing it to topple over with a groan.

    Thankfully, Rylan landed on another fungus, bouncing once, then managing to get his feet under him. A quick glance told him Soren and Tamina had landed similarly, albeit on different mushrooms.

    A giddy laugh of relief threatened to bubble up inside of him, but before it could, the armadon¡¯s head rose up beside the mushroom he was standing on. Its beady eyes immediately focused on him, and its maw shot forward.

    Rylan didn¡¯t think, he just leapt in the direction he was facing, towards Tamina¡¯s mushroom. It swayed ominously upon his landing, and Tamina swore and reached out with one hand to steady him, as his own fungus crumpled under the pressure of the armadon¡¯s front paws.

    It roared angrily, then leapt.

    ¡°Go go go!¡± Soren yelled, though Rylan didn¡¯t need the encouragement, quickly separating from Tamina, and hopping from mushroom to mushroom as fast as he dared.

    ¡°Maybe we should split up!¡± Soren continued over the mayhem of toppling fungi behind them, caused by the armadon¡¯s rampage. ¡°It¡¯d be easier to lose the fogging clodpoll that way!¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Rylan returned, his heart skipping a beat. ¡°We can¡¯t risk losing track of each other down here! We just need to find some hole or something it can¡¯t enter, then we can wait it out!¡±

    ¡°Unless it cooks us first!¡± Tamina snapped, leaping from one mushroom to another with a grace Rylan could only envy.

    In fact, she was pulling ahead of him, as was Soren, and soon he was dead last, with a fire-breathing Malequint breathing its yellow vapour practically in his neck.

    His breathing was ragged, his legs were leaden, and his heart was beating a mile a minute. Fog, I should¡¯ve just thrown all of my points in Endurance when I had the chance!

    Tempted as he was, Rylan was pretty sure trying to do so mid-chase was a bad idea. Also, despite the circumstances, part of him balked at the idea of making such a permanent, life-altering choice based on a momentary need.

    As the edges of his vision started to turn black and he began to reconsider his position on making sudden, life-altering choices, Tamina once more pointed ahead and cried, ¡°Look!¡±

    Rylan mustered himself on pure will and managed to focus his gaze ahead. Glowing orbs of pink light seemed to drift in the distance, illuminating more of the fungal forest, and what lay beyond it.

    A wall of rock loomed through the dark fog. Or two walls, actually, that seemed to converge. Rylan felt his heart sink.

    ¡°It¡¯s a dead end!¡± Soren cried.

    ¡°No!¡± Tamina shouted back. ¡°I think this leads into a gorge; if we can climb up, we might be able to lose it there!¡±

    ¡°Or get trapped and fried!¡±

    ¡°What choice do we have at this point?!¡±

    Rylan didn¡¯t have the spare breath to contribute, so he didn¡¯t try. He just followed after Tamina as she swerved to the right, heading straight for the juncture of the two walls of rock. Soren, with a curse, gave in and followed them.

    Another overgrown fungus toppled over behind him, but Rylan just kept pumping his legs, bouncing from mushroom to mushroom, each jump draining a little more of what energy his tired muscles had in reserve.

    The floating orbs of light became clearer as they approached, and Rylan realised it was actually a swarm of undulating, glowing jellyfloats. He¡¯d found one¡¯s corpse in the marina when he was little¡ªand had naturally been stung by one of its tendrils, despite Helen¡¯s repeated warnings¡ªbut he¡¯d never known there were species that gave off light...

    The undulating swarm moving overhead bathed them all in a gentle pink, a surreal contrast to the desperate situation they were in.

    Rylan tore his gaze from the wondrous sight, focusing instead on the walls of rock up ahead that neared each other more and more, but didn¡¯t actually appear to touch. As Tamina had predicted, the way forward indeed seemed to lead into a gorge that led upward and narrowed as it progressed.

    Hope sprung up in his heart, and he pumped his legs with renewed vigour.

    Finally, they reached the last of the mushrooms. Soren took the lead¡ªhaving overtaken Tamina again¡ªin bouncing off the final cap as hard as he could, spinning through the air again as he launched himself up to a small plateau leading into the gorge.

    Tamina followed suit¡ªthough without any extraneous spinning¡ªand then it was Rylan¡¯s turn. He took a deep breath, and leapt towards the final cap in a shallow arc. He hit it at full speed, and tried to convert all of his forward momentum upwards.

    His legs at last failed him.

    The angle at which he flew up wasn¡¯t steep enough and a flash of white came from his belly as he smacked hard into the rock. Despite his Mana Shell softening the blow, he was gasping for breath as he scrambled for purchase with both hands and feet.

    The thumps of the approaching armadon¡¯s footfalls accelerated. Rylan finally managed to hook his fingers into a crack, and with arms shaking with nerves, pulled himself up and over the ledge.

    He tried to get to his feet, then, only to stumble and fall back down onto his knees, truly spent.

    The sound of claws scratching on rock alerted him, and he glanced back, horrified, to find the armadon¡¯s head right behind him, beady eyes glinting gleefully as it inhaled.

 Chapter 17: Shifting Constellations

    Rylan saw only the barest flash of blue before a shield was suddenly interposed between him and the beast hanging off the ledge in front of him.

    Blue flames bathed the walls of the gorge on either side in an eerie glow, playing off Tamina¡¯s gritted teeth and green eyes as she stood over him, white light emanating from the front of her shield and extending beyond its edges, preventing the stream of blue fire from spilling past.

    Rylan could do little but gape as she took the attack head-on, and weathered it. Eventually, inevitably, the glowing barrier in front of her shield gave and crumbled, and the bright blue flames licked around the edges, but even then she held fast.

    By the time the stream ended, the grease on the surface of her shield had caught fire, burning a bright orange. Tamina didn¡¯t seem to mind, however.

    In fact, she stepped forward, pivoting her body sideways as she drew back her shield, then, with a primal shout, whipped it forward in a backhanded strike.

    The flaming metal hit the armadon square in the nose with a flash of white and a deafening clang. The creature promptly lost its grip on the side of the cliff, and fell back down into the forest of mushrooms with a pained roar.

    Tamina whirled around, used her free hand to grasp Rylan under the armpit, and hauled him up. ¡°Move!¡± she barked.

    Nodding dumbly, Rylan allowed himself to be dragged along, up into the gorge.

    Soren was already up on a small ledge and, holding the backpack with one hand, extended the other to help Rylan up.

    Rylan didn¡¯t hesitate to grab it.

    He tried to ignore the heavy thumps and scratching behind him as he focused on putting one leg in front of the other, and climbing from ledge to ledge, higher and higher.

    Slowly, the armadon¡¯s angry roars grew more distant.

    Finally, they reached a small plateau at the top of the gorge, a mere ten feet below the overhanging edges of the walls of rock on both sides. There, they stopped. Tamina stood on the edge, peering down intently into the jellyfloat-lit gorge, as Rylan sprawled onto his back and tried to catch his breath.

    ¡°I think it gave up,¡± Tamina said wearily, also breathing heavily.

    Soren slumped down against one of the gorge¡¯s walls with a groan. ¡°Stupid armadons... so touchy!¡±

    Despite himself, Rylan snorted.

    Tamina let out a sigh. ¡°Is the fog condenser still operational?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll have a look,¡± Soren replied, half-heartedly starting to loosen the straps to unhook the bedroll and open up the bag.

    Rylan numbly watched the jellyfloats as the young nobleman dug for the small metal device and pulled it out along with the pan with the firemetal bottom.

    ¡°Looks good to me. Ah, nice,¡± Soren said. ¡°We can heat water, too. Did you bring any tea leaves?¡±

    ¡°I did not,¡± Rylan replied dryly.

    Soren let out a sigh that spoke of such heartfelt disappointment that it reminded Rylan of the Thistlethorn matriarch. Soren had spent too much time with his grandmother; she was clearly a bad influence.

    ¡°By the way,¡± Rylan said, turning his head a little so he could narrow his eyes at Soren. ¡°I thought you said armadons were ¡®not all that big.¡¯ So... what the fog was that?¡±

    Soren huffed out a breath as he tossed Tamina the condenser. She caught it handily, seeming unfazed by his treatment of the life-saving device. Rylan supposed little could go wrong with it within the fog.

    ¡°They usually aren¡¯t,¡± Soren maintained. ¡°But the rules kinda go out the window when it comes to Malequints. This was nothing, really; I¡¯ve heard some creatures down here get so big that they can only support their own weight within the fog.¡±

    Rylan shivered at the thought. I hope we don¡¯t run into one of those...

    His attention was drawn by Tamina as the slightly older Quinthar easily twisted the bottom off the fog condenser and inspected the contents of the resulting cup.

    Shaking her head, she put the cup down and held the condenser above it. Rylan looked on, intrigued, as she touched a finger on the conspicuous aquamarine spot on the side of the device where the cloudmetal mesh emerged. Her finger lit up with a weak glow that seemed to move into the conduit point, wisps of white flickering around her digit as the surrounding fog grew agitated and started getting sucked into the device much faster. Almost immediately, water began to pour from the nozzle at the bottom of the condenser, clattering noisily into the cup.

    Only when it was full to the brim did she remove her finger, lift the cup, and take a long drink.

    ¡°How does that work?¡± Rylan asked, again without lifting his head. ¡°Do you just... push in your mana?¡±

    Tamina nodded slightly, never removing her lips from the cup¡¯s edge.

    ¡°It¡¯s like what you did to fill your Mana Shell,¡± Soren answered in her stead. ¡°Except a little more... subtle. Cloudmetal will eagerly absorb any mana in its general vicinity so pretty much all you need to do is push your mana towards it. If you touch it, it¡¯ll even suck the mana right out of your finger. And it doesn¡¯t take much, thankfully.¡±

    Rylan frowned. ¡°Wait, won¡¯t it drain the mana from your Mana Shell, then?¡±

    Soren shook his head. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t be much of a defence if that mana could just be sucked away, right? No, the whole point of the Quintessence Structure that maintains your Mana Shell is that it holds mana into place, and keeps it ready to defend you. It¡¯s kind of like a Skill, actually, except you can¡¯t really control it, or push in extra mana to make it stronger.¡±

    Rylan perked up, lifting his head. ¡°We can push extra mana into our Skills?¡±

    Soren nodded. ¡°It¡¯s called overcharging. There are limits to it though! You don¡¯t want to do overdo it, but putting a little strain on your Skill is actually a good thing; helps it grow. In fact, getting a new Skill to accept a full point of mana is generally how Quinthar achieve their first Rank-Up¡ªthough it depends on the Skill.¡±

    Rylan let out a sigh. ¡°There¡¯s so much I don¡¯t know... Why is all of this stuff kept secret?¡±

    Tamina snorted. ¡°Quinthar have plenty of secrets, but stuff like this is pretty much common knowledge among them. Anyone else?¡± she asked, holding out the refilled cup of water.

    Rylan held out a hand, and drank greedily upon receiving it.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Soren agreed. ¡°There¡¯s just not much point in teaching non-Quinthar about such details. I mean, what would you have done with this knowledge if you¡¯d had it?¡±

    ¡°Well I...¡± Rylan started, before trailing off. ¡°Fine. Not much, I guess. But does that mean there¡¯s more you can tell me?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Soren said, perking up. ¡°Ask me anything.¡±

    ¡°Anything?¡± Rylan repeated, a little incredulous.

    Soren shrugged. ¡°We¡¯re lost at the bottom of the cloudsea. I don¡¯t think I have to worry about my grandmother disciplining me here.¡±

    ¡°Not to be a drag,¡± Tamina said tersely. ¡°But we should probably make some decisions first. Specifically, are we going to stay the night here, or look for a better place?¡±

    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    Rylan glanced around. The tops of the cliffs loomed over them, only ten feet up, but they leaned over quite a bit, forming a bit of natural shelter. Apart from the pink glow coming off the jellyfloats, the fog above them was pitch black. I guess it must be nearing midnight by now...

    Soren cocked his head sideways. ¡°That¡¯s a good question. I have to be honest, Thar Tamina, my experience in the cloudsea is limited. I¡¯ll have to defer to your expertise in these matters.¡±

    Tamina stared at him expressionlessly for a moment, then nodded. ¡°Then I say we stay here. It¡¯s not an ideal spot, but walking around in the dark to look for a better one doesn¡¯t seem worth the risk.¡±

    ¡°Excellent,¡± Soren said, clapping his hands together. ¡°Then we¡¯ll camp here. But for now, I¡¯m way too wired to sleep, so ask away, Ryles. You¡¯ll need to learn this stuff anyway if we¡¯re to survive here.¡±

    Tamina raised a brow at him. ¡°And you¡¯re really all right with me being present for this conversation?¡±

    Soren shrugged. ¡°You work for the Talons; I honestly doubt I could reveal anything that you¡ªor at the very least they¡ªare not aware off. Go ahead, Ryles.¡±

    ¡°All right,¡± Rylan said, sitting up straighter and handing over the cup to Soren. ¡°First things first: what should I spend my points on?¡±

    Soren nodded seriously. ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯ve waited; that¡¯s one of the most important decisions you¡¯ll ever make. To give you a proper answer though, I¡¯ll need to know your current Attributes.¡±

    Rylan frowned, shifting uncomfortably. ¡°Can¡¯t you just... give me some pointers?¡±

    Soren hesitated, then shook his head. ¡°No, sorry. There¡¯s a lot to account for. Besides, I already know you have at least... let¡¯s see, 3 points in Dexterity and Perception and a 0 in... what was it, Strength?¡±

    He glanced at Tamina, but she just looked back with an expression that said, ¡®Really¡¯?

    ¡°Ah, even if you knew, your Contract¡¯s non-disclosure clause would prevent you from commenting on that, I guess. Well, how did I do?¡±

    Rylan glared at him, clenching his jaw. Did he actually know that by heart? No, they must¡¯ve guessed what Skill I unlocked from what happened in the kitchen and looked it up while I was in the cooler... I knew they had information about Skill requirements!

    Soren sighed and held up his hands, palms facing forward. ¡°All right, that was... insensitive of me. Look, how about this? I¡¯ll go first. I currently have the following Attributes: 3 points each in Dexterity and Presence, 2 in Endurance and Perception, and 1 in Strength and Mind.

    Rylan blinked in surprise, caught off-guard at the sudden reveal of deeply personal information. ¡°I... fine. Yeah, it was a zero in Strength.¡± He glanced at Tamina as well, and then just decided to throw caution to the haze. ¡°If you must know, I indeed have 3 in Dexterity and Perception, 1 in Strength and Endurance, 0 in Mind, and minus 1 in Presence.¡±

    Tamina hummed. ¡°A plus 7 baseline. That¡¯s not bad.¡±

    Soren sputtered. ¡°Not bad? It¡¯s excellent! Fog, I was happy with my plus 5!¡±

    ¡°For someone who became a Quinthar without Enhancers,¡± Tamina replied tersely, ¡°plus 7 isn¡¯t that rare.¡±

    Rylan frowned, doing some quick math. Soren currently has an Attribute total of 12. If he started out with a plus 5, and he got 3 for his first Skill...

    ¡°You took four Enhancers?!¡± he burst out in disbelief, his head spinning from the expense.

    Enhancers couldn¡¯t exactly be bought in a store. They could only be bought from auction in a free city, and the price of an Enhancer wasn¡¯t even calculated in silver florins, but in gold crowns. In fact, he¡¯d heard a single Enhancer could easily go for fifty gold crowns, which was the equivalent of about six hundred silver florins. That meant the Thistlethorns had probably spent close to twelve times Rylan¡¯s entire debt on Enhancers for Soren, if not more.

    Rylan stayed silent for a moment, a muscle next to his eye twitching. Hearing what the Thistlethorns had spent on Soren had set the smouldering coals of his anger ablaze once more, and Soren Thistlethorn of all people calling him ¡®lucky¡¯ did not help. However, he was finally getting answers, so he wasn¡¯t about to start a fight now.

    Despite his best efforts, Soren seemed to read his expression correctly, however. ¡°Not to make light of your accomplishment, of course,¡± he backtracked quickly, his face falling. ¡°I know how hard you worked to gain a Skill.¡±

    Rylan took a deep breath and blew it out. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± he said curtly. ¡°I am lucky to have managed to become a Quinthar, I know that.¡±

    ¡°Glad to hear you don¡¯t think you¡¯re Ethereon¡¯s extra special chosen or something,¡± Tamina muttered. ¡°Had me worried for a second there.¡±

    Soren smiled, looking relieved. ¡°Nah, Ryles is pretty down to sand.¡±

    ¡°Unlike you,¡± Tamina mercilessly threw at him. ¡°You¡¯ve got quite some nerve, calling other people lucky, Mister My-Family-Bought-Me-Four-Enhancers.¡±

    ¡°I was just saying my Attributes weren¡¯t as good as his!¡± Soren protested. ¡°Why am I the clodpoll here?¡±

    Satisfying as it was to hear Tamina tear into him in Rylan¡¯s stead, he was keen to get back on topic, so he cleared his throat. ¡°Anyway, about my Attributes?¡±

    ¡°Oh, right,¡± Soren said, turning back to face him more seriously. ¡°Well, your spread is decent, having only a single negative is pretty nice. Now, the main question is what Skill you should aim for, and I think the answer is obvious.¡±

    Tamina nodded. ¡°Running.¡±

    ¡°Knife-Fighting,¡± Soren said at the same time. ¡°Wait, what? Knife-Fighting is the perfect complement to Knife-Throwing!¡±

    ¡°Knives are sucky weapons against Malequints,¡± Tamina countered. ¡°He needs a way to maintain distance. Also, he needs to be able to keep up when we flee.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I have to agree with Tamina, there¡± Rylan said as they frowned at each other. Even if Running wasn¡¯t the most glamorous Skill, he definitely didn¡¯t want to end up falling behind again. ¡°Knife-Fighting sounds like a great addition... someday.¡±

    Soren blew out a breath, shaking his head. ¡°You¡¯re right... I got too excited about your build; I need to take our circumstances into account. Anyway, the requirements for Running are quite simple: a Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance of 2. Actually, I¡¯m pretty sure the requirements of Knife-Fighting are a Strength of 1, a Dexterity of 3, and an Endurance of 2, so if you bring your Strength and Endurance up to 2 for Running, you¡¯d actually already meet the requirements for both!¡±

    ¡°Do all Skills have three Attribute requirements that total 6?¡± Rylan asked.

    Soren nodded. ¡°Well, all Emerald-Tier Skills. Sapphire-Tier Skills have three Attribute requirements that total 10. Anyway, putting 1 point in Strength and 1 in Endurance should leave you with one more free point, which I would suggest you put in Mind.¡±

    Rylan glanced at Tamina to see if she had anything to add to that, but she kept her face blank. ¡°Why Mind?¡±

    ¡°An investment in your future,¡± Soren said, his eyes twinkling. ¡°Because one of the three Attribute requirements of all Sapphire-Grade Skills, is 3 points in Mind.¡±

    Tamina twitched at that, seeming surprised. Rylan wasn¡¯t sure if that was because she hadn¡¯t known, or because Soren had so casually revealed it, but at the very least it probably wasn¡¯t common knowledge.

    ¡°All right then,¡± Rylan said, taking a deep breath, feeling oddly nervous about finalising his decision. Still, he couldn¡¯t find fault with Soren¡¯s reasoning, and despite everything, he trusted his former friend not to lie to him about something this important. ¡°Ethereon, please put one of my free points in Strength, Endurance, and Mind each.¡±

    Once more, a warm breeze seemed to fly from a distant place into his chest, landing on his spirit as a stream of energy. It took a few seconds for it to taper off and vanish.

    ¡¶Free points successfully distributed,¡·Ethereon¡¯s voice droned coolly.¡¶Attribute enhancement in progress. Estimated completion in: six hours.¡·

    ¡°Got any more questions?¡± Soren asked kindly, stifling a yawn.

    ¡°Helping Thar Rylan distribute points was a worthwhile endeavour,¡± Tamina said, a hint of disapproval in her tone, ¡°but I really do think we should get some rest.¡±

    ¡°I agree,¡± Rylan said after a moment. Interesting as he found the talk about ranking up Skills and Attribute distribution, he needed some time to process everything that had happened. Also, he was starting to get chilly in the cold fog.

    ¡°Very well,¡± Soren said. ¡°However... I can¡¯t help but notice we, ehm... have only a single bedroll.¡±

    They all turned to look at it.

    ¡°Seems pretty big,¡± Tamina said after a moment. ¡°Two can probably squeeze in there together. Back to back, obviously.¡±

    ¡°Obviously,¡± Soren replied diplomatically. ¡°I guess that works; we¡¯ll need to sleep in shifts anyway.¡±

    Tamina nodded curtly. ¡°I¡¯ll take first watch. I¡¯ve got some deep cleaning to do before I go anywhere near that bedroll.¡± She lifted the bare bicep of her right arm to her nose, sniffed it, and promptly scrunched up her face in disgust. Then, with a sigh, she lifted her metal-covered left arm and started untying the black leather vambrace on her right forearm.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take second, then,¡± Soren added. ¡°I tend to wake up in the middle of the night anyway. That leaves third for you, Ryles.¡±

    ¡°All right,¡± Rylan said, hiding a yawn. ¡°Guess I should go change first.¡±

    Rylan grabbed some clean clothes and excused himself, climbing down a ledge before he took off his coat and set about removing the gross, sticky kelp weave plastered to his back and the britches clinging to his legs.

    He scrubbed all the skin he could reach with sand, until it was ice cold but no longer greasy, and only then put on his fresh tunic and britches. His hair was still a gross mess, and his clothes would need a wash but he¡¯d deal with that in the morning.

    When he got back, Tamina had heated a panful of water. She nodded at him, and climbed down the same ledge, presumably to start washing her clothes and armour.

    Soren was already inside the bedroll, still wearing his crimson doublet, and looking up with his arms folded behind his head.

    ¡°Scoot,¡± Rylan said, feeling a strange mixture of emotions as Soren turned his back to make room for him.

    When they were little, sleepovers had been right on that perfect edge between disallowed and tolerated that just made them more fun. They weren¡¯t supposed to have them, but if they managed to anyway, they were never caught at best, and mildly admonished at worst.

    Those were some of the fondest memories he had of his youth, and for that very reason, the most painful.

    Rylan climbed in stiffly, but the warmth of Soren¡¯s back was a balm for his chilled flesh, and he soon managed to relax. Still, sleep didn¡¯t come easy, and he found himself turning his head to look up at the swarm of pink-glowing jellyfloats as they came drifting over, like gently undulating stars forming shifting constellations.

    In the distance, a fogwhale let out a plaintive call, which was quickly echoed by another, and another. The sound of their voices mixing was beautiful yet haunting.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably his pod,¡± Soren spoke softly. ¡°Come to mourn.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s... really sad,¡± Rylan said.

    ¡°Yeah. I used to want to go fogwhaling someday, but now...¡±

    ¡°I hear you.¡±

    Eventually, despite everything, Rylan managed to drift off.

 Chapter 18: The Early Gull Catches the Frog

    Rylan slept fitfully. He woke several times, including when Tamina took Soren¡¯s place in the bedroll, her freshly washed armour still smelling a bit of whale, but he managed to fall back asleep each time with relative ease.

    He was definitely not done sleeping when Soren gently shook him awake for his turn at watch, but he dutifully got up, put on his glowband, and groggily sat down next to his backpack on the other side of their sheltered little plateau, his back leaned against the wall of rock there.

    It was a good spot to sit, as it allowed him to keep an eye on his sleeping companions without risking getting snuck up on from behind.

    Night in the cloudsea was pretty quiet. At first, every little click or pop in the distance had Rylan twitching and turning his head, but after sitting for a bit, he started to relax. And not long after that, he became bored.

    Getting a bit thirsty, Rylan looked around for the fog condenser. Unfortunately, Soren had not been considerate enough to top it off before he went back to sleep, and while there were a few sips in the reservoir just from its passive collection, they weren¡¯t enough to slake his thirst.

    Well, he was going to need to learn to use the thing anyway.

    All right, so I just need to direct some mana from my pool through my body into the conduit point...

    Finding the ball of warmth behind his sternum was easy enough by now, as Rylan had done so twice already. With some effort, he managed to push some mana out as well, but that¡¯s where his experience ended.

    The moment he pushed it out, the mana dispersed, filtering out of his torso and causing his Mana Shell to briefly light up around his chest. As it was already filled to capacity, however, the mana ended up leaking through and disappearing.

    While his Mana Pool was close to full right now, Rylan still didn¡¯t want to waste it. So on his second attempt, he kept a firm grip on the mana he pushed out, then quickly tried to shove it down his arm, towards where his finger was pressed against the fog condenser¡¯s cold conduit point.

    However, while the small wisp of mana complied with the forced motion, it didn¡¯t seem to like it. Halfway down his upper arm, it fell apart and ended up dispersing through his skin anyway.

    The increased mana concentration in the air did appear to affect the condenser, the fog around it swirling a little more than usual. However, after but a single drop of water fell down into the cup, it quickly settled down again.

    Rylan tried again. This time, he decided to take things slow, pushing out a small portion of mana, and keeping a firm grip on it with his mind as he moved it through his body at a sedate pace.

    While the process was painstaking, the gentle touch seemed to help, and the mana passed through his upper arm, his elbow, and down his lower arm without any issue. When it approached his hand, it even started moving forward by itself, as a kind of suction force pulled at it through his finger.

    He lost grip as the small glut of mana passed his wrist and his heartbeat accelerated in excitement as his finger momentarily lit up white from the mana flowing into the condenser. However, the moment it entered through the conduit, the thing started sucking in fog the way Loukas inhaled his dinner.

    Water spewed from the spout in a flow so fast that it splattered out of the cup, ending up everywhere, and for a moment Rylan feared that the noise or the disturbed fog would wake his sleeping companions, or worse, draw in a predator.

    Thankfully, the spewing water quickly petered out, and the flow of fog into the condenser returned to its slow, sluggish churn. Rylan blew out a breath in relief, his heart pounding.

    Good thing I didn¡¯t start my practice with the firemetal... I could¡¯ve melted the fogging pan!

    Anyway, this clearly wasn¡¯t quite the right method.

    With a frown, Rylan thought back to what it had looked like when Tamina used the condenser, and how steady the stream of water coming out had been.

    Fog, of course!

    Rylan tried again, this time not pushing out a lump of mana, but pulling out a small, steady flow of it. He slowly threaded the flow down his arm, until it reached his hand and the pull of the cloudmetal took over.

    This approach proved to be a lot more successful. While his control was rather shaky and his output nowhere as steady as Tamina¡¯s had been, he managed to feed the fog condenser a small stream of mana that set it churning out a continuous trickle of water.

    After some more practice, he was even confident enough to dare to use the firemetal pan next. Which was nice, because he was getting very chilly, and could definitely use a drink of hot water.

    He started out extremely careful with the heating, drawing out even less mana than he had before, and only ramped it up when he managed not to destroy the precious device.

    Interestingly, the conduit point on the side of the pan was not made of firemetal itself, but some kind of coppery alloy, with a less reddish hue. Rylan supposed that was to prevent Quinthar from burning their fingertips off, which he was rather grateful for.

    The first sip of hot water burnt as it slid down his throat, but the trail of warmth it left behind was worth it.

    Now that he had access to warm water¡ªand his stomach was nice and warm¡ªRylan figured he should at least make an attempt at washing the clothes he¡¯d worn the day before. Zahra hadn¡¯t packed that many, after all, and he¡¯d probably have to share some with Soren at the very least.

    He found them in the sand on the lower ledge, where he¡¯d left them, and the smell almost made him abandon the task and turn back.

    Almost.

    With a sigh, he brought them back up to their little camp, and got started, dumping hot water on one of the worst sections of his tunic, and finding a suitable rock to quietly scrub it with. Getting the sticky scum off the woven brown kelp was slow-going and the effort of it kept him warm at the very least.

    He''d have to be more gentle with his leather coat, but it should also be easier to wash. He just hoped not too much of the whale¡¯s grease had soaked into the wool lining.

    Despite himself, after a while, his mind drifted to home and the warm, comfy futon he¡¯d left behind. He shook his head angrily.

    Frankly, even knowing what he knew now, he wouldn¡¯t have changed his plans. Getting lost in the cloudsea was not ideal, but he¡¯d succeeded! He¡¯d escaped the island that had become his prison, and by the time they found their way back to civilisation, he¡¯d be strong enough that the Thistlethorns couldn¡¯t force him to do anything.

    He didn¡¯t want to entertain the idea that they might not ever find their way back. That kind of thinking was not helpful or productive. No, they¡¯d make it out one way or another, and then he¡¯d wave Soren goodbye and move to a free city.

    His churning thoughts caused him to scrape a little harder, and he was startled when he realised how much force he was exerting on the weave. It also struck him that his arm muscles were only just starting to tire from the repetitive scraping motions.

    Right, I increased my Strength and Endurance Attributes!

    Excitement flooded him at the thought, and part of him immediately wanted to drop what he was doing and go test his new limits. Unfortunately, it would be rather difficult to test something like his capacity to lift things or to do push-ups compared to before while down in the floaty fog. Moreover, he needed to keep watch.

    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    Thus, he kept scrubbing.

    He¡¯d probably get a feel for the difference soon enough. He wasn¡¯t entirely sure what they¡¯d do come morning, but staying where they were probably wasn¡¯t it.

    When he was at last satisfied with the state of his clothes, he laid them out over some rocks to... well, not ¡®dry¡¯ as much as leak out any excess fluid. There was no such thing as dry in the cloudsea.

    Then he washed his hair¡ªwhich had only gotten more tangled overnight¡ªmaking sure to carefully control the water¡¯s temperature this time.

    Finally finished, he pulled on his coat, walked back to his backpack and sat down with his back against the rock, stifling a yawn which was quickly followed by a shiver. The scrubbing and hot water had kept him relatively warm, but even with his coat on, the second he sat down, he started growing cold again.

    Honestly, this place was as dark and chilly as the cooler. The fog might not physically restrict him from leaving as the walls had, but it was just as oppressive in other ways.

    At least here he had his glowband, so he didn¡¯t have to sit around waving his letter opener just to¡ª

    Rylan bolted upright, his eyes going wide. Then he swiftly turned around and opened up the backpack. After a little digging, his hand came out clutching a small, rolled-up slip of paper.

    Swallowing, he carefully unrolled it. However, he quickly frowned, as the dim, purplish-red glow from his glowband proved to not be the best reading light.

    Where did Soren leave his glowband?

    Rylan glanced over at his sleeping companions and sighed, knowing deep down that he wasn¡¯t going to risk waking them by rummaging around near them.

    But actually, he didn¡¯t need to!

    After thinking about it for a moment, he climbed back down the ledge once more, making sure he was facing away from their camp before he lifted a finger up to the glowmetal on his forehead.

    It was probably a good thing he¡¯d moved. The second his mana started pouring in, the world around him lit up in a multitude of hues, the shimmering glow reflecting off the mist and spreading around him.

    He quickly toned down his mana output, then took a seat and awkwardly used his free hand to roll the letter out across his knee.

    Bathed in shimmering colours, the black squiggles finally resolved into legible¡ªif sloppy¡ªhandwriting.

    ¡®Dear Rylan,¡¯ it read. ¡®I don¡¯t have much time, and my hand won¡¯t stop shaking, but I figured I owe you this much, at least. I have many regrets. I wish I¡¯d known about you sooner. I wish I could¡¯ve seen you grow up. But all that matters, truly matters, is your safety. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, I fear they suspect. Your caretakers asked me not to contact you directly¡ªI don¡¯t know how much they¡¯ve told you and I can¡¯t say much here either, lest this letter falls in the wrong hands¡ªbut I had to warn you: they¡¯re coming. If you treasure your jewels, stay out of sight. Anonymity remains your best defence. If all else fails and you really need some assistance, come to the Knackered Hag, and ask for ¡°Red-Nosed Art¡±, sincerely...¡¯

    And beneath that stood a small, scratched-out word. He stared at it for a long time, trying to figure out if his eyes were tricking him, or if it really looked like it had once read ¡®Dad.¡¯

    The comments about regrets and wishing he could¡¯ve seen Rylan grow up certainly suggested a familial connection, but then again, it could be mere wishful thinking on his part.

    Also, was this Red-Nosed Art the sender, or someone else? Not the most flattering nickname...

    Was it short for something? Rylan had so many questions, and not just about the sender! The contents of the letter were equally mysterious. My ¡®caretakers¡¯ told him not to contact me? Does that refer to the Thistlethorns? Does that mean they know this person?!

    Also, who were the ¡®they¡¯ that suspected something, and what could they possibly suspect? And then there was the part about Rylan¡¯s jewels...

    Wait, jewels as in... that?!

    Rylan instinctively clenched his thighs together at the implication, as if that would better protect the precious cargo dangling in between.

    Honestly, the more he thought about the letter, the stranger it got, to the point where he was starting to suspect a prank of some sort. Loukas was the one who delivered it... would he pull something like this?

    Rylan squinted at the scratchy handwriting, trying to remember if it looked familiar, but he¡¯d never really seen Loukas¡¯s handwriting. It would be a weird prank, but Zahra could have put him up to it...

    Except there was a bloodstain on the letter as well. It was just a drop, but it still seemed a bit much for a mere prank.

    Rylan turned the letter over and scoured the back, just in case, but found it to be empty. Shaking his head, he dropped his hand from his glowband and let out a sigh as his surroundings turned a reddish-purple once more.

    He wasn¡¯t going to find any more answers out here. If he wanted to learn what the fog was going on, there was only one thing for it: he needed to find his way out of the cloudsea, give Soren the slip, and find Red-Nosed Art in the Knackered Hag.

    Filled with renewed energy, Rylan stood up and climbed back up to their camp. Even if he couldn¡¯t leave right now, there was still stuff he could do to prepare for their journey¡ªwhatever shape that might take.

    His first project was to sew the straps of his backpack back on, but that only took him ten minutes. Once he was satisfied they would hold, he took out the knife roll and some spare straps of leather, and started fashioning himself a bandolier.

    When he quietly tried moving around with it, he found the weight of the knives made it tend to swing around too much, so he added a strap that went under his armpit to hold it in place better. However, while it took him a good while longer, that project was eventually finished as well.

    Some inklings of early morning light were starting to filter down through the fog, but impatient as Rylan was to get going, he forced himself to calm down. They would need to be sharp down here, which meant they all needed their rest.

    Still, the new fire that had been lit under his britches made it hard for him to sit still, and what he most wanted to do next was practice using his Skill.

    It didn¡¯t sit right with him how dependent he¡¯d been on Soren and Tamina the day before, but more importantly: he was a Quinthar now! A path towards growth and personal power lay wide open before him, and he was raring to go.

    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have an appropriate target to throw his knives at, and even if his Skill protected them from damage to a degree, he was loath to risk chipping Chef Zelim¡¯s precious knives for practice. Moreover, it would probably make too much noise.

    Rylan leaned back against his freshly repaired backpack and considered his options. Was there any way to throw knives without making noise and risking damage to the blades?

    He blinked when the answer came to him. There wouldn¡¯t be any sound or damage... if he simply threw them up and caught them by the handle.

    He glanced down at the bandolier of razor-sharp blades hanging around his chest, and gulped. Yeah, that sounded like a great way to lose a couple of fingers. Except... he did have one rather dull blade.

    Digging his fingers into the side of his boot, he fished out the letter opener, and felt around its edges. It really was perfectly dull. On the other hand, under the effect of his Skill, it had penetrated into the bamboo door quite deeply.

    His Skill¡¯s description had said it increased the knife¡¯s impact, though, not its cutting ability...

    Rylan hesitated for a minute or two longer, until the boredom finally overcame his better judgement. Throwing the blade up and catching it probably wasn¡¯t the greatest way to practise his Skill, but it was something, at least. More importantly, it was something to do.

    As a precaution, he took out some spare straps of leather, and wound them around his left hand, which he would be using to catch; just in case he slipped up and caught it by the blade.

    Then he moved to a small patch of uniform, rock-free sand nearby, so that the letter opener wouldn¡¯t make too much noise if it ended up clattering to the ground.

    With all his preparations done, Rylan focused on his Skill. It had been a while since he¡¯d used it, but he quickly rediscovered the feeling of pushing at something inside of him. Probably the Quintessence Structure that made up his Skill, as it was a bit deeper in his chest than his Mana Pool.

    It was, however, connected to his Mana Pool somehow. That was very clear, as the moment he activated his Skill, a stream of mana poured out of the ball of warmth behind his sternum and rapidly flowed down his arm towards the blade he was waving around in vague throw-like motions. It required no intervention of his whatsoever as it tingled up his arm and enveloped the bladed portion of his letter opener in a soft white glow.

    As Rylan had previously experienced, it took about a second for the glow to reach its highest intensity¡ªwhich still wasn¡¯t very bright, closer to a bright star than a candle. Once the mana had fully settled, he took a deep breath, and softly lobbed the blade upward.

    His eyes widened as the letter opener flew much higher than he¡¯d anticipated, making several rotations as it slowly fell back down. He almost fumbled the catch from surprise, but still got it in the end, and by the handle as well.

    Right, the fog lightened everything. It was easy to forget. Well, once he¡¯d adjusted to the difference, it should actually make his practice safer.

    Rylan shook his head at himself, and started flipping his letter opener a couple of times without using his Skill.

    I should¡¯ve done this in the first place...

    Only when he¡¯d gotten a feeling for it, did he try again with his Skill. And again.

    At first, he focused on reliably activating Knife-Throwing, and seeing how long and how little he could wave the blade around before the Skill started to sputter and fade.

    Being able to maintain the Skill¡¯s activation for a bit before he threw sounded useful, and either way, stretching his Skill¡¯s limits should be a good thing. What he really wanted to do was to try and overcharge his Skill with additional mana from his pool, like Soren had mentioned, but that seemed like a bad idea if he was going to keep catching it.

    Instead, he started throwing the blade higher, seeing how far he could get with a single spin. Then he started doing a double spin. He was really getting quite handy with it; perhaps his worries about catching it by the blade had been¡ª

    On his last throw, he¡¯d flicked his wrist just a bit too hard, and the blade ended up doing not two, but two and a half rotations, ending with the blade hitting his palm.

    However, right before it touched the leather wrapped around his hand, white light flared up from his palm, and negated the impact of his Skill.

    Rylan stared at his hand for a moment, then had to fight down a laugh. He¡¯d been worried over nothing: he¡¯d forgotten he had a Mana Shell now!

    Well, that certainly changed things for his practice session...

 Chapter 19: Practice Makes Perfect

    Rylan wanted nothing more than to immediately start trying to overcharge his Skill, but he decided to temper his excitement and see what Ethereon had to say about his Mana Shell first.

    ¡°Ethereon,¡± he whispered, careful not to wake his sleeping companions. ¡°Please show me my Status Window.¡±

    Status

    Mana Pool: 10.3/11

    Mana Shell: 0.9/1

    Attributes

    Strength  2

    Dexterity  3

    Endurance  2

    Mind  1

    Perception  3

    Presence -1

    Skills

    Knife-Throwing, Rank 1

    Quint Structures

    Mana Core, Tier I

    Mana Pool, Tier I

    Mana Shell, Tier I

    Quintessence Credits: 20

    Apparently, his Mana Shell could only hold a single unit of mana. That didn¡¯t sound like much, considering the size of his Mana Pool. Which had expanded, actually, because he¡¯d put a point in Mind!

    Was he thinking a bit faster too? Actually, would he even be able to tell if he was? It¡¯s not like he¡¯d ever timed his thoughts...

    Anyway, back to his Mana Shell. A single point of mana really didn¡¯t sound like much. Could it perhaps be upgraded as well? ¡°Ethereon, please show me my Quint Structures Window.¡±

    Quint Structures

    Installed

    Mana Core, Tier I

    Mana Pool, Tier I

    Mana Shell, Tier I

    Available

    Mana Core Tier Up (1000 Q)

    Mana Pool Tier Up (1000 Q)

    Mana Shell Tier Up (100 Q)

    Quintessence Credits: 20

    Apparently, upgrading it was indeed an option. Rylan could tell from the information Ethereon whispered into his spirit that tiering up his Mana Shell would increase its mana capacity by 1.

    Of course, he¡¯d first need to get his hands on a lot of Quintessence, somehow. After yesterday, the concept of hunting Malequints seemed a lot less enticing. Actually, why¡¯d he get the first 100 Credits? Did Ethereon gift him those for becoming a Quinthar, or for gaining a Skill?

    He''d have to remember to ask Soren or Tamina later. I wonder how strong their Mana Shells are...

    Either way, his Mana Shell¡¯s capacity should to be enough for his current purposes, as catching the knife by the blade had only cost a tenth of a point¡ªprobably not coincidentally the exact amount of mana his Skill used. As long as he kept his Mana Shell topped up, he should be safe to keep practising, even if he did manage to overcharge his Skill a little.

    Measuring the quantities of mana he used was still difficult, so he pushed it out of his pool little by little and kept an eye on his Status as it dispersed, until the counter for his Mana Shell ticked back up to full.

    Immediately thereafter, Rylan lifted his letter opener and activated his Skill. As before, a short, swift stream of mana erupted from his pool without any direct guidance from him, moved through his body, and finally lit up his blade with a dim glow before tapering out.

    However, he didn¡¯t toss the letter opener yet. Instead, he started to manually push another stream of mana from his pool towards the blade, much like he had when he used the fog condenser and pan before.

    Without the assistance of his Skill, the mana moved sluggishly, and he kept having to wrangle it away from his skin. Unfortunately, as he focused on directing his mana, he quickly found himself neglecting his Skill, causing it to sputter out. As the mana he was pushing towards the blade now had nowhere to go, he ended up letting it disperse.

    Perhaps he¡¯d been a bit hasty with refilling his Mana Shell.

    He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and tried again.

    It took a few more attempts before he managed to multitask well enough. Directing a stream of mana up his arm still required close to all of his concentration, but he managed to keep a corner of his mind focused on waving his arm around and keeping his Skill active at the same time.

    He opened his eyes again as the additional mana finally reached the blade. His knife didn¡¯t quite suck in his mana like the cloudmetal had, but his Skill still seemed to accept it quite readily. At first, nothing appeared to happen, but he kept going, feeding more of his mana into the blade. As he did, the glow of the blade he was still waving around slowly started to brighten.

    The question now became, how much could his Skill hold? Soren had said not to overdo it, but how much was too much?

    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    Rylan really needed to get a feeling for how much mana he was handling. Thankfully, he had a reference: the counter for his Mana Pool on his Status Window.

    He kept a careful watch for his Mana Pool to tick down from 10.2 to 10.1 points of mana, which would signify he¡¯d overcharged his Skill to a full 0.2 points of mana: double its normal capacity. The moment it did, he tossed the blade up into a spin.

    It didn¡¯t move differently through the air, but it seemed to have a little more weight somehow as the handle smacked into the palm of his hand.

    The glow around the blade faded. He activated his Skill again.

    At first, he kept overcharging it to only 0.2 points of mana, but as his Skill didn¡¯t seem strained at all, he decided to push on a little, continuing even after the first tick. Still his blade drank up all of the mana.

    Its glow brightened further as it did, and the handle landed in his hand with more and more force. In fact, by the time he reached 0.3 points of mana, his Mana Shell started to react, seeming to lose trace amounts of charge with every catch.

    He pushed on, drawing greater and greater amounts of mana from his pool, and when he got to the point he was pushing in a full 0.4 units of mana each time, he started to feel his Skill start to push back, rejecting the mana he kept forcing into his blade.

    At this point, the glow around his letter opener was about as bright as a candle, and also started to flicker like one. It landed in his hand like the heft of a hammer.

    But he wasn¡¯t satisfied.

    At 0.5 points of added mana, the flickering grew more intense as mana leaked from the edges. The Skill itself, deep in his chest, seemed to be starting to strain as well. It felt unpleasant, kinda like the bones in his hand rubbing together upon receiving a handshake that was too firm.

    He hesitated.

    The sensation wasn¡¯t pleasant, but it wasn¡¯t painful either. In a way, it was providing him with a better sense of his Skill than he¡¯d ever had before, and he felt it should be able to handle a bit more.

    On the other hand... This probably wasn¡¯t the time or place to push.

    Rylan flipped the blade up and caught it, the handle actually hurting his hand a little as it smacked down into it, before the mana he¡¯d painstakingly gathered dispersed again.

    He couldn¡¯t have continued for much longer anyway, he told himself. The warm well of his Mana Pool was feeling rather empty, after all.

    Turning back to his Status Window, he found that his pool contained a mere 1.8 units of mana still; less than he¡¯d thought, actually. His Mana Shell had also taken a beating under the repeated catching of his overcharged Skill, and was now only half-filled.

    If he had managed to push in 0.6 and ended up taking the blade on his hand, that might not have been enough to protect him...

    With a sigh, Rylan sat back. Perhaps he had overdone it a little, but he¡¯d taken it very slow, and the slight ache in his chest felt not unlike that of a well-used muscle, so he wasn¡¯t too worried.

    Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, as he spotted something moving from the corner of his eye. A bone in his neck cracked as he snapped his head to the side, his eyes widening at the dark silhouette that approached through the fog.

    Rylan¡¯s heart sank as he recognised the stretched-out creature as a mist-eel, a creature with a reputation for unprovoked aggression and fierce territoriality.

    He grasped the handle of his boning knife and quietly drew it as he slowly got up, cursing himself for not keeping his Mana Shell filled to the brim.

    While the creature drifted closer, moving sinuously down the middle of the gorge, Rylan considered his options.

    The mist-eel hadn¡¯t shown any signs of aggression yet, but there was no doubt it was aware of Rylan¡¯s presence, considering his glowband. Should he call out and wake his companions now, or wait to see if it would just pass by?

    The mist-eel was close enough now for Rylan to see its pitch-black eyes, so he could tell when it turned to look at him, stopping its sinuous motions but still drifting along in the fog.

    Rylan swallowed. For a moment, everything was utterly quiet, as they stared at each other. Slowly, the mist-eel coiled up, and Rylan muttered a curse, falling into a ready stance as he activated his Skill.

    No time to wake his companions now. If the fogging thing managed to bite him, his screams would do the job anyway.

    Then, from the distance, came a roar, followed by a flare of blue light.

    They both froze. Rylan considered taking the opening, but would really prefer if the fogging thing just moved away, so instead he drew himself up and hissed.

    The mist-eel seemed to consider its options, before it uncoiled and swiftly turned around, swimming back the way it came.

    Rylan sank down against the wall behind him, his legs trembling, and his heart beating in his throat.

    Note to self: keep my Mana Shell topped up at all times down in the cloudsea.

    Still, despite the close call, he was pleased about the progress he¡¯d made with his Skill, and in fact, about how productive his morning had been in general.

    By the time he¡¯d calmed down and refilled his Mana Shell, orange morning light had started to filter down through the fog from above, and he suspected his companions would be waking up soon.

    Well, he supposed there was one more thing he could do to prepare for their departure, and maybe assuage his guilt for almost failing to properly protect them on his watch.

    As if on cue, his stomach growled loudly.

    Rylan sighed, but started digging in the backpack. Part of him baulked at the idea of ever serving a Thistlethorn food again, but it wasn¡¯t like Soren could cook for himself, the spoiled clodpoll. Besides, it would help them get moving faster.

    He kept things simple, taking out some dried rice, mushrooms, and mistweed. He didn¡¯t bother trying to ration the food too much, as there was clearly plenty to eat in this part of the cloudsea.

    Near Thistlebloom, the pickings had been slim due to the constant scouring by the people living there and their cattle, but here there was fresh seafood just floating around, waiting to be grabbed. Rylan was almost tempted to go out looking for some. Almost.

    Instead, he made a simple meal, adding a precise amount of water and pushing out just enough mana to boil the dried rice and vegetables until they were at least semi-palatable. It actually ended up taking most of what he had left in his pool, so he was glad he¡¯d stopped his training in time.

    Either due to the dim light filtering down from above or the smell of the food, his two companions soon started to stir, and one by one got up to join him.

    Neither of them looked particularly well-rested. Soren had thick bags beneath his eyes, and Tamina¡¯s previously pristine braid had hairs sticking out under odd angles.

    Rylan dug out some bamboo chopsticks, and the three of them gathered around to eat straight out of the pan.

    Soren was eating slowly, his face not expressing a great deal of enjoyment about the bland food, while Tamina ate with all the expression of a stone statue.

    If he¡¯d been in a lesser mood, Rylan might have taken offense. ¡°I didn¡¯t have a lot to work with,¡± he said, shrugging apologetically. ¡°But we can probably get some fresh stuff for lunch. Maybe some crab! I know Helen hates it, but you like crab, right Soren?¡±

    As much as Rylan detested cooking, he was a little excited to try preparing some of the things he¡¯d seen the day before. Mostly because actually getting to eat the interesting new foods he¡¯d be preparing made the dull chore seem a lot more worthwhile.

    Soren smiled politely at him, and Tamina grunted. Neither said a word.

    ¡°Well, either way, it¡¯ll be better than this,¡± Rylan continued. ¡°I didn¡¯t bring any herbs, but if there¡¯s one thing I learned in the kitchen, it¡¯s that you can¡¯t beat fresh ingredients for flavour. Ooh, I think I glimpsed some scallops yesterday! It¡¯s been a long time since I¡ª¡±

    ¡°Will you shut up about food?!¡± Tamina shouted suddenly, her head snapping up and her blazing green eyes fixing on him. ¡°We are lost in the fogging cloudsea and you¡¯re planning our lunch; what is wrong with you?!¡±

    Rylan frowned at her, his chipper mood evaporating like a skycloud under the relentless heat of the sun. ¡°We still have to eat, don¡¯t we?¡± he replied curtly. ¡°You know, I didn¡¯t have to cook for you, but I haven¡¯t heard a word of thanks either.¡±

    ¡°Thank you?¡± she repeated incredulously, her voice rising as she continued. ¡°You want me to thank you for making me breakfast, after you got us stranded here in the first place?!¡±

    Rylan¡¯s brows shot up. ¡°Excuse me?!¡±

    ¡°You heard me,¡± Tamina bit out. ¡°It was your gullbrained plan to run off into the cloudsea¡ªin the dark no less¡ªthat got us stuck here. If it wasn¡¯t for you, I¡¯d be sleeping in a real fogging bed right now!¡±

    ¡°What, so you blame the victim?¡± Rylan asked heatedly. ¡°Do you have any idea how the Thistlethorns were treating me?!¡±

    Soren frowned, shifting uncomfortably.

    Tamina sneered. ¡°You mean how they took you in an provided you with food and shelter? Boo-fogging-hoo.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Rylan replied through gritted teeth. ¡°And then they put a deepmetal runegear anklet on me to stop me from leaving, and proceeded to work me to the bone to pay back every single penny they spent on me, including for the anklet.¡±

    Tamina¡¯s expression finally flickered, her brows furrowing as she glanced at Soren.

    ¡°Look, it¡¯s not-it¡¯s not like that,¡± Soren protested. ¡°My family was just trying to protect you!¡±

    ¡°From what, life?!¡±

    ¡°No, from yourself! And for good reason, I might add!¡± he added, gesturing at their surroundings.

    ¡°Well then they did a great fogging job,¡± Rylan shouted, throwing his chopsticks into the pan as he leapt to his feet, blood rushing to his face. ¡°And you too! If you hadn¡¯t fogged me over and told your family about my plans to go live with the Deeptides, none of this would¡¯ve happened!¡±

    ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s now my fault that their contract was ended?¡± Soren protested as he scrambled to his feet as well. ¡°My family would¡¯ve found out you were planning to leave with them eventually anyway! Or what, were you planning to leave without even saying goodbye to anyone?!¡±

    ¡°I wish I had! Or that I¡¯d been smart enough not to let you in on my plans a second time!¡±

    ¡°Your plans?¡± Soren repeated, incredulous, gesticulating wildly. ¡°A non-Quinthar running away through the cloudsea is not a plan! It¡¯s attempted suicide, which I¡¯d hope would be clear by now!¡±

    ¡°Then you should¡¯ve helped me come up with a better plan, you absolute clodmonger!¡± Rylan yelled.

    ¡°I tried that, you wouldn¡¯t listen to me!¡±

    ¡°What, you mean your suggestion to go talk to your family about my debt?¡± Rylan asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. ¡°Sure. Great plan. I¡¯m sure they would¡¯ve agreed to just drop the whole thing if I¡¯d only asked nicely.¡±

    ¡°Well you never tried, did you?!¡± Soren shouted, poking Rylan in the chest with a finger, the way Miss Amberleaf liked to do. ¡°You decided my family were the villains, and then you shut us all out! Even me!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t fogging touch me!¡± Rylan snarled, shoving Soren away.

    Soren stumbled back a pace, then immediately bounced forward, getting in Rylan¡¯s face. ¡°Oh you don¡¯t like hearing that, huh? Don¡¯t like hearing about how you dropped me like a hot coal?!¡±

    A red haze clouded Rylan¡¯s mind, rendering him short of words. So he drew back his fist.

 Chapter 20: Perspectives

    It had happened on Soren¡¯s tenth birthday.

    Soren remembered being so excited for the day, too. Chef Zelim was going to make him an actual apple pie; a rare treat, as their island lacked an orchard. They had his mother¡¯s greenhouse to grow stuff in, but it was too small for full-sized fruit trees, so she only grew things like berries, grapes, and vegetables.

    Now, he barely remembered the pie. The memory of its taste had been tainted by the bitterness that had followed it.

    It was that morning his father had informed him that, starting the next day, his schedule was going to change. He was no longer going to follow classes from Master Gullfeather with his friends.

    Somewhere, Soren had known he¡¯d be graduating the class on his tenth birthday. He just hadn¡¯t really comprehended what that meant.

    It turned out to mean he would move on to being schooled by his grandmother herself, and a variety of tutors under her supervision, that all specified in boring things like history, art, and manners. And the lessons would take up not just the morning¡ªlike Master Gullfeather¡¯s had¡ªbut all afternoon as well.

    And so started his days of sitting up in the tower, watching enviously as Rylan and Zahra played outside in the sun.

    He¡¯d felt a little vindicated when his friends had gotten chores to fill up their days after their own tenth birthdays, but in truth it had only made it harder for him to see them, further widened the gap between them.

    Worst of all, however, had been the gradual change in the way Rylan looked at him. Soren¡¯s best friend had seemed less and less happy to see him. Instead, he¡¯d started to look sour, miffed... resentful. Like Soren had done something to him. Like Soren¡¯s schedule wasn¡¯t even fuller, his life even more restricted.

    So as Rylan prepared to punch him, with that same look Soren had come to hate so on his face once again, Soren did not hesitate to draw back his own fist as well.

    ¡°ENOUGH!¡± Tamina yelled, forcibly inserting herself between them and pushing them apart with surprising strength. ¡°By Singghir, and you call yourself Quinthar?! I don''t care if you hate each other¡¯s guts, but our odds of survival are bad enough without the two of you going at it!¡±

    Her mention of the Great Spirit of Fire was enough to shake Soren from the fugue he¡¯d started slipping into, and he didn¡¯t resist as she pushed him further back.

    Rylan shook her hand off his shoulder, but stepped back as well, turning his glare on her. ¡°Don¡¯t go acting all high and mighty, Thar. You¡¯re the one who started pointing fingers in the first place! Did you take into account that you¡¯re the one that basically ran us off the cliff?¡±

    ¡°It collapsed,¡± Tamina corrected, narrowing her eyes. ¡°And I was just following orders.¡±

    ¡°Oh, so if Vidric tells you to jump off a cliff, you just do it?¡±

    She glared back at him, and threw her hands in the air. ¡°You know what? I changed my mind. Go ahead and beat each other to a pulp for all I care. Just remember that we¡¯ve got only one fog condenser, so we¡¯re going to be stuck together for a long fogging time. Thanks for breakfast.¡±

    With that, she turned around and stomped over to the backpack, pointedly picking up the condenser and twisting off the cup to take a sip before sitting down with her back against the wall of rock.

    The reminder of the situation they were in was like a bucket of cold water splashing down Soren¡¯s back. Not that he wasn¡¯t wet and cold all over already from the damn fog.

    Either way, Tamina was right that they couldn¡¯t afford to fight amongst each other, not down here. Despite the encounter with the armadon the day before, Rylan still didn¡¯t seem to fully comprehend how much danger they were in, but Soren had seen the numbers.

    Most sailors never made it back to shore after a crash in the cloudsea, and that was when they landed in between islands. There was no telling how far they were from the nearest peak that actually crested the fog.

    Still, most sailors weren¡¯t Quinthar. They definitely had a chance of making it out alive, but only if they could work together, so he took a deep breath and consciously relaxed his posture.

    Rylan shot him another resentful look, but didn¡¯t seem inclined to make another attempt at starting a fistfight either. Instead, he produced a rag, sat down, and started aggressively cleaning the pan and chopsticks.

    Soren let out a sigh, and moved to the other side of the gorge, where he lay down on the bedroll, feeling rather drained.

    Sometime later, it was Tamina who broke the silence. ¡°Look,¡± she started tersely. ¡°Regardless of whose fault it is, we¡¯re here now, and we can¡¯t just sit around. The longer we spend down here, the worse our odds of survival get, so we need to get moving.¡±

    Soren rubbed his eyes with a groan.

    For a moment, he considered poking through the tough front she was obviously putting on to try and take charge. It¡¯s what his grandmother would do. However, it was quite obvious Tamina was the more experienced Quinthar, despite that she couldn¡¯t have been one for much more than three years or so, as she didn¡¯t look that much older.

    And either way, Soren¡¯s knowledge of the cloudsea was mostly academic, as the few carefully controlled ventures he¡¯d made into the cloudsea had never been too deep or too long.

    So he ultimately just got up and started rolling up the bedroll, and when Rylan spoke up after a moment, he left it up to her to answer.

    ¡°What¡¯s our plan to get out of here, exactly?¡± Rylan asked. ¡°Are we going to try signal for help?¡±

    Tamina raised a brow at him. ¡°And how exactly do you see us doing that?¡±

    Rylan blinked. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve heard stories of sailors letting up red buoys to mark the location of their shipwreck...¡±

    ¡°Did you bring any buoys?¡± Tamina asked dryly. ¡°Did you bring rope to attach them to?¡±

    Soren saw the muscles in Rylan¡¯s jaw starting to clench again but did nothing to interfere. Thankfully¡ªor unfortunately, a small part of him whispered¡ªTamina seemed to see it too.

    She held up a hand, stalling the angry retort Rylan was clearly working up to. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to be mean,¡± she said with a sigh. ¡°Just trying to get you to understand the severity of our situation. I¡¯m assuming you haven¡¯t been in the cloudsea much, so let me clarify: judging by the light, we¡¯re in deep. We might be as much as a mile down, so even if we had a buoy, odds are it wouldn¡¯t even reach the driftline.¡±

    ¡°What about building a cloudship, then?¡± Rylan asked, stubborn as always. ¡°If we got our hands on a big enough gasbladder, we could use the fog condenser to suck out the fog and make it float, right?¡±

    ¡°Well, the only big gasbladders we had available will have burnt to a crisp by now,¡± Tamina replied. ¡°So we have no materials, no tools, and I don¡¯t know about you, but I¡¯ve got no experience with building something like that. Frankly, the only way I see us getting out of here is on foot.¡±

    ¡°On foot?¡± Rylan repeated bleakly. ¡°Is that really our best option? We still have no idea where we are, right? What direction would we even go in?¡±

    Tamina shrugged. ¡°Up. The way out of the cloudsea is only ever up. We just have to hope that whatever peak we reach is high enough to breach the driftline.¡±

    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°And if it¡¯s not?¡±

    ¡°Then we keep going.¡±

    Soren maintained his silence as they climbed up out of the gorge and started their trek across a relatively barren stretch of sandy cloudbed, looking for any kind of upward slope.

    The idea of moving ¡®up¡¯ seemed simple enough, but as Soren soon discovered, it proved to be anything but. Even with daylight filtering through, they could only maybe see sixty feet ahead, and as they continued walking through the shifting sand, the landscape started to roll, the sand shaped into small dunes that went up and down.

    But there really wasn¡¯t a better way to navigate the depths of the cloudsea that he knew of. Thus they kept moving, with Tamina in the lead, only spotting the occasional swarm of fogfish or lone jellyfloat as they quietly trudged through the sand. There either were few crabs here, or they were all buried in the sand and keeping quiet.

    Soren didn¡¯t mind the silence. He had a lot to think about.

    The argument earlier had brought up a lot of old hurt, hurt that he thought he¡¯d gotten over. Perhaps he¡¯d never had. Perhaps he¡¯d just let it fester.

    He¡¯d fantasised about shouting at Rylan like that. It should¡¯ve been cathartic, to finally let out some of the anger at how abandoned he¡¯d felt by his best friend, how alienated because of their difference in status, which existed through no fault of his. How unfair he¡¯d felt the way they¡¯d treated him had been.

    But the catharsis he¡¯d expected hadn¡¯t come. Instead, there was this hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach.

    He frowned as he continued trudging. The way Rylan had talked about his family had been... hard to hear. Something about the tone Rylan had used had made him angry. It was like Rylan thought of them as nothing more than his-his jailors. As if he¡¯d forgotten all the good times, the endless games of hide-and-seek and tag with Helen, Soren¡¯s mother kissing the scrapes on his knees and saying ¡®all better,¡¯ the holiday celebrations where Soren¡¯s father would actually sing, the sleepovers where his grandmother would read them bedtime stories...

    At the same time, the pit in his stomach gnawed at him. Rylan had put it rather harshly, but hadn¡¯t Soren baulked at the way his family had treated his friend, too? Truth be told, despite his grandmother¡¯s attempts to explain, he¡¯d never really understood his family¡¯s reaction to Rylan¡¯s wish to leave.

    In his mind, he¡¯d always expected that Rylan would go see some of the world, and then eventually make his way back with more appreciation for their little slice of paradise. Though perhaps that had been na?ve...

    After all, he too had gotten swept up in the fantasy of a little shared apartment in a free city at some point.

    In front of him, Rylan once again shifted the straps of his backpack.

    Part of Soren wanted to offer to take it for a while, but another, pettier part, wanted to do no such thing whatsoever.

    The deciding factor was a third part that feared Rylan might snap at him if addressed.

    Tamina needed access to her shield, so unless Rylan asked Soren directly, he could carry it a little longer. It shouldn¡¯t be too heavy down in the fog anyway.

    Nowhere near as heavy as Soren¡¯s mood, anyway.

    Rylan tried to hold on to his anger, but as they slogged through the sand for hours, hardly speaking a word, it slowly got ground away under the monotony.

    As the fire in his belly died out, he was frustrated to find guilt seeping into its place. Despite this, he stubbornly refused the recurring urge to glance at Soren, keeping his eyes on the fog as he tried not to think of the wounded look his former friend¡¯s face had taken on earlier, when he¡¯d accused Rylan of shutting him out.

    Stop feeling sorry for him, Rylan, nothing¡¯s changed! He¡¯s still concerned only with himself, and if that¡¯s made him lonely, he¡¯s deserved it.

    Of course, that didn¡¯t mean Soren deserved to have gotten dragged into this mess with Rylan. And Tamina definitely hadn¡¯t deserved it.

    Fog...

    Eventually, the terrain changed again, the rolling sand giving way for slightly rockier ground with a mild-yet-clear upward slope.

    Onwards and upwards they went, but the excitement of the change quickly faded into a new monotony and as his emotions dulled, Rylan was getting quite bored. He kind of wanted to practise his Skill more, however, his Mana Pool had only refilled to about a third over the course of the morning.

    He snapped out of his reverie when Tamina came to an abrupt halt.

    ¡°What is it?¡± he asked as he moved up next to her, his throat a bit hoarse from disuse. ¡°Why are we stopping?¡±

    She pointed ahead, her face solemn. ¡°It¡¯s a coral reef.¡±

    Rylan squinted at the hazy shapes in the distance. He could vaguely see hints of red, pink, and yellow that rose about three feet above the sand. ¡°I guess that looks kinda inconvenient to walk through...¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand,¡± she replied sombrely. ¡°The corals themselves aren¡¯t the issue. Reefs offer shelter to all kinds of cloudlife. And prey attracts predators.¡±

    Rylan¡¯s throat tightened. After last night, she didn¡¯t have to elaborate on what she meant by that.

    ¡°Plus,¡± she continued. ¡°This is just the edge of the reef. The coral here is young, immature. Further in, it¡¯ll tower over us, a natural maze.¡±

    Rylan frowned. ¡°A maze? Can¡¯t we just, I dunno, climb over them?¡±

    Tamina pursed her lips. ¡°Some of them, maybe, but most corals are both sharp and brittle. They don¡¯t exactly make for convenient climbing.¡±

    Soren, who¡¯d come to a halt on Tamina¡¯s other side, let out a sigh. ¡°What now then?¡±

    Rylan could no longer resist sneaking a glance at him, but Soren didn¡¯t meet his eyes. It was the first thing he¡¯d said since their fight that morning.

    Tamina bit her lip for a moment, then squared her shoulders. ¡°Let¡¯s try to push on for a bit. We don¡¯t know how big this reef is; it might not be that bad. And at the very least, there¡¯ll be plenty of fresh ingredients for Mister Lunch.¡±

    Rylan¡¯s initial instinct was to bristle at the jab, but he was emotionally drained, and the slight quirk of her lip told him she¡¯d probably meant it as an attempt to lighten the mood, so he ended up just shaking his head. ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s keep moving then.¡±

    While Rylan did his best to keep his eyes peeled for Malequints while they moved in, it was hard not to get sucked into the wondrous sights unfolding around them as they walked deeper into the reef.

    Colourful fogfish and dextrous octopi darted between the bright corals, snatching up drifting algae and mistweed shoots, while small crabs scurried away from them over the sand and rocks.

    Curious seahorses came flitting by as well, beating their tiny wings, and a young one even landed on Rylan¡¯s outstretched finger, grasping it with its little tail. It was startled away when a swarm of fogfish came flying over, moving in mesmerising unison as they tried to escape from a couple of penguins. The odd, fog-flying birds soared through the mist with a grace Rylan could never have imagined from how helplessly they seemed to waddle on beaches.

    Unfortunately, even after fifteen minutes of walking, the end of the reef was not yet in sight. Worse, like Tamina had predicted, the corals were only getting higher and higher, further limiting visibility.

    ¡°All right,¡± Tamina finally said, bringing them to a halt. ¡°Decision time. We can either keep moving deeper into the reef, see if we can find our way through without getting turned around, or we can try to start walking around it, risking a very long detour.¡±

    Rylan frowned, considering his options.

    ¡°Maybe we should go around,¡± Soren suggested suddenly. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t want Ryles to feel trapped.¡±

    Rylan stiffened, then glared at the slightly older boy, who met his gaze defiantly. ¡°Don¡¯t pretend to understand my feelings, Soren. You never will.¡±

    ¡°Clearly,¡± Soren replied icily.

    Tamina let out a sigh, rubbing her temple. ¡°This is neither the time nor the place for you two to duke it out, so please, just...¡±

    She trailed off when Soren held up a hand, suddenly looking tense, his eyes darting around as he cocked his head like he was listening for something.

    Rylan frowned, folding his arms over his chest, waiting for the pun. Frankly, he didn¡¯t hear anything. Which... was actually kinda weird. Where was the chittering of crustaceans? The susurrus of fogfish darting through the haze?

    Tamina cursed, drawing her shield, and Rylan turned in the direction she was facing.

    Behind them, in the direction they¡¯d come from, stood a familiar creature, sniffing the sand. The armadon Malequint.

    It looked up, and excitement flashed through its beady black eyes, before it drew a big breath.

    As one, they turned and ran. Within moments, blue light lit up their surroundings, throwing shadows of their running figures on the colourful corals.

    Rylan dove over a nearby, lower coral growth, and hunkered down. Bright blue flames streamed past, the breathtaking heat causing his Mana Shell to glow in response.

    Then he was scrambling to his feet again and running. His companions came out of their own hiding spots and joined him in a mad dash deeper into the reef.

    Low-pitched, accelerating thuds told him the Malequint was giving chase.

    ¡°How the fog is it here?!¡± Rylan shouted as he ran.

    ¡°It must¡¯ve followed our scent!¡± Tamina shouted back. ¡°It probably retreated to lick its wounds and returned to pick up our trail in the morning!¡±

    ¡°You mean it¡¯s hunting us?!¡± Rylan exclaimed, baffled. ¡°Thanks, Soren!¡±

    Soren didn¡¯t reply, looking straight ahead in grim determination as he leapt over a small piece of coral with a flourish, clearly using his Skill.

    ¡°It¡¯s not his fault,¡± Tamina returned, exasperated. ¡°It¡¯s after us because we¡¯re Quinthar. Malequints hunt us and each other to grow stronger!¡±

    Rylan did a double-take at that. He¡¯d been under the impression being a Quinthar would make him safer in the cloudsea... It sounded more like it painted a target on his back.

    ¡°It¡¯s not going to give up,¡± Soren called out grimly. ¡°If we can¡¯t lose this thing... we¡¯ll have to kill it!¡±

 Chapter 21: Knives

    Soren¡¯s right, Rylan thought reluctantly as they ran, turning the corner around a towering, tree-like, bright-red coral, with the dull thumps of the chasing armadon behind them. This won¡¯t end until either it¡¯s dead... or we are.

    Tamina seemed to have come to the same conclusion, as she suddenly dug her heels in the sand and spun around to face it. ¡°If we¡¯re going on the offensive we better do it now, before it builds up more of that flammable spit! Soren, I¡¯ll get its attention, you harry it from behind!¡±

    ¡°Say no more!¡± Soren replied, jumping up and kicking off an old-pink coral to reverse his momentum before proceeding to run straight at the approaching armadon.

    Rylan hesitantly slowed down. ¡°What about me?¡±

    Tamina already had her shield out, and waved her right hand at him dismissively before using it to draw her sword. ¡°Stay back. We¡¯ll handle this.¡±

    Rylan frowned. Surely he could help somehow. He¡¯d been practising with overcharging his Skill all morning, and while he had no idea how strong that actually made his Knife-Throwing, he felt like it should pack a decent punch.

    On the other hand, he¡¯d only recovered about a third of his mana, and he still felt the occasional twinge in his chest from the strain he¡¯d put on his Skill.

    He¡¯d have to make each knife count.

    While he came to a decision, Soren leapt onto the armadon in an admittedly graceful move, and actually ran a few steps over its backplates, rapier in hand.

    The creature looked confused and angry about this, but before it could turn around, it was met by Tamina, who slashed at its head with her blade.

    In response, the armadon opened its maw and lunged forward, but its teeth ended up only scratching noisily over her steel shield. It rose up slightly, and lashed out with one of its meaty paws. Despite the sheen of light that covered her shield, it still landed with a mighty clang, and Rylan expected her to be pushed back quite a bit. However, light flashed under her feet and she took only a single step back before coming to a halt again.

    What Skill was that?

    The armadon seemed surprised at her fortitude as well, but before it could lash out again, Soren slashed at one of its rear legs. Hissing angrily, it glanced back and swiped with its hefty tail, but the young noble sprang out of the way just in time.

    The area they were fighting in was relatively wide, so Rylan drew one of his longer blades¡ªa ten-inch single-bevelled filleting knife¡ªand made use of the armadon¡¯s distraction to move to its flank.

    As soon as he was in position, he flipped the knife to grab it by the blade, activated his Skill and started manually pushing in mana until he had half a point in total humming in his weapon.

    Interestingly, holding his knife by the blade actually seemed to help Rylan keep the mana stable as the glow around his weapon brightened and started to flutter. While his Skill protested a little at the sudden rough treatment, he was still able to complete the overcharge. The moment his blade¡¯s glow reached the highest intensity he¡¯d previously achieved, Rylan took a quick step forward and whipped it at the creature¡¯s flank.

    Unfortunately, the knife was heavier and longer than what he was used to throwing, and ended up spinning through the air slower as a result. It couldn¡¯t quite complete the half-spin Rylan needed in the short ten feet to his target before it smacked into the creature¡¯s side with a meaty thud.

    He was pleasantly surprised to see the knife still manage to cut through the armadon¡¯s armoured plates. However, due to the poor angle it landed under, it didn¡¯t seem to have actually penetrated the hide underneath deep enough to draw blood.

    In fact, the creature didn¡¯t even respond, keeping its eyes on Tamina as she stepped back to avoid its attempt to grasp the side of her shield in its maw.

    Swearing under his breath, Rylan drew a straight-edged boning knife with a six-inch blade¡ªmore the length he was used to¡ªand moved closer to the armadon¡¯s face.

    He¡¯d have to hit a softer target if he wanted to make a difference. Once more, he grasped his knife by the blade and fed it lots of mana, despite the discomfort in his chest.

    This time, he aimed for a beady black eye. Waving his blade around, he tried to wait for an opportune moment, when the armadon would hold still for a second, but it kept moving. Finally, he could tell he was starting to lose grip on the mana invested in his Skill, so he just flung his knife, hoping to score a lucky hit.

    The medium-sized knife soared through the air, spinning the exact right amount to land tip forward. However, the armadon had moved, and instead of its eye, the blade hit the scales on its cheek right below. The sharp knife left a bloody scratch before it sailed off, ending up boring itself into a pale-yellow coral.

    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    This time, the armadon did respond, hissing and turning its head towards Rylan. He quickly stepped back, but Tamina immediately punished the creature¡¯s lack of attention by lashing out with her sword and drawing another angry red stripe on its face.

    Rylan couldn¡¯t help but notice that her sword never glowed when she did. It seemed she didn¡¯t have Sword-Fighting yet.

    Tamina kept her eyes on the creature, her brows furrowed, but still addressed him. ¡°Fine, you can help; just don¡¯t hit me!¡±

    Rylan nodded grimly, even though she wasn¡¯t looking. He honestly wasn¡¯t too worried about friendly fire; his aim wasn¡¯t bad, its beady black eyes were just too small. And moreover, they were constantly on the move.

    Hitting an eye would take not just a great throw, but moreover, incredible luck. But what else could he aim for?

    He fingered the handles of his knives as he hesitated, waiting for some kind of opening to present itself.

    Its hide is too thick on the sides and top. Its belly would be better, but it hasn¡¯t really reared up or anything yet. And even if I managed to hit that, it probably wouldn¡¯t do much. There¡¯s gotta be somewhere soft and painful I can target...

    He watched as Soren darted in with a series of rapid steps and carved another line in the armadon¡¯s hindleg. His companions seemed to be holding themselves well enough, but the creature didn¡¯t appear very hurt either. If this was going to come down to a battle of endurance, he wasn¡¯t sure who¡¯d end up holding the longer piece of bamboo.

    How big were their Mana Pools? And how long until the creature could use its fiery breath again?

    His attention was drawn to the armadon¡¯s teeth as it once more twisted its head to the side and tried to latch onto the edge of Tamina¡¯s shield, probably in an attempt to wrench it loose. He hadn¡¯t noticed last time¡ªperhaps because the beast had been on fire¡ªbut its teeth were glowing, and not with the white of regular mana, but a bright, angry red that lit up its whole mouth.

    Rylan¡¯s eyes widened, and as Tamina deftly evaded the attempt before punishing it by bashing her glowing shield into its snout, he decisively took out Zelim¡¯s paring knife.

    It was his shortest blade, so he¡¯d have to move a bit closer to compensate for its faster spin, but that was exactly what he was planning to do anyway.

    He¡¯d probably get only one chance at this regardless.

    Waving his blade around as he charged it, he cautiously crept closer, keeping an eye out for an opportunity.

    The armadon got distracted by Soren again, and glanced back to lash out with its tail at the young noble harrying its hindlegs and flanks, so Rylan had to grit his teeth and wait for Tamina to draw its attention again.

    The mana surrounding his blade flickered and trembled as his Skill protested, but Rylan held on, waiting for the right moment.

    Finally, the creature turned back to the front, twisted its head to the side, and opened its mouth.

    Fast as a mist-eel, Rylan whipped his hand forward and hurled the glowing blade. It flew through the air, completing its half-spin just before it disappeared into the armadon¡¯s gullet. With a solid thwack, it buried itself into the creature¡¯s soft palate.

    This time, the armadon¡¯s reaction was immediate. It aborted its attack, drawing back its head like a fogturtle trying to hide in its buoyant shell.

    It kept working its jaw, as if trying to dislodge the blade, blood hissing as it dripped onto its glowing teeth. However, the knife was embedded firmly into its flesh and it quickly grew agitated, then panicked when Tamina landed a clean stab into its shoulder, drawing blood.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let it get away!¡± Tamina yelled as it started clumsily backing up.

    Soren was way ahead of her, however, and made use of the opportunity to sink his rapier deep into the hollow of the armadon¡¯s right knee.

    It roared angrily, a sound that halfway turned into a choking cough as more blood sprayed from its half-open mouth, then it turned and started to flee, limping slightly with its right hindleg.

    Tamina immediately dashed after it, and Soren, after ducking and rolling out of the way, followed suit. Rylan scrambled to scoop up his filleting knife and free his boning knife from the yellow coral, not willing to risk losing the precious tools, then ran after them as fast as he could.

    Trying to catch up was good practice for the Running Skill, he reckoned.

    Up ahead, Soren and Tamina were harrying it from both sides as it scrambled through the maze-like reef. The creature didn¡¯t make it easy, however. In what appeared to be a growing panic, it started smacking into corals left and right, the sharp structures chipping off pieces of its protective plates before they collapsed in its wake, hindering Rylan¡¯s companions.

    Finally, it ran into a piece of coral that was just a bit too sturdy for its shoulder. It shook, but didn¡¯t budge, and the creature was skid sideways across the sand as it was brought to a halt.

    Soren closed the distance with a series of series of fast, rhythmic steps, and went for a stab in the neck. However, the armadon twisted its head to face him at the same time. Rylan¡ªwho¡¯d managed to get pretty close¡ªspotted a yellow mist welling up in its bleeding mouth, illuminated by its glowing teeth.

    His heart jolted, and without time to think, he did the only thing he could think of: he accelerated his steps and dove.

    Soren let out an ¡®oomph¡¯ as Rylan speared into his side. Thanks to the floaty fog, Soren was easily lifted off his feet and pushed aside, his strike interrupted.

    Their combined momentum carried the two of them into a tangle to the side, right as bright blue fire blasted through the space Soren had just occupied.

    Unfortunately, while Rylan¡¯s tackle had delayed the inevitable, they were not out of harm¡¯s way.

    As the armadon started to turn its head towards them, however, Rylan looked up just in time to see Tamina to literally come bursting through the flames, the white glow of her Mana Shell wreathed in blue tongues of fire as she bashed the armadon¡¯s head back to the other side with her shield.

    Then, before it could recover, she jammed her sword into its open mouth, straight through the soft palate, into its brain.

    It was well known that while the spirit was the seat of consciousness, it was the brain that controlled one¡¯s body. Thus, it came as no surprise when the armadon¡¯s eyes rolled back into its head and it started to twitch, the blue flames that were still streaming from its mouth quickly petering out before they died down completely.

    Then, as Tamina drew back her sword, Rylan felt a by-now-familiar sense of presence descend. Except it wasn¡¯t focused on him but on the armadon. Faint wisps of blue light seemed to stream from the creature¡¯s chest, before coalescing in front of them into a collection of glowing Cubes that hovered for a moment, then fell down and landed gently on the sand.

    They¡¯d done it. They¡¯d killed a Malequint.

 Chapter 22: Lunch

    Soren cleared his throat, reminding Rylan that he was still physically covering the older boy. He quickly rolled off onto his backpack and sprang to his feet.

    Meanwhile, Tamina replaced the shield on her back and yanked her sword from the armadon¡¯s still lightly smouldering mouth. Producing a rag from somewhere, she started cleaning her blade.

    ¡°Thanks for the save, Thar Tamina,¡± Rylan said earnestly, only in part to fill the awkward silence.

    He and Soren had been arguing when the armadon showed up, and he wasn¡¯t entirely sure where they stood after everything that had just happened.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± she replied calmly, before turning her piercing green eyes to him with a somewhat wry expression. ¡°You do realise Soren was about to do what I just did, before you tackled him out of the way, right?¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Rylan reluctantly turned back to the young Thistlethorn. ¡°Were you?¡±

    Soren scratched his neck. ¡°Well, something like it. Even if its flames had hit me dead-on, my Mana Shell should have held for a bit. Long enough for me to strike a good blow and get out of the way, probably.¡±

    ¡°Ah. Ehm, how strong are your Mana Shells, exactly, if I might ask?¡±

    To Rylan¡¯s slight surprise, Soren didn¡¯t hold back in telling him.

    ¡°Mine is Tier 5, meaning it holds at most 5 points of mana. I¡¯m guessing Tamina can¡¯t answer that question, but I get the feeling hers is a bit stronger, though I doubt she¡¯s quite hit Tier 10 yet¡ªthe cap for Emerald Grade Quinthar. But regardless, I, you know... appreciate what you were trying to do.¡±

    Rylan found his head bobbing up and down of its own volition. ¡°Sure. You would¡¯ve done the same for me.¡±

    Soren looked at him far too seriously. ¡°I would have.¡±

    The armadon had stopped twitching, so Rylan tried to escape the awkwardness by crouching down next to its mouth and gingerly reaching in to remove his paring knife. The blade was lodged firmly in the creature¡¯s palate, and its handle was slippery with blood, but with some wiggling, he managed to pull it free.

    Tamina offered him her rag, which he gratefully accepted.

    ¡°You, ehm, you did well,¡± she said as he cleaned his knife. ¡°Did you intend to do that? Throw into its mouth, I mean?¡±

    ¡°Ah, yes. I did.¡±

    ¡°Smart,¡± she said with a nod, before gesturing at the pile of glowing Cubes lying in the sand. ¡°You two should divide these amongst yourselves and exchange them for Credits.¡±

    Rylan blinked. ¡°Don¡¯t you want any?¡±

    She shook her head.

    ¡°She probably isn¡¯t allowed to offer them to Ethereon without permission,¡± Soren explained. ¡°In fact, I bet if she picks any up, she¡¯s obliged to keep it until she can hand it over to the Talons.¡±

    Tamina shot him a cool look, but didn¡¯t contradict him. Rylan was starting to wonder if she was even allowed to comment on his speculation. Most likely the non-disclosure clause Soren mentioned earlier covered the Contract¡¯s terms as well...

    He frowned, turning to her. ¡°Then how do you tier up your Quint Structures?¡±

    She shot him a weird look. ¡°By Ethereon¡¯s generosity, of course.¡±

    ¡°We get rewards for gaining ranks in Skills,¡± Soren explained, apparently still feeling helpful. ¡°100 Quintessence Credits for a rank in a Common Skill, including the first. And they go up to rank 10, so it adds up.¡±

    At least that answered why Rylan had received 100 Standard Quintessence Credits. But those could only be converted into Cubes at a rate of 10 Credits per Cube, and from what he understood, offering a Cube to Ethereon would only afford him a single Credit.

    Rylan put his clean knife away, and made to reach for a Cube, but then hesitated, thinking of the measly amount of coin in his possession. ¡°Isn¡¯t it kind of a waste to offer these to Ethereon? I mean, it seems like they¡¯re worth quite a bit more like this.¡±

    Tamina raised a brow at him. ¡°You¡¯re worried about money right now? Seriously?¡±

    ¡°Hey, I still have a debt to pay, all right?¡±

    She scoffed. ¡°And I¡¯m supposed to believe you still plan on paying it, after doing all this?¡±

    Rylan raised his chin. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve been listening, but I¡¯m not the unreasonable party here. I will pay back every last bit, and then I¡¯m done with¡ª¡±

    ¡°Rylan,¡± Soren interrupted annoyedly. ¡°Just¡ªforget about the stupid debt for now, all right? We¡¯re stuck down in the cloudsea, and in the grand scheme of things, it¡¯s really not that important anyway.¡±

    Rylan turned to him, his brows furrowing, and the embers in his stomach flaring to life. ¡°That¡¯s easy for you to say,¡± he bit out. ¡°You don¡¯t have a clue what it¡¯s like to have that kind of obligation hanging over your head, dictating the course of your life.¡±

    ¡°You think I don¡¯t have obligations dictating the course of my life?¡± Soren asked, incredulous. ¡°Are you being serious right now?!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not the same! When it comes down to it, you have the option of telling your family to go f¡ª¡±

    ¡°Enough!¡± Tamina yelled once more. ¡°Again, neither the time nor the place. Somebody offer these Cubes to Ethereon so we can move on.¡±

    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Rylan and Soren maintained eye contact for a moment longer, before Soren finally turned away, his shoulders slumping.

    Rylan took a deep breath and turned away as well, taking a moment to rub his palms into his eyes. ¡°Look, whether my debt is important or not, the Cubes are worth more like this, right? If we need to exchange them for Credits, can¡¯t we just do that later?¡±

    Tamina let out a sigh. ¡°You don¡¯t know. I should¡¯ve guessed. Look, Cubes attract Malequints. A common strategy for hunts is to bring a bunch of them in a container lined with darkmetal to obscure their presence, and then pull them out as bait. I¡¯m pretty sure I didn¡¯t spot any darkmetal among our supplies, which is why I suggested we offer the Cubes to Ethereon.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Rylan finally crouched down and picked up one of the Cubes. The glowing, physical Quint deposits were about double the size of similarly shaped dice, and lighter than he¡¯d expected. Actually, it felt less like they had weight, and more like they simply gently resisted being moved. Weird...

    ¡°Just take all of them,¡± Soren said, his voice tight. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±

    Rylan hesitated for a moment, then picked up a few more, not wanting to start another argument. Credits could always be transferred, like Soren had done before. However, the pile was far too large to fit into his hands. ¡°How do I, ehm...¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to physically grab them. Just hold your hand over the lot and state your intention to Ethereon,¡± Tamina replied.

    Rylan dropped the handful he¡¯d grabbed, and held his hand over the pile as instructed. ¡°Blessed Ethereon, please accept my offering of these Cubes.¡±

    ¡¶Quintessence exchange requested,¡·Ethereon¡¯s voice droned after a few seconds.¡¶Exchanging 38 Cubes for 38 Credits. Do you accept?¡·

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Rylan watched with equal amounts of fascination and heartache as the pile of Cubes crumbled into motes of blue light that dispersed into the air around him, and then flew off.

    ¡°All right, we should get moving,¡± Tamina said, looking around as she rolled her right shoulder. ¡°Scavengers will show up soon.¡±

    Rylan took another look at the massive carcass, fingering the handle of Chef Zelim¡¯s prized cleaver. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we cut some meat off for lunch first?¡±

    Tamina made a face. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t recommend it. But you can cut out its canines, if you like. The firemetal in its teeth is too difficult to extract, but the sharper ones are worth something to Quinthar archers.¡±

    Rylan didn¡¯t need to be told twice. He quickly took out his boning knife and got to work.

    ¡°I take it you¡¯ve eaten armadon before then?¡± Soren asked after a moment, sounding like he was very much making an effort to sound normal.

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s very tough and stringy. You need to slow-cook it for hours to make it somewhat palatable.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll find something else,¡± Rylan stated as he started carving through the creature¡¯s thick gums.

    An awkward silence fell as he continued his work. Even in the armadon¡¯s mouth, its flesh was indeed rather tough, but he was making headway.

    Soren cleared his throat. ¡°You know, a worshipper of Singghir might like to wear a tooth like that as a protective charm, or something.¡±

    Rylan perked up his ears. Tamina had called out the name of the Great Spirit of Fire when she separated them earlier...

    ¡°True followers of Singghir don¡¯t concern themselves with accessories,¡± Tamina replied calmly. ¡°Only the glory of battle.¡±

    ¡°I suppose you would know, huh?¡±

    Tamina shot Soren a look. ¡°Real subtle. If you must know, I¡¯m no die-hard Zenite. However, while I¡¯m not big on spirituality, I¡¯ve had my share of battles, and it can¡¯t hurt to have a Great Spirit on your side.¡±

    Rylan nodded to himself. His feelings about Zeph were quite similar. He was pretty doubtful whether anything was listening to his lately rather frequent prayers, but it could never hurt to try.

    Finished removing the canines, he stood up. ¡°All right, let¡¯s get going.¡±

    Soren cocked his head to the side, his brows furrowed. ¡°Ehm, what way were we heading, again?¡±

    When no one spoke up for several long seconds, Tamina let out a sigh. ¡°Let¡¯s just try to go up.¡±

    Like Tamina had warned, the reef was a real maze. It made for slow going, especially when they hit a dead-end.

    When the coral they were faced with seemed sturdy enough to hold their weight, they sometimes tried climbing it. When that didn¡¯t work, they had to backtrack to keep moving in the direction they wanted to.

    Not that it was very easy to determine what direction was ¡®up¡¯ inside a maze-like reef.

    They talked little as they walked, and it was really only Rylan and Soren interacting with Tamina, never each other. The mood had clearly shifted after Rylan had shoved Soren out of harm¡¯s way¡ªalbeit unnecessarily¡ªbut there was still a lingering tension between them.

    Rylan wasn¡¯t sure what to think. He didn¡¯t necessarily want to fight with Soren, but he couldn¡¯t forgive his former friend just because they needed to cooperate.

    He was also getting kinda hungry, so instead of thinking about it much more, he occupied himself by keeping an eye out for good eating along the way. He ended up prying loose a variety of large shells that he recognised, containing different kind of shellfish. He also snatched up some young greens sprouting from the sand. Finally, they came across a large crab.

    Rylan immediately pulled out Zelim¡¯s chef¡¯s knife, and charged up his Skill. His spirit protested the action, so he didn¡¯t try to add any additional mana, simply relying on its base power to try and punch through the creature¡¯s exoskeleton.

    It proved enough, and they decided to have lunch there and then.

    Soren was useless in the kitchen as expected, so the young noble was put on heating duty, starting up a broth from the edible parts of the plants Rylan had gathered. Tamina, on the other hand, turned out to know her way around a knife. She helped cut the meat out of the crab¡¯s thick legs and claws while Rylan cleaned and shucked the shellfish with his paring knife.

    Frankly, shucking wasn¡¯t half as terrible out in the cool fog like this as it had been inside the Thistlethorns¡¯ sweltering, crowded kitchen.

    By the time they were done, their little pan was stuffed overfull with delicious white meat, and the smell of its contents was making Rylan salivate constantly.

    They ended up repurposing some of the bigger shells to serve as bowls, and Rylan tore into his own portion like a starved armadon ripping into a carcass.

    Things had gotten a little better when they were cooking, but as they ate, the quiet returned, and the awkwardness with it.

    They cleaned and packed up quickly. Just when Rylan was about to lift up his backpack, however, Soren silently held out a hand. Rylan hesitated for a moment, then handed it over.

    The quiet became a little more bearable after that.

    ¡°It¡¯s getting kinda dark,¡± Rylan observed softly. It was a bit of an understatement, as both he and Soren had already taken out their glowbands, and he could barely see Tamina scouting up ahead. They¡¯d more or less silently agreed that she was leading them, but Rylan was getting hungry again.

    The crab they¡¯d had for lunch had been pretty massive, and since Soren had taken the backpack, Rylan had elected to carry what remained of its carcass. The meat inside its shell was much darker than the stuff in its legs, and Rylan was mightily interested in the difference in taste.

    ¡°I know, I know,¡± Tamina called back with a sigh. ¡°I¡¯m trying to find some decent shelter, but... Hold on.¡±

    Rylan blinked as she seemed to walk into a piece of coral and just... disappeared.

    He exchanged a glance with Soren, and they hurried on over.

    The last thing Rylan had expected to see when he arrived at the spot where Tamina had disappeared, was the empty, gaping frame... of a door.

 Chapter 23: Dinner

    The hairs at the back of Rylan¡¯s neck stood on end as he stared at the perfectly rectangular opening into a dark space for a long moment. As he tried to comprehend what he was looking at, Tamina suddenly stuck her face around the corner.

    He almost threw what was left of the crab at her out of reflex, but managed to contain himself.

    Tamina shot him a mystified look. ¡°It¡¯s clear, you can come on in.¡±

    Soren cleared his throat. ¡°Right. Is this... a house?¡±

    She shrugged and disappeared again. ¡°What¡¯s left of it,¡± her disembodied voice answered, strangely muffled.

    Rylan tilted his head down to better see the ground in his glowband¡¯s dim light and carefully stepped inside. The floor¡ªif it could be called that¡ªwas covered in sand and shells, and some disconcerting bones. And while the outside was largely overgrown by neighbouring corals, he found the walls and ceiling on the inside to be covered in nothing but a layer of blue moss.

    With how flat and square the interior surfaces were, it wasn¡¯t hard to tell they were indeed inside a structure that had been built, rather than carved out or formed naturally.

    ¡°People lived here?¡± he mumbled mostly to himself, glancing curiously at one of the rectangular openings leading deeper in. Most of the other rooms appeared to have collapsed, so he hoped the one they were in would hold.

    He¡¯d heard there were slums around some of the free cities, that lay at least partially below the fog, but from the way the daylight had filtered through, it seemed pretty obvious that they were still deep within the cloudsea, and nowhere near a city.

    Even now, the orange glow of the setting sun did not betray any hint of direction above them.

    Tamina was busying herself tossing some bones and shells to the sides, clearing out a patch of sand, but still answered. ¡°Probably. I¡¯ve seen places like this before. Most likely, if we look around tomorrow morning, we¡¯ll find a whole abandoned village beneath the corals.¡±

    Soren put the backpack down and started unstrapping the bedroll, clearly not half as perturbed by this as Rylan, so he continued. ¡°How is that possible? There¡¯s not enough light to properly grow crops down here. Not to mention all the fogfish and critters that would ruin the harvest... Did these people eat nothing but cloudlife?¡±

    Tamina stood up, dusting off her right hand by wiping it on her britches, and shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t know, don¡¯t much care. Either their way of life proved unsustainable, or something changed that made it unsustainable, because every place like this people find is in ruins. Want me to carve that for you?¡±

    Rylan frowned, but handed over the crab and got started on dinner. One upside of the cool environment of the cloudsea was that it helped keep ingredients fresh for a decent while, so the crab should still be fine.

    When the food was done, they each picked a wall to sit against¡ªthe blue moss proving soft and warm despite the ever-present damp¡ªand ate from the shells again.

    Compared to lunch, Rylan ate his dinner a little slower, more thoughtfully. The brown crabmeat they¡¯d found under the shell was softer than the white from its legs had been, and less flaky, but it had a richer flavour. He really couldn¡¯t decide which he liked better, so he resolved that more taste-testing was required.

    The only damper on his enjoyment of the food was the gnawing in his stomach that increased in intensity every time his eyes threatened to drift over to the right, where Soren was sitting with the bedroll he¡¯d propped up against another wall as a backrest.

    In the end, however¡ªafter Tamina excused herself for a moment to answer nature¡¯s call¡ªit was Soren who broke the silence, putting down his chopsticks with a sigh. ¡°It never felt like a choice, you know?¡±

    Rylan glanced over, blinking. ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡±

    ¡°What you said. Earlier today. About my obligations.¡±

    ¡°Right...¡±

    ¡°Trying to meet them didn¡¯t feel like a choice,¡± Soren repeated with a frown. ¡°But you¡¯re right. It was.¡±

    Rylan just stared at him for a moment, unsure what was happening.

    Soren shifted uncomfortably. ¡°What I¡¯m trying to say is... I don¡¯t think I took your debt seriously enough. Or at least, I didn¡¯t take what it was like for you, seriously enough. I guess I always kinda felt that, since my schedule was busier, my life was more restricted than yours. Plus, it wasn¡¯t that much money.¡±

    ¡°Excuse you?¡± Rylan asked, his brows shooting up.

    ¡°To my family, I mean,¡± Soren hastily clarified, sitting up a little straighter. ¡°I get that it¡¯s a lot of money for most people, but there¡¯s no way my family would care more about two hundred silver florins than they care about you.¡±

    Rylan folded his arms across his chest. ¡°Well, they have a strange way of showing their affection.¡±

    Soren shook his head. ¡°Look, my grandmother always has at least two reasons for everything she does, and the main reason is never the one she leads with. I kinda always figured the main point of the debt was to teach you financial responsibility or work ethic or something like that, and someday they¡¯d just... tell you it¡¯s all good, and let you go.¡±

    Rylan could see how Soren might think that. In fact, he¡¯d half-suspected the same when he¡¯d first been informed of the debt. However, after years of scrubbing, sweeping, and shucking, that belief had been well stamped out.

    On some dark, lonesome nights, he¡¯d considered that perhaps they had wanted to teach him something, but maybe he hadn¡¯t learnt whatever it was fast enough, and they¡¯d realised they preferred him as a servant rather than an adopted kid.

    ¡°Well, they didn¡¯t let me go,¡± Rylan said irritably, idly scratching at his ankle. ¡°Far from it.¡±

    Soren nodded. ¡°Perhaps I was na?ve about my family¡¯s intentions, perhaps they take money more seriously than I thought. Or perhaps they were still intending on it, and the plan changed when you became a Quinthar... I don¡¯t know, I don¡¯t know what to think anymore. The point is: I didn¡¯t take it seriously enough, and I would like to apologise for that.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    Soren swallowed, then, his eyes nervously darting over before he continued. ¡°And I¡¯ve decided that, if we make it back to Thistlebloom... I want to start helping you pay off your debt. I get a monthly allowance, and I have some money saved up. And if my grandmother continues to insist on a Contract, I¡¯ll... I¡¯ll put my foot down. I don¡¯t know about dad, but there¡¯s no way Helen would stand for you being forced into something like that.¡±

    Rylan stared at him, caught rather flat-footed. ¡°That¡¯s... that¡¯s very kind of you, Soren. But to be perfectly clear, I have no intention of returning to Thistlebloom. I plan to pay off my debt through the mediation of a free city bank.¡±

    Soren¡¯s face fell, but he quickly hid it, nodding again. ¡°Right. No, I get that after... after everything.¡±

    Rylan turned away, taking a moment to rub his palms into his eyes, then let out a sigh. ¡°I guess I... would also like to apologise.¡±

    ¡°You would?¡± Soren asked, sounding surprised and hopeful.

    Rylan nodded, not quite meeting his friend¡¯s eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about what you said, too. About how Zahra and I excluded you, and... you¡¯re right. We did, and it wasn¡¯t fair. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Reaching that conclusion had been a painful process. Rylan had come to realise he¡¯d been treating Soren different even before the whole mess with the Deeptides and the anklet. Because... he¡¯d been envious.

    It hadn¡¯t been the difference in status, food, clothing... all right, those things hadn¡¯t helped, but what he¡¯d really been resentful about, was that the family that had taken Rylan in, clearly loved Soren in a way they¡¯d never love him.

    He wasn¡¯t about to volunteer all that, however, and Soren thankfully didn¡¯t ask.

    ¡°Apology accepted,¡± the young noble said instead, a smile splitting his cheeks.

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°That easy, huh?¡± Rylan remarked dryly.

    ¡°What can I say? I¡¯m a very magnanimous guy. I guess the question is whether we can say the same thing about you, as you haven¡¯t actually accepted my apology yet...¡±

    Rylan narrowed his eyes at Soren¡¯s expectant look. ¡°Consider your apology... pending.¡±

    ¡°What does that mean?¡±

    ¡°That I¡¯m considering it, but I¡¯m reserving the right to change my mind if you act like a clodmonger.¡±

    Soren smiled another big smile, and Rylan found the corners of his own mouth creeping up again as well.

    ¡°All right, I can live with that.¡±

    A beat of silence later, Tamina cleared her throat, her head appearing around the corner of the rectangular opening with a dry expression. ¡°Can I come back in now, or do you guys need to hug it out first?¡±

    They shared a look, then both launched a lump of crabmeat from their shells at her, which led to Tamina ducking with a yelp, then stomping in and muttering under her breath about little children playing with food.

    The sounds of laughter and good-natured ribbing filled the empty shell of a ruined home.

    Even more than when he¡¯d gotten rid of his anklet, Rylan felt like he¡¯d shed a huge weight.

    Soon enough, they¡¯d finished cleaning up, and found themselves with time on their hands.

    It was too dark to continue looking for a way up¡ªor another place to shelter, for that matter¡ªbut too early to go to sleep. And so, they sat around and talked.

    They had plenty to talk about, after all.

    Apparently, Soren¡¯s father hadn¡¯t been too happy that Dancing was Soren¡¯s first Skill. Rylan had a little trouble wrapping his mind about being unhappy with any Skill¡ªuntil he¡¯d remembered his feelings about Cooking.

    Either way, Soren had been spending most of his time trying to get Fencing as a second Skill, but hadn¡¯t succeeded yet. In fact, his time spent training had only increased after he¡¯d become a Quinthar, as both his father and grandmother had started paying more attention to him, which was part of why it had been so easy for Rylan to avoid him.

    ¡°On the one hand it was nice,¡± Soren said with a sigh, ¡°not feeling like I was living in Helen¡¯s shadow as much anymore, but on the other hand, the pressure only seemed to increase. It¡¯s like they were all saying, ¡®getting one Skill is nice, but now you have to show you can grow consistently.¡¯ Ugh!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d actually heard about your sister before,¡± Tamina remarked. ¡°Not you, obviously. Is she as good as they say?¡±

    Rylan glanced up from the red-glowing canine he was playing with, one of the four he¡¯d liberated from the armadon Malequint¡¯s mouth. He¡¯d poured mana inside until it grew too hot to handle, and now had to toss it from hand to hand to keep it from hurting his skin.

    Interestingly, the Mana Shell did not seem to protect him from things he was already holding in his hand, but it did flare up a little when he caught it in his other.

    Soren grunted. ¡°She¡¯s a freak. Pretty sure she already has her second Sapphire-Grade Skill. If she¡¯d been here, she¡¯d probably have killed that armadon by herself without breaking a sweat.¡±

    Tamina let out a low whistle, but Rylan frowned.

    ¡°Was it that weak, or is Helen that strong?¡± he asked. ¡°I thought Malequints that can do advanced stuff like control flames were supposed to be pretty scary... I mean, that¡¯s like the equivalent of a Ruby-Grade Skill, right?¡±

    Ruby-Grade Quinthar were the next step up from Sapphire, and they were supposedly the true powerhouses of the Kingdom, though Rylan wasn¡¯t quite sure how big the gap was. There was still the Diamond-Grade above it, but that was truly the stuff of legends, and he didn¡¯t even know what it entailed, really.

    Tamina shook her head. ¡°There are Malequints like that, but this wasn¡¯t one of them. All armadons can breathe that noxious yellow gas; regular ones use it to fend off predators with the smell. All this one used its mana for was to heat its teeth to ignite it. It barely rated as an Emerald-Grade Malequint, to be honest. If it wasn¡¯t for its size and the synergy between its teeth and breath ability, it wouldn¡¯t have been very dangerous.¡±

    ¡°How can you tell the difference, though?¡±

    ¡°Well, we¡¯re not dead, for starters,¡± Tamina replied dryly. ¡°Also, it only dropped regular Cubes. A Sapphire-Grade Malequint would have dropped at least one Decacube, and a Ruby-Grade even a Hectocube.¡±

    Rylan¡¯s heart skipped a beat at the mention of the larger variants of Cubes. He¡¯d never seen any, but he knew how valuable they were. A single Decacube supposedly ¡®only¡¯ held ten times the Quintessence of a normal Cube, yet it was valued at around a dozen silver florins¡ªthe equivalent of a gold crown¡ªwhich was almost fifty times the value of a regular Cube! And a Hectocube was worth closer to fifty gold crowns, similar in price to an Enhancer!

    So that¡¯s where they come from... stronger Malequints!

    ¡°That tentacled Malequint was actually stronger,¡± Soren said, idly letting some sand run through his fingers. ¡°That one was Sapphire-Grade, I¡¯m pretty sure.¡±

    Tamina nodded.

    ¡°And how¡¯d you determine that?¡± Rylan asked.

    Soren clicked his tongue, looking up. ¡°All right, so can you remember what the mana around its tentacles looked like?¡±

    Rylan squinted, considering that. ¡°It was kind of... buzzing?¡±

    Soren nodded. ¡°Exactly. That¡¯s what mana with a shearing effect looks like. Textured mana¡ªmana that¡¯s structured to enhance a particular effect¡ªis the mark of a Sapphire-Grade Skill. The Skill associated with shearing mana is Cut. My dad actually has it; he uses it to enhance the cutting ability of his sword. Of course, Malequints don¡¯t actually use Skills, as far as we know.¡±

    ¡°So can Helen do that too?¡± Rylan asked, fascinated.

    Soren shook his head. ¡°She has Pierce; it adds a piercing effect to her mana instead.¡±

    That sounded even better for Rylan¡¯s knives. As a lull fell in the conversation, he couldn¡¯t help but daydream about reaching Sapphire-Grade, and becoming a truly powerful Quinthar.

    He recalled the way the floating Malequint¡¯s tentacles had cut through the armadon¡¯s protective plates¡ªthat made a lot more sense now. If he¡¯d been able to add a piercing effect to his knives earlier today, he wouldn¡¯t have had any trouble piercing the creature¡¯s side!

    While he was distracted by his fantasies, Tamina had shifted and taken out a small bottle, from which she was now dripping a viscous liquid onto the armour covering her left arm, before slowly moving it back and forth.

    Rylan cocked his head. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be easier to take that off first?¡±

    Tamina froze. Soren snapped his head over to him, looking alarmed.

    ¡°What?¡± Rylan asked, startled by their reactions. ¡°It was just a suggestion...¡±

    ¡°Taking it off isn¡¯t so easy,¡± Tamina replied, sounding terse. ¡°It¡¯s clamped on pretty tight, and I didn¡¯t bring my tools. I¡¯m just glad I carry around a kit for basic maintenance.¡±

    Rylan frowned. ¡°You need tools just to take off your armour?¡±

    Soren blinked, and shared a glance with Tamina. ¡°Rylan... unless I¡¯m sorely mistaken, that isn¡¯t armour. It¡¯s a mana-powered prosthetic.¡±

    Rylan gaped, then quickly shut his mouth. ¡°My apologies, Thar Tamina, I didn¡¯t realise...¡±

    Tamina snorted, some of the tension draining from her shoulders. ¡°I guess you couldn¡¯t have known. But yeah, it¡¯s a prosthetic.¡±

    Rylan looked over her metal arm with new eyes. Now that he was paying closer attention, it didn¡¯t take him long to spot the Thorn emblem on the back of her hand¡ªthe same one that had adorned his anklet. Despite the bad blood between the Talons and the Thorns, they clearly still had to rely on their rivals for mechanical marvels like this.

    ¡°How, ehm, how does it work?¡± he asked. ¡°Do you power it yourself?¡±

    She nodded. ¡°There¡¯s a slot for Cubes in the pauldron, but it always seemed rather wasteful to me to use it. It doesn¡¯t need a lot of mana anyway. As for how it works, exactly... I¡¯m not sure. I had to practise with it for a while, but now it just moves like my other arm.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to sate my curiosity if you don¡¯t want to,¡± Soren started politely. ¡°But I am curious about the story behind it.¡±

    Tamina sighed, oiling up and testing her mechanical fingers. Looking at them now made Rylan feel a little silly for not noticing earlier how unnaturally thin her ¡®armoured¡¯ fingers had been. ¡°Not much of a story. I was out hunting with Vidric. We were working on taking down this white bear Malequint when another¡ªa gapejaw shark¡ªappeared out of nowhere. It lunged for Vidric, so I did my job and jumped in front of him. Unfortunately, its jaws were stronger than my Skill. Bit right through my shield, and tore off everything below the elbow. I pretty much blacked out from the pain after that. When I came to, they told me it had gotten away, so there was no chance to even try reattaching my arm.¡±

    Great spirits... Not much of a story, she calls that.

    Rylan swallowed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. That really sucks.¡±

    Tamina shrugged coolly, avoiding his eyes. ¡°The Talons compensated me well. That money means my little brother is getting a good education, and even stands a chance of becoming a Quinthar too, so I don¡¯t want or need your pity.¡±

    Rylan frowned and opened his mouth but saw Soren shake his head, and closed it again.

    Soren cleared his throat. ¡°Providing for one¡¯s family is certainly something to be proud of. Do you have more siblings?¡±

    Tamina smiled. ¡°No just the one. He and my mom live on Hawkwing Crest now.¡±

    ¡°The Talons clearly value you then,¡± Soren remarked. ¡°You said they live there now. Does that mean you grew up elsewhere?¡±

    Tamina nodded. ¡°Summit. My mom worked there as a seamstress. However, we lived in a pretty small place in a not-so-great neighbourhood, so Hawkwing Crest is definitely an upgrade.¡±

    Rylan couldn¡¯t help but notice that she had yet to mention her father, but he didn¡¯t dare ask.

    Soren hummed. ¡°Must be quite a bit of weight on your shoulders, though, to have them relying on you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± she replied with a shrug. ¡°I can handle it. Just need to make sure I get out of here in one piece. Actually, even if I don¡¯t, the Talons will take good care of them.¡±

    ¡°Is that in your Contract?¡± Soren asked.

    She just stared at him blankly.

    ¡°Right, never you mind.¡±

    Rylan shifted uncomfortably. ¡°Thar Tamina, I would like to apologise... for my part in getting us stranded here. When I left, I was prepared to get lost in the cloudsea if need be¡ªthough I¡¯d never intended on being this lost. As far as I¡¯m concerned, being out here still beats being back on that fogging island... but I realise you didn¡¯t make that choice when you came after me, so, I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Tamina sighed. ¡°It¡¯s... I won¡¯t say it¡¯s fine, but it¡¯s not really your fault either. Honestly, the cliff crumbled beneath our feet and we fell into a fogwhale. If that¡¯s not the definition of a freak accident, then I don¡¯t know what would be. And I haven¡¯t forgotten that you pulled me out of its carcass either, so... I¡¯m sorry too, for what I said this morning.¡±

    Rylan nodded. ¡°Consider yourself forgiven. And I promise that I¡¯m going to put in my utmost effort to help us all survive this place and get you back to your family.¡±

    She smiled at him, possibly for the first time, and Rylan¡¯s heart stuttered a little. ¡°Thank you. Actually, it¡¯s good that you mention that,¡± she said, dusting some sand off her knees as she got to her feet. ¡°We have an entire evening to fill, and you have a lot to learn. Both of you, actually...¡±

    Rylan swallowed, for some reason not liking the glint in her eyes...

 Chapter 24: Finding Flaws

    ¡°So,¡± Tamina said, drawing her legs up to sit cross-legged, ¡°first things first. Soren, you¡¯re lacking offence. I assume you¡¯re still trying for the Fencing Skill?¡±

    He nodded.

    ¡°Good. I¡¯m working on an offensive Skill myself, so we¡¯re probably going to spend most of our time sparring.¡±

    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am,¡± Soren said, jokingly giving her a Quinthar salute.

    She didn¡¯t return it, instead turning to Rylan. ¡°That means you¡¯ll be by yourself, but I¡¯ll come over to check your progress once in a while.¡±

    ¡°Ehm,¡± Rylan started. ¡°I know you two agreed I should focus on getting Running, but there¡¯s not exactly a lot of room in here...¡±

    Tamina shook her head. ¡°Running should be the next Skill you go for, but you¡¯re not ready to try for another Skill. You need to work on the one you have, first.¡±

    Rylan frowned. ¡°I thought I used it pretty well today.¡±

    Tamina folded her arms across her chest. ¡°I¡¯m not saying you didn¡¯t, but today things were easy for you. You had time to think, to aim, to try things, because there was only one foe and we were keeping it busy. If you¡¯re going to use Knife-Throwing in a one-on-one, you need to be able to do it on the fly, while dodging snapping jaws and rending claws. A hit or a miss then might spell the difference between life and death. You think you¡¯re ready for that?¡±

    Rylan¡¯s stomach dropped. He¡¯d been struggling to properly hit the armadon even under the circumstances.

    ¡°Well?¡± Tamina pressed.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not.¡± The words tasted like ashes in his mouth.

    She dropped her arms to her sides and nodded. ¡°It¡¯s good that you recognise that. Realising your shortcomings can be painful, but Master Lann¡ªthe Talon drillmaster who trained me¡ªalways said the first step to improvement is finding a new flaw. So, what do you think you should work on?¡±

    He considered it for a moment. ¡°I think I need to get used to the different lengths and rotation speeds of my knives. It threw me off during the fight earlier.¡±

    ¡°That sounds like an excellent start,¡± Tamina agreed. ¡°Actually, I wanted to ask... I¡¯m pretty sure I caught you overcharging your blades during the fight. Have you been practising?¡±

    Rylan nodded proudly. ¡°This morning, while you guys slept.¡±

    ¡°Care to give a demonstration?¡±

    Soren looked over in interest, but Rylan hesitated. ¡°Ehm, I don¡¯t really have anything to throw at. Also, I don¡¯t know if I should; my Skill still smarts a little...¡±

    ¡°Wait, it smarts?¡± Soren asked, sitting up straighter, alarm on his face. ¡°Ryles, how far did you push?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just twinges really. I only pushed to about half a point of mana.¡±

    ¡°Half a point, the first time you were overcharging?¡± Soren repeated. ¡°Yeah, no wonder your Skill is strained; I thought I told you not to overdo it!¡±

    ¡°I took it slow!¡± Rylan protested. ¡°I just wanted to test my limits...¡±

    ¡°How is testing your limits not pushing it?!¡±

    Tamina cleared her throat. ¡°So. It sounds like we were lucky you could still use it this afternoon. To be honest, pushing your Skill to the limit is the fastest way to train, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s the most... responsible thing to be doing, considering our situation.¡±

    Rylan cringed a little. ¡°Right. Sorry.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all right. However, from now on, I would like to ask you not to practise overcharging again without my supervision, as we really can¡¯t afford to wait for your Skill to heal, or to pay Ethereon Credits to fix it if you break it.¡±

    Rylan¡¯s eyebrows rose to his hairline at the last part. He hadn¡¯t even known Skills could break, let alone that they could be fixed! ¡°How much would that cost?¡±

    ¡°Depends on the grade of the Skill,¡± Tamina replied. ¡°I believe it¡¯s 10 for an Emerald-Grade. Anyway, for now, I suggest you give your Skill some rest. You¡¯ve probably got plenty to learn by just throwing your knives. We¡¯ll wait for it to stop hurting completely, before we start carefully stretching out your Skill¡¯s mana capacity again. All right?¡±

    Rylan agreed, and with their plans finalised, their little shack became a hive of activity. Soren started clearing out an area for their spar, while Rylan and Tamina went out looking for plants and other stuff to make a proper target for his knives with.

    They came back with arms full of mistweed and mushrooms, which Rylan proceeded to start fashioning into a misshapen heap against the wall. It didn¡¯t look like much, but when done, it ought to at least be enough to stop his knives, since he wasn¡¯t going to be using his Skill.

    As he worked, Rylan couldn¡¯t help but sneak glances behind him, where Soren and Tamina had started to spar.

    However, they weren¡¯t using their weapons like he¡¯d expected. Instead, they were using some flexible red reeds that Tamina had grabbed a whole bunch of. She clearly didn¡¯t expect them to last very long.

    Interestingly, they both appeared to be starting by channelling some mana into their ¡®weapons,¡¯ slowly encasing them in a white glow before they went at it.

    Tamina was evidently more experienced at this mana-infusion process, and often ended up waiting for Soren to finish, or for him to reapply it after losing the mana mid-spar.

    Also, despite wielding similar ¡®weapons,¡¯ the way they were using them was completely different. Soren was trying to hit Tamina with the pointy end of his reed with swift jabs, while Tamina was fending off his attempts with sweeps, and seemed to be trying to slash him with her reed instead. If Rylan had to guess, he¡¯d say she was trying to unlock Sword-Fighting, which made sense as she carried a short sword.

    Finally, Rylan¡¯s heap was finished, and he tuned out the swishing sounds of their reeds, and focused on himself.

    He threw his whole set of knives¡ªall nine of them, including his dagger and letter opener¡ªfrom different distances, at different speeds, and with different levels of rotation, just trying to get a feel for their differences.

    Digging them out of the pile of vegetation got old fast, and Rylan resolved to get himself something a little sturdier to cover it next time so they wouldn¡¯t sink all the way in, but he persevered.

    He considered using the crab shell as a target, but he was too worried about his blades going dull to risk it.

    True to her word, Tamina came by once in a while to comment on his form. She seemed to know a surprising amount about proper throwing technique, getting him to freeze mid-throw to correct his posture, mostly his elbow, which she said he needed to point forward, instead of to the side.

    Apparently, he also wasn¡¯t keeping enough tension in his wrist, which was causing him to over-rotate some of his throws. He needed to lock it instead, which immediately helped his control.

    ¡°Can you only throw from the blade?¡± she asked the third time she came by, shortly after she and Soren had switched to wielding their actual blades, though not against each other. They were just doing stances and making various slashing motions with their mana-filled blades, over and over.

    It looked dull, but Rylan figured they didn¡¯t want to risk damaging their blades for a spar. ¡°You mean throwing it by the handle?¡± he replied in surprise. ¡°I¡¯ve never tried that before...¡±

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    ¡°You should,¡± Tamina said. ¡°It¡¯ll give you more distance.¡±

    Trying to let the blade perform a full spin was a fun new challenge that led to a lot of blades over or under-rotating and, at times, clanging off the moss-covered wall.

    Rylan cringed every time it happened, but he didn¡¯t see any obvious nicks in the cutting edges.

    By the fourth time Tamina came by, his arm was getting tired, and he said as much.

    She shrugged heartlessly. ¡°Throw with your left hand, then. It pays to be versatile.¡±

    He ended up switching back and forth, as he was having trouble getting the motion right with his left arm. By the time they called it a night, he was positive his right arm was going to hurt a lot more than his Skill in the morning, but he also felt quite satisfied.

    He still wasn¡¯t ready for a real one-on-one fight, but he was more ready than he had been that morning.

    That night, during third watch, Rylan was too tired and sore to practise anything. So instead, he just stared out the door into the fog and pondered the choices that had landed them in this mess.

    Had he been wrong to want to leave so badly? Had the Thistlethorns perhaps really had ulterior motives, had they really been trying to teach him something by saddling him with that debt?

    Soren seemed to believe it, at least, and he wasn¡¯t the best liar. All right, that wasn¡¯t fair; the young noble could lie well enough. Just not to Rylan, who¡ªafter years of card games¡ªknew all of his tells. Soren¡¯s eyes hadn¡¯t darted nervously once as he¡¯d pleaded his case, nor had he worried his thumbs on his index fingers.

    Still, it seemed so... complex. Was it just a noble thing to want to teach lessons with overcomplicated lies and schemes? Making him pay off a debt was one thing, but sending away the Deeptides, putting a mana-powered anklet on him... it was all a bit much.

    Of course, he¡¯d played a role in escalating the situation to this point as well. After all, he¡¯d tried to run twice now, and had, in fact, gotten lost deep in the cloudsea. So perhaps their measures¡ªhowever misguided¡ªhad been justified. Or at least well-intended.

    Still, something nagged at him. How could it both be true that the Thistlethorns cared enough about him to go to such lengths to keep him safe and teach him things... yet were also keeping him at a distance, making him sleep in the servant¡¯s quarters, work his ass off on chores day in and out, all while letting the crushing weight of his massive debt bear down on him?!

    His hands clenched into fists, his nostrils flaring as he took a deep breath.

    You know what? I don¡¯t even care anymore. When I get out of here, I¡¯m going to get a job, pay off my stupid debt, and then never have anything to do with them, ever again.

    After all, he finally had a clue to his past, possibly even to his real family. And while they may have abandoned him to the Thistlethorns as a baby, he was willing to reserve his judgment until he¡¯d heard their reasons. And judging by the strange letter he¡¯d received, there was definitely something weird going on.

    Maybe they pissed off someone very important, like a powerful Quinthar, and they sent me into hiding for my own protection...

    Rylan tried to picture what his parents might look like, and particularly their shocked expressions as they learned that the son they¡¯d abandoned was a Quinthar now, capable not only of protecting himself, but them too.

    He didn¡¯t get very far with it. He¡¯d seen his own reflection often enough to imagine an older, bearded version of himself as his father, but he had absolutely no clue what he should picture his mother to look like.

    All he got was a vague impression of a voice, humming a familiar tune, some kind of lullaby. Was he making that up, too, or was it actually a memory?

    Rylan let out a sigh. He could fantasize all night, but it wouldn¡¯t bring him closer to any real answers.

    Shaking his head, he decided to stop thinking about it all for a moment, and instead pester Ethereon for some windows.

    His Status hadn¡¯t changed, except for his Mana Pool having refilled to its full 11-point capacity. When he summoned his Knife-Throwing Window, however, he got a bit of a surprise.

    Knife-Throwing

    Rank 1

    Effects

    Blade guard

    Stable flight

    Forceful impact

    Augmentations

    Overcharge: 0.5 mana

    What¡¯s this, a new heading? And it specifies the maximum amount of mana that my Skill can hold when overcharged!

    As he looked at the word ¡®Augmentations,¡¯ Ethereon once again seemed to whisper meaning into his spirit.

    So an Augmentation is a new effect, added as part of a Rank-Up... Interesting!

    Looking at the line below the heading, he instinctively understood that it was greyed out to signify that the Augmentation wasn¡¯t complete yet, that he still had some ways to go before the Skill could Rank-Up.

    It looked like Ethereon was not only guiding him along the path towards his first Rank-Up, but even showing him his progress along the way!

    I wonder if Ethereon does this at every Skill rank...

    Well, either way, it would be a great way to monitor his progress, and check his safety limits.

    The Skill¡¯s requirements had disappeared from the window as well, but Rylan supposed he didn¡¯t have any pressing need to see those listed anyway. And he was sure he could always ask to see them again if he somehow forgot what they were.

    He spent the rest of his watch daydreaming about being a powerful Quinthar, taking down Malequints¡ªand other Quinthar¡ªlike they were flies, and casually dropping a couple of Decacubes or even a Hectocube on his fuzzy-faced parents¡¯ dinner table.

    Somehow, the hardest part for him to imagine was them actually being happy to see him.

    Eventually, he decided it was time to heat up their leftovers.

    And so began their second day in the cloudsea. The mood over breakfast was significantly less tense than it had been the morning before, and Soren even made small talk as they ate.

    Tamina was quiet again, but she probably just wasn¡¯t a morning person, Rylan decided.

    They cleaned and packed up quickly, and set out again, trying to find their way through the maze-like reef.

    Most of their day consisted of slogging through sand, interspersed with brief moments of high tension when a large predator came a little too close for comfort, and they had to duck under some nearby coral to hide.

    When night fell, they didn¡¯t manage another lucky find of an abandoned building, and instead made do with a small clearing adjacent to a large overhanging coral they could sleep under.

    They had fogfish fillet for dinner. Rylan had managed to take one down with his Skill when it had drifted low enough that he didn¡¯t have to worry about the precious implement sailing off into the fog. In the evening, they once again trained, with Soren and Tamina sparring and Rylan off practising his throws by himself.

    And so it continued. During the day, they mostly walked in silence, ever-vigilant. During meals, they spoke quietly about stuff like what they missed most about being on land.

    For Rylan, it was dry socks.

    He also carefully tried to pry into what Tamina¡¯s life in Summit had been like, but she remained rather tight-lipped about it, dismissing any questions on the topic with a shrug and a short-to-the-point-of-meaningless answer.

    It was still more than he got out of her regarding the Talons or her Skills. Any questions about such topics were met with pointed silence¡ªlikely due to her Contract¡ªbut Soren had whispered to Rylan that he suspected she had Shield-Fighting and Footwork, a Skill that mostly improved grip.

    It had sounded a little underwhelming to Rylan at first, until Soren revealed that he¡¯d heard of someone who¡¯d ranked up the Skill to the point that it allowed them to walk up walls.

    During the evenings, they trained. After days of slogging through the maze-like reef, Rylan¡¯s initial enthusiasm about hurrying up had waned, so he poured his energy into improving his throwing instead, persevering through blisters and sore muscles with grim determination.

    The ache in his Skill soon faded, and he started working on overcharging it again, this time under Tamina¡¯s watchful eye. She strictly forbade him from pushing beyond the overcharge capacity Ethereon indicated on his Skill Window, and instead had him focus on pushing right up to that limit, and then trying to control all the mana wrapped up in his Skill for as long and as well as he could.

    He saw the first results after only two days of this practice, when Ethereon indicated his Skill¡¯s overcharge capacity had gone up to 0.6.

    During the night, they slept in shifts, always keeping watch.

    It wasn¡¯t until their fourth day in the reef that they spotted another confirmed Malequint.

    Rylan had gotten quite used to the omnipresent life in the reef. The pale-furred mice, the frogs and toads, the hard-shelled crabs, the colourful fogfish; during the day they were a constant presence, and at night, dinner. They also served as an excellent early warning system for predators.

    So when the reef went quiet, they took cover. Not long after, a shadow passed over them. Looking up, Rylan recognised the source as a huge fogray.

    Then, out of nowhere, a forty-foot-long eel shot up from below it.

    White light sparked from its teeth as it tore through the ray¡¯s wing, before it proceeded to coil around the struggling creature.

    They didn¡¯t stick around for the seemingly inevitable outcome of its hunt.

    However, the true fearfulness of the cloudsea didn¡¯t sink in for Rylan until the sixth day.

    It started with an earth-shaking pounding that caused bits and pieces of the surrounding corals to fall off and caused every single critter to immediately run and hide.

    They all froze to listen to the noise as it rapidly grew louder, the very sand beneath their feet starting to shake. Then all of a sudden, it stopped. However, at that moment, Rylan¡¯s chest grew tight. It was as if the fog had suddenly grown denser, too dense to breathe, and a weight settled over him. Simultaneously, something, some base instinct, prompted him to turn his head to the right.

    Just in time to spot the approach of a massive, segmented, blue-plated crab-leg, heading straight for his companions.

 Chapter 25: Ruby

    ¡°Watch out!¡± Rylan cried.

    Soren reacted instantly, moving out of the way almost before Rylan finished speaking. At the same time, Tamina¡¯s head snapped around, her eyes widening a fraction at the sight of the massive blue crustacean limb approaching her.

    Rylan¡¯s heart skipped a beat as the threat drew closer to her. She¡¯s not going to make it!

    Then light flashed beneath her feet and she sidestepped in a way that seemed impossibly fast in the floaty fog, just in time to avoid getting crushed.

    More limbs followed a split second later, forcing Rylan to jump aside as well. The light around them dimmed, then, and Rylan looked up, just barely able to make out the underside of a truly gigantic crab as it came to loom overhead in the fog.

    It didn¡¯t seem like the crab¡¯s attention was actually on them; they had simply gotten in its path. But still...

    ¡°Run!¡± Soren yelled.

    Rylan promptly followed this excellent suggestion.

    Together, they sped forward, trying to get out from under the crab before it accidentally crushed them. However, as they passed out from underneath, a huge glowing claw came down in front of them.

    The thump as it hit the ground was bone-rattling, and Rylan found himself genuinely fogborne for a moment before his feet hit the sand again.

    The massive blue claw rose up again, leaving behind a claw-shaped indentation in the ground, the whole section of reef previously there crushed to rubble.

    As they all stumbled to a halt, a renewed, mounting sense of dread and pressure drew Rylan¡¯s gaze upwards, just in time to witness the reason for the crab''s rushed movements to reveal itself.

    An oval of aquamarine-glowing shark teeth loomed out of the fog, lighting up a maw large enough to ride a carriage through.

    F-Fog me!

    The dread seemed to press down on Rylan more and more as the nightmarish maw approached overhead. As it neared him, the fog around Rylan started to churn and flow up, his hair fluttering from the resulting breeze.

    He tried to take a step away, but his boot barely scraped the sand, as he himself was lifted off his feet. He waved his limbs in a panic, helpless to stop his slowly increasing upward momentum. He looked around for aid, but Soren and Tamina were not faring much better, flailing right beside him.

    Then there was an awful crunching sound, followed by a loud, rage-filled hiss. Shards of blue chitin rained down from above as the pulling force disappeared, and they all started dropping again.

    The second she landed, without another word, Tamina took off, running onto the flattened section of reef in front of them. Rylan wasted no time following, and neither did Soren.

    As they ran, slowly but surely, the sounds of the battle faded into the distance behind them, but they didn¡¯t stop.

    Rylan couldn¡¯t help but notice that neither of his companions was using a movement Skill this time, and he was quite grateful to be able to keep up. Still, even with his increased Endurance, after about ten minutes of straight running, he was ready to collapse.

    Finally, Tamina slowed down, seeming rather winded herself, for once. With a groan, Rylan came to a halt, leaning his elbows on his knees, glad Soren had been carrying the backpack.

    The young noble in question actually stumbled and fell, opting to remain flat on his stomach after his landing. ¡°Great Spirits,¡± he panted into the sand. ¡°I thought we were done for!¡±

    ¡°Fog,¡± Rylan agreed. ¡°Me too.¡±

    When Tamina didn¡¯t add anything, he glanced over at her and found her leaning back against a piece of coral, her face kinda pale, her eyes staring off into the distance, unseeing.

    ¡°You all right, Tammi?¡± he asked carefully.

    Rylan and Soren had started teasingly using the nickname a while back. She¡¯d grumbled at first, but quickly seemed to decide not to give them the satisfaction of her reactions. Unfortunately for her, the little twitches of her eyebrow were at least as entertaining as her protestations had been, and the name had stuck.

    This time, however, her brow didn¡¯t twitch. She blinked, seeming to come from far as her bright-green eyes shifted over to him. ¡°Yeah... yeah, I¡¯m fine.¡±

    His brows furrowed. She certainly didn¡¯t sound fine. Wait, that shark just now had its maw open really wide... Was that a gapejaw?

    For a moment, he wondered whether it had been the very same shark that took her arm, but just as quickly discarded that notion. Aside from the astronomical odds of that being the case, the simple fact was, if it had been this shark she¡¯d encountered before, it would have taken more than a limb.

    While he deliberated whether he should pry or not, she took a deep breath, straightened up, and shot him a curt nod. ¡°Thanks for the warning; that was much too close for comfort.¡±

    ¡°No problem,¡± he wound up saying. ¡°I just felt this sense of pressure settle over me, like I couldn¡¯t breathe, and when I turned around, I saw it coming.¡±

    She looked him over appraisingly. ¡°You should pay close attention to your breathing then. You probably sensed its spirit. Your Perception is at... 3, right?¡±

    He blinked and nodded.

    ¡°That explains it, then.¡±

    ¡°Is that what Perception does?¡± he asked, intrigued.

    ¡°Perception increases the acuity of all of your senses,¡± Soren explained without moving from his prone position, still breathing heavily. ¡°But especially your sensitivity to mana and Quintessence.¡±

    ¡°So that pressure, that sense of dread...¡±

    ¡°Came from the shark¡¯s spirit,¡± Tamina agreed. ¡°That, I could sense too. No wonder, either. That was a Ruby-Grade Malequint.¡±

    ¡°Ruby?¡± he repeated, incredulous. ¡°For real?¡±

    ¡°Well, it was definitely using tinted mana; no other way it could¡¯ve created that strange suction force.¡±

    Rylan glanced at Soren, who¡¯d turned his head at least enough to be able to see them.

    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    ¡°Tinted mana,¡± Soren started, taking a moment for another deep inhale, ¡°also known as affinity mana, is mana that¡¯s gained unique properties, from interacting with a Divine Metal. Like Aetherium, Ignium, Undium... and so forth.¡±

    I see! Aetherium is the fancy name for skymetal, Ignium for firemetal... ¡°What¡¯s Undium?¡±

    ¡°Seametal,¡± Soren answered, taking off the backpack and pushing himself up onto his knees with a groan.

    Rylan just stared at him.

    Soren caught his look and smiled. ¡°It attracts water. It¡¯s pretty rare, and not very sought-after, as using cloudmetal to gather and condense fog is far more convenient than trying to use Undium to draw water out of the ground or something.¡±

    That sounded reasonable enough. Still, it had to be pretty rare if Rylan had never even heard of it.

    ¡°The light coming from its teeth was aquamarine,¡± he mused. ¡°Aquamarine-tinted mana... Does that mean it was creating affinity mana using cloudmetal as a medium?¡±

    ¡°Probably,¡± Tamina replied, sounding a bit more like herself.

    ¡°No,¡± Soren said at the same time, before turning to her, ¡°What? No, that can¡¯t be right; cloudmetal is not one of the six Divine Metals!¡±

    Tamina raised a brow at him. ¡°Sure sounds like one. It¡¯s a metal you can pour mana in to get some kind of effect. Isn¡¯t that what the Divine Metals are?¡±

    ¡°But there are only six,¡± Soren argued. ¡°Aetherium, Ignium, Undium, Petrium, Aurorium, and Obsidium! There are no Quinthar with a cloudmetal affinity; it doesn¡¯t exist!¡±

    Tamina shrugged. ¡°Tell that to the massive shark. Speaking of, let¡¯s keep moving. I¡¯m sick and tired of this reef.¡±

    Rylan sighed, but grabbed the backpack and slung it on his back.

    ¡°Come on, Ryles,¡± Soren pleaded as they started walking. ¡°Back me up here. I mean, which of the Great Spirits is cloudmetal even supposed to have given birth to?¡±

    ¡°Zenithism was never really my cup of tea,¡± Rylan replied apologetically. ¡°The only being I¡¯ve ever prayed to is Ethereon.¡±

    Well, apart from Zeph, of course. But he wasn¡¯t about to admit that he used to pray to the Great Spirit of the Storm for freedom.

    ¡°Although...¡± he continued instead. ¡°Isn¡¯t Amane, the Spirit of the Clouds, linked to cloudmetal?¡±

    ¡°Amane is a Lesser Spirit, lesser I tell you! Don¡¯t listen to the New Zenites, she is not part of the Zenith!¡±

    ¡°Maybe don¡¯t yell that too hard,¡± Tamina dryly remarked from up ahead. ¡°We¡¯re in the cloudsea, after all. She might just hear you.¡±

    Soren cringed, hunching up his shoulders as he glowered at her back, muttering something about heretics.

    Rylan patted him on the shoulder in commiseration as they continued to slog through the sand, trying to find a way out of the maze-like reef.

    Zeph knew they could use one.

    That night, at dinner, they unanimously decided that they would stop trying to move ¡®up,¡¯ and would instead simply try to keep the same bearing and just get out of the reef first.

    It was impractically hard to judge the overall slope of the area anyway.

    Rylan kind of wanted to bring up Tamina¡¯s reaction to the shark earlier that day, but he wasn¡¯t sure how or if it would even be wise.

    Maybe he¡¯d better just... let her be, for a bit.

    So instead, he asked a question about something else he¡¯d been wondering about. ¡°How do Ruby-Grade Malequints even come to be? I mean, the shark clearly had... some kind of element in its teeth¡ªso did the armadon, actually¡ªbut how does that even happen? What did it eat?¡±

    Soren sat up a little straighter, his eyes lighting up. ¡°An excellent question! So, first of all, all armadons have traces of firemetal in their bones, and particularly their teeth. They actually live in burrows, and it turns out their burrows are usually located in ground that¡¯s rich in firemetal¡ªin fact, tracking down armadon burrows is a proven method of searching for suitable firemetal mining locations. I¡¯ve even heard of mining companies training armadons to sniff out veins or firemetal ore! And guess what armadons like to do with that ore?¡±

    Rylan frowned. ¡°Eat it?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! Not big lumps, or anything, but they will lick at those, and gobble up any loose soil around it like candy.¡±

    Huh. That made a kind of sense. However, it also begged a rather intriguing question.

    ¡°Ehm,¡± Rylan started, shifting his weight. ¡°Then what about Ruby-Grade Quinthar? Do they also...?¡±

    Tamina snorted.

    Soren stared at him for a moment, blinking, then started to laugh. ¡°Oh man! Can you imagine Duke Talon eating dirt¡ªor the King?! Haah... No, unfortunately¡ªor thankfully, rather¡ªyou don¡¯t need to consume soil to become a Ruby-Grade Quinthar. Actually, the only way to become one, is to get an Affinity through a specific Dungeon reward. There are six different Affinities, each linked to a different Divine Metal¡±¡ªhe shot Tamina a meaningful look, upon which she rolled her eyes¡ª¡°and after gaining one, your body will start to absorb that Divine Metal from... somewhere. Actually, I¡¯m a little hazy on the details. I know an Affinity isn¡¯t complete until your bones contain a high concentration of the associated Divine Metal, but I¡¯m not sure where Quinthar get it from. Perhaps you do need to eat soil...¡±

    He looked rather perturbed at this revelation, making it Rylan¡¯s turn to snigger and glance at Tamina.

    She met his look with a wry smile. ¡°He really likes explaining stuff, doesn¡¯t he? What do you think, Ry, is it a superiority thing, or does he just like the sound of his own voice?¡±

    Rylan¡¯s mouth twitched, but he managed to keep a straight face. Tamina had started shortening his name a while ago in an attempt to get him back for calling her ¡®Tammi,¡¯ but he secretly kinda liked the nickname. It reminded him of Zahra, who had also called him that sometimes. ¡°You know, I think you may be on to something with the superiority angle...¡±

    ¡°What? No!¡± Soren protested heatedly. ¡°Look, my grandmother made me spend hours listening to tutors and reading dusty tomes to cram all this stuff in my head, and now I finally get to do something with it other than fill out her fogging quizzes¡ªoh spirits, how I hated her quizzes!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Rylan said slowly, squinting at him suspiciously. ¡°You seem awfully pleased with yourself whenever you explain something...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡ªit¡¯s not¡ªthat¡¯s because I enjoy being helpful, you absolute clodpoll!¡±

    Rylan finally couldn¡¯t hold back the laughter bubbling up anymore, and Tamina was quick to follow.

    Soren turned a bit red, but seemed to take their amusement in stride, grumbling that Rylan should just see if he explained something ever again.

    It was the emptiest threat Rylan had ever heard, and it just set him off again.

    Eventually, he managed to calm down. ¡°Seriously, Soren, I really appreciate all the explaining you¡¯ve been doing,¡± he said earnestly. ¡°You¡¯re actually pretty good at it; you¡¯d make a great teacher.¡±

    Soren smiled at him, seeming surprised at the compliment.

    Tamina chose that time to clap her hands and get up. ¡°All right, enough chitchat; time to clean up and train!¡±

    Rylan and Soren groaned in unison, but complied.

    Later that night, during Tamina¡¯s watch, Rylan lay back to back with Soren, trying to sleep.

    However, the young noble kept shifting behind him, sighing, until he eventually rolled over onto his back and spoke. ¡°Hey Ryles... D¡¯you really think I¡¯d make a good teacher?¡±

    ¡°I mean, yeah?¡± Rylan mumbled, keeping his eyes closed. ¡°If that¡¯s something you¡¯d really want, I¡¯m sure you could get a job teaching in a free city somewhere. Honestly, they¡¯d be lucky to have you.¡±

    ¡°Hah, right... Like my grandmother would let me.¡±

    Rylan¡¯s brows drew together. ¡°You know, it¡¯s your life, Soren. If she doesn¡¯t like what you want to do with it, you can always just tell her to take a long walk on a short dock.¡±

    Soren snorted, then stopped. ¡°You¡¯re serious about that, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I be?¡± Soren was silent for a moment, so Rylan finally opened his eyes. There wasn¡¯t enough room in the bedroll for both of them to lie on their backs, so he craned his neck to look over his shoulder. ¡°Seriously Soren, why wouldn¡¯t I be?¡±

    ¡°You make it sound so simple,¡± Soren said wistfully, shaking his head at the ceiling. ¡°My family expects certain things from me, and I...¡±

    ¡°And you what? Would rather make them happy than be happy yourself?¡±

    Soren remained silent.

    Rylan sighed, turning back as his neck was starting to cramp. ¡°Look, I know you believe in the Great Spirits and their Spiritvale and all, but... the way I see it, the only thing we know for sure we¡¯ll get, is this life. One day¡ªspirits willing¡ªwe¡¯ll be old. I think all we can do is try to make choices that we¡¯re going to be happy about when we look back over our lives.¡±

    ¡°That simple, huh?¡± Soren replied wistfully.

    Rylan shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll admit, I¡¯m not entirely unbiased about doing what your family wants... But that¡¯s how I see it. I don¡¯t know, I hope that¡¯s helpful.¡±

    Soren remained silent for a little longer. ¡°It is. Thanks. I don¡¯t have any answers yet, but I think I understand the questions better now.¡±

    ¡°Anytime,¡± Rylan replied with a yawn, before his eyes drifted shut and sleep took him.

 Chapter 26: Hunted

    They were all pretty on edge when they left the next morning, but they didn¡¯t spot any more monstrous Malequint. In fact, the reef seemed calmer than ever.

    It still took them another three days to reach the edge of the massive maze, where the corals started to become smaller again, small enough that they could just hop over them.

    They still kept going until they were well clear of the reef. Unfortunately, the sandy cloudbed they found themselves on sloped down.

    ¡°Why do I feel like we¡¯re right back where we started?¡± Rylan asked, studying the bare slope as they took a water break.

    Tamina shot him a dry glance. ¡°I think the odds of that are very slim, actually.¡±

    ¡°At this point, I honestly wouldn¡¯t care,¡± Soren confessed. ¡°At least we¡¯re out of that Zenith-forsaken maze! Whose idea was it to enter that, again?¡±

    ¡°The armadon¡¯s,¡± Rylan and Tamina said in sync.

    Rylan shot her a smile, which she returned, shaking her head.

    Soren sighed. ¡°Right. Fair enough.¡±

    To be honest, Rylan didn¡¯t really feel like they were back where they started. After all, over the nine days they¡¯d spent in the reef, he¡¯d managed to bring the mana capacity of his Knife-Throwing Skill up to 0.9!

    At some point, he¡¯d asked Tamina if she was still expanding the mana capacity of her Skills, and despite her Contract, she¡¯d actually been able to answer. According to what she explained, there were limits to the use of expanding the mana capacity of Skills, as Mana Pools were limited as well, and it was important to keep a reserve to refill your Mana Shell with too.

    A more important result of their practice, perhaps¡ªeven if it didn¡¯t feel as momentous¡ªwas that his throwing had gotten much steadier. He could now reliably get the spin right for all of his knives over various distances, both for half-spin and full-spin throws.

    Moving targets were still a little hit-and-miss, but he¡¯d practised even with those, thanks to Tamina and Soren taking turns tossing up thick crab shells for him to hit mid-fog. As long as he could use his Skill, he wasn¡¯t too worried about dulling the blades.

    ¡°Come on, we better get moving,¡± Tamina said, breaking Rylan out of his reverie. ¡°We can cover more distance now that we¡¯re out here, but we¡¯ll have a harder time finding shelter, and it¡¯ll be dark soon.¡±

    With a sigh, Rylan took the backpack from Soren, and they set off again.

    Tamina¡¯s words turned out to be prophetic, as their surroundings rapidly darkened while they were still walking down a mostly bare slope. In fact, it grew dark so fast that Rylan was a little worried some giant Malequint was moving overhead.

    Annoying as the reef had been to navigate, now that they were out in the open, Rylan found himself missing the protection offered by its towering corals.

    He missed the constant buzz of life as well. His slightly elevated breathing sounded unnaturally loud to his own ears, and he twitched at every little sound that pervaded the oppressive silence.

    Particularly, the persistent clicking noise he kept hearing behind them.

    He clearly wasn¡¯t the only one who was hearing it, as Tamina kept glancing around and seemed to be picking up the pace. It didn¡¯t help his already shot nerves when a thick drop of some kind of liquid splashed down on his head.

    ¡°Fog, something¡¯s drooling on us!¡± he hissed at his companions.

    ¡°What, really?¡± Soren replied in alarm.

    ¡°No there isn¡¯t, you gullbrains,¡± Tamina said with a sigh, as more drops of liquid splashed down all around them. ¡°It¡¯s raining. This happens sometimes in the cloudsea.¡±

    Oh. Right.

    Rain was something Rylan had in fact heard about, even if he¡¯d never experienced it before. Of the so-called ¡®weathers¡¯ that were said to occur down in the cloudsea, it was pretty much the mildest.

    He looked up at the dark fog above him, blinking when a drop of cold water hit him square in the eye.

    ¡°Let¡¯s keep moving,¡± Tamina spoke tersely. ¡°I think something may be following us; let¡¯s hope the rain throws it off our scent.¡±

    Rylan and Soren shared a glance, then quickly picked up the pace.

    The rain soon started to come down harder, and the sound of the drops of water hitting the sand around them rose to a constant drum. Despite this, Rylan¡¯s ears still picked up the occasional clicking noise. What is making that sound?

    Seconds later, Rylan spotted a hazy shape form from the corner of his eyes, but when he turned to look, it was gone.

    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°We¡¯re being hunted,¡± Tamina hissed as she accelerated to a jog. ¡°Keep your eyes peeled!¡±

    Rylan unsheathed one of his knives as they accelerated, hunching his shoulders to make himself smaller, and glancing every which way. The rain didn¡¯t exactly improve the visibility, but now that he was looking for them, he still noticed more shapes swimming around them, darting in and out of view.

    Disconcertingly large shapes, clearly no mere fogfish.

    Then, out of nowhere, one of the shapes came straight at them from the front.

    Tamina lifted her shield, but the creature nimbly dodged around her with a sweep of its fluke. Its beak opened up, showing off small but sharp teeth as it let out a high-pitched trill that sounded not unlike the shrill laughter Miss Amberleaf would let out when Master Gullfeather made one of his lame jokes.

    The moment Rylan heard the sound, all of the tension bled out of him. He blew out a breath, which quickly turned to relieved laughter when he saw Tamina¡¯s perturbed face.

    The cloudphin circled around, then did a backflip as it passed by in front of them. Soren and Rylan politely cheered it on, whooping and whistling at the friendly creature.

    Apparently, their enthusiastic approval was enough for more of the curious pod that had been circling them to dare to come closer and reveal themselves.

    Rylan quickly put down the backpack, opened it up, and dug in for some treats.

    Cloudphins were naturally kind and curious creatures, and many of them were pretty used to humans, and loved to show off for scraps of food around cloudships and near beaches.

    ¡°Watch out, Tammi,¡± Soren said teasingly as one of the cloudphins drifted closer to her, rolling over on its back to get a better look at her. ¡°I think that one¡¯s got your scent! You¡¯ll never escape it now!¡±

    ¡°Very funny,¡± Tammi replied grumpily, but Rylan could see the corners of her mouth twitching up as she hung back her shield and gingerly reached out her right hand to touch its beak.

    Rylan managed to fish out some leftover calamari from their lunch, and lobbed a piece at one of the smaller cloudphins as it came by, the rain drumming on its soft, rubbery skin.

    They¡¯d caught quite a big squid that morning, and he doubted they¡¯d be able to finish all of it that evening anyway.

    His offering flew through the floaty fog in a gentle arc and the young cloudphin gladly snatched it up. The pod¡¯s excitement immediately seemed to double, and Rylan soon had impatient cloudphins pushing their cold beaks into his back and neck to hurry him up as he tried to keep doling out small portions through his laughter.

    He''d seen cloudphins from a distance, and even tossed one some snails from a pier before, but those experiences paled in comparison to being surrounded by the marvellous beings.

    ¡°Hold on,¡± Soren said excitedly. ¡°What if we tried to like, ride these cloudphins out of here? They¡¯re supposed to be pretty smart, right? They might know to bring us to an island, or even just a ship!¡±

    Tamina shook her head. ¡°They can¡¯t hold our weight. If we befriended a fogwhale that might work, but these? No shot. Hey, don¡¯t feed them all of our dinner, all right?¡±

    Rylan rolled his eyes. ¡°Relax. We¡¯ve got plenty.¡±

    ¡°What about that one?¡± Soren asked, pointing up ahead. ¡°He looks pretty big. Think he could carry us?¡±

    At that moment, the cloudphins around Rylan moved aside as a particularly intimidating specimen languidly approached him.

    Rylan had no intention of withholding the cloudphin anything. However, it didn¡¯t seem too interested in the last piece of calamari he was holding out on fingers he was trying and failing to keep from shaking.

    It was just looking at him with its intelligent, curious eyes as it slowly drifted closer. Rylan held his breath as it closed the last few inches. Then, finally it rolled over sideways, and gently took the piece of fried squid off his hand. Only when it proceeded to push its beak into Rylan¡¯s hand in a clear demand to be petted, did he finally let out the breath he was holding.

    ¡°So, you think it could carry us?¡± Soren said in a subdued tone of voice.

    ¡°That one... maybe,¡± Tamina replied softly. ¡°But it could lift one of us at most.¡±

    Rylan couldn¡¯t help but frown as he nervously rubbed the curious Malequint¡¯s head. Just one of us? And then what? There¡¯s no way to send help back to here; we still have no idea where we are!

    Still, if that person made it out of here alive, that meant at least one of them did. Before he could give the idea any real consideration, however, a school of fogfish came swimming by.

    The swarm of fish changed course in an impressive display of synchronicity, but it was too little too late. The cloudphins immediately started letting out excited trills and clicking noises, as they¡ªincluding the big Malequint¡ªdarted after the fish.

    As quickly as they had appeared, the friendly creatures were gone, leaving the three of them standing there on the bare sand in the dark fog, with cold rain drumming on their heads.

    Tamina let out a barely audible sigh. ¡°Come on. We¡¯d best keep moving.¡±

    They ended up finding a massive spiralling shell, and after making triple sure it was empty, promptly decided to spend the night in it. The rain had yet to let up, so it was nice to have some waterproof shelter overhead.

    In fact, the pitter-patter of the rain hitting their roof for the night was kind of nice, soothing.

    The banter over dinner was pretty light-hearted, yet Rylan felt there was a kind of morose undertone to their interactions. He wasn¡¯t sure, but he figured it was probably because they¡¯d finally made it out of the reef, only to spend several hours walking down.

    Back when they¡¯d just landed, some part of him had expected they¡¯d only have to walk for a day or so before they found an island. They¡¯d been here for almost two weeks now, and there was no telling how they were even oriented compared to their landing spot, let alone if they were any closer to seeing the sky again.

    The thought was depressing, so he buried it by throwing himself into his training, planning to use up most of his Mana Pool to start like had become his norm.

    It would refill during the night anyway.

    With the expansion of his overcharge capacity, he went through his mana faster, which meant he could actually train less. To compensate, he pushed his limits a little further with each throw, making sure he properly strained his Skill before he ran out.

    He started out as always, slowly pushing mana into his Skill, causing the glow around his chef¡¯s knife to brighten further and further, until the mana concentrated around its edge started to shimmer and waver. When he¡¯d pushed in a little over 0.9 points of mana, and he could feel the Skill had reached its limit, he threw it at the thick crab¡¯s shell he¡¯d found nearby.

    The blade buried itself to the hilt in the thick chitin with an audible thwack.

    He glanced at where Soren and Tamina were doing their usual practice with the reeds, and then¡ªignoring the brief pang of jealousy¡ªtook the shorter paring knife out of his belt, opting for an underhanded full-spin throw this time.

    A little later, as he filled up his fifth blade for the night, however, his concentration was broken by a cool voice in his ear, speaking to him unbidden.

    ¡¶Mana capacity threshold has been achieved,¡·Ethereon announced.¡¶Rank-Up conditions met. Applying Augmentation: Overcharge, to Skill: Knife-Throwing. Do you accept?¡·

 Chapter 27: Ranked Up

    A big smile broke out on Rylan¡¯s face as a by-now-familiar warm breeze came flying at him from a distant place.

    He closed his eyes and lowered his knife, unbothered by the mana inside it fizzling out while he tried to sense what exactly Ethereon was doing. However, the only interesting thing he managed to note before the breeze tapered off was that it seemed to head straight for the part of his spirit that housed his Skill.

    ¡¶Augmentation successful. Knife-Throwing has reached Rank 2,¡·Ethereon spoke once it was done.¡¶100 Quintessence Credits have been added to your balance.¡·

    Rylan studied his new and improved Skill with interest. It felt more... solid, somehow. Stronger.

    ¡°Ethereon, may I see my Knife-Throwing Window, please?¡±

    Knife-Throwing

    Rank 2

    Effects

    Blade guard

    Stable flight

    Forceful impact

    Augmentations

    Overcharge: 1.2 mana

    As expected, the Overcharge Augmentation was no longer greyed out, signifying that it was now completed. In fact, his Skill¡¯s mana capacity appeared to have increased during the Rank-Up, and he could now charge his Skill up to a full 1.2 points of mana!

    Still, Rylan felt there had to be more to a Rank-Up than that, so he raised his boning knife again and tried actually using his Skill.

    The first thing he noticed was that activating it felt... different. Before it had been like lighting an oil lamp; a single pull of the plunger caused an ignition, and once the fire was lit, it was lit. Now it was more like the Thistlethorns¡¯ oven; a steady activation that caused it to keep gathering heat until it reached the right temperature.

    Basically, by ¡®activating¡¯ the Skill for longer, it would now overcharge automatically. He didn¡¯t have to manually draw mana from his pool to send towards his blade anymore!

    So that¡¯s what an Augmentation is! It¡¯s a new effect that¡¯s actually made to be part of the Skill!

    Rylan stared in fascination as his blade filled with mana far faster than he¡¯d ever managed. Moreover, the glow around it felt more stable, too. On a whim, he charged the Skill up to its new maximum, and let the knife fly.

    His boning knife hit the thick chitin... and kept going. It smashed right through the shell, splitting it in half then bored into the pile of mistweed and sand beneath.

    Rylan cringed upon seeing the carnage. It was a good thing the overcharge empowered all of his Skill¡¯s effect, meaning it also offered additional protection for his blades.

    ¡°Rylan, what happened?¡± Soren asked, taking a step back and lowering his reed. ¡°Oh, that feeling just now... Did you Rank-Up Knife-Throwing?!¡±

    ¡°I did!¡±

    ¡°Nice! You did that pretty quick, too!¡±

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Rylan said, before licking his lips. ¡°Say... you wouldn¡¯t happen to know how I can get to the third rank of Knife-Throwing, would you? Ethereon doesn¡¯t specify what the next Augmentation is, yet.¡±

    Soren blinked. ¡°Ehm, well, that¡¯s up to you, actually.¡±

    ¡°Come again?¡±

    ¡°He said it¡¯s up to you,¡± Tamina repeated helpfully as she walked over to the fog condenser.

    ¡°I¡¯m not following.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, no, I¡¯m getting that,¡± Soren said, taking a deep breath before he continued. ¡°So, Ethereon rewards progress with a Skill with Rank-Ups. Every Rank-Up enhances the basic effects your Skill provides, but it also allows you to add a new effect, known as an Augmentation. In fact: doing something new with your Skill that Ethereon can turn into an Augmentation is exactly what it rewards with a Rank-Up. For example, adding the ability to overcharge your Skill with mana from your pool.¡±

    Rylan¡¯s eyebrows shot up. ¡°Wait, so Quinthar come up with these new effects themselves? And Ethereon just accepts and integrates them?¡±

    Tamina lowered the cup from her mouth and blew out a breath. ¡°For the first couple of ranks, pretty much.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s said that Ethereon¡¯s standards for what constitutes a worthy Augmentation tend to increase as you progress,¡± Soren added. ¡°That¡¯s part of what makes Quinthar with Rank 10 Skills so scary; you¡¯re never sure what exactly they¡¯re capable of, but you know it¡¯s probably something crazy.¡±

    Right, the maximum rank of a Skill is 10... I guess that means you can add nine Augmentation at most. Or at the very least, Ethereon won¡¯t help you add more.

    Rylan hesitated for a moment. ¡°Could you tell me what Augmentations your Skills have?¡±

    Tamina replied with a dry look.

    ¡°Right, Contract.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you mine!¡± Soren said. ¡°So, first of all, Dancing, like most movement Skills, can be activated continuously. That means my Overcharge Augmentation works a little differently, and is instead focused on allowing me to increase my continuous mana output. Doing so increases my Skill¡¯s effects and, more importantly, facilitates my other Augmentations. Like the one that brought my Skill up to Rank 3: my Quickstep Augmentation, which allows me to use mana to push myself to move faster with a specific pattern of steps.¡±

    Rylan nodded; he¡¯d seen Soren use that a couple of times by now.

    ¡°And more recently,¡± Soren continued, ¡°the Twirling Leap Augmentation that allowed me to attain Rank 4. It essentially allows me to spin up momentum, then convert that into a massive jump!¡±

    Soren apparently felt a demonstration was in order as he started to pirouette, gaining speed with every rotation, before he suddenly launched into a physics-defying leap.

    Rylan watched with wide eyes as his friend twirled past, and out of the spiral shell that served as their shelter.

    The effect was ruined a little when Soren had to jog back, but it was still impressive.

    ¡°Creative,¡± Tamina remarked as she handed the condenser over to Rylan. ¡°You were still spinning in the air though. Didn¡¯t you say you converted that motion into your jump?¡±

    ¡°I can convert all of it to jump further,¡± Soren said, scratching his head with a sigh. ¡°However, it becomes pretty hard to aim my jump when I do. I¡¯m still working on it.¡±

    So that twirl he did off the whale¡¯s rib actually was necessary for his Skill!

    Rylan frowned. ¡°It seems like you¡¯re using your Augmentations to mimic the effects of other Skills, like Running and Jumping. Is that on purpose?¡±

    ¡°It is,¡± Soren confirmed. ¡°While you could theoretically get all the Skills you like, Ethereon will not soon reward you with a Skill too similar to one you already have. And to be honest, I have better things to do than collect movement Skills; with a bit of work, Dancing should be able to fulfil all my needs in that regard. I imagine it¡¯s the same with Tamina for Footwork.¡±

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    To Rylan¡¯s surprise, Tamina actually nodded. ¡°Footwork suits my needs perfectly as a front-line fighter. I imagine it¡¯s actually what Soren was attempting to get as well, when he received Dancing instead.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Soren said with an exaggerated sigh. ¡°It was. I suppose Ethereon felt I was just too graceful for such a lowly¡ªow!¡±

    Soren rubbed his shoulder, mock-glaring at Tamina, who just waved her fist threateningly once more.

    Rylan bit his lip to refrain from smiling.

    ¡°Regarding Miss Tammi here,¡± Soren said. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that¡ªaside from the obligatory Overcharge¡ªshe has some kind of Shieldbash Augmentation at the very least, as her backhand with it packs quite a punch. That¡¯s an easy guess though, to be honest, because it¡¯s pretty much a classic. I bet she has at least one more, though. Care to share, Thar Tammi?¡±

    Tamina met his challenging gaze, her face blank. ¡°Say Soren, would you perhaps prefer it if I just stayed in the back during combat and encouraged you guys with words from now on?¡±

    ¡°Ehm, no?¡±

    ¡°Then maybe you should stop asking questions.¡±

    Soren winced a little. ¡°Right, sorry. We probably shouldn¡¯t mess around with the limitations of your Contract.¡±

    Rylan was about to comment on the way the mana had extended past the edges of her shield when she blocked the fire from the armadon Malequint for him, but thought better of it. It does sound like something that might not be part of the base Skill...

    ¡°So what are some classics for Knife-Throwing?¡± Rylan asked, leaning forward. ¡°Other than Overcharge, I mean. Maybe something like... making really long-distance throws, with multiple full spins?¡±

    Soren scratched his head. ¡°Well, that would depend on how you do it. I mean, you could probably learn to make such throws without using your Skill at all. Now, while some physical motion is clearly necessary for most Skills, and Ethereon does seem to register it to some degree, Skills generally don¡¯t directly affect how you move your muscles. As far as I know, they only affect mana. So if you wanted to add this as a new effect, it would have to be something like mana pushing the blade to fly out of your hand faster. Just throwing your knife differently wouldn¡¯t be enough, unless it involves using your mana in a new way as well.¡±

    ¡°Right, that makes sense,¡± Rylan muttered.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t know much about Knife-Throwing Skill Augmentations,¡± Soren added apologetically.

    Tamina grunted. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything for Knife-Throwing specifically, but for ranged Skills in general, learning how to adjust the trajectory of the projectile after it¡¯s been fired¡ªor thrown¡ªis pretty standard.¡±

    Rylan perked up. That definitely sounded like a worthwhile Augmentation.

    ¡°You should probably start small though,¡± Tamina cautioned. ¡°Trajectory adjustment is supposed to be pretty difficult. I would advise starting with something like adjusting the rotation mid-flight for your next Rank-Up, then continue from there.¡±

    Rylan bit his lip. ¡°That does sound pretty useful, but I kind of want to work towards another Skill, first.¡±

    She cocked her head, crossing her arms over her chest. ¡°Are you sure? I¡¯m not saying you can¡¯t, or that it wouldn¡¯t be great if you got one, it¡¯s just... the odds of you succeeding at that in a short frame of time are a lot slimmer.¡±

    Rylan frowned. ¡°Well... didn¡¯t you say that what I needed most was a way to move faster? I feel like my Knife-Throwing can already do a decent bit of damage now...¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s got a point,¡± Soren said, already back to focusing on his reed. ¡°That last throw had quite some force behind it. He¡¯s probably got the most offensive power out of the three of us right now.¡±

    Rylan blinked. Strange as that idea sounded to him, it made a kind of sense, as he was the only one with a weapon Skill. In fact, he¡¯d been the one taking down their lunch and dinner most of the time, as his knives lent themselves well to hunting the swifter prey down in the cloudsea.

    If Tamina thought it was a strange idea, her face certainly didn¡¯t show it. ¡°Fine,¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯ll probably end up working on both getting a new Skill and ranking up your first one at the same time in the future, and the principles are quite similar anyway, so it doesn¡¯t matter all that much. But before I instruct you, you should go ahead and buy the next tier of your Mana Shell.¡±

    Rylan hesitated, briefly wondering if he¡¯d not rather save up for a better Mana Core. Then again, who am I going to sell mana to on the bottom of the cloudsea?

    ¡°Fine,¡± he said, giving up on his dreams of making easy money with a sigh. ¡°Ethereon, please give me the next tier of Mana Shell.¡±

    ¡¶Quintessence Structure upgrade requested. Deducting 100 Quintessence Credits. Commencing Mana Shell upgrade to second tier in three, two, one...¡·

    Rylan once more closed his eyes, and tried to sense what the warm breeze of what he suspected was Quintessence did inside of his spirit. The process was too rapid to really follow, however, and he could only just about sense the spot in his spirit where the energy had been deposited. I guess that¡¯s the structure that controls my Mana Shell, then.

    ¡¶Quintessence Structure upgrade successful.¡·

    By the time he opened his eyes, his hard-earned credits had evaporated, his Mana Shell could hold up to two points of mana, and Tamina was standing right in front of him. ¡°You got it?¡±

    He nodded morosely.

    ¡°All right, then. Have a seat, I¡¯ll first need to explain some stuff.¡±

    Rylan immediately sank down and perked up his ears, his financial woes all but forgotten.

    A drop of cold water¡ªeither sweat or condensation, Rylan wasn¡¯t sure¡ªdripped from a lock of his hair onto his nose. He ignored it, keeping his focus firmly on his right leg where it lay propped up on his left. Or, more precisely, on the thin stream of mana he was slowly trying to push down his right leg, through the bottom of his foot, and into the sole of his leather boot.

    It was not going very well.

    Without a Skill to accept and guide it, his mana didn¡¯t seem to want to enter his boot in the slightest, and moreover, tended to merge into his Mana Shell as soon as it left his skin. Of course, as the field protecting him was already filled to capacity, that just led to it dispersing on into the air.

    And learning how to manually fill the relevant tool¡ªor body part¡ªwith mana from one¡¯s pool was only the first step. The second and much harder step, was to try to apply the mana to help with what he was doing.

    Rylan just hoped he would actually get to that step at some point this evening.

    The idea of the method Tamina had laid out was essentially to mimic the use of a Skill through manual mana manipulation. Supposedly, it had a much better success rate for acquiring new Skills than the dry practice he¡¯d been doing before. But of course, it was only available to Quinthar, as it required access to mana in the first place.

    Part of him had been surprised that her Contract allowed her to lay out a Quinthar training method in such detail, but he supposed it had to be rather common knowledge amongst Quinthar, to the point that the Talons simply didn¡¯t bother trying to restrict it.

    Rylan¡¯s heart skipped a beat as the barest glimmer of light lit up around the edge of his leather boot.

    He carefully tried to get to his feet, so he could attempt to apply the gathered mana into pushing off from the ground, as Running required, but before he was halfway through standing up, the glow flickered out as he lost control of the mana, and it dispersed from his boot.

    Rylan sank back down with a groan, glancing over at where Soren and Tamina were making slow slashing motions with their glowing weapons.

    They were preparing for the third and hardest step, which was to actually use the pseudo-Skill in action. Preferably real action, not just a friendly spar.

    Steeling his determination, he switched to his left leg, and once more started to push the thin flow of mana coming from his Mana Core towards it.

    Switching legs from time to time was important. He wanted Running after all, not Hopping.

    Like Shucking, that probably wasn¡¯t an actual Skill, but Rylan wasn¡¯t about to risk it. Either way, he still had a long way to go, but he¡¯d be damned if he wasn¡¯t going to try his hardest.

    Despite his conviction, however, he only lasted for about another hour before he started to flag, feeling mentally¡ªor perhaps spiritually¡ªexhausted.

    It was getting late anyway, and Tamina soon told them to get some sleep as she took first watch as usual. Rylan had expected the excitement of the evening to keep him up for a bit, but in reality, he was gone the second his head hit the pile of clothes that formed his makeshift pillow.

    Rylan swam through the fog with his pod, clicking and trilling happily as they chased some tasty fogfish. His powerful tail propelled him ever forward, until his hunger was sated. Then he played with his finned companions, especially the small ones.

    At one point, a buoyhead shark approached them, but Rylan drew on the well of power inside of him and let out a terrible sound that caused the predator to vibrate until it spun around and rushed off, blood dripping from its eyes and mouth.

    Then he felt something. A prickling up his spine, that called to him, beckoning. On a whim, he followed it, chasing down the elusive sensation, his pod faithfully trailing in his wake.

    Slowly, as he sped past rocks and shells, corals and kelp, the prickling became stronger.

    Finally, after what felt like a long time, he approached an area of brightly lit fog, that he instinctively knew he shouldn¡¯t enter, and slowed down. The prickling grew stronger still, until it manifested into a voice.

    ¡°Please... Come... Help...¡±

    Rylan woke with a start, sitting up abruptly, cold sweat beading on his brow and tingles running up his spine. Already, the clarity of his dream was fading, but one image remained, burnt into his brain.

    A symbol, made up of a hexagon surrounding a flame. The same symbol he¡¯d seen about two weeks ago, on the cover of a book about the Hermean Empire.

    What truly disconcerted him, however, was that, as he sat there in the dark, a gentle tingle ran up his spine. It was a soft prickling sensation, almost ephemeral, like a faint whisper that he could only barely hear and never quite understand, and yet seemed to hold some kind of message...

    His brows drew together as he found himself instinctively turning his head to the right, looking for some distant point and... seeing nothing but the inside of the spiral shell.

    Despite that, he somehow knew that there was something in that exact direction, far beyond that thin wall. And that something, whatever it was, was calling out to him, asking him to come and help.

    What the fog is going on?!

 Chapter 28: Direction

    The second time Rylan woke, it was to Soren, gently shaking him awake for his watch. He got up bleary-eyed, and climbed out of the soggy-yet-warm bedroll to sit at the entrance to the shell.

    A tingle went up his spine, and he instinctively turned his head to stare into the fog.

    The events of the night, his strange dream, came back to him, and his eyes widened, his heartbeat accelerating.

    He pinched the skin on the back of his hand. It hurt.

    Fog. Is this really happening? What could possibly be calling me?

    Several hours of quiet pondering and sporadic tingles brought him no closer to solving the mystery. He¡¯d never before been so tempted to wake his companions early, but managed to keep himself in check.

    Well, if he did start on breakfast a little early, and the smell woke them before they normally rose, he could hardly be blamed, could he?

    As eager as he was to share about his strange experiences¡ªand the odd sense of direction that still tingled up his spine every couple of minutes¡ªhe found himself a little hesitant once his companions were actually gathered around the breakfast he¡¯d prepared.

    ¡°I, ehm,¡± he finally worked up the courage to start, as Soren slurped enthusiastically on the broth Rylan had drawn out of their leftover frog legs. ¡°I had a dream last night.¡±

    ¡°Mm!¡± Soren hummed with his mouth full, thankfully swallowing before he continued. ¡°Me too! I dreamt I was chasing this delicious-looking crab, but then it scurried under its mommy, and its mommy was huge and thought I looked delicious.¡±

    Tamina nodded sagely. ¡°That last part is how you know it¡¯s a dream.¡±

    ¡°Excuse me?!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re like a twig. Not enough meat on your bones to look delicious to a giant crab.¡±

    ¡°Are you calling me weak? I may not have bulging muscles, but I¡¯m wiry!¡±

    ¡°Exactly my point.¡±

    ¡°I had a dream last night,¡± Rylan repeated, with a little more force. ¡°Or... something like it. It may have been more of a, well, vision.¡±

    This finally caught their attention, and they both turned to face him.

    ¡°For real?¡± Soren asked, his eyes wide.

    Tamina didn¡¯t say anything, just stared at him with a single raised brow.

    Rylan could feel the heat rise to his cheeks. ¡°I know what it sounds like, but... Yeah, I think so.¡±

    ¡°Well, out with it,¡± Soren continued excitedly, lowering his bowl. ¡°What was it like? What did you see?!¡±

    Rylan took a deep breath. ¡°Well, it... it was from the perspective of that big cloudphin Malequint we encountered yesterday. I was swimming with my pod, hunting fogfish, and the sounds I made¡ªthe clicking noises¡ªsomehow told me where they were. At some point, there was a cloudshark, and I let out a different sound, a kind of... screech. It immediately started to bleed from its eyes and gums, and fled. Then something... called to me, and I heeded it. I swam through the fog for a long time, until finally, I came to a place I couldn¡¯t enter, and then... I heard a voice, that called for help. Except it wasn¡¯t talking to the cloudphin. It was talking to me.¡±

    Tamina shivered, and shook her head. ¡°All right, very funny. Points for delivery, but that¡¯s enough spirit vision stories for breakfast.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Soren asked, incredulous. ¡°I have to know what happened next!¡±

    ¡°Are you being serious right now?¡± Tamina asked, rolling her eyes. ¡°He clearly got bored on watch and decided to mess with us.¡±

    They both turned to Rylan, and he swallowed. ¡°Again, I know what it sounds like, but I¡¯m not making this up. More importantly... I can still sense it calling to me. It¡ªit¡¯s somewhere over there.¡±

    Another tingle went up his spine right then, and he pointed out into the fog unerringly, without turning his head.

    Tamina¡¯s frown deepened.

    Soren stared right at him, eyes wide and gleaming. ¡°It¡¯s totally like the old stories!¡± he whispered. ¡°A spirit, beckoning you for some unknowable reason...¡±

    ¡°Seriously, if this is your idea of a joke, it¡¯s not funny,¡± Tamina growled. The tension in her shoulders, and the little tremble on the word ¡®not¡¯ told a very different story from her tone, however.

    I guess she really doesn¡¯t like scary stories.

    Rylan shrugged helplessly. ¡°It¡¯s not a joke, Tammi. I kinda wish it was.¡±

    She squinted at him, seeming to try to forcibly pierce through his fa?ade somehow. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll believe you believe that. Here¡¯s an alternate explanation: you had a dream.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Soren exclaimed. ¡°First of all, that doesn¡¯t explain the sense of direction, and second of all: this was clearly a vision!¡±

    ¡°It happened while he slept,¡± Tamina replied dryly.

    ¡°That¡¯s normal!¡± Soren argued, gesticulating with such fervour that he almost spilt some of his broth. ¡°When could we be more receptive to visions then while asleep? Fog, most of my mom¡¯s visions happen while she sleeps, and the spirits have shown her things that happened far away, long before we got news of them; like when Mount Ventus started rumbling and puffing out smoke.¡±

    Rylan blinked at him. He¡¯d never heard about Dionne getting visions, but he definitely recalled the event Soren mentioned. It had been big news a couple of years ago. The Thistlethorns had temporarily sheltered quite a number of refugees from Ventonas¡ªthe capital city built into the dormant volcano¡ªand even the royal family had been forced to abandon Precipice Palace for a while. Thankfully, Mount Ventus ultimately didn¡¯t erupt, and eventually went back to sleep.

    ¡°Here, I¡¯ll prove it,¡± Soren said, before turning to Rylan. ¡°Rylan, you¡¯ve never seen my grandmother use her Voice Skills, right?¡±

    ¡°I mean, I¡¯ve felt the walls shake sometimes, but... not directly, no. Why?¡±

    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    ¡°Well, what you described with the shark just now, sounds eerily similar to what she can do.¡±

    Rylan perked up. ¡°You¡¯ve seen her use her Voice Skills?¡±

    Soren nodded gravely. ¡°Once, when I was eight. Actually, I told you about it. Remember that time my family went out on a sailing trip and got approached by a ship flying a black flag?¡±

    Rylan definitely remembered. They¡¯d played pirate games for weeks afterwards, completely obsessed. Fog, he¡¯d dreamt of being a pirate for well over a year.

    ¡°Well,¡± Soren continued upon his nod. ¡°What I didn¡¯t tell you¡ªbecause Helen strictly forbade me¡ªwas what I saw. I only caught a glimpse of what happened when grandma raised her voice, before my mom dragged me below deck, but I distinctly remember seeing the other ship¡¯s captain start to bleed from his eyes and ears.¡±

    Tamina¡¯s eyes were flicking back and forth between them, alarmed.

    Soren turned towards her. ¡°I swear I never told him about that.¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t prove anything,¡± she croaked.

    ¡°All I¡¯m saying is, it¡¯s not the kind of detail you just make up,¡± Soren replied seriously.

    ¡°There¡¯s one more thing,¡± Rylan said. ¡°At the end, I was left with an image in my head. A symbol. Here, it looked like... this.¡±

    The spiky hexagon he drew in the sand came out a little wonky, and the thing in the centre wasn¡¯t much more than a distant cousin of a flame, but he figured it got the point across.

    Soren squinted at it, then his eyes widened. ¡°That¡¯s the mark of the Hermean Empire!¡±

    ¡°Is it?¡± Tamina asked sceptically.

    ¡°Yes! Look, it¡¯s a hexagon containing a flame!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what it looked like!¡± Rylan agreed excitedly.

    ¡°Looks more like a fence around a heap of dung,¡± Tamina muttered.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Rylan protested. ¡°I tried, all right? Anyway, do you know what it means?¡±

    Soren hesitated, then shook his head. ¡°Master Gullfeather said the exact origin of the mark has been lost to the ages. It¡¯s on a lot of old knick-knacks and coins from that era, but that just makes it kind of hard to pinpoint its significance.¡±

    Rylan deflated a little. He¡¯d hoped to find out a little more about it. He considered bringing up the book in the Thistlethorn library it had been on the cover of, but he didn¡¯t want to get Tamina back on the ¡®it was just a dream¡¯ track, so he kept his silence.

    ¡°Here¡¯s what I think happened,¡± Soren said, gazing intently at Rylan. ¡°You fed that Malequint something yesterday. You touched it, and not just physically, as you said you could tell it was a Malequint. Somehow, a spirit used the imprint left by that contact, fleeting as it was, to send you a message. Used the creature as a bridge, of sorts, a conduit. That¡¯s my best guess, anyway.¡±

    Rylan swallowed, his mouth feeling awfully dry, despite the fog. ¡°So, do you think this is a good thing or a bad thing?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Soren replied earnestly. ¡°What did it feel like to you?¡±

    Rylan pondered that for a moment. ¡°I think its request for help was... genuine. It was like I got a taste of its emotions when it spoke to me. I don¡¯t think it was deceiving me. I¡¯m not even sure it could have.¡±

    ¡°What kind of help could a spirit possibly need?¡± Tamina mused.

    ¡°Beats me,¡± Soren replied chipperly. ¡°But I guess we¡¯re going to find out. ¡¯Cause it sounds like Rylan can lead us right to it.¡±

    ¡°I get these tingles up my spine,¡± Rylan explained. ¡°And then I just... know.¡±

    ¡°Are we seriously going to follow Rylan¡¯s weird tingles?!¡±

    ¡°What have we got to lose?¡± Soren asked with a shrug. ¡°We¡¯re already in deep trouble. If we can help this spirit, it may be able to help us in return. Fog, if it can really give people visions and a sense of direction through the fog, it could let someone know where we are! Like my dad.¡±

    That finally gave Tamina pause. Her frown didn¡¯t let up, but she eventually sighed. ¡°Fine. I guess it¡¯s worth a shot. Not like we have a lot of stellar options otherwise. But if this all leads to some hungry Malequint that¡¯s too lazy to come get us, I just want you to remember that I said ¡®I told you so,¡¯ beforehand!¡±

    That statement was followed by some light-hearted bickering about what kind of Malequint could possibly do something like this, but overall, Rylan felt like the mood had shifted.

    He hadn¡¯t even considered what the spirit might be able to do in return, but now that Soren had spelled out the possibilities, their escape from the cloudsea suddenly seemed a lot more imminent and plausible than it had in a while.

    They started out strong that day. The rain had finally ended somewhere early in the morning, and they set out with fresh purpose. Under the diffuse light of day, with newfound hope, the tingles going up Rylan¡¯s spine seemed a lot less eerie, and he felt cautiously optimistic.

    A few hours later, however, the slogging was beginning to wear on him again. Thankfully, his Mana Pool had refilled by now, so Rylan could at least do some training as he walked.

    He could still recall the feeling of how the cloudphin had tapped into its power and channelled it into its vocal chords. Part of him had been tempted to replicate it, but Soren had made it quite clear that all Voice Skills had requirements for the Presence Attribute¡ªnot exactly Rylan¡¯s strong suit.

    To be fair, trying to pour mana into his vocal cords and screeching at the top of his lungs down in the cloudsea seemed like a poor idea in general.

    Hiding his disappointment, Rylan instead focused on his current training goal: working towards Running.

    Not that his practice involved anything like running yet. At the moment, he was just sending tiny pulses of mana to his feet in an alternating rhythm. The steady pace they were walking at didn¡¯t really give him time to do much more than try to push the mana out the bottom of his feet, but he tried to do so while mentally picturing the mana being stored in the soles of his boots.

    He couldn¡¯t really tell if it was working or not, but it seemed like it was going to take a while for them to reach whatever being was calling out to him, and it wasn¡¯t like he still needed to save up mana to expand his overcharge capacity, or had anything better to do.

    Focusing on his mana did mean he was paying less attention to his surroundings, but with Tamina in front of him and Soren behind him, he wasn¡¯t too worried.

    Also, it wasn¡¯t like their surroundings were all that interesting.

    As much as he¡¯d hated the reef by the end, part of him couldn¡¯t help but miss it, now that they were trekking across a mostly desolate field of sand.

    The desolation wasn¡¯t boding well for their lunch, either.

    There were no shellfish or amphibians to be seen, hardly any plants, and the only crustaceans they came across were too small to consider eating. The only suitable prey around here were the fogfish that sometimes came flitting by, but Knife-Throwing¡ªthe only feasible way they had to take those down without the ability to corner them¡ªcame with a risk.

    Without the corals to block any stray knives, it was hard to tell how far a missed throw might travel. And a knife that hit the sand tip-first might very well disappear entirely, if he charged it with too much mana.

    So when a particularly juicy fogfish came swimming by, Rylan briefly caressed the handle of his chef¡¯s knife, but ultimately sighed and watched it dart away.

    By the time Soren tapped him on the shoulder, an hour or two later, his stomach was rumbling enough to shift his priorities.

    He turned around, a half-formed question on his lips, but Soren quickly covered his mouth, before pointing at a vague shape in the fog, that was slowly drifting closer.

    A fogfish, and a fat one at that. The creature clearly hadn¡¯t detected them yet, as it was still approaching them. Rylan had found that the eyesight of many creatures down here wasn¡¯t great, and they tended to rely on other senses more.

    Licking his lips, Rylan moved very carefully as he drew one of his blades. The sound of the metal sliding over leather was still enough to make Tamina turn around, but Soren¡¯s frantic gesturing kept her quiet as Rylan drew back his blade, holding it by the handle.

    It was a pretty far throw, so he¡¯d taken out one of his longer knives¡ªthe filleting knife¡ªand was going for a full-spin.

    The fogfish drifted closer, and Rylan could just barely see its fins lazily flapping.

    It would notice them any second now, so he couldn¡¯t waste any more time. He charged his blade with about 0.3 points of mana, just to guarantee the kill in case of a poor hit, then stepped out and threw in a single motion.

    His glowing blade sailed through the fog at high speed, performing a full rotation before it buried itself neatly into his prey¡¯s head with a solid thump.

    The impact was strong enough to send the floating creature spinning backwards, weak spasms going through its flesh as the weight of the knife started to pull it down to the cloudbed.

    ¡°Nice one, Ryles!¡± Soren cheered, already sprinting over.

    ¡°Not bad,¡± Tamina agreed, as she and Rylan followed at a more sedate pace.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Rylan replied with a smile. ¡°I had a good teacher.¡±

    A small smile graced her own lips in return, but the moment was broken by Soren letting out a curse, which was quickly followed by a loud, ominous hiss.

    Uh oh...

 Chapter 29: Hangry

    Rylan and Tamina shared a glance, then rushed forward, already drawing their weapons.

    They found Soren with his rapier out, standing in front of some sort of overgrown lizard. The creature was ten feet long, covered in tiny scales, and its tail swept angrily as its slitted, yellow eyes glared at the young noble.

    And right between them, lay the fat fogfish Rylan had taken down.

    ¡°That carrion lizard is trying to take our lunch!¡± Tamina hissed, brandishing her sword and shield. ¡°Get it!¡±

    The lizard took a menacing step forward, bearing its razor-sharp teeth and letting out a low, rumbling growl.

    Soren stepped back. ¡°Ehm, isn¡¯t fighting this thing a bit of a needless risk? Perhaps we should let just it have the fogging fish...¡±

    Despite his growling stomach, Rylan was tempted to agree. Though he¡¯d really like his knife back, at the very least...

    However, Tamina wasn¡¯t having it. She leapt forward, and lashed out with her sword right as the carrion lizard tried to snatch their prey. It drew its head back just in time to avoid her slash, letting out another hiss.

    ¡°Caution is by no means a sin,¡± Tamina spoke tersely. ¡°But there are times when you have to make a stand, too. We may be lost down here, but we¡¯re still Quinthar; have some pride.¡±

    Soren straightened as if stung, then dropped into a ready stance and started circling to the left. The lizard warily eyed him as it backed off a step, but didn¡¯t turn around to leave.

    Rylan hefted his boning knife by the blade and started charging it with mana, creeping a bit closer. After all the practice from the past weeks, he barely had to wave his blade around to keep his Skill active while he waited for his companions to distract the creature and provide him a good opportunity.

    Tamina stepped in aggressively, holding out her shield as if trying to provoke an attack from the lizard. It didn¡¯t take the bait, backing off a little instead, but seemed unwilling to truly move away from the fogfish.

    Soren approached from the other side, and struck out at its flank.

    Rylan noticed a bit of a glow around the tip of the rapier as it darted in. It didn¡¯t appear to be enough, however, as the weapon¡¯s tip still failed to pierce the lizard¡¯s tough scales.

    The creature hissed, but refused to back off. It lashed out with its tail, swinging at Soren¡¯s feet, but Rylan¡¯s friend danced out of the way¡ªliterally, judging by the glow coming off his fancy footwork.

    As the lizard turned its head towards Soren, Rylan took a chance and whipped his arm forward.

    His glowing blade flew true and actually pierced the creature¡¯s scales and sank into its neck, eliciting a gurgling hiss. He wasn¡¯t sure if the blow would be fatal, and before he could find out, he picked up a slight rustle from behind him.

    Rylan instinctively jolted forward even while starting to turn around, but he wasn¡¯t fast enough. A second, slightly smaller carrion lizard clamped its jaws down onto his left ankle, and he let out a cry as he went sprawling, though mostly out of shock.

    While the teeth clamped around his feet looked terribly sharp, they hadn¡¯t pierced his skin, thanks to the shimmering layer of mana covering him. Not yet, anyway, as the glow surrounding his skin was rapidly growing dimmer.

    With his heart pounding in his chest, Rylan kicked at the creature¡¯s head, but it didn¡¯t budge in the slightest. Panicked, he grabbed mana from his pool and sent it surging towards his right foot.

    His control was shoddy, and most of it ended up spilling out along the way. The little mana that did make it to his foot didn¡¯t seem to make an appreciable difference in the impact of his kicks, but at least the mana that spilled over seemed to slow down the dimming of his Mana Shell a little.

    It was a stay of execution at best, and he knew it.

    Swearing heartily, Rylan drew his paring knife, almost fumbling the handle, and tried to stab the lizard in the eye. Unfortunately, it closed its lid at the last second, and his knife failed to penetrate the thick, scaly wrinkles scrunched up over its weak parts.

    Desperate, he kept trying, but it was rapidly becoming clear he wouldn¡¯t get anywhere without mana. Despite knowing better, he tried to activate his Skill. However, as expected, the mana around his blade fizzled out when he went to stab.

    Knife-Throwing clearly wasn¡¯t made for this scenario.

    He could try to push mana into the blade manually, but he¡¯d barely succeeded with his foot just now, and his Mana Shell was growing awfully dim.

    So instead, he drew back and activated his Skill again. Getting an accurate throw in from this close up would be difficult; he¡¯d have to spin the blade really fast. Still, it was better than just letting the fogging thing gnaw off his¡ª

    As he charged up his blade, Soren arrived.

    Rylan¡¯s blue-haired friend dove onto the lizard, grabbing its bottom jaw with one hand, and using his other to wedge his rapier into the creature¡¯s mouth and start trying to leverage it open.

    The pressure on Rylan¡¯s ankle decreased a little, but still the lizard refused to let go.

    With Soren covering the thing, Rylan definitely couldn¡¯t make a throw, and even kicking it was probably out. So instead, he focused on directing his mana down his trapped leg and dispersing it around his ankle, in an attempt to shore up the dangerously weak glow of his Mana Shell.

    ¡°Do something!¡± he yelled at Soren, turning his head to see why Tamina wasn¡¯t helping, only to find her facing off against a third carrion lizard.

    ¡°I¡¯m trying!¡± Soren replied, his face red as he wrestled with the lizard.

    Finally, he seemed to reconsider his method, and changed tacks. He let go of his rapier¡¯s handle and grabbed it by the blade instead, proceeding to wield it like a miniature spear as he started wildly stabbing the lizard¡¯s head with it.

    Unfortunately, the jabs left rather minor nicks on the creature¡¯s scales, which only caused it to growl and bear down harder.

    ¡°Soren!¡± Rylan called in alarm, bracing himself as he felt his Mana Shell start to crumble under the relentless pressure.

    In response, Soren lifted his rapier up high. A white glow burst to life around the blade before he brought it down with an angry cry. This time, the scales failed to ward off the blow, and the Soren managed to drive it through the carrion lizard¡¯s eye, into its skull.

    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    The creature stiffened, then went limp.

    Rylan immediately kicked its maw off his left ankle and scrambled back, staring with some amazement at the light denture marks on his trousers, the only proof he¡¯d just had a giant lizard try to chew his foot off.

    In fact, other than his knee being a little sore, he felt completely fine. If he¡¯d still had any doubts about his decision to buy the second tier of Mana Shell, they were certainly gone now.

    Ethereon be praised!

    Soren sat up, still holding the rapier buried in the lizard¡¯s skull by the blade, a dazed expression on his face.

    A grunt behind Rylan alerted him to the ongoing hostilities, and he turned around just in time to see Tamina pulling her sword out of the third lizard¡¯s flank, a gush of blood following her steel.

    The lizard hissed weakly and started to crawl away on wobbly legs. Tamina started cleaning her blade, either uncaring that the creature was getting away, or confident that it wouldn¡¯t get far anyway. Only when Soren cried ¡®Yes!¡¯ and started laughing uncontrollably, did she finally look over with a bemused expression.

    Rylan turned around as well, frowning. ¡°What? What¡¯s so funny?¡±

    ¡°I... I just...¡± Soren started, seeming to give up on talking through his laughter with a shake of his head.

    Then, Rylan felt it. The by-now-familiar sensation of a warm breeze coming from some distant place. Except for once, it wasn¡¯t heading for him.

    It flew into Soren, instead.

    Rylan¡¯s eyes widened as the breeze tapered off. ¡°Wait... did that get you a Skill?¡±

    Soren¡¯s head wobbled up and down like a drunk gull as he continued laughing uncontrollably.

    ¡°Then why are you... did it get you Fencing?!¡±

    Soren¡¯s renewed burst of laughter confirmed as much.

    Rylan sputtered indignantly. ¡°But... but you weren¡¯t even holding it right!¡±

    ¡°I know!¡±

    ¡°We told you,¡± Tamina said calmly as she came walking over. ¡°It¡¯s all about mana. I guess Ethereon was already satisfied with his ability with the blade. He just needed to properly channel his mana through it in real combat.¡±

    Rylan was still flabbergasted as she helped him to his feet, easily lifting his full weight in the floaty fog. Soren got up himself, his laughter finally dying down as he drew his rapier from the lizard¡¯s skull.

    ¡°Congratulations,¡± Tamina said with a small smile. ¡°Guess it¡¯s better to stand and fight sometimes, huh?¡±

    ¡°You know, I did still almost lose a foot there,¡± Rylan remarked in a deadpan voice.

    Her face quickly fell, and she glanced down at his legs.

    ¡°I¡¯m all right,¡± Rylan relented. ¡°My Mana Shell held out. Barely.¡±

    Something like relief passed over her face, before she drew herself back up and nodded with an air of righteousness that Rylan had begun to recognise as playfully exaggerated. ¡°In that case, I¡¯d say it was just the push Soren needed.¡±

    Rylan narrowed his eyes at her, crossing his arms over his chest. ¡°And is that really why you wanted us to ¡®stand our ground,¡¯ or did you just want to eat that fogfish?¡±

    She raised a brow at him, her face returned to its usual blank state, but then her stomach let out a rather loud growl.

    Soren immediately burst into laughter again. ¡°Uh oh! Busted!¡±

    ¡°Stop laughing,¡± she growled at him, her face growing flush. ¡°We haven¡¯t eaten in hours, it¡¯s just a natural physiological response!¡±

    ¡°Is fighting a ten-foot-long carrion lizard also a natural physiologic¡ªoww!¡± Soren cried as Tamina punched his shoulder. ¡°Ryles, she¡¯s getting violent again! Quick, start cooking!¡±

    Rylan shook his head fondly as the blue-haired noble backed up, Tamina menacingly stalking after him. ¡°Sounds like a plan... but let¡¯s get out of here before the dead lizards attract more scavengers.¡±

    The flesh of the fogfish was rich and savoury in taste, and soft enough to practically melt in Rylan¡¯s mouth. All in all, it was worth getting his foot nearly chewed off for.

    There was a lot of it, too, more than enough to not only provide them lunch, but dinner as well, later that day.

    Finding a place to rest for the night once again proved a challenge, but they eventually stumbled upon a low rocky cliff, and after following it for a while, found an overhang that formed a natural shelter.

    After dinner, it was once again time to train. However, with Soren having gotten his second Skill, their usual routine had to change.

    Before, Tamina and Soren had been on pretty equal footing while trading blows with their mana-charged reeds, but now that Soren could use his Fencing Skill with the thin red rod, the disparity was too big for either of them to really benefit from sparring.

    Moreover, Soren¡¯s priority right now was to do what Rylan had been doing previously: get a first Rank-Up for his Skill through the Overcharge Augmentation.

    Thus, Tamina was out a training partner, and needed a new one.

    ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± she said encouragingly as Rylan¡¯s much shorter length of reed started to glow a little. ¡°Steady now, keep your focus on the mana.¡±

    Rylan tried to do exactly that as he started a slow slashing motion through the air, but it was like trying to hold a wet bar of soap with nothing but two thumbs. Before he even got halfway through the move, his control slipped and the glow flickered out, the mana dispersing.

    He straightened out of his stance with an annoyed sigh.

    Earlier, he¡¯d found out that¡ªwith some effort¡ªhe could get his Knife-Throwing Skill to accept the short length of reed as a receptacle for his Skill. However, Tamina had made it very clear that Rylan couldn¡¯t use his Skill during this training at all. Otherwise he would only be working towards an Augmentation of his existing Skill, rather than convincing Ethereon to provide him with Knife-Fighting.

    And trying to use his Knife-Throwing Skill for melee combat as well might be nice in the short term, but it would be a real waste in the long run.

    ¡°You¡¯re getting there,¡± Tamina promised, patting him on the shoulder. ¡°We¡¯ll be trading blows in no time. And either way, I appreciate you splitting your focus for me.¡±

    Rylan smiled at her. ¡°Trust me, you¡¯re doing me a favour. I was going crazy just sitting there with my leg propped up. I definitely wouldn¡¯t want to be Soren right now.¡±

    ¡°You know I can hear you, right?¡± Soren replied from where he was sitting with his eyes closed, his rapier glowing in his lap.

    ¡°You should still spend some time working towards Running, too,¡± Tamina advised, ignoring the young noble. ¡°But having variety in exercises is probably not a bad thing either way, as it¡¯s all working towards mana control.¡±

    ¡°And it¡¯ll help me stay sane, which is a plus,¡± Rylan joked.

    Tamina smiled at him, then seemed to hesitate. ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve been considering some new training for myself as well... would you mind taking a break to help me out with that?¡±

    ¡°Sure! I¡¯m getting kinda low on mana anyway. What are you trying to do?¡±

    Tamina gave him a blank stare.

    ¡°She can¡¯t tell you that,¡± Soren chimed in.

    ¡°Right,¡± Rylan said. ¡°Your Contract. Then, what do you want me to do?¡±

    ¡°I need you to, ehm, lift me up.¡±

    It took some awkward fumbling for them to find a proper way to do so, but they eventually settled on Rylan standing behind her, and lifting her by the armpits. Or trying to, anyway. She was clearly making him wait with attempting to lift her until she¡¯d activated Footwork every time, and it was significantly harder to get her off the ground than it should¡¯ve been in the floaty fog.

    It wasn¡¯t hard to guess what she was trying, especially after she said she¡¯d gotten the idea for the training from their encounter with the Ruby-Grade shark Malequint. The interesting part, really, was that she was trying to anchor herself while standing on sand.

    ¡°Again, please,¡± Tamina said, spreading her arms once more.

    Another tingle ran up Rylan¡¯s spine, trying to pull his attention in a certain direction, but he ignored it, and placed his hands in the designated spots, trying not to focus on how smooth her skin on the right was, or how cold and hard the steel on the left.

    When he¡¯d first realised it was a prosthetic, he¡¯d been fascinated but afraid to stare. After Tamina had caught him sneaking one too many a glance, she¡¯d rolled her eyes and asked if he¡¯d like to help her oil it.

    He¡¯d helped her out several times since, marvelling over the superb craftsmanship. But recently, she¡¯d stopped asking, having returned to doing it herself. And he couldn¡¯t help but notice that she hadn¡¯t been using the prosthetic as much, and couldn¡¯t lift it quite as high as her arm...

    The conditions down here can¡¯t be helping it... How much longer is it going to keep working without some proper maintenance?

    He decided not to ask and just silently kept assisting her training. Regardless of the answer, they had no choice but to keep going, and pray that the being that needed their help would help them in return.

    After she was done, he¡¯d probably work on Running some more, and during his watch, he¡¯d focus on working with the reed again.

    He could not recommend the experience of having a carrion lizard chew on one¡¯s ankle, but at least it was an excellent motivator. Whatever was waiting for them at the end of the mysterious pull, he was going to be as ready for it as he could be.

 Chapter 30: Rumbling

    Sitting cross-legged on his perch, Rylan frowned, keeping his eyes closed as he tried to sense the tingles.

    They¡¯d covered quite some distance over the week since he¡¯d had his dream-vision, but their forward progress had been impeded when they¡¯d come across a sheer downward cliff.

    They were all understandably weary of that particular geological feature.

    Still, they¡¯d found an oversized mushroom nearby that grew a decent distance from the edge, and spent the night hidden beneath its cap. And after breakfast, they¡¯d started walking along the edge, carefully- looking for a reasonable path down.

    It took up most of their morning, but they¡¯d eventually found one. The problem was, along the way down, the sporadic tingles in Rylan¡¯s spine¡ªthat had steadily been growing stronger over the past couple of days¡ªhad grown weaker until they vanished. He hoped that meant they¡¯d moved down into a ravine, somehow making it harder for the being to reach him, and not that they were too late to fulfil the request for help.

    The problem was further compounded by what they found at the bottom of the cliff: a forest of tall, thin spires of rock rising from red clay that, for some reason, were topped by rocks with a slightly bigger circumference than the spires themselves.

    It led Rylan to wonder how an area like this came to be; his companions didn¡¯t seem to know either. Anyway, being forced to weave a winding path made it significantly harder to keep track of their heading.

    So now he was up on one of the rock spires, trying his damnedest to feel something, and it wasn¡¯t going very well.

    ¡°You get anything, yet, Ryles?¡± Soren called up from the fog below.

    Rylan let out a sigh. ¡°No. And you¡¯re not helping!¡±

    ¡°Sorry!¡±

    ¡°Just be quiet, please. I¡¯m trying to focus.¡±

    Unfortunately, Soren wasn¡¯t the only thing that wasn¡¯t helping. There was an actual breeze flowing down through the suspected ravine, giving him goosebumps, and there was an ominous rumbling in the distance that he didn¡¯t like one bit. When moments later, a fat drop of rain fell on his head, he let out a groan.

    It¡¯s so cold... When I shiver, how am I supposed to even know if it¡¯s¡ª

    Rylan opened his eyes abruptly. A tingle had just gone up his spine, weak, but unmistakable.

    With his eyes firmly fixed in the direction the tingle had seemed to indicate, he scrambled backwards, lowering himself to hang from the edge of his seat for a moment before he let go.

    Weightless, he fell slowly through the fog, drops of rain speeding past him. Thanks to the floatiness, the thirty-foot drop was barely anything, and with his soles covered in mana, he easily landed on the dense red clay.

    Getting up there had been a lot harder in comparison, but his mana had helped there, too.

    The top of most of the spires was too high to reach with a simple jump, and having Soren and Tamina try to boost him up hadn¡¯t worked very well either. Mostly because they¡¯d had a hard time aiming him. In the end, Soren¡¯s idea of jumping back and forth between two nearby pillars had worked best.

    It had definitely helped that he now spent a decent portion of his evening training time hopping side to side, from foot to foot, using mana to catch himself and push himself a little further each time.

    During his attempts to work towards Running during the day, he¡¯d realised that moving fast in the cloudsea was more about long strides than quick ones. Thus, it was more useful to try and get more power and distance out of every step than to try and alternate between his feet really fast.

    He just hoped Ethereon would eventually recognise his efforts as running, but considering the way Soren had achieved his second Skill, he wasn¡¯t too worried about it.

    Dusting off his hands, Rylan walked around to the other side of the pillars towards his companions. ¡°That way,¡± he stated confidently, pointing ahead, a decent bit off from the direction they¡¯d been travelling.

    ¡°You got it, oh glorious whisperer of spirits,¡± Soren replied, hopping to his feet with backpack and all, before grimacing up at the increasingly heavy rainfall.

    Tamina stood as well. ¡°He¡¯s not really whispering at them, though, is he? They just make him feel all tingly inside.¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t phrase it like that,¡± Rylan said with a groan.

    Naturally, Soren ignored him. ¡°Good point! He¡¯s more like a spirit senser, or something... Yes, he¡¯s a very sensitive boy, who gets shivers down his spine from the mere presence of a spirit!¡±

    ¡°Not better!¡±

    Tamina bit her lip, clearly trying to hide a smile.

    As they walked and bantered, the pillars thinned. Soon, the strange columns were gone altogether, and the red clay they were walking on started to slope down, until they reached a sudden transition where it took on a significantly smoother texture.

    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Rylan stopped before stepping onto the wet, almost polished-looking material, hesitant. ¡°Why does it look like this?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Tamina admitted, a slight frown marring her face as her eyes roved over the clay in front of them.

    Rylan caught himself staring at her features, something he¡¯d found himself doing more often lately, and shook his head to stay focused.

    ¡°It¡¯s weird, huh?¡± Soren mused. ¡°You¡¯d think there would be some wildlife tracks here, but it¡¯s all smooth.¡±

    Rylan carefully put his foot forward and tested his weight on the surface, but it was hard-packed and sturdy despite the thin film of rainwater covering it. He stepped onto it with some more confidence and glanced back at his companions with a shrug.

    They kept moving, until they were surrounded by a plane of smooth red clay on all sides, without a rock pillar in sight. Though, actually, Rylan could see a couple in the distance, sticking out from a slightly elevated spot in the otherwise bare landscape.

    A flash of light from the left stopped all of them in their tracks. It was followed swiftly by a loud crack that seemed to echo all around them.

    ¡°Lightning and thunder!¡± Tamina hissed. ¡°We better find some shelter, before...¡±

    The pitter-patter of the falling rain swelled to a crescendo as it started coming down harder and faster, but there was a deeper sound beneath it. Something that made the ground itself shake and tremble.

    Rylan stood as if frozen, not sure what to do, when Soren grabbed his arm and pulled.

    ¡°Come on!¡± he yelled over the swelling roar. ¡°Let¡¯s hide between those pillars!¡±

    As the three of them sprinted forward over the wet clay, however, the strangest thing happened. A rush of liquid water¡ªof all things¡ªswept in from the left.

    Caught entirely off-guard, Rylan was unable to react as it pulled his feet out from under him. He smacked down onto the smooth clay and rolled over several times before he managed to get his hands beneath him and push himself up onto his knees.

    The fast-flowing water kept pulling on him as he struggled back to his feet, shaken and confused. Then he looked to his left.

    There, in the distance, he saw what looked like a wall of water, rapidly approaching them, and he finally realised what was causing the ground to tremble.

    ¡°Rylan, run!¡± Soren shouted at him, craning his neck back from up ahead, but Rylan was already moving as fast as he could.

    Tamina was farther ahead still, quickly wading through the knee-high water, her feet glowing beneath the surface. She¡¯d be fine.

    Rylan pumped his legs, his eyes frantically searching for refuge.

    The ground between the pillars might not be high enough, we¡¯ll have to climb onto them!

    He quickly set his sights on a pair of pillars in the middle. He should be able to bounce back and forth between them...

    Tamina was headed for a thick, squat pillar to the left of that, and Soren appeared to be heading for a series of pillars of increasing height to the right. That was all the attention Rylan could spare for them however, as he had to focus harder than ever on sending mana down to his feet.

    It helped a little, as the extra push made him lift his knees higher, causing the water to not drag him down as much.

    It was enough. He made it to the slightly elevated area just before the wall of water did. There, he sent mana down to both his feet, crouched down, and leapt towards one of the twin pillars. From there, he sent his mana alternatingly to his right foot, then his left, bouncing back and forth as he headed up.

    On his third jump, his right foot slipped an inch over the slick surface, but then caught on a rough patch. With his heart in his throat, he pushed off, and finally reached the edge of the left-most pillar.

    Panting, he pulled himself up, and looked around, taking stock of his companions¡¯ situations.

    As he glanced to his right, he saw Soren perform a Twirling Leap, backpack and all, from the second-highest pillar to the highest. His friend¡¯s aim was a little off-centre, but thankfully still good enough for him to stick the landing.

    Good thing too, considering the massive amount of water thundering past below.

    When he looked to his left, however, his stomach clenched.

    Tamina was clinging to the side of the squat pillar, her metallic left hand scratching uselessly over the rock, and her glowing feet partly in the water. As he looked, a wave hit her, coming up to her waist and shifting her several inches to the side.

    ¡°Fog!¡± Soren swore behind him. ¡°Hang in there, Tammi! And try to get higher!¡±

    She didn¡¯t respond. Her metal left hand inched up higher, continuing to scramble over the surface, seemingly searching for purchase, but not finding any.

    Fog, of course; it has no sense of touch!

    It was easy to forget the limitations of her mechanical limb, due to how handy she was with it, but that didn¡¯t mean there weren¡¯t any.

    Rylan grit his teeth. Her pillar was about thirty feet out, and it was upwind. He had very little space for a running start, but...

    The fog is thick down here. I can make it.

    Rylan crouched down, sending more mana down his legs than he ever had before. The soles of his shoes lit up, the mana protesting its confinement, but his mental grip on it was iron, unwilling to let a single wisp escape.

    ¡°Blessed Zeph,¡± he muttered. ¡°Aid me in my time of need.¡±

    ¡°Ryles?¡± Soren asked from behind him. ¡°What are you doing? You¡¯ll never make that! Hold on, I¡¯ll come over and¡ª¡±

    However, in the distance, Rylan spotted another wave approach, bigger than any before.

    Before he could think twice about it, he took two small steps and leapt, pushing off from the rock with his mana harder than he¡¯d ever managed.

    He soared through the fog, his stomach flipping as rather than not making it, he threatened to actually overshoot the pillar. Thankfully, the headwind slowing him down gained in strength at that moment, pushing him back, and he was able to stumble to a halt right before the far edge, windmilling his arms to stabilise himself.

    The moment he regained his footing, he dropped onto his stomach above Tamina, and stretched out an arm. ¡°Tammi!¡±

    Tamina looked up, shocked, but didn¡¯t let go.

    The wave was almost upon her.

    ¡°Grab my hand!¡± Rylan shouted. ¡°Now!¡±

    Finally, Tamina reached up with her prosthetic to clasp his wrist.

    The hand clamped down with painful force, actually causing his Mana Shell to briefly flare up, but he ignored it and grasped onto the cold metal. Right as he did, the wave struck. It came up to her shoulders, and immediately ripped her loose from the pillar. For a moment, her full weight came to hang from Rylan¡¯s arm, and he grunted as the water tried to pull her out of his grasp.

    He slid a couple of inches towards the edge, but held on. Finally, the water went down again, and he started to pull her up.

    Tamina placed her glowing feet back on the pillar, grabbed onto the edge with her right hand, and started to climb. Seconds later, she at last flopped down onto the flat rock on top of the pillar, right next to Rylan.

    Rylan rolled over onto his back, staring up into the falling rain as he tried to catch his breath, the water rushing past down below him.

    That gust of headwind really came at the perfect time... it couldn¡¯t be that Zeph actually¡ª

    ¡¶Proficiency requirement met, Attribute requirements met,¡·Ethereon suddenly spoke.¡¶Congratulations. You are eligible to obtain the Skill: Jumping. Do you accept?¡·