Millie had gone out on a limb and just assumed there would be difficulties with visiting the Fortune-Teller. It only seemed natural given the way things had been going. Hell, that had been before she’d all but verified her Drawback too. So, during her time scouring the Forums, she’d looked for any information other students had shared on him.
Know your enemy and all that, right? She mused. At this point, she had small dossiers containing information on all the big players in Magincia, not just the bug-bot.
Her prudence proved to be damn near prophetic—according to reports, the Fortune-Teller’s shop had been moving around the Academy, appearing in a new location every M-hour on the M-hour. If she’d tried to visit him again in the primary shopping district, she’d have found only a blank space in the wall.
Thanks to that foresight (spitefully motivated though it was), she was able to figure out the simple pattern of his movements and predict where he’d turn up. By the time the third M-night was ending and the fourth day was about to begin, she took CJ and Raj with her to visit him—CJ’s nearly dead phone filled with all ten pictures of the Tarot murals Raj had discovered around the Academy for her.
The shop itself was much like she remembered it. Occult paraphernalia scattered the walls and shelves, and behind a large glass display case was an oversized beaded curtain. She knew that beyond it the massive bug-bot was waiting. The scent of incense, and a few other herbs that Millie vaguely identified now thanks to her vision, filled the room.
“Fortune-Teller,” Millie said, voice rising. “I’ve come to bargain.”
Nearby, she heard CJ snort. “Did you really just pull a Doctor Strange reference here?” He said quietly.
“Shut up,” she snapped back, voice lowered. That one had been a genuine mistake, but now she felt somewhat foolish for it.
“Ah, but that was a wonderful movie, wasn’t it?” The oddly deep, bass voice of the insectile servitor called out from the backroom. “I’m so glad you recommended it to me. I didn’t think I’d enjoy it so much.”
With an unnecessary flourish, the bug-bot swept through the beads, parting them with his knife-like fingers. His beetle-taur body, still covered in glowing Runes, came to a distressingly graceful stop next to the counter. Then, he sat down, shortening his looming height from intimidating, to simply annoying, as his human-like torso rested against the glass. Millie glanced up and tried not to scowl.
He’s still wearing that fucking tiny turban, she observed. Why? Why god, why?
“I don’t remember recommending anything to you,” Millie said carefully, her eye twitching. She still didn’t know why that hat bothered her so much.
The bug-bot’s metallic mandibles lifted in a grin as he regarded her. His dull, red compound eyes almost seemed to twinkle with mirth—even his twin pair of rod-like antenna flicked around his head playfully. If she didn’t know any better, she’d think he was glad to see her.
“Ah, but just now you did—did you not, Initiate? Careful what you say around me, my dear. It just might influence our future interactions.”
Millie snorted. She was less afraid of the Fortune-Teller this time around, but her mounting frustrations over the last few E-days left her feeling flippant. “You know, I can’t tell if you’re fucking with me, or just trying to show off your magic tricks.”
“Oh, now that won’t do. I can’t have you doubting—care to put me to the test?” The metal-bug said. “Ask me to reveal something. Anything you can think of. I’ll pull it out of my hat, so to speak. Make it something improbable though, we wouldn’t want to make this too easy.”
Millie narrowed her eyes. She thought she understood the purpose of his challenge, impromptu though it was. If the things she said, now or in the future, were things the Fortune-Teller could in fact scry, then he should have already taken the steps to prepare for whatever it was she asked for. But then, what was the point of even having this conversation? Wouldn’t he know everything already?
Fuck, this has already gotten off track. She paused to look at her two companions.
“Ask away,” CJ offered. “I mean, what’s the worst that happens, he proves himself right?”
When she looked to Raj, he just shrugged before crossing his arms. He said nothing, but she was pretty sure of his message. This is your show, do what you will. Also, he kept looking at the bug-bot’s hat, making Millie feel she wasn’t the only one offended by it.
“Fine,” Millie said with a sigh. “Take off your turban and show me a smaller hat underneath it or something.” Then I’ll at least be rid of it.
The bug-bot lifted his knife-like fingers, stroking his round face thoughtfully. Millie tried not to wince at the loud, scraping sound that created.
“What kind of hat?” He finally asked. “Please be specific, I could have anything under here you know. For instance—there could be a dragon devouring an elf under my hat. Do be careful though, it might be sick. Heartburn you see, the poor thing, I hope that elf doesn’t come back up.”
Millie stared at the robot blankly, barely keeping herself from facepalming. Okay, yeah—he’s definitely fucking with me. But why? What’s the point of this?
“Anything?” She asked, pausing as he nodded. She then pursed her lips.
What was something entirely unbelievable she could test him with? Something wholly unexpected? Something that could prove that this peddler was actually capable of fortune-telling and wasn’t just messing with her? And not a dragon choking on an elf, or whatever, that could be an illusion he cast. She wanted something real. Something tangible. Something she could hold in her hands.
Though, she still felt a tad ridiculous. This was obviously a test he was going to pass—otherwise what would be the point? As such, she couldn’t help but feel that maybe there was a greater point he was trying to make here with his demonstration. A reason for the odd conversation they’d started off with. She was frustrated that she couldn’t see it.
Then again, maybe he really was just a dick. ‘Strickland’s warning of ‘Don’t trust the Fortune-Teller’ reverberated in her mind.
Eventually, she sighed before shaking her head. “Okay, here’s something harder. Show me a Wolpertinger plushie with a signed label that says ‘To Millie, with love.’ Then give it to me to hold, to make sure it's real.”
The Fortune-Teller nodded, before reaching up with his deadly fingers to take off his tiny turban. Underneath it was…
Nothing.
“Huh?” She exhaled. She…honestly hadn’t seen that coming.
The Fortune-Teller laughed. “Please forgive me, Initiate McArthur, but I couldn’t help myself.”
Millie furrowed her brows in confusion, about to question him further, before he reached below the counter and pulled out a small plushie of a horned rabbit. It was signed and everything. He slid it to her.
“Please, my gift to you,” he said. She numbly took it. It was real, there was no doubt in her mind. It even squeaked when she squeezed it; something she’d have wanted but forgot to ask for.
“Now, while I’m sure you have questions,” he continued, “let me make one thing clear. The future can be read, but what you see isn’t always what will occur. Not outside the highest tiers of magic, of course.”
She furrowed her brows, waiting impatiently for him to finish.
“The thing to wonder, however, is did I actually prepare this item for you ahead of time, or did I use another technique out of sight to conjure it?”
“You…did the former, right? Scried the future?”
The bug-bot looked at her for a long second, before breaking out laughing. “Of course not! I put in an order the moment you requested it, and used my hat to distract you long enough to retrieve it with help from the System.”
“What?” Millie sputtered in indignation. “Why this whole setup? What was the point of this?”
The massive servitor leaned forward. “To show you something,” he said. “Do you know how many different things you could have asked for? Simple readings on the matter reveal hundreds. My personal favorite is one instance where you asked for a tap-dancing miniature of myself made from KNex pieces.”
Damn it, she thought. Why wasn’t I the Millie who thought of that one?
“Of course, that would have proven problematic. You weren’t aware of the limitations in the System’s production lines, but something made of a thousand tiny pieces would have caused a severe strain. Each individual manufacturing unit would have needed to focus on creating them. Imagine the backlog that would suddenly introduce? And then some poor servitor would have slaved away to put it all together. All by the time you finished requesting it.”
“But…a plushie isn’t exactly easy,” she argued. “And it still took it only a few seconds to put together.”
“Ah, it seemed like a few seconds for you, but I put in for a rush job. Time can be manipulated my dear, but the Governor is loathed to do so given the magical cost.”
“I don’t—”
The bug-bot held up a hand to forestall her. She frowned, but dropped her protest.
“What I wanted to prove here, however, was that yes, I could be aware of what you asked for, but there are levels to our Spells. Nuances and costs to consider. Why put in the effort to determine the exact outcome—ensuring I knew specifically what you were going to ask for—when I could instead gauge the myriad possibilities of your requests and then nudge it towards something I could handle with the help of additional techniques?”
“So…you really didn’t know I was going to ask for a plushie?”
“Oh, First preserve us no. I just ensured the hardest choices were off the table by manipulating the odds. Something I suspect you would be very…interested in learning about.”
His emphasis left no doubt in Millie’s mind about what he was implying. “You know what my Drawback is, don’t you?”
“But of course, Initiate McArthur. Why wouldn’t I? I am the one who cursed your Fate, after all.”
Millie started, feeling her companions nearby do the same. “You did it? You?” Mother fucker, Strickland was right. Hell, is he why Strickland came after me in the first place? “Why did you do it? Just for the Drawback?”
He nodded solemnly. “That is correct. Oftentimes in Magincia, you will find a simple ruse behind what seems a complicated mechanism. For instance, Liam’s issues are, ironically, self-created in his quest for power. Rebecca’s are a matter of fear, pride, and stubbornness consuming her in a deepening spiral. Thomas’ are…well, still straightforward. He simply can’t metabolize other substances properly as his body is immune to toxins and poisons of all kinds. It turns out Alchemical goods don’t work properly if their mixtures are thrown off.”
He knows all the other’s Drawbacks too, she thought. I guess this confirms them for me at least.
Raj unfolded his arms and stepped forward. “Does that mean if we…addressed you, somehow, then Millie would be safe?”
“No need to be coy,” the bug-bot said. “If you killed me, that might indeed solve a few issues for Millie, but it wouldn’t protect her. She will always struggle against the vagaries of Fate, for reasons I’m happy to explain to her. And if those aren’t addressed, she’ll soon find I was the least of her problems.”
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The Fortune-Teller smiled, his mandibles clicking suddenly. “Also, Initiate Kaul, I don’t recommend trying to kill me—I may play the role of a small-time antagonist for Initiate McArthur, but I assure you I am still quite beyond you at the moment. All servitors are.”
Millie lifted a hand to Raj’s shoulders to pull him back. While she doubted he was dumb enough to try anything, and she appreciated his willingness to protect her (and also suspected he was equally frustrated with how things had been going lately), she didn’t doubt the Fortune-Teller’s warning here. The bastard literally had blades for fingers and was made of metal.
“Cool then,” Millie said. “What’s up with Fate and how do I deal with it?”
“Ah, now that is a good question,” the bug-bot said. “And I must say, I am quite pleased you managed to get this far to ask it. Not all of your futures ended so well.”
Millie grit her teeth, trying not to think of alternate reality versions of herself kicking the bucket. “Just answer the question. Please.”
“Very well, very well,” he said, waving her off. She flinched instinctively as the blades whooshed by. “The easiest way for you to understand the nature of Fate, and thus your Drawback, is as a simple balancing act. You are familiar with the concept of Karma, yes?”
Millie slowly nodded.
“Then consider Fate like that. The more fortune is bent to favor you, the more negative Karma will build up to strike at you later. Likewise, twisting the Fates of others causes reverberations in the Weave. Ripples, which will always come back to harm the original source, whether you meant ill or not. A price is always paid, so don’t think to shirk off your negative Karma on another.”
“Then why is all this bad stuff happening?” Millie countered. “I haven’t changed anything. Why are you inflicting negative Karma on me, or whatever?”
“There are two reasons,” he said, counting with his finger-blades. “The first is something you’ve already surmised. To teach you to respond to Fate Backlash by mitigating it, or controlling it in some fashion. The other is because to be given the Axiom Seed Gift you had to have a negative fate. Something catastrophic. So much in fact, that you would be willing to lose your life to divert it. The Gift you’ve been given is the only way you will avert that Fate.”
“My…son,” Millie muttered. “So you’re punishing me because I want to save my son?”
“Not quite,” he said drolly. “I’m twisting Fate against you to actually help you succeed. After all, the natural flow of Fate is that you will fail and your child will die. What I am doing instead is channeling it into negative outcomes you can address. Your obstacles may be frustrating, but I have confidence you’ll overcome them. Trust me when I say—it could be far worse.”
She breathed deeply at his warning, rocking on her feet. After steadying herself, she turned her gaze back at the Fortune-Teller.
“Let me get this straight,” Millie said. “You gave me a gift that would allow me to save my son, who was otherwise Fated to…to die.”
The bug-bot nodded.
“But because of that, the normal course of Fate has been changed. I can’t do anything about whatever Fate might do to fix how it's been changed, so you’re instead creating hardships for me, to absorb that negative Karma, or whatever. You’re balancing the scales, just in a different way than Fate would naturally do it.”
“Correct!” The Fortune-Teller cried out. “I am so glad you took my advice about your mental Attributes. I assure you this conversation would have been far more frustrating for the both of us if you hadn’t.”
“Thanks,” she said flatly. “There’s a few things I don’t get though. If I was given the Tarot cards to manipulate my Fate; shouldn’t the ones who gave them to me be suffering from Backlash? I’ve barely used them.”
The servitor chuckled. “I told you there are nuances, my dear. Powerful Spells or items can change Fate completely, or even work to directly mitigate the repercussions. It’s a dangerous and messy affair though—and not one you need to concern yourself with given your current level. All you need to know is that your deck is working in the background for you, actively reducing the odds of your child being injured. Its goal is to fulfill your wished-for future. That isn’t something I or anyone else has had a hand in.”
“That’s…” she paused, considering his words. There had been a lot of close calls—had the deck really been working passively to ensure her child was safe? It sounded like some sort of lame plot armor. If it protects my son though…she swallowed hard, before pushing the thought out of her mind. I’ll sort through this all later.
“You also said the source of Fate manipulation gets the Backlash or whatever. Shouldn’t you be suffering from it for manipulating my Fate?”
The Fortune-Teller cocked his head in thought. “Hmm, how best to…ah, I think I know. Consider this: it's hard to create meaningful waves in tumultuous waters. My efforts aren’t stopping the tide, merely helping direct its flow. One of the dangers of a Disciple of the Axiom, such as yourself, is how exposed your actions can leave you. In the future, you would be wise to know that others can make your Backlash far worse.”
She grimaced in annoyance before the servitor put a hand on hers. She froze in fear, but surprisingly, his blades didn’t cut her.
“The blade can cut both ways, Initiate McArthur. The truth is, of all the Seed Gifts yours is the most frightening. The things you can see, or the Fates you can control, give you a power few can compete against. And those that do will often find themselves worse off in every conceivable way. For the eddies of their simple divinations will become tidal waves that drag them under should you but lay down…a single…card.”
When the servitor withdrew his hand, a Tarot card remained. She recognized it: it was The Tower from her deck. It symbolized destruction and chaos and was the unmistakable omen of imminent danger or failure. While most, like Millie before studying the Tarot, would assume Death was that card—in truth; nothing compared to The Tower.
She slipped the card back into her deck with a shudder. For some reason, it felt like a lesser omen but she didn’t know what for.
“Now,” he said, his voice drawing her attention back. “I believe you had more to discuss than just your Drawback?”
“You…know what I’m here for, right? Do I need to even say it?”
“Initiate McArthur,” he said, shaking his head. “You were doing so well.”
“What?” She snapped.
“How do I…? Ah, how about this,” he gestured to the crystal ball he’d left near the display. She vaguely recalled it from the first time she’d visited his shop.
“Imagine if you will, the various ways this conversation could occur.”
As he spoke, the inside of the crystal ball turned misty, before images of Millie speaking with the bug-bot appeared. It didn’t remain static, however. Instead—several images cycled through, each of them showing Millie standing slightly differently, some with different classmates with her. Oddly, in each of the mini-visions, the servitor had a different hat. Though they were always miniature.
“What kind of questions do you think you’ve asked?” He said. “I told you how variable your choices can be. Have you considered how that will interact with your responses?”
As he said that, the image in the ball changed to a Millie standing there, arms crossed while the Fortune-Teller lectured her. With a start, she realized it was a reflection of her now.
“If you choose to allow me to skip ahead in our conversation, you relinquish all control over how it might evolve. Branches, Initiate McArthur, can happen with even the smallest decision. What you learn, and how you learn it, will be based solely on your own inquisitiveness. Even when you eventually gain the ability to peer into the future, do not be so quick to discount the value of undergoing the experience of approaching it. There is a difference between knowing what may happen, and living it. Even with seemingly simple conversations.”
Millie had to fight not to roll her eyes. She knew he was making good points, but a part of her was quietly convinced he just enjoyed mansplaining. Or would it be Botsplaining?
She sighed. “Fine, I’m here because I’ve found the pieces of the Tarot puzzle my Seed Gift has led me towards, but I can’t cast it. I need your help.”
“Terse, but acceptable,” the Fortune-Teller said. “And you two?”
CJ and Raj exchanged glances.
“We’re just here to protect her,” CJ offered. Raj nodded in agreement.
“An admirable undertaking, Initiates. Truly. However, I’m going to have to ask you both to step outside for the time being. This quest is for Initiate McArthur, and her alone.”
The two glanced at her, but she just sighed. Of course there’s information restrictions. There always is, isn’t there? After a few moments of quiet back and forth, they agreed to wait outside.
Now alone, she looked back at the bug-bot.
“Alright, Fortune-Teller, lay it on me.”
“One day I will have to put you on the quest to discovering my true name,” he replied, an odd…emphasis with the way he said true. “Alas, that shan’t be today. Instead, let’s bring this conversation back to costs and balances.”
Millie had to fight not to scowl. “Alright, what about them?”
“You’re not even going to guess?” He asked playfully.
This time, she didn’t fight it and let herself glare full tilt. The bug-bot sighed.
“As you wish. The short answer is simply this: I can give you the tool you require to cast that Spell, but the cost is too high for you to afford.”
“How much is it?” She pressed anyway.
“Fifteen thousand resource points.”
Millie managed not to choke on that. Barely.
“So it’s a…tier-five artifact?” She guessed after some quick math. It was still on the expensive end—only the really powerful magical items started at a grand before the cost hike for the tiers. Most were closer to a hundred.
“Correct. This item…in fact,” he paused, reaching out and sliding the crystal ball and its cushion closer. “Is a rather simple, if high-level item. It slowly absorbs ambient energies, and at a small cost to yourself, allows you to channel the Mana within it, draining it instead of yourself.”
“So it's a Mana battery?” She said incredulously. “I didn’t think that kind of stuff existed?”
“Not in the lower tiers, certainly,” he said defensively. “This is a mid-tier item designed for Apprentices to hone their craft. Sadly, its usefulness declines sharply in the Adept tier as most Magi of that level have either unlocked their Auras or mastered Ritual casting.”
“Uh, I don’t suppose you’ll explain that further?”
“The answers you seek can be found in the Archives,” he said. His mandibles raised in obvious smugness.
You son of a—“Ha fucking ha. So what’s the deal then? What's this going to cost me?”
“Oh, nothing you currently possess,” he told her. “This tool presents an opportunity for you, opening the doors and giving you access to that which you currently lack. In exchange, when an opportunity arises in the future—something of equal or greater value—I shall work to take that opportunity away. It’s a simple give and take.”
“What kind of opportunity?” She pressed. “What am I losing?”
“Honestly? It’s hard to know for certain. There are many options, all dependent on your actions. On what you discover, and how you react. But that is my cost—opportunity for opportunity. What say you, Initiate McArthur?”
He raised a clawed hand, waiting for hers.
Millie stared at it, uncertainty filling her. However, it didn’t take her long to stamp down on the feeling. While she hated the idea of losing out on something in the future, the fact of the matter was she really needed that Mana battery. Now.
“Fine,” she said, taking his hand. She really hoped she wouldn’t regret this.
“Excellent. Then it is yours. Oh, but one last thing before you go…”
----------------------------------------
“What do you mean you have to be alone for this?” Katelyn asked.
The class had regrouped as Millie explained why she’d lugged home the oversized, and over-hyped, Mana battery. The bug-bot had been rather irritated when she’d kept referring to it like that, which only made her more determined to keep doing so.
“It was a requirement of the quest,” she explained. “The Spell is going to show me a vision, and I guess it's possible for others to join in on it if I’m not careful and that’s not allowed. I don’t know what kind of trouble I’d get in if I tried it, but the Fortune-Teller had been…insistent.”
He’d made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that he would stop channeling her Fate to protect her and would instead make it worse. Millie decided not to elaborate on that here, however, as that would only bog things down.
“Are you going to do it now or after our rest cycle?” Tanya asked.
Millie shrugged. “I figure I’ll do it now, which will give me the night to recover. Er, rest-cycle I mean.” The fourth day’s rest-cycle had crept up on her much too quickly.
“Are you sure it's safe?” Katelyn asked.
“The Fortune-Teller told me it would only cost a single Mana to activate and then channel the Mana inside it to fuel the Spell. It should be fine. If it costs more, I’ll be able to tell and I’ll just cancel it.”
The group had mixed reactions, but ultimately few could find any reason to persuade her against it. In the end, they simply gave her their well wishes, many saying they’d stay up to see how it went.
Back in her room, she got her servitor to check on her health one last time (just to be safe), and got a clean bill. She also got another warning that the Governor was getting tired of authorizing the System's ability for her servitor and would deny further requests. That was annoying, but she figured now that Katelyn had her Attainment, she could just start bothering her about such things.
With everything set, she took a deep breath, and then placed her new crystal ball on her table and prepared her Tarot cards.
The bug-bot had explained how to set them up around the ball, using it like a focal point for the magic. A part of her had wondered if her cards might one day be left behind in favor of specialist tools, like this crystal ball, but the Fortune-Teller had assured her that her deck still carried more power in it than anything else she’d gain on her quests.
She hoped it would be worth it. While he’d told her that her Gift was supposed to save her son, she still felt like it was damning him. She also still felt oddly unnerved after seeing The Tower card earlier. I hope I’m not getting superstitious, she thought darkly, before steeling her emotions.
When the last card was placed, she raised her hands over the crystal ball and tried to feel for the magic. It took her several minutes of concentration, pushing blindly against the ephemeral feeling in her soul, before she finally latched onto it. After a few more long moments of exploring how to interface with the device, she eventually tapped into its substantial well of power.
She immediately regretted it.
The well of power was greater than her by several orders of magnitude. Her mind barely comprehended the dozens and dozens of drams inside, before it all rushed towards her, pressing into her, like gas escaping to a lower pressured space. The void of her soul’s tenth layer immediately buckled as the energy slammed into it, her entire being rebelling in agony as it was forced to channel the magic. It was like lighting rushing towards the ground that was the cards. Only for her poor body in the middle, it was too much. It was far, far too much, she realized.
It was also too late to stop. She thought of The Tower one last time as the scream on her lips died. Everything—
Went black.