The warm sun blessed us with baking backs but the cool breeze carried over from the lake countered it with gusto. Birds were chirping, bugs were buzzing, and the two headed cow-esque creatures were well, not mooing, but kinda like… vooing? Flooing? The sound was a bit slurred by the cud in their chompers but that’s what it sounded like to me.
Anyway, it was a rather beautiful day, and the city and castle made for some wonderful scenery so my mind was all but made up, but since I didn’t know what everyone else wanted to do I only muttered. “It might be nice to just wait in line.”
I didn’t think anyone had heard me as no one reacted or said anything as we continued on down the road toward the southwest gate. However, instead of cutting the line, Calden started to steer the cart to the back. This of course earned him curious glances from the knights, hunter, and Carmella, but he just grinned and winked at me, and all the rest let him off the hook.
Because apparently, I’m all the explanation they need to understand any strange or unexpected occurrence now!
We pulled to a stop behind a big honkin’ wagon pulled by a pair of oxen that looked to be hewn from stone, yet moved with the fluidity and general behaviors of a living animal. There were several similar carts lined up in front of that, and many many heavily armed guards patrolled around the lot of them.
In front of that were smaller carts and carriages of a myriad of makes and materials all of course also coming in various states of weathering and disrepair.
For instance, there were wide wooden carts owned by farmers that were caked in mud, but were otherwise solid and well cared for, while in contrast some travelers simply had small shoddy carts that were otherwise devoid of dirt on anything other than the wheels.
Then there were the carriages. Some were big and wide, others small and narrow. Some had crests and elaborate ornamentation, while others were sleek and plain. Some had many animals harnessed to them, others only had one or two.
And it wasn’t that they fell into one category or the other, no, they were mixed and matched, as some of the most impressive carriages were pulled by the fewest steeds. While one particularly plain one had no less than eight reptilian looking horse things ready to rush onwards. Heck! One carriage had little whirling gizmos and doodads all over it and moved without anything harnessed to it at all.
And that was interesting until Uriel ruined it with a super in-depth explanation about the various enchantments and spell balances that made up each tiny little component part.
Well that just took the wonder right out of it. Now all I see it as is a freakin’ car.
I sucked in a deep breath of fresh air, savored the sun’s warmth on my skin and the breeze tenderly tousling my clothes, and let my mind melt into the myriad other sensations my new and improved senses fed me.
I mean, what’s more beautiful than nature? Sure it’s a little subdued around here given all the farms, but the spaces beside the roads are just green and lush grasses, and with my senses I can practically see them growing! Would be better with some flowers though.
And to my utter shock, flowers started to bloom.
First a few just scattered about, so subtle that no one noticed, then more and more until I realized they were literally sprouting and growing out of nowhere.
Holy! But how? Is there one of those druids Carmella mistook me for nearby?
I examined the area with the rest of the pleasantly surprised onlookers, albeit a bit more thoroughly, but didn’t see anyone casting spells, so I decided to just follow the flow of mana back to the source.
Let’s see here, looks like the caster’s right… Oh. Wait! Why am I the source?
I inspected myself, given that I don’t know any druid spells, but then noticed that the mana was flowing from Witness and not from me directly.
I slightly lifted the staff from the road and the flood of flowers ceased. It didn’t really look like anyone else in line suspected me or it, but Carmella was covering her face with both hands, and the hunter dude was giving me a bewildered stare.
Like many of the children present, Calden was in awe, and Ysdra was clapping in glee, but their knights, well, they either didn’t care or chose not to react at all.
Since I was free for the moment I inspected my staff again, and Uriel buzzed as it pulled up its stats once more.
Short staff:
Name: Witness
Power: 17?
Mana: 437/600
Durability: 6264
Traits:
Loyal, Self mending, One with nature, pathfinder, Fragment of the Elder Root, Blessing of the Elder Root
Woah. Did it get stronger? But more importantly I don’t think I ever got around to figuring out what those traits actually do. Maybe I should since it’ll probably answer all my questions.
Once more Uriel buzzed, and descriptions appeared.
Loyal: A trait denoting that the item favors its original owner over others. It can still be weilded by others, but only if they are acting with the owner's permission, or if their goals are the same. Self Mending: A trait that denotes the item will use mana to repair itself over time. Can be used actively to initiate rapid recovery. One with nature: A rare trait that indicates that the item is still a part of the natural world despite having been processed or refined. Greatly increases affinity with the wilderness and all related magic. Pathfinder: A trait that allows the user to expend mana to locate a safe route to their desired destination. Accuracy and range vary based on the spirit stat of the user. Fragment of the Elder Root: A trait marking the item as an offshoot of the virtaris root. It is alive and remains a piece of the Wise Old Friend, though it's consciousness is new and lacks the memories of the Elder tree. It will continue growing if fed mana. Blessing of the Elder Root: A trait indicating the item possesses the goodwill and protection of the Virtaris root allowing for contact to be made with the Elder tree and powers to be borrowed.
I honestly expected Uriel to tell me that it wasn’t high enough level to answer like last time, but since it was all there, I guess that ban only applied to my questions about who named Witness.
Though if it’s alive, maybe it named itself? And it’s a little scary that Witness now has as much mana as Goldorath did. Regardless, I’m just glad I know what happened now.
I grinned and whispered. “Thanks for the flowers, little guy.”
Witness trembled like a small child overwhelmed with emotion. It was a little odd that I could picture that scene so clearly, but since I now knew it was alive and only days old it wasn’t much of a stretch either.
A long whistle pierced my thoughts and drew me back to reality. It was then followed by a soft male voice. “What a sight to behold. Perhaps coming here was the right decision after all.”
Upon inspection, the voice belonged to a brunette man no older than forty. At least, I think he’s no older than forty. It’s kinda hard to tell considering he’s, like, literally made of metal. Kinda like a mannequin of steel.
He wore simple but clean clothes of green, brown, and white that made for a stylish ensemble that made me think he was quite affluent despite their plain design. His skin, or rather outer shell, was a light gray and his joints glowed faintly with a gold light similar to his longish hair. His face was relatively plain and kinda looked like a slightly curved mask with glowing slits for eyes and a vaguely smile shaped line for a mouth; which of course also glowed, especially when he spoke.
On top of all that, all the guards of the mostly matching carriages immediately in front of us would periodically glance at him every so often, which gave away the fact that he was probably their boss.
Which makes him quite the merchant too if he’s got so many carriages. I wonder if he’s got anything good?
Before I could even act on that thought he hopped down from the cart he sat upon and strode toward us. He waved to the always wary knights out front, and then whipped off his wide brimmed and colorfully plumed hat before pressing it to his heart and going into an elaborate and deep bow. “My apologies for so suddenly disturbing you, but since entry to the city has momentarily halted, might I ask if any of you are interested in my wares?”
What? It’s stopped? I extended my awareness until it enveloped the nearest gate and a good bit of the surrounding city and quickly overheard the spooked guards shout for someone to report this unnatural phenomenon to the lord and to keep everyone out until an inspection is completed. Well darn. Looks like we’ll be waiting a bit longer, but hot dang! This merchant dude figured things out instantly and came to make a quick buck. Guess that’s the kinda calibur you need to make it big as a traveling salesman.
Nobody objected so with a couple claps Mr. Merchant signaled his unarmed underlings to usher over an assortment of ancient or intriguing items.
From weapons and armor of every variety bearing strange glyphs and runes, to bottles of funny colored and usually glowing liquids, to elaborate and expensive looking jewelry that glittered in the sun, all were laid before us in droves upon a long and wide table that walked itself over from the back carriage.
“Ohhh!”
“Look at that! They're all so shiny!”
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“This is…impressive.”
Obviously Calden and Ysdra were excited to see the spectacle, as were many of the others in line behind us who started to wander over to take a closer look at the displayed merchandise. Even Carmella seemed a bit taken aback by the quality of the stuff and subtly checked the contents of her coin purse.
The knights and hunter remained vigilant of the other people who now closed in, but the merchants' many men-at-arms moved to keep the crowd at bay, allowing only one or two at a time to step forward and shop.
We had unrestricted access since we were kinda too close to the table anyway and had been the ones that were originally approached, so I took the chance to give his stuff a glance in case there was actually something useful behind all the flashy toys.
Uriel had a field day analyzing everything, but I ignored most of it since I didn't much care for, or need, the weapons or armor. The potions were also heavily coveted by the others gathered around, so I left them be as I wasn’t trying to get on anyone’s bad side by claiming a prize they’d set their sights on. That said, there was one trinket that caught my eye.
Ring:
Name: Seal of Solumn Man
Power: 1
Mana: 0/???
Durability: 13/???
Traits:
Self repairing; Search; Rebuke; Blight protection; Demon detection; Concealment; Curse counter; Discernment; Solumn shackles
It didn’t look like much next to the others, little more than a ruddy and cracked brass signet ring with a faded and crude design etched into its tarnished face. It was practically invisible, overlooked by all beyond me, though compared to the others it was undoubtedly the most powerful.
Though what’s up with the name? There’s no way it’s a holdover from the old Earth. I would’ve found it when I was searching the wastes of the world so why is something from this world so similar?
Despite being focused on my own thoughts I was all too aware as the merchant slowly and casually strode over to stand beside me. He must have noticed that I noticed because he didn’t hesitate to speak. “I see you’ve found it, treasured customer. The tarnished diamond. The star of my collection.”
I arched an eyebrow. “I take it you place it like this to see if anyone can spot it?”
“Yes. It has the peculiar ability to go undetected by all but the sharpest eyes or most prominent minds. Even the most experienced mercenaries and scouts miss it, and since it jealously guards the rest of its secrets from me and all observers I’ve asked to examine it, I've taken to using it as a way to find the most capable out of my many clientele.”
I gazed at his expressionless face and the reflection of my own held within. “Any reason for that? You did just call it valuable.”
“It is, just as a way to make lucrative connections.”
“Heh.” I turned to face him. “You dodged my first question. That means the reason for it being placed out today is because you’re where you want to be, right? The place you gathered all these treasures for.”
His eye slits and perpetual smile lit up. “My, my. You’re even more interesting than I’d expected.” He placed a hand on his heart and slightly lowered his head. “Allow me to introduce myself, I am Maximus Ubert, founder and head of Uber Trading Enterprises, one of the largest merchantries in the Empire. Might I have the pleasure of knowing your name?”
Wow. A real bigshot, just like I’d expected.
I nodded back at him. “I’m Anon. Anon Amos. Professional vagrant. Might I know what brought you here?”
His literally bright smile only grew in intensity, then he glanced over at Ysdra. “I came seeking the young lady of this territory. My son is ill you see, and I dared to hope beyond hope that her magic might aid him, though upon closer inspection I see now that that hope was in vain.” He lowered his head and crossed his arms. “It’s ironic, really, that she’d be waiting in line right behind me at the capital of her own family’s territory. Poetic, that a sudden bloom of flowers would lead me to her, then to you, and that marvelous staff that, once powdered, could be used to devise a cure for my boy.” Then he met my gaze. “If you’re willing, I’ll gladly trade the ring for your staff? More, actually. You can take all that’s left on the tables too, and everything left in the carts.”
I chuckled and shook my head as I tightened my grip on the subtly quivering Witness. “Yeah, I’ve no need for all that. And this cure you hope to craft...” I inspected each of Maximus’ carriages until I found one with a heavily padded interior, and a metallic young man strapped down inside it. Of course Uriel buzzed.
Name: Galviston Ubert
Species: Techronogg
Health: 23/324
Mana: 14/163
Endurance: 5/250
Strength: 7/42 + 2
Agility: 14/78 - 20
Speed: 10/43 - 20
Toughness: 3
Spirit: 163
Status conditions: madness; confusion; wasting; fatigue; corruption (Severe)
Titles: Merchant Prince; Intrigued by Darkness; Liar; Seeker of the Occult; Twisted Morality; Practicioner of the Profane; Lost Soul (Hidden)
Abilities:
Arithmatic lv: 34
Mana sense lv: 12
Mana manipulation lv: 8
Caligraphy lv: 70
Inspection lv: 22
Dark essence magic (beginner) lv: 41
Chaos essence magic (beginner) lv: 13
Silver tongue lv: 64
Subtle steps lv: 72
Foreign Languages lv: 2
Blight channeling lv: 8
“Will it really work on something self-inflicted? Even if he is cured, won’t he just go back to doing what got him into trouble in the first place?”
For the first time Maximus froze and the lights on his face went out. Then they came back a few moments later, but only just. Though the light and his voice grew with every sentence. “How? How do you know? Are you a soothsayer? A prophet? I’ve been searching everywhere! Please don’t give me hope and then snatch it away when I’ve gotten so close!”
Ouch. I feel ya dude.
I had to stop him from dropping to his knees. His shouting had already spooked the remaining shoppers, and Calden and Ysdra’s knights moved to guard their young charges.
Carmella came over from the table of weapons and whispered in my ear. “Is everything alright? I can't say I understand how things got this way, but I’m amazed at the subtlety of your power. Are you able to make anyone simply drop everything at your leisure? To make anyone of any stature simply grovel at your feet?”
I blinked. Huh? What’s she saying? Does she think I wanted to wait in line so that I could use some flowers to start a conversation with this guy all so that I could get him in my debt? That. That would take a scary level of planning, and an even more terrifying mindset. And I just…lucked into it. But let’s move things along before things get too out of hand.
I helped Maximus stand back up from the half squat he managed to get in before I caught him, and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Tell you what. You give me that ring and pledge to support that young Calden going forward and I’ll do what I can for Galviston.”
His eyes sparked bright and his head reared back in shock at the mention of his son’s name before they went out entirely. Then he took the ring from the table and my hand from his shoulder, and pressed the basically broken band into my palm. “Please. Please.”
With that, I quietly wandered away from the spontaneous streetbound shop and toward the third carriage from the front of Maximus’ convoy. It was by no means anywhere near the front of the line, and his guards didn’t try to stop me, but before I could check on the patient I figured a quick check of the ring wouldn’t hurt.
I clasped it tight in my left palm, and channeled a trickle of mana into it. The band responded by greedily devouring all I gave it, so I poured in more, and more, and more, but the ring ate it all with relish and kept begging for the feast to continue.
I almost got absorbed in the task, just to find out how much mana it could take, and by extension how much I could give, but a small voice interrupted. “Anon?”
I turned around to find a sheepish Ysdra standing there, one hand clasping her elbow, both ears drooped. So I crouched to her eye level. “What’s wrong?”
“I, um…I overheard what the merchant said and I–”
“Shh.” I lightly lifted her chin. “People will place many hopes and expectations on your shoulders as you go through life. Some are reasonable, some you may take up on your own, but others won’t be either. And I won’t deny that meeting or exceeding expectations is a gratifying thing, regardless of where they came from, but getting absorbed in meeting them can blind you, and failure can crush you.”
She shuddered, and the corners of her eyes glistened. “I– then…what I did…?”
Poor girl. That probably hit a bit harder than I intended since she was about ready to give her life when we met.
“You are to do your best, and accept expectations wisely. A lofty goal isn’t always a bad thing. But moderation and prudence are important too, lest you burn yourself out and fall into depression.”
She blinked a few times, and gulped back her tears. “Then I…didn’t make a bad choice?”
“No, dear. For there is no greater love than to lay down your life for a friend.” I smiled and stood up. “Now, I think we’ve kept our patient waiting long enough. Don’t you?”
A grin crept back across her face, and she nodded several times as I opened the door to the carriage.
Just as I saw before, Galviston lay bound by sturdy cloth at the center of the padded carriage. He was gagged with his arms behind his back; basically in a makeshift straight jacket, if a straight jacket had bits that could be anchored to the walls and floor.
Ysdra went in first, and I took a peep at my new ring. Uriel informed me that its mana had risen to about 547 and its durability was at a solid 4000, but the upper limits of both were still unknown. Heck, it even looked different. Solid gold instead of tarnished brass, and with the face bearing a crisp and clear six pointed star.
The star of David. Just like the original was supposed to have. Wait. Why do I know that?
Anyway, I slipped the signet onto my right middle finger, and clambered in after Ysdra. She had begun giving Galveston a cursory inspection, poking and prodding him, which spurred him to wriggle and writhe–not that it did much good as his restraints prevented most any movement.
But even restrained those are some pretty weak movements. Barely any life in him at all. He’s not even trying to make noise either.
I used my extensive senses to look him over, but aside from getting a look at his body’s rather complex inner workings, and considerable resemblance to his father, I couldn’t find much to go off of.
It really doesn’t help that he’s metal. Like Uriel reported several physical maladies, but the others were mental or spiritual and I’m not sure where to look, let alone how. Maybe I should give the ring a go?
I poured mana into it and willed it to find the corruption I knew existed within him. It pulsed in response and my eyes suddenly beheld a sickly black haze flowing in his, not veins, but circuits?
“Um. Anon?” Ysdra tugged on my sleeve. “I can’t find anything.”
I patted her head, and moved over to the merchant’s muted and misguided son. “Yeah, it’s pretty subtle, so just watch.”
She nodded obediently, and focused on me so intently that her big cat-like pupils swallowed up her irises.
Alright, cute cat concentration aside, let’s try demon detection.
The ring activated again, but as it didn’t alert me to anything new, I was pretty sure there weren’t any demon’s at play here. I tried the ring’s ‘discern’ trait next, and then for whatever reason Uriel buzzed.
Discrenment conclusion: Blight is the result of subject engaging in torture and sacrifice of other living creatures. Primarily animals, but some monsters too. As a result their malice toward him mixed with his own growing obsession with the forbidden to taint him.
So is it a curse? Can it be broken?
Uriel buzzed again.
No curse detected. All symptoms are a result of spiritual degridation. Repair the spirit to stabilize health and sanity.
Right. So then how do I want to start this? The ‘soothe’ spell? The ‘spirit shake’ spell? The ‘spirit needle’ spell? Or should I try the ring’s ‘blight protection’, or ‘solemn shackles’ traits? I don’t wanna just jump to my ??? intervention ability again like I did for Calden since he isn’t terminal, but how do I best piece together something that’s broken and blighted with what I’ve got access to?