Three Weeks Later
CJ sat in the back of an open-top wagon, scribbling in a journal while Welma stood beside him outside the wagon. Uphill from them was a small town with wide buildings culminating in two large church-like buildings near the center.
The weather was getting colder by the day. Since he first joined up with Cianna, he was loaned a fur-lined coat just so he wouldn’t go blue if they were away from town too long.
“So they pit the churches against each other?” CJ asked Welma as he continued to write notes. “Doesn’t seem very uh… priestly?”
She shook her head. The usually quiet woman was trying to explain Torchbearer faith to him. She was an Emberist herself, every Akahi survivor was as far as CJ knew. The difference was that Torchbearers thought Hibe, who they called Father Hi, gave people more power as a sign of favor. Those who worked hard and developed their soulstone could eventually develop new Attunements. For Torchbearerism, attunements were associated with heroes, like demigods. The churches on the hill were dedicated to two of them.
“More like friendly competition,” Welma said. She was watching the hill, scanning it for any approaching people. Occasionally they would see a farmer or merchant with a cart, but it was chilly enough that most everyone was inside. “Halt and Brash, the Craftswoman and the Destroyer, as far as heroes go they are always in opposition.”
“I think I get it,” CJ said. His field guide went into a little more detail, but not by much.
|Halt the Craftswoman
|Myth
|A mythological hero of Torchbearerism, a woman who created such perfect wonders that Father Hi himself took notice and challenged her to create the perfect object. She is usually seen in opposition to Brash the Destruction. She is associated with the Attunement of Crafts.|
“Should you be focused on that?” Welma asked. She leaned against the wagon, her eye on his journal. “What is that language?”
“It isn’t from here,” CJ said. He watched his other eye for a second, since it was clear Welma was worried. They were backup. Despite everything Cianna said, she still didn’t quite trust them with more than extra muscle. Right now some of her men were in the town of Soulshine on the hill, cornering some local thieves that needed to be captured.
Two bonds were involved, Kurtys and Jakey made up one, Ophy and Moll the other. With a new alliance sworn, he could see them surrounding a building. They occasionally spotted the people inside.
“They’ve gottem surrounded, nothing to worry about.” CJ said.
Alyss and Mae were approaching. He turned before they came into view, the two women running up. Mae had a similar coat to CJ’s, but Alyss didn’t need nearly as much protection from the cold. He learned just the week before that Hillmen do well in harsh climates. Instead she had on her fighting skirt, the long black one she wore whenever she kicked his butt in sparring.
“Still nothing?” Alyss asked as she got closer. She knew the answer, it was more annoyance than anything.
“They may as well be laying siege,” Mae said, looking up the hill as she walked around the wagon. “He isn’t boring you, is he Welma?”
“Of course not my Lady,” Welma grinned on one side. She tended to leave the scarred side of her face flat whenever possible.
“We were talking about Torchbearer heroes,” CJ said.
Alyss rolled her eyes and whispered, “again.”
“Until Larl gets me a book of them, this is all I have!” CJ said. Then he stopped, and all of them turned up the hill besides Welma. It took her a moment to see them all looking, and she turned too.
The fight was starting. CJ saw the puck representing Kurtys and Jakey move into the building. By CJ’s estimate, it would be over fast.
Then there was an explosion. It wasn’t so massive that they felt it down the hill, but they saw parts of the building get flung into the air. CJ sat up.
“What was that?” Welma asked.
CJ checked on Kurtys. The man was a big brute, but CJ was just starting to get used to him.
|Kurtys’s Bond 52% Bond Affinity
|2 Unit Bond Hurt
|Members: Kurtys, Jakey
|M. Spd B. Avg
|>Facets
“Kurtys is hurt bad,” CJ said as he put his journal down. “Are explosives like that common in a small town?”
Alyss shook her head, “That was odd.”
He didn’t have Larl here. They left him back in Cinderhall, Cianna’s village. CJ could actually feel the tug of the bond even from this distance, it was like having a bit of his sweater snagged miles back, it left him feeling a little strung out.
“We should go-“ Mae started to say. She had a hand on Byr’s sword, which she carried under her coat.
“No, not yet.” CJ said. He looked to Welma. “Get in the wagon please.”
Welma didn’t question it. She nodded and hopped onto the back before pulling herself in. CJ hopped down.
Looking at his map, the building was near their edge of town. He didn’t think Cianna’s boys would fail, but if they did…
He watched the incident unfold step by step. Ophy went to support Kurtys, approaching the building. They came into contact with Kurtys, but then the enemy puck appeared to represent their target. Now that he had a clear view of them, CJ used the moment to examine the bond.
|Hidden Bond Unk% Bond Affinity
|2 Unit Bond OK
|Members: Unk, Unk
|M. Spd A. Avg
|>Facets
Still nothing. He thought it was a fluke because no one got a good look at them before, but this bond really was hidden from him. He couldn’t look up the individual members at all. He knew someone was there, but everything else was obscured.
“Larl mentioned before that some attunements and facets can mask someone’s presence.” CJ said.
He didn’t finish posing it as a question. The alarm between them was enough to let CJ know that they understood. Mae touched a glove to her chin and her eyes went from one side to another. Meanwhile Alyss just repositioned a bit away from the wagon, looking up the hill.
All three bonds, the Hidden one and two allies, vanished from his map. He didn’t like that.
“I’m afraid I’m not the best source on this,” Mae said. “But should we expect a fight?”
“We might need to find one,” CJ said. Then he took a deep breath.
“Thieves,” Alyss said, leaving it at that. It seemed she did know something.
CJ stepped up beside her, “Thieves?”
“The Attunement of Shadows,” Alyss said. “If that is the case, we might be in for it. It isn’t the easiest attunement to get, or so I hear.”
Welma’s head popped up in the back of the wagon. “Alyss is right. I hear the masters find you for Shadow.”
“Child’s tales,” Alyss sneered.
“Who is that?” Mae asked.
They all looked back to the road. Several figures were approaching at a sprint. They almost seemed to be kicking up their own dust cloud as they went. They weren’t on CJ’s map at all. Thieves.
“Where are Ophy and Kurtys?” Alyss asked as she drew her sword.
“Incapacitated,” CJ said. “But this is one bond. Anything else I should know before contact?”
Alyss thought about it. “Expect them to be in and out. The longer we fight, the worse it is for them.”
Glass cannons. Maybe they lived and died by attacks for heavy damage. Maybe it was evasion based. Something inside him was a little excited to see. Whenever he heard about attunements outside of the foundational four, it was always interesting. Already this ‘Shadow’ attunement was breaking rules he didn’t know could be broken. Nothing got past his eye before now.
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“Then we head to them. Give them less time to think and plan. Alyss you have point.”
Alyss grinned, “with pleasure.” Then she charged.
“Welma, be our eyes back here, grab anyone that goes down.” CJ said as he followed Alyss in a run.
Welma yelled her affirmation after him.
Mae followed without direct instruction. She knew her place in all this.
Without Larl close enough, they couldn’t use his facets, the power couldn’t reach them. So they had to rely on pure fighting. Which was fine, they practiced like that often enough. They knew that they couldn’t always count on having Larl’s Wards.
Three enemies. As they got closer, whatever was obscuring them with smoke started to disperse. The lines of their bond spread out between two of them. The bond was between the tallest member running at the front of their V formation, and the one at the back right from CJ’s perspective. The front one looked the fanciest, with a red hooded cloak unlike the gray of the other two.
Alyss came forward, stepping just past the thief and sweeping her sword across them in an attempt to take their head off. The blow was ducked, and all of Alyss’s momentum became a swoosh of air that disturbed the red-hood’s cloak and Alyss’s skirts.
The red-hood kept running, still charging at CJ with a grin on his face. He looked unremarkable, besides a golden earring and a green vest. CJ feigned going for a slash with own sword, then lowered his shoulder and attempted to tackle the thief head down. Instead the man leaped CJ like a hurdle, tapping his back as he flew over him with ease.
Alyss tried to slash at the next one, and they dodged to the side.
They were being evaded, they were making a run for it. CJ needed a way to slow them down, at least temporarily. If he could just pin them…
Mae tried to just stand in the way of the red-hood at the front of the pack, but after an awkward shuffle, they did a fluttering spin and got around her.
The third one was out of the reach of all of them, and didn’t even need to really bother.
CJ saw the cape, of the pillar of the bond, and he had an idea. As the running fool came by, CJ pretended to want to stop him, making him stutter step to pass CJ. Then with one fast stab into the ground, CJ pinned the thieve’s cloak to the soil.
All of their tricks, it seemed this wasn’t a problem they had an instant solution for. The pillar of the bond, in their plain cloak and unremarkable white shirt, was yanked to the ground with a loud choking gag when their hood’s cinch collapsed on their neck. Then they hit the ground with a thud.
As soon as their leader hit the ground, the rest of the thieves paused. They seemed surprised that they were hit at all.
CJ took the moment to check what these thieves were really about. They were in conflict now, the field guide should show him something!
|Brook Unk% to next Milestone Unk of 10 Milestones
|Shadows Attunement Soulstone Tier 1 Human - Fieldman
|Allegiance: Unknown Enemy
|
|Strength 3 | Control 5
|Stamina 6 | Resilience 5
|Command Avg | Health B.Avg | Mov. Spd A. Avg
|
|>Facets
|>Artifacts & Relics
|>Bond - 1
Not particularly impressive, but fast. So it had to be something in the facets.
|Light Work|
|Feature Facet
|While not engaged in combat movement speed is increased, and weight is dramatically decreased. Raises Stamina and Mov. Spd.|
That explained why they didn’t want to actually get in a fight. If they stayed to trade swings, they lost their main advantage. What CJ didn’t know was what they were going to do now that their Feature ability was useless.
Brook, the leader, slipped out of their cloak with a deft pull of a knot, and then leaped to their feet. A quick glance, and CJ was sure now that it was a thin woman. She reached behind herself and pulled a curved knife. The other one wearing a simple cloak did the same.
The red-hood pulled a short sword, similar to CJ’s own. One bond of two and a loose member. They had Welma for backup, they had the advantage here. On top of that, now that their passive speed was removed, their major advantage was gone. There was a second facet, and CJ went to check it. But he was interrupted by the grey-cloaks rushing him.
“Nothing for it then!” The woman said as she ran in with her knife out. “Make this quick!”
CJ had to backpedal to avoid getting shanked. The immediate reaction from his bond was encouraging though. Alyss was already moving, coming to support him. Their bond wasn’t fully ignited, they weren’t sharing the intense energy of the full bond, so they weren’t sharing every thought and sensation. But he at least knew their positions and could pick up intense emotions.
He swiped his blade down to try to guard against the knife, and almost got nicked on the hand for his trouble. Before Alyss could reach him, the second grey cloak rushed up beside the first one. In comparison to Brook, this one had their hood pulled down low, masking their face in shadow. But their outfit was similarly simple.
Before he could adjust his position for the second one, they rushed past him and slashed into his armor at the shoulder, just missing getting the blade into his arm.
CJ really missed having Larl around.
“Duck!” Alyss rasped.
CJ did so without question, and a heavy sword swing went over their heads. But the two thieves also ducked the blow again.
Alyss followed it up with a kick to throw them off balance while they were dodging, but Brook sidestepped that, swapped knife hands to her left, and then sliced upward toward Alyss. Alyss wasn’t as lucky as him, and her sword arm was caught by the knife.
“Ash it all!” Alyss hissed as she held her arm.
Both grey cloaks turned on Alyss, and it looked like they were preparing to go in on her all at once. CJ brought his own sword across. It wasn’t an attempt to hit, more to disrupt whatever they had planned. Both grey cloaks scattered, almost in sync. CJ filled the space they vacated, taking up position beside Alyss.
“How bad is it?” CJ asked.
“Shut it, and be on guard. We need to get back to Mae.”
She was right. While they were struggling to hit the grey cloaked thieves, Mae was locked sword to sword with the red-cloaked thief. The man was taller than her, and she was being pushed back as they struggled against each other.
It was possible he could call on Welma. With an unbonded combatant around, Welma could handle them while Alyss and CJ teamed up against the Brook.
He took the moment while the enemy circled them to check on that other facet.
|Accomplice|
|Creates a copy using the shadow. This copy benefits from a bond, but cannot move far away from the user of this ability. It falls apart when damaged. This ability can only be used once per Beat.|
CJ’s eyes bulged. It was a shadow clone?! This whole time he thought there were three, but really it was just the bond of two. He was being outplayed.
But he didn’t have time to talk about it, Brook and her clone came in again. They were coming from opposite ends, surrounding Alyss and CJ who were now pushed to being back to back. They couldn’t let the thief have the advantage, he didn’t want to let her concoct some way to escape them. They already used tricks to get away from Kurtys and Ophy.
CJ stepped forward as the attack came, and went to match Brook’s attack with his own.
Brook came screeching to a halt, pulled something out of her bag, and dropped it. A cloud of smoke erupted around them.
“What?” Alyss said behind him as she was enveloped as well.
Seemed like CJ was too late. She had her plan. Whatever the smoke was made of, it obscured Brook’s bond line toward her partner. His map went fuzzy, and he couldn’t even see his own bond.
“We gotta get out of this!” CJ shouted.
He turned to move, and was nearly skewered by a knife coming at him. He dodged, but still got a cut along his collar. He backed up and nearly tripped over Alyss, who also seemed to be dodging an attack. He tried again, rushing in the direction he knew they left Mae, and a foot came out and tripped him. He fell to the ground, and then felt a sharp pain in his thigh, a knife in and out.
CJ yelled in pain, then heard likewise from Alyss. He heard Alyss’s sword swing nearby, but he could barely make out her and one other person struggling in the shadows. He stayed put, waiting, watching. His leg was throbbing, he wasn’t sure how long this smoke would last, and he didn’t even know where the other half of Brook was, but he had an idea.
Alyss stepped past him, still defending herself from a barely visible onslaught of attacks. Then CJ saw his opportunity. Brook came rushing in, low to the ground, fast, with her knife tucked in close. CJ stayed still until the last possible moment, then he reached out and snatched Brook’s ankle.
It was hard to even hold on, she was moving so fast!
“Now!” CJ shouted.
There was a moment where CJ was unsure the plan would work. Then a sword split through Brook like she was made of paper. Then she poofed into more smoke. It was the clone! CJ looked around, left then right, but saw no sign of the actual Brook.
“She ran, go!” Cj said. Alyss didn’t hesitate, and rushed out of the smoke. CJ dragged himself to his feet, then hobbled out to follow her. As he exited the smoke he saw Brook and her partner rushing away.
Mae was on the ground, holding her side where red was seeping through her coat. Alyss skidded to a stop at her side.
CJ considered igniting their true bond. If the target was going to get away, he didn’t really have a choice. These thieves were dangerous, and he didn’t know what else he could do to stop them before they darted off with a movement speed well beyond any of them. If they made the forest, he would need to have Whitetune and Duskbreeze scour the trees from above to find them.
Then he saw two men approaching from beyond their wagon. With the smoke messing with his map, he didn’t notice them until just now.
“I’m guessing those two are the targets?” Said the one in front. It was a young looking man, clean-shaven with a smirk on his face. His hair was a dark red, and tied into a small ball in the back.
With him was an older man with a brown beard that was grey just past his chin. His eyebrows were so bushy that his eyes were barely visible.
Both were wearing travel cloaks of brown. Their bond color was allied.
“Yes!” CJ yelled.
The younger guy shrugged, and then pulled his hands out of his cloak. He was wearing something on his fingers, like those extended metal nails that you expect from a gothic cosplayer. They were on each pointer and middle finger. He started to scratch at the air, and to CJ’s surprise it left a mark. Red gouges floated in the air where his fingers scribbled.
Then it exploded. Thankfully, it exploded in a direction. A blast bright enough to force CJ to close his eyes erupted from the symbol, and then a streak of white hot flame launched across the open path. It hit the ground right near Brook and her partner. It missed hitting them directly, but then the ground erupted where the shot landed, and both were thrown off balance.
Alyss watched the young man, but then let Mae go long enough to rush after the thieves. Welma joined her.
“That should stun them for a moment,” the young guy said with a shrug.
The older man clapped politely. “Impressive, impressive.”
“Who are you?” CJ asked even as he was pulling up guy’s sheet.
The man walked over and held a hand out to shake with CJ.
“Sorry we’re late. Name’s Benton, the charred old fool is Fuller. Cianna sent us.”
CJ shook his hand, and his eyes went to the weird nail devices. That was magic, a full on spell. Which confirmed what his sheet said. Benton was Attunement of Knowing.
Benton watched Alyss and Welma apprehend the thieves, and smiled. “I should probably make sure that goes smoothly, if you’ll excuse me. Talk soon.”