Death loomed all around her. E4 felt it in her bones, her isopod’s normal aid over her fight or flight response turning tail and telling her to run, run until her muscles gave out, run until her bones snapped, run until the last calorie from the last gram of the last muscle was gone.
Such was the weight of Mara’s judgment. E4 looked upon her patron, even as she stood on the edge of the entity. The Myst was heavy here, fighting against the intruder, yet Mara was cunning E4 saw several of the standing stones scattered across Mara, each one made from bone rather than stone. Myst gathered in each, and E4 knew what to do.
She jumped, and kicked her legs. Flippers made from telekinetic force flickered into being. Even as she swam to help she could feel Mara’s judgment on her. She was going to die, her flesh would betray her, strangle her, and be reabsorbed to make a better host. Her isopod, so ready to defend her, would judge her wanting and eat her from within. She arrived at the first standing stones and reached out. Immediately it burst to life, Myst flashing into a radiant glare. [[Myst to Aether research: ¼]] E4 saw there were several standing stones, more than 4, so she quickly swam towards the next. Her lungs pulled water in, and extracted more from it than any biological organ should have. A popup appeared but she ignored it.
The next set of standing stones gave no resistance, but they did drop something E4 grabbed and shoved onto her arm, the material grabbing her in return before sinking its fangs deep into her bloodstream. A part of her panicked at the intruder, but her logical mind knew what was up.
Surrounding the third standing stone were a pack of humanoids. Each one bore several horns and crouched over what had once been another human. E4 eyed the group, before swimming around. There were other standing stones, and she knew better to deal with those things, even if she suspected they were just illusions of the mindscape. She made her way to the third set of standing stones and quickly tapped it, yet as she did bone walls engulfed the stone area, closing off a room about 25 meters in radius. A sudden outcropping of bone sent her flying just before the bones closed in a dome, and a brilliant light shone through the dome.
[[Notice: Aether reactor established. The conversion of Myst to Aether can now be used to create ATP. This process requires a soul or similar form of sentience. Skill: Unknown. Skill nomenclature is unknown, an Error message will be displayed. Subversion: ATP conversion. Constantly release Aether to generate resonance and ATP.]] E4 eyed the popup, then swam her way towards the nearest unoccupied standing stones. She repeated the process, and immediately she was again surrounded by a wall of bone and chitin. The creature that had latched onto her arm spit something onto the ground, a long cord connecting it to her. Immediately she felt it beginning to drain her. E4 took a deep breath, and as if in answer to her weakness the walls of the room opened and it was flooded with The Myst. E4 settled into a steady rhythm, breathe in, breathe out, send more energy into the object, repeat.
The exact process was complex, and she felt her mind skipping several parts, trusting instinct to make it work if just barely. The biological processes that allowed such a massive object to grow in such a short time were complex, though E4 could tell Mara was cheating in ways she had not on Earth. On Earth Mara had managed to master the wireless transmission of energy through resonance, bypassing the square cube law. E4 quickly picked out the resonant organs within the room, each one consuming energy in the form of ATP, in order to generate resonance, which generated ATP in the others. This was not the mundane ATP that all life on Earth used to live, but the strange esoteric ATP that Mara and her followers used to perform inhuman feats, and which bore the same name due to how it was created as well as how difficult it made life for certain Purifiers. E4 noted a pop up on each of the generators. [[Resonant generator Mk1. Consumption 1 ATP/second. Signal: 8. Resonance: 1/second]]. E4 next turned to the receivers, which were slightly above and fed back into the generators. [[Resonant receiver Mk 1. Max signal 64. Efficiency 50%]]. E4 did the math, each one consumed a single unit of ATP a second, and generating 1 resonance, which in turn generated 0.5 ATP in each of the recievers. It was a losing battle, save that there were 16 of them in the room and each had the capacity for 64 signal.
Yet even as E4 observed this the generators changed. Initially each one looked almost like a lung though upside down and with the trachea leading into the wall. Yet now a small sphere grew from the wall beneath. E4 could sense Myst being drawn in from somewhere and shunted into countless cells, each full of tiny organelles that she immediately recognized as modified mitochondria. Within the cells Myst was converted into Aether, and as the Aether was released ATP was generated through a cycle E4 couldn’t quite follow. Immediately the resonators went into overdrive. No longer limited by the ATP created within one another they began to hum, and that hum increased in volume and intensity. [[MTA catalyst Experimental. Consumption: 1 ml of Myst. Output: 1 ERROR of Aether and 1 unit of ATP.]] More and more, until E4 was sure the whole contraption was about to explode. Yet she did not care, for her mind had latched onto something. As she watched the Aether seemed to vanish. Exerting as much ATP as she dared E4 concentrated on trying to see which mechanism disposed of the Aether, hoping for a method to conserve the energy. Yet to her surprise she found a sheath designed to retain the Aether within the organelle, but an open port that lead right into the cell. She watched as closely as she could, waiting for the Aether to build up and rupture the cell, before her blood went cold.
“Aether doesn’t disperse in this dimension, it leaves!” She chittered. “The laws are different here. This place, it’s a part of a cycle. Myst comes here, it turns to Aether and it goes,”
“Hey, E4!”
E4 blinked, and was looking into Marissa’s eyes. Her horns still buzzed, the resonant vision fading quickly.
“Ma… Mistress?” E4 fumbled in her pocket. “I need a pen and… Fangs of the Lady, I lost it.” She took a deep breath. “What did I … oh” She looked around to see Myst Folk staring at them and backing away. “What did we do?”
[[Connection established. WiseMind module active. Research commencing. Myst to ATP research completed. MTATP mitochondria are now being integrated into all connected lifeforms. Aetheric venom completed. Aetheric subversions in progress. Several new adaptation options available.]] E4 returned her attention to Marissa, who was shining a light into her eyes. “I’m here, no need to blind me.”
“The stones threw you into a wall.” Marissa replied, putting away the light into her purse. “That’s a bad sign, that’s a really bad sign.”
E4 rose, and as she did heard the clatter of something hitting the ground. A single 20 sided dice, etched from bone of whitest ivory, plopped into her hand. “Oh look, I rolled a 20.” E4 muttered, standing and examining the die for a moment before putting it into her pocket. “So, on a scale of local police jurisdiction dispute to chased by a SWAT team during an airborne rabies outbreak, how bad it is?”
“E4, where did you get that?” Marissa looked even more concerned. “Is that the bargain?”
“Huh, what do you mean?” E4 pushed herself up, her aches and pains receding. As her eyes fell upon the standing stones she noticed they had been flattened, and the Myst Folk were all staring. “Oh shoot, what did we do? Bleeding Havoc, we’ve got to get out of here.” Her eyes locked onto the electric fence. She had just gained a resistance to electrical damage, “I’ll lead them into the woods, we’ll meet up,
“What, no. E4, hold still.” E4 was already up and beginning to run. “MAID HOLD STILL!” E4 froze for just a moment, but that was enough for Marissa to take her by the hand. “We need to get you checked out. You hit your, well, everything pretty hard.”
“The, the law enforcement, when they see what we did to the standing stones,”
“E4, show me your regulator card.” E4 took it out from her pocket. “See, you’re a regulator, tapping standing stones is part of our job. This,” She gestured to the stones, “Is not our fault. If anything, it’s a sign that the stones haven’t been tapped enough lately, and we need to go to the guild to see why.”
Despite Marissa’s words when the city guard showed up 30 seconds later, seeming to manifest out of Myst, it took all of E4’s self control not to bolt. Feeling none of her fear, Marcus approached and casually explained what had happened, cracked a joke, and the guards left to calm down the other Myst folk.
“That was surprisingly painless.”
“We’re regulators.” Marcus replied matter-of-factly. “In a case like this the guards are just here to keep anyone from panicking. The fact our family has a good deal of standing helps.”
“Nepotism saves the day.” E4 replied. “I’m going to guess that was not normal.”
“No, no it was not. I think we need to go to the guild, get a table, and get the guild master in on this.” He paused, drew two copper chips, and clicked them together. As if by magic a teenager, 14 or so if E4 judged it right though Myst Folk tended to be shorter than Aether Blessed, appeared out of the crowd. The child wore an odd blue tuinic and shorts, with rather strange boots bearing a pair of wings. A matching badge was emblazoned on the child’s shirt, as well on the brimmed cap he wore. “Send a message to Lady Eagle-Wood. Her commission will be delayed due to the explosion at the Standing stones. We will complete her commission once we ensure the town is not in eminent danger.” He handed the boy the coins and the boy made a salute and was off.
“Handy.” E4 replied as the boy was quickly lost to the group.
“And problematic. Aunt Susan will not be happy at the delay, but she will understand since without a standing stone the entire city could be consumed by The Myst. The Artisans will certainly be working 24/7 to get a new one up. A smaller town would be up a creek, but a city like this can get it done.”
Entering the Regulator Guild building E4 was immediately struck by how empty it was. The building was just as large as Arnold’s location, yet only one table had anyone at it. Two men were playing cards, and both were injured. One played with one hand, the other in a sling, while the other wore a cast on his leg and his head was shaved to reveal still healing stitches. A young woman stood behind the bar, going through a large ledger. As she got to the bottom of the last page she flipped back to the first page and started again.
“What’s going on?” E4 asked. She approached one of the tables and with a gesture dusted it, thick clouds wafting off that drove The Hymn into a tizzy. “Where is everyone?”
“Gone.” The woman looked up, and for a moment E4 thought she could see desperation in her shadowed eyes. “Five expeditions sent, thirty regulators and twelve Aether Blessed among them. None have returned. The Screaming Dread has consumed them all. Several requests sent to all teams yet none have come, and The Myst shall consume us all.”
“Hey, hey, chill.” Marissa spoke up, seeming to appear beside the woman and taking her hands in her own. “We’re regulators, we’ll take care of it.” She turned to Marcus and E4. “Right?”
“With the standing stones tapped we have bought a few days, but if something is putting stress on the city and eating regulators we have to clear it or the city is in danger. Receptionist, what is known about The Screaming Dread?”
E4 saw the woman seem to straighten. “The Screaming Dread was identified approximately 2 weeks ago during a logging expedition along a previously uncleared section of the forest. Initial reports indicated an isolated settlement that had no connection to any known rail system.” E4 noticed the concerned look passing between Marcus and Marissa. “All regulators sent to investigate have failed to return.”
The next hour was spent pouring over the records the guild did have. Several log books and papers were provided, and E4 noticed Marcus and Marissa produced their Ruby and Azure tablets. She noticed that each paper had an odd looking mark towards either the top or the bottom, and each book had a similar spot on the spine. With a gesture and an expenditure of Aether the tablet seemed to copy the content of the book. Marissa procured a plain wooden version for E4 to use, and instructed her on how to use it. Each tablet had a small memory cylinder, a small bronze cylinder with a window to the crystaline core which grew more cloudy with every paper scanned.
“So, what exactly am I looking for?” E4 asked, looking through her tablet. She pressed on a series of the keys, injecting tiny amounts of Aether to give it instructions. She had taken well to them, and no one had mentioned the extra fingers yet. “Because I’m seeing a lot, and I do mean a LOT of kobold sightings. Weird thing, some of these report combat, but some of them seem peaceful. There was even a group that traded some clothes for gemstones.”
“That’s not unusual in areas with lots of minerals and caves, kobolds tend to spring up there just like humans stick to open plains where it’s easier to farm.” Marissa tapped on her tablet, which had a crude touch screen as more buttons for more precise control than E4’s. She tapped her tablet on E4’s, and a report quickly wrote itself in the odd grayscale her tablet used. “Sometimes, especially if it’s near the rails, they’ll be friendly. This area isn’t great for growing textiles, so maybe we should grab some cloth to trade with.”
“Friendly non-humans?” E4 asked.
“Friendly is a loose term, but such savages can be dealt with.” E4 turned to see a team of three men limping into the guild. “Bartender, we need bandages, beer, and breakfast.”
“Patterson?” Marcus looked up at the speaker. He paused when he saw the still bleeding wounds on the man. Patterson was an older gentleman, white hair and a once finely trimmed mustache over high browed features, though all that was now marred by the still drying blood. What had once been a tan leather coat now hung in tatters, revealing a thin chain shirt beneath. From the cuts in the chain shirt E4 could see a white shirt beneath, which was now stained red with blood. The man’s trousers weren’t any better. If he had been wearing a tan pith helmet, which E4 suspected he had been, it was long gone. Yet even as injured as he was, there was something E4 couldn’t place. A solidity about the man.
“Marcus, and Mas, Marissa. You picked a great time to come back.” The man smiled, and winced as a large cut on his face opened up. “Tarnation bartender, where are those bandages?”
In short order the receptionist brought a box marked by a snake curled around a pole. “I’m sorry sir, but our resident doctor is not available at this time. The GuildMaster also went with the last group and has not yet returned.”
“Preposterous. The code of the guild indicates medical personnel must be present at all times.” He huffed, but E4 noticed his eyes went to his companions, both of whom were worse off than him. One wore a black coat and tricornered hat, but both were shredded and stained with blood. The third, he looked even worse. E4 couldn’t tell what he had been wearing, but it was now the color of dried blood and shredded. “Where is he, did one of the other regulators take the doctor with them?” The receptionist didn’t respond. “They didn’t,”
“Doctor Wyr’wit was taken along with another group, they have not returned.”
“What air headed idiot decided that was a good idea?”
“E4, do you want to step in?” Marissa asked.
E4 rolled her bone die, rolling a 15. “Well the bones speak.” She stood up, “I know a little medicine.”
Patterson looked to E4 and squinted his eyes, then winced as the wound on his face opened again. “A maid? Marcus, are you training them for combat as well? You’re asking for a knife in the back if you keep doing that.”
“Only this one and the head maid.” Marcus replied.
E4 examined Patterson first. “Numerous lacerations, shallow but definitely from something dull. Claws would be my guess, anything poisonous?”
“You tell me.” Patterson replied. “If Marcus is training you on medicine shouldn’t you know?”
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“I only swallowed a soul a week ago, before that I only studied medicine on Earth.” E4 replied. She immediately got to work, sterilizing the gauze before applying it. “You’re going to look a bit like a mummy for a while, and infection is a risk, though being Aether Blessed you should be alright.”
“6 charge Humming mushroom pills.” Marissa spoke up.
“Right,” E4 gestured and pulled one of the many bottles from the basket the receptionist brought out. As she did she felt an expenditure of Aether that reminded her a bit of a sugar low. “One of these with breakfast and dinner, don’t take them on an empty stomach or they’ll make you sick.” She paused, examining a cut on his arm, before measuring a bandage for that as well.
[[Skill fast fabrication: Quickly create an object from raw materials using Aether. Increases fabrication speed of all projects. Subversion: Flesh fabrication: create materials from the host’s flesh and bones. If Myst is available it may be used to bypass the conservation of mass and energy. If it is not the host must be replenished through food and rest.]] E4 quickly manifested a bone needle and thread, stitching closed some of the larger wounds and treating them with C’psee’ter spit to ensure no rot took to them and Aether Jelly to accelerate healing. As she worked she noticed how much force it took to push the needle through, as if his skin was leather and his flesh was tough silicon. Yet she had worked with inhumanly tough flesh before and within about 15 minutes she had treated all of the obvious wounds, though the fact it took so long was a sign of the extent of the injuries.
“I see, have you been feeding her recipes for speed skills?”
“Is that how you get skills?” E4 asked.
“36 charge Zip lime martinis, or 64 charge peppers in a chili of proper variety would be my method of choice, during a period of running or marching. Diet and exercise.” He paused for a moment as she got to work on his companion, who E4 noticed was a Myst Folk. “Marcus, why are you keeping an Aether Blessed as a maid? Is your house so flush with coin that you can’t think of anything else to spend it on?”
“As E4 mentioned she’s been Aether Blessed for a week, we’re keeping an eye on her until she can get a better understanding of the Distant Shores. This will only be her second excursion, and the last one was a simple goblin run.”
“How did she do?” He asked.
“Pretty well for being uncharged. Of course, something blew up the entire town before we could get much done. Some kind of weird purple fire.” E4 barely resisted twitching as Marcus mentioned the purple fire. She quickly buried herself in stitching up her patient, before splinting his arm. “We bugged out pretty quickly after that.”
“Purple fire, strange.” The receptionist returned, carrying a large pie that smelled of spices as well as several pitchers of something foamy. “Chicken pot pie, with 12 charge peas and 4 charge potatoes to accelerate the healing process, positively delightful. Good food, good drink and good company. The fruits of a Regulator’s labor.”
As E4 worked she noticed the myst folk had a lot more wounds than Patterson. She worked carefully, knowing that the Aether jelly would burn a Myst Folk, and a few other things she used on Patterson would also be unwelcome. After half an hour of work she turned to the third man.”
“None for me, I will live.”
E4 eyed the man. “Marissa, take a look at this, I need a second opinion.” She turned to the man. “Do you mind?”
“Yes I mind, I’m enjoying my meal.” The man replied, despite the fact he had not taken a single bite.
“P2, when have you cared about women looking at you?”
“Patterson’s got a point, I remember you spent your first pay packet at the cat house.”
“No, I don’t want them touching me.” P2 replied. He immediately stood up, and his hand went to a sword.
“Easy, easy. I don’t want trouble.” E4 replied, backing off. As she did she felt her claws extend, and made a quick gesture to retract them. Patterson and the other Myst Folk eyed the man as he quickly left, completely missing her reaction. “That’s concerning.”
“I can’t say I wouldn’t be the same if the situation was reversed, a man I don’t know poking at me claiming to offer medical aid.” Marissa replied. “And Myst Folk can be pretty stuck on their traditions.”
“That they can.” Patterson added. “But you have done us a service, why not join us for a meal. He certainly doesn’t seem to be interested.” E4 shot a questioning look to Marissa, before flipping her die into the air. It came down on 12, so she sat. “A gambler are you?”
“Never for profit, but in another life I did enjoy rolling the bones.” E4 replied. She helped herself to some of the pie, and the moment she took a bite she felt a jolt shoot down her spine. “Is there Aether in this?”
“Of course.”
“4 charged potatoes, they’ve got a little bit less Aether than what we find in the Aether elixir.” Marissa replied, looking up from the reports she had been reading. E4 noticed that at some point while she worked Patterson had helped himself to a few of the reports. Marcus and Marissa had also ordered food, and were sharing some manner of salad made from slightly shimmering lettuce, chunks of dark chicken soaked in herbs, and lots of types of cheese. Based on the size of the bowl it could feed four people, but they were both enjoying it.
[[Skill acquired: Healing hands. Expend Aether to accelerate healing. Bruises and minor wounds heal with just a touch. Larger wounds still require stitches or bandages. Aether cost scales with damage.]] E4 paused as the pop up appeared before her right eye. [[Subversion: Regeneration protocol. Expend ATP to close wounds, regrow limbs, and recover from near fatal wounds. Cost is relative to damage. Only works on resonant entities. The use of Myst is required to ignore conservation of mass but host can regenerate without Myst or in places where Myst is insufficient.- Red Queen]]
“Um, I just got a skill. Do we normally get skills that fast?”
“Depends on what you eat, and what you do. Certain foods help get you in the right mindset, but it’s the act of doing that gives you the skill. You’re eating charged potatoes, in a meal that focuses on healing abilities, and patching up two people. The fact you were a doctor on Earth pushes you further in that direction. You’ll have to see a reader to figure out exactly what you got.” Marcus replied, taking a bite of his salad. “This salad we’re eating has the effect of boosting the effect of crafting abilities, and since we’re going to be traveling for a few days I’m going to be working on a few weapons while Marissa works on some potions and elixirs. Given what you’re eating you probably got healing hands if you’re lucky, or restoring rest if you’re not.”
“Using the skills you get helps them to last long, and if you use them enough and gain enough dense Myst eventually they become permanent. Of course, two people can eat the same thing and get different skills. Even after eating the same as Marcus I’m not going to be making any weapons.”
“The Esoterics believe that eating the proper foods and thinking the proper thoughts allow the soul to better express itself on the canvas of the body. On Earth we are so tied to our biology it is hindered, but in this world of shifting Myst our souls play a much greater role. It is said that it is our souls that allow us to use Aether.” Patterson added, before chuckling. E4 noticed his mustache didn’t look so haggard anymore. “Of course the boffins laugh at that. According to them the foods we eat activate or deactivate certain life strands in ways that are not possible on Earth due to the lack of Aether and Myst particles. As Myst particles are somewhat psychoreactive the changes we enjoy tend to remain, while those we do not use often are reverted in time, much like a muscle strengthening or decaying depending on use. As we continue to use those muscles they specialize, Aetheric weapon splitting into Aetheric ammunition or Aetheric Edge. Why both Marissa and I have Aetheric ammunition yet Marcus who is Marissa’s half brother has Aetheric edge who can say?”
“So the soul doesn’t play a part.” E4 asked, a bit of creeping dread slipping down her spine. Something about the talk had attracted Mara’s attention. She felt the ancient and impossibly large presence of her patron lean against her optic and auditory nerve.
Patterson shrugged. “Who can quantify the soul?”
“A researcher friend of mine actually got some data on that in 2029.” E4 replied, reaching for another serving of pie. “Sadly it angered the wrong people,” She paused, “the kind of people who will drench an entire city in ISC-9 to hide an inconvenient detail.” E4 eyed the pie, and decided she didn’t want it anymore.”
“What’s ISC-9?” Patterson whispered to Marissa.
“No idea, some kind of execution method I think.”
“Incendiary Sanitation Compound number 9. Pours as easily as water, burns hot enough to melt steel, and is such a pretty purple color.” She paused, putting the pie back. For a few moments the only sound was the ruffling of papers.
“In the nature of getting off this dark topic I feel we should go over what we know.” Patterson decided. “A large number of kobolds have been seen, and the boffins say they might be from another Earth where dinosaurs managed to flourish outside of the African continent. Occasionally you’ll see a Myst Cursed or Aether Blessed among them, but they’re a lot rarer and the Myst Folk among them tend to be insular and tribal. Generally the more important they are the more feathers they wear. They like gold and turquoise too, but they don’t tend to use iron or steel favoring bone and hide.”
“They like long hair too,” Marissa added stroking her hair, “I met one once, and left with half a meter less hair than I started with. I still think she cheated at that game of cards. We should get some wool, they love rough spun wool because it’s easy to decorate with feathers, and they get cold easy. However, we’re getting off topic. If there are a lot of kobolds, there’s the chance that this thing is a dragon.”
“A dragon, like an actual dragon? Those are a thing?” E4 asked.
“I mean, maybe. Our grandfather Mason met one once, but he didn’t say if it could talk. According to his notebook it was smart enough to understand simple commands.”
“It could be a wyvern or a dinosaur. It’s a bit cold for a dinosaur, but Pterodactyls can be pretty noisy. With all the kobolds there might be a climate shift, that would make a lizard type creature more likely.”
“I don’t think it’s a dragon, or a wyvern. When my group went out we came to a river and had to make a choice. My team stayed on one side of the river, the other team crossed. My team came across a pack of lizards that acted like wolves. The other team came across the Screaming Dread. We could hear it, but we couldn’t cross the river to get at it. The fact it didn’t cross the river to get us indicates it can’t fly.” Patterson offered. “Could be an Elephant or Scolophant, those are extremely loud, that trunk can be used like a horn. If something increased the pitch, like an injury that didn’t heal right, it could be mistaken for screaming.”
“We’ll need hearing protection, you don’t get the name Screaming dread without being loud, and a burst ear drum is a great way to lose your balance.” Marissa added. “On the off chance it can fly and just chose not to a ranged weapon is a must.” She turned to E4. “Gun or crossbow?”
“Can I just borrow a zap gun? I have Aether now.” E4 asked. “If we’re dealing with scaley foes I’d think converting flesh directly to Myst would be the best way since penetration likely isn’t going to work.”
“Zap guns take a lot of training to use properly, I think it’s best if you stick with normal weapons for right now. Also without the Aetheric ammunition skill and an Aetheric capacitor you’re liable to only be able to shoot it once every 5 minutes. We could probably get you the Aetheric battery skill, since the ingredient for it is 20 charge black mushrooms, but you could just as easily get an electricity absorption skill.” Marissa replied.
“This gets back to what we were talking about previously, skills have tiers and in order to get the second tier you have to use the former a lot, as well as take the right supplements, and even then you can get the wrong skill. Given your use of knives, you probably wouldn’t get it anyhow.” Marcus replied. “Speaking of which, now’s a good a time as ever. Let’s hit the shops and get going, Aunt Susan isn’t going to be happy with her work delayed, she’ll be livid if we don’t have this wrapped up by tomorrow. I’ll hit the butcher and the baker if you go for the market.”
“You have a commission?” Patterson asked, “And you’re missing it for this matter?”
“Yes, Lady Eagle-Wood asked us to look into a town that was recently cut off from the rail system. She owns some holding there, and it produces a fragrant wood she likes.” Marcus explained. “But we can’t just let this go, this place is our home. I’d rather lose her sponsorship than lose our home.”
“Then go, I will recruit a few Myst Folk and deal with this. I have a home in this town as well, and I’ll be condemned to being Myst Cursed before I let a hunt go wrong tarnish my name.” He eyed E4. “Though I would count it as a favor if you left your maid with me for a bit. Healers are hard to come by, and one who is willing to go into the field is rare.”
Marcus and Marissa winced, before turning to E4. E4 looked back at them. E4 considered it, before tossing a die. The die hit the table and bounced into her hand, making E4 frown at the result. Finally Marcus spoke up. “E4 is just barely charged, and on her first solo encounter with a creature of The Myst she lost an arm. I’d feel better if we kept an eye on her for just a little longer. Given that this endeavor has already slain several teams,”
“I get it.” Patterson replied. “Wouldn’t be sporting to steal your sister’s next conquest this early anyhow,” he replied with a wink. Both he and the Eagle-wood siblings rose, E4 missing the signal and rising a moment later. “Guess I’ve got some recruiting to do.”
E4 was quickly pulled into helping Marissa shop for groceries. They first hit up a few farmers for something called 30 charge shimmering rice. The farmers, or their older children, had set up stalls. Most were small tents with a table and a scale, which E4 was immediately suspicious of. Some of the nicer stalls had colorful tents and men in fine garbs selling spices and exotic fruits and foods. Most were simple affairs, tan or white tents with a teenager or elderly individual selling local goods. E4 quickly found herself carrying bags, despite the fact Marissa had a purse that was bigger on the inside than the outside. Quickly she was loaded down by 40 charge shimmering rice, which was followed by 10 charge renewing oats. The list went on, yet E4 noticed each product was labeled with a charge.
“Are you sure this is 100 charge everpopping corn?” Marissa asked a stall owner as she eyed the bag and held her hand over it. E4 noticed her hand start to stand on end.”
“You doubt my product?” The man, a muscular farmer in denim overalls and nothing else save for a straw hat.
Marissa held her hand over a sample of the corn and her hair seemed to rise a bit. “See, that’s more 30-40 charge, meaning it’s more likely repopping corn, everpopping corn doesn’t come into play until at least 80 charge.”
“Um, what’s charge?” E4 asked. The farmer eyed her.
“See, this is why such matters should be left to men. Go back to the kitchen and cook what your husband brings you.” Marissa shot him a venomous look, turned, and walked off. “Hey, where are you going?”
“We’ll find another source, or make something else.” Marissa replied. “Come on E4, this guy makes me sick.”
“Wait, no one’s going to give you a better price for,” The man stopped when Marissa didn’t even spare him a second thought. E4 followed after, glad that she was stronger following becoming charged. “Fine then B****.”
E4 found a blade in her hand and eyed the distance. “Should I teach him a lesson Mistress?”
“You going to teach him 2030 style insults… Why are you holding a knife?”
“So I can make a point.” E4 replied, gesturing with the knife “I find a blade helps to cut to the chase.” Marissa looked too scared to groan at the bad puns. “What, too dull?”
“E4 put that away, he’s not worth it.” Marissa replied. She eyed the man’s tent, and pulled two coins from her purse. Within moments a messenger appeared. “Take a message to the board of weights and measures. The farmer at stall Ef34 may need an audit. Tell them the Eagle-Wood family has taken offense at their subpar product.” The boy shot a salute and was gone. “See, that’s how you strike back.”
“Huh, political power must be nice.” E4 tossed her blade into the air and attempted to catch it in her sleeve, but Marissa snatched it first. “I was just going to scare him, I wasn’t really going to hurt him.”
“Still, where did you get that?” Marissa took the knife, and paused. “Is this made of bone?”
“Huh, no, it’s,” E4 took it back, and sure enough it was made from bone. The handle was short and balanced so it could be thrown, or hidden in a hand. The blade was in fact two blades, with a small gap between them and two sharp points so it could be used for stabbing. A small circle had been cut from the center with a ring of resonant cells around it. Tiny chambers within could hold ATP and allow the knife to generate its own telekinetic field, or produce three types of ravager toxin on its own. E4 noticed a spot where, if she added a hinge, the knife would open up. A simple tug with telekinesis, for which there was a tiny anchor on the hilt, would return the knife with a nice large chunk of flesh. “Huh, I guess it is.” She quickly found her metal knife at her hip. “Whoops.”
“E4, where did you get this?”
“Guess I got it from the standing stones.” E4 replied, which was a half lie. “So, where are we finding this corn?” E4 asked, returning the knife to a sheath she created within her sleeve.
Finding another source of the everpopping corn took a few minutes, and a trip to a very fancy tent done in red and white. A man in a pure white suit stood behind his table measuring out several spices. After a bit of negotiation they walked off with the corn, as well as 18 assorted herbs and spices
“Guaranteed to make your chicken finger lickin’ good.” He called after them as they left.
“I can’t believe we just ran into Colonel S.”
“It’s Caw’No’Es, and there’s more than one. Remember how 85% of towns have a black market contact?” Marissa nodded to a man in a black hooded coat who leaned against a wall. A small cat sat at his heels, its eyes constantly moving. It immediately locked eyes on Marissa, walking over to her for a scratch. “Mornin’ Stretch.”
“Mornin’ Miss. Looking for something a little, special?” His grin was predatory. “Maybe some capacitors for a certain electrical device. Great for lighting up an entire house, definitely not for putting a lightning bolt between a Myst creature’s eyes hehe.”
“Nothing right now, just checking in.”
“Really now, 95% chance not to blow off your own arm,” He shot a look at E4 who pretended not to notice. “Heard an interesting rumor. Certain guild is a bit short on people. Probably haven’t had the manpower to clean out their closets in a while, who knows what skeletons you could find.”
“Some skeletons just need their rest, and I’m not going to be waking them.”
As they chatted E4 took out her die. She flicked it in the air imbuing it with ATP via a resonant link. As it reached its arc she felt the nervous tissue within reacting to stimuli she couldn’t quite percieve. Muscle tissue contracted an internal weight. The die fell back into her hand on a 19.
“That’s an interestin’ device you’ve got there.” Sketch muttered. E4 realized he had been talking to Marissa before abruptly stopping.
“It’s a die, I got it from the standing stones.” E4 flicked it into the air again and caught it, 20. “Onto another topic, have you heard of a creature known as the Screaming Dread. Word around town is you have a knack for finding things lost in the Myst.
Sketch’s grin went from ear to ear. “Well, that die a’ yours must be lucky, Gift from The Myst maybe? There’s a path that just opened up, practically lined with the scales of the kobolds who fled their homes. Smells like sea salt too, which makes no sense to me but that’s yer’ problem. If y’er really lucky ya’ might find a rogue kobold who could show ya’ the way.” With that he stepped back into a shadow and vanished.
“A lucky die?” Marissa asked. “Wait, isn’t that the die you were rolling earlier? And you got that from the standing stones right?” E4 nodded. “E4, you have to tell us these things. If that’s your bargain it means you can’t leave until you fulfill your side or you could put us all in danger. You have to put it back… except since the standing stones are gone you can’t.” She paused. “Blast it,”
“I don’t suppose it’s too late for me to take up his offer?” E4 asked.
“I guess we can’t shelter you forever, but I was hoping we’d have more than one messed up mission.” Marissa put a hand on E4’s shoulder. “Be safe.”
“You too.”