The last thing Timothy remembered was Constable Grady coming to Zach’s back door. She was there to inquire about the contracted weapons and armor for the police and town guard. The contract had slipped his mind when Howard flipped him the tier 2 gem, after reviewing the blueprint for the chair. The prospect of forging this gem consumed his mind with the quality of item he would be able to forge it into. Then he felt the familiar sensation of being pulled from that world, back through the tunnel of swirling lights.
This time there was no interference during the passage back to the prep room. No god trying to take his soul. No voice from beyond reality telling him to let go. It was just a peaceful trip back when he reached the doorway and walked through to see Rift standing there.
“So…How was it?” Rift asked.
Timothy smiled as he stepped out of the doorway, “Fun. It was a crafting quest. Oddly enough, I’ve always enjoyed those in video games. They are a great way to pass time when there was nothing else to do.”
“Are you saying that is your favorite?”
“No way. They are a ton of fun, in small amounts, but they can become a grind if…well…You are forced to do them as a grind,” Timothy rebuffed, “I don’t think I could pick that path as my main focus.”
“Have you made your choice then?” Rift inquired.
“I think so, but I have some questions before I commit. This is a big decision, one that cannot be changed, correct?”
“Correct. Once you choose your paths they cannot be changed. I will answer what I can, but we can’t delay for too long. I am still worried about your longevity,” Rift said hesitantly.
“No problem. My first question is, why was my connection so much different among the three?”
Rift gave him a puzzled look, “I am not sure I am following.”
Timothy scratched his chin in thought, “With Khloe I kinda shared control with her. There were times when she was in the lead and then, other times, when I had control of her actions. With Howard, it was a constant struggle and most of the time I was in the back seat as he drove. With Zach it was as if we were two parts of the same person. Our thoughts and actions were not distinctly coming from one or the other. Even when I needed information that he had. I mean, I may have needed to think about it, but the thoughts and memories just flowed to me. No resistance.”
“I see. Well, like I said before, I did not create this place so I am only speculating. What I think was going on is, the closer your personalities were, the stronger the connection. Most likely your subconscious was controlling the bond, trying to protect you. I have seen something similar with mind controlling magic. Unless the caster is of a significantly higher level than the person being affected, the mind will reject certain commands. For instance, it is very hard to control someone to walk off a cliff, but it is easy to make them sit and eat,” Rift advised, almost sounding like a teacher with his cadence.
“That must be why I didn’t get to pick gems out for Howard. We were too dissimilar,” Timothy mused more to himself than Rift.
Timothy continued, “What are the big differences among the three gem users? Let me give you my thoughts first. Gem casters are the most instantly adaptable, as long as they have the mana. Gem wielders do what they do, but they don’t need to use their mana to do it. Their versatility is limited to their weapons and armor, but because they do not rely on mana, they are more sustained in battle. Forgers are the most versatile as long as they have time to prepare. Does that sound about right to you?”
“In broad strokes, yes. There is a bit more nuance to it, but you have the general idea,” Rift said. His impatience growing, plain to see in his body language.
“Sorry Rift, I know you are worried, but I really do want to know what I am getting into before I choose.”
Rift gave a reluctant shrug of his shoulders then gestured for Timothy to continue.
“What is the difference between ritual magic and gem magic?”
“The main difference is, the use of ritual magic does not require gems, anyone can use it. Well, as long as they have a firm grasp on the fundamentals and some training. Rituals take far longer to set up and cast, and typically channel more mana than gems can. They are often used for wards and when using magic outside of combat. Gems are the combat magic go to. The speed and diversity that they bring to a caster is unparalleled,” Rift explained. “Oh! They are often used in forging items as well,” he added.
Timothy let that information sink in before asking his next question, “What is the difference in forged items? I know forgers can make personal items that do not require gems, but they can only be used by the forger that created them. That being said, I know Nigel made some items that Teagan and Khloe could use.”
Rift pointed an approving finger at Timothy, “Good! You were paying attention! If the item has a gem, it can be used by anyone, over and over again, as long as it was forged correctly. These are weapons, armors, and items that have a gem forged into them. A forger can also make single use items that have the magic stored internally. They use a ritual to imbue the magic and lay out the effect. They can then be given to anyone to use. The most typical single use items are potions, but they can be almost anything. The last type of item a forger can make is a gemless item. The item level must be at least five levels lower than the forger. Because of this restriction most of these items are utility in nature. No one wants to use a level one item in a level six situation,” Rift looked at Timothy to see if he understood.
Timothy gave Rift a thumbs up. The two looked at each other for a second before letting out a quick chuckle at the running joke.
“Those are the most important questions I can think of right now. My gut feeling is Caster as my primary but I am not sure what position I want the other two in. Give me a few minutes to think it over,” Timothy told Rift.
Rift waited patiently as Timothy mulled over his options. He could almost see the gears turning in Timothy’s head as he was weighing the pros and cons of each. After a few minutes he felt a bit ridiculous standing there waiting and staring at Timothy. He decided to take a seat. He strode over to his chair and sat down to wait it out. Just as he sat down Timothy had made his decision. Rift dropped his head, shaking it in amusement and stood back up.
“Where you just waiting for me to sit down?”
Timothy looked confused by his question before looking from the chair to Rift, “What? No,” he paused in thought, “But now I kinda wish I did.” Timothy looked at Riff, the one corner of his mouth curved into a devious smirk.
Rift took the comment in stride, appreciating Timothy’s dry humor. “Okay wiseass. Are you ready to choose?”
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“Yep. I am going caster, wielder, forger. I am assuming the largest ring is the primary, middle is secondary, and the smallest is the tertiary?” Timothy asked Rift for his confirmation.
“Correct,” Rift hesitated for a moment as he turned his hand in the air to reveal a small stone held between his fingers. “Before you make your decision we have a gift for you.”
“What is it?”
“This is a single use item that my master and I prepared for you. It will generate something for you to help you understand this world and your progress through it,” Rift informed Timothy as the two looked at the item.
The stone pulsed with power, strong enough that even Timothy could feel it. It felt like a soft pressure, warm and inviting, pushing on him from all directions at once. Timothy reached out cautiously to take it from Rift. He took and held it between his own fingers, looking the stone over carefully. It was a smooth sandy stone about an inch in diameter with markings all along its surface.
Timothy looked from the stone to Rift, “What do I do with it?”
“Concentrate on it and push your will into it. It should be similar to what you did in the first door when facing the caster on the second turret. Do you remember that feeling?” Rift questioned.
Timothy nodded while staring at the stone. He thought back to the moment in the first door. A moment that, at the time, seemed so insignificant. That time he, and Khloe, were filled with a deep sense of hatred that manifested into a bolt of willpower aimed at the caster. He tried to ‘hate’ the stone but ended up feeling stupid. How can someone hate a stone. In his mind it was absurd to have that type of feeling towards a rock. His anxiety grew as he repeatedly failed to summon his will. Could he have come this far just to fail at a trivial task? If he failed at this how the hell was he going to succeed in this new world? As the minutes ticked by his anxiousness compounded, and Rift was just staring at him, making it worse. He felt like he was about to explode when a wave of power welled up from within himself.
Timothy’s eyes flared with an ethereal yellow flame, and he felt like his whole body was on fire. The heat was intense as whisps of smoke drifted off his body and into the stone. The stone activated just before it crumbled in the palm of his hand and started to float into the air in front of him. The smoke continued toward the pebbles, surrounding them as it solidified, adding to their mass. The small stones began to flatten out and reconnect themselves into a thin flat rectangle the size of a tablet. There was a final flash of heat and energy when all the individual pieces fused themselves together. The ethereal flames surrounding Timothy and the tablet faded out and they both fell to the floor.
Timothy woke in the most comfortable bed he had ever slept in. The bed was so soft that it felt like he was sleeping on a bed of pillows, yet it was firm enough that he had not sunk deep into it. The blankets were warm, but not too warm. It felt like sleeping in a cozy bed on a cold winter’s night. He started to stretch, and this is when he realized that he was not feeling well. His body hurt, it felt like the times in the past when he was sick with the flu. Every movement hurt, his throat was sore and his eyes burned. He looked at his hands, the skin had a grayish tint to it. He sat up fast and saw Rift looking at him with concern.
“You are fading,” Rift said with pain in his voice.
“How long was I out? Another three days?” Timothy asked apprehensively.
“Yes. We need to move fast. You look terrible, are you able to move?”
“I think so,” Timothy pushed the covers off himself, swinging his legs off the bed. It hurt but he pushed through the pain.
“Good, go to the square and make your choices,” Rift directed.
Timothy stood up, a little wobbly, but summoning his resolve he forced his legs to straighten. He walked over to the gold plinth and stood atop it. The moment both feet were on the gold he could feel the room. He spread his arms out and concentrated on the caster door. The first, and largest ring, stopped with the marking for “1” pointed at the door. It clicked into place and raised up from the floor, the light around the outside boarder channeled through the number. The beam of light struck the side of the door where the five stars are, and they flared to life. The stars started to move around the door frame, two at the bottom, two on the sides and one at the top. They drifted into the center of the door to create a ball of light that blazed with intensity. The ball of light seemed to sit there waiting for Timothy to make the other two choices.
He directed the middle ring to the wielder door. Once it snapped into place the same effects happened. The two balls of light waited for him to make the third choice. Once he finished snapping the third ring in place and the stars finished turning into the ball of light the three flickered in unison.
The caster star was the first to react. It shot a beam of white-hot light at Timothy and started to trace a magical symbol on his skin, or so he thought. He soon understood that this was not being etched on his body, it was being etched on his soul. It hurt, but not like he expected. It felt familiar, in an odd way, comforting. Then he knew what was going on. The pain felt familiar because… it was him who was causing it. When he first took over the gold plinth, he must have put a piece of himself into it. He let the beam of light finish its work without resisting.
The other two stars followed suit, etching his soul in a similar manner. When they finished, he could feel more than see the symbols. The primary symbol was a hand with a blazing fire hovering above its palm. The second was a sword leaning against a stone with a shield laid flat at its base. The third was a hammer, much like the hammer that Zach had used. The soul tattoos, as he thought to call them, felt... natural to him. They felt like they were more than a mark on his soul. They felt like they WERE a part of his soul.
The beams of energy died out and Timothy fell to one knee in exhaustion. He took a few deep breaths to gather his energy then forced himself to stand up. He could feel the power pulsing through him. He felt invincible! Then… he threw up. He still felt just as sick as he did before stepping onto the plinth, maybe worse. He looked at Rift with pleading eyes.
“I thought this would put an end to my fading out. Why hasn’t it?” Timothy asked, his voice thick with panic.
“You still don’t have a body. Luckily that is the next room. Are you ready to go?”
“I don’t really have much of a choice, but yes. How do I get there?” Timothy asked.
“First, grab that tablet on the floor.”
“Was that what that pebble created?” Timothy asked as he walked over and picked it up. The tablet was about the same shape, size and weight as an I-Pad. In the center of the screen area there was an etching that said ‘OS Rocky 1.0’
“What is this?” Timothy added to his questioning while waving the tablet around.
Rift huffed impatiently before he briefly explained, “Yes, that came from the pebble. It was not the intended effect but, yes. As far as what it is… I don’t know, you created it, you should know.”
“I created it?” Timothy asked, more to himself than Rift, as he looked the tablet over, examining the edges, back and screen.
He touched the screen and swiped it with one finger. The OS Rocky 1.0 faded and the stone in the etching filled flush with the rest of the screen. Then it started to ‘draw’ a home screen, little pieces of stone chipped their own way out of the tablet and drifted to the floor. The little stones faded out as they descended, never hitting the ground. There were four app icons on the home screen, Character Sheet, Spells, Items and Log. He went to put a finger on one of the apps and just as he did a small piece of his gray skin flaked off. The flake of skin drifted gently to the ground, a pang of worry made him feel sick to his stomach. He looked at Rift with panic.
“We can investigate that later. Go to the plinth and it should move you to the next level,” Rift took a step closer to Timothy and grabbed his shirt, pulling him closer. Little arks of lightning started bouncing between his eyes, more erupted from his shoulders, striking the walls and ceiling.
“DO NOT USE THAT POWER AGAIN!” he threatened, “I don’t know what it is but it IS killing you,” Rift let him go with a bit of a shove, “Get on that square, NOW!”
This anger was much different than when they first met. The first time Timothy could sense a quick surge of anger from Rift at Timothy’s insult, but this… This was different. This felt like centuries of tense anger and frustration waiting behind a cracking dam that was moments away from breaking. The power Rift was restraining was palpable. Timothy knew if Rift let loose that he was done and would probably be reduced to ashes. Well…at least faster than he already was fading to them.
“I won’t,” Timothy said timidly, then walked to the square and stood on it.
He could feel the room. Feel his connection to it. The mental command to go to the next level was so simple, taking about as much effort as it takes to wiggle a finger. He gave his mental assent, the square clicked and started to rise to the ceiling. The chandelier above him separated, the crystals hovered a moment before spinning out of the way. They exposed a square hole in the ceiling, blazing with a bright yellow light. Timothy passed up and through the hole.