Available Skills
Minstrel’s Medley
Upgrade Medley to heal 1 HP every 3 seconds instead of every 5 seconds
Ditty
Increase the party’s accuracy and evasion by 10%
Dissonance
Stun monsters 10 meters around the Bard for 0.5 seconds every 5 seconds
Mark
Target’s outline becomes visible to the Spy and party-members when within 30 meters; maximum 10 targets; lasts 24 hours
Irrelevance
Target will not be able to see or hear the Spy for 30 seconds
Eidetic Eyes
Passive Ability
Improves chances to see through hidden, invisible or camouflaged items
Improves chances to identify mechanical traps
What to get? Argo thought to himself as he mulled over his options.
He remembered what Henk said in the previous battle with the orcs. This was back when he stopped the rest of the Crew from absorbing all the experience orbs, leaving some for him. He wanted more heals from Argo, just in case someone found himself unable to drink a potion in time—like back when Henk was being pressured on all sides by three orcs.
Minstrel’s Medley thus ended up being a no-brainer.
Minstrel’s Medley chosen as a new active skill!
1 remaining empty active skill slot…
Okay, the next part was a bit trickier. Nobody in the Manticore Crew gave him a clue about what to pick.
Mark sounded useful for keeping track of targets. He could tag important targets during an infiltration run while he was in his Morphed form. It would make it a lot easier for the Crew to set up ambushes and avoid patrols, but it wouldn’t do anything for him in a combat situation. Maybe the upgraded versions, sure, but not in its first form.
Irrelevance was like a limited form of Sonya’s Cloak ability. Instead of rendering him invisible, it would cause his target to just not give a hoot about him instead. It would be useful for infiltrating trickier spots, especially if his Morph disguise wasn’t enough to access more secure areas. It might also be useful in combat, if he ever drew too much threat or attention to himself.
And finally, Eidetic Eyes would be useful for finding maps, documents, puzzles, traps, and other items of interest. It would also be immensely useful for spotting mechanical traps, identifying irregularities like tripwires or pressure plates that Kip’s enchanted staff wouldn’t highlight. This was, however, a skill designed purely around information. Like Mark, he wouldn’t see any benefits in combat.
Choices, choices… what should Argo select in the end?
“That’s another reason I thought you’d make a good Spy.” Henk’s words suddenly popped up in his memory, from the time when he was trying to convince Argo to take up Spy as a sub-class. “You’re quiet and you observe things the others miss. People also tend to overlook you when in the group, fail to notice your presence until someone points you out. That will be really big for your life as a Spy.”
The Paladin’s words convinced him to pick up his second and final skill for the level: Irrelevance.
Irrelevance chosen as a new active skill!
The new skill would make it much easier for him to infiltrate secure zones, like the case with Bogo Grubfondler’s laboratory. He could slap Irrelevance on a target with higher Willpower and Cunning scores, or on a guard that wouldn’t normally allow him to pass through. It would make his job at infiltration so much easier—especially if he could find a safe spot to munch on some Manaroot or down a mana potion if he was in a hurry.
He could also use Irrelevance in the heat of combat. If an enemy decided to focus its attention on him, he could use Irrelevance to erase his presence from the battle—force the enemy to target someone else in the party. It would be his go-to survival skill, which he sorely needed considering his low health pool and less-than-optimal fighting abilities. This he learned from that time he pulled threat from the Orc Grunts, causing one of them to focus him down.
Satisfied with his choice, he reviewed his active skills one more time:
Active Abilities
Minstrel’s Medley
All party members recover 1 HP every 3 seconds
Morph
Assume the outward appearance of a target PC, NPC, or monster (granted by Deceiver’s Reflector)
Irrelevance
Target will not be able to see or hear the Spy for 30 seconds.
His choice of skills locked down, he then turned to his two bonus stat points.
Strength
8
Endurance
9
Dexterity
13
Spirit
8
Willpower
8
Cunning
14
Stat points available: 2
A Bard’s songs became more effective with high Dexterity, allowing his character to smoothly work his instrument of choice. Cunning was another major stat booster, working in his favor when it came to skill checks related to Irrelevance, Morph, Subterfuge… practically everything related to Spying.
Although… he did find himself lacking in the Mana department. If he boosted his Spirit, he could improve his Mana pool as well as his natural Mana regeneration rate. Willpower would also be nice against debuffs from spells like Lance of Torment. It would help him against assassin-type enemies that prioritize low-threat, low-health members of a party.
Endurance and Strength… while he could use a little extra health points to survive a hit or two, he really didn’t expect to see himself going toe-to-toe in combat. He could rely more on Dexterity if he ever found himself having to fight. He didn’t have to carry the big weapons anyway; just a simple short sword would be enough.
If he were a solo character, he would definitely want to shore up his weaknesses. However, he was working with the Manticore Crew. They needed him for his specific contributions to the group… so he put one point in Dexterity to bolster his bardic role, and the remaining point in Cunning to improve his Spy-related skill checks.
Strength
8
Endurance
9
Dexterity
13 (+1)
Spirit
8
Willpower
8
Cunning
14 (+1)
Confirm choices?
Yes
No
Argo selected ‘yes’, and stood still as the changes washed over his character. He logged out of Drake Realm, disconnected from the Astra-verse and stretched after stepping out of the Astral-bubble.
Again, there was still a lot of work to do to get higher, but he was more than willing to put the effort in. His first priority, though, was sorting out his real world situation. He needed to take more risks if he was going to get anywhere, and working for Magarito was definitely classed as a risk.
He was still thinking about the opportunity left behind by Ed’s departure long after he’d finished the matinee performance. And instead of heading straight home to the apartment, he found himself drifting towards the director’s performance studio. He was still telling himself that he wasn’t going to ask her for a job even as he entered the building and walked to the rehearsal room where she currently stood. Looking through the pane glass set in the door, he grimaced at the sight of four exhausted-looking actors, dressed as crabs, dancing round and round in a circle.
“More energy!” Magarito’s shrill voice came through the door. “More energy I say! You must express the raw primal power of the crab! I want more! More! Felix! I saw what you did with your claw! Any more of that and I’ll send you home!”
No, Argo said to himself. I defini
tely don’t want to work as her assistant. Despite making that assertion, he opened the door and entered the rehearsal room.
“Taste the toxic masculinity of the crab! Let it pervade every atom of your shell! Release the inner water nymph fighting to break free of the crustacean of conformity!” Magarito urged her actors. “Show me the anguish of the never ending struggle on your faces! Felix! You look like you’re passing wind! Ugh! All of you are hopeless!”
Argo approached the woman cautiously, all of his newfound confidence disintegrating in an instant. Magarito was so engrossed by the bizarre performance that she hadn’t noticed him. He got so far and then suddenly decided he couldn’t go through with his crazy idea. He turned and made a hasty retreat.
“Argo!” Magarito’s voice stopped him in his tracks. He had just put his hand on the door handle when she spotted him. “What are you doing here? I didn’t ask Quilby to send anyone over. I’ve done all my casting.”
With a sinking heart, Argo turned round and walked back to her. He managed a weak smile which quickly ran away from his face under the director’s fearsome scrutiny. “Um, hi, Magarito. I’m not here for a rehearsal.”
“Then why are you here?” Magarito snapped. “I am very busy! I cannot be interrupted by every starving actor that comes wandering in off the street! This won’t do! This won’t do at all!”
The other actors had all stopped what they were doing and were watching him with amused looks on their faces. Argo blushed fiercely under the attention and forgot what he was going to say. Magarito shot an angry glare at her four crabs. “I didn’t say you could stop, did I?”
The actors quickly started dancing again and Magarito took Argo to one side. “What is it Argo? I have a lot to do.”
“I was talking to Ed earlier,” Argo blurted out. “I met him at a coffee shop.”
At the mention of her former production assistant, Magarito’s narrow face contorted with rage. “Do not speak to me of that pernicious traitor!” she said dramatically. “He has abandoned me in my hour of need! The sheer ingratitude of it, Argo! Without me, he would be nothing! But he’ll be crawling back, make no mistake. He’ll beg me to rehire him, and like the soft-hearted fool that I am I will magnanimously consent—on lower wages, of course. Oh Argo, I’m just too innocent and gentle for this harsh commercial world!”
“That’s just it,” Argo said. “He told me he’s not coming back. He’s leaving the city and going to help his cousin with his business. He said he’s done with the industry.”
Magarito’s eyes fell back in her head at this information and she made a strange snorted noise and flared her nostrils. “Not coming back!” she roared, making all the crab actors jump out of their skin and stop dancing. “Not coming back, you say!”
Argo cowered beneath the onslaught. “Erm, no. That’s what he told me. Sorry about that.”
“He can’t do this,” Magarito exclaimed. She started pacing to and fro, her long silk gown fanning out behind her. “He can’t abandon me now! Not when I’m on the verge of greatness. I must have someone sturdy and reliable to support me through the arduous creative process. I am a delicate flower that needs the manure of practicality to help me flourish! Oh woe is me!” She pressed the flat of her hand against her forehead and looked like she was about to faint. She noticed the actors stood watching her and turned on them in fury. “Dance, you crabs! Dance, I say!” she bellowed.
The actors started dancing again, their faces stricken with terror. Argo wanted so desperately to escape right there and then, but Magarito suddenly clutched his arm. Her long green painted fingernails dug into his sleeve until they bit flesh. “You have been the bearer of grim tidings, boy,” she said portentously, “but I can’t blame you for that. You did good to tell me, sweet, sweet Argo. I really did see you as my antelope for a while, but your catapulting reflexes leave a lot to be desired. Come back to me when you have honed your skills and there might still be a place for you amongst our happy little band of performers. Under my gracious hand, you will be treated with the utmost kindness and respect. FELIX! WAVE THOSE CLAWS HIGHER! YOU SNIVELLING LITTLE RAT DROPPING!”
“Actually, Magarito, there was another reason I came and told you about Ed,” Argo said, not really knowing why he was doing this.
Magarito arched her eyebrows. “Oh?”
“Now that Ed’s not coming back, you have a vacancy for a production assistant, and I want to apply for it,” Argo went on, speaking as if on autopilot.
Magarito looked surprised as well. She let out a charming little laugh. “How exquisite of you, Argo; it’s very sweet of you to offer, but I need someone with extensive experience of the business, someone resourceful and able to think on their feet. I need an assistant with versatility and a capacity to react swiftly and creatively to the demands of the role. Someone with stamina, mystique, a certain style. Like me. I’m sorry, but I’m really not sure you possess those qualities, Argo.”
Argo blinked at her. “I’ll work for half of whatever you were paying Ed.”
“You’re hired. Now go get me eight hundred iced prawns and six bottles of vodka.”
Chapter Nine: New Duties and an Unexpected Message
Argo’s arms screamed with agony as he half carried, half dragged the huge ceramic replica of Magarito’s head up the stairs to her penthouse apartment. It was monstrously heavy and he had worked up quite a sweat by the time he got the sculpture into the cavernous living space.
Sprawled out on her circular faux leopard skin couch, in an unflatteringly tight faux leopard skin leotard, Magarito was talking into her phone. “Yes, yes, I’m being insanely busy right now. I haven’t had a moment to myself. I have to do everything darling, or the whole production would grind to a halt.”
Argo staggered over to a nearby table and placed the thing on the surface. Magarito looked up at him and snapped her fingers. “Not there!” she hissed. “Over by the ornamental newt pond.”
Argo sighed and picked the head up again. He carried it past the wall length painting of Magarito that dominated the room, and set it down next to the gaudy indoor pond that was surrounded by artificial grass that was studded with multicolored plastic candy canes. He straightened up and rubbed at his lower back, glancing up at the gallery of photographs of Magarito that stared down at him.
“I’ve not had a moment to myself, you know,” the director was saying to the person on the other end of the phone. “It’s been go, go, go, darling. I don’t know how I’ve managed.”
Argo reluctantly went back to the couch. Without looking up at him, Magarito clicked her fingers. “Chocolates, chocolates,” she ordered, pointing to the box of candies that was just out of arm’s length on the edge of the couch. He huffed and passed them to her.
Magarito snatched the box from him and shoved two of the chocolates into her mouth. She chewed noisily as she carried on with her conversation. “Mmmm, I know darling. I’m far too hard on myself. I’m a martyr to the art, an absolute martyr.” She looked around the apartment and scowled when she spotted the sculpture of her head. She waved Argo over to her. “I don’t like my head there,” she said, taking the phone away from her ear. “Why did you put it all the way over there? Nobody can see it.”
“You just told me to put it over there,” Argo retorted. “I did exactly what you said.”
“Don’t be awkward, sweet boy,” Magarito said irritably. “Move it over to the display cabinet with all the other sculptures.”
Argo went back to the newt pond and—after a great deal of exertion—managed to pick the head up again. He carried it over to the huge display cabinet on the other side of the room which was filled with other statues of Magarito in various poses and various states of dress and undress, and he put it down carefully on the lower shelf in the only space available.
“Just move it a fraction to the left, Argo,” Magarito instructed. “No darling, I’m not talking to you,” she said down the phone. “I’m giving instructions to m
y valet. To the left Argo, to the left. Just a little more, perfect. Move out of the way, I can’t see it!”
Argo moved away from the cabinet, stewing over what she had just called him. He was supposed to be her production assistant. When had that changed to valet, for Heavens’ sake? Whatever she called him, he felt like a slave and had been absolutely run ragged by her constant demands and bizarre whims.
“No, that’s not Ed, darling,” Magarito was now saying to her conversation partner. “I got shot of that idle reprobate last week. He was utterly useless and fearfully disobedient. I’ve been carrying him for years, you know. I should have done it long ago, but you know me darling, I’m just too soft-hearted. I let people take advantage of me. I’ve got a new one, now, Argo. Delightful boy simply can’t do enough for me. Do you know he was absolutely destitute? I found him starving on the streets, you know. Well, naturally, I immediately scooped him up from the muck and told him that he was going to come and work for me now. You should have seen his little face light up! It was the happiest day of his poor pitiful life. He’s absolutely besotted with me of course,” she added as she bit into a whirlnut truffle, “but what can you do? Still he’s very loyal and obliging. I’ll send him over to do your guttering, darling.”
Spy: Reborn Page 21