Yelenzi put on his brightest smile as he passed a pair of caravan guardsmen, the injured Rory hanging on his shoulder as they made their way to the wagons. Thanks to the surprising resourcefulness and combat abilities of Helmund’s people, he now had the opportunity to grow his acting and infiltration skills! Sure, his previous plan to steal the Horse Lord while the others were distracted had quite literally gone up in smoke, but he wasn’t that put out. Adaptation was one of the reasons he loved his job.
“Keeran!” Yelenzi called out to one of the passing guards. “Thanks for the timely assist last night with that oil! I may not have any eyebrows left, but it's a damn sight better than being riddled with holes like our young Rory here!”
Keeran, someone Yelenzi had a brief run in with the night before, laughed and waved as he walked on by. Over the years, he had learned that the trick to infiltration was to make sure others believed you belong. His preferred method, much to his master’s chagrin, was drawing just the right amount of attention while misleading others with enough truths that they didn’t look for the lies.
It didn’t always work, but the challenge of dancing between truth and lie while hoodwinking those around him was what made it fun!
Over the last half hour he had gone about carrying tents, repacking crates, or whatever else he could assist with as the caravan prepared to leave. He had helped out the night before, making sure everyone saw his face. It was a good thing that the caravan had picked up several unknowns from Aldorna to help them along the way, otherwise this form of infiltration would have been a real challenge.
Instead, he got to play off people’s self isolating tendencies. It was apparent the caravan guards hadn’t taken the time to get to know the folk from Aldorna and vice versa. All he needed to do was stay away from that insane bailiff and he should be fine.
His overall goals hadn’t changed any. Yes, his master would likely be furious with him for losing a valuable core, but he just couldn’t bring himself to care. He was having way too much fun.
“Hey, you!” the guard captain called out to him.
Yelenzi whipped his head around, giving the man a smile.
“I’ll be right with you Captain Grant,” he called out. “I’m just settling Rory here on the wagon along with Felnor and Jasper.”
The guard captain paused, giving him a slow nod that practically screamed self doubt.
“Now don’t worry too much, Rory, I’m certain Miss Riya with all her celestial powers will have those injuries healed up before you see Gracie again,” Yelenzi said, gently helping the Aldorna stablehand into the back of the wagon along with the two caravan guards who had been injured the night before. He had long since memorized the names, professions, and basic information of most of those in the camp. By mentioning Rory’s girlfriend at home as well as highlighting that he knew the other wounded, well, that should be more than enough to put the guard captain on his backfoot.
After he was finished, he didn’t hesitate to approach Grant.
“You wanted to see me Captain?” he asked, his disarming smile plastered on his face. “If you wanted to know about the horses, Rory asked Leon to take care of them. Miss Riya is handling the Horse Lord herself though.”
Best to bring up something that sounded plausible instead of letting the captain’s obvious doubts of his presence continue. It was always such a pain when dealing with one of the more attentive types.
“Yes…” Grant said, giving Yelenzi an appraising look. “Leon is having some trouble, would you mind going to help him?”
“Sure thing! I’ll just run it by Bailiff Cirea first,” he said with a shrug. “You know how she gets when she’s kept out of the loop.”
“No, never mind,” Grant said, his furrowed brow relaxing. It had been a gamble to bring up Cirea, but it had been apparent the captain had been looking to test him. No better way to head off a potential issue than by volunteering in a way that would make yourself look credible. “But if you don’t mind, could you help out the others in loading the wagons? We’d like to be on the road in the next thirty minutes.”
“It would be my pleasure!” Yelenzi said cheerfully, already turning toward an area that obviously needed help.
Congratulations! You have gained skill level 29 in Infiltration! +58% chance in successfully gaining access to an organization, group, or place surreptitiously. +29% chance in acquiring information or sabotage. +29% to Charisma while actively leveraging this skill.
Yelenzi smiled as he approached the men and women working to load the wagons. This was going to be so much fun!
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It had taken both Helmund’s caravan workers and Cirea’s people more than two hours before they were able to get on their way. It was evident that everyone was beyond tired. Even now, people were taking rests in shifts as they drove the wagons toward the next village. Even Glade had opted for a more relaxed journey instead of the day-long physical training he had originally planned.
Instead, Bragden had opted to help with their meditation skills. Unsurprisingly, he wasn’t impressed with Glade’s.
“Congratulations, ye’ve taught yerself how to breathe on purpose like any babe can do,” Bragden snorted with a look of disgust. “Just like a human to think that yer self taught meditation skill be somethin to be proud of.”
“Hey, it's been a big help in regenerating mana,” Glade replied defensively. It was the first skill he had learned after all.
“Oh? And how much has it helped ye?” Bragden raised an eyebrow in challenge.
“I can now regenerate mana up to 3% faster…”
“3%?” Bragden barked a laugh. “Pathetic! A solid meditation skill should be helping ye regenerate upwards to 10% more mana at your current skill level.”
And so, they began learning about new meditation techniques. Riya had offered her Sky’s Bounty meditation style while Gent tried to pass off his Silent Heart as the better of the two.
“You’ll be learning the Mother’s Embrace,” Bragden said, the tone of his voice saying that it wasn’t up for debate. At both Glade’s and Keryn’s questioning why it mattered, the surly dwarf explained further.
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“A meditation technique does more than just help ye replenish yer mana. If done correctly, it will help shape the way yer mind thinks so it can better react to the world around ye. For instance, Gent’s sorry excuse for a meditation technique gives ye some abilities to ignore yer own personal discomfort so ye can be single mindedly focused. Which is great if’n yer neck deep in snow and trying to flush out a Frost Badger, but not so helpful when yer trying to think yer way through a problem.”
As it turned out, Riya’s Sky’s Bounty technique was designed to help the practitioner open their mind to possibilities, giving a small bonus in having epiphanies. On the other hand, Bragden’s Mother’s Embrace technique gave incremental increases to both Intelligence and Wisdom with each level.
“To be honest, I can see the importance of learning all of them,” Kedryn said, his eyebrows drawn together in concentration.
“Oh, aye,” Bragden snorted derisively. “Yer not the first person to think that, let alone try it. But as I said earlier, a proper meditation technique shapes how a person thinks. Not just anybody has the brain power to be able to shift their thought patterns at will. It takes a special kind of idiot to try doing that. No, it's better to master the one technique that done gives ye the best benefits.”
Glade didn’t necessarily disagree with what Bragden was saying, but he, like Kedryn, couldn’t help but notice that each technique had its own benefits. He wondered if there were meditation styles that also helped with things like faster stamina regeneration or physical healing.
Much to Bragden’s displeasure, both he and Kedryn had learned the visualization exercises and breathing rhythms for both Mother’s Embrace and Sky’s Bounty.
Congratulations! You have learned the skill Meditation (Mothers Embrace). The journey to greatness can only begin when you embrace all that creation has to offer. + 2% to mana regeneration and +.1 to both Intelligence and Wisdom per skill level while in a meditative state.
Congratulations! You have learned the skill Meditation (Sky’s Bounty). Only by stretching beyond one’s reach can you truly find greatness. + 1.5% to mana regeneration and + 2% chance to gain an epiphany while in a meditative state.
It was obvious the better of the two techniques in mana regeneration was Mother’s Embrace, but Glade couldn’t deny the allure that Sky’s Bounty presented. He promised himself to try and learn Gent’s technique later.
They had replenished their stores and stayed the night in the first village they came to, but camped out in the plains the other nights.
Days passed as they continued their training. Surprisingly, they didn’t run into any further issues along the road, a real first in Glade’s experience. The running, training in Astral magic, and ending the days with either meditation or enlarging his mana channels had been by far the most relaxing time he had known on this god forsaken planet. The most danger they felt was listening to the distant warg song echoing over the plains.
Congratulations! You have gained +2 in Endurance.
Congratulations! You have successfully saturated your astral channels in preparation to grow them to level 3. Total saturation: 78%.
Congratulations! You have gained skill level 2, 3, and 4 in Meditation (Mothers Embrace). + 8% to mana regeneration and +.4 to both Intelligence and Wisdom per skill level while in a meditative state.
Congratulations! You have gained skill level 2 and 3 in Meditation (Sky’s Bounty). + 4.5% to mana regeneration and + 6% chance to gain an epiphany while in a meditative state.
That wasn’t the only benefit. In the stillness of the night, Glade and Ember had worked diligently to remove more of the abyssal taint infecting the egg.
Congratulations! By removing part of the Abyssal Taint, your bond with the unknown egg has deepened! All shared attunements, powers, and communications have been increased by 25%. Remove additional Abyssal Taint to enhance your bond further.
By now he could just make out a unique pattern of both red and gold running throughout the egg, the abyssal taint having been slowly removed. There was still a great deal to go, but hopefully within the next month or so Ember would be completely free.
Lastly, he had asked Bragden if he could be tested to increase his astral magic to the Trainee rank.
“Normally, I’d say yes, but some idiot went ahead and selected a specialty without thinking o’ the consequences,” Bragden said. “We’ve got to graduate you up the ranks in the right way so ye can have a solid foundation when it comes to yer growth. Seeing as yer specialty can encompass all the slagging schools o’ astral magic, we need to at least introduce ye to each one. That means either spells or hands on exposure. I’ll sit down with ye and go through that tome o’ yers with ye once we have some privacy. Once ye learn the right spells and enchantments I’ll test ye.”
By the end of the third day, everyone was ready to be off the road. They were closing in on Asylum when Glade felt the strangest feeling. Something inside of his mind lit up, pointing him in the same direction as the city. As they neared, the light in his mind increased. It wasn’t until he mentioned it to Kedryn that it made sense.
“I was asking Helmund and the others last night about where the auction house was. Apparently, it's next to both the arena and a labyrinth, both of which draw in huge crowds. My guess is that your labyrinth sense skill is finally kicking in. Do you think we’ll have time to go through it?”
Somehow, Glade knew Kedryn was right. “Do you know which one of the Adjudicator’s claims this labyrinth?”
Kedryn looked side to side, before whispering softly, “Acumen.”
“Nope,” Glade said, all interest in going through the labyrinth gone.
“Oh, come on, sir, we have to go! Think of all the treasure and power ups we could get!”
Glade simply shook his head. He’d be dead and buried before purposefully going through Acumen’s labyrinth. It would be rigged against him the moment he stepped inside.
Soon enough, they crested a hill and saw a sprawling city nestled along the coast. It wasn’t anything like the cities back on earth, but for a technological backwater it was incredible nonetheless.
From their vantage point, Glade could make out the docks along the coast, the horizon dotted with white sails as ships moved in and out of the harbor. There were buildings galore, both large and small, each separated into basic rings that demarcated poor, middle class, and the wealthy. Oddly, there was a large stone wall partially constructed around the nicer of the neighborhoods, but from what he could see no one was working on it.
“If you look in the center of town, you can just make out the arena,” Cirea said, her voice filled with excitement. “It will be well after dark by the time we get there, but with any luck, we can catch a late night exhibition match or two.”
“We might need to find lodging first,” Glade said, looking for the arena. “But I would be interested in seeing it once we’re settled in.”
“Oh, didn’t I tell you? Our lodging has already been paid for by Helmund seeing as you are VIP customers and all. He is putting us up in the arena’s lodging!” Cirea said with a grin. “Naturally, I’m going to bunk with you lot. Guests get to watch the fights for free.”
“Oh, you are, are you?” Glade asked with a laugh.
“Damn right I am,” Cirea said, her smile never wavering. “Don’t want to miss out on whatever happens when someone like you walks into a big city like this.”
Glade gave her a confused look, not knowing what she was referring to until she pointedly stared at his covered forearms.
“Oh,” he sighed. “Right.”
“Slagging branded,” he heard Bragden mutter from behind.