Arriving at the West Gate early, about quarter to eight, the sky clear again after last night's rain. On the way over had paid a deposit on a set of leather armor, torso, legs, arms, helm, which would be ready later in the afternoon, and had finally – finally! – managed to purchase a cloak, forest green, and some additional pieces of spider's silk. The remainder of the money, about twenty silver, safely stowed in the bank.
In the middle of the night had hit level 5, unlocking Disjunction and allowing me to scout out the next two spells in Runemancy.
Sixth rank.
Tracing: Allows writing on surfaces through skin contact. The spot chosen for writing is selected when cast. Recasting the spell will refresh the duration and a different spot may be chosen. Writing will disappear upon expiration or refreshing of the spell, or if willed to do so prior to expiration. Duration is 10 minutes per Runemancy rank. At 5 ranks of Arcane Lore, Transference physical contact with the object being written on is no longer necessary and range becomes 10 ft. Each additional rank of Arcane Lore, Transference increases the range by 1 ft.
That had been the spell my master had used to draw with his finger, but the interesting point was the interaction with Arcane Lore, Transference. Right now physical contact with the runes was necessary in order to activate them. Had ignored it so far and put everything into Arcane Lore, Shaping in order to strengthen Runic Shield. Worth testing.
Seventh rank.
Rune of Mending: Restores up to 50 lbs of nonmagical objects to full durability, but reduces the overall durability of the item(s) by half of the amount restored. Can also be used to staunch bleeding and recover very small amounts of Health, but drains a portion of the target's Stamina to do so. Both durability and Stamina costs are reduced with more ranks of Arcane Lore, Shaping.
An extremely adaptable utility spell. Stopping bleeding by itself is valuable, but being able to quickly fix objects, albeit at a cost, could be potentially useful in any number of circumstances.
Allocating points and getting a rank of Arcane Lore, Transference in addition to Shaping. Pulling out my knife with the Rune of Accuracy drawn on the handle and putting it down. Holding my hand near the rune, but not touching. Focusing, feeling the trickle of mana, and then in a surge the rune activating. Success. Pulling my hand back about two feet, trying again. Nothing. A bit further in. Nothing. About a foot and the rune activating again.
Name: Lucilia Macarthy Profession: Runemage Level: 5 Sex: Female Experience: 11,842 (12,268) Age: 20 Until Next: 2,408 Health 47 Mana 41 Stamina 24 Spirit 8 Strength (STR) 54 (2) Constitution (CON) 61 (5) Dexterity (DEX) 66 (13) Agility (AGI) 86 (18) Discipline (DIS) 74 (12) Aura (AUR) 78 (14) Logic (LOG) 69 (14) Intuition (INT) 72 (16) Wisdom (WIS) 42 (-4) Influence (INF) 74 (12)
Name Trainings Bonus Armor Use 6 29 Physical Fitness 6 29 Simple Weapons 6 29 Arcane Symbols 11 48 Magic Item Use 6 29 Harness Power 6 29 Mana Control 6 29 Runemancy 6 29 Arcane Lore, Shaping 6 29 Arcane Lore, Transference 1 5 Perception 6 29 Climbing 6 29 Swimming 6 29 First Aid 6 29 Trading 6 29 Stalking and Hiding 6 29
“Lucy.” A voice off in the distance, Riley, waving, and Wolfe beside her.
“Evie, Kate, good morning.” Yelling back, waving both my arms in the air.
The two walking up, each one holding a piece of bread. Joining their group.
“Look at you,” says Riley, admiring my new cloak. “Nice duds, how'd you get that?”
“Someone last night was very careless with his money and it managed to find its way into my hands.”
“Sweet talked him, huh?” says Wolfe.
“Not exactly, he didn't have much of a choice.”
Shaking their heads, smiling. Not sure if they believe me.
“Oh, Lucy,” says Riley, “you've got to see this.” Holding up her empty hand and speaking a short phrase. A piece of bread like the ones they were holding appearing in it with a small pop. “Here you go, fresh from heaven's kitchen. Well, that's where they said it was from, anyway.”
The bread did seem straight from the oven. The outside crispy, the inside light and airy, with a slight flavor of olive oil and garlic. A feeling of invigoration spreading after each bite.
“This is incredible, it's so good. Free, on demand food whenever you want.”
Riley beaming at her handiwork. “I don't know if it's actually food. I don't know what it is. But they said you can make different flavors. Cinnamon, sourdough, pretzel, others. I don't know how to do those yet.”
“I think you've definitely found your calling. Learn the others and then get a cart. You could probably make decent money selling those in the town square.”
“That actually doesn't sound too bad. I learned some other stuff, as well, but I'll show you that in a bit.”
Walking out the gate, past the farmland and ranches, back in the direction of the boars.
“What about you, Kate?” It didn't seem like she was going to be volunteering what she'd learned.
“What I learned is useful,” says Wolfe, using a delicate phrasing, “but I wouldn't ever want to show you.”
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“Why not?”
“The first spell I got was for basic healing. For smaller things, cuts and bruises. The second is continuously active regeneration for me. They said I could cut off one of my fingers, or even the whole arm, and it would grow back. Which is amazing, but it also sounds terrible.”
“I can understand why you wouldn't want to show me that.”
“Yeah.” Making a face. “The latest was for healing broken bones, which I definitely don't want to have to use, either.”
“Better to have it and never have to use it, than the other way around.”
“That's true.” With a touch of mirth, and then a touch of sadness. “Hopefully I never do.”
“I hope you do.”
“What?” she says, taken aback. “You can't be serious. Why?”
“You could help a lot of people. I know you don't want to be in that kind of situation, but you not being there would be even worse. So I hope you do. That's what I think.”
Wolfe didn't have a response beyond a noncommittal shrug. Riley watching the exchange with some concern. Almost to the area with the boars but coming across a Tree Sprite. Wolfe starting to walk toward it but then stopped by Riley's outstretched hand.
“This is perfect,” she says, “I'll show you the second one.”
The girl speaking a short phrase, concentrating intently, and then gesturing at the Tree Sprite. At the wave of her hand a bright flash of light appearing out of nowhere, engulfing the sprite and setting it ablaze, sending its appendages writhing. The monster collapsing to the ground, a pile of charcoal and ash.
“That was...” Riley's mouth agape.
“Oh, wow,” says Wolfe.
“Holy shit.”
She's living the dream. Killing foes at range with nothing more than a gesture and able to conjure free food. Actually, legitimately jealous.
“That was great!” Both Wolfe and myself squealing in delight, turning and grabbing onto Riley.
“Yeah, that was,” says Riley, still processing, “that was way more than I thought it'd be.”
“Alright, in that case, we have a change of plans for today. I got a new spell that I also want to try. It says it breaks objects down and crystallizes the energy. I don't know what that means, exactly, so I want to test it. So, to start, we'll focus on collecting tusks. We'll start skinning later, but only if we need to. Agreed?”
“Kay,” says Wolfe. “Yes, thank you.” Riley emphatically adding.
Activating the rune on Wolfe's hammer, my hatchet, and my shirt. Refreshing Runic Shield.
Riley casting her spell on the first boar we saw. It wasn't as devastating as when she'd cast it on the sprite, but it still left the animal smoking, and partially cooked. Wolfe delivering the coup de grace with her hammer, and then knocking out the tusks. Using my knife to cut the Disjunction rune into its side, a horizontal line with some vertical and diagonal ones coming out of it. Three dimensionally a fissure in my mind. Putting my hand close and then activating the rune. The entire corpse briefly shuddering, and then collapsing to a single point in the middle, into a small pebble of some sort, which then fell onto the ground.
“What is that?” says Wolfe.
Picking it up, heavier density than lead, and turning it over in my fingers. “I have absolutely no idea, never seen anything like it." Continuing to inspect the polished stone. "Probably worth something to somebody, though.” Getting back to my feet and pocketing the stone. “Lets do a sweep,” pointing at Riley, “but Evie, as a precaution, don't drop below twenty five percent mana. And, both of you, keep your eyes up while we're out here in case something worse than a boar comes in.” The two looking nervous at my suddenly serious tone. Sighing. Glancing back and forth between them. “Hey, relax. Let's do this, have some fun, and then worry about lunch. Deal?”
The two briefly looking at each other, then Riley reaching out, grabbing my hand and Wolfe's. “Join hands.”
Hesitating, feeling silly, but doing so anyway, reaching out to clasp hands with Wolfe, the three of us standing in a small circle. Riley starting to chant something, softly at first, an energy flowing from her hands into us. From Riley to me, from me to Wolfe, back to Riley. And from Riley to Wolfe, from Wolfe to me, and then from me back to Riley.
“That was the third one," she says. "Now we're ready.”
Going as a group and tearing into the boars. Runic Shield noticeably stronger today, Wolfe much more confident, and Riley occasionally providing a blast of light when needed. Even running across a higher level monster, a giant lizard, about twelve feet long from jaws to the tip of the tail, and cutting it down without issue. Taking the time to skin its hide, the disjuncted pebble it produced being fractionally larger, and a slightly different color, than the few collected from the boars.
Past eleven, packs full of tusks and deciding to call it, but vetoing the idea of heading down south and fording the river like yesterday. Last night's rains would make doing that difficult, if not impossible. Instead opting to head back east to hit the path in order to retrace our steps south and then cross back over the river on the bridge.
Heading east through the woods and coming across another group in the distance. Three men, no immediately identifiable emblems. Probably newbies from the gear, but too far away to tell for sure. A tense moment gauging each other. Evie had, thus far, stayed essentially clean. Wolfe had a bit of color on her from her hammer strikes. My cloak and gloves and face, as expected, covered. The hatchet produced a most satisfying splatter. Strange, could block the rain with the shield, but it hadn't really seemed necessary to do so with the blood.
The three men staying still and looking at us, mostly looking at me. Giving them my best smile to add to the tension and make them think twice, my axe at the ready. Neither side moving, but then one of them raising his hand in a friendly greeting. Raising mine in return, dipping the axe down, and then both sides relaxing, walking slowly toward each other.
Getting closer, and then one of the men yelling, “Evie, is that you?” The same group of guys Riley had been talking to yesterday at the restaurant. Their outfits essentially clean, but shabby. They'd either had a late start and recently got out here, or they'd been fighting Tree Sprites, everything else in the area an animal of some kind. Don't remember seeing these guys in the dorm so they should be at least level 5. Granted, wasn't exactly paying attention to all the riffraff.
“Hey, Jack.” Riley giving a wave.
“What have you girls gotten yourselves up to?” he says, with a meaningful glance at me.
Riley about to say something, but beaten to it by me.
“Killing people on the road, but we'll make an exception for you. How much money you got?” Joking tone, but hefting my axe, with a half smile.
Wolfe glancing over at me and giving a small, polite laugh, but putting her hand on my shoulder all the same. One of the guys with a smirk, but the other two not sure what to say.
“With all that all over you they'll think you're serious,” says Riley, rolling her eyes and giving me a short, flat look. “Don't. This girl flunked out of charm school and now we're stuck with her.”
“Better story than saying boars. More respectable. You guys just get out here?”
“Nah,” says Jack. “We've been out here for a couple hours.” Tree Sprites. “Thinking about heading back for lunch.”
“Same deal for us,” says Riley. “Want to join up and grab something?” Riley bringing them into the group. Jonathan Everton. Matthew Walker. Timothy Morgan.
“Your last name is Macarthy?” says Walker. “Are you related to him?”
Studying his face for a moment. Only a little more than two cycles in and he'd already managed to develop that particular sneer people had when saying my name.
“Related to who?”
“Oh, you don't know?” says Everton. “According to something I heard the finals were canceled because of some guy named Macarthy.”
Slander or not? Did steal some of the prizes so there is at least some blame. Ah well, more grist for my legend.
“Is that right?”
“Apparently the guy's a complete psychopath,” says Walker. “He murdered a dozen people a couple months ago, apparently a horrible scene.”
Again, true, but it's not like that had been my intention at Haven. It was more a black comedy of errors. Sneaking into the building and trying to rob their treasury. Getting discovered midway through and silencing the guy. Someone else coming in and seeing the body in my arms with the transparent white ghost right next to it. Then two corpses, two ghosts. Trying to move them out of the way and a third person wandering in. Same deal. So then the fourth person comes in and there's me, totally overloaded and surrounded by the beginnings of an entire chorus of moaning phantoms. So then she casts something and the whole house starts pouring out of the woodwork. Running around trying to find my way out, cutting my way this way, cutting my way that way, and then finally cutting my way to an exit. Almost out and then the window to freedom sealing up, the floor shifting under me and the wood contorting to try and seal me in. Turning around and killing two more while trying find a different route. Ended up getting blindsided with a web after dodging a few earlier.
And afterwards, of course, everyone totally blowing it out of proportion. A dozen people killed, a dozen people killed. Ad naseum. Like a broken record. And, to be precise, it was fourteen. Everyone's just been saying a dozen because it's easier to say. Fourteen counts of murder, three counts of aggravated assault, bit sloppy on those, they didn't end up dead despite my best efforts, and six counts of assault with a deadly weapon, poking people getting them to move. Sentence was forty two days here in prison, almost two and a half months real time, and twenty four thousand three hundred silver in fines. Pretty bad, no doubt, but it's not like they're actually, really dead. Bunch of pansies probably only died a handful of times, if ever. Try being me, probably more deaths than anyone. Definitely in the running. Dubious honor, but get some perspective.
“Wait,” says Riley, “he murdered twelve people and he's still around?”
Perspective. Hold on, they only just got here. They don't have any perspective, they probably don't even know. Time to play devil's advocate, not like my horse is in this race, no sir. Just a well meaning, concerned citizen trying to clear the air.
“Evie, it's not like those people actually died.”
All of them turning to look at me, the blood drenched, heinous apologist of the loathsome.
“What do you mean?”
“Oh,” says Wolfe, “what you said yesterday, it's sort of like a game. So I understand what you're saying, but they did die. Or, at least, they felt the pain that led to death, or whatever death is here.”
“Not saying they didn't. But the reason the guy's still around is because it's allowed here, and the only reason they made a big deal of it is because it happened inside the city. But there are punishments in place for that kind of behavior.”
And when jail isn't sufficient they go a step further, eh? Crushing the mocking voice.
“So we can be killed at any time,” says Riley.
“That's not, that's the wrong way of looking at it. The real takeaway is: you can't actually die here.” Riley not looking terribly reassured. “So anyway,” turning back to Walker, “even if what you're saying about this guy is true, it doesn't make him a psychopath.”
“Really?” A skeptical twist to his eyebrow.
“Really. It's not like he's running around killing people left and right every day. For all we know he had a reason for doing what he did at Haven.”
“Why are you defending the guy?” Riley's face screwing up in puzzlement.
“Well, first off, he's not going away. And, if he's really as bad as what they're saying, every time I group with someone new I'm going to get that reaction. I'm not going to grovel and apologize for my name. I'm just not. Figured I'd sharpen my debate skills.”
Riley giving me an exasperated smile. Wolfe outright laughing at my explanation.
“Okay, fair enough,” says Walker. “In that case, why do you think he made them cancel the tournament?”
“Maybe he's not a fan of spectator sports.”
They started cracking up. Success. A smile creeping across my face.
“Sounds like an inhuman monster to me,” says Walker.
They started laughing even harder. Trying to hold the smile, but it had become a sickly thing.
Getting to the bridge by the river, going down to the water and washing the blood off my face and gloves. Wolfe following, doing the same. My cloak had taken the majority of the splatter, the clothing underneath basically clean. Removing the cloak, my freed braid swinging out toward the water. Absentmindedly halting its trajectory and tossing it back behind me. Dunking the cloak a few times, shaking it somewhat dry and draping it over my arm. Turning to head back up to the group, but Wolfe reaching out to stall me.
“Lucy, you're great,” she says, pulling me in for a hug. “You seem like you've got everything so together, but you're such a mess. I'm glad I was able meet you here.”
“I'm really glad I met you, too. Thanks for putting up with me.”