With a grunt, I finished climbing the outer wall of Addersfield. Swiftly, I scaled the log at the top and dropped down to the forest floor beneath me.
After our morning talk, Grey and I had waited for Azarus to wake up before discussing our new idea with him. That idea being, I should make a nighttime trip in order to rendezvous with Sylvia and ask for her assistance in learning some basic stealth and infiltration. Maybe pick up the skills for them in the process.
This wasn’t as crazy as it sounded.
Turns out, the Addersfield guard was pretty reliant on the usage of the wards in order to track intruders and escapees. They only bothered to keep sentries at the front gate and the back one, with no patrols along the walls at all. The wards automatically tracked everyone who entered and exited the town. Hell, from what Azarus had told me once he was up, you couldn’t even physically enter the town unless you were keyed into the wards that Grey was so intent on breaking. Apparently, visitors, merchants, and even all the townspeople were assigned little charms that acted as passkeys for entering the town. He’d shown me his, a little rectangular wooden trinket with some runes on it.
But according to Grey, our slave collars had the same passkey enchantment built into them. Otherwise, no slave would be able to labor for their ‘master’ inside the walls. When I’d expressed incredulity at this apparent security flaw, Azarus had shrugged and told me that the control slate was better for keeping track of slaves that tried to escape. I didn’t have to worry about being tracked just outside the walls though, as the slate didn’t give pinpoint accurate location data for each collar. It only acted as a sort of homing beacon for them.
Azarus had agreed that our plan had merit and forged a quick pair of climbing claws for me. I'd actually asked him why I even needed them, when I had a skill custom-made for scaling surfaces like Thorn Grapple. Grey had interjected at that point, and told me it was better to learn the actual skill of climbing, if I wanted to learn proper infiltration techniques.
Whatever, I was down.
Afterward, we’d just waited for the sun to set in order to outfit me for the expedition. Azarus had found some black clothes in the back of his closet that surprisingly fit me. They’d also laden me down with the same potions and dagger that I had taken with me into Magnus’s latest hunt.
After that, it had been an easy matter for me to cut through the forest near Azarus’s house with my Thorn Cloak active. Even if I didn’t need to, I was still careful not to make much noise though on my trip to the outer walls. I didn’t want to tempt fate. Once there, I’d taken out the steel climbing claws Azarus had made for me and easily scaled the Addersfield wall.
Looking back up, I resisted the urge to whistle. I’d just dropped maybe thirty feet without feeling any sort of strain. Having a Status was pretty damn useful.
Rising to my full height, I took a quick look around. I’d dropped into a section that hadn’t been cleared, it seemed. There was nothing else but trees around me. Problem was, I couldn’t see the hill that Sylvia had told me she was camped out on from this position. I’d have to find a break in the overgrowth in order to signal her.
I set off.
It didn’t take me long to find a suitable signaling point. Maybe ten minutes at the most. Stopping in a small forest clearing, I reached into the pouch that Grey had outfitted me with and drew a small mirror. Lifting it, I tried to angle the mirror to catch the light of the full moon we were having tonight and angle it to the hill I could make out. Shit, I hope I wasn’t screwing this up. It’s not like I’d ever tried to mirror signal someone before.
I nearly had a heart attack when a voice spoke up from behind me.
“No need for that.”
Barely stifling a scream, I spun around in a panic, fumbling for the dagger sheathed at my belt. A firm hand clamped down on it before I could. Following the arm to its source, I found a familiar leather-clad figure.
“Be calm,” Sylvia said to me, soothingly. “It is only I. Apologies for startling you.”
“Shit, Sylvia.” I gasped, panting slightly from the adrenaline rush. “Where did you come from? How did you find me?”
Sylvia stepped back, letting go of my hand. “I was inspecting the walls. I hadn’t done so yet and thus made the decision to do so before I left. Movement along the walls drew my attention, and I came to investigate and thus led me to you. More importantly, what are you doing out here?” She asked curiously, movement behind her mask implying a raised brow.
I finished calming down, glancing around in the process. “Yeah, about that. Is it safe to talk here?”
“It is,” Sylvia replied without even looking. “There are no guards outside the walls tonight, and there are no monsters anywhere near our position.”
I took a breath before nodding. I had no idea how much higher level than me she was. I’m guessing her senses were far better than my own. “So, you know our whole plan on how to escape, right?” At her nod, I continued. “Well, Grey brought up that I still need to learn some basic stealth and infiltration if I’m going to break into the manor, and-”
Sylvia cut off my rambling. “And he suggested that I should teach you before I leave. Perhaps just enough so you earn the Stealth skill?” She said with a thoughtful nod. “Yes, that sounds like Father. Very well, I agree.”
I stared at her in slight disbelief. “What, just like that?”
“Indeed.” She said, unperturbed. “It’s no great burden. However, this isn’t the ideal place for such instruction. I would suggest you follow me to my camp, but you lack the speed to make the journey before night’s end. I will carry you, and there will I train you.”
“Wait, wha-” I barely managed to get out before Sylvia scooped me up in a princess carry in a blur of speed. As she started running at speeds that far outstripped my own, I covered my face with my right hand in embarrassment.
I could never let Azarus know about this.
………………………………………
Perhaps fifteen minutes of running later on behalf of Sylvia, we reached her campsite. Thankfully, she set me down as soon as we reached it. As I self-consciously straightened my clothes, I cast an eye around the location.
It really wasn’t much.
Located next to a small grouping of trees on top of a low hill, it looked to me like it was just a tent. The tent itself was set up out of the way of prying eyes, easily concealed by the foliage it was surrounded by. I didn’t see anything else that indicated her presence in the area. There wasn’t a campfire or anything to cook food, or even for warmth or light. Which made sense, I suppose. You didn’t exactly want to give away your position when you were spying, after all. I was knocked out of my inspection by something being thrown into my chest. Catching it, I looked down at what it was.
It looked like a mass of human skin.
Yelping, I dropped the seeming flesh ball at my feet and stared at it, horrified. Hearing a short, silvery laugh I look up to find Sylvia chuckling at me with a hand over her masked mouth.
“You have nothing to fear.” She said to me, still chuckling. “I assure you, it’s not what you think. Please, inspect it more closely.”
Giving her the side eye, I nonetheless did as she said. I gingerly reached down and picked up the fleshy mass between my thumb and index finger, causing it to unfurl. Furrowing my brow in confusion, I used my other hand to stretch it out.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
It…kind of looked like a mask? It seemed to be one, at least. It was a thin length of what appeared to be skin, cut in the shape of a face. It even had holes for the eyes, nostrils, and mouth. It seemed kind of featureless though.
“Fat.” I heard Sylvia say. Snapping out my inspection, I shot Sylvia a startled, wounded look.
“Excuse me?” I asked, offended. I wasn’t fat, thank you very much. If nothing else, the food on Vereden had agreed with me and I’d lost what little extra weight I’d had.
“That, is a fat. Or rather, a Facial Alteration Tool.” Sylvia answered, audibly amused. “It’s an arcane construct used for spy craft. They allow you to manipulate the shape of your facial features once applied. I was issued a number of them for my expedition, despite their general uselessness for one of my kind. You may take my stock with you when you leave.”
Oh.
I felt my cheeks heat up slightly in embarrassment, before shaking it off. I held the…FAT up to the moon in order to allow the light to stream through it. Now that I had a better look at it, I could tell that it wasn’t real skin. The light revealed there weren’t any veins inside of the mask.
“Did…did the guy who named these things choose the name on purpose? You know, for the acronym?” I asked, curious despite myself.
“I wouldn’t know.” Sylvia shrugged. “They were invented before my time. In any case, while I have no use for them, I do know how to activate them. I will teach you how, and then I’ll begin instructing you on basic stealth and infiltration tactics.”
I lowered the FAT and nodded at her. “All right then. Let’s get started.”
………………………………………
Sylvia taught me what she could over the coming hours. I wasn’t used to telling time by moonlight, but Sylvia told me we’d been practicing for around three hours.
She was…a demanding tutor.
Between the lectures on stealth tactics, Sylvia had me running drills. We started out with what was essentially hide and seek, and varied it up with other things. Trap setting and detection, body language demonstrations, acrobatics practices…
It was a lot to pack into one night, but we managed.
I collapsed with a groan, back on the hill that Sylvia’s camp was set on. Sylvia had declared that it was time to take a break before finishing, and who was I to argue with her? Rolling onto my back, I gazed up at the sky, physically exhausted in a way that I hadn’t been for a while. With a small chuckle, Sylvia gracefully sat down next to me on my right.
Mentally, I pulled up my Status. Time to see if any of this had been worth it.
Name: Nathaniel Eugene Hart Titles: N/A Level: 19 Age: 24 Sol Race: Human (Precursor) Affinity: Terrestrial Classes: Thornblade Acolyte (Superior) Profession: Aetherial Melding Health: 280/280 Stamina: 100/100 Vitality: 28 Strength: 10 Spirit: 10 Dexterity: 46 Perception: 28 Intelligence: 64 Wisdom: 64 Free Points: 0 Options: [Talent Page], [Skill Page], [Profession Page]
Mentally selecting the Talent page, I pulled it up.
Racial Talents General Talents Class Talents Hidden Amidst the Spheres: Veils your Status Spear Proficiency Lvl. 3 The Scintillant Blade: Strike the root Acting Lvl. 4 Dream of the Infinite: Allows unshackled Aetherial growth Stealth Proficiency Lvl. 2 Language Adaptation: Allows understanding and communication with all discovered species
There it was. I’d gotten the Stealth talent. Hell, I’ve even gotten a second level in it, somehow. I let out a sigh of relief.
Sylvia must have heard me, because she turned her head to face me. “Hmm?”
I was startled, despite myself. That’s right, most people needed a reflective surface to check their surface.
Wait.
More than that, Sylvia still didn’t know anything about me. Especially the whole Precursor thing.
“I…have a skill that lets me check my Status,” I said tentatively. Sylvia let out a slight sound of surprise, but I continued before she could speak. “In fact, it’s a racial. You see, I’m actually…not a normal human. I’m a Precursor.”
I saw Sylvia blink at that. We sat in silence for a moment before Sylvia broke it.
“And that is…?” She asked curiously.
I blinked back at her. She blinked back.
“You…don’t know?” I asked, stunned. Immediately afterward, I felt like a massive fool. Of course not everyone would know about your super special race, you dumbass. Grey told you that Precursors were rare. Not everyone was obligated to pander to you.
“Ah, no,” Sylvia said, sounding embarrassed herself for the first time I’d know here. “Since I became aware, I’ve simply not had to time to pursue my studies the way I wished to. I…only had a few, short, peaceful years with my father before the Uprising began, and since then I’ve been quite busy. I…apologize if your race is more commonly known.”
Only a few years? But from what Grey had told me, the Uprising only began recently…
I remembered then, what he’d told me about Sylvia’s people. The Sculpted, they were called. It had only been five years since the first of them had become fully sapient, which must have been her. He’d told me that he’d adopted the first of them to do so, which was also the first he’d successfully made. If that was true, despite her maturity and capability, Sylvia was actually only about five years old…
I sat up with only a little difficulty. “No, I’m sorry. I was being inconsiderate. It’s actually not that commonly known, from what I understand. Let me tell you about it, starting with what Grey told me.”
For the next while, I told Sylvia about myself. About how I’d been transported here those months ago, and then enslaved. How Grey and Azarus had saved me and then taught me. I told her about my home, and about what Precursors were supposed to be. I told her about my Precursor racial ‘powers’, and our quest to understand and unlock them. Sylvia absorbed my explanation easily. She didn’t make a sound, simply paying me rapt attention.
Once I was finished, we sat in silence for a moment longer. I was tired myself, and I think Sylvia was absorbing everything.
She broke the silence eventually. “I see.” She said quietly. Slowly, her hands drifted to her head. Gradually, she began to undo a number of cleverly hidden clasps strewn about her masks. One by one, her leather covering began to fall away from her head, revealing more and more gleaming silver skin. Unfastening the last of them, her mask fell away from her head completely, unleashing a wave of gold that fell down her back.
It was her hair. I think it was actual, spun gold. Long, if not for the metallic sheen to it, I would have mistaken it for real, keratin-based hair. When Sylvia turned to face me, my breath caught in my throat.
“Thank you for telling me.” She said softly, fully unmasked for the first time since I’d met her.
She was beautiful.
If…not slightly inhuman.
Delicate, feminine features set into a perfectly oval face; I could see how it had been literally hand sculpted. Gem-like blue eyes, that might have actually been carved out of gemstones, quite literally glowed in the dark of the night. But it was her inhuman features that drew my eyes the most. It looked like it was constructed out of dozens of thin plates made out of a shining silver metal that articulated around and against themselves to create a human face. They perfectly mimicked the facial muscular groups that existed in a human one. As I watched, they shifted noiselessly and seamlessly with every minute change in expression. But it somehow didn’t trigger an uncanny valley effect in me. The gaps and seams in between the thin plates were so slight that it appeared more like she had facial tattoos. It was… a striking effect.
As I watched her, I’m sure with my mouth agape, I saw her purse her lips. That knocked me out of my stupor. “I-I’m sorry.” I stuttered. “It’s just…I’ve never met one of your people before and you’re.” I groped for the word. “Gorgeous.” I breathed.
Under the light of the full moon, I’d never seen anyone or anything so beautiful.