They are not unlike us, mind you. The only caveat was that they were created, while we were born. They were one of my most curious subjects for reasearch. Ah, but they are a topic for later. Aerae, as you most assuredly know, is immensely large. It invites one to think of the many possibilites that allude even the greatest of intellects. Where one might devote their entire existence to the magical arts, or the exploration of Aerae I have chosen differently. It is an amusing spectacle when I attend the annual Scholar's Meet and I inevitably come across the young men who ask my field. My purpose, I decided long ago. I study people. Culture.
- Callon Fewt, People Arounds
"Their home, their way of life... it's nothing like back home." Ace, not for the first time, was in quiet appreciation of the world around him. "Eh, Lucky?"
Luck watched Ace dip his fingers in the water, the current bringing him along, his index trailing across the water.
Ace was sitting up in his float, despite the lazy river and the vitalizing nature of their stay it was probably impossible to shrug off old habits. Ace was lax but Luck could see his eyes searching as much as they were absorbing the sights. He couldn't determine whether Ace refused to completely unwind or simply couldn't.
Of all things, Luck didn't think he'd be enjoying a river trip with Ace Vent. Strange. So many things were just that to him. Luck was more than aware that was the first adjective he applied to most of his experiences so far. He didn't know if it was more from being in another world or if it was because of something simpler. Speaking to trees and communicating with a whole other race of people. Was it strange because he had never been in the forest before? Or because he was talking to it? Luck twisted in his float, the slow bends in the river had already concealed the way to The Pools.
Talking to fish people was indeed something different and it was glaringly obvious why it would be. But underlying that was something Luck noticed only after speaking to Diversi. It was something that caught Luck off guard and was pleasant in the fact that he wasn't punished for it. The people there were simply happy, there was no motive, no greed, no hate, no negativity that Luck was so accustomed to. For Luck, though he was inherently optimistic, his practical side always searched for hidden agendas, the negatives, and he usually found them. But when he realized why it never found anything he was both put off guard and gladdened. There just weren't any to find.
"It's a bunch of firsts for me." Luck said in reply.
"Well i'll tell you it's the first time i've been on a river with giant cat." Ace smiled and splashed at Saga interrupting his watch on the surroundings. Yesterday, when Saga was permitted to come out to Luck and Ace they all enjoyed the sights in companiable silence. Since then Ace had gotten comfortable with him. To an extent.
The shar was lying down and floating nearby. At the spray of water Saga squinted, annoyed and pushed down on the rope connecting his float to Ace's.
"Jesus!" Ace flailed his arms as his whole float jerked backward and almost sent him sprawling into the water.
The floats they were given were extremely buoyant. Apparently, it was the flower of one of their underwater plants and typically used for transporting goods. They haven't had one of them grow in decades but after Diversi regrew most of the plant life they were given three and sent on their way. Again, it was strange considering the thing didn't look like a flower and instead looked like a simple pink circle.
"Good one Saga." Luck winked. Surprisingly, the cat wasn't as averse to the water as Luck thought he might be, though he should probably have gathered that much from watching Saga playing with the whales last night.
Saga didn't do anything outwardly but Luck definitely sensed some smugness. Whether it was from his bond or the intuition of a man experienced in reading others Luck couldn't say.
"You're encouraging him?"
"I'm not gonna be there to save you all the time Ace." Luck smirked, immediately noticing his friend's subtle change in mood.
After a slight pause Ace snorted. "I don't believe I ever thanked you for that." He said, turning his head to continue his watch. He had sat up in his float again. The movement was from either plain uncomfortableness or for something more practical, a better look at the surroundings. "For saving my life."
"You helped me avenge my family, I saved your life." Luck smirked. "Seems like a fair trade."
"A life saved is worth more than one taken." Like Luck, Ace had a way with words. "We both know better." He said.
Luck was envious. Paired with his voice, people listened when Ace talked.
"True." Luck was laying down, trusting Ace to warn him of danger. "How about you tell me about your magic? Then we'll call it even."
"Did it ever come up when you got your tools?" Ace asked, referring to his time with Jerxos. "Magic." He clarified.
Luck whistled at Saga and the shar's sudden interest on the surroundings did not go unnoticed by Ace. Seeing that, the former mercenary shifted in his float and faced Luck completely.
"Well?" He said.
"Once."
"You have one then?" Ace said, then caught himself. "Sorry, that's your business- "
"Time." Luck answered, ignoring Ace's hesitancy to pry. "Time magic."
Ace looked at Luck in mild surprise. If for the fact that Luck even answered or for the answer itself one couldn't tell. "Time?"
"I've only ever tried to using it once." Luck replied. "I couldn't feel anything. There just hasn't been much opportunity since then."
"I can't be completely sure how to it feels to access another magic." Ace said, staring at his palm and clenching it. "But lightning magic feels like raw power mixed with an almost patient, calm deadliness."
He snapped his index and thumb and jolts of electricity jumped from his fingers.
"Like a sniper?" It was the first thing that came to mind.
"In the sense that you have to wait for that perfect moment to release, for everything to line up, for all conditions to be perfect." Ace's hands grew in brightness, in power, while he talked.
He could smell it again, that ozone. From when he got stabbed, when pain took his vision. When the world was black and the scent reigned supreme. Luck sat in amazement. The sound of the crackling energy, the wild nature of the power, and despite that Ace sat completely still. More himself than the day in the forest. The wild look that matched the electricity was gone, the rage that mimicked a storm was nowhere to be seen. It was nothing like that day, nothing at all. Did Luck's apparent death affect him that much? Luck thought it absurd, but then recalled the same powerful emotions that washed through him when he saw Ace dying. Maybe they had become something important to each other. Again, Luck's gaze was drawn to the power accumulating in Ace's hands, still it grew. The Ace of today was something of a storm cloud, slow, collected, and deadly. Luck was so focused on his gaze that he startled when Ace's eyes flashed blue. A physical thunderclap jerked all the floats away from each other, pulling on the ropes. Luck's hearing dissapeared, replaced with a ringing. Ace's eyes didn't flash blue he realized. Luck just missed the thunderbolt that reflected off of them.
"Then yes." Ace said. Apparently, Luck could read lips too. Because he couldn't hear a thing.
He could see though. He could see the aftermath slowly getting further upstream and behind them. There was a thick tree splintered and blackened to a crisp. It was undoubtedly the victim of the vicious crack Luch heard before his hearing went. Blackened pieces of wood scattered the surrounding area. But it was only that single tree that was struck.
The tree being destroyed didn't bother Luck, surprisingly enough. There was nothing reminiscent of that rage he felt, that strong need to protect. Instead, he saw the ash as new growth. Again, strange. He would learn more about his new self as he spent more time on Aerae he decided. For now, he would focus on his magical side. Though at some point he'd have to collect himself and see what he could discover. Their next destination, incidentally, might be that opportunity.
"That's a far cry from yesterday." Luck remarked in unconcealed wonder. There was a control there that wasn't there before.
"It is."
For the second time Luck reached inside of himself, searching, alert for anything that wasn't there before. Jerxos hadn't been kidding, it was entirely possible that this magic would forever be inaccessible to him. Because, again, Luck felt absolutely nothing. He couldn't even feel any changes to his physical body either, he thought he would've considering Troll's Blood and Exceptional Regeneration but he had nothing, just as before. Even as his hearing was coming back back to him.
Luck sighed, frustrated. "Absolutely nothing."
"Time sounds a tad trickier than lightning magic." Ace was sitting forward, unaffected by his own magic. "See, lightning magic is simple, unadulterated power. Straightforward."
"I don't think magic is as simple as you seem to think it is." Luck frowned, crossing his arms. "I'd also argue that lightning isn't the epitome of power either."
Ace sighed. "Just lend me an ear Lucky." Luck squinted at him. "I'm of the opinion that time is something much more complicated, that there are more things to keep track of and whatnot."
"The problem isn't that." Luck sighed, defeated. "The problem is I can't feel anything in the first place. I have nowhere to start."
"You think maybe you're thinking too much on it?"
Luck gave Ace a flat look. "You just said there were more things to keep track of and whatnot. How can I not think about it?"
"Perhaps I should've said there are more things to feel?" Ace smiled apologetically.
"This isn't helping Ace."
"Well. " Ace shrugged. "I tried."
Soon Luck asked about Ace's impartation. Apparently, he had an increasingly difficult trial. The way he described it was that he initally was tasked with killing a single opponent. That first battle was in a simple arena. When he won he went up against two in the same arena. Then three. Then four. Eventually, the scene of battle changed and they were in a storied building. When he eventually cleared five of those instances the scene changed again but this time Jerxos offered him a change of pace. He could continue unarmed for larger rewards or be given weapons from thereon. Naturally, he refused. But Luck found it especially amusing when Ace told him he requested more hostiles at once, or at least for the rate they came at to increase. Ace related that when Jerxos asked him why he said that it seemed like a waste of time and he should've began the trials with more enemies from the start. Luck could imagine the surprised look on Jerxos' face since he had affected the very same emotion unto him. He could also imagine the cocksure grin on Ace's face that he used to throw off opponents.
"Yeah." Ace said. "Around that."
"You're kidding." Luck eyes widened. "Months?"
"Months." Ace nodded. "The groups got so large that the only way to deal with them was to infiltrate their ranks and slowly pick them off. It took almost half a day for the first few large groups until eventually the groups got larger and my kills got slower."
"And you're fine with that?" Luck asked, astonished. "Mine only took an hour, at most."
"It was just another job." Ace smiled. "Besides, like I mentioned earlier. It was catharsis ever since the day I found you in the church." He shrugged, allowing his feet to dip off the edge of the float. "I needed to work off some steam, perhaps Jerxos had sensed that."
"I wouldn't have had the patience for that."
"Yes, you would have."
"But I wouldn't have liked it." Luck smirked. "But months... how many did you kill? That's a long time for non-stop elimination."
"I think I got to a hundred before the game changed. A hundred rounds."
It was a perfect time to test it out so Luck queried Spirit and asked her to do the math. Five thousand and fifty. That was the number that popped up in Luck's peripheral. Spirit, evidently, had some type of memory bank because there was a data box stemming from Ace that listed lightning magic. He felt like he had barely tapped into the potential of the Mk3. Even Saga was sporting a data set that included apparent age, intelligence level and certain deadly characteristics. The last line that listed Saga as his familiar again hinted at something recording and storing data from previous encounters.
"There was a twist in mine as well, that fortunately, I foresaw." Luck replied.
"Ah, but I don't believe Jerxos planned for me to last so long." Ace grinned. "That was when I fought my first monster."
Then Ace went on to describe the various fights. He lasted for the first three encounters, finally dying on the fourth. The first was a small humanoid, fast but weak. Easily dispatched. The second was Ace's match and only through a skillful disarming was he able to grapple the gray skinned monster to the ground. The third monster Ace described as huge and barely humanoid. At this point in the story, Ace reminded Luck that they were still in the same urban environment. He went to on to recount how he led the beast to a construction zone and basically bled it to death with a nail gun, staying out of range all the while. The fourth encounter was Ace's very first experience with magic aside from the actual transportation. It was a human looking figure in robes, that was undoubtedly not human. Ace's first instinct was to retreat and observe, hoping to kill him while out of sight. But the mage had Ace darting for more cover the second the battle began. Not willing to risk any experimentation, he sprinted for the nail gun at the construction zone. When he reached it a zap of lighting arced to nearby lamp post. He turned around, switched it on and rapid-fired nails right into the mage's forehead.
"The bolt of lightning struck me down, arcing between all the projectiles before they could nail him to his grave." Ace said. "Next thing I knew I was in a room with Jerxos. He counted it as my win as well as my loss. I didn't complain."
"I'm assuming that's what earned you lightning magic." Luck surmised.
"Most likely." Ace considered something. "Perhaps that's why I could use it so easily. Because I had been subject to it. It was a feeling I don't believe i'll forget."
"Yeah, well i'm subject to time all the time." Luck sighed. "Doesn't help."
Ace frowned but continued his story.
He had been presented with the tools he would begin his new life with in the blank room with Jerxos. He recounted being offered to either have six total tools or to choose four. Jerxos helpfully informed him that they would be loosely based off his trials. After some questioning and the discovery that some effects are not entirely beneficial, while all are permanent. He could choose from a set of three, four times. But he could not decline a set. Or he could settle for a total of six tools assigned to him based on his performace. Ace decided to choose four rather than risk his life being ruined on the account of a single unlucky slip up. He stopped there, opting to leave out the rest of the details.
"I think, like you, that these are things we have to learn about ourselves." Ace said in way of explanation.
Luck only shrugged. "Well, I know you have lightning magic, no surprise there. But i'll respect that."
"And I know you have a pet cat." He paused as Saga growled. "And have some way of avoiding death, curing corruption, and manipulating time. And of course, you can also talk to trees."
Luck's expression was a rueful smile. After a moment he looked to the trees bordering the river, which drew his friend's trained gaze and jerked his thumb to Ace. "You hear this guy?"
Ace relaxed, laughing. Luck had actually got a few replies but ignored them in favor of Ace.
Luck watched him, amused. "You don't mind?" He asked. "Not knowing."
"Lucky, the second we left the business there were thousands of pounds worth of burdens lifted from my shoulders." Ace replied after he stopped chuckling. "Among them were innumberable secrets. What's one or two more?"
Luck was thinking along those lines as well. So many things were shrouded in shadow another monster or two lurking in that darkness wouldn't make a difference. Or at least that was how it used to be back home. Luck had gotten accustomed to that, his friend keeping a few secrets meant literally nothing to him. They would come to light in their own time.
Luck smiled. "Besides, secrets kept keep things interesting." He said in agreement. "Though I think I'm at a disadvantage."
"That you are." Ace chuckled.
The Subaqa were definitely sentient. That's what threw Luck off more than anything the first time he really looked at the map. They were supposed to be dropped off in the middle of nowhere and with no 'sentient interaction' as Jerxos had informed him. Yet, the Subaqa were not far off from their starting point. Luck admitted that he did pass out, so he didn't know exactly where their starting point was in relation to The Pools but still, he felt he had been lied to in some capacity. He didn't complain though, they were better off for it anyways.
When they pored over the map earlier The Pools and Diversi's Temple were marked perfectly clear. Aside from that there was nothing of interest for miles around. So Luck conceded that Jerxos hadn't lied to them there. They were indeed in the middle of nowhere. Thank whatever gods were up there because the crystal pendant pointed down river. They didn't need to walk if they could just float.
They were heading towards a mark in the map that would come up later in the day. They would stop there, hopefully learn more than what the Subaqa could tell them. The Subaqa, unusually, had been living in the same spot for centuries. Uhet himself seemed unsure of the world around him, he was only concerned with protecting his people. That man had lived for three centuries and not once had he left.
The surrounding area on the map was almost completely devoid of color. There was no telling what was in or around the place. If they could find any cities that were in the right direction that would be their best bet. If they could find a mode of transportation then even better. But as it was that single mark was the only thing for months around. They were quite literally stranded.
The symbol on the map denoting their first stop was a vertical slash with seven diagonal lines through it. Only managing to be drawn so small because of the fine pen that inscribed it. Much of the places on the map weren't named and Luck guessed those with symbols or images indicated a place of interest that didn't have an official one. Still, he didn't rule out the possibility that the symbols might have a seperate meaning for people in this world. It was important to note how the map was created, some of the markings might have had personal meaning.
And so the day went. Hours of lounging and talking. That was how they spent their time until their next stop. At times, Ace would have a look of concentration on his face. Nothing would ever happen though. Luck couldn't guess what he was trying to do but he could guess what he was feeling by the look on his face. Frustration. Luck should've expected this much. It was the same feeling he was experiencing anytime he turned his focus to time.
Magic: Time
The ability to manipulate time. Scholars, wizards, and greater intellects have pondered the varying effects that wielders of time have produced. Some claimed to rewind whole days or even months, to speed up time, to slow or pause. Some could affect only themselves while others had mastery over the timelines of others. Others have claimed only to be able to rewind or pause at the largest possible scale, everything. They say a true master of time magic can sense when something is altered. In the past, there have been recorded a number of mages who could jump into the past or future but the methods are long forgotten. Time is near the top of the most advanced magics and immensely difficult to comprehend.
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
Luck had easily brought up the trait info for One with Nature before so this was nothing. It was the same type of organic hologram as before. And this was done without Spirit. It was a display that was from the System itself.
'Time is near the top of the most advanced magics and immensely difficult to comprehend.' Luck was being naive. Without any special guidance how could he expect to even begin to understand a magic so complicated? And even then he had no experience with even the most basic magic. Aside from Ace and the gods he had no reference from which to draw from.
Luck added another sigh to his uncountable tally today.
He looked to his necklace and brought it up to eye level. It was pointing slightly off center. That was expected though, rivers weren't straight.
A mental nudge from Saga had him looking forward.
"Ace." Luck got his attention. "This is the place."
His friend sat up.
They had just rounded a bend in the river, the only reason they didn't see previously. There were wooden buildings hanging over the river, built high and above the water. Things hung from above, hovering right above the water. There were small docks under the scaffolds of the buildings, some were occupied, some were not. There was even some debris caught in the posts holding the structure up.
As they passed under the shadow of the buildings they could hear shouting and drunken laughter. At the same time the temperature spiked and it suddenly felt like the kitchen of Mr. Ark's restaurant. Angry yelling followed by a hard thump on the wooden floor above them. Bustling footsteps, roudy laughter. Irregular beams of sunlight came from above, piercing down to the river below. The floor above had seen better days.
The poles holding up the whole place were marked with the symbol from the map. A vertical slash with seven diagonal lines.
There were things underwater too, alive and writhing. They were likely responsible for the boat debris. But they were friendly, although naturally carniverous. Hunters. Predators, Luck realized. Serpents swam beneath the water weaving between the pillars that held up the structure, calling the shaded waters their home. Luck briefly spoke with one, in dumb awe at the scaly beasts. It was communicated that they wouldn't bother them, the huge thirty foot long serpent was the most friendly animal he had talked to so far. Normally, Luck would feel wary around them but something inside of him felt no threat from them, in fact he wouldn't even had minded swimming with them. If it weren't for what Ace had pointed out.
"Lucky." Ace said. "Bodies." He said gesturing.
Some were hovering just above the water, those would be the heads. Others were being pulled by the current, the rope tied around their neck being the only thing keeping them from floating away. Some of those ropes didn't have anything dead tied to them at all. Those were the ones that led up to the buildings above.
Luck's reply was gesturing to a nearby dock. He decided he didn't need to let Ace or Saga know about the friendly, but admittedly large serpents that swam below.
Ace grabbed onto one of the small docks and looped the rope around the moorings. Nearby was a hanging rope that rose up through a hole above.
When they all dismounted the problem became one of where they were going to keep Saga. Luck communicated as much.
"Oh you're right. How-" Ace began. "Oh."
Saga had leaped impressively from the dock and landed perfectly along one of the wooden beams supporting the whole structure. He stalked lithely across and jumped over one and to another level. Eventually he rose enough that he was almost invisible in the shadows. His matte fur doing well to conceal his form, the dark green figure was nowhere to be seen.
"You can't even see him." Luck remarked. Though he instictually knew where the shar was his eyes couldn't find anything hinting to his presence. He could sense Saga's satisifed reaction to the makeshift jungle gym. Amplified even more so by the fact he was completely hidden. It was a positive feeling to say the least.
"That solves us one problem." Ace had just finished dragging all the floats onto the dock.
"Let's see if we can find out where we are." Luck smirked.
"After you."
With that Luck started climbing.
When Luck pulled himself out of the opening he blinked at the sunlight. They had left early morning so the sun was at its peak. Squat buildings surrounded him, a few were tall enough that the sun was blocked. A handful of the shorter buildings were completely within those taller shadows. The floorboards were cracked, sometimes completely missing in places. There were holes as well, as if people had been thrown into the floor and dumped in the river below. Wooden floorboards pointed upwards, splintered by whatever broke them. The surrounding structures were low and huddled together and Luck noticed the way the arrangement was conducive to create shadow. Close alleys might allow one to sneak through the whole area undetected. A murder or three would be child's play, kill the victim and dump the body in a hole.
"Well?" Ace asked, glancing around.
Loud laughter, hooting and yelling came from a nearby building. Luck was about to answer when a man burst through the shabby wooden wall of the building.
The man blasted through the wall and rolled to his feet. "Oi! Get your dirty mitts off me!" His words were slurred and he swayed on his feet, narrowly missing a few unstable looking floorboards. It was Common though, with an interesting accent, but understandable.
"You're not getting away that easy Borg." A large green man stepped through the broken wall. He was a holding a metal club, it could've passed for a baseball bat if it wasn't so thick. The floor creaked as he emerged.
"I didn't cheat!" Borg raised his hands, still swaying on his feet. "It ain't cheating if you're too stupid to catch me." His smile was slow and lazy. He took a swill from his bottle, spilling all over.
"You're dead!"
There was mass of cheering and yelling, they were calling for death. One of the men in the watching crowd threw a bottle at Borg only for the larger, greener man to smash it out of the air like a baseball. Borg frowned and looked down into his bottle, apparently almost out.
The large green man swung his club but Borg tripped and fell on his face, dodging the club by inches. He got up, drank, and dodged another hit. His opponent was large and keeping care to stay on sturdy looking floorboards. Borg was smaller and kept swaying, like a leaf in the wind. There was an art to it, it didn't seem like he knew where he was going until he was there. Borg kept swaying, or rather, weaving through his opponents swings. The tantrum the large green man was in served as a perfect distraction.
"Ace." Luck gestured to the audience watching.
"Got it." He nodded.
They took a roundabout way, sneaking through the alley and joining the crowd through a backdoor in what recognizable as a bar. No one noticed them, their focus entirely on the battle outside. There was enough strange clothing and weird attire that their decidedly urban clothes didn't stand out too much. There were lights, electrical ones, hung up on the bar. They were turned on despite it being the middle of the day. Tables, some perfectly unbothered, others broken and splintered with a handul cleanly flipped over, one particular one was completely frozen in a block of ice. Magic? No one was sitting down, they were all watching the fight. The wall which had broken down had a comical amount of wooden paneling on the interior of the bar leading Luck to assume this wasn't the first time it was broken down.
The two people in front of Luck were strange. For starters, one had a tail and the other had his whole face tattooed blue. Aside from that tattooed man in front of him no one was human. The only common trait most of the people in the bar shared was the fact that they walked on two feet.
"Lojeth is as stupid as ever." Tattoos said. He was wearing some snug analogue of a flannel. The blue design matching his tattoos.
"Green brute's still fast to anger." Tails agreed. There was a hole punched cleanly through the pristine white pants. Luck wondered exactly what other types of clothes might be necessitated by society.
"He should've seen it coming from Borg though." Another person said. "With his reputation and all."
There was a loud crash and playing his character Luck pushed through the crowd to peer through the hole in the wall, eager to see. He pushed roughly on the bodies around him, only shoving as much as he was himself. His eyes had to adjust to the sunlight again.
"That'll teach ya!" Borg was standing off to the side.
Remnants of his bottle sparkled on the floor near Lojeth. His green head was scarlet with blood. His foot was through the floor and his metal club was curiously behind Borg.
"I'll kill you! You cheating rat!"
"Ye just don't learn. Ya green idiot!" Borg reached for his belt but looked down and sighed.
Lojeth was still stuck in the floor, if he moved too much he would fall through. Luck could hear the creaking from where he stood in the crowd. Saga was right below the bar, sitting on the scaffoldings. He could vaguely sense his amusement of a leg sticking through the floor.
Borg backtracked, dodging the holes in the flooring and picking up Lojeth's weapon.
"You better hand me my weapon or i'll rip your eyes out!" Lojeth snarled, eyes widening in anger. His perilous position was the only thing stopping him from moving. "I'll have your head you damn cheat!"
"Relax." Borg said coming closer. "Yer weapons yours." He tossed the metal bat into the air.
Luck smirked.
Lojeth plucked the thick metal club right out of the air. The second he brought it close there was an audible crack.
"Goodbye." Borg waved. "Someone throw me another bottle!"
With that Lojeth burst through the floor, howling in anger. His body ripped another hole in the floor and Luck could feel vibrations through the structure as he hit the thick wooden beams below. Saga would be eyeing the green-skinned man as he fell through and eventually landed on the docks below. With a shrug Luck gave the shar permission, he could have his fun, just no killing. He'd have a hard time climbing a rope back up while being stalked by something as cunning and intelligent as Saga.
Luck took initiative. He grabbed an unopened bottle from a scratched table nearby and tossed it to Borg. The man caught it, searched the crowd, nodded, uncorked the bottle and downed nearly half of it. Luck was mildly impressed.
"Din't see that coming." Someone said saracastically, referring to the bout.
"A round on me!" Borg yelled raising his drink. "And to the sparkly-eyed fellow who tossed me the flask!" He said gesturing.
Then all eyes turned to Luck.
Luck found the blue eyes of the cute bartender. "A swig of yer best then." He glided across the bar like he was born to it, adopting the accent perfectly.
Some lost interest, or rather faked losing interest after that but a few faces had a look of suspicion that Luck didn't think he would shake. He guessed it would be so. From the way the people talked about Lojeth and Borg the place was probably tightly knit. From the bodies hanging above the river below, the place was probably ruthless. From the way the building and surrounding area was beaten and broken, the place was probably extremely prone to violence. From the look of the people, seedy and sordid, one would have a hard time keeping their money on them. Add alcohol or drink to that mix and you've got a cocktail that Luck was intimately familiar with.
It might as well have been home.
Luck took a seat at one of the stools. The bartender flashed a cute smile and slid Luck a glass across the only polished and unblemished surface in all of the bar.
"Our best swill." She winked.
Ace slipped into the chair nearby chair. "You from around here?" He asked in shaky Common, he had been given a simple dictionary by Uhet. Ace already knew seven or so languages, it didn't take long for him to adjust to new vocabulary and grammar. But the way he was progressing was insanely impressive. Luck suspected a tool at play, but Ace had surprised him before.
Luck was still in character. "Aye." He said, taking a swig as promised.
"Look for information. Me." Ace continued, looking all like a lost tourist.
There were glasses displayed up behind the bar. Crystal glasses that didn't look like they'd survive a day in this place. Luck had an eye for things. Those were expensive, he could feel it. But their most relevant quality drew Luck's gaze. They were reflective. And a particularly practiced amber set of eyes noticed a few things. Two individuals reacting, words spoken in sign, he eyes of the crowd even a limp one of the patrons had. It was the first two that he focused on though.
"Careful Ace. Danger." Luck mumbled English into his drink, sounding for all those around him annoyed. "Yer in the wrong place for info, friend." Luck hiccuped.
"That ye are." An approaching man said. "If ye truly were searching for information ya'd be on other side of town."
It was Borg, the man of the hour, not looking the least bit worse for wear. The bartender smiled at him too.
Luck opted for silence letting Borg deal with the apparent stranger. Instead drinking his drink again. He didn't let the stares bother him too much.
"Common not good." Ace replied, gesturing wildly. His acting was passable Luck decided.
"Ye see friend." Borg said, sitting down beside Luck. "Friends." He corrected, tilting his head into Luck's bubble. "I know the face of everyone in Dersoc. And all of 'em faces know where to go if ye be wanting to know something." He said in a whisper.
Warning! Wild Lily poisoning detected...
Commencing Countermeasures... 1%
Unprecedented Bodily Reaction to Wild Lily poisoning...
...
...
Wild Lily poisoning purged...
Calmly, Luck asked Spirit what symptoms wild lily poisoning affected. He had saw it coming. A screen of data popped up as Luck took another drink, albeit slower in an attempt to stall and hopefully show some effect on his person. Fast acting drowsiness, paralysis, sleep, and death. In that order. Those were what was displayed on the light green box stemming from the liquid in his glass. Simple symptoms. Easily faked.
"W-what did ye do..." Luck said turning to Ace in feigned accusation, still keeping his character's accent even in its death. His eyes were blinking slowly. His head nodding down before catching himself, obviously drowsy. "Ye poisoned... " Luck's last blink was extremely slow, eyes opening and closing almost indepedent of each other, it could've easily been mistaken for a wink. If Ace was paying attention he would've caught the whisper of smirk on Luck's mouth as he face planted into the counter. Knocked out.
He felt Saga almost directly below him, his prey was scared, afraid. Luck put Saga on standby, he might need him for something.
"So ye tell me." Borg said, Luck could hear him swiveling his drink in his bottle. "How in hell's temple did ya find yer way into Dersoc?" He said softly, a gulp followed which Luck assumed was him drinking again.
"Came from river. Down." Ace said.
"Nice try bastard." Borg scowled. "Ye'd have to fight off swarms of them blasted serpents."
"No one gets in Dersoc that way and lives." A sultry voice chimed in. "You'd have to be very strong." Luck could feel her presence against the bar.
Ace paused, trying to decipher the words. "No snake. Is easy climb."
"Ye bastard liar!" A glass shattered.
Luck got the impression they were were having a stare down. Be it from the small pause in the rowdy bar, or the constant bottle breath. It was the same kind of pause that came from the height of a confrontation. That stop in movement, marked the searching eyes of two men. Whether it was worth it to take it further.
Luck could smell the man's rank breath again, they were eyeing each other down right over his faux corpse.
"Borg!" He could almost hear the scowl in her voice. "Not the glassware!" It broke the moment.
Borg replied with an angry grunt. "No one gets into Dersoc without earning yer way."
Next was a series of sounds that Luck had to imagine scenes for. The gentle setting of a bottle on hardwood. The screech of two stools being displaced. Clattering footsteps. An array of dull thumps that could only be a trading of blows. A groan and heavy breathing. And a loud slam of which Luck couldn't determine its origins.
The rest was narrated by the crowd to Luck's benefit.
"How did he even get in here?" One said. "I don't even recognize the face."
"The bastard can fight though." Luck recognized Tail's voice. "He caught Borg in the jaw."
"Idiots, thinking they could just walk into Dersoc." Luck supressed the urge to twitch. A dead body twitching wouldn't be very believable.
After a minute Luck was able to peek, using the reflective glasses to his advantage, the blue-eyed bartender wasn't paying attention and neither was anyone else. The comments from the crowd and the sound of the fight were the only things that granted Luck his timing. And so he walked among the living, stalked rather.
"Eh? Ye got a pair of fists on ya then." Borg said, rubbing his jaw. Blood outlined his chin.
"Borg! Take it outside!" The girl yelled. "I don't need my bar ruined!"
Ace was against a wall, not trusting the crowd at his back no doubt. The only difference in the room was an additional shattered table. He was grinning wide, seeming like a cocky bastard to all those watching.
None paid attention to the woman. Borg's mouth was all teeth. "This'll be great practice for the games."
There was a choked gag.
In a show of faith that Luck appreciated Ace pointed behind Borg. "Turn." He said in near perfect Common. A smile split his face.
At first, the man didn't fall for that simple trick. But the sound of shattered glass and the gasps of the crowd drew his gaze.
"Hello." Luck smiled genially, shedding his accent. "Now, if you please allow my friend to walk over here we can talk like proper gentlemen." The corners of Luck's mouth curled up, unhurried. It attracted eyes to the scar on his face, a warning for the doubtful.
Luck was standing behind the bar. His arm barred against the bartenders neck, a broken glass bottle held up to her stomach. He stood there smiling, as if it was the most normal thing in the world to return from the dead. His polite demeanor clashed with the violence that he held the girl to.
"Hey-" But Luck tightened his grip on the blue-eyed woman's neck before she could say anything more.
"Ya died." Borg was suddenly dead serious, squinting menacingly. "I saw ye die with my own eyes."
Ace put on his cocky grin and swaggered across the room, His path was uninhibited. Borg didn't so much as twitch as he passed. But one hand did reach out from the crowd to stop him.
"Bastard! Stay yer hand!" Borg bellowed, the room went silent. The hand retracted, pulled back by others.
Ace came to his side of the room and smiled before leaning on the bar counter which Luck was behind.
Suddenly, Borg became smug. "And what did ye think you'd be doing with our bartender, stranger?" Luck mentally shook his head, the man had already revealed the importance of the person to him.
"Well, I rather thought I'd kill her if you didn't listen to me." Luck smiled cordially, amber eyes flashing.
"And?" Borg waved, nostrils flaring slightly. "Why would I care about the bartender?"
Some heads in the audience nodded in agreement. But more paused as Luck replied.
"I think that'd be the same reason you let my friend walk on by. Wouldn't it?" Luck kept up his incessant smile. "Now, I wonder. Why would a man such as yourself take orders from a lowly bartender such as she?" Luck pondered out loud.
"In Shadowspeak no less." He added to the bartender's ear.
Luck only smirked outwardly, done for the benefit of those watching, but inside he enjoyed the slight jerk in the blue-eyed girl's posture. He saw the same sharp awareness appear on Borg's face as well. As if he had heard him.
Luck had noticed them while he talked to Ace. His amber eyes on everything but the drink in his hands. The crystal glasses behind the bar gave him a full view of the room. And in them he saw an approaching man, the same one that had sent Lojeth under Dersoc. His eyes glanced to the bartender, a flurry of almost unnoticably ordinary actions were done by the girl. But Luck noticed Borg's acute gaze on those recurrent movements. Signals. Orders. Intruders. Foreigners. Strangers. Poisoned the first. Kill the second. Easily deciphered. Luck understood the movements completely, even if they were at his peripheral. His mastery of language applied even here. It was Shadowspeak, something Luck knew inherently.
Borg's eyes widened imperceptibly. "Yer just a child. Ye've not got the killer's instinct." He squinted. "Yer bluffing." Luck only smiled eerily in response.
Some of the men and women in the bar were wondering why Borg cared about the bartender. Why not just kill the two and sacrafice the woman. She was only a bartender after all. But Borg didn't care, he walked confidently but paused at the look in Luck's face.
"I am a dangerous man, Borg." He said. "Consider this payment for testing me."
Luck smirked in amusement. He felt through the link and let Saga have his way. The shar was more than happy to oblige, relishing the thrill.
There were harrowing screams below as someone died. They echoed off the large space below, chilling the mass of people in the room. The first one was simple fear, a man being hunted. The second one was of help, a desperate hope for survival. The third and final scream, was a dying one. And it was that final one that paled a few faces in the crowd. Luck scoffed inwardly, he thought these people were a more hardy bunch. There a few that seemed unaffected though, only content to watch the show. Borg was one of them, the only thing holding him back was Luck's readiness to kill and the woman in is arms.
Luck continued to smile. Words had a power to them, they could make someone larger, or make a room smaller. But sometimes it was better not to use them. A man who speaks three words is less listened than the man who speaks one. And the man who speaks one is nothing to he who speaks none. So Luck played his character. A twinkle of amber brought to center stage.
Silence reigned. The crowd looked down to their feet, trying to peer through the floorboards. They shuffled, unsure.
"Just then, was that Lojeth? Did a serpt finally kill the bastard?"
"He killed Lojeth?" One said. "No, it had to be something else."
"But that couldn't be a coincidence..." Another replied. "That timing... it was too perfect."
"Could they really have gone through the river?" A particularly timid looking man said. "T-that's impossible. N-no one survives b-but Lojeth..."
The mix of people in crowd were shocked glancing around. Though there were a few with hardened grimaces on their faces. As he thought, they didn't like it when one of their own died. Murmurs and quiet whispers, without a name they were just that. They were things that Luck both loved and hated. They indicated an awe that he achieved but also formed a reputation that he didn't need. They were the mark of a good show and a better showman.
Borg squinted. "Who are ye people?" He said, casually reaching for his bottle on the counter. His stance was so rigid that the relaxed way he reached for the bottle set Luck on guard.
With a snap and flash of blue the bottle was shattered in a blinding light. Borg's hand was frozen, just about to grasp the air the bottle had just occupied. He paused and then slowly placed his hands on his side, straightening up.
Luck trusted his friend's judgement. "Ah ah ah." Luck waved a finger. "That's enough drink for you."
"A mage... the man's a mage!" Tattoos yelled. "And he squared off with Borg? In hand-to-hand!" He said in astonishment.
Another round of murmurs washed over the crowd. This time more subdued, as if realizing the implications. Some of the people in the front squeezed their way to the back. Others in the crowd darted out through the only unobstructed exit, the huge hole in the wall created by Lojeth.
Ace was lounging against the wall, his cocky smile leading the crowd's suspicion further and further away from his actual personality. They guy looked like a mystery. The crowds aparent fixation on him was because of that. Luck was playing the frail villain and he, his powerful bodyguard.
"Ye had a mage this whole time?" Borg clenched his fists. "Why not kill us all then and be done with it?"
"I'm in need of information." Luck said cooly. "You can't ask dead bodies. They're rather unhelpful."
"Hmph."
"It's quite the trifle. It would have been of no consequence either if not for me being poisoned." Luck spat distastefully. Jamming the broken bottle a tad closer to the woman's stomach.
It did not go unnoticed by Borg as a grimace passed his face, jerking forward slightly. "All of ya! Clear the bar!" He yelled to the crowd after a moment of decision. "Less ye want to die!"
People shuffled out, still glancing at the floorboards from time to time. Some left through the wall in the bar, others through the main entrance behind Borg. A man tried to exit through the back door, the one Luck was near. But aggressive posturing from Ace turned the man around.
Borg cautiously took a seat at one of the tables that were still intact, taking care to show no outward agressions.
Instead of immediately following, Luck carefully handed the woman to Ace. The woman barely struggled, only doing so to stand upright. Ace didn't really need to hold her but he did anyways. To Borg's apparent surprise Luck moved behind the counter.
Luck turned to Borg. "Please." He said gesturing to the counter
Borg sat up from the table and took a seat at one of the stools, glancing at Luck suspiciously. But his eyes were trained on the girl as Luck held a crystal glass up for inspection, putting his back to Borg.
Efrhm Thrun poison detected...
...
Canot poison detected...
...
White Aryling poison detected...
...
Every single one of the expensive-looking crystal glasses were poisoned, invisible almost. If not for Spirit he wouldn't have picked up on any of the visual markers. Eventually he came to the only glass that wasn't laced with poison and plucked that one from the shelf. He held it up to the electric lights, nodding. In its reflection he could see the girls eyes silghtly widen with surprise.
"You know, I used to work in a bar myself." He said, perusing the alcohols. "I was quite good too. Except, I didn't regularly try to kill people nor did I poison the glassware." He moved behind the bar with a practiced grace.
It was a different set-up, not having any of the equipment Luck was used to. No shakers, no ice, no assortment of additional flavors for him to add to his drinks. He had bartended before, he loved it actually, it was the rush of a show that always got him. He could practice talking, telling stories and making drinks in exciting and entertaining ways. It might have been the way his life went if not for the business. He was introduced to bartending at an early age, serving alcohol in one of the family bars before he could even drink it himself.
The sheer amount of bottles might have rivaled one of the Lockyer bars back home. What the place lacked in equipment it made up in sheer variety. So Luck took a few minutes tasting each, swirling a sip of each in his mouth, getting a feel for the flavor profiles. He kept Borg waiting. He wasn't going anywhere. And if they really needed to go in a hurry Saga could probably break open the floor from below and they could drop down into the water. Of course, then he'd have to convince Ace to grab a giant serpent to ride to safety. Best to hurry.
"I won't ask you what you or the girl are up to." Luck said, as he began choosing from the various alcohols. "I can respect a secret."
Luck dipped various bottles in the glass, all for never more than a second. He tossed them up, caught them by the neck, bounced them of his elbows, before catching them at a tilt, above the glass. Each bottle added to the mixture, a single swish of bright liquid each. He reveled in the small performance. Pouring, replacing, mixing and experimenting until he came to a cool, almost vivid and electric blue drink. Before he served it he swirled the concoction and it flashed yellow before turning back blue. He pretended like he expected that to happen and slid it to Borg.
"There you are good sir." Luck smiled. "Have a gulp, it might loosen your lips."
Borg was in silent awe before catching the drink.
He took a hesitant sip. His eyes went wide but quickly got professional again. "Well? Information was it?" He asked, taking another, larger sip. The drink flashed yellow, but Borg didn't notice, his eyes were on the girl.
Luck smirked, aware of his masterpiece. "I just need to know... " He began, checking the gathering lights on his necklace, drawing Borg's eye. "Joseph, is that way north?" Luck asked, pointing. It never hurts to hide your name.
"South." Ace replied. Damn, he had his directions reversed.
"I need to know any major cities south of Dersoc."
"Who are ye really?" Borg squinted suspiciously. "Why Dersoc, home of the damned, for something so simple. Any bastard idiot off the street could tell ye that!"
"How far?" Luck pressed.
"Thirty ten-days." Borg spat, not happy with obliging Luck's commands. Luck judged him for a moment, his posture. Luck grimaced. He was telling the truth.
"Ten months..." Luck whispered, realizing what it meant.
"Tell us." Ace interjected. "Girl goes free."
Borg, again, scowled like a drunk in the morning.
Ten months. Ten months to get to the city which was most likely to attract his family. If they were south that would be the only place to go. There's not another place for years on the map. It doesn't even make sense how a city could exist there all its own without anything sprouting up nearby. Dersoc was literally in the middle of nowhere, and that city was probably the closest place and it was a grand total of ten months from it.
"All people go there looking for danger and excitement. It is a city born of risktakers and fools, thriving on blood and glory. It lives through the monsters that assault it, creating magnificent works from the bodies of those slain. It is wealth and power to any who survive long enough. It is death and despair for those making the trek unprepared."
Luck kneaded his forehead, he had to go somewhere like that just to find his family.
"It is Ardun." Borg said simply. "The City of Adventurers."
Luck sighed. He knew that name. It was the single most largest splotch of black and white on the map, meaning it was either never visited.
Or avoided completely.
"Any fool could've told ye that!" Borg yelled. "Now let go of the girl!"