"I have no idea what to do, Felin," Amy groaned, lying down on her bed, still exhausted despite having slept since last night's events. The cat in question was sitting beside her, looking past the walls of her room and at something invisible in the air.
"Well... There's many ways you can go with this," He replied. "Before I comment however, let me see if I've understood the situation fully. This random lady you've hardly met or known before this showed up and asked you to help them commit a crime by robbing a museum. And not just any old museum, but a magical one which would get you in even more trouble if you were caught."
"That's... right."
"In my mind then there's only one option: ignoring them. The less you get involved with people like them the less likely you'll get in trouble. No matter what sob story they told you, no matter how they tried to entice you, at the end of the day, when they inevitably get caught, they'd sell out whoever they could to get even a chance at being free again; and that's not even taking into account the magical side of things, just the mundane. If the association gets involved in their arrests, then it'll be certain the truth will get extracted from them, forcefully and mercilessly, and any involvement you would've had would be entirely revealed.
"So, my dear Apprentice, why does it seem like you're actually considering this?"
"I... I don't know," She admitted.
"Frankly, this Beatrice woman seems too inexperienced and too immature to get you to even consider taking part in this... this heist! Approaching you like that? Feeding you her tragic backstory and all her insecurities and last wishes? I'd be tempted to congratulate her if she was trying to make an appeal like this seem so fake, but it all sounds genuine! In what world would a fake story like that get a - as she said - 'depraved' or 'dirty' Mage on her side?"
"She is young..."
"Young doesn't excuse it! Bah! And she claims to be some sort of gang-leader, 'experienced' in this sort of burglary and crime. Wouldn't be surprised at all if that was total exaggeration."
"Hmm... I'm still considering it though," Amy mumbled, before noticing the look on Felin's face and rushing to continue, "I know it seems shady as Hell, but checking out the museum? That, at the very least, seems like a good idea; not just to see how feasible this whole ordeal is, but it's a magical museum! Of course I'd want to check something like that out."
"...Fine. I don't want to control what you can and can't do but I can't stress this enough how delusional this woman is that she thinks-... Ugh," He grimaced. "If you are going to this museum, however, I will go with you."
"What?" Amy blurted out, sitting up abruptly.
"I know, I know, but I've been thinking about this recently and believe that if you do get caught having me as a Familiar, it isn't frankly that big of a deal. You wouldn't be the first person to have some sort of magical creature as an eccentric pet after all. Add on top of that the fact that at higher Tiers, Familiar has an in-built sort of 'stealth' feature into it, to prevent what the Familiar is presenting as being seen through, then, well... What's the worst that can happen?"
"But Familiar's a lost Spell, isn't it? Wouldn't it be too suspicious if I'm in possession of it?"
"Perhaps... but as I said before, I don't think it would matter all that much. Hundreds of Spells and Mage Schools were lost after the Wars and I imagine something like what happened to you - randomly finding a lost Spell or two - isn't exactly a rare occurrence. Uncommon for sure, but not enough to warrant suspicion. Back in Triesen, where Mage enforcers were crawling everywhere, investigating everything, then yes, I'd agree that it'd be too risky. Here? A bustling magical city? A strange Spell or two isn't going to seem odd."
"Bringing active Magick into a magical museum seems like a bad idea, though?"
"Worst case, Amy, just dismiss me. You won't be the only Mage perusing that museum with an active Magick on them; if the museum tells every Mage to get rid of some defensive Ward or other Spell that enters their walls, then there'd be outcry. And, for most people, I would genuinely be just a cat. A strange cat for sure, but simply one who'll rest in your bag, hiding out of the way. I won't be invisible, that's for sure, otherwise there'd definitely be complaints."
"I guess... What was this about the stealth aspect though?" Amy caught on, mentioning it again.
"Well, you have my previous contractor's Grimoire, correct? And it should have all the higher Tier variations of Familiar, right? So, now that you're an Apprentice, why not cast them?" Felin suggested.
"Oh." She realised, seeming to freeze. "I do, don't I?"
Taking a quick moment to ruffle through her things, Amy retrieved a familiar book bound in mismatched leather and twine from her things, the Alarm placed on it long dissipated; the Grimoire. It didn't take long to flip through its ciphered pages to find the page she sought. Besides the Spellform, some of the only understandable words in the book, was written "Tier 4: Familiar". Compared to the Tier 3 version, there wasn't much difference, besides a new channel or fork here and there, yet, all together, it seemed to paint a slightly more profound picture than before. It felt deeper connected to whatever mysterious force might be behind it's great power. It felt... more.
"Here and here," Felin said from behind her, his paw coming up and pointing to a couple of strange new segments in the Spellform. "These form the basis of what will develop into a sort of passive 'Concealment' on my form; of course, it doesn't have anything to do with Unknowable, instead it's rather Fae in nature. I do not wish to be noticed, and so is that demand imposed upon others around me, and as such they unconsciously ignore me."
"I see," Amy said, inspecting those parts more closely, analysing their connections.
"Well, if you casted this at a very high Tier then that 'Concealment'-like effect would be practically unassailable. At this level? Only really effective on the weakest of Mages and mort- mundanes."
"Better than nothing I suppose," She said, finally beginning to take the entire Spellform in and memorise it. The hardest part isn't going to be casting it but remembering to cast this version of it. It's so similar to the Tier 3 Spellform that I'll have to try and not confuse them. It was as she was satisfied with her memorisation, about to begin her Magecraft, that she remembered something. "Do I have to dismiss you first to cast this?"
"No. It's all on my end really. Just have to switch 'containers', so to speak."
"Got it."
With that piece of knowledge in mind, putting that last doubt at ease, Amy began her Magecraft. Easier than ever, Fae swam back to her in a snap, the comforting virid green enveloping all of her mana pool and more. It seeped down her arm and manifested into reality faster than her own mana could twist into the Spellform hanging in the air. She didn't know when Felin had already begun to disappear as a new form began to be conjured in its place, the same yet ever so slightly different. It... was greater.
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Just like her first casting of Familiar, it wasn't just the feline avatar that manifested. A presence beyond mortality descended upon her room, gusts of wind picking up around her, shaking the walls. Fortunately, they felt more restrained than how she remembered, as if the strange being that held her room in its grasp was holding back for her comfort. From her mana senses, the rattling of chains resounded once more, yet it wasn't just that. With a snap and a crack of something ephemeral, the chains grew less restrained and wilder. One of the many restrictions holding this monstrous thing back had been broken. And, as her Sight honed in on the strange synaesthesia of the chains, Amy witnessed them. Wounded from Fae mana, they shackled an unimaginable beast in place, dragging it down from the heavens. There were 12 chains, and 11 remained unbroken.
Stepping back into mundane reality, Amy took in the Magick in front of her. Unlike last time, the being did not aid in the creation of the Spell, so the avatar was already there waiting for it to descend into compared to her initial cast of Familiar, the Spellform dissipating. The green shell of mana broke off around the avatar, and all of its accompanying disturbances ceased abruptly. Revealed to the world once more was the familiar form of Felin. Except, his black fur seemed more detailed and textured, the colours more fleshed out, and everything about him more real; stronger, even.
"Well... Hello again, Amy." Felin smirked mischievously.
"Did you really have to do all of..." She frowned, exasperated, as she waved at the rest of the room, "That?"
"Well... maybe not," He admitted. "It's all a part of the theatre of it all, my dear Apprentice! A grand celebration of your victory against another Tier of magic! Why would I not then celebrate that with you?"
"You call that a celebration? And that wasn't even the first Tier 4 I've casted!"
"Bah! The Fae ones are the only Spells that count."
"Command? What about that?"
"That's barely Fae. That's like pouring drink into an acid vat and calling it a glass of water!"
"Alright, alright," She acquiesced, shaking her head with a smile on her face. "Should we head out to the museum then? No harm in going straight away."
"Sure, just let me..." Felin trailed off, his eyes narrowing in concentration. Then, with a slight change in the mana she felt from the Familiar form, he came back. "And there we go."
"What was that?"
"The 'Concealment' effect. At this Tier it has to be engaged manually and isn't just something I can change at a whim."
"I see," Amy said, turning back around to gather some of her things. "Shall we head off then?"
"Let's."
* * *
Wearing the same clothes she wore yesterday, Amy found herself outside the large and grand entrance to the Post-War Museum, a repurposed ancient stone cathedral of sorts, with some modern looking parts built out and on top of it also. It was easy enough to ask around some passer-bys for directions to it as it was well known, and it only took about half an hour until she found it.
From there she had a few options: simply buy a ticket and look around for a little bit; observe from the outside and scope it out without ever actually going in; or the actual option she was always going to take. So it was only natural then, at a severe price of half a bronze piece, or sixty copper chips, she chose to enter a guided tour around the museum, blending in with the large group gathered around her. It would be easy then to sneak around and look at the best parts of the museum, or get conveniently lost and find herself in strange places trying to get back.
"Group B to depart!" A bubbly tour-guide called out, waving her hand over. Amy, who had been waiting with the rest of her group as per her ticket, gathered around her to follow, moving through the group gate, compared to others who had to manually verify their tickets then walk through the separating fence.
While a lot of families and children would be able to say they were enraptured by the introductory experience, walking through recent history and hung-up relics and devices, Amy couldn't help but be bored. The tour-guide would describe a grand event or two after the wars and show some frankly underwhelming broken piece of equipment that somehow linked with it. I am being overly critical though, Amy thought. It is called the Post-War museum so of course it focuses mainly on the mundane side of history, as the magical side is waning as of late, especially with the industrialisations all happening over the country.
Amy's misgivings with both the tour and the museum itself however were quickly quelled when they finally got to the 'popular' section of the museum; magical relics. Unlike the previous sections, where they were guided through the more modern parts of the museum, here they were fully in the central cathedral area. Suspended from wires directly in the centre of it was what could only be described as a behemoth of old magical machinery, a blimp of sorts that was half burned down, powered by magical engines on the sides, still looking functional. On the sides, encased in thick glass, were tablets written in old languages, broken yet ornate wands and staffs, and all sorts of magical implements, varied in design and purpose.
"Here we have a shard of the Slab of Erudition, eternally broken in the year of 13 PW due to the actions of King-..." The tour-guide went on, introducing the tablet she had seen, digging deep into its histories and origins. Amy mostly tuned it all out however as she took the sights all in, including studying the way mana interacted with the items in question. Even for a shard of the broken thing, the slab's inundated with pure Knowledge and Information. It's... mesmerising. "...-only existing as a fragment of the greatness it was, losing its Knowledge-bestowing power, remaining only a symbol of what it once was. Also broken by the same Mage earlier than the Slab, is the Evergrowth Staff-..."
The tour-guide moved on from relic to relic, artifact to artifact, at a similar speed to before with the mundane things. However, to Amy, compared to how bored she felt previously, it felt like she had barely enough time to take everything in before she moved onto the next topic and thing. It was almost disorientating; and Amy could definitely see how Beatrice was enchanted by it all.
"Imbued with strength by a genuine Angel, the Chalice of Renewal cleansed and rebirthed all who-..."
"The Beautifying Crystal was infamous for its corrupting capabilities but be assured that it is completely destroyed, only a replica-..."
"We are fortunate to have recently received the donation of a fragment of the first Mana Engine, built over two centuries ago-..."
"Even as but an archway of the Infinite Cloister, it still retains its endless Spatial halls to this day, a vision of its past capable of still being witness-..."
Whilst Amy was stuck in the world of other past Mages' accomplishments, the tour-guide going on and on about all sorts of relics, Felin, sat comfortably in her purse, had his eyes trained on a certain part of the cathedral ever since they entered the central hall. And only now did the tour-guide and the rest of the group reach it.
"This item here is particularly interesting for it bears no historical name, so it is commonly known as the Nameless Cloak. It bears striking resemblance to a typical storybook Apprentice Mage's robe and we have reason to believe it is even magical in nature. However, to this day, no one has seemed to figure out what enchantment is in it. For every mote of mana that is said to reach near the cloak vanishes, disappearing even from the sight of the Mana Ocean. Many Mages theorised it to be a sort of a legendary anti-magic effect, yet it was eventually discovered that the mana nearing the cloak isn't erased but simply vanished. Mana travelling from one end of the cloak's 'aura' will travel straight through, disappearing only for a moment, dispelling any suspicions of anything as mythic as anti-magic. Now having expended its research uses, it has recently been given to our hands-..."
As soon as Amy laid eyes on the Nameless Cloak, she almost couldn't believe what she was seeing. It was for that reason that she paid extra attention to what the tour-guide was saying, only confirming her suspicions. The cloak itself was long and black, star patterns sewn into the cotton robes, old and frayed. If that was all she could see she would think it a cheap children's costume, exactly for the storybook look the guide went on about. Rather, it wasn't anything physical that alerted her to the truth. It was what she was seeing in the mana.
The mana wasn't disappearing. It was attuning to something else, something terrible. Invisible to all Sights bar the ones trained to see it. It was a Cloak of Unknowable. Or, to be precise, a Wizard's Cloak.
Turning her head to Felin, she found him looking up to her the same way, his Fae-green slitted eyes just as wide as hers. His gaze never wavered as he sneakily gestured with his paw at the cloak, mouthing some words at her. Silently, he spoke.
"We. Need. That. Cloak."
And Amy agreed.