Something was tugging on her dress. E4 opened her eyes to find herself surrounded by fog. Her dress had long been torn up, her gear lost. Her spine was freezing, and it felt as if Mara was trying to pull her soul from her body. She could feel the tingling in her fingers and the telltale scratching of the isopod within her skull, a sound all ravagers dreaded hearing. Yet when she tried her hands they closed, she could still feel her toes, and aside from a few scratches she didn’t feel any pain. Around her she heard people talking, though it was quickly interrupted.
“Hey, what’s that dog got?” A child’s voice asked. Immediately the rest of the sounds seemed to pause.
“A prize for the butcher, won’t be long now.”
“That’s not a dog.” Someone spoke.
“That’s a c’psee’ter! Get it!”
E4 was heard the thing let out a roar bark, which caused it to promptly drop her. It followed with a low growl, which stopped the voices for a moment before someone spoke up.
“Do c’psee’ters actually hurt folks?”
“I mean, we sanitize wounds with c’psee’ter spit, and they’re mildly Aetheric, so they can’t be that bad.” A man’s voice replied. “Here boy, come here, look into my eyes.”
E4 opened her eyes again, seeing a cloudy sky above and the c’psee’ter guarding over her. She tried to sit up, only for her abdomen to blaze to life with pain and drop back down, her arms and legs refusing her directions.
[[Unknown anomaly. Attempt to retract host soul to Mara’s bosom failed. Myst interference suspected. All ATP redirected to regeneration. Caution: Soul extraction attempted by unknown power. Attempt resisted due to regeneration. Unknown power has extended an offer to Host: Second chance. Spare the host’s life with minimal resources in exchange for a favor. Host has 1 favor- Red Queen]] E4 vaguely remembered something like that, but only as if in a dream. She tried to get up again, and let out a groan of pain for the effort.
“My word, she’s still alive. Get the healer!”
E4 felt herself be picked up, which the c’psee’ter allowed before following her closely. She felt no pain despite being jostled, her isopod sparing her the agony since she wasn’t moving. Her stomach grumbled loudly, indicating her attempts at regeneration had depleted her of ATP. A quick chittering returned no response, indicating her gear was gone. As they carried her she felt her heart seize as she saw the building they carried her to, and the large butcher’s knife shaped sign hanging by the door.
She may have lost consciousness, for the next thing she could sense were skilled hands examining her. Either her dress had been removed, or it had been so damaged that there wasn’t enough to remove. “She is alive, somehow.” E4 felt a hand on her chest over her heart. “I believe she is an omen, a sign from The Myst of a coming disaster.”
“You’re kidding, we’re in no shape to handle an Omen.” A male voice replied. “If we kill her, does it still count as an omen?”
“I’m awake.” E4 rasped out. Her throat felt like sandpaper and sitting up made her head spin. The entirety of her chest felt like it was full of wool, which she knew was her isopod muting the pain. Had it not, it would feel more like steel wool, and it would be red hot. Her head spun, allowing her to see who else was in the room. An older woman in a brown canvas coat and matching skirt stared at her in surprise. The male voice was a similarly aged man with a hawkish nose and stern shadowed eyes. A younger man, who looked like a younger version of the man stared at her. It was only at that moment E4 realized she was only wearing a sheet, which she promptly pulled up. As she did she realized just how far Mara had gone to keep her alive. She looked like a skeleton, her skin stretched across her bones and her arms looking as if she had been shrink wrapped. Strange veins bulged with dark fluid, the ravager isopod sacrificing its disguise to preserve her life.
“Well first of all Ri’ard yes, it does count. An omen is The Myst sending us a courtesy. Second, shame on you. Even The Butcher at his worst had the decency to welcome his prey” E4 saw that the woman’s eyes were clouded while Ri’ard’s were shadowed. The younger man’s eyes glowed with golden irises indicating another Blessed. “Look at her, she looks like she hasn’t eaten in a month. I’ll be surprised if she makes it through the night.”
[[ATP: 0. Starvation protocols initiated. Find a source of nutrients immediately. All MIST scores redirected to Tenacity.]] E4 felt weak, her muscles were stripped bare for nutrients, her mind felt slow and sluggish. [[Skill received: Cannot display skill due to lack of nutrients.]] “May, may I trouble you for some food.”
“Is she worth feeding?” Ri’ard asked. E4 immediately didn’t like him.
“Uncle Ri'ard, how can you even ask that?” The Aether Blessed man asked. “Hold still, I’ll get you something.”
“Stop… and he’s gone.” The woman sighed. She reached into a pouch and drew a coin, which she slipped into her mouth. “Be forewarned, whatever he brings back, do not eat it. You will die.”
“Refeeding syndrome?” E4 asked, and the woman nodded, looking a bit surprised. “I’ve been on both sides of that coin before, though never within The Distant Shores.”
“So you’re from beyond?” Ri’ard asked, still glaring at E4 in a way that worried her. He wore a black coat adorned with an iron badge with a padded leather vest underneath. He had a hard look about him, one that E4 guessed implied some sort of security or military work. At his hip he carried a huge knife which looked a bit too much like a cleaver. “Does that mean she’s not an omen?” The healer did not reply, getting to work heating what E4 suspected was rice. She shook several shakers of some substances into it before returning them back to one of the many pockets in her coat. “Hel’en, this is important. The Von Veil family is breathing down my neck here.”
“I agree, but she has to be alive to tell us. If you have this much free time go check on your nephew Richard, make sure he doesn't get pulled into one of his adventures again. Maybe make sure he’s clearing out the standing stones, those going down is the last thing we need.” Ri’ard huffed but was off.
“Where am I, and what’s an omen?” E4 asked.
“I’m surprised you have the energy for questions.” Hel’en replied, tapping the pan she was working on with a wooden spoon before taking it off the burner. E4 noticed the device appeared to be powered by a small metal cylinder, a gas burner rather than electrical. Strangely enough, it looked like there was some kind of coin slot on the machine. Your MIST scores have to be bottomed out, starvation does that. She made a gesture and tendrils of mist descended from her hand over the rice, cooling it. She served a small bowl for E4. “Here, eat. It’s not going to feel like much, but it’s all your stomach can take right now.”
“Thank you.” E4 tried to eat slowly, she really did, but after two bites her tongue seemed to slither right out of her mouth and scoop up the rest of the bowl’s contents before pulling it into her mouth. A mild telekinetic field ensured not a grain was lost. On some level she knew it was rice with a few black and golden flakes of unknown material, but it tasted like heaven. That raised an eyebrow from the healer. “Sorry, guess I was hungry.” She felt her stomach rumble as it awoke. Within a minute the rice was digested, reduced to Myst, and converted into ATP and Aether. “Can I have some more.”
“In a few hours.” E4 sighed. “Now, what is your name?”
“E4.” That raised an eyebrow.
“E4 is a designation, and one more often used for an engineer than a combat servant or scout. What was your name on Earth?” E4 remained silent. “How about your Myst Folk name, let’s start with that.”
“Ere’th’var.” Hel’en nodded.
“Yes, I see. The Myst Folk naming convention strikes again. And how long have you been in The Distant shores?”
“I want to say a week or two, probably less than a month. With traveling time gets strange.” E4 replied, which Hel’en nodded. “Why did that man, Ri’ard want to kill me? What is an omen?”
“Don’t take it personally, he’s under a lot of stress.” Hel’en replied, slipping a coin into the heater, which made a small gauge increase by about a quarter. “Ri’ard is the captain of the guard, and the creatures of The Myst have been getting stronger lately.” She tapped her chin. “It’s almost as if cutting our little town off from the rail system was a bad idea and The Myst is punishing us for it.” She saw the question rising on E4’s lips. “Yes, that is a thing. Many Myst Cursed do not realize it, as The Myst hides things from our vision, but those of us who were once Blessed sometimes remember a few points. I recall a few times when my little band was approached by a sole survivor of an attack, as if The Myst guided them to us. I know not if this was to guide the creature to us that it might slay us or as a warning so we might not be taken by surprise. Sometimes it was even an Aether Blessed, one who had some favor with The Myst. Those times were often the worst, since a creature strong enough to slay a group of Aether Blessed tend to be truly dangerous.
“I had a favor.” That raised an eyebrow. “Our party slew an undead scolophant, and I received a favor from The Myst. I was betrayed, but I received a notice, that I would be allowed to live in exchange for a favor.”
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“I think it would be more a favor to let you die. You have a lot of recovery to work on,” At that moment the door was thrown open and a blood spattered man was half carried half dragged in. “And you come at a horrible time.”
E4 was quickly shunted into another room. She took a deep breath, and as she exhaled a fog of pure clear Aether left her. “Down to eating the Myst in the air am I? Mara, your first fang is in a bit of a pickle.”
[[Favor: 1.]] E4 eyed the notification. “That wasn’t used up? Red, what’s going on?” E4 pushed herself up and found that the pan of rice had been left beside her. She quickly ate another helping, careful not to eat too much. Five minutes later she was a bit better, and five minutes after that she finished the rest. “Ok, better,” She said as a bit of muscle returned to her limbs. It was far more than mere rice should have done, but Ravagers made do. She stood, wrapping the blanket around her, and made for the door.
“Be still!” E4 froze as black mist surrounded her. For a moment she thought it was the murk from the undead, but it moved differently. “How are you even standing?”
“I’m feeling a bit better?” E4 asked. Her stomach growled. “Still hungry though.”
“I forget how pig headed we can be, just because your tenacity says you’re still alive doesn’t mean you can go running off without doing yourself further harm.” She eyed E4. “Do you have a healing power?”
“Healing hands.” E4 replied, not admitting she had regeneration. “I’m trying to hasten my recovery, but I need food, and a lot of it.”
“And I need the bed you’re occupying. I’ve come to an agreement with a regulator I know to let you stay with him for the time being, seeing all you need is food and rest.” She paused. “And clothes. If you go out in that someone’s going to mistake you for a revanant.”
“Are those real?”
“Maybe it’s a Myth, maybe it’s The Myst.”
E4 was quickly dressed in an old flannel shirt and baggy pants. They were too big. Hel’en quickly found some clothing sized for a child, also a flannel shirt and pants which on her looked more like shorts. It left her stomach and lower legs exposed, but she managed to get them to sort of fit
“Well I guess I look like a scarecrow, but at least no one will think I’m a threat.” E4 said, flexing. She still felt weak, but not nearly as much as she had. Her stomach growled again. “Oh hush, I’ll feed you in a bit.” She paused. “Is there a standing stone nearby?”
“By the regulator’s guild, or what’s left of it. We only have a few regulators these days.”
Stepping outside of the healer’s office E4 was immediately struck by how low the clouds were. From the humidity she could almost swear it was about to rain, and the chain link fence around the city was just barely holding back the fog. For just a moment she thought she saw something out there, a darker gray against the gray of the myst. The fence let loose a loud buzz and a spark of light, and the shadow was gone.
A low chuckling sound caught her attention as something soft and fluffy rubbed against her hand. She looked down to the c’psee’ter that sat beside the door, now rubbing its ear against her hand like a giant cat. Its straw colored fur was soft and plush, brown spots and stripes breaking up its coloration. It had a frill of darker fur along its spine, as well. Its long legs were darker, and its long tail swept an arc along the ground as she scratched it.
After a few minutes of petting the adorable creature E4 returned to her task. Inside she noticed that doing so released a flood of dopamine and serotonin, but she was too hungry to wonder if it was her isopod encouraging her to keep the creature that saved her life or an effect of the c’psee’ter itself. It didn’t matter, both were welcome. As she shuffled along she received several looks, as did her companion. As the Myst folk’s eyes were shadowed she couldn’t quite tell what they were thinking. Fear and concern seemed to be the most likely, though she could not tell if it was regarding her, or their own situation. All around the Hymn sang discordant notes. Time to work, danger, seek shelter, work, fight, the signals shifted and commanded as she ignored them, as was her right as Aether Blessed.
The Regulator’s Guild was a large stone building fallen into disrepair. Cobwebs hung in broken windows, and a strange generator protected by a cage lay dormant in the back. Next to it the standing stones rose from the ground like mismatched teeth. Several of them had cracked, and were held together through some manner of black chains. E4 immediately approached the chains. She tapped on one, and confirmed it was not made from murk but from a metal she could not identify. The light chuckling of her companion alerted her that she was not alone.
“Caw! Pretty doggy, pretty doggy.” E4 turned to see a long haired man in a lavender hooded robe decorated with darker accents and black ravens. He wore his black hair short, and his eyes blazed with sapphire and silver light respectively indicating him as an Aether Blessed. A black raven perched on his shoulder, on a small perch of cork that seemed attached by two belts. The man was lithe without being thin, and his nose resembled the beak on his pet.
“Good Morning, Art thou the omen that does this day darken our door?” The man spoke. “My name is Corvus Cain, and this is Cap.”
“Good morning. Good morning.” Cap spoke.
“Good morning. My name is E4 and this,” E4 paused. “I’m not really sure what to call my little friend here. Fido?” The c’psee’ter shook its head. “Stripe?” Stripe roar-barked in approval. “Stripe it is.”
“Is he a gift from your patron?”
“How did you know I have a patron?” E4 exclaimed, her claws out immediately. Her tail twisted, ready to fend off a lurking threat.
“My companion did greet both you and your patron.” Corvus reached over to pat Cap, who nuzzled against his hand. “He could have been greeting your pet, but I find your reaction is quite telling. You both have a patron, and have suffered harm for it.” He shrugged and Cap flew from his shoulder to hers, his claws sinking into her clothing but not her skin. “Cap, I realize she resembles a scarecrow, yet that is no reason to be hostile. She is but tier 0 and weakened by her exertions, while you are tier 1 and have a history of biting through bones. Come here.” Cap squawked before turning and biting her horn, technically an antenna but it resembled a horn more.
“Hey, that’s sensitive.” E4 replied, before Cap jumped back down and landed on her tail. E4 gave an irritated swish, but the bird flapped its wings and stayed on. “Your bird is a mischievous sort.”
“Oh I am quite aware, did he nibble your ear?” Cap squawked and took off, landing on Corvus’s outstretched hand. “Bad bird, you don’t eat people who are still alive. Bad enough how you tear into the creatures of The Myst.” Cap let out a short cackle. “Since you’re here, I’m guessing you want to tap the standing stones?” E4 nodded. “Then I would ask you to wait, there are only three so blessed within this land, and Richard would be quite annoyed if we left him out.”
“Hey, there you are.” Richard called running towards the pair. He wore a red tuinic with brown pants, both of which were covered with flour. He carried a picnic basket in one hand, while his other was free to grab one of the dozen knives on his belt. A young lady in a deerskin tank top and skirt followed after him at a more sedate pace, her steps accented by the small bell attached to the bow she carried on her back. Two quivers, one also on her back and another on her leg, as well as a turquoise bead studded headband completed the archer’s outfit. It took one look at her shadowed eye for E4 to figure she was a Myst folk. “You shouldn’t be up and around, you still look like a scarecrow.”
“I’m already a bit better, just need a bit of dense mist to fix myself up.” E4 replied. “You know what they say, doctors make the worst patients.” That caught both his and Corvus’s attention. “What?”
“Hel’en has been the only medical practitioner since we have been cut off from the rails. We have been trying to convince her to join us for a Hail Mary mission to reconnect us.” Corvus replied, a slight smile forming at his lips. “Now we may not have to. Yet that is a discussion for later, let us partake in The Myst’s bounty.”
Each gathered around the standing stones, the archer hanging back so she wouldn’t get zapped. Each held out their hand. E4 felt the way her hand should be, but she felt something else.
“Ready?” Corvus called out. “Now!”
Lightning fell and E4 felt her muscles twitch, her jaw forcibly opening wide and her hand twitching at the worst possible moment. Immediately she felt like she had licked a 9 volt, before the sensation increased to the point it felt like a car battery. The myst from the standing stones flooded into her throat, filling her stomach and flowing through, being absorbed and being converted to Aether. Her nerves sent a cacophony of signals, reminding her of being struck by a dozen tasers. The imbalance of Aether and Myst pulled more Myst from the standing stones and into her skin and muscles. Her isopod immediately moved to flood her body with endorphins, reducing what should have felt like horrible stabbing pain and intense burning to the sensation of scratching a full body sunburn.
As the endorphins faded and the whole-body sunburn turned from itch to a mild burning sensation E4 opened her eyes to notice her share of materials were less than the others. Richard had a frying pan, a dozen knives, and new oven mitts. Corvus had a dozen bolts tipped with raven feathers, a carved raven dagger with an obsidian blade for a beak, and six potions that shimmered with Myst. E4 had a half dozen black eggs in a basket made from woven straw. Each of them also received a small bag of coin emblazoned with a symbol of raven perched on a butcher’s knife.
“Woah, what happened to you?” Richard asked.
“It seems The Myst has taken offense to either the misdeeds of our new friend or her patron.” Corvus spoke. He approached her and extended a hand. “Come, let us retire to the guild hall that we might brace ourselves for the coming times.” E4 took his hand and stood, feeling a restrictive tightness as she rose. “I retract my judgment, it seems The Myst favors you after all.”
E4 examined herself. The shirt, already too short for her, now looked as if it may burst. The pants too bulged at the seams. Wherever she was not covered by cloth her skin revealed lean muscle, even if it did look like she had just forgotten the sunscreen after a day at the beach. Her tail twitched, also as red as a sunburn, giving her a rather devilish look. Yet it was not the tail nor the burn that caught Richard’s eye.
“Hey, Richard eyes back in your head.” The archer quipped, placing a FIRM hand on his shoulder. “You are mine remember?”
“It seems I am restored,” E4 replied, checking herself over again. As far as she could tell she was back to normal, though. “I think I will need a change in clothes.”
“I believe we can find you something, but I would recommend we move into the guild before Lady Von Veil shows up.” He shot a glance towards the bargain in the center. It was a thick brown bag, leaking with something putrid. Next to it were two large brass cylinders that glowed with the blue of Chirenkov radiation. “Don’t touch those, no one with any sense would take that bargain.”
As they approached E4 wondered how they would get inside. The door was thick steel and the walls around it were smooth stone lacking seams or mortar. For a moment she wondered if it was concrete, but it lacked the uniform color of concrete. She reached out to the Hymn of The Myst for answers.
“This is shaped stone, some masons can fuse multiple stones into a singular stone, molding it like putty before letting it harden.” the archer, who E4 realized was named Ar’ow but titled A7 replied. “I believe this was done by the druid Ophelia.”
“One of the many benefits of Aether shaping, and something I recommend every regulator learn during tier 3, if not tier 2.” He smirked. “And one of the many benefits to having a patron to help you.”
“So how are we getting in? I think I could slip in a window if someone could keep lookout.”
“Why?” A7 asked. With a click the lock on the door opened. “Corvus is the acting guild master, he has a key.”
“Even better.”