Icarus Awakens

Before Gordon of Farthest Run had weighed the merits of interrupting whatever conference was still happening on the roof to make a report, the yet still unnamed team was faced with its own critical decision. “Alright, who’s next?”

“You don’t want to go next?” Daniel asked, and Evalyn shook her head.

“Oh no. Mine should be last. It might, well, we’ll get to that.”

Evalyn wasn’t giving anything to go on with that and Daniel was still thinking, so he asked, “Khiat, do you know what you want to do?”

“Oh! I’d like to talk to Gtoll again. If he isn’t helping the guard now. He was very nice.” The others stared at her. “After the fight, at least.”

“Not that we wouldn’t do that but it might be easier to find him tomorrow night if he’s out and about now.” Evalyn didn’t mention the fact that they’d just spent the last hour doing something very similar. “We can go anywhere in the city, do anything! And all of your people are up now. Although, someone else can go if you need time.”

“Um.” Khiat looked around, hoping for inspiration. “I’m not sure. I am hungry though.”

“You want to get food?”

“Yes.” Khiat correctly interpreted the look of dissatisfaction on Evalyn’s face. “No. I want the best food.”

As it turned out, this was as hard a prospect as finding Festra. Not because their target was one among unknowing thousands. In this case, they could quite easily ask around. That was the problem. Everyone had an opinion and also offered opinions on others’ opinions gratis. Places that catered to all kinds, keeping to the traditional 24/7 hours of a city that never sleeped, were quickly ruled out. No, said the common dusker, the many discordant notes joining in one harmony, if you want the best food, you shouldn’t go to some trashy all-night diner. For the best food…

And that was where opinions diverged. Though the giants tended towards a carnivorous diet, they still had a rich palette as a culture. Then, there was experience and ambiance to consider. Having started their search about midway from the Spires to the walls, near where Festra lived, they missed out on recommendations for the truly pricey and exclusive joints run by those that catered to the city’s richest. This was probably for the best, as these establishments could charge prices that could humble the team’s prodigious budget.

Any thoughts of the compromise, proposed by Tak, of employing a variation of the bar crawl were shot down after they reached the first restaurant and saw the prices. And the portions.

Their journey eventually led them to a permanent stall built into one of the large, open courtyards you occasionally came across while traveling the city. The ground was still compact sand and dirt, like the one in the Hunter’s Guild or the Divine Quarter. The square sat somewhat close to Moon Spire on the north side of the city, to the point that the buildings around had been converted to new brick. The stall itself, named the Lunar Grill in the written language Daniel could read, was an exception. It didn’t have walls, instead, several thick staves of rare wood had been driven into the ground to support stretched canvas. The same material provided a communal roof over the entire square, blocking the night sky now and the lethal sun during the day.

“Lunar Grill?” Daniel asked himself skeptically, seeing the name. At least it doesn’t have ‘dusk’ in the name.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Daniel said quickly.

Evalyn turned away from him with a curious expression. “It smells like a grill. Anyone want to bet on whether they’ll serve Hunter?”

“They will.” Tak didn’t sound like it was a question, though neither was he attempting intimidation. “This is a good idea. Very smart.” The Totem Warrior, who couldn’t fully read but could understand pricing, eyed a sign posted near one of the entrances. “Oh. Very expensive.”

“It is?” Khiat asked worriedly. “We can go somewhere else if it’s too bad.”

Daniel looked at the sign and frowned. “This doesn’t seem too bad.”

“Ten bronze for a side? That’s just under half a gold!” Evalyn exclaimed, drawing attention.

“But that’s, what, less than a thousandth of what we were just paid?”

Evalyn looked at Daniel, seeing a rich man with no idea of what normal things cost. Even Bartering wasn’t putting in work here, maybe because dining wasn’t associated with Daniel’s theoretical profession. “Daniel, a good loaf of bread costs half of a copper coin. We each spend about this much for food at our inn every week. Or, we would if Thomas still wasn’t paying for us.”

“Is he alright, by the way? It seems like he’s been too grateful recently. Like when he was trying to make up for getting my Focus destroyed.” Daniel frowned. “He’s not still doing that is he?”

“We’ll talk about him later, this is Khiat’s time. Khiat?” she turned to the dusker reading the menu with a mixture of excitement and uncertainty. “This is fine for tonight.”

“Oh, that’s great! This place smells really good. I’ll probably get seconds.” Khiat looked into her bag of holding, the opening of which was just wide enough to accommodate her arm. “Or thirds.”

A trio of duskers, two of indeterminate gender and a child, walked by quickly. The fear gripping the city could not grasp the team, but it was still present. At another time the child might have shown curiosity towards the ‘tamed monster’, but not tonight. “Let’s get in before they’re packed.”

The interior space was set up in a way not at all representative of the eateries Daniel had seen so far, both of his world and others. For one, no chairs. He’d already observed how duskers could collapse their legs to get a similar degree of comfort. Happily, that meant the tables were only so tall that they’d have to eat standing, instead of on top of one another. No one else in the establishment had this problem, as everyone else was a dusker.

Such a crowd instantly made Daniel feel as if he were a child accidentally wandering into a fancy restaurant. Only Hunter could compare with them in terms of bulk, but he was long instead of tall. While stares greeted them at the entrance, nothing else did. No waiters, or assigned seating. Instead, there was a large setup in the center reminiscent of a 360-degree bar. It was a large square table surrounding several cooking spaces, tables of some ceramic-like surface heated by fires underneath. Whatever they were burning produced no smoke, which would have otherwise flooded the space.

A board reiterated the menu posted outside, slight variations in the writing confirming that it had been hand-written. Daniel had seen enough to know that mundane objects, like serving trays for example, could be replicated en masse by those with powers. This was not the case here.

“Do we order up there?” Khiat asked one of the nearby patrons, who nodded. She was gathering the least of the stares.

Would we be kicked out if she wasn’t here? Daniel inspected the menu again as Khiat marveled at the cooks rather than order. Five bronze would get you a drink here, whereas the most expensive meal was three gold and multi-coursed. He recognized sesel and skink meat on order, among other species monstrous or otherwise native to the region. Wonder if Farthest Run’s ever sold stuff to this place.

“We’ll be happy to serve a Blessed,” one of the staff was saying as Daniel thought, “But not that. Have your monster wait outside.”

“Druid,” Hunter rumbled in a self-satisfied way as half the room just stopped.

“W-why?” the server stuttered, something Daniel hadn’t seen a dusker do before.

“Things taste different. Better. I can pay.” Give me the mind-move thing, Hunter mentally asked.

What? Oh, ok. Daniel reneged Jump from Hunter’s shared powers and sent Telekinetic Reach over. The ringcat had so far elected to keep two powers standard on him at all times and hadn’t shown too much curiosity in the other ones despite knowing about them. The disinterest always puzzled Daniel, who would have jumped at the chance to try out Hunter’s powers himself.

Somewhat unsteadily, Hunter mentally opened the bag of holding hung around his neck and withdrew a gold coin from it. To his credit, the server recovered quickly. “Ah. Unusual, but to experience the palette of a monster? I understand. Actually, no, I have to admit I’m jealous. My apologies for offending you. What would you like?”

You’re getting better at lying.

It helps when I can enjoy it, Hunter thought, while smiling at the server. “Sand mole filet. Three of them.”

Despite Hunter’s small win for the advancement of respect for awakened monsters in society, of which he was the sole member, he still had to eat on the floor. Daniel would have paid money to see Hunter standing on his haunches, which would have just allowed him to put his paws on the table’s surface, but that was too painful of a position to hold for long with the armor on. Also, there wouldn’t have been enough room for his order.

Hunter had spent five gold in total for his order of the elusive sand mole meat, one serving of which was heaped onto a plate one meter in diameter. It occurred to Daniel then that there might be a reason behind the higher prices.

“This is amazing!” Khiat had a huge fork in her hand that the larger plate and jug of water made appear normal. She had, of course, ordered the three gold meal. Daniel, Evalyn, and Tak had received normal-sized silverware that only made their meals that much more daunting. Even the stew Daniel had ordered, hoping it would be less meat-heavy, would have been more appropriate in the center of a king’s feast hall next to the full roast pig.

“Hmm. A little gamey for me. But good.” Tak smiled through his fanged beak, the Totem Warrior having adopted his ringcat aspect to better eat the meal. “No spice?”

“There’s a kind of sweet glaze on mine, but nothing I’d consider spice either. Huh.” Evalyn turned to Khiat. “Do you like any spices Khiat?”

The giant insect that had just taken a bit of flesh returned the gaze of the Bard. While she swallowed, Daniel again reflected that Thomas’ fear of the race might not be entirely unfounded. “Mmm. Not really. The only one from the village who liked them was Hwfel. Cinnamon, I think.” She took another bite, slowly and with relish. “It’s ok. And I like sweet things.”

“Mine’s good enough. I mean, as far as spices I like garlic, but I don’t think it would go well with this. What about you Hunter?” The ringcat didn’t even respond to Daniel’s question as he attempted to fit more meat than even his stomach could handle into him. “I’ll take that as a vote of approval. What?”

Tak was frowning. “Still nothing from the bond. Something is there, but I don’t know what it is. Frustrating.”

“Probably not an Empathic Link like me then. You’d know, trust me.” Of all of his sensitivity training thus far, Hunter and Daniel had agreed not to push the envelope with their emotional link. It was, as Daniel put it, ‘still too weird’. And Khare has that active all the time? No wonder they see things differently.

A few people came to the table, initially towering over them before they locked their legs and looked at Khiat. “Blessed,” one of them greeted as they all nodded. “You are the one that met with Gtoll earlier tonight?” A note of excitement entered the voice of what Daniel decided was a male youth. It was just too familiar to how Khiat could get around Gadriel.

“Um, yes. He was so cool! I’m Khiat.”

“Gtisi,” the first speaker replied with what was probably a smile. “I am Lord Tsook’s third son, otherwise I would have tried for a class too. The family doesn’t want me to get any attribute farther than eight.”

“You’re nobility!?” Gtisi and his companions looked bemused at that, at least to most of the patrons they did.

“Khiat, there’s twice as many of us as there are you. I’m just rich, but you, what kind of powers do you have? What’s your class?”

A familiar edge colored the team as again someone poked at that particular secret. “Ranger,” Khiat replied with halfway practiced ease. Fortunately, she didn’t have to lie for the next part. “I don’t have too much. I just started but they’ve been hunting for months. I can mostly hit things harder if I want to. With my arrows,” she clarified. “I have a special attack that can immobilize something. And, I can be in the sun for a little bit each day.”

The restaurant hadn’t come to a full stop when Hunter spoke, but it did at those words. It had been Gtoll’s name which drew every ear into the conversation, if temporarily. Long enough to hear those words. Every head turned, and Daniel remembered Farthest Run’s words. Apparently, the cultural impact of sun-resisting powers wasn’t the same in the outlying villages, because Khiat was just as surprised. Are we about to get mobbed?

Gtisi took a step back and one of the people at his side bowed. Amidst the clicks of the crowd processing the news, a word resounded. “Sunwarded.” It took the other hunters a second to realize the emotion in the air was awe. Even traveling with Khiat they’d been slow to recognize how emotions played across the race.

Then, they were actually mobbed. Only Hunter made it out with his food intact, dragging one plate with his mouth and the other with his mind. If someone tried to take one from him, they might lose a hand. “Should we help her?” Daniel asked, looking as the crowd began asking Khiat about every aspect of her life.

“Can we help her?” Tak wondered, looking at a wall of strong, impassioned adorants.

Evalyn appeared conflicted. “As long as she sticks to the story, it should be fine. But what are they doing?”

Daniel continued to listen, working out a trend to the questions barraging Khiat. “I think they’re trying to figure out why she got that power. As well as ask her out?” He frowned. “Ok, maybe we should step in.”

Evalyn had a winsome grin on her face. “No, let her enjoy the attention. This will be good for her confidence. Gods knows she needs a boost.”

“She’s been doing well.”

“We think she’s doing well, but I’m still worried about her. This is a good thing. Probably.”

Daniel blinked at her for a few seconds. “But- ok, but what if she gets attached to someone? We’re leaving for Threst soon.”

“And that should hold her back from finding love? I don’t think there are many duskers in Threst. Maybe she should stay here. It’s not like she needs to worry about being hunted anymore.” There wasn’t much he could say to that. Instead, he just sighed.

“I think one of them is eating my food.”

…

The team’s retreat from the Lunar Grill was only made after Hunter had finished eating. They had ultimately decided to leave Khiat behind, though only after being assured that she was fine by the dusker herself. Overwhelmed a little, but fine. Hunter was more of a casualty.

“Why did you order three meals?” Daniel chided. “They’re giants! You should have thought about that.”

“Urrk.” Hunter emitted a sick noise in response, part of it coming from his stomach. He’d finished eating, but despite all the determination in the world he hadn’t cleared the last plate.

“Food coma. Very greedy.” Tak shook his head, features reverting to their default settings. “You could have taken it to go.”

“Didn’t think to,” Hunter mumbled.

“Do you want me to give you Fortitude? It might help.” Hunter collapsed onto the ground in response, awkwardly laying on his side as the armor pressed into him. “You’re ok, right?”

Full, Hunter mentally messaged him and Tak.

“I’ve never seen him like this,” Evalyn commented. “Daniel, it’d be best if you go next. We’ve still got a few hours left and Hunter might feel better after you go.”

“Well, I still only have one idea. It could be boring but it is something I wanted to look into. What if we checked out an Alchemist’s shop? There has to be at least one open for duskers.” Evalyn gave Daniel the same look she’d initially given Khiat. “What? The only other thing I could think of was food and we just did that. I’m curious. And since you suck at healing we should have something for emergencies.”

Evalyn crossed her arms and then relented. “Alright. I didn’t look into potions too much before because you’re generally wasting money buying them at level 1, they can be expensive. In the realm of gold for lower-level ones.”

“How about the ones we used during the dragon fight?”

“Gold to vermillion? Nothing above that I’d think.” Both turned as Hunter made a very unpleasant noise while Tak tried to drag him from the grill. While most of his armor was made of smooth plates, one of the lips made to accept the lightning wings was dragging a trough into the ground. “It’s a shame their new bond doesn’t cover indigestion.”

“It probably is some kind of combat thing. That’s the motif of it, I think? Like how I’m a monster hunter Artificer and you're a buff Bard.”

Evalyn glanced at her arms. “Thank you.”

“That’s not what I-” Daniel caught himself before he said anything to spoil the mood. “So, potions?”

…

Alchemists, as a class, fulfilled a different role in the societies of the Octyrrum compared to Artificers. In one sense, the difference was class rarity. A region could have any number of potion makers, yet only a few Artificers. In another, Artificers created permanent works of magic while alchemy could only make one use items. This did not mean Alchemists were any less useful. Enchanted armor was all well and good, the most expensive magical gear one could buy in fact. Yet when your stomach is torn open, you’d reach for the work of Alchemists and not Artificers.

On the other hand, were they that different? Both classes created a secondary market of their own from the demands of reagents and materials. Aside from extraordinary or short-lived cases, they did not pursue a life of hunting like other classes. And, most importantly, they knew their worth.

Daniel frowned as he inspected the violet fluid with silver flecks on the shelf. The bottle was on clear display like the others, without any obvious protective measures. Someone could quite easily take it and be out the door before being stopped by the proprietor behind the desk. At least, that would be the case without magic. As it stood, Daniel got a very ominous feeling whenever one of his hands moved towards the glass.

Joruza’s Bottleworks was, in fact, a non-dusker operation open in the early morning hours. Rather than staff at all times, the sole Alchemist kept a sleep schedule similar to how Daniel had had to adapt when the team took on Khiat. Except, rather than choosing to sleep in, the draconoid shopkeeper was an interminable morning person who used careful doses of sleeping potions to briefly rest at dawn. Another point to the differences between Alchemists and Artificers, if on a scale of two.

Daniel looked away from the level 4 mana potion (priced on sale at 20 lapis) to the woman behind the counter with light blue scales currently breathing into a flask. That was the politest word he could think to use. As a descendant of water dragons, Joruza had awakened a breath ability that had been influenced by her class and aversion to general fighting. Rather than become a fire hose that could douse enemies, Joruza could generate various alchemical bases to assist in her work. With her mouth.

Another difference between Alchemists and Artificers. Of the two professionals Daniel had seen, he could conclude that Artificers liked to work in private while Alchemists enjoyed publicity. He had to admit, there was more showmanship value in seeing various beakers and flasks change colors while passed over flame compared to dully staring at material and willing it to be magic. At the same time, he wished the draconoid didn’t need to mind her supplies so frequently.

“Ah. Taken with my work, Artificer?” Joruza wiped something that smelled faintly of vinegar from her cheek as she toyed with her current patrons and continued brewing potions. “I can assure you everything is priced accordingly. I’m always in need of more storage space, you know, so I’m not averse to bargaining. I can’t tell you how relieved I am to hear I have someone other than Arpan to deal with now.”

“Thanks,” Daniel ventured, still off guard. “But, you know I’m more of a hunter than an enchanter right?”

“Oh how could I forget? All that means to me is you need my potions.”

“I wouldn’t say need,” Evalyn replied, smiling. “Half our team has Regeneration.”

That didn’t even phase the saleswoman. “Healing isn’t everything, is it? Trust me, it’s a whole different world when you can restore your mana more than once per day. Have some flashy, high-cost ability you like using?” Joruza asked, in sales pitch mode. “Mana potions! That one there is overkill for your level, I’ll admit. It’ll take a level 3 from empty to full and give them enough of a passive recharge to last an hour or so. Word of warning though, don’t drink one when you’re full. Overcharging your mana doesn’t do good things to you.”

Oddly, this was putting Daniel at ease. Probably because the Alchemist had economical powers. And he’d come here out of curiosity, hadn’t he? “So, you could use these to heighten more features than normal?”

“Well, no. Heightening reduces the amount of mana you can regain through potions. Or other means. Some potions can help with that! Only, those stingy bastards further in the kingdom charge insane prices for formulae of that caliber.”

Huh. I wonder if it works this way for her too. “But can’t you discover formulae on your own? Through experimentation, I mean.”

“Oh sure, sure. If I felt like spending weeks developing what I could just buy.” She gestured to her storefront full of glittering and sloshing bottles. “In the meantime, I’d run out of all my stock, stop making money, and go bankrupt. And this is not a city you want to end up in debt to.”

“What about formulae you couldn’t buy? New ones, I mean.” Daniel didn’t have any of his gear out and wasn’t about to pull an arm bow on a store owner, but he could pull out his experience. “In the Thormundz there were these lightning spines I was able to improvise with and make formulae I later refined. Remember the flying ringcat? I made that, and I’m pretty sure it’s unique to me. What if you tried using one of those in a potion?”

Joruza, who had heard all about that event, didn’t seem impressed. “And? I can make a potion of flying. There are doubtlessly other Artificer formulae that can produce a similar effect. Threst would have commissioned it themselves if it didn’t already exist. Why go through all that effort figuring out some new component when you could stick to what works, make a fortune, and buy whatever you wanted? Oh damn, I’ll need more albedo. Excuse me.”

Daniel tried not to mirror the draconoid in throwing up, made more difficult by the fact that she was now spewing some form of white liquid. Ew. But that’s a fair point. I mean, even I haven’t experimented anymore besides making things I knew should exist. There just isn’t anything like the lightning spines here, not in the monsters at least. I hope the ornithopters will pay off.

“See anything you like?” Evalyn asked as a distraction from the Alchemist. She had been perusing too, though hadn’t taken anything exotic herself.

“The healing potions aren’t too bad, even if I’m not sure what the difference is.”

“Lesser ones seal cuts and stabilize. Normal ones repair organs and bone if it’s a clean break. Their effectiveness goes down on higher levels, by the way. A five drinking a level 1 potion would only get more hydrated.” Joruza said quickly, half-filled flask in hand. “You using a level 3, well, you probably wouldn’t need that unless you’re fighting another dragon, but who can put a price on staying alive?”

“You?” Daniel said, noting the listed prices. 10 gold for a level 1, two vermillion for level 2, and one whole lapis for the level 3. The entire team couldn’t afford the most expensive potion, though if they were expecting to fight dragons weekly, he could see justifying the cost of the largest bottles. It’s still a lot of money.

“Well, of course. I’d rattle off everything that goes into the simplest potions but then, well, I’d have to charge you for the formulae. Let’s just say that my margins aren’t as large as you would assume.”

“Anything here that could be used for disease, poison, or parasites?” He thought of the swarm parasites and shuddered.

“A base healing potion wouldn’t work for those,” Joruza said, frowning. “Poisons tend to require specific antidotes. Annoying to synthesize if I have to, but every so often a Lord gets bitten by an exotic pet. I do have a formulae for Potion of Remove Malady, but that’s 50 vermillion and a week turnaround. Too expensive to keep on the shelf, at least for now. I had hopes trade would get better once the Thormundz was up and running, but, well, you know how that turned out.”

“Hmm. I’ll keep looking then.”

“Sure, sure.”

Evalyn had given a few perfunctory glances around the shop, mostly at the weird potions, but didn’t have nearly as much interest as Daniel. She saw Daniel looking at every single label and then turned to the woman mixing four vials simultaneously. “So, is it hard being a water draconoid in the desert?”

“Oh? Not really. Levels help. It’s not like I’m a water-based species either like our Fate.” She drank one of the vials, a dull green, before spitting it into an empty flask over a flame. It was a different color coming out. “Ahm, sorry. This is a Potion of Lesser Grace, the timing can be quite tricky. You know, you look like someone who could make great use of this. One vermillion and five gold, but worth it.”

“I’ll pass, thank you.”

“Oh well.” Joruza shrugged. If she had hair, she might have tossed it too. “I do poisons too, you know. Relatively easy to apply. Not that Bards use them frequently, but you are part of a team aren’t you?”

“I haven’t seen any poisons so far,” Daniel commented from further down the line of bottles.

“Well, obviously they don’t go on display. Check the green binder if you’re interested.”

“Any thoughts on leaving the region?” Evalyn asked as he looked.

Joruza’s movement fully stopped with that question, though just for a moment. “Why? If this is some kind of Bardic thing then let me tell you I am happily taken.”

Evalyn shook her head. “No, nothing like that. I’m sorry for giving you that impression. We’re heading to Threst sometime in the next few days and were curious. With everything going on.”

“Oh, I see. Threst? No. I’m afraid of heights,” she half-whispered. “One wonders how long the Council will stay in power. It’s stood since Armafus fell but with the loss of the Thormundz?” She scratched her chin with a stained claw. “Kallical? That’s as boring a region as you could find. Fields everywhere. Higher level monsters. More competition, but I have made some improvements that could give me an edge.” She blinked as several bottles were placed on the part of the counter that wasn’t partially on fire. The fact that Daniel’s fingers weren’t bleeding meant they were taken with the right intent.

“Six vermillion and change for everything?”

“Yes. I see someone’s been successful. Anything else for you, miss?”

Evalyn took one last look around after buying a few health and mana potions of her own, and then said, not unkindly, “No thanks, I can’t find what I want here.”