Morning light from outside highlighted veins of frost on the window in green and blue as an Ash Storm cleared the blanket of black on Omnor. The cup of water beside the bed had a thin layer of ice as well, but Kaden’s Constitution hadn’t been default at the point where he hit Tier Two, plus [Resist Cold]. Plus, Sara lay up against his back, her arm wrapped around him.
Bitter cold had that effect on people. The double-thick Quilt atop the bed kept them warm. Verona knew this kind of cold and worse during the depths of winter, but Kaden hadn’t expected it here. Then again, volcanic ash storms underground hadn’t been on his expected list either.
Kaden slipped out of bed and tucked Sara back under, letting one of her pseudopods pin down the quilt to keep her warm. The Clean Box had done a decent job on his clothing and armor, and he put Sara’s back through for another cycle since she was still asleep.
[Stealth Aura] let him sneak down the stairs to the kitchen, where he turned off stealth and intentionally stomped on the stairs a few times before stepping out. “Morning.”
“You’re up early. Very early, very cold. The morning Ash Storm will make it warm again. Are you hungry? Look at you. Probably eat a [Bastion Iguana] every morning for breakfast.” She handed him a bowl of lumpy biscuits and gravy.
Kaden took a bite. Forced himself to chew and swallow. “Your biscuits have such texture!”
“They’re [Preserved Biscuits!] When we first fled the [Blight], Omnor was gived millions of them by our sister city, Verona. It’s practically your duty to eat a few,” she said.
A few. He’d eaten them every day for nearly ten years, and had a pesonal Quest to never eat another [Preserved Biscuit] again. “Thank you for breakfast, but Sara and I were hoping to use a meal to make more allies in Omnor.”
“Get used to having your hopes dashed. No meal vendor has enough clout to offer purchase rights. Good news, though. Rumor is the Elder God in the market has gotten bored and may leave soon.” Ms. Anderson leaned over the counter and focused on him. “I would tell you there’s nothing but trouble in the market. That’s a lie. There’s everything you could possibly imagine. I’ve lived here all my life and only seen an eighth of the sellers. Only met three of four Brokers. Find what you’re looking for.”
“I will.” Kaden wouldn’t risk going out without Sara, but now was as good a time as any to do some tests. He opened the tin and studied a beetle until [Identify] finally activated.
[Echo Beetle]
Bred from beetles that use sound as a hunting method, the echo beetle is prized as an early warning system.
* Beast Knowledge - With absolutely no combat capabilities, the beetles are dependent on Adventurers to feed them the rotting meat they need to survive and breed. I once found a colony living in a man’s leg, eating the gangrenous flesh as it rotted.
Kaden offered the beetles a bit of [Preserved Biscuit], but since they were mindless beasts who thrived on rotting meat, they had standards and wouldn’t eat it. “Do you have any rotten meat? Or old meat? Or meat that will eventually rot?”
Ms. Anderson dug around in her scrap jar and fished out four hunks of meat that had turned slightly green. “Is the biscuit that bad?”
Kaden put three scraps of meat in Inventory, and fed the beetles the remaining one, which they surrounded, munching with blunt mandibles.
An hour later, Sara stumbled down the stairs, her hair a mess, her armor half laced. “Did I miss breakfast?”
Kaden shook his head—a moment too late. “I was just telling Ms. Anderson how we love breakfast in the market in Verona.”
“These are delicious!” Sara said, stuffing a biscuit down the Cosmic Horror’s maw.
He’d never seen it choke on anything, and yet the pseudopod closed carefully, gingerly over the lump of what was technically bread.
The moment Ms. Anderson turned to the skillet, Sara repeated with the other pseudopod. “Thank you so much. That was very filling.”
She flashed a smug grin at Kaden’s shocked face and headed to the front door. “I really don’t think I’ll be able to eat anything else until dinner. Thank you, Ms. Anderson!”
*Cheater!* Kaden sent by mind speech. *You should be ashamed.*
Two steps outside the house and one of Sara’s pseudopods convulsed. Something went flying and hit a guard on the head. It sounded suspiciously like a half-digested biscuit, but Kaden sensed this would be the wrong time to ask.
Only after they’d reached the main intersection did Sara speak. “There have to be advantages to having a Cosmic Horror. And that was one of them Let’s find some actual breakfast, preferrably at a vendor on the way.”
Today Kayden didn’t sense anyone following them, which probably meant they had gotten a better [Rogue]. But the positive thing was that Sara’s route took them directly into territory opposed to the Emporium, the group of merchants called BuyAll Consortium.
*You sure about this?* Kaden asked as Sara headed straight for the guards.
“Good morning!” Sara said cheerily. “This is my first time in Omnor, and I have to ask, how do all these businesses work? We chose our lodging at random and now I’m wondering if I would have been better off with the Consortium or the Emporium. So many -iums, it’s just confusing!”
The nearest guard looked her up and down, and Kaden couldn’t help noticing that at that very moment, the Horror wasn’t actively menacing everything.
“Well, actually, they don’t all end in -ium,” the Guard said. “That’s a common mistake, as is picking some place too close to the FarPortal. Why don’t you and your husband—”
“He’s not my husband,” Sara said, putting a hand on his arm. “This is all so new and frightening.”
“Your boyfriend—”
“I don’t have one of those. Yet. How do you face the threat of those ashstorms every day? You must be very brave. Is it safe for me to be here, on Consortium thingy?”
Kaden wanted to vomit. The word ‘thingy’ had never left Sara’s mouth, except one time when they stumbled into an immature dagger wasp nest, and Kaden was still fairly sure the word had been “stinging” through thwollen lipth.
But it worked like [Magic] as the guard carefully led her through the streets, warning her about different businesses.
“There you go,” the guard said, stopping them in front of a building that wasn’t nearly as nice as the Emporium. “Got to get back to my station.”
Sara stopped him. “If I wanted to reach you again, are you somewhere?”
“I’ll send you contact information,” he said.
Sara was already heading across the street, down the block, over to the next Business set. She didn’t even look at Kaden. “Good morning! This is my first time in Omnor! This is all so confusing!”
###
‘Thingy thingy, thingy thingy. So confusing,’ Kaden mouthed as he trailed along behind Sara. ‘Are you around? Are you alive? Did my Cosmic Horror accidentally eat your friend?’
“It’s ok, I’m too confused for contact information.” Sara waved to Kaden as they crossed another block, leaving more guards behind. “There. Trade-Rite Salvage!”
They’d left the Emporium behind, that was for sure, covering long blocks of half a dozen different groups, and here, the streets were solid black lava rock, the sidewalks not even separate. Street Vendors outnumbered actual buildings and so many of the buildings were houses stacked on each other where dozens of families might live. The Trade-Rite Salvage shop would fit in perfectly at home, if one ignored the well of molten lava on one side and the odd meteorological devices on top of the three stories. Or the broken crystal at the front and long lines of single file customers waiting their turn.
“This place has some of everything. And more importantly, they’re part of the wider mercantile alliance that covers the end where the Necrosium is. Less authority but with purchase rights here, we can move freely through this quarter of the city, with a few exceptions.
Like the Demon Lord’s place.
Kaden waited as the lines snaked forward. “Any idea what we should be shopping for? What’s the cheapest purchase that gets us freedom to move.”
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“Fifty gold, if my calculations are correct. It’s a matter of the number of entries in the organization, their combined area of control, the value of adjacent properties, and so on.” Sara stopped. “What? Just because I’ll pretend to be stupid to waltz my way through Omnor doesn’t mean I am stupid.”
“Thingy,” Kaden said. Then laughed. “There was absolutely no way that should have worked.”
“You’re jealous you can’t pull it off. Don’t worry, surely somewhere out there is a hungry woman you can flex for. Right now, appreciate that we got here with no bloodshed and even better, no gold spent.” Sara took his hand as the line moved again and they approached the entrance. “Keep together, I have no idea what this is like inside.”
Once again, they shuffled.
The world changed.
The inside of Trade-Rite Salvage was like standing in Verona’s Market at noon while the crowds chanted and yelled and murdered each other. The noise was a physical force that pushed down on Kaden.
But he and Sara had both worked at Beast Control, and adapting was just remembering. The inside looked like the world’s largest circus tent. Not that Kaden had been inside, but he had seen a circus from a distance, and imagined what it looked like inside.
There were far fewer clowns here.
Trade-Rite was divided into sections, one for those bringing in and one for those taking out, and a quick read of the trade rules posted on a stall left Kaden feeling more comfortable. “It’s like trade tokens except with coins mixed in.”
Kaden dumped a smattering of loot out on the table and Sara added hers. The young woman on the other side had to be a year younger than Sara at least, but she ran through using [Identify] on everything.
“These charms. Where did you get them?”
“I took them off a corpse my TriTerror was eating after some men attacked me. What do they do?”
“They’re attribute boosters. Very expensive. Agility, Intelligence, and three Strength.” The woman separated them out.
*Keep?* Kaden asked.
*Don’t. Attribute boosts are incredible except that you can lose them. You get used to being stronger and faster and then, without it? Dead.* Sara’s grip on Kaden’s arm would have stopped a [Quillophant.]
Kaden took the intelligence one and slipped it around his neck. Intelligence was always an odd stat to boost. The questions and connections were easier to make. “I want an offer on those three.”
“Excellent. And Miss? Just the spell book and the ‘weapon’?”
Sara nodded. “Sadly, yes.”
“Great. Then get to shopping. Your offers will be tagged. The bad news is that single point boosts don’t auction well, but the good news is that they’re always in demand.” She motioned for them to move and for the next customer.
Kaden could have gotten lost. Where the Emporium had organization, Trade-Rite was pure chaos. “Do they deal in Beasts here? Or magic spells?”
“Beasts, no. Spells, absolutely, though most people will be here for weapons and armor.” Sara pointed to the far side. “Those are definitely spell books.”
They were, though a single stall of scrolls which lined the walls, bound in crystal mesh which kept people from using them. The old man running the stall was patient, answering so many questions, which slowed down the people waiting. Sara browsed surrounding aisles and came back empty handed. *We’ve got better weapons than they’re selling. Better Armor. I’m starting to ask if we’d be better off keeping the attribute boost charms.*
Kaden shook his head. *Free passage through most of Omnor. Totally worth it.*
Not all of Omnor, but the part Kaden needed to reach. A few minutes later, it was his turn.
“Storm, and…Chrono?” The man looked from Sara to Kaden. “Storm, I’ve got [HailStorm] and [Speeding Wind]. Hailstorm is a debuff, speeding wind is a buff. Chrono, sorry—wait. This just came in. I mean, moments ago.”
He opened a chest and took out bundle after bundle.
Then a crystal box the size of Kaden’s palm.
The scroll inside wasn’t just singed, it was charred.
“I don’t know where it came from, but I have a solid guess. Not even a century ago, there was a Dungeon team that came up with a whole set of these. Their [Fire Mage] turned on the party and took all the loot. This is a scroll. The magic’s still present, the skill point is there. But we can’t tell what it is.” He set the box down gently so Kaden could study it.
Sara didn’t hesitate. “How much for Speeding Wind?”
“I don’t know, it’s a fine support skill,” the man answered.
Babu Desun has begun Negotiations.
And the man either knew Sara had the same skill or he was about to be surprised, as she launched into counter offers. The line behind them grew impatient, with people using curses of encouragement to make a damned decision and move on.
Kaden turned to stare them down. He wasn’t the largest man in Trade-Rite, nor the most menacing (which would without doubt be the erie short woman surrounded by a halo of pure white light). He was simply the one in their way.
*We’ve got a deal, if you’re willing. [Speeding Wind] and that scroll. I really wanted both Speeding Wind and Hailstorm but that’s not going to happen. He’s hell-bent on getting rid of that scroll and making a good deal for taking both.*
“Sounds like we’ve got a deal!” Kaden said loudly, while daring anyone to pressure Sara.
A moment later, Kaden was sitting at a rough-sawn table inside the Trade-Rite, watching Sara absorb [Speeding Wind].
[Speeding Wind]
Summon a brief gust of wind that will increase your agility and speed for the next few moments. Mana cost increases with repeated use. To reduce this cost raise your skill level or wait longer.
“Hailstorm would have helped Eve. Hailstorm would have raised our damage. I don’t know if my [Negotiations] skill wasn’t high enough or we really didn’t have enough to trade, but spells change there every day.” Sara triggered [Speeding Wind].
The feeling was perfect. It was [Moment of Speed] in an area of effect, and nowhere near as strong. But [Moment of Speed] had made him more deadly. “Combine that with your sword strikes and you won’t regret it.”
He’d been putting off using the charred scroll. It might well contain [Moment of Speed] or [Split Second], and that would be a waste, since some scrolls didn’t raise levels. At last, he broke the seal and focused on the scroll.
The System honored the intent of the scroll and drained the point into him.
You have learned a new skill. [Twist of Fate]
[Twist of Fate]
You can see the designs of Fate. You may deny Fate’s design at your own risk. You may not choose when to trigger [Twist of Fate]. Repeatedly denying Fate will result in severe Karmic Penalties. This skill does not have levels.
Kaden shared the log with Sara. “I have no idea what kind of spell that is. It operates like [Split Second] in that I don’t control it. One of the BirchHome guests had a daughter who was training to be a [FateWeaver]. I wonder if I could ask her?”
“You should. One of the greatest advantages of BirchHome isn’t even one we can take advantage of yet,” Sara said. “It’s that we’ll have connections to hundreds of Centurions. All that information available for a favor you need them to do anyway.”
Put that way, it sounded fantastic. “I’m ready to go find that Necromancer. You?”
“I’ve got a route that will get us to the Necrosium. I’ve got two new skills. I couldn’t get more ready.” Sara headed out of the Trade-Rite even as a ripple of awe flowed through the crowd. A young man held aloft a shining sword that glowed with golden light, sending a beacon skyward. “I want to trade this.”
“What’s it do?” Someone shouted.
“If you hold it up to your eyes, you can see long distances. See? I can spot that young woman across the room. Also, it glows like a torch. I don’t know, I traded it in the market for some magic beans.” The man slapped it down. “They just evacuated our group and I want whatever I can get for it.”
Kaden smiled. The market would open soon. He didn’t know how to find the spellbook, but he was confident in the power of magic and gold.
The Necrosium was only eight blocks away, and most of those blocks were residences. The market itself lay inside the mountain, but the Necrosium was literally made of bones, a wall of woven white that jutted out.
Windows formed eye sockets, and a nose, and a giant mouth.
“You know what I like about Necromancers? They decorate the way they want to,” Sara said. “Is this supposed to be frightening? They’re Mages. A specialization of Mages. A disgusting, disliked, feared and hated specialization of mages.”
“I got this.” Kaden led the way through the cavernous mouth and to an animated skeleton that stood watch near the door. “Are you decoration or intelligent?”
“State your business, mortal, or fear the end of all. Death comes for you with sharp pointy teeth!” The skeleton didn’t so much speak as project.
Kaden took out the wand. “This belonged to a Necromancer who died running a dungeon with my parents. I’m here to find him and return it.”
“State your business, mortal, or fear—fear-fe-fe-fe-fear fear fear fear thawglmmmmm.” The skeleton slumped over and caught fire, slapping the counter. “Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer….”
The fire burned something important at that point, because the skeleton stopped speaking and continued burning.
“Oh, shit!” A young man in a black robe dashed out of a back room. “It happened again! And we have guests! I mean, who dares intrude on this hallowed hall of death? Whooo?” His voice cracked at the top of what was otherwise going to be a completely non-threatening question.
Another Necromancer dashed out, her face half pale with a smear of black under her eye and half tan. She hid the tan under a hood. “State your business in the hallowed halls of…oh, gods, that stinks. Get it out of here. Get it out of here now.”
Kaden activated his Eldritch Shield and began feeding burned bones to it. “There we go. All taken care of. Also, no need for the tomb and gloom. I got my Bonewaller from the Necromancers in Verona. Great folks. They re-animated a Tyrantor during the surge, and it barely smashed any of the city.”
“Thank the gods.” The woman pulled back her hood. “Sorry, we’re light staffed. An Elder God broke loose in the market, most of us are on cleanup. What do you need?”
“Whose wand is this? I know they’re dead, I want to return it and a few personal items to their family.” Kaden offered it again.
“No wonder the Skelly burned. As for who to return it to?” She studied it closer and closer. “Oh. Oh. Who are you? Birch…as in Trema Birch? Butcher Birch? I didn’t know her, but where I studied, her work was celebrated as just plain exquisite. No Corpse inventories for her, no she’d show up and dump fifteen bodies in the fountain and give them umbrellas so the sun didn’t spoil them.”
The necromancer smiled. “Those were the days. Of course she’s dead, if you’re here. Death comes for us all, eventually, but I want you to know, when she came into Mortis’s Court for final judgement, I bet there was an audience of hundreds. Maybe a thousand!”
Kaden recoiled.
He understood that as Centurions, his parents had lived long, long lives, but no matter what stories he heard, there was always a way to justify it. This, he couldn’t justify. “Please tell me where to meet the person who owns this.”
Sara’s hand on his side felt like steel. *We’ll talk later.*
*Nothing to talk about.* He waited for the Necromancer to make a decsion.
“This way,” she said, waving for him to follow. “You’re going to love the twins. They’re prodigies, probably going to make level fifty in less than fifty years.”
Kaden followed her through the door with Sara at his side. But he’d made it four feet when a high pitched shriek began to scream out from skulls above the door.
You have been hit with [Degrading Screech].
Your Mana Regen will be stunted for (2) minutes.
The Necromancer spun and pointed a wand at him “[Unseen Threat]!”
Kaden’s chest began to smoke and burn. His armor was magically enchanted, and resisting utter destruction. But beneath it, the metal rips that protected the gaping wound in Kaden’s chest glowed and twisted, writhing.
“No!” The Necromancer shouted. “I knew he’d come back. I knew that [Druid] lied. I take no joy in this, but may Mortis have mercy on your soul.”