Alistair spent the afternoon in a Resonant Room, where he later received a level up after cycling through his cards and working on Celestial Binding.
[Congratulations, Fledgling, you have leveled up! You may upgrade one of your Skills. Which Skill would you like to upgrade?]
“Any preference?” he asked Ghost. “Rain of Blades was pretty awesome.”
“The assassin in me says Moonlight Eyes, the pyromaniac says Flame Kissed, and the strategist says Lightning Firestorm because it is a shocking power, one that could come in handy in a number of scenarios. That, or Touch of Grace so we don’t have to worry as much about injury.”
[Which Skill would you like to upgrade?]
“Let’s do Lightning Firestorm,” Alistair said before the prompt could play yet again. “That one is awesome.”
“Good, and I agree. I also think we’re done here.”
“Just like that, huh?” Alistair asked. “I thought you said we would do this all afternoon.”
“We need to get to Solaria.”
Alistair cocked his head a little as if Ghost were standing directly in front of him. “Why would we need to do that?”
“To set the portal and check on Felix’s situation through Tiuri, the fence we know.”
“How would a fence know about Felix?”
“By now, anyone in the Dawncrest Kingdom’s vast, but surprisingly close knit, underworld will know that something has happened. I would say we could go tomorrow night, but this allows us the opportunity to head back and forth to the big city in case we need to get involved before the end of the week.”
“If we leave now, we won’t be there until at least midnight, if not later,” Alistair said.
“Exactly.”
“I have class tomorrow, remember?”
“That’s why I will be handling everything so you can rest. You rest, and let the assassin stuck in your head handle everything.”
Alistair could barely hide his dismay at the sound of Ghost piloting his body overnight. “Are you sure that is a good idea?”
“Positive. I’m full of good ideas. Now get back to your room, check the Status Stone because you haven’t checked it in a while, eat, don’t tell your friends what you are doing.”
Alistair took one last look around the Resonant Room. “I should at least let Juno know I’ll be out tonight.”
“Or, you just let him figure out his life for himself.”
“He’ll message me.”
“You can deal with that then. Get your summon and let’s eat.”
“Ziggy?” Alistair asked the slime, who sat on the stone floor looking at an aerwhisp that had also taken the bulbous form of a slime.
Squish? Ziggy squinted at the aerwhisp.
“Let’s go, bud. I’ll get you a treat.”
Squish! The slime hopped back to Alistair, who quickly returned Ziggy to his chest.
Rather than go to his dorm first, Alistair headed to the dining hall, where he hit the buffet early. Not all of the food was out yet, but he was able to secure some freshly made meatloaf and warm bread. After shoveling it in his mouth, and saving a piece for his slime, Alistair was just heading to the exit when Lauren and Dawn entered.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
“There you are,” Lauren said as she eyed the bread roll in his hand. “Feeding your slime again?”
Alistair laughed nervously. “You know it.”
“Your friends are looking for you,” Dawn told him. “We saw them at the Wraithen Archives.”
“I’m busy tonight.”
“Doing what?” Lauren asked as she leaned in just a little closer. “Are you taking us out, or something?”
“That wasn’t my plan, no,” Alistair said.
“I’m joking with you,” Lauren told him after Dawn started laughing. “Relax, Alistair. I didn’t seriously think you were taking us out. But you’re more than welcome to join us now. Your slime can wait.”
“Actually, um, I have to get somewhere.”
“Where?”
Ghost: Dammit, we don’t have time for your awkwardness, and Lauren’s shitty version of trying to flirt with you. Tell her she’s ugly, and let’s move on.
Alistair: She’s not ugly, and I’d never tell that to anyone.
Ghost: Don’t make me do it—
“I have to go!” Alistair pressed forward so quickly that he accidentally bumped into Lauren. “Sorry!” he called to her as he took off jogging. He burst through the exit and picked up his pace. “What the fuck?” he asked Ghost.
Ghost: You are the one that bumped into her, not me.
“You were going to tell her she’s ugly.”
Ghost: Perhaps, but now, we’re on the move and we can definitely make it to the station in time.
Alistair cursed a few more times under his breath as he reached his dormitory. He headed up the stairs and straight into his room. “Should I pack anything?” he asked Ghost.
“Just bring your shoulder bag in case we need to stash things.”
“Like what?”
“That remains to be seen. We also need to visit the bank in Lumina before we go.”
“Why?”
Ghost groaned. “Why would anyone need to visit a bank? Money. We’re probably going to have to pay for information so I want to be sure to have enough on us. Now, hurry. And check your Status Stone.”
Alistair pulled the stone out and and quickly skimmed through the information that was presented to him:
Name: Alistair Blackstar
Grade: Fledgling, Level Fifteen
STR: 19
DEX: 18
CON: 20
{Summons}
Sprite Class Ethereal Ripple Slime, Level Seven
Sprite Class Nightflutter Faeling, Level Eight
Sprite Class Strigursus Onikuma, Level Six
{Skills}
Thick Skin, Level Three
Gem Gaze, Level Three
Dragon Claw Swipe, Level One
Cryptic Endurance, Level Two
Void Punch, Level One
Moonlight Eyes of the Assassin, Level One
{Wandbound Spells}
Mistmeld, Level Three
Aerial Burst, Level Two
Shimmer, Level Two
Eclipse Claw, Level Two
Dimensional Gate, Level One
Shadow Play, Level One
Flame Kissed, Level One
Touch of Grace, Level Two
Lightning Firestorm, Level Two
Overture, Level One
{Resonant Enchantments}
Card of Rumors, 1/3
Feather of the Phoenix, 1/1
Plague Bearer, 1/1
Umi Hoshi Kraken, Level 49
“That’s right,” Ghost said, “Plague Bearer. Read the description for me.”
Alistair accessed the card and read its description aloud: “Watch your enemies collapse around you. Plague Bearer infuses the mage with a toxic, airborne plague that spreads to all enemies in the surrounding area. It will also make the mage and their party gravely ill, so should be used with caution. The Plague Bearer card can only be used once.”
“Nice. And now I remember why it was important to level up our Touch of Grace power allowing us to heal better. Maybe we should have done that back in the training room.”
“Well, we can’t go back now,” Alistair said.
“That’s fine. And it’s really too bad we likely won’t be in a situation like Felix’s masquerade ever again.”
“How so?”
“Had we had this card then, we could have killed a number of assassins, including the people on my hit list. It would have been the ultimate takedown, but I have a feeling we’ll still be able to use the Plague Bearer card. Let’s go over who is left on our list.”
“Your list.”
“Our list.”
“Why?” Alistair asked Ghost.
“Because it’s important.”
“Kang and Felix are left. You’ve killed Senka, Goran, Hilda, and your mother. Happy?”
“I’m rarely happy, and I won’t be anywhere close to happy until the remaining people on that list are finished. There is one person in the Betrayers that we haven’t spoken enough about killing, one you failed to mention.”
“Who?” Alistair asked.
“Professor Dreadwell, meaning we have three targets left.”
“Right, I thought that was a given.”
“It is, but it’s good to start thinking about it this way. We are near the end, Alistair,” Ghost said ominously. “We will use the Plague Bearer card, and we should probably use the Card of Rumor as well, although I don’t know the full extent of its power if we cast the rumor on us. That remains to be seen. But we can contemplate that later, and really, what’s there to contemplate? Summon Ziggy, feed the damn slime, let’s get some money, and we’ll head to the station. The day is still young. I wish there was more time to recoup, but there will be time later.”
“And Kanda?”
“Message her later. I want to know about Tarnis’ dungeon core card.”