Fritz awoke from his nightmares, it was a rough way to wake, but it could have been worse. He was lying on his bedroll, wrapped in a spare sheet of sirensilk scavenged from a previous floor. He let out a sigh. His back ached. The padding of his bedroll, while tough, couldn't protect him from the worst of the scaled stone's cold ridges.
He decided not to dwell on it too much or groan groggily as Bert did in the distance. His blood-brother tossed and turned, his golden hair flopping this way and that. It got in his drooling mouth and covered his nose, he spat it out and tossed some more.
Fritz's own dark locks were dangling into his purple and green eyes, he'd have to see to it that he got a haircut once they left the Spire.
Left the Spire?
Fritz shook his head, willing his foggy brain to clear. He took a sip from his re-filling flask, and let the cool water wet his dry mouth. He searched the Precipice Well Room and saw his team splayed out around him. Lauren, George, Cal and Rosie. All sleeping as deeply as the dead. Then they were the other two, Toby and Jane, huddled together by one of the clear walls. No longer a part of the team.
It was good to see them still there, it meant that they were likely to follow his plan for them.
So many plans, he complained inwardly as he stared out the window-walls and over the sprawling Rain City. He stood, yawned and stretched, then he strode to the edge of the room to see more fully from this rainy vantage.
The Mer Spire, which they had conquered and now dallied in the Precipice of, stood on the western side of the island. Opposite it, in the east, was the taller, more imposing Rain Spire, from which the city got its name. The two Spires were Rain City's tallest peaks, and from where Fritz looked he could see the sprawling gutters, streets and structures. He could even see over three circular walls that separated The Districts, The Upper Ring and The Palace Ring.
Fritz had heard that the Palace was closer to the Rain Spire than the Mer, but he hadn't known just how unsymmetrical the city looked from above.
A lot of the wealth was concentrated in the Palace Ring, but it was lopsided, with the most opulent estates collected in the east and the palace itself no more than a mile away from the walls that enclosed the Rain Spire. The palace and many of the estates were below water. Not because they were abandoned and ruined, but because they were inhabited by the Merfolk nobility, or the true nobility as many of the 'only' human nobility would whisper behind scaly backs.
The palace's largest tower peeked above the veritable lake it resided in, the rest of the finely carved, stone structure lay beneath. That white tower was tipped with silver, and its large doors allowed entry to or egress from the unflooded halls and rooms for those unsuited to the deeper depths. Guests from afar, or those humans that had business with the king would be allowed to stay here until his majesty granted them an audience.
The palace could be raised out from its lake, but it was seldom done. Only rare or auspicious occasions would merit such a monumental task and the gold that would be required for its enchantments to activate.
And the king was loathe to part with his coin.
Fritz had only seen the raising once in his lifetime, and he was lucky. In fact, he was luckier than most in that regard, he'd walked the white halls of the palace when he was young and didn't quite understand the significance. Most of what he remembered was bright and brilliant, stifling in its pristine beauty and overbearing awe.
Tearing his eyes away from the tower, Fritz turned to the Upper Ring and its many markets and manors. Here was where the well-to-do lived, sandwiched between the palace ring and the districts, surrounded by the two circular walls that separated them from both their lessers and their betters.
Nine great gutters ran through the Upper Ring into the Districts, corralling the overflowing water from the ever-present rain in gurgling streams and rivers that eventually flowed out into the sea. There were boats on these outlets, of course, carrying goods and people when the wet streets wouldn't suffice.
And then there were the Districts in the Sunken Ring, nine of them all with their respective roles. He could vaguely see the flooded plains of the three food Districts that farmed fish, wet-wheat and vegetables. There was also the cloud of steam that marked the District of the same name. It was harder to make out the rest in the rain, but the one that was downing, desperate, still stood out to him. Sid was down there somewhere, doing whatever it was she was doing.
He hoped she was safe.
"What's, got you so sulky?" Bert asked.
"Hmm, nothing much," Fritz said wistfully.
"Better not be your lady love," Bert said, putting on a disgusted face as amusement danced in his amber eyes.
"It is," Fritz admitted, smiling.
They stood there peering over the city.
"It all seems small from up here," Bert said.
"It is," Fritz said.
Bert glanced to Fritz one inquisitive eyebrow raised.
"Rain City is merely the beginning for us," Fritz said.
"Level twenty and already too big for Rain City," Bert said, grinning.
"We were too big for Rain City as soon as we were born," Fritz proclaimed proudly.
Bert laughed at that. "True as the rain!"
"In all seriousness, now we're level twenty we're are some of the strongest people in the Districts," Fritz said more soberly. "We're likely to be more powerful than most of the storm guard as well."
"Are we?" Bert said. "Don't the drizzlers climb both the Spires?"
"No, that's reserved for the king's Scale Guard I believe. Though the Captain of the storm guard might be an outlier in that respect," Fritz said.
"Makes sense," Bert said.
"That's not to say we can go flaunting our power," Fritz warned. "There are still the noble's Climbing teams and Cephers from beyond the seas. And, well, we still have to lay low lest we attract too much attention from The Nightshark."
Bert grumbled in agreement, and the rust snail perched on his shoulder whistled, then goggled with its mustard yellow eyes on red and white stalks.
"Dale's hungry," Bert said.
"I know, you've told me three-thousand times," Fritz said with some exasperation. "I know they eat salt, but have you tried to feed it anything else? I distinctly remember that there were the bones of other creatures where we discovered those snails. Perhaps 'Dale' would like some delectable eel meat?"
"How did I not think of that," Bert cried, slapping his forehead.
"I'm sure it was the excitement of becoming-"
"A father. Yes, that must be it," Bert interrupted.
"I was going to say beast-bonded," Fritz said.
"That too," Bert agreed.
He turned and strode towards their packs and bags, specifically the soggy, smelly ones full of shark and eel meat.
Bert pulled open the packs at random, then began to peel and offer small strips to his beast. It took the raw fish tentatively with eager feelers and set it to a tiny, fanged maw. It nibbled, then burbled.
"He likes it!" Bert cried, waking Rose and Cal.
Rosie sat up quickly and stared around with her dark eyes, then down at her hands, seemingly surprised at their scaly appearance. The reaction made sense, this was the first time she'd woken as something other than human. She marvelled again at her grey-blue, metallic scales, baring her shark-like teeth in a grin.
Cal's grey eyes groggily locked onto the source of noise. He scowled, pushing dark hair out of his boyish face.
"Why are you yelling?" He grumbled.
"Ah, Cal, just the man I wanted to talk to," Bert said. "Get started on breakfast. I'm starving."
"Is that the way to ask that?" Cal groused.
Fritz himself was feeling quite hungry, so stepped in quickly to weave his own demands. "Cal, my good man and mighty Hauler. Surely you want to try out that new pan of yours. A spot of breakfast is the perfect test of it's magical properties."
Cal perked up somewhat at the reminder, then while pretending to be reluctant, stood and wandered over to their packs.
"We got any wood left from the jungle? Don't want to wake Lauren," he said as he looked over their stores of food.
"A good instinct, she might burn your hair off. There's some wood in there," Bert replied, pointing out one of the packs.
Fritz left Cal to his cooking while he took stock of his own equipment and Treasures. On his fingers, he had his two rings, one of echolocation and one of barrier. Around his neck was the necklace of misty beads that could conjure a cloud of sea spray. His waist was buckled with his new Eelkin Belt that held a potent boon that increased Reflex, Speed and Agility. Its other power was more situational, allowing him to grow gills.
In its sheath, and now looped on his belt, was Quicksilver, and on his other hip his curse dagger, Mortal Edge, rested. Lastly were his merely magical items, his wonderfully comfortable, quiet boots and his luxurious, lightning-proof glove. He also had two spares of the velvety black glove, though both were right-handed.
His dark-green swamp-buck armour was looking the worse for wear. Torn and cut in many places, shredded by the sand-sharks he had fought and other holes from other foes besides.
He sighed at the sight of its ruin, he'd likely have to get new armour. Though the thought occurred to him he could get some made, either out of the eel scales or shark skins they had they had scavenged. Both could have useful properties. Maybe he could even have two sets made, one of each material. The eel scales might even compliment what he had commissioned from Anchorwrought Smithy. He would have to pick that up when he could, after he'd also collected his things from his various secret stashes and checked the hidden safe in the drowned district.
He patted his pockets absently, making sure he didn't miss anything and found that he had two, or rather three, things left he had almost forgotten. He really had acquired a lot on this Climb. There was the juggernaut elixir, the magical patch of cloth that Lauren couldn't identify and the contingency charm.
He felt a little bad about not adding the potent elixir and the charm to the pile when they took their picks from the loot, but he had honestly forgotten about them. He could remedy the guilt by offering up the items, but some greedy, paranoid part of him wanted to keep them. Fritz very much desired to keep the contingency charm, and was about to tuck them away into his pack when it again occurred to him that he couldn't keep either the potion or the charm anywhere on his person for the time being.
They had belonged to Larry's team so wearing them was as good as shouting that they'd had a hand in killing them.
"Cal," Fritz said, as he approached the man busying himself with breakfast.
"What?"
"Store these would you," Fritz said offering the elixir and the charm. "Can't have the Nightshark see them."
"You likely to meet the Nightshark?" Cal asked.
"Very," Fritz admitted. "And I don't want to incriminate myself too much."
"Incriminate yourself to a criminal?" George asked opening one yellow eye and smiling slyly. He sat up slowly, stretching his broad shoulders and well-muscled frame. He ran a hand over the stubble of his used-to-be-shaven head and looked around.
"Maybe incriminate is the wrong word. Though I'll be killed if I displease them, so let's not argue the semantics," Fritz said smiling back.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"Anything else you need stored?" Cal asked as the air bent and items were sucked away into his Personal Pack.
Fritz thought a moment then looked down to his boots. He grimaced, he didn't know how much the Nightshark had valued Kev, but Fritz had murdered him and Kev had been one of the browncoats all the same.
"It's best to store these too," Fritz sighed, sitting and pulling off his boots.
"You killed a man for those boots?" Cal asked incredulously.
"Among other things," Fritz said blandly.
"Anyone we know?" Rosie asked.
"I'd rather not talk about it," Fritz said, searching for his spare set of ill-fitting boots in his pack, finding them and putting them on. Internally, he bemoaned the loss of comfort.
"Fair enough," Rosie said with a glittering shrug. "Knowing you, I'm sure he was right bastard."
"A real mean one too," Cal agreed, nodding his head.
It gladdened Fritz, to hear his team say as much, even if they had only his word on the matter. He pretended at remorse for a moment longer before thinking of the other things they might give them away to any of the foes lurking in the streets and gutters.
"I'm not sure if the Raider's team will track us down, or if they left to Climb without him. But we shouldn't flaunt what we looted from his body either. Maybe we should hide his stuff along with the rest."
The last of the team announced their wakefulness at that comment.
"I'll just wear gloves," Lauren yawned. "It'll keep the ring I took covered."
"This pack won't stand out too much, there are plenty like it," Cal said.
"It's just the Technique scrolls and bittersteel dagger then. They're very uncommon are they not?" Fritz asked.
"Very rare in Rain City," Lauren agreed as she sat up, brushing her currently messy dark brown hair from her face.
"When's breakfast?" She asked as she stared around at them with her yellow-green eyes that sparked with tiny embers.
Even in her dishevelled state, she was so striking that Cal's mouth fell slightly agape as he watched her waking.
"S-soon," he stuttered.
The fool.
"Are we leaving after we eat?" Lauren asked as she pulled a brush from her pack and started to tame her hair.
"That's the plan," Fritz said.
"Speaking of plans, yours is fairly vague," Lauren said absently. "We leave and then we find accommodations?"
"And then we slowly sell off the sirensilk and other materials. Yes," Fritz said. "I can't really make too many plans with what and who is looming over me and Bert."
"I guess that's just how we'll have to do it," Lauren agreed. "Without a forecast, you could be sailing into a storm."
"Exactly. Once we have more knowledge to work with we can start making proper plans," Fritz said. "And we'll need the downtime anyway, to rest, train and practice our new Techniques or learn any ones we may purchase."
"You want us to get some more Techniques?" Cal asked as he peered through his cookbook and tried to find a recipe to suit the produce he did have.
"Can't hurt. Or it can, but having a Technique channel free seems a waste of potential power," Fritz explained. "And improving a Technique is one of the few ways to strengthen yourself outside the Spires."
"I thought only Climbing made you strong," Rosie said.
"That's mostly true," Fritz agreed. "Though there are things you can do on the outside to give you an edge. Such as training your personal skill or your body so your Attributes have more 'base' to multiply."
"Huh. Okay," Rosie said. "So we should do push ups and stuff?"
Fritz nodded, smiling amiably.
"You'll need some training too, won't you, Dale," Bert said to his fist-sized beast. It slurped down a strip of raw eel, not answering.
"Does that thing-"
"Dale," Bert interrupted.
"Does 'Dale' count as a Climber?" Rosie asked.
"No," Lauren said. "It counts as part of Bert."
"We're best friends," Bert proclaimed.
"I thought you said you were its father?" Fritz said drily.
"What!?" Bert cried in mock offence. "Preposterous! Are you saying I slept with a snail?"
"We all know your tastes are eclectic and expansive, and don't deny you've been inside one," Fritz replied flippantly.
The team looked at Bert with disgust.
"It wasn't like that!" Bert bemoaned. "We were fighting! It was a great struggle!"
"Uh huh," Fritz said blandly "And then you just so happened to find a snail egg. What a coincidence."
"That proves nothing," Bert said.
"You know, Dale does look a bit like you," George said, a smile tugging at his lips.
"What? You too George?" Bert groaned as if wounded by some betrayal.
The team laughed and Dale whistled, joining the mirth.
Bert looked at them aghast before breaking his act and laughing along.
"How's the new pan?" Fritz asked as sharkflesh began to sizzle.
"It's bigger," Cal said.
"Anything else?' It's meant to be magic right?" Bert asked.
"It is magic," Lauren stated.
"I don't know what it does yet," Cal said. "Just started cooking."
"Maybe it makes food taste better," Bert said.
"Smell that?" Fritz asked.
"Only some smoke from the fire," Bert said sniffing the air.
"Exactly. There's no scent of fish, it's not smoking or steaming either," Fritz observed.
"Huh, hadn't noticed that," Bert said.
"What?" Cal asked. "I can smell it just fine."
Bert and Fritz crept closer until they too could smell the frying.
"Must suppress the scent," Fritz theorised. "Combined with Heat Metal, Cal could cook in peace without monsters finding the smoke or scent."
"And here I was hoping it was self-cleaning," Cal sighed.
"The wish of any cook, I'm sure," Fritz said.
Soon they were eating. It was quite a good meal and there was much chattering and laughing. They talked about what they were likely to spend their gold on when Rosie shuffled over to Fritz and handed him a gold triad.
"What's this for?" Fritz asked.
"For the Spire levy," Rosie said. "I'm paying you back."
"Oh, you don't have to," Fritz objected, pocketing the gold. "It's merely a drop in the bucket compared to the wealth we procured together. That and I did claim many of the Treasure's we've found."
Rosie shrugged. "It just doesn't feel right to leave a debt like that. And it's like you just said, it's a drop in the bucket. I've still got seventy-four gold."
George looked on thoughtfully as did Lauren. They also pulled out some gold triads and tossed them to Fritz. He snatched them from the air easily.
"You really don't have to," Fritz protested, smirking and tucking away the coins.
They smiled back, amused by his false generosity.
Cal was next, handing him two triads, muttering, "For the other stuff too."
Fritz nodded seriously, matching the man's sincerity.
After some minutes more breakfast was served, attracting the attention of the other two lingering in the precipice with them.
"Toby," Fritz said nodding at the sour-faced, if handsome, fellow with black hair and dark eyes.
"Fritz," Toby nodded back, a tilt of respect hidden in the gesture.
"Jane," Fritz greeted.
The round-faced and burn-scarred woman with shoulder-length mousy brown hair nodded back. She didn't speak, instead, she kept her dull grey eyes on the ground. She swallowed heavily. It wasn't a snub, he realised, as she looked sickly and pale, and she sweat a little.
"George we'll need the pot," Fritz called.
George looked over and nodded once when he saw Jane's face. He placed the rusted iron pot in front of her and she tried to wave it away.
"Take it unless you want to be sick in the fountain," Fritz said. "Though that might not be so bad, that statue is all-too-smug for my liking. A little defacement wouldn't go amiss."
Jane looked up and around before her sickness wracked her and she undulated. She picked up the pot and fled behind a pillar. She retched and hacked. Fritz and Toby grimaced. Her condition was taking a toll on her, and Climbing with child likely wasn't great on the body either.
"Toby," Lauren said sharply. "Go help her. Hold her hair or something."
"Right of course," he agreed, following her order.
Lauren sighed, shaking her head slightly.
"Who is that meant to be anyway?" Bert asked, motioning to the fountain and the carved, robed stone man, holding a staff that poured out water in a glimmering dome.
"I don't know, but they look familiar. I've met them before I'm sure of it," Fritz stated, looking over the regal, angular features and carved scales of the statue.
"It's the king," Lauren said. "How can you not know that?"
"One noble looks like any other to me, I'm afraid," Fritz said with arrogant indifference.
"You've met the king then?" George said.
"Must have," Fritz agreed with a shrug. "I'm very important you know. Noble and dignified blood runs in these veins," he added, tilting his chin regally.
Bert scoffed, Lauren rolled her eyes and George smiled.
Fritz laughed, dropping the airs.
"Still, do you remember anything about it?" George asked.
"About what?" Fritz asked.
"About meeting the king," George pressed.
"Bits and pieces, I was very young. I think I was there for his daughter's birthday celebration, she was turning six at the time. I was likely about that age too, maybe younger, now that I come to think of it," Fritz mused, trying to remember the distant, locked-away memories.
"My mother wore a pale blue dress, and my father wore a suit the same green of Portus-Hai's shore," he continued wistfully. "I remember the king greeting them in resplendent blues and greys trimmed in silver. He was tall. His crown was a circlet of bright silver set with Rainstones, he was blonde and blue-eyed, and his scales glittered like gems. He talked to my parents like they were old friends, and greeted me like a grandfather might. Then as soon as he'd said his polite words he left. I recall he had a magnificent voice, rumbling like thunder, clear as cold rain."
"Did you meet the princess too?" Lauren asked, intrigued.
"I don't remember. I think she had dark hair..." Fritz said, the memory slipping out of his grasp. He found that his eyes ached and his vision was beginning to blur as they always did when thinking of what he had lost. What had been taken.
"Enough of that I think," Fritz said with a cough and a surreptitious wiping of his tears. "Tales of like that can be told on the outside."
Lauren sat backwards, realising she'd been leaning forward in her interest.
The team fell quiet and concentrated on eating. Toby and Jane joined them and Cal cooked them some more meals to eat while they waited behind for the agreed-upon two days.
"What kind of beast should we tell them killed Larry and his crew?" Toby asked.
"I don't know, not an aberrant eel that's for sure," Bert said.
"Or a snail," Fritz said pointing at Dale.
"I don't think a snail could defeat anyone," Toby commented.
"Oh, ho ho. Just you wait 'till Dale's all grown," Bert retorted.
"Just how big will your beast get?" Lauren asked.
"Big," Bert said unhelpfully.
"You'll need to get a badge for him," Lauren said.
"What?" Bert asked through a mouth of shark meat.
"You'll need a badge from the king, or rather, one of the royal officials," Lauren explained. "They can't just let a beast walk around. It scares people."
"Oh, okay, I'll get one," Bert said, feeding Dale a small strip of cooked food. He ate it and warbled happily.
"Anything else we have to worry about as we leave?" Fritz asked. "Like laws, taxes and levies?"
"No," Lauren said. "We should stick together until we find a place to stay. Apart from that we should be free and clear."
"What no shakedown at the gates?" Bert asked.
"No, nothing like that," Lauren said.
"Then how does the king take his cut from the Climbers?" Fritz asked.
"Apart from the levies to enter the Spires, merchants and nobles pay the taxes," Lauren said. "It would be a nightmare searching all the Climbers with their various powers and Treasures. And it would stir even more resentment. He just taxes the trade of Treasures and materials, as well as the noble houses."
"Then he's relying on merchants being honest?" Fritz asked suspiciously.
"Gods no. His taxmen have truth-finding powers," Lauren said. Then with a small smirk, she continued, "My mother would complain incessantly about them. Though she also impressed upon me that trying to fool them wasn't worth the hassle. If they thought your documents were suspicious it would only increase their intrusive oversight. Which is undesirable to say the least."
"Huh, guess that makes some sense," Bert allowed. "But there are still ways to trick powers like that right?"
Lauren shrugged. "I'm sure there are. Though they're few and far between. Also the king also owns the Treasury, which means he earns a lot from the auctioning and trading of Treasures. Among other ventures."
"Fair enough," Bert said, the conversation thankfully coming to a close.
"When we're done with breakfast, we'll pack up and go," Fritz said.
The team nodded.
Within fifteen minutes they were packing all their Treasures, magical items, monster parts and fabulous fruits. And within thirty they were ready to leave.
They stood around listlessly, eager to leave and reap the other rewards of their Climb.
Fritz had one last thing to do, align his Attributes. He had them wait a while longer while he dived into his Sanctum.
It was raining, his willow waved shadowy branches in the light wind. He sat in his grey, silvery pavilion, watching the gossamer purple curtains ripple. Eldritch flame burned in a moonsilver brazier writ with chaotic patterns that could almost be butterflies. It greeted him with a crackling cackle, mocking but merry.
He sat in his chair and considered his choices. While he could put this choice off for later his Sanctum still ached and he wanted to be rid of that slight pressure of unaligned power pulsing through him. He knew that the longer he held it the more it would burn and he couldn't afford to be distracted by pain.
Control and Dusksong stood out to him the most, they were powerful and could help him in many ways, though making his magic stronger would affect his emotions and he still needed to find the limits and uses for his Control. Study and training would be required and he'd seek them out in time.
In the end, he decided to add another point to Awareness, Perception and Focus as they didn't feel right sitting at their current numbers of Twenty, twenty and seventeen respectively.
Something about the values themselves irked him and he knew that Awareness and Perception would benefit him in Rain City, where he would have to be looking for plots and traps before he blindly stepped into them. Focus was needed mostly due to the strain of his mental and magical Attributes so he couldn't neglect that either. He Assigned his points, felt the cool power wash over him then brought up his Spire sheet for one last look at all his progress.
---------
Spire Readout
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Name: Francis Hightide
Level: 20
Path: Spy
Strain: Human
Sigil: Sunken Spire, Gold(10), Mer Spire, Gold(10).
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Attributes
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Strength: 9
Agility: 9
Endurance: 9
Perception: 21
Focus: 18
Memory: 9
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Advanced Attributes
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Awareness: 21
Control: 12
Dusksong: 12
Grace: 6
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Activated 3/3
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---
Stone Pit
Gouge the stone, shift the ground, instant craters, holes abound.
---
Gloom Strike
Weapon writhes, in shadow's grace, deliver foes, to night's embrace.
---
Lethargy
Feeling tired? Getting slow? Take a rest, let it go.
---
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Passive 3/3
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---
Trap Sense
Pits and wire, falls and fire, discover danger, before it's dire.
---
Danger Sense - Evolution 1/3
Behind the boulder, up in the tree, lurking threats, can't hide from me.
---
Umbral Phase
A shifting shadow, unmarred by blade, foes fail to harm, a formless shade.
---
---------
Trait 3/3
---------
---
Door Sense
Beyond the portal, behind the door, a brutal death or distant shore?
---
Cloak of Dusk
Wrap yourself in twilight's cover, what's one shadow from another?
---
Hand of Eldritch Flame
A touch of chaos, a gift of pains, the burning hand, chars the chains.
---
---------
Path 1/3
---------
---
Illusory Shadow - Evolution 2/3
Fake darkness, mocking light? Pseudo shadows, subdue sight.
---
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Technique 2/3
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---
The Observations (Novice)
Whittle away, scatter survive, poor prevail, covertly thrive.
---
Arte Pugilist (Novice)
Strike, Slip, Punch, Kick, Dive, Skip, Grab, Flip.
---
---------
Strain 0/3
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---
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Fritz grinned. He'd come so far and in just over two weeks. He was more than thrice the man he had been. Far more.
Just reflecting on that lightened the weight that had settled on his shoulders, the fear he still held, instinctively, of the Nightshark and their minions. He didn't know how things would turn out in the end. Who could? But Fritz felt sure of one thing. He was more prepared than ever to face the trials ahead.
He flew out from his Sanctum, stood, searched his team's excited expressions and nodded once.
He was powerful and he would not waste his chance. He would use everything, even his noble name, to his advantage. He would pass through the peril and prevail. Nightshark or no.
He strode forward, towards the stairs down.
There was much to do.
"Onward."