Icarus Awakens

A short time later, around 2 pm by Daniel’s reckoning, he, Khare, and Khiat took once more to the streets of Aughal. Their section of the city, the southwestern quadrant, was basking in the shadow of one of the Spires. If the city had just one it could have made for a very large and colorful sundial, but that effect was spoiled by the multitude.

Following up on a tip, Daniel led the three past Morella’s Shadeways before realizing he’d made a wrong turn, and eventually turned around to find the small shop. Besides the main trade roads that each led to one of the Spires, there was a network of smaller streets that was harder to navigate. The cookie-cutter blueprints the original Builders of this city had used did leave things looking similar.

While Ornithar had made pains to keep his shop well lit, Morella pointedly kept it dark. Shades, no doubt one of the inspirations for the name, were drawn across the holes in the wall that circulated air throughout the building. Rather than cozy, there was an arcane sense to the space. What would have been slight darkness was broken up by glowing books, open to pages where the spiraling text of this world shone in many colors.

Morella herself was a middle-aged human on the shorter side, pale and wearing dusken robes that blended well into the darkness and reflected the light of the books. “Welcome to the Shadeways,” she intoned in a deep, mysterious voice. “To what mystic knowledge may I direct you” She then took in the gestalt, the dusker who was out in the day, and the human with a glowing crossbow on his back. The light from that completely spoiled the ambiance she was aiming for. “Would you mind dimming that light?”

“Oh, sorry. Khare, could you, thanks.”

“That’s interesting,” Morella commented, watching the light disappear at a certain point after the gestalt had swallowed the weapon. “So, I take it you're a team? Hunters maybe? Which of you is the Arcanist?”

“None of us are. I was just-”

“Oh for the love of,” Morella rubbed the side of her face with a hand and dropped the mystique from her voice a second time. “If you don’t have the Spellcrafting feature there’s nothing I can do for you! Spread the word, because it’s a rare day I don’t have to tell someone! Yes, you can use scrolls, but if your intelligence isn’t high enough they won’t work.”

Daniel would have left immediately if that last part hadn’t caught his ear. “I just wanted to see what a spellbook looks like, but if anyone could use a scroll my intelligence is 21. Is that high enough?”

“For basic ones maybe. Boy, what is your class?”

“Uh,” Not saying Artificer. If people keep mistaking me for this, might as well lean into it when it helps. “Totem Warrior.”

“You’re a Totem Warrior with an intelligence of 21?” She paused and toned down the hostility. “What did you say your level was?”

“Level 2. Is that too low?”

She blinked at him. “Well, you’re an odd one. What about your friends? Unfortunately for the plant all scrolls require incantation, but if the dusker is similarly talented size doesn’t matter here.”

“She just got her class,” Daniel said, being sparing with the details. “How much would a scroll be?”

“For basic ones you’d be looking at high gold to low vermillion in value. Single use, yes, but can you put a price on the experience of casting a spell outside your power set? I have a few here that I know no one else in the city sells.”

“Huh. I don’t have that much on me now, but we were thinking of taking contracts soon.” He and Khiat were still glancing around at the glowing books. “Could I just take a look while you tell me about some of them?”

“Don’t attempt to remove any of them,” Morella cautioned. “I’ve warded them. But if you’re willing to listen to a sales pitch I don’t see why not.”

“Are you supposed to tell me it’s a sales pitch?”

“What else would I call it?” She was about halfway back to the distant, glowing mage that had welcomed them but an air of realism had crept in. Daniel looked in complete incomprehension at the spiraling text on each book that flowed across the center to fill both pages. He could read the language, but it was written in a different context, like a code. Only the title of each page was legible.

Morella talked while he did so. “Scrolls appropriate for your intelligence, assuming you aren’t lying of course, but it would be your gold you’re wasting, are appropriately compared to spells a level 1 Arcanist can develop and cast. Nothing too flashy, in your case I would suggest going for utility since you’d be more than capable of handling any direct threats the old fashioned way. For example, Climbing Rope can summon just that and help you scale otherwise unassailable heights. Or perhaps a simple Mana Barrier spell if you come across a desert urchin. I even have one that can summon a small amount of water, though that’s one of the more expensive ones.”

“Huh. So, the level of scroll I can use is half of my intelligence?”

“Yes. How astute.” The voice carried mock applause for confirming something she’d already told him. “Are there any you’re interested in?”

“Khiat, Khare, you good?” They both nodded. “Thanks for your time. I’ll have to come back once I’ve made some coin.”

“Oh. Well, I’d be happy to help you find a scroll that fits your desires at that time. Thank you for your business!” Morella held herself up for a few seconds after the last one had left her store before grumbling. “‘Don’t have the coin’, sure you don’t. Carrying a giant glowing crossbow into my store and then telling me you can’t afford a simple scroll? Who do you take me for?” A lizard crawled out of a sleeve, holding a slightly curved, purple spine that was as long as it was in its tail. “Well, well. At least I got something out of you wasting my time. What is this?”

…

“We have some time, anywhere else you two want to go?” Daniel asked, as they walked away from the dark store and squinted. Mindful of the possible dangers on the street, he also withdrew his crossbow from Khare.

“I don’t know anywhere else here,” Khiat said. “I’ve heard of large markets and theaters from my father.”

“Theaters? You mean like plays? They do plays here?”

“I think so. I’ve just heard his stories, but I’d like to see one.”

“Huh. You know Khiat, I think other duskers visit the tavern at night. We could all start waking up later if you wanted to talk to some of them.”

“Alone?” Daniel couldn’t see her face under the travel armor, but he heard the nerves. He thought back to Roost’s Peak and how a Cleric had helped him. Hanging around in a tavern wasn’t his ideal, but he was also curious about how different it would be when the room was full of duskers.

“I could stay up with you. You don’t have to Khare, but you could come too if you want.”

“Companion.”

“Great! Does that sound good Khiat?”

“Sure, I guess. Shouldn’t we be trying not to draw attention?”

“Hunter makes that hard to avoid anyway. I wonder where he is? I could ask but I feel like advancement’s not the kind of thing you interrupt to just check on people.” Not that he, Mr. Advancement Cheat, would know.

“How would you ask?”

Shit. He thought quickly. “Lograve still has a connection active on me and Hunter’s out with Tak right now. They have a kind of understanding. I could see if he could ping Tak but that would be a lot of trouble.”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

I’m getting too relaxed around her, Daniel thought, sharing a glance with Khare. It was easier too when they had eye sockets. Too many secrets, and too many people who only know half of them. I’m glad I told Khare at least. “Well, we’ll have some cash after meeting Arpan. Is ten vermillion a lot?”

“Yes, I don’t think my father’s even seen one of those coins.”

“Oh good. I still think it’s a little low, but I’ll take it. I’m thinking I keep 3 and everyone else gets one.”

“What do you mean?” Khiat asked at the same time Khare just said “Share?”

“Lograve’s the one that realized what the metal was, and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for everyone.” Daniel shrugged. “Maybe I should save one for Gadriel too? Tlara can go make her own money but he’s, eh, we’ll see.”

“I don’t, I mean.” Khiat bent away from him slightly. “Why me?”

“I feel bad. And it seems right to keep things even from the start if we’re going to make more money from monster hunting. I am getting more than the rest, but you don’t know how hard enchanting is.” And some of the money is for Hunter, he added privately. “I should ask Arpan about that too, what it’s like at level 5.” Daniel looked around and sighed. “Anyone know how to get there?”

After awkwardly asking several people for directions to the shop, the three made it there by midafternoon. Even though they’d returned at more reasonable hours, the door was locked. A few minutes after knocking the second time, Arpan opened the door instead of Dril. He looked at the small alleyway and took in the diminished number of guests. “Where’s Lograve?”

“Advancing. He said you probably wouldn’t need him today?”

“Smug know-it-all. Alright, come in let’s make this quick. This is supposed to be my night off. You have as long as it takes me to copy that formulae.” Daniel paused as the others entered. He looked back to where the small street met with one of the larger ones, confused by a feeling he couldn’t place. “Are you coming!?”

“Sorry.” Daniel took in the storefront for the first time, having been distracted before. Like the other two, it didn’t resemble the others at all. The wall facing the street didn’t have windows, for obvious reasons, so interior light was generated from permanently mounted torches. These were akin to the magical sparking ones used in the Thormundz to prevent accidentally burning a gestalt, but the light they produced was white-green and floated above the stick as a ball.

Otherwise, there were no magical items of any kind on display. All this room had was a counter, in front of which was a set of fine chairs and a low table set against the wall. The passage the suit of armor had led them through was nowhere to be seen, neither was any way to reach the second floor. “Secret walls?”

“Yes. You’d do well to befriend a Builder with potential. Any merchant is only as good as their store. I’d have been robbed blind countless times if these walls were made of just stone.”

“I did know one, but…” Daniel trailed off, the memory and the pain from it returning for a moment.

“My condolences. Now, the wings?” In Arpan, Daniel saw a little of Thomas when the Cleric was in business mode. Here, there was the definite impression that his presence was only tolerated. At Daniel’s gesturing, Khare placed the wings on the counter. Arpan immediately ran over and placed his hands directly on the metal. He nodded to the chairs. “Have a seat. Your coin will be ready once I’m done. And no bargaining!”

“I had a couple of questions if that’s ok. Not about money,” Daniel added quickly while Khiat took one of the largest chairs instead of just collapsing her legs. It creaked a little but bore her weight.

“So now you want free advice? I’ll remind you I paid for your formulae.”

“And I’ll pay you! I’m just curious if they exist.”

A thoughtful look crossed Arpan’s face as he focused. “Hmm. Honestly, I hadn’t given a thought to trade with other Artificers. Selling my formulae, that is. Haven’t had the opportunity to discuss or visit the ones in the surrounding regions. You’re level 2?”

“Yeah!”

“Shouldn’t be much competition then,” Arpan said dismissively. “What do you want to know?”

Daniel was a little taken aback but rallied. “Your focus has functions, right? Dril, I mean. You can speak through him at least.”

“Focus Enhancement, yes. It’s hardly a power type unique to Artificers.”

“Really? Anyways, is there any way I can extend the range of one of mine? Duplicate it even?”

“What is the effect you intend to alter?”

“Protection from divination. Scrying, stuff like that.”

Arpan looked at him, apparently not needing to keep the wings in sight while he absorbed the formulae. “To what degree does it protect you?”

“I’m not sure about how strong of a power it’ll hide me from, but it goes out about a hundred meters. I was trying to see if I could make a relay to boost the effect.” Arpan stared at him, gaze unmoving. “Is that doable?”

“You’re level 2? Dril, why can’t you do that?” The armor didn’t respond. “I won’t say it’s impossible, but if I had some way of duplicating focus functions then I’d have two sets of armor, wouldn’t I?”

Fair. “What about bags of holding then? Something that can do what Khare can do except as an item instead of a person.”

“Those exist. Are you interested in the formulae? I’m afraid to tell you though that I haven’t needed to write down any of mine seeing as, until today, my afternoons weren’t interrupted by random visits from other Artificers.”

“I mean, if you have one I can just grab the formulae from that like what you’re doing now.”

Arpan considered this and frowned. “Sure, but I’ll charge you full price for a bag. No, twice the rate considering you’d start making them. Lower quality I suppose, but still a detraction from my business. And I’m not waiting an hour for you to absorb the formulae.”

The unpleasantness in Arpan’s voice didn’t border hostility but implied he was serious about the price. “Ok, how much?”

“Two vermillion. You can afford that, can’t you?”

Yeah, but it’s a lot. It feels like that at least. Is Bartering giving me some intrinsic sense of worth, or would I be better at it if I knew how much things should cost beforehand? “If it makes a difference, I’m not looking to start a shop, and Lograve said we can make all we need monster hunting.”

“You can die all you need to doing that as well. Hunting is for Martialists. Artificers like us don’t need that much advancement potential anyway. Stick to your core attributes and just keep the rest high enough that the disparity isn’t debilitating. Dril still won’t let me forget accidentally reaching level 5 when my strength was 19 instead of 20.”

“The armor is sentient?”

“No.” Arpan eyed his motionless Focus suspiciously. “I’m just about done here. I’ll get your coin and a message for Lograve. I have both good and bad-” He stopped abruptly as the front door opened, looking startled when he saw who was coming through. “You?”

Whoever it was had concealed himself with long robes and a cloth mask over the face, though there was a strange gritty texture over everything that suggested some power was active on them. Daniel guessed they were avianoid based on the fact that something was poking out the front and the frame wasn’t right for a draconoid. “I’d assumed you wouldn’t be entertaining other visitors.”

“I didn’t know you were coming this early. Something came up yesterday and I hardly have a way to contact you, do I?” His eyes were fixed on a bag the woman was carrying. “Dril, show her the way. I’ll finish up here.”

“Who are these people?” the woman asked evenly, still surprised and very suspicious.

“Friends of a friend. Monster hunters, not involved in our business.” While the new visitor was calm, Arpan had only become more agitated by their presence. When the woman didn’t ask anything else and instead followed the armor as part of the wall became transparent, he relaxed slightly. “No questions about that, understand?”

“Sure,” Daniel shrugged, under the impression this was either a mysterious client or, something he hoped he was wrong about, someone Arpan was the client of. “I might be interested in that bag though.”

“Not now. Wings, yours. Bag,” he reached under the counter and came up with a pouch that was smaller than Daniel’s palm. “Count. Count them!” Daniel confirmed there were ten coins made of a deep, shining green placed inside the small bag. “Message: Tell Lograve to come by tomorrow at dusk in two days. Understand? Good, now out!”

The door locked behind them as the three were ejected unceremoniously. Daniel felt like he should be excited at how much money he now had, assuming he was right about its worth, but couldn’t help but feel off balance. Khiat seemed to share the feeling. “That woman.”

“What?”

“She.” Khiat paused again. “I don’t think my class would work on her.”

“You mean your new power? How do you know?”

“Just a feeling.” She didn’t elaborate, but the troubled tone in her voice spoke to a deep unease. “Let’s get back to the tavern.”

“Are you sure? We could try and find a place that sells arrows you could use. Here.” He took out a coin for Khare and Khiat each, handing them over. He felt uneasy again at that moment and wondered if this was the kind of money you didn’t show out in the open.

“Let’s just go back. I’m a little hungry.”

“Alright. We just have to, uh.” He looked towards the road. “Dang. We might have to ask for directions again. Unless you know the way, Khare?”

Khiat held up a hand and pointed in a direction. “No, wait, I think I can get us there.”

“Really?”

“Yes,” Khiat nodded, some of the unease drifting out of her voice. “The general direction at least. If I’m wrong, would you mind asking for directions again?”

“No worries. Lead the way!”

…

They weren’t all Blessed. If they were, other avenues of life might have been available. Or, more likely, they’d just be that much better at what they did. Sherry had the potential though, unique out of the group. While she hadn’t hit her wall, there was an inexorable feeling of dread that she’d come up against it any day now. No one of her family in living memory had ever attained a class. That, and a down spiral of misfortune over the years, had left her at the end of the line with not much to show for it.

Awakening the Rogue class had given her opportunities, and a grudge carried from her family’s poverty the motivation to go down darker paths. Rogues were thieves, weren’t they? She wasn’t a good one, only at the mid-range of level 1. The people she brought with her made up the difference. Magical powers were one thing, but they could be overcome through sheer force alone if necessary. Mana would exhaust, reinforced skin would break, and empowered blood would run. Aughal’s current society was built on that principle.

Even so, Sherry wouldn’t be foolish enough to outright attack another Blessed, with or without backup. Not unless they’d proven particularly stupid, flaunting wealth in the open streets and not even noticing when she’d placed a marker on one of them. Crest, a shopkeeper’s familiar had stolen a strange purple spike off them without anyone noticing. The man with the crossbow just walked the streets without any care for his surroundings. No, these people were begging for it, and by chance, Sherry knew exactly what they had on them.

As she continued to use Mislead on the least powerful of them, who the Totem Warrior and/or Artificer helpfully mentioned had just awakened, the rest of her people moved quickly through the streets to one of their ambush spots. Only she could have a chance at tracking level 2 targets without being noticed, whereas everyone else just had to hide from them for a few moments. By the time everything was in place, the sun was still in the process of setting. The area they’d led their prey to would be too dangerous if it went below the horizon, but now was the perfect time.

Sherry sighted the man with the ridiculously golden crossbow from her position on the roof above him, waited for them to be exactly halfway down the alleyway, and let go of her bowstring.