The Wandering Spire

Jeze’s schedule was packed. In the early mornings, she trained with the Frostsworn. Mikal, as the team’s healer, forbade Jeze from strength training and sparring until her arm was fully healed. Jeze instead ran with the team and drilled techniques and group tactics. Working as a part of a team was an area she lacked experience in. Jorgenson coached them over the different types of encounters they may face and the general tactics they should employ.

“You will face swarms of beasts that attack with little to no coordination. They will be fierce. They may appear fearless, but they feel pain. You stick together, you can outsmart them and break them. Then there are the undead. They feel no pain nor fear. What is worse is that many can harm you with a touch,” the Carl explained.

Jeze shuddered at the memory of when the ghost had touched her. The pain was unlike anything she had ever felt. Jeze would rather take a blow from Helga than the chill touch of the grave.

Jorgenson continued, “And finally, you will face hordes that are intelligent and utilize tactics. Always, as a team, you want to,” the Carl paused and looked each Proven in the eye as he held up his thick fingers to count off each rule.

“Protect your flanks. Stay Coordinated. Watch your surroundings. Attach ruthlessly, and be mobile,” the Carl stated and held up five fingers. Jorgenson added, “In the Spire you will always be outnumbered. Until you are able to link up with the other teams, it will be just you five verse insurmountable odds. You will need to run and find ideal positions to face your enemies. That is how you will survive.”

Jeze and the others nodded solemnly. Dunar stepped forward and clasped Jorgenson’s forearm. The Carl departed to work with the other groups of Frostsworn. Dunar turned to face Jeze and the others.

“Today, we will learn about Jeze’s abilities and how we can stay within range of each other. We will go over mock scenarios and train Jeze on our tactics,” Dunar spoke in a loud, clear voice.

The Proven turned to look at Jeze. Dunar asked, “What are your Rune abilities?”

Jeze counted on her hand and answered, “Fire, Earth, Darkness, Affliction, and Life aspects.”

“By the Frozen All Father!” Mikal exclaimed.

“Maybe you should study more like our little friend here, yeah?” Helga teased.

“What’s the big deal? How many aspects do you study?” Jeze asked.

Rolfe and Helga snorted.

“Water and Life. But I can perform advanced Rune Magic,” Mikal snapped with a glare at his colleagues.

“Like what?” Jeze asked.

“I don’t need to prove myself to you. Everyone knows what I am capable of. You need to show us,” Mikal responded.

Dunar stepped forward and stated, “Mikal can mend flesh and bone. He can also remove poison from our bodies and make us more resistant to disease. For combat, he fights with the spear and can freeze our enemies. He is very talented.”

Mikal nodded smugly. “Now, little mouse, what can you do?”

“Show him your Affliction spells,” Ziplocke whispered in her ear with a snicker.

Jeze scowled and Summoned the red Affliction energy and Shaped it into a curse. She figured Mikal would have a strong resistance, so she channeled a good amount of her Will into the spell and flicked it at the thin man. Mikal’s eyes went wide as he couldn’t avoid the fast moving ball of red energy as it struck him in his chest. The Frostsworn Healer grimaced and for a moment Jeze feared that he would resist her spell. Mikal’s body shook as he sneezed loudly.

The Frostsworn Healer glared at Jeze. Mikal tapped a Rune-covered vambrace and Summoned a ball of water that he splashed on the young girl. Jeze was soaked and before she could respond, Mikal Shaped the water to freeze that caused her to shiver with rage.

“Oh, ho! She looks like a Snow Angel!” Helga clapped her hands.

Jeze growled and began to Summon another Affliction spell, but Dunar stepped in between the two Rune casters.

“Enough!” He barked. His voice was so penetrating that it caused Jeze to stop her gestures.

“Aww, you are no fun Dunar. Let the two go at it,” Rolfe groaned.

The dark-haired Leader ignored the giant Protector and turned to Jeze. “What offensive capabilities do you have aside from your axe and knife?”

“My Rune abilities?” Jeze asked.

Dunar nodded.

Jeze explained to the group how she could attack with Fire and Earth.

“Show us,” Dunar ordered and tapped a heavy wooden dummy. The team Leader stepped back.

Jeze Summoned piles of Earth and Shaped them into stone fists that she used to strike the dummy from different angles.

“Oh, ho! Look how accurate she is!” Helga exclaimed.

Rolfe agreed and added, “That could come in handy for us.”

“What is the furthest you can attack?” Dunar asked.

Jeze thought about it and answered, “Maybe thirty meters.”

Dunar tapped his chin and said, “You need to practice further. We need greater range capability. Can you do this with Fire?”

Jeze demonstrated striking the dummy with flaming darts, and explained she can only attack from one direction with the Fire aspect. Over the next ten minutes Dunar questioned Jeze and she demonstrated her skills with the Darkness aspects. The team leader said he would explore more the stealth possibilities for the team.

“And you said you knew the Life aspect?” Dunar asked.

Jeze explained how she was able to close wounds but was not very good at it. Mikal asked to see her Channeling tool.

“This is adequate. Crude, but adequate,” he observed.

Jeze rolled her eyes.

“You must be happy to have someone that can heal you, no?” Rolfe asked.

Mikal scowled and simply nodded.

“How good are you at disarming traps?” Dunar asked Jeze.

Ziplocke cackled so hard that he nearly fell off Jeze’s shoulder. The others cocked their heads.

“I can disarm Rune traps,” Jeze stated.

“And? What else?” Mikal asked.

“I can pick locks,” Jeze offered.

“By the Gods, we are doomed,” Mikal said and waved both hands up in the air.

“You can at least spot mechanical traps, no?” Helga asked.

Jeze shrugged.

“This could still work for us. You have access to the Guild’s training facility, correct?” Dunar asked.

Jeze nodded. Since she was assigned to the Safe Zone Squad, Seb had told her that one of the perks was preferential access.

“Okay, you are to spend three hours a day learning as much as you can on traps,” Dunar ordered.

“Are you all mad? We can’t have a Scout that does not know how to spot traps!” Mikal cried.

“It is what it is,” Helga said with a solemn nod of her braided head.

Jeze excused herself. She had to report to Seb.

“Remember to learn trap finding, and tomorrow we will show you our tactics,” Dunar said.

Jeze headed toward the Guild’s training facility after she grabbed a bite to eat. This was her least favorite part of her busy day. She had to work with Seb’s blonde assistant, Val. She was maybe ten years older than Jeze, and Jeze did not like her. Val lacked warmth, and Jeze was not sure if the assistant was jealous. The teenager felt that Val had a hidden rage behind her fake smile.

Val was unable to pass the Trials and remained a Prospect. However, because she was skilled with Rune casting, the Guild had assigned her to the Safe Zone squad. Val would only enter the Spire when the floors were mostly cleared and as needed to repair the portals. Her primary role was to craft Channeling tools to assist the Initiate ranked Safe Zone Squad members with Shaping the Portal aspect. Since Jeze had the most knowledge on how to operate the portals, Jeze was to teach Val about the Rune patterns.

“This is simple enough. I’m not sure why Seb made such a big deal over the book you discovered,” Val said after she inscribed in detail the Runes necessary to operate the portals onto a rod. Her work was very good, Jeze had to admit.

“I had to fight for my life against Demons to get this book,” Jeze growled.

Val tilted her with a smile that lacked warmth. “Oh, that must have been hard for you. In either case, let us experts take it from here.”

Jeze fumed, and she wanted to point out to this smug blonde snob that she was a higher rank than her, but she stopped. Jeze asked, “I can go?”

“Yes, bye.” Val waved without looking at her.

Jeze shrugged, as long as she had some of her day back. She had plenty to do, and she wanted to head over to the Trap Training Chamber. Jeze was about to leave when Seb approached.

Val perked up upon the senior Guild official’s arrival, “Hi Seb! You need anything?”

The small, spikey-haired man nodded to Val and turned toward Jeze. “Do you have a moment?”

Ziplocke giggled at the look of disappointment on the blonde assistant’s face. “Aww the poor thing,” he teased into Jeze’s ear.

Jeze suppressed a laugh and asked, “What do you need, Seb?”

“Walk with me a moment,” the Guild official responded.

The two walked through the chamber where dozens of Rune casters practiced the Portal aspect. Jeze swore she could feel Val’s glare at the back of her head.

“Can you share with me, again, what you learned from the Pyramid?” Seb asked.

Jeze nodded and retold her experience, including the Archon and the Ones from Before.

Seb tapped his chin. “What you learned answers a lot of our questions. It makes sense why the portals only allow five people to enter at a time. It was a corruption of the Spire’s magical defenses.”

“They call it the Stronghold,” Jeze corrected.

“What? Oh right. I suppose we will remain calling it the Spire to avoid confusion. So every five years, this Stronghold tries to invade our realm, but the magic is still broken from the efforts of the Ones from Before?” The Guild official asked.

Jeze shrugged, “I suppose. What do you know about the Ones from Before?”

“Not much. Most believe they are only children’s tales. But what you shared opens up more questions than answers.”

“Our realm is in danger. The defenses are weakening. Also, I think someone is tampering with the Thresholds,” Jeze cautioned.

Seb’s eyes narrowed. “How so?”

Jeze told him how she felt the Portal Runes were damaged from within the Pyramid.

“That is not evidence of tampering. The energies can often cause the Runes to degrade,” Seb explained.

“But the Empire wishes to keep this knowledge a secret,” Jeze said.

“Again, no evidence of that.”

“What? They tried to silence me to keep the secret that the Emperor is not Immortal. If word gets out, there will be another uprising,” Jeze nearly cried.

Seb glanced at Jeze over the rim of his spectacles. “I’m from a small nation across the sea. I care not for the Empire, but an uprising is no good for anyone, especially for the Guild during a Wandering Spire event. What you are sharing can cause chaos. I suggest you keep your wild theories to yourself.”

Jeze placed her fists on her hips. “They are not theories. They are facts. The Emperor is not immortal, and the Empire is ruled by a corrupt family.”

“There is no evidence that the treasure of Immortality does not also reside at the top of the Spire,” Seb pointed out.

Jeze growled in frustration.

Seb rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I will add what you shared to my report. It is useful.”

Jeze let her anger subside and asked, “Can you teach me how to disarm mechanical traps?”

The question caught Seb off guard, and he stuttered. “I’m very busy working on saving lives. Go ahead and train in the practice facility. Someone else can work with you.” With that, the small man excused himself and went back to work.

“At least you have time to learn traps,” Ziplocke observed.

Jeze nodded in agreement and made her way over to the Trap Training facility.

Later that evening, Jeze worked on enchanting armor in Hannah’s tent. She was getting better and honing her Rune skills. Hannah was able to sell the armor and Jeze was earning decent coin.

“I wonder how Swordslayer and Rainbow are doing and if they formed a team,” Jeze said.

“Don’t worry about them. You have enough concerns for yourself,” Ziplocke snapped.

Jeze shrugged as she engraved the finishing Runes to a set of leather armor. She stretched and cracked her back. She will be very busy the next couple of weeks before the Wandering Spire appears.