“This seems like a very unsafe way to test a grappling hook!” I shouted as I looked up at the window of the apartment building. More specifically, the person leaning out the window expecting me to scale the entire building.
“What?” May called down. Holding a hand to her ear to make clear she hadn’t heard me clearly.
“Oh for the love of…” I cursed to myself as I cupped my hands. “This is not safe May! We should try something else!” I shouted. Kinda wishing I had made a better argument to May before she managed to convince me to come outside and stand in an alley. But she had been high on excitement when she’d finished the design on my left forearm and that infectious energy had swept me up in it before I could ask for more details about the “Testing phase”.
I glanced down at the design and couldn’t help admiring it as I waited for May to respond. It was a design that completely encircled my forearm. Beginning just below my elbow and ending at my wrist. The main part of the design was a series of continuously looping coils that looked like some kind of spooled wire and a more complicated design closer to the wrist that held a wicked looking pointed hook that was for the grapple. May had asked me which side of my wrist I’d like the grapple to launch from and I asked for it to fire from the bottom of my wrist, just under the palm of my hand. I wish I had a better reason for that decision but I didn’t, except that if it worked for Peter Parker then it should work for me.
I ran a hand over it for what felt like the hundredth time and marveled that the thing was still a tattoo. I was starting to get a real collection now, The Match Sig on my right thumb, the Key Ring on my right forefinger, the Identify Sig in my eye, and now the Grapple on my left arm. If they had just been regular tattoos instead of magical ones I’d probably never have picked any up. But they were. Which immediately made them awesome.
I looked up as I waited for a response from May and found she wasn’t in the window any more. I frowned. Had she gone to get something? I looked down at my wrist and cursed softly at remembering I didn’t have a watch or a phone to check the time, looking up at the sun instead with a hand raised to shield my eyes and gauge the time. I still had some free time before I was supposed to go to my water lesson with Pyga but I’d rather not cut it down to the wire if I had to.
I was startled out of my musings by May appearing out of the back door of the building on the bottom floor looking dejected as a frustrated looking Gregor followed her out. The both of them mid conversation as they came out to the same back alley I was in.
“-start small but no. You get so exited you think you can jump straight to the end!”
May tried putting up a token argument but it was clear she realized she was in the wrong. “But it works Father! I spent all day yesterday tweaking and optimizing its mana draw so that we could test it today.”
“I understand that.” Gregor said with a strained tone. “I’m sure you worked very hard. But your idea of ‘testing’ is what most Sigmatists would consider extreme.”
“Most Sigmatists are just in it for the easy coin!” May said in a huff. “They don’t want to do anything outside the lines. It’s all procedure this! Procedure that! Fill out this form in triplicate if you try to redesign older more inferior designs that could be improved upon.” She threw her hands up in defeat. “And woe unto the poor girl who wants to try and make something that might be new! Stuffy Intelligence based Sigmatists…” She said trailing off as she crossed her arms. Pouting in a way that she probably thought got her point across but ended up just being cute instead.
Gregor regarded his daughter and sighed softly before turning to me.
“So no Grappling up the building?” I said almost hopefully. I was sad to see May put out but at the same time. Way too relieved at being able to skip trying to scale an entire building. I was a pretty acrobatic guy now but the thought of dangling stories above the ground suspended by a magic tattoo of all things had been making me a bit uneasy.
“No, no.” Gregor said shaking his head softly. “Honestly Toby, why did you go along with this up till now?” He gestured towards the building with exasperation. “Did you really think you were going to scale a whole building without proper tests and training to acclimate yourself to the Sigmata?”
I smiled sheepishly. “I ah…” I stalled. Not having any kind of excuse. “May kinda caught me up in her excitement to test it early.” I said rubbing the back of my head. It was the truth though. May could hype up Sigmatas like no tomorrow. Especially her own.
Gregor groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Clearly not happy with us and also not happy he had to take the role of Bad Cop to rain down on his daughter’s parade.
“Now, Maybelline.” Gregor said softer now. “You can have Toby try to climb up the building eventually.” He said with some obvious reluctance.
“…Really?” May said hopefully.
“Only after practice and testing.” Gregor said firmly. Pointing a finger for emphasis.
I was relieved Gregor had taken over for May. But that relief fizzled out with how thorough his ideas for what proper tests and practice were. The first test was just establishing what the Grapple’s maximum range was by firing down the empty alley and using different objects littering the alley as distance markers.
Not as dangerous and exiting as climbing a building but it was definitely starting to chip away at the cool factor of having my own grappling hook.
“Okay…” I said breathing out. “Test number one.” I extended my left arm straight out, pointing down the alley. With my other arm I braced my hand on my bicep, gripping it tight because I had no idea what the recoil for tattoo grappling hooks was. I braced my feet against the ground and crouched a little just in case. Safety Toby. Safety. Do this as safely as possible.
I ran mana thought the design on my arm. Feeling out the internal mechanisms of the Sigmata. It was definitely different from the other ones I’d gotten. The Match Sig was simplistic. About as easy to turn on as flicking on a traditional lighter. My Identify Sig was more complex but all the magic it was doing was internal or contained, in my eye. Which was the only way I could describe the feeling. But the Grapple on my arm had moving parts. I felt a shiver of unfamiliar sensation as the mana I fed into the design lifted the previously flat image of the hooked end of the clawed grapple from the surface of my skin. Like the thing was coming out of a pool of water.
I felt a queasy turn in my stomach as I had a horrifying thought of the Grapple taking chunks of my arm along with it as it fired. Ugh. Not a pleasant picture that. I shook my head to clear the fear from my mind as I refocused myself. Feeling for the “trigger” in the lattice of the Sigmata I’d pull with mana.
“Fire in the hole!” I called out. As I fired the Grapple.
I felt a shudder ripple through my arm as the Grapple left my wrist. I had a brief moment to watch the thing fly down the alley, with a spiral of trailing magic cord trailing it like a comet before it hit the ground some twenty feet away. It felt weird having a glowing magic cord connect to my arm but overall I’d say the Grapple was a success.
“That’s it?” May called out despairingly as she came forward to stare at where the Grapple had fallen. Her mouth hanging open as she stared at the Sigmata on the alley floor and then my arm as if both of them had wronged her. “But the length… the firing speed…” She muttered to herself as her eyes got a far away look.
“That was well done Toby.” Gregor said coming over as well. “I appreciate you offering to test Maybelline’s more… unique Sigmata ideas. She has been hurting for quite some time to have someone willing to try them out for her.”
“It’s no problem at all.” I said happy to help out. Especially if that help came in the form of potentially life saving magical stuff. If I’d had this bad boy back when I was running for my life from those Maulers I could have just zipped right out of there. Problem solved.
“Say um…” I said a little concerned. “Is May alright?”
May was standing stock still and staring down the alley at the Grapple’s hook like she was trying to force it back to her through sheer force of will. Her mouth was moving slightly as though she was speaking but any words she was saying I was too far away to hear properly. Her fingers were also twitching.
“Hm? Oh yes. She’s just fine.” Gregor confirmed. Not bothered at all by May’s current state. “It’s been some time since I’ve seen her this motivated though. I’m glad she’s got another project like this to keep her occupied.”
“Motivated?” I said warily as I looked at the intense frown of concentration on May’s face. Had she not been motivated before? I thought back to the first time she’d given me a Sigmata. Back then she had been extra nice to a stranger like me so she could get the chance to get a Sigmata on me. But she had done that one fast. I got the feeling that Match and the Key Ring after it were just easy mode for her. The Identify Sig had taken some time. Multiple days, but now that I think about it. Those days had been just brief sessions from May. She was still attending her University, helping Gregor around the apartment. She’d been pretty busy during that time. Maybe my Identify Sig was easier for her to do than I’d thought it was?
Then I thought about the work she had done just for the Grapple Sig. Work that she had spent all day yesterday on.
May had been ecstatic almost the whole day she had been drawing out the design on my arm. Working straight from the notes she had kept, she had been very focused on getting the Grapple right the first time around. She had intended to give me her “Sticky Hands” Sig (I was still trying to convince her to pick a better name) that would help me climb walls like the bootleg Spiderman I was but dropped the idea when she’d ran into issues getting the Grapple onto me. I’d admired her work ethic at the time for sticking to a single project so single mindedly but now I was starting to realize exactly why May had such a hard time finding people to ink up and practice on.
“Wait.” May said firmly. Appearing at my side like she’d teleported. She reached out and gripped the Grapple Sig on my arm stretching it out to fire again. “Run your mana through the interwoven mana coil in the Sig to reel back the Grapple and fire again.” She said pointing a finger at me. “You were holding back on the mana you used to activate the trigger for the firing sequence weren’t you?” She said with iron in her voice.
“I…was.” I said nodding slowly. I had been a bit hesitant I guess.
“I knew it!” She said fiercely. Pumping a fist before turning to me with fire in her eyes. “Well what are you waiting for?” She said with a grin. “Reel it back and fire it again! I didn’t make some frilly sparkle Sig that will break if a bit of mana overflows in it. Go!”
And that was how I found out the hard way that May was a bit of a perfectionist. I fired and reeled back the Grapple too many times to count and May was critical of every part of her work. Measuring the distance it travelled, the hang time in the air. The speed at which I could reel it back and fire it again. Then it was onto testing if the thing could bear my weight. I latched the Grapple onto a low hanging stone outcropping about ten feet above the ground and for the better part of half an hour. Moved up and down as I reeled myself up the wall towards the Grapple’s hook, descended, ascended again but faster, and descended again but slower. I must have been quite a sight just hanging in the air with my arm above my head. Dangling like a deflated Tetherball.
I was endlessly grateful for May for giving me this Sig free of charge but I had to admit. Her endless testing made it feel less cool.
“I’m sorry about this.” May said as Gregor, May, and me finished setting up a discarded wooden plank board as target practice. May wanted to test the penetration ability of the Grapple and if it could reliably lodge itself in weaker materials. I was in the middle of trying to pick at a splinter that was annoying the hell out of me when May’s question startled me.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“For what?” I said confused.
“The Grapple must be really starting to dip into your mana pool.” She said embarrassed. Finally coming down from her feverish testing obsession and acting more like her usual self. “If I were a bit more skilled I could set up the Grapple to work on charges that gradually charge themselves automatically. But since I can’t, you’re just relying on your own mana regeneration to keep going. I can see your already sweating Toby. There’s no need to act tough.”
I winced at May’s words. But not for the reason she probably expected. My mana reserves were doing fine actually, great even. To the point I felt a bit guilty about it. Ever since I picked up the additional Sub-skills for Meditation that let me move and meditate at the same time, I’d been abusing the shit out of it. Meditating while eating, during conversations, in the shower. The skill was so useful I was actually debating if I should spend my extra Skill point on a Skill that would let me meditate during sleep. That constant unending meditation was really starting to pick up the slack in my mana reserves.
Just a couple days ago I’d been barely able to activate my ocular Sigmata. Now? I was firing a Grapple out of my arm repeatedly. That was more thanks to my cracked mana regen than anything else though, and yeah, my overall mana capacity was still in what most would consider the bottom tier. But I was at a point now where I could actually take advantage of it.
The reason I was sweating was actually a little embarrassing. Years of job interviews and rejections had long conditioned me to arrive early and make good impressions. Even though my tutoring appointment with Pyga was just tutoring. My old instincts were still acting up and stressing me out.
It was also a little sunny in the alley and I sweat easily.
“May it’s fine, really.” I said off handedly. Trying to project an air of confidence. “I don’t mind working hard if its for a good cause, and this-” I said holding up my arm and pushing a bit of mana into the Grapple to make the design shimmer as it wound itself tight with tension to launch another shot.
“This is definitely a good cause.” I said smiling. Holding my arm out to fire at the wood board. With all the practice shots I’d made my stance had loosened up front he stiff bracing position I’d started the practice with to a loose but steady stance that only jerked slightly as the Grapple launched and punched through the thick wood of the target with ease.
“Yes!” May exclaimed to herself as she saw her precious Grapple pierce the thick wood.
“You know.” I said looking at her. “I think I’m getting the hang of this.” Mentally triggering the Grapple to reel itself back.
Unfortunately for me, reeling back the Grapple when it’s attached to something is not as simple as I thought it would be.
Rather than look cool reeling the Grapple back to my arm like I’d intended the line grew taut for a moment before it pulled the lighter object it was connected to, to the heavier object. That lighter object being me. One second I was looking at May then next I was flat on my back halfway towards the target. My shoulder sore as hell from being yanked on and my pride in metaphorical agony.
“I meant to do that.” I said stoically.
Practice wrapped up pretty quick after that. I could tell May had wanted to continue but she had gotten enough data from the tests to satisfy her for now. Back inside the apartment I was getting my cloak on and preparing the small bag of things I was taking with me for my tutoring session. Nothing special, just some simple paper and charcoal with some extra stuff Gregor and May had recommended.
“All set?” Gregor asked. He was dressed up in his armor as a Shieldguard. “I can walk with you for most of the way before my shift starts. We can talk a bit more before we get there.”
“That sounds great.” I said honestly. Double checking that I had everything before we left. It had been a while since I’d been able to lock Gregor down long enough to ask more questions.
May looked up from her notes to wave us off “Take care you two!” she said as we made our goodbyes. We made it into one of the lifts to head down to the first floor and I picked out a question for Gregor from my endless supply of curiosity. “So Gregor.” I said a bit cautiously. “This country’s at war right now isn’t it? With the Elves?”
Gregor grunted. “Not exactly a happy topic Toby.”
“Sorry about that. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
Gregor shook his head. “No. You should know these things. I would be a fool to not educate you on current issues just because they’re unpleasant to speak of.”
The doors opened out onto the first floor and we made our way out as Gregor formulated his answer. “After the Crossing that brought humans to Kanaan that’s all there was here. Humans. For centuries we were the only intelligent race to call this world home.” Gregor grimaced. “I wish I could say that meant we were without conflict or strife but that would be a lie. There have been too many internal conflicts to name. There was the first civil war in two oh seven A.C. the second civil war in five seventy one A.C. Then the Splintering that led to some border factions in Kanaan declaring independence from the King.”
I nodded along. “There’s a lot of that in my world’s history too.” I said understanding.
“I see.” Gregor said. “We were not unified but life went on. Then a new Gate opened far to the East, some distance from the newly formed border Kingdoms. We hadn’t known at the time that the Gate had opened or another Crossing had occurred at all. We were completely unaware.” I was walking next to Gregor completely focused on his words. I could see how his hands clenched into fists as he stared hard at the ground for a moment before looking to me again. “The first attacks were against outlying villages in one of the the newly established kingdoms called Ulmara. We had been at peace at the time Toby. Imagine that. The only defenses people had in those villages would have been the bare minimum to keep weaker monsters away. They didn’t stand a chance. That’s how it went for a time. Villages and messengers disappearing until they swept over that kingdom in a tide of blades and blood.”
“But it was still a slaughter.” Gregor said gravely. “The only thing that saved us back then was that they were so new to the world that they hadn’t taken the time to get Classes of their own before they came for us.”
“What?” I said baffled. “They did all that without any Classes? Or Skills? How?”
“The Elves are like the Beast folk in a sense. Naturally stronger than humans, though not to the same extent Beast folk are.” Gregor explained. “Though I wish that were all it was. The Elves natural advantages are far more… troubling.”
“Like what?” I said.
“The Elves have a natural affinity for communicating with others without the need for speech. They’re all innately psychic, you see. They can grow plants into weapons with their mental guidance, even control monsters and common beasts with their minds alone.”
I felt a chill in my blood at the words as my thoughts reached a terrifying conclusion. “And people…” I said genuinely worried. “Can they…”
“They can.” Gregor said his expression grim. “It's the reason they’re so dangerous. Ordinary people without the willpower or mental stats to fend of psychic attacks are just…” Gregor shook his head. “I've been blessed to have never fought any Elves firsthand but the accounts I've read of their attacks are downright horrifying. Soldiers slitting their own throats, warriors killing their comrades, children running from their homes to serve as living shields for Elven warriors. It's…”
"That's what the Thunderwall's for." I said sure of it. "I'd heard it mentioned a few times but I don't know what it is." I said after Gregor's explanation.
"Yes that's exactly what it's for." Gregor confirmed. "It was built after the fall of Ulmara and the other kingdoms outside of Kanaan. The King sent aid to the kingdoms but he saw that it wouldn't be enough. With the aid of the King's Shield at the time, a man who specialized in earth magic. They managed to construct a wall to protect our eastern border. But it wasn't enough to keep the Elves from assaulting it. They gathered the citizens of those kingdoms by the tens of thousands." Gregor paused for a moment gathering himself. "From what I've read the Elves forced them all to run into the wall. Human beings climbed over and crushed each other in a massive wave as they tried to form a living ramp at the base of the wall."
"Jesus." I breathed. "Weren't there soldiers on the wall fighting back?"
"They were but they had been trained to fight against enemy soldiers and monsters. The people the Elves had enslaved were common folk. Tailors, farmers, and the like. They hesitated. Even the King's Shield. Fortunately before they made it over the wall the King's Sage arrived with the King's Sword and rallied the troops. He summoned a powerful thunder storm that sundered the enslaved humans and let the others fight the Elves with a vengeance. The King himself supplied the mana and Sigmata necessary to maintain the thunderstorm and tie it to the wall. He maintains that storm to this day, and it has only grown in strength as the wall was further fortified and extended to fend off the Elves and the monsters they breed."
"After the battle though... the King's Sage couldn't live with the grief of killing so many people, even if they were enslaved by the Elves. He took his own life several years later."
Gregor seemed lost for words for the moment and I was too. We walked in silence for a time as I worked out my own thoughts. I was disturbed enough to fall out of meditation and not even try to get it going again.
The idea of a psychic enemy was terrifying. But an entire race? A race of people who could just, force you to their will on a whim? It was one thing if they had peaceful intentions, or if they’d made any attempt at communication or understanding. But they hadn’t. They had just rolled over whole nations in a tide. I knew exactly what kind of reception an enemy like that would get on Earth. The kind of reception that began and ended with mushroom clouds.
“Is there any way to defend against them?” I asked. Suddenly fearful of an attack by Elves I had never seen before. To my relief Gregor nodded.
“Like I said. A strong will or high mental attributes can hold off a normal Elf’s psychic abilities. It's not a guarantee but it evens the playing field. There are specially designed Sigmata meant to shield the mind though they are complex to create and maintain. Pain is another way to mitigate the effects.”
Gregor turned to me his expression less gloomy now. “Did you know that's how the Redbrands first formed?”
“The Redbrands? You mean the gang?” I said incredulously. Pointing a finger around me for emphasis. “The one in this city?”
“The same.” Gregor said. “Though they are a far cry from what they used to be. The first Redbrands were untrained farmers and workers who burned brands into their skin. The pain from those brands helped them fend off the mental attacks of the Elves enough that they could fight back. They were desperate men and women who went above and beyond to protect their homes and loved ones. The Redbrands in this city though, are nothing of the sort.” Gregor said his eyes hardening.
“They’re pretenders who’ve taken the name for themselves. They’re criminals like all the rest, the only difference is that they somehow believe they’re still patriots. In their minds, draft dodging and arson serve the greater good. Even if it means the people they hurt are innocent.”
We had been walking for quite a bit and I must have lost track of the time. We were almost right at the opening of the Murk district. Gregor took a moment to look over the bit of the Murk district we could see. And he lingered on the sight for a time. As if he was seeing something only he could see.
“We’re stretched thin Toby. This city’s hurting because there aren’t enough Shields to protect it. To stop the worst of society from preying on the rest.”
I wanted to say something but decided against it. What ever had brought this on was something Gregor felt deeply about.
“Without any Elves to wage war against the Redbrand turned against Beast folk and any of their sympathizers. Part of the reason the Maulers exist in the first place is because we failed those who needed us most.” He said softly. “If I had just…”
Gregor grimaced and that seemed to shake him out of his reverie. He turned to face me and forced a smile. “I apologize Toby I lost track of the time. I’ll have to part ways with you here but listen.” He said. Reaching out and squeezing my shoulder. “I’m glad you’re doing this. I know helping just one person may seem insubstantial in the grand scheme of things but it makes a difference. Don’t forget that. Even if you can only help one person at a time, you’re doing your part to make the world a better place.”
“T-thanks Gregor.” I said after a beat. The sudden praise catching me by surprise. “Really. It means a lot coming from you.”
“Farewell then.” Gregor said. “You know the way?”
“Yup.” I said easily. Tapping my temple. “I got it all right here.”
We made our goodbyes and I made my way into the nearest alleyway. After what happened the last time I’d carelessly made my way through High Water’s backstreets I took my time checking corners so I didn’t accidently stumble upon any more crimes in progress. The address that Falisa had given me was one that I hadn’t been to before but after cross referencing it with my Mind Map I knew I could easily make my way there. Despite my imminent tutoring session I should have been focusing on, my mind drifted back towards what Gregor had talked about. The Elves.
I absently lifted a hand to my head and ran my fingers through my hair. The only naturally psychic species in the world that might have a chance at curing me of Rykas, and they were all evil. Just my freakin’ luck.
Gregor hadn’t mentioned any cures for psychic status conditions but could there be one? There had to be something right? There was no way an entire society fought a war against a psychic species and didn’t develop some kind of counter measure. The only catch was that a mental Sigmata wouldn’t help me even if I got one now. My mental defenses were already broken through and the intruder was hiding somewhere in the mental basement. Getting a stronger lock for the door now would be like putting paint on a pig. Kinda neat but ultimately useless.
I pinged my Mind Map again to gauge my surroundings and I found I was almost there. Just another corner and…
“Hoo boy.” I breathed out. Looking up at the building across the road. I hadn’t really gotten a good idea of what living conditions were like in the Murk district but I hadn’t been expecting this.
If I had to describe it in as few words as possible I would call it decayed. If I could use more words I would describe it as a giant OSHA violation built exclusively using other OSHA violations.
The most immediate comparison I could make would be the compact and constricted apartment buildings that made up Hong Kong’s inner city. A dozen stories up I could see some Beast folk reaching out of small windows hanging clothes to dry. Another few stories above that I saw some Beast folk kid swing out one window and hang over the edge for a heartstopping moment before disappearing back inside another window one floor down.
I slowly made my way out of the alley with my bag of tutoring supplies hanging off my shoulder and stared up at the building. Getting stuck in Kanaan I’d almost believed that there wouldn’t be the same level of poverty I’d seen in mine. That maybe some of the problems I’d experienced might not exist here.
I felt more than a bit uncomfortable as a few Beast folk caught sight of me and gave me the stink eye. But I pressed onward. It felt like I was the only human on the street. Hell, maybe I was. But Gregor’s words came back to me then and they rang in my mind. Pushing me forward.
Even if you can only help one person at a time…
I tried for a friendly smile as I nodded to the Beast folk taking obvious interest in me as I made my way to the base of the stairs. I didn’t see any kind of lifts at all. Thirteen. Pyga’s place would be on floor thirteen.
…you’re doing your part to make the world a better place.