Chapter Three Hundred And Forty Four - 344
Felix had a great time introducing the crafters to the two remaining Halls. Hector and his peoplefive Humans, a Half-Elf, a Gnome, and three Hobgoblinshad stared wide-eyed at the smooth white stone and gleaming gold and silver arrays that traced about each workstation. Alister was there, along with his Henaari apprentices, and the lot of them were almost as flummoxed as the new arrivals. Felix introduced them all, and soon Hector was talking animatedly with the force mage about the work they had accomplished while his apprentices lingered uncertainly around the various tools and implements. The Henaari, however, stayed aloof and cautious regarding the newcomers; only Felix's presence seemed to put them at ease.
He hadn't stayed there long, leaving Alister to entertain Hector and his inquisitive daughter while he took Aenea and her apprentices to see his Alchemical Lab. She had been quite self-possessed while watching her husband exclaim at various features of the Hall, but she couldnt hide the apprehension jittering across her Spirit. When he had finally thrown open the black iron door to the Lab, she had gasped audibly.
"Yeah, that's what I did too," Felix had said.
What followed after that was a lot of poking and prodding around the various workstations, even peering over the shoulders of his apprentice alchemists still hard at work on Healing Tonics. That had given him an idea, and soon he hadwith his Authority's helpcrafted a Quest. He even cajoled the System into making the reward really nice, as encouragement. Perhaps too nice.
A Quest Is Available!
Skill And Talent!
The Master of the Alchemical Lab and Autarch of Nagast desires to see the potency of your alchemy! Craft at least ten compounds each to recover Health, Stamina, and Mana! All materials will be provided. Quality and quantity will affect the ranking in this Quest.
Reward: XP, Title: Inner Apprentice, +1 Free Stat Point
The bustle of the Lab died instantly as blue windows bloomed before them. Almost as one, they looked to him.
"The materials needed are to the left of each workstation, and there are more than enough for all of you," Felix said, before grinning. "Who wants it the most?"
Madness ensued.
"What else were you expecting?" Aenea asked him when he'd expressed his dismay at the racing apprentices. They were all Tempered at least once, so their movements weren't ungainly and there were no collisions that couldn't be walked off, but it was chaotic. And surprisingly loud. "That reward is quite generous."
"Well, I don't really control the rewards. I'm just the...translation point for the System to filter through." Felix sighed. "And I wanted to make it worth their while."
Aenea shook her head, but her expression was amused. "It certainly was, at that. I'm tempted to try my hand at it, just for that free stat point."
The chaos died away as the prospective Inner Apprentices got to work. The least experienced among them simply aided the others, fetching and carrying water and herbs that were now stored in sorted containers throughout the lab. Herbs were powdered and saturated, solutions distilled, and mixtures sieved as the clink and clatter of apparatus filled the air. It was the white noise of industrious undertaking, and Felix began to feel more confident in his plan. Already he spotted several Stamina Tonics completed, and one of the more experienced alchemists had made a Mana Potion from spotted chelk fungus.
In fact, it was working so well that Felix made a quick stop at the Glyphworks and Forge to issue similar Quests. For the Glyphworks, it was to inscribe elemental arrays on the weapons Harn had been making (and it was a lot), with the prize going to those that made the most and the most functional enchantments. Hector and his people set to the task with gusto, Alister functioning as the lead and judge. Atar was apparently off doing something "important, don't bother me" according to his partner, but he'd be roped into the endeavor soon enough. In the Forge, Harn and Rafny had organized their underlings to begin working on strong weaponry to be inscribed by the Glyphworks, the prize going to those thatagainproduced quantity and quality.
It was a frenzy of activity as Felix returned to the Alchemical Lab, and in the center of it all he found Aenea calmly inspecting his workstation. She was pouring over the bent and charred Ladder of Ascension, tracing it's stressed frame. He'd cleared it of the broken retorts and tubes, and it sat like a sad, wilting potted plant over his alchemical furnace.
"Flawed design, but impressive nonetheless," she said. "The System provided it?"
"Part of the hall package," Felix said. "Only the reagents and other resources were brought in by my people."
"Your people," she said, looking back at him over the rim of a twisted iron circle. "Urge-worshippers and giants."
"Yes." Felix would offer no apology for people who had sworn to him. Why should he? The Frost Giants hadn't even caused much trouble. "Regarding this particular piece of equipment...I ruined it trying to refine a particularly difficult item."
"Oh?" Aenea's eyes flashed and her Spirit sang with anticipation. "This item would not have come from the thousand-foot tall Spirit Tree you have, would it?"
"How'd you guess?" Felix asked with a smile. He activated an embedded inscription and a stone container slid from beneath the iron and wooden counter. Within shone six Spirit Fruit, swirling with potency.
"Great heavens, blessed be my eyes," Aenea whispered. "Spirit Fruit. Andwait. How is this possible? They have no attunement?" She looked at Felix with dawning horror. "They're useless if they've no attunement, Felix!"
"Oh, no. It's not that," Felix said before explaining the basics of their nature. "So being able to touch upon all things at once means they're supposedly perfect for everyone...provided they could eat one without exploding."
Aenea was flabbergasted, one of the few times he had seen her as such. "I had heard the Urge-worshippers muttering things when we were guided to our residence, but it felt..." She shook her head. "Who can trust words from such backwards people?"
Felix had a feeling he knew what they had been muttering. "I find them to be quite trustworthy. At least, just as much as anyone else."
"They call you Unbound, Felix Nevarre. But that would be impossible," she said. Her grey eyes searched his own, hunting for confirmation perhaps. "It would mean I'm in the company of a demon. A childhood nightmare made real."
"Boo," he said, half-heartedly. Still, she flinched and he regretted it instantly. "Sorry. They're telling the truth, though I'd like to believe myself nicer than a demon."
Aenea swallowed, but to her credit she did not back up, nor did her Spirit contain anything like anger or violence. There was fear there, but curiosity overpowered it. "An Unbound. So much of what you've done makes sense now. All your unthinkable achievements...And the Titles by which you provide benefits to this place." She accessed a formation on his counter, a sort of mini Control Node for the Lab. Others couldn't affect anything, but the details on the Lab's bonuses were available to all. "It is too much for a mortal man. Far too much."
"Mm," he said, still gauging the woman's reaction. "And still I've been unable to refine one of these Spirit Fruit into an appropriate Essence Draught. Worse, I need a Cleansing Elixir to remove the impurities from my Companion's core space and channels...and the best I've managed has been a scratch on the surface." He gestured to the Master workstation around them. "Would you be willing to help me? Even after knowing what I am?"
The woman licked her lips and regarded Felix with her cold, grey eyes. "Pass up a chance at working in this fantastic environment? Lend me your gaze, Felix, and we'll see what we can accomplish."
She rolled up her sleeves, and the two of them got to work.
A final, soaring leap brought Vess down to the sparse square near the cliff face. The long, low barracks of the Legion sprawled around her, stacked atop one another in tiers built into the stone's craggy exterior. Effort that would have taken dozens of laborers weeks of effort had taken Felix only an hour to shape, though his talents at architecture left something to be desired. Still, Vess could envision the utilitarian shapes of the barracks in just about any military camp in her father's Territory. Legionnaires were walking about them, their armor polished and coats buttoned up as they seemed to vacillate between stolid duty and jittery excitement. The Haarguard, those that came with her minder, they were stashed close by as well, and for all that their gear looked similar they seemed ill at ease with one another.
Nevermind all that, she chastised herself. Zara. I'm here for Zara.
After speaking with Darius, a series of events in her past has come to a startling clarity. Her Mind worked at the issue, turning it over for cause and concern, wondering at it. What was the purpose? What, exactly, was Zara's goal?
She found Zara's new residence in rapid order, situated as it was at the extreme end of the Stronghold, between the barracks and the jagged ice wall. Mist breathed off that construction, its awful chill making the autumnal air seem a balmy summer breeze. It coated the ground in a thick carpet for approximately forty spans outside it's bulk, fading just as it reached the carved door of Zara's home. It depicted a swooping bird of prey, diving from the stars and into a stormy sea. The artistry of the Henaari tended to be dramatically on point, but this felt more symbolic. Vess traced her hand across its raised surface. Was Zara the bird...or the storm?
The door opened, much as it had those months ago when they'd found Zara at her home. A home she was increasingly certain had belonged to a minor noble House, lost tragically in the Foglands. No one was at the door, much as last time, though she spotted the fluttering shape of small, jewel-colored wings. Zara's familiar, no doubt. Vess stepped across the threshold, entering the spacious, unadorned interior. She set her partisan down by the door, leaving it as a sign of peace; she wanted no fight with the Sorcerer, just answers. Two arches were on either side of her as she entered, and a staircase went up to the second level, while the hall ahead squeezed past the stairs and into another arch. Based on her knowledge of the layouts, it was a kitchen in the back, a sitting room on the right, and to the left...
She opened that door as well, only to find it empty. Vess backtracked to the sitting room and that was empty as well, so she headed back, to the kitchen. A rudimentary counter and stone-lined chimney were here, large enough to fit a pot over though little other accommodations of modern living was in evidence. It was also bare and cold, without even ashes in the fire to suggest anything had been put to use. But there were sounds beyond the stout stone door in the rear, sounds that Vess could tell were from her friends.
"Evie? Atar?" she called out as she opened the rear door. "What are you two doing here?"
Zara's residence, much like the barracks, was fitted against and into the mountainous cliff-face. That meant that anything behind it had to have been excavated to be of any use. Felix hadn't bothered with digging into the stone over much, other than to ensure folks had housing. He had expressed some concern at allowing folks access to the roots of his Temple, even though the temper of its stone was impossible to break into...at least for anyone below Master Tier.
But the Sorcerer hadn't been satisfied with her living arrangements and excavated a cavernous expanse, easily a hundred strides deep by fifty wide, it was more space than any one person really needed. Evie and Atar were currently forming translucent balls of ice and flame respectively, though both burst into fading shards as Vess broke their concentration.
"Oh, hey Vess," Evie said with an easy wave. "Been gettin' more lessons on this Chant stuff."
"Burning ash, Dayne. I was this close to mastering my Sparkbolt unaided!" Atar groused. He stood and wiped dust from his dark robes. "Now I'll have to start again."
"If your Intent is so weak it can be shaken by a simple greeting, then you still have a long way to go," Zara said. That kingfisher alighted on her shoulder, murmuring something Vess couldn't make out, and the corner of the Naiad's mouth twitched. "Welcome, your Grace. Do you wish to resume lessons as well? It has been a long while since I've taught any of you on the mysteries of the Grand Harmony."
"IAtar, you've unlocked Harmonic Stats?" Vess asked. The fire mage looked pleased as the cat who got the cream as he resettled his robes against his shoulders.
"The study of glyphs had surprising benefits. I was able to unlock Intent after dissecting part of an ancient Relay glyph. I came to seek an understanding of my new capabilities. After seeing what Felix can accomplish, I would be remiss to not seek any avenue of improvement." Atar frowned at his hands as a flickering, ghostly spark spat from his channels. "It has proven...harder than I had anticipated, however."
"Damn annoying, is more like it," Evie said. She massaged the palms of her hands.
"They are seeking to expand their potency," Zara said. "Felix's surprising growth is a lash which spurs on their need for growth. I applaud their drive. It is why I opened up this section of the mountain. Here training in the Chant will not put others in harm's way, and should remind quite secret." The woman fixed Vess with a knowing gaze. "Do you wish to join us, your Grace?"
Vess regarded her, from the ochre luster of her slightly lined skin to the tips of her sea-green tresses. Everything about Zara screamed 'beautiful and authoritative,' a combination that put many on edge. She would know; her mother had used similar tactics when governing Pax'Vrell. Power was more than the Temper of your Aspects, it was also the illusion of power that allowed proper governance to occur, and as any proper illusionist would tell you the first step was never to lie to your opponent. It was to let them fear the truth, and then to provide a convenient alternative. Zara claimed to wear masks, she had never lied about that, but she wanted more than to teach them her heretical brand of magic.
"Why did you contact my father, Zara?" Vess asked.
Evie's head snapped up as Atar's working collapsed again. They both craned their necks at the Sorcerer, a woman who held Vess' steady gaze with not a stitch of repentance.
"It was you, was it not, that contacted my father? That had the Hand dispatched to Haarwatch when we were all still within the Foglands? I had always wondered at the reasoning; Darius would have had to leave months in advance to reach Haarwatch when he did. Which meant someone had warned my father in advance, far before I ever set foot in the Foglands with Magda and Harn." Vess stepped down from the rear door, gracefully crossing the smooth stone field. "Why? What is your game, Zara?"
The Naiad's expression had gone carefully blank, and Vess could feel nothing at all from her Spirit. It was as if she was not there at all. "You, all of you, are important. Evie and Atar have found themselves with access to Harmonic talents now, but I had no anticipated them. However, with your mother's talent for the Chant, it was likely you would also manifest such ability. I was not willing to lose you to the Foglands, or whatever the Guild Elders were planning. Yes," she held up a hand, forestalling Vess' half-spoken words. "I was aware of the turmoil within the Elder Council. The specifics were hidden from me, but their disdain for Magda and Harn was not a particularly well-held secret. After Magda's death, had Darius not come, their use of you would likely have grown more...bold."
"That is it?" Vess said. She wished she hadn't left her partisan by the door; the feel of its cool haft would have given her annoyance an outlet. She settled for clenching her fists. "Because we have accessed the Harmonic Stats and can learn your Sorcery? What value does that have in this world, when knowledge of it is enough for the Hierocracy to execute us? There is more you are not telling us, Zara."
"You've summed up my feelings exactly, Vess," a new voice said from behind them. Zara's eyes widened and her closely held Spirit seemed to spasm in surprise. Felix stood in the doorway, filling it with his wide shoulders. His face was serious, blue eyes glowing among his wind-blown hair. "We've a lot to talk about. All of us."
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