Luke coughed from the sanguine smell in the air. His eyes watered slightly.
With the already pungent odor within the cellar, the bloody mix started to compete for the title of the worst scent yet. He took off his black metal mask. During that fight, Luke discovered more than one interesting detail.
The first being his abilities took on a different theme in appearance but kept the same effect. Much like Annika told him. But the second was more surprising. People could no longer hear Xera’s voice with it on. Xera started hysterically cursing the thugs when he swung her, yet the enemies around him showed no reaction.
Third, when Luke willed it, his voice became different. Fourth, his mind felt calm. It was minor enough that Luke could only trust his instinct rather than assign a particular description. A different ‘shade’ of him came out with that mask on. He might be imagining it.
Putting that all out of his mind, Luke rushed over to Sooty. He tried breaking open the birdcage, and when that measure bore no fruit, he stepped back and inspected the cage. He saw a tiny keyhole.
“Hang tight Sooty, I’ll look for the key.”
Sooty cawed softly, and Luke could sense a sense of somberness coming from her. He was about to console her but held back when he thought to free her first. Wayfinder spoke up, “Feathered lass, the lad will spring you free. You can hold yourself up high. Feelin’ sorry for yourself won’t do you any good.”
Luke rummaged through the corpses around him, checking pocket after pocket. Various white and bronze orbs flashed, entering his inventory. Finally, he found a key on the last fool he killed.
Key in hand, he neared Sooty in her birdcage, who was becoming increasingly agitated with various bird noises.
“I’m here buddy, I’ll get you out,” he reassured.
With a click after turning the key inside the small keyhole, the birdcage door swung wide open, bouncing back up slightly. Sooty pushed off her talons, and bird hugged Luke, shivering. Luke said nothing, slowly running his hand through her feathers and supporting her weight with the other hand.
Xera said, “We can’t let them get away with this, Luke. No one touches Sooty!”
Luke inspected the general area. Using his feet, he gradually piled up the corpses around him in a heap. Wayfinder voiced, “Leave a message to the rats, lad. Show them you’ll do more than cut their tail if they target you or your kin. Since tryin’ to purge them all would take ages, you're best off instillin’ a bit of fear in the bottom feeders. Keep em’ from bothering you like a mother-in-law.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” Luke’s kept his voice still. He had enough of being angry at others. Now, he was only disappointed in himself. He was Sooty’s Reaver. No, he was her family, and she was his family.
And Luke failed her. He wouldn’t make an excuse.
On the table holding Sooty’s birdcage, he swiped the thing and put it in his Inventory. If possible, he wanted to find out who gave it to these low-lifes. The material seemed a cut above anything else around the place. Next to it was roughshod paper, a quill, and low-quality ink dried in an inkwell inches away.
Attempting to use it a handful of times, Luke gave up. Instead, he took note of the pool of blood in the upper section of the cellar, where his frost detonations had created a sinkhole. He dipped the quill in the crimson liquid and wrote on the paper: Rune.
Waving his hand, he repeatedly forced out frost essence. Eventually, the pile of corpses froze over into a solid block of ice. Before the new form of architecture, he placed the scribbled note open and bare on the ground. To be safe, he froze over the patch of soil he laid it on.
Pointless to leave a message if other blood went and soaked it to the point of being illegible.
“That should do it.” While holding Sooty tightly, Luke said, “Let’s get out of here, this is no place to have meaningful conversation.”
He exited the cellar, freezing the short stone stairway with each step. The bare earth to the sides took on a whitish frost pitch. Due to the excess water vapor in the air, small glittering dots sparkled throughout.
“You’re lettin’ out your essence, lad. Rein it in. A walking disaster won’t serve you well above ground,” Wayfinder reminded.
“I’m enjoying becoming an ice sword all the time. It helps temper down the whispers. But that can’t be good for Sooty, she’s been through enough today,” Xera said.
Luke stopped his subconscious reaction and observed the dead weeds in an unkempt backyard. Rotting wood covered in vines quarantined the area. A low gray, damp mist invaded the night. He’d tracked down Sooty here in Sylen’s South quarter. This dilapidated zone was on the edge of the slums, further apart from the red-light district.
Close to where he passed by when following Devil’s Needle not so long ago. Two figures vaulted over the rotted fence, and Luke took out Xera on reflex.
“Lukey, I’ve come to declare my undying devotion to you again! Now, where are my vials…” Annika declared.
“Not the time, Annika,” Iona spotted Sooty in her miserable condition. She bit her lips and lowered her eyebrows. Darkness clouded her eyes, “this is my fault. Give me two days, I’ll make it right.”
Lulu swooped down from the sky above and flapped inches away from Sooty. A faint green-blue light emanated from her, beginning to recover Sooty. Lulu turned her head around to Iona, she hooted in anger.
Lightning sparked, and several wooden boards broke apart. Timber showed himself in. He veered his head from left to right as he approached Iona. The Beastmaster scratched Timber’s ears in appreciation, “Great job finding them, Timber. A thunderberry is waiting for you when we get back.”
For the first time, Timber showed an excited expression, pawing the ground in anticipation.
Iona made a ‘come hither’ motion to Lulu, and the bird perched on her forearm after her healing ability rejuvenated Sooty. Unfortunately, Sooty remained mute, only sticking to Luke.
The apparent trauma made Luke feel helpless and useless.
What good is being a Reaver if I can’t keep my companion safe?
Driven to take action, Luke asked Iona, “Are companions kidnapped often in Sylen? Don’t go down there, made a bloody mess out of those losers trying to take Sooty away.”
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Iona responded, “The rarer they are, the more likely it is to happen. Although the best equipment the black market can get their hands on is at most effective up to tier 2. I’ve had people attempt to take Lulu and Timber before. We’re past that phase now. As for your ‘mess,’ we didn’t come for that, and if you’ve solved it, then it’s time to come home, Luke.”
Luke slowly looked around, slapping away Annika’s reaching hand. “Past the ‘phase’. I see. This is normal? For a subset of people trying to take others' companions? What stops them from taming their own?”
Tapping on Lulu, Iona crossed her arms. The owl companion switched places to Iona’s shoulder. She then leaned on Timber, Iona said, “A lack of ‘acceptable’ options to them. Most are people with more money than sense. The heartless ones want to replace what they see as their inferior companion. That doesn’t account for the collectors, those who enjoy having them as pets, and are not a companion class.”
Gliding a finger over Sooty’s head, Luke spoke, “What makes one inferior? Why bother collecting a companion anyway? How is it worth the trouble?”
“Some companions have more innate potential than others, or the ‘kit’ they were granted by the Interface is viewed as more powerful. Unlike us, companions can only gain a new skill through gathered beast crystals, and you have no way of knowing what ability your companion will learn from it. As for the collectors, fools, the lot of them. They desire companions as status symbols.” Iona gripped her hands and scrunched her face.
“Wouldn’t the companion’s level reset? Heard someone talk about that earlier.” Luke recalled.
“In the higher echelons, they have access to illegal collars. Put them on a companion, and they’re forced to listen to the owner. The process takes weeks, and as I said earlier, the best made are only effective up to the second tier. The willpower and ‘thread’ between the companion and the master is too reinforced to sever without killing the companion by tier three. They could care less if it makes the companion unable to level for the rest of their life.”
Coming into the conversation, Annika twirled a finger, “Even the old fart nobles have to respect a tier 3 combat type. If one goes insane, the damage they’ll cause far outweighs whatever they’ll gain by taking away their companion.” Annika winked at Luke, “Come here, you dark and brooding handsome man. I’ve got a present for you.”
Luke stepped back, “No thank you.”
“Are you sure? What if I said it’ll help Sooty?”
The Reaver laid his eyes on Sooty. A wellspring of guilt blossomed in his chest. He dragged his body toward Annika, who laughed, “It won’t hurt, I promise.” Annika’s expression turned serious, “Cedric.”
“As you wish, my lady.” Cedric transformed into a staff, black with blue swirls. The material was metallic, and blue swirls fell down the shaft as they shimmered. The staff head was flat, as was the bottom.
Luke stopped a foot away from Annika. The Runewarden waved the staff, and a powerful air created a slowly rotating blue vortex behind her. “Rejuvenating Etch,” She said.
A shimmering blue rune appeared and rapidly enlarged. It came into contact with Sooty; all traces of fatigue, cuts, and ruffled feathers reverted to their pristine condition. The crow quit shivering, sleeping peacefully. Bits of blood on Luke’s clothes dropped to the floor, wrenched out of the fabric.
Getting a feel for Sooty’s state with Reaver’s Link and his senses, Luke found her to be perfectly healthy again. Luke used a free hand to clamp onto Annika’s shoulder, “Thank you, Annika. Owe you one for this.”
Annika made a motion, and Cedric transformed back into a spear, and she put up the weapon in her back holster. She placed her chin between her thumb and index finger and raised her eyes up into the night, “If only a dashing young man were willing to help me with my critical research, whatever is a beautiful maiden like me to do?”
Not entirely liking where this was going, Luke instead spoke to Iona, “Why is she like this?”
Iona shrugged, “Who knows? Come on, let’s go.”
“Right.” Luke started to walk back to the Defier’s guild, and Iona got up to follow.
Annika put on a faux, horrified face, “Don’t leave a helpless woman alone at night. How could you be so cruel to me, Lukey? Where is my prince in dark bloody armor? Ladies have it hard these days.”
Too absorbed in recent endeavors, Luke half replied to the various lines of conversation back up to his dorm room at the Defier’s guild. After lecturing Iona and Annika on the questionable act of lock-picking his door, he shut it. For good measure, he put a dresser in front after learning Annika had tried to sneak in earlier from Iona.
Laying down on the soft bed, Luke held Sooty tightly, “You don’t have to be afraid anymore buddy, I’m here.”
The Reaver and his companion sank into sleep in that position.
----------------------------------------
Taking care of the morning business, Luke had flagged down a servant to get his door repaired. With that solved, he entered Musai’s private realm.
The realm had expanded from when he last visited. The pagoda, red flowers, green grasslands, river, waterfall, and mountains beyond still stood within. Added in was a circular dirt zone, flattened, to the edges of the formation were three target dummies on each side. They had three white and red ringed paint dots, one for the head, the other two on the chest, and the last on the stomach.
Luke saw Musai and kept back his greeting, the old swordsmen too deep in mediation for him to dare interrupt. The sight felt serene to Luke. He came up to the Pagoda and sat down in a crisscross. Sooty stayed shock still on his shoulder, not daring to leave. Sympathetic but unequipped to assist Sooty further, Luke could only give her time. Neither Xera nor Wayfinder found the atmosphere suitable to speak in.
Musai kept silent, reading the room, Luke put his attention on other miscellaneous tasks. First, he pulled up the Interface, and sure enough, the [Profession] tab had appeared. He selected it, and assorted additional information revealed itself.
Eager to learn, Luke gleaned out what he could.
[Profession: Runic Enchanter]
Tier: 0
Active Ability: Etch (Progression 0%)
Passive Ability: Disenchant (Progression 0%)
Progression? Must be when this reaches full, the skill goes up in rank. Since skill points can’t be used, how do I train them? I’ll start by reading the specifics, it can’t hurt to know.
Focusing on Etch, the active ability displayed further detail.
[Etch]
Etch runes with essence and suitable materials onto the item. Based on rune combination, potency, order, and quantity of runes, an effect on the item is either added, removed, refined, or boosted. Failed attempts can degrade an item, repeated failed attempts permanently damage an item, lowering its quality by one grade. Higher quality materials, essence control and quality, and skill level will allow greater feats with diminished chances of failure.
No Cooldown.
[Disenchant]
Allows the extraction of mutable enchanting materials from quality items with any trace of ether within the item. Cannot disenchant common quality items or lower.
Luke studied the descriptions repeatedly to increase comprehension. To his understanding, disenchant would help him gather items needed to perform Rune Creation. That ability would draw runes on items, but if he tried to create too many to boost an item further than his skill allowed, it would backfire.
Finally get to use those Scarlet Cores and Wraith Shards. Better double-check they’re enchanting materials like I believe they are. I doubt Musai is an enchanter, so I’ll leave things here.
His heart began to pump erratically. Luke breathed in deeply, thinking the oxygen would help. Only to be disappointed, the Spectral Heart squeezed, and a sharp pain struck. He grasped at his chest, a minute later, it passed.
Wondering what all the fuss inside him was for, Luke pulled up the [Heart] tab. The tooltip for the Spectral Heart appeared, and he first noticed that the words ‘merging’ were well and truly gone.
He found another surprise waiting within. Luke attentively sorted out the relevant upgrades. The current imbibed blood remained the same, so he glazed over it.
[Reaver’s Spectral Heart]
Stolen Talent II: Increases talent with mastery and usage of Essence, including learned techniques—advances per tier.
Frostfall Reave II: An aura of frost blasts out the Reaver within a close range. Allies within range receive a duplicated 10% of the Reaver’s stats. Amplified by Reaver’s Link for Companion. Enemies in the aura receive a 10% reduction in magical and physical power. Generates additional ambient frost compared to tier 0, ability now affects higher tier opponents at a reduced effectiveness. Essence regeneration reduced by 40% during use, lasts fifteen seconds.
Expanded Greed: Stat-steal now works on the special stats of hostile targets at a much lower rate.
Sealed Passive - Unlocks at Tier 2
While Stolen Talent and Frostfall Reave underwent welcomed upgrades, the new Expanded Greed caught his eye.
That enables me to steal special stats now, if I’m understanding it correctly. What kinds are out there? Has to be more than resistances, I’ll ask Musai if I find the time during whatever he decides to teach me today.
On cue, the aged swordsmen spoke, “Have you sorted and prepared yourself adequately, young leaf? Today will be physically taxing to your untrained physique.”