Chapter 109: Little Lies

Subject: Caim Location: Maliscade - Gate District - Protoflora: Envisioned Ecosystems

[ Subject: Caim ]

[ Location: Maliscade - Gate District - Protoflora: Envisioned Ecosystems ]

Caim stumbled through the door to Novette's shop, looking over his shoulder to make sure absolutely sure no one had seen him enter. Novette happened to be tending to the plants in the shop proper at this particular moment.

She started to open her mouth to greet him, but he rushed forward and covered her lips with his hand. He put a finger to his lips, urging her to be silent. She didn't struggle, but her eyes scanned his destroyed armor. The protective middle layer was hanging off his torso and legs, laid bare by a shredded outer cloak.

He'd only made it this far without drawing attention by travelling with the Commander and a small detachment of Guardians. They shrugged off the glances of the Enforcers. Strange, Caim had thought, that such a hands-on nation would have such a hands-off relationship when it came to the workings of the Guild. At least, this was what he'd observed in Maliscade.

"Is Gwen here?" he whispered.

She nodded, and he realized he was still covering her mouth. He hastily backed away.

"Could we talk privately back there?" He gestured to the door behind the counter.

She thought for a moment, considering whether she should allow him to enter her personal quarters. She then turned and began walking to the door. Without a word, he followed her through, and then stopped walking once the door was closed behind them. Caim didn't want to go any further than he needed to.

His concerns weren't exactly warranted. There wasn't much back here. A lone room, with a bed and a clutter of personal belongings. Caim averted his gaze.

"Caim," she quietly addressed him. "Are you about to explain why you look like this?"

He began frustratedly tearing off pieces of his armor, undressing down to his innermost layer, a skintight bodysuit. The fabric wasn't anything like that of his homeworld, but it was actually good craftmanship for the technology this city had to work with.

Novette stared a moment before slowly looking away. It didn't register to him that what he was doing could be misinterpreted. Fortunately, Novette wasn't as excitable as any of the others, and she was the most likely to go with the flow of them all.

A glimpse of wisdom, accrued along who knows how many years.

"Yes. She can't see me like this. Gwen's been through enough. She needs to feel safe."

"Oh, so it isn't about pride?" Novette bluntly retorted.

"I have little," he answered, just as bluntly.

Novette cocked her head and shrugged.

"You do give off that feel. So, what do you want me to do about it?"

She was truly asking. This woman was as generous as they came.

"Is there anything I can wear here? I only have undergarments under this."

Novette giggled, covering her mouth with one hand.

"Yes... I can tell. I'm sorry, but I don't really own men's clothing. I do have a cloak you can use to cover yourself until you get home."

Caim did have a few sets of casual wear back at the apartment.

"That's perfect!" he whispered, putting his hands on her shoulders and shaking her excitedly.

Novette looked back at him, and he felt like he was acting strangely. The shock of nearly dying hadn't worn off, and the world was... raw. It was strangely thrilling to be alive.

She rummaged about while he faced the door. Then she twisted him by his shoulders to spin him back around. Novette flashed Caim a confused smile, as if to say "was turning around really necessary?", and pressed a neatly folded square of cloth into his hand.

The cloak was, unsurprisingly, a bright shade of green, and barely large enough to cover his body. All in all, it looked a little strange on his frame, but it was passable, and no one should see it as anything too far out of the ordinary. A poor fashion choice, maybe, but that was just fine.

"I hope you meant that comment about pride," Novette giggled softly, turning around as he took off his remaining pieces of armor and threw over the cloak.

"Yes. Good thing, too," he chuckled.

Maybe there would come a time for pride.

After asking for permission to temporarily store the remains of his armor in her personal quarters, he returned to the front door of the shop quietly. He flung open the door and closed it loudly. He made noise like this so that he could get Gwen's attention. Caim had something to talk to her about.

Entering the botanical garden, he waved to Novette. Rather than a second greeting, it was a way to secretly thank her again for all her help. She just shook her head and smiled.

"Caim!" Gwen called out, almost tripping on a watering hose on her way over. "Wait... why aren't you wearing your armor?"

She'd become accustomed to his armored form, so civilian clothes gave her pause. Since he'd been here, he'd had little time for leisure. Even now, survival was top of mind. Gwen understood that.

"Oh, I left it in my quarters," he lied. "I'm thinking of using the earnings from my recent contracts to get an upgrade."

"It's hard to think of anything being an upgrade from what you were wearing," she commented. "I don't see mages wearing metal armor, so there must be a reason for that. And didn't you just buy it? It doesn't seem like it makes financial sense to purchase--"

Caim rested a hand on the table beside her, grinning in amusement.

"It's really good to see you two," he deflected, continuing to smile warmly. He wasn't lying, it really was good to see them. "I'll find something suitably protective, I'm sure. Oh, and I've learned some new spells to boot."

Plate A Conjured

He conjured a Plate between them, aligned horizontally like a wall between them. Gwen stepped back in surprise, eventually approaching with a look of curiosity on her face.

"What does it do?" she asked, tentatively touching it with her index finger. Finding it solid in form, she slid a hand across its surface.

That was the same question he'd asked when he'd gained the power. It didn't do anything on its own. Plate's use was situational, and needed to come from him.

"It really isn't any more complicated than you can see. I've already used it as a platform when climbing, and it could probably block an attack or two, especially if I layered them."

Plate B Conjured

Plate C Conjured

Two more Plates appeared, behind and in front of the first, thickening the wall between them. Caim was getting better at precisely targeting where they would appear. It would still take more practice before he could do it quickly, and more so to conjure them on the move.

"You promise me you were careful?" Gwen asked out of the blue, looking up at him with unexpectedly wide eyes.

Lying was going to hurt a bit.

"I promise that I did what I could to stay safe. As always."

"That spell you showed me... When you cut yourself and your wound healed... If you have that, I almost believe you when you say you won’t die."

It was true, Flourish Catalyst was strong. Stronger still now that it bring someone back from a state of near-death. That said, he estimated it would be days before he could use that particular function again. He could only make a loose prediction based on how the sourcetech power felt when he tried to access it.

"My spells are only getting stronger the more I use them, Gwen."

She wasn't a mage, so he felt safer telling her things about his "magic" that other mages might find peculiar. Vera had mentioned that his sourcetech was like magic, but significantly more refined.

The merchant seemed to remember something and darted off to the workspace she'd be using when he came in. Caim dispersed his Plates.

Plate A Dispersed

Plate B Dispersed

Plate C Dispersed

"I made these for you, Caim," Gwen shared, shoving a handful of metallic-frame-reinforced glass containers into his hand.

Their contents were a purplish-red gas. He turned over one of the containers in his hand and looked back at Gwen.

"It's called 'mystic', but you probably know that," she talked excitedly. "This is my first time making it, but Nina's associate says it's 93% as pure as commercial grade stuff. He was also the one who gave me the instructions to make it, so I gave him the first batch. I’ve already sold enough to double what I borrowed from you, and its all in your coin pouch. These vials are the latest and best batch."

She offered the coin pouch to him and gestured to a tray of identical vials. Caim was lost in thought, so she took his hand and put the cloth pouch in it, forcibly turning his palm upright so that he wouldn't drop it. He was so deep in thought that he didn't hear her next question.

"Huh? What was that?"

Caim noticed that Novette was suddenly very interested in what the two of them were doing. She had approached and was now staring solemnly at the vials.

"What are they for?" Gwen repeated. "Mages use these vapors, but I couldn't get a clear answer. I only asked a couple people, though."

Novette picked up one of the vials and stared at it, as if in a trance. She was more focused, now, than she had been since Caim arrived. Slowly, she turned to him, with an inquisitive expression. She knew what they were, but she wanted him to say.

"I... don't know what this is," he admitted.

Novette studied his face. She trusted his words.

"It isn't my business to decide what tools you're allowed to use to survive, my dear, nor is it my place to cast judgement."

Is it really that serious? he wondered.

"Mystic has had many names over the years... over the decades. This is refined, so I'm not sure how that changes things, but I doubt its much safer. When a mage casts spells, they eventually reach their limits, yeah?"

He nodded. Sure, he'd heard that, yes.

"This seemingly removes those limits," she continued. "Cast fatigue? Eliminated."

"It's really such an incredible thing?" he asked.

"If you're using it to save your life, yes. But you don't understand the whole of it. If you keep using it... you'll eventually get carried away. Mystic doesn't actually eliminate mortal boundaries, it only temporarily bypasses, or loosens, them. See how that can go wrong?"

Gwen looked down at the product of her toils, horrified.

"Don't get me wrong, this isn't much more dangerous than many other tools of war. I may not be of that world, but I know that it is just one way to kill yourself. It can also be the only thing that saves your life."

The novice alchemist rubbed her temples in confusion.

"I don't get it. Did I help? Or did I do something bad?"

"I don't think you're looking at it the right way," Caim said. "Mages use it to enhance their performance in difficult situations, right? It helps you cast spells, making it easier to recover while you're on it."

She nodded.

Caim heard a high-pitched *ding*, and Novette exited to the shop proper.