Dreik didn’t know why, but all of his best thinking seemed to happen when he was perched atop the branch of a tree observing others. He remembered the questions he had asked Savekio before they parted ways, unsure if they were truly the correct ones at the time.
“Now, my disciple, you have three questions before this test, choose them wisely.” Savekio had said.
Dreiki had thought about the first question and how to ask it for a full minute. He wanted to ask “What is the most I can let someone know?” or “If Vilkus is in camp and questions me, what do I tell him?” or even “Won’t Vilkus know if we show up with all of these potions? He saw the house.”
Neither of those questions got particularly good mileage, so he had done his best to combine them.
"How much information can we allow them to know? If we show up with these Potions and Vilkus sees them he'll know."
“He won’t.” Savekio said simply, “The vials containing each potion are from a generic supplier, which makes their origin inherently difficult to track. You would have to be knowledgeable of potion crafting yourself to understand the difference in their quality, but even then they are not out of the ordinary by human standards. After all, I’ve been giving them to Venator Knights for the past few years. If these potions could be traced back to me, I would have been discovered a long time ago. You may allow them to know that I, your grandfather, am responsible for teaching you how to make these potions, and making you transport them to camp. If you like, you can even pose as an herbalist’s apprentice and show your knowledge to someone if they get suspicious or question the origin of these potions. What you should never mention, though, is the existence of Ux, that I am xiozian, or anything which might suggest you’ve come from Punuuk or Kul Creek. Tell them you’re from Lithiria, it’s not a total lie in the end. That is the most you can allow them to know. Any more than that runs the risk of blowing your cover. Rely on them to fill in the gaps.”
Dreiki laughed to himself. It’s almost like he knew someone like Sancta would come by. Rixam had convinced L’Maya to conceal the origin of the potions to the nobility as a way to help them sell better. For a moment, Dreiki had been worried someone had betrayed them and tampered with the potions. Taking credit for them under the pretenses that Sancta had introduced might have gotten them all in deep trouble if they ended up being the scapegoats for it.
However, in the end, taking the leap and letting his pride dictate his actions had paid off. Even if it was a risky move.
“If we see people who need help, even if it means going against nobility, can we help them?” he had asked Savekio.
“It is not disallowed. You’re not there to lay low, and the Tibur will likely protect you as participants of the Siren Ceremony should any nobility develop a problem with your presence. However, use common sense. Do not overstep their protections. Remember, act like a lamb, not a wolf. If you can play a convincing enough lamb, then you can help anyone as a wolf.”
In other words, Dreiki had to come off as harmless as he possibly could to the others. Anything he suggested to do, anything he or his party contributed had to ultimately be concealed. The most the nobility on the other team knew was that the Tibur were desperate enough to invite a group of Noxa to join them. Beyond that, it was best to keep their plans hidden and make it seem like the Tibur would have won without their help.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
He framed it to Tadios as a way of actually getting things done. He was glad he had found someone who trusted him in the Tibur camp. Tadios brought his ideas to the leadership on the Tibur’s side as if they were his own. He had even been concerned about crediting Dreiki and the others.
“Only if things go wrong.” Dreiki had told him, “We’ll be blamed for the loss anyway, and the nobility will find a way to hurt us if they know they lost because of some Noxa. So keep it a secret for us, alright?”
It was not a lie, it just was not the full truth either. The same held true for how they assisted the other refugees in camp. Aside from some healing magic from Rixam and Luna, Tadios had been a great help in gaining their trust to hand off potions to those in need.
People trusted Tibur a lot more than they trusted Noxa. As long as those people got the help they needed, that was good enough for him. It seemed like it was good enough for everyone else too.
Dreiki reflected on his final question to Savekio, “How do I continue to train my Ux?”
It was a short question, but he had picked each word carefully. It served multiple purposes and answered more than just one question. The first was that it assumed he was supposed to still be training his Ux during camp. The second was that it made Savekio answer whether or not he should keep the training a secret and how he should go about doing it. Finally, it could potentially give him an idea of how to best train on his own.
“A good question, and an important one,“ Savekio started, “As you know, showing others you know of Ux is too suspicious, but training it is another matter. There are many methods of increasing the strength of you Ux, and by its nature the power is relatively invisible. Those with a keen eye can find it if they know what to look for, but even then they must first know where to look. If you play a convincing enough lamb, you can practice it openly. You can use Ux, openly.” Savekio had handed him a dagger, “This is from my personal collection.”
Dreiki pulled the dagger from his belt to look over it. If Dreiki had not asked the right question, he would not have this dagger right now. It was simple in design, but well crafted and functional. It was not expensive enough to cause him trouble, nor cheap enough to look completely unimportant.
To the outside observer, a well made dagger like this would be just enough to be a treasure to a Noxa like him. Something he would want to get back if it was stolen, but not something worth stealing in the first place.
That’s how it was for things which needed to hide in plain sight. Nothing exceptional, only slightly above average. It was all about what hid inside of it.
“Unscrew the pommel and you will find a small roll of parchment.” Savekio had said, “If you can learn how to read it during your time in the Tibur’s camp, then the world of Ux techniques will open up for you. It is not an easy task. Keep the paper hidden, and only attempt to read it when you are well and truly hidden from prying eyes. If you cannot do that, then don’t risk it.”
Ezo was keeping careful watch for him by patrolling the grounds nearby. His ears were swiveling about in every direction, nostrils flexing as he attempted to catch any foreign scents. Dreiki unscrewed the pomel and pulled a tight roll of parchment from the handle. It was only about as tall as his index finger, and as wide as his forearm.
He focused his Ux over his eyes, imagining those lenses again. From what he recalled during his studies, lenses could be adjusted depending on their angle, so perhaps it was the same principle?
He imagined the lenses over his eyes uncurling slowly, caving in deeper and deeper. His vision shifted between different modes. From nightvision, to magnifying like a spyglass, to a strange vision which allowed him to see the heat coming from his breath.
It had been a two days since he had promised Tadios he would have something to teach him. These different types of vision were the first discoveries he’d made, but it did not seem to bring him any closer to reading the parchment.
This technique was meant to be the fundamental step in learning how to read these pages, but there had to be something he was not understanding. He tried every angle he could for those lenses. He even tried to layer them over one another only to find that he could see through objects too.
None of it worked, but why? What was different? Why could he not read it? When he thought about it, a cypher almost never required a specific lens or looking glass to read. It usually required something to be done with the page.
And then it hit him. What if he put the lens directly over the page?