As the foul water churned through the tunnels, Pyre and Akemi discussed tactics. Mutt, in the meantime, had a field day with the local vermin population.
*You have defeated a level 3 spikerat - 20xp gained*
*You have defeated a level 3 spikerat - 20xp gained*
*You have defeated a level 3 spikerat - 20xp gained*
“Stupid notifications.” Akemi swiped them away, then turned to face the pika, who was licking its paws on the corpse of a dead spikerat. “Hey, Mutt, can you chill? You’re acting like a barncat.”
Mutt did not chill. But Akemi eventually learned how to temporarily mute combat logs.
“You should be grateful he’s bloodthirsty. If you train him up, he could be a real asset.”
Akemi hummed in agreement. She had been thinking the same. Knowing now that he could grind experience on her behalf, she was planning to court as many small carnivorous creatures as possible. Perhaps she could even find another pika, herd up some chickens and other small birds, and start a whole bloodthirsty pika ranch…
Pyre rolled her eyes. “I see your malevolent gears turning. But you can’t create a factory farm and just inherit the experience from far away. There’s a combat radius.”
Drat.
“That’s annoying,” Akemi muttered, stirring the rushing water below her with a twig. “It’s the same thing with the accomplice system.”
Pyre gave her a mildly impressed look.
“So you have done some homework.”
“Yes, professor.”
“Speaking of,” Pyre said, breezing right by her attempt to rile her up.
She reached into the backpack she had been carrying, a leather rucksack with small runes engraved in the sides. She extracted a heavy tome from it. The cover was glossy and new, but the finger marked indents in the side suggested it was heavily referenced.
It was titled Creatures of the Emberheart Planes, 15th edition.
Akemi watched as she tabbed through a couple of its pages. The illustrations seemed to come to life as she passed them; figures would flex and dance and pray, showcasing whatever quality was most endemic to their species. Akemi even saw her fly past a page called Humans.
“Here we go,” Pyre said excitedly, pressing her thumb down on the book. She then lifted it to face Akemi. “Chimeras. Weaknesses and strengths. Even if I’m going to be on blades—aka, the one actually finishing the job on most of these guys—you should know what we’re up against.”
Akemi took the book into her lap and studied the page. As Pyre had let on, chimeras were enormously tall and skinny, vaguely human-shaped, and absolutely covered in dark, midnight purple fur; that was except for the skin on the lower parts of their legs, arms, and hands, which was hairless, and colored a pale blue.
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The same skin color as those guys riding horses back in town. Right.
As for their faces, Akemi could only describe them as strangely dog-like. Although she supposed, up close, bats were nothing but chihuahuas with wings.
Just as the others illustrations had done, this picture, too, came to life. She watched as the chimera’s wings shuttered open, reaching their full wingspan of roughly three meters. This chimera in particular was wielding two daggers, which struck Akemi as strange. She had expected the creature to fight more animalistically—with talons, or fangs—but as she read further into their description, it became apparent that they were far too superficial for that.
Chimeras’ teeth are powerful enough to chew through bone, but they won’t resort to biting, even if their life is in danger, as they are far too concerned with the possibility of chipping a fang.
Chimera society is highly hierarchical, and appearances play a crucial part. Chipped fangs and injured talons are considered traits of chimeras with lesser pedigrees. It is considered an honorable death amongst their kind to offer one’s life before resorting to—as they call it—the uncouth instincts of the animal.
In order to protect their beauty, they traditionally wear full-coverage outfits when at work. During meals and breaks of leisure, they wear luxurious, but thin, coverings to best showcase their fur.
“Wow. A race of pretentious bats. That’s a new one.”
“You’re going to be saying that a lot around here.”
“So, why are we stealing from some group of villains, anyway? Not that I care,” Akemi made sure to clarify. Experience was experience to her. “But I thought there was a bit more … comradery … between thieves, if you get what I’m saying. Considering the fact that this world is crawling with heroes ripe for the picking.”
Pyre removed the book from Akemi’s lap and stuffed it back into her backpack. Once the flaps were secured again, she hoisted it around her shoulders, and fixed Akemi with a teacherly look.
“I could see why you’d think that, but it’s completely the other way around. I’m sure you’ve seen the same behavior on Earth—where power is scarce, everyone is hungry for a taste of it. Villains are like drunkards fighting for that last drink of gin in a dark alleyway.”
Pyre rose, a silent command for Akemi to follow her.
“In Kodra,” she continued. “Where the scales are tipped so far in the favor of heroes, consolidating power as a villainous organization is crucial. Nocturne has been eyeing the Viscount’s throne room for a long time. This is his first step in taking it. The Grimguard politic won’t be surprised by this betrayal, either. In fact, they’ll be expecting it. But that’s where we have the advantage.”
Akemi rose, stepped over the small pile of rat corpses Mutt had created, and followed her down the increasingly dark, smelly corridors.
“How is that to our advantage?”
“Because they’ll be expecting a face they’ve met before. They have profile information on almost every person in the Coterie. It’s a stipulation they enforce in order to let us stay in the city. But, since we just joined, they won’t have our information just yet. Not only that, but I think I know why Nocturne sent us on this mission, specifically.”
Pyre lifted her hand up, and a flame sprung from her palm. It helped light the corridors, casting long shadows over pipes and busted machinery.
“That skill he was talking about, All Speaking Tongue,” she continued. “It will allow us to speak in chimeratone, as long as we hear the chimeras speak first. If we can get in, discreetly take down two of their own, take their equipment, and disguise ourselves, then we’ll be near perfect mimics. We’ll be able to slip through the castle barracks undetected.”
Akemi considered it. It was a good plan—except for one caveat.
“What about our height? It’s not like we’re wearing stilettos.”
Pyre stopped in her tracks. She wordlessly shrugged off her burlap sack, and opened up the main pocket. Sitting just next to the book was a pair of strange devices: they looked like wooden sticks, but with shoe inserts attached to the side of them.
“One thing you’ll eventually understand,” Pyre began with a self-serving grin, throwing a pair of the inserts to Akemi, who caught them mid-air. “Is that I think of everything.”
Inserts of Lengthening
Enchantment: [After inserting into shoe, twist knob to lengthen stature]