Tread Lightly

I skeptically look at the two men who are smiling wide in dark leather. They both have black hair and reasonably slim builds whose frames must hide power due to their careers. The older brother Virgil is slightly taller and has a missing front tooth. Vernon has two hands scarred by burns that he uses to reach out to shake my hand. I hesitate for a moment but eventually clasp his hand after I think about how amiable they've been. Much more than Wiley or the other bandits, even at first glance.

While I shake Vernon's hand in introduction, I inquire what they are doing this out here late. I have reasons, chiefly because I'm forced to be out here. But why are they here? It should be treacherous out here, right? And they have a sibling to care for, so what the hell are they doing out here?

"I'm Wyatt. Happy to help whenever I can, but what are the two of you doing all the way out here in the dunes this late? Are you not aware of the oncoming break?"

The two of them, Vernon and Virgil, both glance back to the decapitated head on the ground and then look back at me. Virgil speaks up first despite me mainly asking Vernon.

"Out here for money, what else? We got a huge family that needs us to take care of 'em. And our youngest sister is really sick with a rare disease. Priests or Shamans willing to help an Unsigiled are rare and expensive. Occultists who can heal are cheaper but always come with risks."

I nod in sympathy. If I had known about Sigils before Ma died, I would have gone out and tried to get something to help her. She had always told me that there was nothing that could be done. I hate that she lied to me. I hate that there are so many things I don't know about her now that she's dead. Hints keep popping up everywhere that she's not who she seemed. Why would she allow herself to just die? Indeed, people would be willing to help just to get into my father's good graces. Money isn't the end all; power is.

My thoughts slowly shift from Ma to the money they spoke of. Are artifacts worth a lot of money? I figure their downsides will lower their worth, but as I said, power matters. And artifacts have an abundance of it. I ask the two in front of me, who obviously have the answer.

"Is that artifact really worth that much money?"

Vernon looks at the head and nods emphatically.

"For sure! Artifacts are worth a bunch of cash. This one here would probably sell for over a thousand dollars. Maybe even two or three thousand because it's quite unique. But if it was a Sigil higher, its price would near a thousand gold eagles, ten times as much as least."

I ask for more clarification from personal experience while a small thought considers how much the Bloody Palm would be worth. Even with its dire cost, living is what matters most. Would it be worth a thousand eagles, gold coins worth ten times a paper dollar? I'd say so, but this lantern? I have trouble seeing it sell for just a thousand dollars, a tenth of each eagle.

"Why? Aren't the negative effects of artifacts too strong?"

Vernon nods once more while Virgil inspects the head.

"Yeah, they are, and I'm sure this one's awful. That's not all that matters, though. Only a dozen or so craftsmen can make Colts, Claymores, or other types of gear that can match up to lower artifacts. Even fewer can make things that compare to artifacts of organs like skulls, hearts, or actual items. The negative effects are always bad, but they are always worth it. Virgil, tell him about your artifact."

These guys seem to be really friendly. Especially Vernon. He appears to be genuinely talkative and energetic. To be honest, a remarkable change of pace after the past two days. Virgil's attention shifts to the two of us from the head. Then he pulls something from his pocket and tosses it to Vernon.

"You tell 'em. I'm checking this thing out. It's so weird. I've never seen this type of artifact before."

Vernon fumbles to catch the object but eventually grasps it before it touches the ground. It's a small letter opener that's dyed dark blue. He yells at Virgil for throwing it at him, amusing me a little before quickly turning back to me, ignoring the mishap.

"The hell! Don't throw this fucking thing at me! Look, Wyatt, this happens when an artifact from an object is made. This one is only a 1st Sigil, but it's as powerful as most 2nd or even some 3rd Sigil crafted weapons. It can cut through almost anything."

Vernon shows off the letter opener to me and pulls out a small piece of steel from like a handle or something. Then, he slices the letter opener into the steel, and it goes through as if it were actually opening a letter instead of steel.

It's pretty impressive. Especially if it's only a 1st Sigil artifact, like they said. My 1st Sigil rapier is only a bit better than one without a Sigil at all. Vernon continues bragging after setting it down when I exclaim how cool it is.

"Artifacts are always mighty, but they aren't everything you should use, or you'll eventually die from their negative effects. I have a 2nd Mark Colt, and Virgil has a 3rd Flamme bowie knife to replace this little thing; I named it Cutting Words. Clever huh? I just wish it wasn't so weird. While holding it, you cannot read, write, or understand anything but spoken words. Not even facial expressions or hand signs. That's why Virgil holds it most of the time, 'cause I talk a lot and make up for it. That, and he's fluent in Hunter hand signals."

While listening to him speak, I grab my pack with Dakota still sitting inside it with his head peeking out. Vernon notices the young fox and continues to rant while I hear Virgil sigh in annoyance.

"Oh, you got a pet fox. That's cool. You should be really careful, though. If something like that head points at something without a Sigil, they're likely to instantly die."

"Just shut up…"

I laugh at Virgil's sigh and respond to Vernon's worry as I walk past him to the decapitated head.

"You don't have to worry; Dakota's got a Sigil. Only one, but it's enough to make him grow faster."

Virgil looks up as I near him, and I can see his eyes take in the fox in my backpack. Then, he changes his focus and talks about the head, obviously trying to interrupt Vernon and I's conversation.

"Come over here, Vernon. I need you to inspect the head and see it's Sigil. You got your willpower enhanced by your damn Scholar Sigil, so you better do it. Unless you want to try Wyatt, you did save us, so we'll let you get most of the money from it."

I shake my head in refusal. I don't want to inspect another damned artifact. I've had enough of one whispering into my mind constantly, and I'm not looking forward to my next sleep.

"No, I'm good; I don't like inspecting Sigils."

Virgil agrees with me and shares some of his own experiences.

"Yeah, it fucking sucks. Before little Vernon here got his own Sigil up to mine, which was only recently, I had to do most of it. I hate the waves of emotions and shit that are sent at you. Especially if a really nasty one injects you with its last memories. Those always send chills down my spine."

Vernon speaks up and slows us down on the inspection, though.

"We should probably wait until the remaining Ether in it from the man fades. I don't want to put my mind into it while it's still active."

His words make sense because the light from the mouth's head remains. A bit dim and less like a lantern and more like a bright candle, but still there. Vernon kneels next to us, and all three of us just inspect the head for a few minutes together with idle chatter.

It takes almost ten minutes of us sitting and talking about odd things while I feed Dakota before the light ultimately leaves and the mouth of the head closes.

Then, Virgil and I watch as Vernon places a glowing hand on the head. I glance at Virgil curiously, and he just says one word.

"Protection."

Makes sense. I'd do a similar thing but with my Daydream, which is invisible to anyone who cannot see the ethereal chains that bind us. A silence then befalls us for several long seconds as we both watch Vernon's hand tremble and sweat drop from his head. We trade several glances as Vernon's hand begins to shake. Then, Virgil reaches out to pull his brother off the artifact, but before he does so, Vernon rips his hand away with a loud gasp, and words that even I can tell are unlike him.

"Holy shit! Holy fuck. This thing's crazy, guys! It's got two of a Sigil I've never heard of."

Does it have the Philosopher Sigil? It is a rare Sigil, which would explain how he's never seen it before. How else could it manipulate chains if that wasn't the case? But how can I be encountering so many of such a rare Sigil? It's supposed to be unconfirmed?

Some of my questions are answered as Virgil presses Vernon to say what the Sigils are and what its Sigil is called.

"Just spit it out, Vernon; what do the individual Sigils feel like? And the trio, what's its full Sigil name?"

Vernon drinks water from a flask before obliging Virgil's demands.

"Okay, okay, chill out. The first Sigil I recognized was Lawman, which fits with the whole restraining thing. The higher levels are known for that. The other two, though, were the same. They looked like a pupilless eye entombed in glowing steel chains like the kind prisoners are put in."

Another pause ensues as Vernon takes another drink, followed by a breath of air. I guess the inspection of the Sigil took a lot out of him. But his description speaks of the Philosopher's Sigil for sure. No doubt about that. So then the question arises once more. Why is it here and not any other of the many and much more regular Sigils?

Vernon resumes his explanation while I can visibly notice Virgil get excited but then annoyed throughout his brother's words.

"The true Sigil of it, not the three parts individually but as a whole, was called Tethered. It sounds like quite an interesting name. But how about we call the head something different? How about the Tight Light? Y'know, like a night light, but instead tight 'cause it freezes us in place?"

Both Virgil and I groan. No, that's a terrible name. I don't want something that dangerous to be named after something for a child. An argument ensues between Virgil and Vernon over the word. I merely watch, amused, while they argue despite siding with Virgil. Eventually, they both settle on a name that, while I don't love it, isn't as bad as the Tight Light.

We name it Law's Light. This is actually kind of cool, but I simply feel like the alliteration is childish. A brief silence ensues after we name it, though, as the prospect of how we divide it is up for debate. These two are pretty kind, but I don't think the two brothers are willing to share a few thousand dollars of profit with me, a stranger they just met.

And so, I back away and force my tired Ether to move again, prompting my Ether headache to rear its ugly head again in complete annoyance. My fingers stay low, close to my hips where my weapons are, just in case they try something. I helped them before I knew so much gold was on the line.

I look back and forth between the two brothers constantly, looking for any movement that might be threatening. My paranoia may be too much sometimes, but as Earl said, it's necessary to not be eaten by things like giant spiders or killed by Outlaws.

But after a few tense seconds, surprise fills me with the actions of the older brother, Virgil. He tosses Law's Light over me, and I am forced to scramble to catch the fucking head that was just lugged over to me. While I do so, Virgil explains why he did so and blows my mind with his kindness with his hands raised in the air of evident peace.

Few, actually scratch that, only one man with a Sigil I have ever met so far has been kind. But now, I can add two more men to that list.

"It's all yours, Wyatt, but we ask that you compensate us somehow. Y'know, we did help a little bit, even if it was just to distract the damned thing. I don't want to fight over it, even if it's worth a lot of money. Are we on the same page, Vernon?"

" Yeah, I agree."

I hold the decapitated head of Law's Light in my hands as I ponder what they said. The head is in pristine condition. No blood exits it, or dust lies within its long hair. Up close now, I do realize that it is a female's head which makes sense with the long hair but surprises me. I don't know why it does, but it just does.

Forcing my mind away from the artifact of a woman's head in my hands, I look up at the two brothers and think of a solution while opening up a bit. One that will possibly benefit us all. Well, as long as they agree.

"I appreciate you two giving me Law's Light. The rare Sigils within it are the same type as mine, so I am interested in them. I don't have any money or gear that I can spare, and I have a mission I gotta complete, but if you two come to help me, there will likely be monsters and Sigiled to kill."

The two brothers look at me skeptically for a few seconds. Then Virgil, who I'm beginning to see as the leader among the two, asks some questions back at me.

"Who gave you the mission, and what is it? Was it a Sheriff or a Captain? We are both technically Hunters but don't do missions for them. I have issues with how they do things and just used them to train my brother while I was busy. We only still have our badges so that we can enter cities easily, so if it is from one of them, we'll have to decline."

I shake my head; the two being Hunters only briefly crossed my mind, so it doesn't matter. I can't bring them back to Rustbank, or Johnny will kill all three of us. I risk telling them who gave it, though; I figure it's best to be honest if I want these two to fight with me.

"No, it wasn't any Hunters. It was The Gunfighter, Johnny. He runs Rustbank near here and wanted me to see how far the break was and if it'd reach here."

Virgil nods and replies to me.

"Give me a second to talk to Vernon and discuss it."

"Okay, that's fine."

The two brothers dressed in leather huddle up and whisper quietly to each other. A few moments pass as I wait, somewhat patiently, then they turn back, and Vernon leads the conversation this time.

"Before we agree to do this, we all need to know each other's Sigils and abilities. Nearing a break is highly dangerous, but you're right. It is profitable if you're with a good team. I'm a 3rd Sigil Lighteye, a combination of Scholar, Trapper, and Priest in that order. I can use a variety of weak Ether abilities from Scholar and set up various well-made traps using light. I can also make bullets and small weapons from light. It's night, so I'm quite weakened as it is. I can also enhance others using light. What about you, Wyatt?"

Vernon's honesty impresses me. I can't believe he just laid all that out. But I reciprocate his honesty; I do, however, keep the prefix out when I say my Sigil. Got to keep a little bit in the pocket. I'm sure they are as well. They never told me what their Colts or Claymore do, so I won't tell them everything, either. We're not at that level of trust yet.

"I'm a 2nd Sigil Daydreamer. The Sigil in the Law's Light is the 1st Sigil Philosopher, of which I have two. I hope to use the dual Sigils in the head to somehow advance later. I can spot people using a type of vision that reveals their Sigil ranks, and I can enhance myself using Sigil drastically. The main aspect of my Sigil is increasing my capacity for Ether and my body's diffusion of Ether. I also heal fast."

After I say my piece, Vernon and I look at Virgil. Who puts his hand on his chin and thinks deeply before opening up with his Sigils. However, when he does, it focuses more on me than him.

"You're only a 2nd Sigil, Wyatt? I'm impressed you could make it through the light, but that increased Ether must have done the trick. I warn you against using the Sigils within the artifact for yourself, though. Few people do it because it comes with a risk. It's not as bad as being Artificed, but it can be close. Your sight will be beneficial, let alone that increased Ether. I've never heard of a Sigil doing that before. Abilities like that are scarce that can spot others' strengths. Just them alone can make people famous. What about that burst of air you made?"

I go to answer Virgil, but Vernon gets frustrated that Virgil just talks about me and steps in.

"Virgil! Stop lecturing him. Just tell him about your Sigil."

"It's fine, Vernon, the burst of air is just an after-effect at the end of my physical enhancement."

Virgil nods and then relents to Vernon's demands.

"I wasn't trying to be a dick, Vernon, just analyzing our prospects. I'm a 3rd Sigil Nightwhip. A Single Rogue followed by two NIghtowls. I have to sleep less than two hours a day and am rather fast. My two Nightowls give me a rudimentary control over shadows near me. While Vernon can make light reach out, most of my shadow control is restricted to on or near my person. I'm also enhanced while in the dark. The light from the lantern really got me. Normally, though, Vernon and I make a good team. One of us is always stronger whether it's night or day."

Virgil's right, for that, would make a good team. Having someone who is always at their peak state. We discuss our abilities for a bit longer until they agree to come with me, on two conditions.

"The second we see the main body of the break, we are out. Don't think I didn't notice the Deadman's switch. After all, I've been in your situation, forced to do things that garner near-certain death. While you seem quite kind, Wyatt, compared to most Deadmen, we don't want to die a pointless death on the order of a man we don't know. And we get any and all loot from those we kill. It's doubtful we will get anything that nears Law's Light in value, though."

I think about the conditions for just a few seconds before agreeing.

The agreement ends with me shaking the brother's hands, sealing the deal.