I was quite nervous when I told one of the advisors to the Fulcrum my little spiel about the Moonlight Jester, his last known location, and his interest in the Storysmith. It was a whole ordeal. I was led into a separate room and a more...substantial advisor came to talk to me. I repeated my story to him, he looked intently at a small milky gem and nodded after a few tense seconds. He gave me a leather pouch with 50 Shards as a reward and let me go about my day. That was my business with the Jester done. I was not quite breathing freely in relief, I still felt quite shaky about the thing, but I had done my part. I went as casually as possible to the railing of the platform and threw the playing card of the joker away, as soon as I was reasonably sure no one was looking.
I went back to the Storysmith, who had gone back to his private room, possibly even out of Limbo, to collect the two items for me, and paid him his 700 Shards. I got a crystal egg, big enough I had to hold it with both hands, and a small onyx statuette of a dog. A Mastiff, if Belen was to be believed. He was again overbearingly friendly and cordial. In my mind, as strange as his behavior felt to me, I had accrued some debt with him. Maybe I was overly cautious, but in my mind, it felt dangerous to be indebted to a divine entity or whatever he was. Even or especially if it was just a feeling. I had to keep my guard up while interacting with these unknown players of a game, I could not begin to understand.
I made one more round through the merchants I had seen selling Skills and Gifts. But I had made my choice earlier when I gave all those Shards to Belen. Safety first. The protection of my Demesne was a high priority for me, and I could go on without a proper offensive Skill for a while. It wasn't my mission to kill the White Beast, after all. And if things continued this way, it would be well beyond my abilities anyway, because I could not find anything worthwhile for the meager 175 Shards I had to my name.
That was it, right? I had come to the Fulcrum with high hopes and had exposed myself to considerable risk doing it. That I was now connected to the Limbo had cost me much already, the 700 Shards I spent on defense was equivalent to 3500 EP as it were. And I could have at least bought [Ghost Strike], [Unchained Anchestors], [Airwalk] a level of [Freeman], and a couple of increases for my Core Skills for that amount of Essence. I had achieved a little something, at least. And the defense of my Demesne was not wasted Essence, far from it. And useful for the rest of my existence too. But for the big problems laying ahead of me in the Wyld, I still had found no solution. But I had one final wildcard to play. I still had the desperate hope that the chest of the golem maker might contain something of use. But I knew better than to expect a second Zero to jump out of that chest.
I closed the door to my private room behind me, drowning out the sounds of the busy market-sphere. I felt icky. I was not proud of anything I had done here. Trading with monstrous mystery-buyers. Following a wanted assassin in a ploy, I did not understand. Accepting a quest from a pirate of legends, presumably. The whole thing with Belen, the Storysmith. And yet, there was something else nagging me. I just could not put my finger on it. But it was close, so close.
The Moonlight Jester! Whatever he was or wanted, he had used for a hidden card on another person's body. I took off everything, cloak, bag, and vest. And searched every last pocket, inch of cloth, and corner of bags and pouches I had on me. And I swore up a storm because I did not find one joker card, I found seven! That miserable, untrustworthy little shit. Which I would not insult to his face, I reminded myself quickly. All sharks in this sea, with me being a seal on a thin floe of ice. I angrily threw the cards at the wall.
I finally returned to my Demesne.
----------------------------------------
"Hannibal!" Lily shouted with relief. "Thank the Aeons that you are back. You were gone for barely two hours, but I had to fight!"
"What happened?" That alarmed me quite a bit. I had not expected things to escalate this fast.
"It was a probe! It came out of nowhere, sniffing around. It was awful. I shot it, but it wasn't dead. I had to chase it for...however long distances are in Limbo."
"Good job, Lily! Sorry you had to go through that."
"That was so scary! But also exhilarating." She mused.
"I have just spend a lot of Shards on some things. So you do not have to worry so much in the future."
"Puh. That is good. I got you some spoils of war, though." 10 little cubes floated over to the lake, adding 10 EP to my Essence.
I took out the crystal egg and the little statuette of the dog, showing it to Lily.
"Here, do you know how to activate these things?"
"Instinctively, yes. But I do not know what exactly will happen. The dog is something I can just possess. The egg must be activated and does something on its own."
"Do it."
I watched in awe as the egg began to glow with an inner light, then cracked. I let it go, startled, and watched it hitting the ground. It broke apart, small legs folding out of a shell. The crystal transformed into a small crystal spider, scuttling over to the gate in blinding speed. Not a second had passed before subtle, almost invisible, threads spanned around the gate. It seemed to be some kind of anchor because the spider wove and spun more and more threads and then just jumped out of the gate, pulling a veritable mass of threads with her, now stretching into nothingness. The gate could still be used without problems, the threads were anchored around the sides of it, so I could just walk through a kind of opening in the web.
"Did you expect that?" Lily asked. "Because I did not expect that, and I feel kind of overwhelmed."
"Welcome to my life, Lily. Get comfortable with it. Want to test run the dog?"
She fluttered over to the little thing and circled around it a bit. "Can you set it down? It doesn't feel right in your hands."
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
She disappeared, once I had put the statuette down, and the eyes of the dog began to glow in a very dark, very intense red. And it began to grow. As it reached a size it would have no problems taking down a horse with, it stopped. Fog began to swirl around it ominously and it growled. Deep and rumbling. The Mastiff fletched its teeth, saliva pouring down in thick strands, quivering under the force of the growl. That was a frightening dog.
"How do you feel?"
"Strong!" came Lily's chirpy voice from the huge beast. Then she switched to a way darker dog voice. "This thing is not just a dog. It is a psychological manipulation on a divine level. It is not the dog possible intruders would fear, but the inherent concept and thus power of being watched, being barred entry, and breaking into protected space. I guess it is very effective against automated and brainless intruders, thieves, and spies. Like drones, probes, and the like. A god would of course not fear a dog, but they tend to send their minions to do the dirty work. The mightier they are, the more multitasking is going on behind the scenes. But to get past him, the god or godling would have to come here personally."
"And what a hassle that has been." Said a familiar voice behind me.
I whirled around, already gripping the hilt of my sword. Lily screeched in shock.
The Moonlight Jester stood with his back to us, right behind us by the gate, and was in the process of tying the strands of the spiderwebs into images of small, simple animals.
"Shit!" I let out snarling. "SHIT!" I yelled. "Those fucking cards."
"It wasn't a card." he answered casually. "That was just to catch your eye. It was the pink bow in your hair." Instinctively I grabbed the back of my head before I caught the grin of the Jester. "Nah." He smiled. "I'm not telling. That would just take a little mystery out of this dreadful and boring world." He finished his work, raising his arms in triumph, shouting: "Tada!"
His little knotting was a couple of lines, like a dog a child would draw. A line for the body, 4 for the limbs, and a triangle for a head.
"That's awful." Lily said, using the deep voice of the dog to speak.
"I had not expected these threads to be so hard to move. Sturdy little web. " He pouted, exaggerating his motions, as he stemmed his arms into his hips. "Do not mock me thus, you slobber-golem."
"Cut it!" I was angry now. "You are not welcome here."
"And I can see why! You are dirt poor!" He looked around in false shock. "That is the smallest Demesne I have ever seen."
"Do you want to start a fight?" I asked incredulously. "What is your game?"
"Nah, Raven. I do not want a fight. I just seek amusement. Sometimes even for others."
"What do you want, then?"
"[Hidden Sheath]. That is one of mine." He was walking around now, looking at the sights. He flicked his wrist and plucked a dagger out of thin air, swirled it around, and made it disappear again. "And it is by no means a trivial trick."
"What does that mean? You want it back?"
"Nah. It wasn't stolen. It was his to give away. Even if it had been stolen, as far as I am concerned." He dropped the topic, walking beyond me, completely ignoring my sword and the dog. He began looking at the cliff and the tree above.
I was on the spot here. I was powerless, I knew that. And yet, the Jester had stepped over a line I could not let him cross unchallenged. I had seen how Bones had handled him. With strength. That was not something I could sell. I was nobody and he knew it. I needed another strategy.
"So you are just a bully, then? Mock me in my own home? Is that how you amuse yourself?" I stepped in his way before he could climb the stairs to the tree, arms crossed.
"What gives you that..." he seemed genuinely surprised and looked at me with confusion in his eyes. Then he opened them wide in shock. "Oh no. That really is all that you have? But you conferred with the Storysmith and even the Mother. How is that possible..." He stopped himself, a hand over his mouth. I could not make out if he was honest or not.
I said and did nothing, but anger and embarrassment began to slightly burn on my cheeks as the heat rose in me.
"Go away, you jerk!" That was Lily yelling from behind, in her pure wisp voice.
He turned to her, distress on his face. There had been something angry and protective in the voice of Lily. Something genuine, like a sister protecting her brother. Something in that mental image made the Jester stumble over his words a bit. He caught himself soon enough, though.
There was an awkward moment there, where we all looked at each other. Then the Jester spoke again.
"Jesters do not make mistakes. It is not in their nature. They challenge the worldview and decisions of the mighty and established. But we bring joy, most of all. We do not 'bully'." He fell backwards like he had no spine, flawlessly transitioning in a handstand. "We entertain." He tried a smile.
"Well, I am thoroughly not entertained, if that was your intention."
"Then I am a failure. I just wanted to bring a puzzle before you."
"What puzzle?"
"[Hidden Sheath]. The old smith gave it to you after your daring little adventure into the lair of something old and nasty. Obviously..." He made a bored gesture as if even explaining that fact was below him. "...it was meant as a message to me. He knew I had a little bug on your shoulder the whole time. But why did he tell me so openly, that he knew? Why did he not play his cards close to his chest? And why would he make an investment into you, no offense, just to tell me what he knows? How do you fit in this little conundrum?"
"I have no idea." I said and meant it.
"Have you thought about your favor yet?" He suddenly changed the subject. I had not.
"No. I have no clue what you can even do for me. Maybe I'll keep the favor, just to burn in the back of your mind forever."
"Please don't? I don't suppose you need a little moonlight? I have a bit of that lying around somewhere." He snickered.
"No. How about that eclipse out there?"
"You do not want that. It's terrible for the eyes." He clapped. "Well. I'm bored now. Think about it good and proper, will you? Favor and Puzzle!" He began cartwheeling to the gate. It just was a couple of feet.
I had nothing left to say. I just watched him go. He stopped right before the gate and turned one last time.
"In your boot!" He grinned and jumped through the gate into nothingness.
"Fuck me..." I sighed, lifting my boot. There it was. A 3 of clubs, folded and tucked under the strings of my boot.
----------------------------------------
It took a little walking in circles and letting off steam before I had calmed down. In the end, the Moonlight Jester was a situation like any other I had encountered. Out of my league. To remedy a tiny bit of that fact I just sat down where I was on one of my rounds and opened the Skillbook for [Airwalk]. I needed a few tries to calm my hands because the pattern for [Airwalk] was insanely intricate. But as soon as I had started filling it with Essence, the weaving got easy and quick. There it was, a brand new Skill. Air was easy for me to anchor into my Demesne because mountains would forever be a combination of sky and earth in my mind. I just added a gentle breeze and anchored [Airwalk] there, keeping my unity on a steady 65% and setting me back 340 Essence.
And because I had thought about it so much that day, and because I had the urge to punch someone with it, I wove the Skill [Ghost Strike] as well. I expanded the prison of the angry souls at the edge of my Demesne a bit, decorating it, and anchored the Skill there, but my unity fell to 58 % despite all care. It just was a disturbance to the serenity I had built this place around. [Ghost Strike] was a bit cheaper than [Airwalk] and I could just afford it, reducing my Essence pool to a meager 54 EP. Fuck that. 5 more points of Mana and I had 4 left. I just spent it all in a spree of weaving, just keeping my hands busy and my mind occupied.
Do not spend anything, or make important decisions, while you are emotionally agitated. That's just common sense.