by A F Kay
Sift slowed, and Ruwen focused back on his surroundings. Ten minutes had passed in what felt like a moment, and a small icon at the top of his vision disappeared before he could open it. A notification blinked for his attention, and he opened it.
Shing!
You have learned a new skill!
Skill: Meditation
Level: 1
Effect: Clear Mind: increase Health, Mana, and Energy Regeneration by 0.5%.
He did feel better, and the new skill cheered him up. They had stopped at the end of a hallway, and a grey door stood closed in front of them. Sift gave it three quick knocks and then winked at Ruwen.
When no one came, Ruwen glanced up at his clock and saw thirty seconds had gone by.
“Maybe we should knock again,” Ruwen said.
“No, that will only make Fluffy grouchy,” Sift said.
A small opening appeared in the door at eye height, and a pair of squinting eyes looked at them.
“Who’s grouchy?” a gruff voice responded from the other side of the door.
“Hi, Fluffy. It’s me,” Sift said.
“I can see that. What do you want? And who is the baby?” Fluffy said.
Sift smiled. “This is Ruwen. Mistress just brought him through. He needs the basics and maybe something to help him with sweeping.”
“Huh. Her standards are getting lower every year. He looks pathetic. Show me your marks.”
Sift held up his wrist, and Ruwen did the same. He concentrated on the mark, and it appeared.
Fluffy grunted, and the window slammed shut. The sound of bolts moving echoed in the hallway.
“He doesn’t seem very friendly,” Ruwen whispered.
“No, we’re lucky. It looks like we caught him in a good mood,” Sift said.
Ruwen stood up straight and wondered again how his life had turned so terrible. The door opened, and as soon as Sift and Ruwen entered the room, Fluffy slammed it shut. The quartermaster slid two of the locks into place and then returned to a desk in the far corner. The desk, piled high with papers, almost hid Fluffy from view. He ignored Sift and Ruwen.
Fluffy wore soft leathers and had a green vest lined with a row of pockets. He had no hair on the top of his head but made up for it with a large bushy grey beard. His face had wrinkles from constant frowning, and he twirled a wrapped charcoal stick through his fingers while he read.
Other than the desk, there weren’t a lot of furnishings. A standing partition to their left would provide privacy for changing clothes, and to their right, a few chairs sat around an oversized table. The middle of each wall held a door identical to the one they’d entered. They were all closed and locked.
After a minute, Ruwen became upset that Fluffy was ignoring them.
“Why don’t you practice your breathing,” Sift said.
Ruwen glanced at Sift to see if he’d picked up on Ruwen’s frustration. But Sift just smiled.
“Wasted moments make an empty life,” Sift said.
“Shade’s first rule?”
“No, one of my dad’s sayings. It is hard to tell the difference sometimes.”
Ruwen concentrated on his breathing again, losing himself in the repetitive task. A moment later, Sift shook him.
“Wow, you really took to that. It’s like your mind is getting a rest for the first time,” Sift said.
Ruwen blinked a few times and looked at his clock. It hadn’t been one minute but five. Sift’s comment resonated with him. He spent a ton of time in his head, and his internal thoughts never stopped. Maybe this was the first time in his life he’d given his mind a break. It was like feeding a starving person.
“He’s ready for us,” Sift said.
They walked over to Fluffy, and the man handed Ruwen a piece of paper. Ruwen scanned it. Fluffy hadn’t been ignoring them, he’d been filling out paperwork. Ruwen’s name, Class, level, and basic attributes were listed along the top. It only listed his Worker Class, though. As perceptive as Fluffy seemed to be, he hadn’t discovered Ruwen’s second Class.
“The old lady is losing her mind bringing a Worker in here. What’s he going to do, lift our heavy boxes? Is he being trained as a Spy? This is nonsense.”
“I’ll ask the next time I see her. You know how she likes to explain herself,” Sift said.
Fluffy frowned. “Well, there’s no need for that. I’m just wondering, that’s all. Damn strange sight seeing a Worker in here.” He pointed to the bottom of the sheet. “Initial there accepting your standard Novice gear.”
Ruwen glanced at the list of items on the bottom half of the page. Most of it was bedding and clothes, but two things caught his eye: a magic ring and dagger. But both had a line through them with a small note: “Minimum Level Not Met.”
Ruwen hid his disappointment. He guessed most people that got this far in Ky’s organization were much higher level. He took a charcoal pencil from Fluffy’s desk and signed his name.
Fluffy took the form back. “Where’s he staying?”
“Ah, with me, I guess,” Sift said.
“I’ll have another bed added to your room,” Fluffy said.
Fluffy walked to the door across from his desk and went through it. Ruwen could see it was a huge storage room. Fluffy returned a minute later with a pile of bedding and two sets of shirts, pants, and boots. He held each up to Ruwen, gauging the size, and then went and fetched more of the proper size. In the end, Ruwen got bedding, three shirts and pants, a pair of boots and some sort of soft slipper he’d never seen before. The description called them Scaling Shoes. Everything was black.
“I noticed he didn’t get a weapon or ring,” Sift said. “Will he get credit for those? Is there any kind of alternative?”
“Of course, I’ll credit his account. But my options are limited. The vast majority of our holdings are Class or level restricted. Anything more exotic he can’t afford.”
Ruwen was frustrated that he hadn’t been given the magic items. He could use them, but he couldn’t tell Fluffy that. Ky said not to advertise his dual Class. “How much do I have?” Ruwen asked.
“With the credits for the dagger and ring…plus the tokens you get for becoming a novice…you have one hundred and thirteen tokens,” Fluffy said.
“Is that a lot?” Ruwen asked.
“Not enough to make a difference downstairs,” Sift said. He faced Fluffy. “Remember the girl I brought through a few months back?”
Fluffy raised his hands and mimicked his head exploding. Ruwen’s breath caught. Earlier, Sift hadn’t provided any details of his helper’s death. Now that Ruwen knew his head could explode, he wanted to do this even less.
Sift’s face grew sad. “Yeah, that one. I’m still carrying that with me, and I don’t want to experience it again.”
Fluffy nodded and covered his ears. “I hate those things.”
“What’s my balance?” Sift asked.
Fluffy searched through his piles and pulled out a bundle of papers that were bound together like a book. He flipped to the back. “One hundred eighty-three thousand nine hundred forty-seven tokens.”
“What can we get with that?” Sift asked.
Fluffy looked back and forth between them. “Let me look.”
The quartermaster walked to the door behind him, opened three locks with different keys, and then pulled the door open. This door led to a room that looked like a vault.
Ruwen grabbed Sift’s shoulder. “You can’t do that! That’s your money. You shouldn’t spend it on me.”
Sift’s smiled. “I’m doing it for myself. I don’t want to ever see that again. And to be honest, she had more skills than you. You’re going to need an edge.”
A minute later, Fluffy returned with a crate under each arm. He walked to the table and set them down. Ruwen and Sift joined him. Fluffy touched the container closest to them.
“These here are useless items. To a Shade that is. But since this is the first time we’ve had a non-Shade here, I reckon you won’t care. They’re to
o valuable to chuck, but they take up my vault space. I have more, but you’ll need to come back when you’re level ten.”
Fluffy carefully removed the items and laid them out in a line on the table.
“I have two suggestions,” Sift said.
“Please,” Ruwen replied.
“Don’t take many daggers. You don’t have the knowledge to throw them, which means anything you damage will be close to you. You don’t want anything down in the dungeon close to you.”
“So one just for emergencies and something to fight with?” Ruwen asked.
“Yes, which brings me to my second point. Avoid anything that requires much strength or skill. Things move a little fast down there.”
Ruwen swallowed hard. “Thanks.”
He looked over the weapons: three swords, two large axes, and a staff. The staff had been made from a grey wood, and white swirls were etched around it, circling the staff like storm clouds. It was five feet tall and the thickness of two fingers. Ruwen picked it up, and its lightness surprised him.
Tring!
The Black Pyramid has rewarded you…
Name: Staff of Chimes
Damage: 6-12
Area of Effect: 30 feet
Quality: Fine
Durability: 100 of 100
Weight: 4.2 lbs.
Effect (Passive): +1 Intelligence, +1 Wisdom
Effect: While in combat the wind chimes of Temple Yulm can be heard, resulting in a 10% chance to distract your opponent for 1 to 3 seconds.
Restriction: None
Description: The wind never rests. Even if you do.
Ruwen swung the staff back and forth a couple of times. It had a nice weight to it. Any Class in the Observer tree would want Dexterity on their weapon, not mental attributes, and having the sound of wind chimes giving away your position every time you used it seemed counterproductive to sneaking around. It made sense why this weapon had never been taken by one of Ky’s people
Sift nodded. “That’s a good choice. You can be effective without a lot of training. Plus, a few Step sequences can incorporate a staff. I’ll teach you those first.”
Ruwen set the staff to the side and looked through the daggers. Most of them were vicious-looking with serrated edges or spikes for poking out eyes. He had no desire to carry something like that. The last one, though, looked plain. It had a black handle, and the blade was white. Ruwen picked it up.
Tring!
The Black Pyramid has rewarded you…
Name: Fastidious Blade
Damage: 4-8
Quality: Uncommon
Durability: 30 of 30
Weight: 1.20 lbs.
Effect (Passive): +1 Dexterity
Effect: Contaminates will cause dagger to vibrate until clean.
Restriction: None
Description: A clean blade is a sharp blade.
A weapon that cleaned itself. That didn’t seem so bad. Why wouldn’t an Observer want this? It even had Dexterity on it. He set it next to the staff and then moved to the last pile. A cloak. He couldn’t tell if the color was dark grey or maybe a faded black. He picked it up, and the softness of the cloth surprised him.
Tring!
The Black Pyramid has rewarded you…
Name: Pacifist’s Cloak
AC: 10
Quality: Rare
Durability: 25 of 25
Weight: 0.12 lbs.
Effect (Passive): 10% Perception, 10% Detect Traps.
Effect (Triggered): Once per day can harden into a 100 hit point shield.
Restriction: Weapons of any kind are prohibited
Description: Why can’t we all just get along?
The cloak had a short vest connected to it that covered his upper chest and back. He slipped his arms through the holes and then fastened the clasps across his chest. The cloak’s weight was barely noticeable. He quickly twisted his body, but the cloak barely moved.
Sift raised an eyebrow. “I don’t like cloaks. It’s too easy for someone to grab you from behind. But this one is staying close to your body, so the added protection is probably worth the risk.” Sift walked over and pulled the collar away from Ruwen’s neck. “And the collar isn’t connected to the vest, so your staff can still be worn on your back.”
A bit of the tightness in his chest disappeared. He had imagined himself in a brilliant red cloak when he joined the Mage Academy. Even though that dream would never come to pass, the cloak made him feel better.
“I like it,” Ruwen said.
Fluffy picked up the things Ruwen hadn’t chosen and stuck them back in the crate. He carefully laid out the items from the second crate.
Fluffy faced Ruwen. “Between your level and class, I don’t have much to show you.” Fluffy turned to Sift. “And as generous as your offer is, there are strict rules about how Pyramid equipment is purchased. You’d know them if you ever spent your tokens.”
Fluffy raised his hands as Sift protested. “I don’t make the rules. But, I’m not heartless.” Fluffy turned back to Ruwen. “I have some discretion on what things cost. The cloak, dagger, and staff are useless to the Pyramid. I’m willing to exchange them for the standard equipment you would have been issued. Now these,” Fluffy said, patting the other crate, “are usable by the Pyramid but aren’t very powerful. All of them are lower than level ten.”
Ruwen stared at the crate and the handful of items in it. “How do I earn them?”
“I’m glad you asked. Like I said before, we don’t get other classes down here. And many of our items are too valuable to remove from the vault.”
Ruwen tilted his head in confusion. “I’m still not seeing how I can help.”
Fluffy nodded. “Many of our items were procured violently. Even after normal cleaning, many have stains that just won’t come out. In fact, many of the magical items can only be cleaned with other magic.”
Ruwen’s stomach clenched, and his chest tightened. Of course, Fluffy wanted Ruwen to clean. He was just a Worker, after all. Not good for anything else. Anger pushed its way up from his chest, and he clenched his hands.
“You can really do that?” Sift asked.
Ruwen’s anger sputtered at Sift’s question. “What?”
“You can remove stains?” Sift asked.
“I guess.”
Sift nodded. “That is powerful magic.”
Ruwen pressed his lips together. He had really started to like Sift, but now the young man was making fun of him. Ruwen didn’t choose this Class. Why did people have to look down at him and make fun of his stupid spells and abilities?
“Shade’s first rule: guilt dies with a clean shirt,” Sift said.
Confusion warred with Ruwen’s anger. “That doesn’t even make sense.”
Sift brought his right leg up to his left hip and held it there. “Do you see them?”
Dark splotches covered the bottom of his pants. Sift let his leg drop and closed his eyes. “I spend ten minutes every night trying to wash them out. They remind me of Lylan and how I failed her.”
“Lylan?” Ruwen asked.
Fluffy made the head exploding motion again, and Ruwen understood.
Sift opened his eyes. “As much as I try and put it behind me, the stains are a reminder. A distraction. Without a clean outside, a clean inside is hopeless.”
They were all silent for a few seconds.
“Like I said, your magic is powerful,” Sift said.
The last bit of Ruwen’s anger disappeared. Sift might be delusional in what he considered powerful magic, but there was no doubt in Ruwen’s mind; Sift was sincere.
Ting!
You have received the quest…
Nothing to See Here…
Quartermaster Fluffy has requested your help in cleaning items stored in the Black Pyramid vaults. Magically clean five items to receive your reward. This quest is repeatable.
Reward: One item from Fluffy’s crate of crap
Accept or Decline
The idea of clean
ing made his stomach turn. His parents had kept a clean home, and he had grown up doing chores. So, the cleaning itself wasn’t the issue. This was just another reminder of how his life had gone sideways. He hadn’t chosen a new spell when he’d turned level two but had planned to increase the level of his magic Campfire spell. He supposed taking the Scrub spell instead wouldn’t be the end of the world. Even if the magic items were low level and probably mostly useless, they would still be better than what he had, which was basically nothing. Logic favored the Scrub spell.
Sighing, Ruwen chose Accept. He would have to look in his Worker textbook later and see how to learn Scrub.
Fluffy put a hand on Sift’s shoulder. “Her death wasn’t your fault, son. She knew the rules, just like the rest of us.”
“Thanks,” Sift said.
Fluffy nodded at Ruwen. “Have you been taught the rules?”
“Just the first one,” he said.
Fluffy grinned and then laughed. Sift joined him, and their laughter echoed in the room. Ruwen smiled in spite of all the fear and sadness he felt.
Fluffy wiped his eyes. “Well, good. That’s the most important one.” Then he picked up the two crates and headed for the vault door.
“Change into your Novice gear, and then we’ll get going,” Sift said. “We should still be able to clear the first level tonight.”
Chapter 16
Ruwen saw no one on the way to the first level of the Pyramid’s dungeon, although he was pretty sure Sift nodded at someone a few times. Sift still had Io in a sheath on his lower back, but other than that, he had no apparent weapons. Ruwen had changed into the black shirt and pants that Fluffy had given him. They clung to his body, but in a comfortable way that didn’t hamper his movement. He had decided to wear his Feather Boots of Grasping and kept the Baton of a Thousand Uses on his left hip. Fluffy had given him a sheath for his dagger, and it rested uncomfortably on his right side. It felt odd having things attached to him.
The lower they went, the rougher the stone walls and ceiling became. Shakers were spaced close enough along the wall that Ruwen could see without squinting. They turned into a smaller tunnel and began working their way through multiple doors. Each door was made of something different. A few he figured out, like the oak and iron doors. But many were strange, and when they came to a door made from what looked like thin cloth, he couldn’t keep quiet.