The Legendary Fool

Tom found his attention captivated by smattering of maps scattered across the crystalline table, though, perhaps not quite as captivating as the strip of dried meat he was wolfishly tearing away at. With every bite a tangy flavour seeped onto his tongue, it’s savoury richness elevating what should have been bland tasting rations into a dish Tom actually found himself enjoying. Though he couldn’t be sure how much of his praise stemmed from having gotten used to a life of surviving on unflavoured, poorly cooked beast meat that oftentimes ended up contaminated with fur and dirt. Either way, Tom definitely wasn’t complaining.

“Jeez, if you were that hungry I could have made you something better,” Aleph’s voice sounded out from his left, her flowing silver hair now a tangled mess as her usually striking physique was lazily sprawled across the only cot in the entire chamber.

“Do you know how to cook?” Tom asked before his teeth sunk into the meat jerky, biting away another small chunk.

“I know how to fry. Basically the same thing,” she answered, her tone sounding a little amused.

Tom clicked his tongue in response, his gaze flickering back to the maps.

His interest already piqued, Tom decided to lean a little closer to get a better view of its intricate details.

His right leg inadvertently bumped into a hard surface, causing him to react with mild surprise. Although he didn’t recall scanning the crystalline table beyond a passing glance, his attention more drawn to the maps resting upon it, its tall height meant that he should have long spotted anything placed underneath it.

Slightly curious, he angled his gaze downwards.

“Aleph….,” Tom’s startled voice rang out.

“Yes?” An innocuous tone answered, oblivious to his surprise.

“What the hell is that supposed to be?” A bewildered Tom asked, his index finger pointing at a chest nestled beneath the crystalline table; a chest that was fashioned out of a deep, dark metal that was emanating a chilliness that he could feel down to his bones. Incandescent runic symbols ran across the length of the rectangular chest, its surface otherwise appearing to be impervious to blemishes, corrosion or any incongruencies. A small, circular keyhole no larger than a coin was placed in the centre of the chest, the only visible aperture he could spot and most likely, the only weakness in the entire structure.

‘And more importantly, how did I miss the most striking object in the entire damn room?’

“Oh that,” Aleph nonchalantly replied as she rose to a sitting position on the cot. “Well, it’s my inheritance.”

“Your…. inheritance?” Tom repeated after her, the question in his tone obvious. Whatever that chest contained, he was sure of two things… it was magical in nature and it was most definitely dangerous.

“Yes my in-heri-tance. You know, the thing your old man leaves behind after he croaks,” Aleph pointedly replied. “Well, the inheritance of the Noble Longstradia family, if you care for the specifics.”

Tom’s eyes widened in shock, his expression incredulous.

The inheritance of a noble family would have to be incredibly valuable, especially after seeing the casual wealth and influence merely borrowing Zenakris’ guise had allowed him to throw around.

“You would tell a stranger you met a few hours ago about your family’s inheritance?” He asked, expression incredulous.

“Well,” Aleph replied, as she kicked herself back onto her feet. “It’s not like I can open the darn thing. So why not?”

“You can’t open your own inheritance? Why? And is there a reason why I somehow managed to miss this conspicuous, three foot tall chest?” Tom asked, his tone coming out a little suspicious. There was simply no way that he could have missed something as prominent as a metal treasure chest; not after the alertness he had trained himself to exhibit in unfamiliar scenarios.

“Hm,” Aleph leisurely walked over towards Tom, until she was standing next to him.”See this rune,” she pointed out one of the incandescent markings he had noticed earlier. The particular one she was pointing at was a circular swirl that was rotating inwards, like a whirlpool, with an angled stroke striking along its diameter.

“This is a concealment rune. Works as long as you’re not actively looking for the item the rune is shielding or have a proprioception stat that doesn’t surpass the rune’s effect.”

“Why haven’t I heard of them before?” Tom asked, mostly because Aleph had volunteered the information so readily. That implied that it probably wasn’t something that most people were expected to know.

“Runes and Glyphs is knowledge that is generally reserved for Nobles. Bloodline Nobles, I mean. Though Academy students and the like are taught both, that’s only because their talent is too valuable to let slip by.”

“Why?” Tom asked.

“It’s dangerous knowledge,” Aleph replied with a shrug. “It’s also the reason why Nobles will generally be more powerful than commoners, even if both parties are using the same Deck Card,” she added.

“I see,” Tom replied, once again experiencing the pitfalls of a class-based society first hand. Nobles couldn’t allow free exchange of information without diluting their own advantages, their own superiority. Which meant that talented individuals would inevitably fall through the cracks, more out of a lack of knowledge than a want of ability.

“Hm,” Aleph intoned thoughtfully. “Are you angry?”

“What at?”

“At Nobles— people like me, for keeping such valuable knowledge away from the rest of the kingdom?”

“Not particularly,” Tom replied after giving it some thought. “It’s only natural that the Nobles wouldn’t give the common people the tools required to incite a rebellion. Maybe I would be angry if I had any intention to overthrow the rulers of this kingdom but honestly… I don’t.”

Aleph raised her eyebrows at that response. “Are you not a commoner?” she asked.

“I’m not a noble,” Tom answered, his tone oddly serene as his gaze flickered to the cavern’s ceiling.

Aleph shrugged, seemingly allowing him to drop the topic.

“Anyway, since you’re so willing to volunteer information, why can’t you unlock your own family’s inheritance?”

“Because,” Tom flinched as Aleph took a step forward, her right foot encrusted with crystals in the blink of her eye before she sent it crashing against the chest. Tom watched in abject shock as her crystals shattered upon making contact with its dark metal surface, raising his hand to stop the crystal dust from getting into his eyes. “It’s pretty much impenetrable. Though even if I had a weapon strong enough to force it open, the runes inside the surface would liquefy the chest’s contents. As for the way to unlock it, well…. my parents uh… well they had to leave before they could get around to teaching me the Greater Control Glyph.”

Tom noticed the rise in Aleph’s pitch as she mentioned her parents, followed by a crack in her voice as she tried to reign in their emotions. But there was something more to her words, something that caused the gears in his mind to start rapidly whirring.

“Aleph,” Tom tried to hide the tingle of excitement that had flashed through him, his voice coming across as a little deeper than usual. “This Glyph you mentioned. Do you think any Academy Student would know it?”

Aleph turned her gaze towards Tom, giving him an odd look.

“It’s not something that the Academy typically teaches, no. Not particularly because they’re inclined to hide it or anything but well, most of them simply aren’t talented enough to master it. But….,” She trailed off.

“But?” Tom asked, his expression piqued.

“There are a few among the direct descendants of Nobles that should be capable of it. Why?”

‘Interesting.’

“I was just curious, you know. If there was some way to beat the secret out of them,” He jested, trying to draw away Aleph’s attention.

Aleph responded with a chuckle.

“Do you even know what Glyphs are?” She asked teasingly.

“Am I supposed to?” Tom countered, feigning a little sourness.

His eyes followed Aleph as she walked over to the bookshelf he’d been interested in, plucking out a small, leather bound journal and thumbing through its pages until she found what she was looking for.

Tom had walked over to her, clearly intrigued.

“The Control Glyph,” she proclaimed. “Before you dream of beating a Noble Scion, first try to catch up with them.”