We talk a little, but once we get to a higher speed more of our attention was diverted to keeping warm as the winter whipped by us. We turn down familiar streets and make familiar turns. Doors line the roads and streets that didn’t make up the route between wherever we were heading, and the Sunrise. Countless doors and gates.
Houses that I recognize pass by; businesses that I hadn’t seen since I moved into the Sunrise; all littered with the signals of the coming end. Just watching them zip by rouses an anxiety within me. I should hop out now, and get back in the fight.
We were nearing my old home. I glance around frantically, and I spot it: my father’s beat-up old truck parked outside of the gas station, and see the familiar silhouette of his forehead pressed against the steering wheel. Beneath the old truck was the hatch of a door. The image of something evil crawling out and consuming him crosses my mind, and I feel a dread that I haven’t felt in a long time.
If this were a month and a half earlier, I would have walked out here and driven him home. I wonder how many hours he’s been like this, though. People snicker as they pass by. We make one last turn and slow down.
In the once-empty field in front of where my first gate had been; there was now a large, fenced-off compound. Upon seeing us approaching, a couple of soldiers move to open the gate, and we slow to a stop upon a patch of fresh cement in front of a large building of wood and glass; flanked on either side by smaller buildings. By the time we got there, night had already fully fallen, and looking around was difficult. I’ll save that for the morning, I suppose.
Janet steps out of the truck and stretches out her back. William and Monica both hop out as well.
“Can I see the camera?” Janet stretches her hand out to William. “Have to show this to Col. Ortega.”
“I thought he was a Seargent?”
“Got promoted.” She said, “We’re making the most progress here so it’s understandable.”
“How can I be promoted?” I ask.
“You? Well...from what I’ve seen you’re a decent enough fighter, but you’re still a shard holder sooooo....”
“I’ll get this back, right?” William asks as he tentatively hands over the camera.
“Maybe.” She says as she yanks it from his hands. “Show him where he’ll be sleeping.” She says as she loosely motions toward me.
“Alright.” He grumbles.
“Alright? Don’t you mean yes ma’am?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Good.”
With that Janet pivots on her heel and storms into the building.
“What a bitch.” I mutter.
Monica laughs.
“I’m going back to my bunk. Have a good night you two.”
“Good night,” I say as I watch her leave. She still limps a little as she moves. As she’s out of ear shot I turn to William who was fidgeting with his Shard.
“Are we required to stay here?”
“What do you mean?”
“Can I leave the base whenever I want?”
“Ah. Getting antsy? Yeah, but you’re required to bring one assistant with you if you’re going on dives.”
“Assistant?”
“Just go in through these doors,” William motions to the doors of the building in front of us, “And at the desk in the very front will be someone. Tell them your plans and they’ll send someone with you. But why would you want to go? We have internet; there’s even an onsite store.” He motions to one of the buildings nearby. “They have everything you need: food, drinks, weapons crafted from the chosen of crafting gods, bombs. Whatever.” His monotone voice seems to be breaking a little.
I shake my head.
“I’m just antsy. I have been out of the fight for a week and I want to pull my share of the burden.”
“Well, can’t fault you for that. First let me show you to your bunk area first, alright?”
I nod and allow him to lead the way. As we walk away from the large building that blocked out the view of most of the lot, more buildings come into view; connected by clean gray concrete. Freshly tilled soil sat on either side of the concrete path, and a few sproutlings poked from the green. Two buildings that looked a lot like houses sat prominently in this area; both fenced off with towering, thin fir trees, and spruce posts.
“Which one is our’s?” I ask, assuming that these were the bunkhouses.
“Huh? Oh, neither. These are for Oak and Janet.” He points to each one in turn, “Our’s are further back.”
I follow him further...and further. Soon we step off of the sidewalk, and onto a hard-packed dirt path. Plastic tarp tent constructs stood erect. This, apparently, was where most of the military personnel lived as well; as people in various forms of military attire; from sweats to camo cargo pants. They glance at us as we pass by. Most seem off-put by our presence.
“They’re too used to the way that Janet treats everyone,” William explains. “And many of them think we’re just as stuck up.”
“What do they do?”
“Well; they’re on standby. There are reports of more people being chosen the country over, so we’re expecting an increase in the number of Chosen coming here.”
“Good. The initial number was far too low.”
William nods as we turn into a small clearing with three tents. They weren’t small tents; were elevated on a wooden platform; but the walls were made of a thick tarp. There was a window on each of them and a canvas flap for a door; held closed by a thick zipper.
“Mine is there,” he motions to the tent caddy corner to that, “And yours is there. They’ve been moving things in there from your old house, they said. Your brother’s been helping.”
“Really?”
Huh. Maybe he didn’t actually hate me that much. Why did he lash out like that this morning, then?
“Well; I’m going to unwind a bit. Ah, before we go our separate ways; Monica and I talked on the way here...” he pauses in his sentence and reaches into his bag. He pulls out something large and covered in a black cloth. “And we think you should have this. Feel like you’ll get the most use of it.”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“What is it?” I pull off the cloth. Beneath it was an egg that looks as if it was made of green stained glass. It’s about as large as my head, but as light as air.
“It’s an egg; it was on top of the money when we closed the gate. Hid it away from Janet.”
“An egg? Wait, do you think it might hatch into that bird?”
William nods.
“Wouldn’t that be cool? Again, with your Familiar whatever we both thought it’d be less dangerous if you were to raise it.”
I sigh.
“Well, do you want this back?” I hold the cloth out. It is soft and supple.
“No.” William shakes his head. “Keep it. Take it to the onsite crafter and have them make it into something for you.”
“On-site crafter?”
“Yeah: an old man who’s chosen by some Hungarian blacksmithing god: Wilhelm is his name. He takes order in the morning.”
“Well, I’ll be sure to visit him, then,” I say as I tuck the egg under my arm.
“Have a goodnight, Lawrence.”
William says as he bows his head and excuses himself. With nothing better to do, I head to my tent; a few steps away. I open up the flap and step in. Clio rushes out from a bundle of blankets on top of the mattress that I had at my parent’s house and jumps up on my legs.
Master’s back!
They really had moved everything in the room at my old house here. My bookshelves; my old notebooks full of half-written stories. My computer and the chair that Shadow loved to sleep on; even the spear that I had hidden in my closet here; leaning against my computer desk. Other than that, the floors were made of a pretty solid wood, and a space heater had been set up in the corner of the room. Rugs lay strewn hurriedly over the floor in an attempt to further insulate it, no doubt. A single LED light hung in the middle of the room on a hook.
I scratch behind Clio’s ear’s as I look around, set the egg and the cloth down next to the door, and raise my cane to summon Shadow.
Miiiiister. I was eating. The cat whines as she pops into existence in the air above my bed. Oh, this is familiar. She hops off her bed and struts to my computer chair to take her place on her throne. Now, I believe you owe me a fish.
“I know, I know,” I say in response. “I’ll get it for you.”
There’s a river nearby. I could do with learning how to fish, after all. I kick off my boots and sit on the edge of my bed and hold up my wrist.
“Can you show me my stats?” I say as I pull my shirt over my head, and look around. Ah. There was one of my favorite shirts. I pull it over my head just as the screen parts from the main body of the Shard.
Occupation Adept Elementalist Level 25 (1390/2100) Strength 22 Stamina 21 Perceptiveness 10 Intelligence 28 Magic 77(+2) Endurance 19(-1) Points 18
I notice some of my stats went up again. Due to my hard work, no doubt. Now what else to improve? Hm. If I put them all into strength I’d get it right up to 40... on the other hand, I could do with more perceptiveness. No. I’ll increase that through other means. I’m sure there was some way to recover my eye or to get a new one if I just looked through the skill page. For now...
“Put two in Intelligence, eight in strength, one in endurance, and seven in magic.”
The number of, ‘points,’ drains down to zero, and my entire body burns for a passing minute as my strength raises to 30, my endurance to 20 (-1), and my intelligence rises to 30. For some reason, my mind is much more clear now than it had been in a long time. What was happening? Due to my increase in intelligence?
“Now can you show me my skill page?”
MAGIC
LESSER HEAL 50/999 (2/100)
EMBER 31/999 (17/100)
ENSNARE 15/999 (2/100)
ROCK THROW 40/999 (6/100)
GUST 25/999 (2/100)
DERVISH 2/999 (1/100)
MEDITATION 9/999
SALAMANDER’S BREATH 1/999
FLAME BOLT 11/999 (5/100)
DJINN’S DANCE 21/999 (1/100)
EARTH SPIKE 29/999 (15/100)
DJINN’S ARROW 38/999 (1/100)
AETHERIC PUSH 8/999 (3/100)
BOLT 9/999 (10/100)
LIGHTNING STEP 2/999 (1/100)
REPEL 4/999 (4/100)
DJINN’S VOLLEY 12/999 (10/100)
UPHEAVAL 1/999
SLOW 2/999 (1/100)
QUICK CAST ???/???
CLOSE QUARTERS COMBAT
JAB 13/999
STRAIGHT 12/999
HOOK 23/999
GRAPPLE 22/999
BITE 8/999
WEAPONS:
SPEAR 6/999
KNIFE 4/999
DAGGER 7/999
QUARTER STAFF 12/999
BLADE 1/999
SHIELD 2/999
PASSIVE SKILLS:
MAGIC AFFINITY 121/999
DUELING 4/999
HEALING AFFINITY 47/999
MANA SENSITIVITY 90/999
FIRE AFFINITY 38/999
EARTH AFFINITY 43/999
WIND AFFINITY 44/999
LIGHTNING AFFINITY 10/999
GRIT 53/999
SHADOW RESISTANCE 3/999
LIGHTNING RESISTANCE 10/999
PAIN TOLERANCE 35/999
MANA MANIPULATION 116/999
FOX’S GUILE 4/999
AS ABOVE, SO BELOW ???/???
CRIME SKILLS:
LOOTING 13/999
AMBUSH: 4/999
SUBTERFUGE 1/999
CONJURATION SKILLS
SOUL-BOUND CONTRACT 4/999
FORM TAKE 0/999
I press the 1/100 right by Lesser Heal, and just as I thought, it’s a count of how many more casts I needed in order to Quick Cast. As I look down I notice the passive As Above, So Below, and press it.
“With your body and mind in harmony, you will find it easier to do greater feats of both intelligence and strength — boosts passive stat gains for both.”
“Oh, that’s a surprisingly useful description for once.”
“Thanks, I’m trying.”
Uh-huh. Who are you, and what did you do with Reynard?
I sigh and lay back on the mattress. Clio climbs onto my chest, spins, and lies down. I hear Shadow claw at the back of the chair.
“I want to purchase a few skills.”
By my estimation, I had four points to spend; 3 from my level up, and one that I had saved up. The Skill Purchase page opens and, to my surprise, I have 7. I forgot about the extra 3 I got when I leveled up to 10. I pick Clio up and move her off my chest and sit myself up straight. What did I need to get? I drum my fingers against my leg. What do I need?
I need to make a pact with some of the elementals. I figure that’s the only way I’ll improve the efficacy of some of my attacks. Again, I picture myself breathing fire like some dragon in human form... I wonder if it’d be easier if I could see them.
Responding to my thoughts, the Skill page flicks by to a section called, “Mediumship.”
The first skill that I could unlock was, “sense presence.” Connected to this were the skills, “Clairvoyance,” and, “Clairaudience.” I press each in turn to figure out what they would do for me.
“Allows you to sense presences.”
“Allows you to see what humans normally can’t.”
“Allows you to hear what humans normally can’t.”
Ah, Reynard’s back at the helm.
“Does this mean spirits and the like?”
“What else would it mean?”
I sigh. He’s definitely there.
I purchase the three, and as soon as I make it final, I glance frantically around. There’s an energy in the air that I had never felt before. A kind of electric tingle came off of both Clio and Shadow; so that without even looking at either of them, I could pinpoint exactly where they were in the room.
“That’s...an odd feeling.”
I wonder briefly what the other two will hold before I go back to purchase more skills. I decide to expand in the water tree a little; purchasing, Water Gun, and Coalesce. Both of these seem infinitely more useful than Splash. With my last two, I decide to invest them in passives; now that I know that’s a whole section. I could always make more spells up on the spot; have on several occasions, but passives? I have to go through a lot of trouble to get those. I end up picking Basic Herbal Knowledge which granted me a rudimentary understanding of various plants, and Potion Making something that I had been meaning to get from the beginning. Those potions that William had been giving me were extremely useful, after all.