All the Dust that Falls

Chapter 297: This Skill Sucks

I didn't understand why Beatrice was having so many problems with her new skill. I watched as she focused on her breath again, her brow furrowed, and her eyes narrowed. Air rushed to fill her chest as she attempted to breathe in. But as her lungs inflated, she shook her head and frowned before resetting back to her previous position.

She had explained the skill to me, of course. However, I found myself unable to provide much more insight. It seemed as natural as cleaning was to me.

I watched as she held the rock in front of her face and focused again. I had shown her how it worked several times, but for some reason, her mind just didn't let her do it. I beeped worriedly as she focused on the top of the carpet as we sped closer and closer to the city.

Our dragon friend and his companion talked quietly amongst themselves, discussing something, but I was too busy splitting my focus between Beatrice and the capital. It had been a long flight back home. I had resisted the urge to zip ahead and check on things myself. Instead, I was using the winds to greatly speed up our progress. I might have been able to get there a little bit faster alone, but we would all arrive within the day this way.

Thankfully, my worries didn't seem like they'd been warranted. My sensors were telling me that the city walls still stood way off in the distance, just over the horizon. Soon, the others were able to see them, too. The wall stood tall and unblemished. No host surrounded the capital, and our flags still flew.

I let out a whir of relief, my actuators releasing their tension. I projected the image I saw above my head, and the other three all similarly let out big sighs of relief.

Beatrice, though, was still concerned. "And the castle? Is the college as safe as the capitol?"

That was a good question. I was reasonably certain that the castle would be safe, but

Archibald and Daedalus frowned. "We shall continue on there," Daedalus rumbled. "I need to visit my lair. We will make sure that it is safe and drive off any threats that may be nearby. You two should check on the capital, though. Let us know if there's anything wrong. We'll keep in touch."

I beeped my appreciation and waved goodbye as the dragon banked slightly. His massive form sparkled in the sunlight and headed off on a course that slowly took them away from us. As they headed toward the castle, I calculated their ETA. They would be there in a few hours, and I sincerely hoped that all was well.

But as it was, we needed to inspect the city to make sure nothing had gone wrong. As we soared over the walls, several people pointed us out, and a cheer grew, echoing through the city as people welcomed our arrival. I projected a very large image of myself waving with my arm as I greeted the people who seemed very pleased to see me. It was good to be back.

---

Bee absolutely hated her new skill. She couldn't stop herself from mentally cursing, wishing that she had chosen Still Movement or even Granite Mind as she tried for the umpteenth time to inhale a rock.

As usual, it had come with instant knowledge of how it worked. An innate understanding of its use. Sure, some experimentation was required to find the limits of any skill, but the basics should be instinctive, like how her Scan ran. But no, that wasn't the issue. It wasn't that she didn't know what she needed to do; her mind just simply wouldn't let her do it. Because it didn't make sense.

And how could it? How did one breathe in a rock? She had choked on it more times than she cared to admit on the way back to the capital. At least Archibald and Daedalus had found it amusing as she spat out the gritty stone over and over.

Stolen story; please report.

She attempted to breathe in again, this time focusing on the switch that shifted her airway between its new tracts. One deposited things it into her lungs, where air was supposed to go. The other went somewhere else. Somewhere she wasn't familiar with. But the skill told her it was meant for this kind of thing, so she had to trust it.

But as soon as the rock started to shift in her palm, the switch seemed to flip back to her lungs on instinct. It felt as though she simply couldn't reconcile the idea of the skill with its practical use. It was infuriating. She had seen her master use the skill hundreds, if not thousands of times, and it looked so instinctive and simple. But it just didn't work for her.

She grimaced, but refused to give up. This was something she'd have to work through, and preferably soon. She couldn't let a level 60 skill selection go to waste just because it made her uncomfortable.

Eventually, though, she took a break from her efforts. Bee placed the rock behind her as they soared over the city towards the palace in the center. Her master waved to the adoring crowd below as they welcomed home their god. She could only imagine their faces if and when they found out that it had killed four more Lieutenants. Permanently. Though she wasn't sure how many people would actually believe the legends. But the ones who did would be filled with relief and awe.

But at the same time, Bee herself couldn't help the concern hanging over her. Seven more were left, and she was not confident in their plans to deal with them.

In the inner wall of the castle, two groups welcomed her. One was the pair of men she left to rule the city. Arthur and the Warden stood in front of the doors, hands clasped behind their backs, watching Void come to a stop in front of them. Off to the side were Zeal and many of his followers. Zeal's white-garbed followers were glaring at the two men, but Zeal himself appeared calm as he genuflected in front of Void with a shout. "We welcome the Lord!"

Many members of the welcoming party followed, though Arthur and the Warden just bowed low.

"Welcome back, Lord Void," Arthur intoned. fre(e)

Bee looked around, sensing that something was wrong." Thank you. Tell us what has happened since we've been gone."

Arthur remained focused on them, but the Warden shot a look over at Zeal that seemed to contain some hidden meaning. Bee didn't like the look of that. Not at all.

"There have been disturbances, my lord," Arthur said, but Zeal spoke up from off to the side.

"No, there has been no disturbance. Simply a keeping of the peace."

"As I said, disturbances, my lord."

Bee raised her eyebrow at the men. "And your soldiers were not enough to keep them quelled?"

"We have prevented any mass unrest or large-scale issues, but the citizens themselves cannot be ruled by force. Not sustainably, at least." Arthur said in a measured tone. "My men are soldiers, not peacekeepers. And if they were to take such forceful measures against relatively minor offenses... they would be seen as conquerors instead of liberators."

Zeal nodded. "Yes. The people demand their own justice. And they have seen the right of it. They follow the Lord's most particular commands to the very letter. We've kept the city clean."

Bee didn't like the way the man said that. Between what the men did and did not say, she was starting to get a clearer picture of the issue. Still, some part of her hoped that he was wrong.

She had known that this confrontation would need to come eventually, but she had hoped it would take longer.

Arthur nodded reluctantly. "The city is not disturbed by a lack of order, but rather a too stringent enforcement of it." He gestured over the wall. "We have heard disturbing reports of prisoners being taken and marched through the city to be left in stockades. No trial nor posting of their crimes, though they were watched by the whole populace in shame."

Zeal scoffed in the background. "No posting of their crimes. It was not necessary when they were witnessed by many, and the whole city stood for the verdict," he said indignantly. "The man spilled a cup of wine on the floor in a tavern in front of all. Such drunkenness and messiness shall not be allowed. It offends our god."

Bee watched as Void let out a slow beep as he rose up and vanished over the city walls. "See?" Zeal said. "No doubt our Lord has gone to administer punishment as he sees fit. We've only held those committing such heinous actions in captivity. As we wait for the Lord's final judgment of them."

That was enough. Bee let out a slow breath, clenching and unclenching her fists. "Zeal. What have you done?"