by Andrew Rowe
I chuckled. “Oh, believe me, I know. I’ve actually got a story for you for a change. Or, I will when I get back.”
He gave me his fiercest frown. “Back? I don’t like the sound of that, lad. What sort of nonsense are you up to now?”
I grinned. “It’s a bit of a secret. But, uh, hypothetically speaking... if I was going into the tower, what would you recommend that I bring?”
He set the broom and dust pan aside, folding his arms — which just gave me a closer look at his injured arm. I walked closer, slipping the ring off my finger and offering it to him. “Your arm’s cut up pretty good there. Put this on for a bit. Regeneration ring.”
He accepted the ring, turning it over in his hands for a moment with a frown before slipping it onto the pinky finger of his injured arm. “This is a Citrine-level item, lad. Where’d you pick it up? You shouldn’t just be handing something this valuable out to anyone.”
“Uh, not exactly mine. I’m borrowing it from Professor Orden. Possibly forever, depending on how things go.”
He laughed. “Borrowing it forever, eh? Seems like a good deal. I suppose I’ll borrow it in turn, but not for quite as long. Maybe half as long.”
“Seems reasonable. So, suggestions?”
He looked down at me, narrowing his brows. “You’re serious.”
I nodded gravely. “Completely serious.”
“Best suggestion? Don’t go until you’re at least Carnelian. You need a shroud to keep yourself safe in there.”
I tilted my head to the side. “A shroud? Isn’t that a Guardian thing?”
He waved a hand to show partial agreement. “Not quite. Everyone who hits Carnelian or above gets a shroud. You’re an Enchanter. That’s the aura you see when you look at them.”
“So, it’s just another name for an aura, then?”
“No, it’s more specific. There are lots of types of auras — you might have an aura of fire around you because of an item, for example. A shroud is your personal aura — it comes from mana leaking right out of you. That’s not a bad thing, though. It protects you, like a barrier that’s always on.”
That did sound useful — and it helped explain why powerful attuned were so resilient. Maybe that was how Keras survived being slammed into a pillar by Katashi?
“Okay, and I presume the stronger the attuned, the stronger the shroud?”
“Aye, and the more control you get over it. Guardians are specialists at using their shroud, as you mentioned. That’s why even Quartz Guardians have one. They develop them earlier and learn more tricks, like focusing the shroud over a specific part of the body to punch someone really hard.”
I scratched my chin. “Good to know. What can higher level attuned do with their shroud?”
“All sorts of things. The most important is that Sunstones learn to suppress their shroud. That makes it so Enchanters like yourself and Diviners can’t tell how powerful they are at a glance. Terrible idea if you might get into a fight, since the shroud actually gets weaker. It’s not just hidden. Many powerful attuned keep their shroud suppressed most of the time to make it harder to gauge their strength.”
I nodded. That helped explain why I could never get a good read on some of the people I’d looked at, like Professor Orden or Derek. Orden could have easily been explained by using illusions — she was a Shadow after all — but Derek seemed combat focused. He was probably just hiding his power the same way that most nobles hid their hands with a glove.
Lars continued. “Beyond that? I’ve heard of Citrines extending their shroud to cover other people, or reshaping them the way a Guardian can from the beginning. Not sure what else they can do — never got past Sunstone myself.”
“Okay. Let’s assume I don’t have time to hit Carnelian - but I’ll try. What else should I bring?”
“A backpack. Food that’s easy to store. Water — ideally an item that will make water for you. Plan for a week. It usually takes two to three days to find an exit, but you want to be prepared for worse situations. Oh, and extra socks.”
I blinked. “Extra...socks?”
“You never can have too many extra socks. Don’t doubt me on this. You’ll regret it if you do.” He nodded sagely.
The wound on his arm was already starting to visibly glow and scab over — that ring worked faster than I’d expected. I’d definitely need that ring in the tower, too — presuming Orden didn’t take it away from me.
“Okay. Any particular magical items you’d recommend? Be direct with me — I’ll buy something from you if you say that I need it, presuming I can afford it.”
“I can give you some recommendations. What’s your price range?”
I’d saved up quite a bit over the last couple months by making my own supplies. I had about eighty silver on me — far more than I’d ever carried in the past, aside from when I’d bought the supplies needed for Sera’s summoning-enhancement gauntlet.
In a better situation, I would have used that money to buy supplies to make myself something — but I didn’t have time.
“I have eighty silver. I intend to spend as much of it as necessary here right now.”
Lars gave me a serious look, nodding slowly. “I’ll put together a few things for you.”
I reached out a hand. “Gimmie that broom, then we’ll look at items afterward.”
He reluctantly surrendered the tool, and I worked on finishing sweeping the glass into a manageable pile. After that, we swept it into a bag for disposal. There wasn’t much we could do about the wall, so I helped him drape a tapestry over the hole.
I left the shop with the ring back in my possession, ten silver in my pocket, and more than three hundred silver worth of items.
In exchange, I’d made him a promise—
I’d be back to shop there again soon.
***
Back at my apartment, I set down my newly-acquired items. It was time to take a full inventory and pack.
Of the options Lars had offered me, I’d picked out a single item that I considered essential: a real, functional return bell like the ones we’d used during our tests. According to him, it wouldn’t work in certain rooms in the tower — apparently they had varying degrees of protection against teleportation — but it would work in some of them.
I’d considered picking up something with more of a direct combat application or something to enhance my attunement, but honestly? Getting out of this with my friends and myself alive was my highest priority.
One important thing was that unlike the ones we’d used during the test, this return bell would require channeling a considerable amount of gray mana into it to activate.
This was good, in some respects. I didn’t want to ring the bell accidentally while I was walking and end up by myself outside. But it did mean that it might take an extra second or two to activate the item, and I knew that could be dangerous. I’d have to be ready for that.
The return bell came along with a second item - a metal rod that served as an anchor for the bell’s teleportation destination. I hadn’t seen anything like that during our tests, but presumably they’d had something similar built into the main room. My current plan was either to leave the pole in my room or to plant it just outside the tower. I’d probably talk to Professor Orden before deciding.
After I’d picked up the bell and rod, he’d “sold” me three more items that he considered essential — a flask that refilled itself with ordinary drinking water every four hours, a cloak that regulated the wearer’s body temperature, and a mana-powered lantern that generated heatless light.
They all sounded more like camping supplies to me than preparation for a dangerous journey in the tower, but when I considered that the average tower journey lasted days, it made a lot of sense. Moreover, the lantern would be handy in any pitch black rooms similar to the one we’d encountered in our first test.
Even accounting for his usually-inflated prices, I owed Lars quite a bit for practically forcing the things on me. If I made it out o
f this alive, I’d find a way to repay him eventually.
Aside from that, I’d picked up a large ordinary backpack. I stuffed the cloak inside along with the lantern.
After that, I packed a couple extra sets of clothes... and several extra pairs of socks, as Lars had insisted.
After that, enchanting supplies. I didn’t have a lot of gems left. Just a handful of Class 1 gray ones, a Class 1 mind gem, and the Class 2 universal gem. Better than nothing. I packed my engraving rod and my etching rod, just in case.
Finally, food. I attached a bedroll to the bottom of the backpack. I’d do without a sleeping bag or pillow. There wasn’t room for other large items.
The supplies I was more likely to need immediately went into my normal belt pouch. Those started with the book that put me in contact with the Voice of the Tower. I didn’t plan to show it off to the others, but I wanted it handy in case of an emergency.
I stuffed the demi-gauntlet in my side bag, along with my ten remaining silver coins. Finally, the bell, along with the anchor rod that went along with it. I really hoped I wouldn’t have to use it, but given my luck? It was probably more a question of when I’d need to evacuate.
After a bit of consideration, I put the self-refilling waterskin in my side pouch, and then stuffed the waterskin containing the enchanted water I’d taken from the tower in my backpack. I did not want to mix those up.
I had two shield sigils now. The school-issued one went on my uniform as usual, and the phoenix sigil I’d made for myself went onto my pants to prevent them from interfering with each other.
I’d considered making a third, but that ran a much greater risk of interfering with all three. I’d probably get that sorted out eventually, but I didn’t have time to experiment.
I kept the ring of regeneration on. I’d need to ask Orden about how long it was safe to use it.
While I was thinking about the ring, I inspected the runes on it. They were etched on the inside of the band; it looked like delicate work. The ring had to be made of some kind of rare material to hold that amount of mana in such a small object.
Most of the runes weren’t ones I was familiar with, so I looked them up. There were two fairly standard life runes: one for the actual healing effect, and another to cause the ring to naturally recharge. Next to them, a life mana capacity rune to prevent the recharging rune from overflowing it.
Another couple runes required mental mana. I presumed one was for detecting the user’s injuries. I recognized the one next to it, which was designed to recharge the mental mana required for the other rune. The next one was probably a mental mana capacity rune, but it was a slightly different design from the one I usually used — probably because it was for a higher capacity.
The last one I recognized even more easily: a standard activation rune that required the user to channel gray mana into it. Unlike the variant used on dueling canes, this required the mana to come from the person wearing the ring.
All in all, it was simple enough to make, it just required too much mana for me to fabricate one on my own. I also didn’t have any life mana crystals.
After finishing my research on the ring, I took my mana watch, too. I never left home without it these days.
I checked my mana before putting the watch away. 48/48. Apparently, yesterday’s exertions had helped me improve a bit. I was still a ways off from Carnelian, though. Most people seemed to reach Carnelian at around 60 mana. I’d have to survive without a shroud for a while longer.
Before leaving, I briefly unpacked my book to write a quick message to the Voice of the Tower. I didn’t know when I’d get another chance.
Dear Voice of the Tower,
I’m preparing to head back to the tower along with Professor Orden.
If we’re successful, we’ll be bringing Vera along with us. Katashi has asked me to turn her over to him, and if I fail to do so, he’ll be sending a stronger attack against the city.
In order to ensure the safety of the city, I must succeed.
Any assistance you could provide would be greatly appreciated. If nothing else, please make sure someone else succeeds if I fail.
Best,
Corin
Finally, I had to pick which sword to take with me. Selys-Lyann was tempting, since it was clearly the more powerful and versatile weapon — but it did have that nasty downside of nearly killing me on occasion.
My self-enchanted sword was much safer to use, but I didn’t know if it would be enough to handle the strongest monsters we might run into.
So, I brought both.
I wasn’t planning to wield them both at the same time, of course. I was nowhere near dexterous enough for that. I’d just hand one or the other off to Sera or Jin, since they didn’t have any magical weapons.
Well, that wasn’t completely accurate. I’d enchanted Jin’s revolvers, so they were technically magical weapons. But they had limited ammunition, so he might still want the sword.
I felt a little awkward walking to the Divinatory with two scabbards bouncing on my hips. I’d need to get rid of one of these things sooner, rather than later.
***
As I approached the Divinatory, Jin opened the door from inside and waved for me to enter.
I blinked. Had I told him what time I was heading over here? I was pretty sure I hadn’t.
Maybe his real attunement was Diviner, or something similar from Dalenos. I think they had one called “Seer”, maybe? Or “Oracle”? Something like that.
It didn’t matter at the moment.
Having Jin present was probably going to be a benefit. He’d provide me with another set of eyes to search and another voice to ask questions.
I nodded to him and he silently fell into step behind me. We headed inside.
I’d been in the Divinatory before, but I’d never been back to the archives. Fortunately, Jin seemed to know the way. I waved at a few other students and faculty as we headed toward the back of the building.
The other people present seemed exhausted and a little dazed. I didn’t blame them, considering the events of the day before. I hadn’t slept well, either.
“This is it.” Jin pointed at a double-door with a single large lock at the back of the facility. I inserted the key, turning it and sliding the doors open.
The archive was a room of clinical whites and sterile grays. It was structured like a library, with dozens of rows of long shelves, but only a few of them contained books. Most of the shelves were stacked to near-overflow with boxes of file folders, and a few other shelves carried fist-sized memory crystals.
The room’s most unusual feature, however, was the shimmering blue-skinned woman hovering over a platform in the center. Aside from the blue skin, she looked mostly human. She had long brown hair and wore a tailored suit that was a shade darker than her skin.
The platform was marked with numerous runes, some more familiar than others. I thought it was a barrier at a first glance, but it took me a moment to realize it wasn’t to keep danger out.
It was to keep her inside.
She turned toward us as we entered, grinning cheerfully and waving. “Ooh, new visitors! Come in, come in!”
I turned to Jin, giving him a confused glance. He shrugged and we stepped in.
I waved at the trapped woman. “Uh, hello. I’m Corin.”
She blinked, her eyes turning pure white when she reopened them. After a few moments of staring, her pupils slowly reappeared. The effect was...disconcerting. “Corin Cadence. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Researcher 437-C. How can I be of service today?”
I took a step closer, tilting my head to the side. “Are you trapped in there?”
She laughed — or at least, I thought she did. The sound was too high pitched to be human, somewhere in between a chuckle and some kind of exotic bird call. “No, no, silly. This...” She knelt and tapped the platform. “Provides me with mana. It’s powered by the crystals in the sides, so please don’t touch those!”
Jin ste
pped forward. “Is that Caelish technology? Are you some kind of automaton?”
She turned toward Jin, a confused expression on her face. “Oh, hello. I barely noticed you there! Uh, yes to your first question, no to the second. I’m what you would call a summoned monster... Although I don’t really like the second part. A little cruel, don’t you think?”
Jin gave a noncommittal grunt in reply.
“I agree,” I chimed in. “You’re intelligent, and you don’t seem particularly monstrous. Is there a term you’d prefer? Summoned person, perhaps?”
She raised a finger to her lips. “I hadn’t really thought about it. Maybe next time you visit, I’ll have an answer for you!”
I nodded. “In the meantime, I could use some help. I take it you oversee this facility?”
“Sure do! I know it backwards and forwards. Well, the center part, at least.” She grinned. “The rest, a little less, but still pretty well.”
I waved at the platform. “Is that because you can’t leave the middle?”
“I can, but only when I have an external power source. Usually, that means when my Summoner is here to provide me with mana. Some other forms of mana can keep me stable for a time, but it’s usually safest for me to stay here.”
I scratched my chin. “Just how long have you been here?”
“Oh, I’ve been working at this facility for about three years now. It’s quite nice!”
I blinked. I’d never heard of a summoned...person being summoned for anywhere near that long. Most summons only lasted for minutes to hours, as far as I could tell. “That’s very impressive. I’ve never heard of anyone like you. Can I ask where you’re from?”
She beamed, stretching her arms. “Weeeeell, that’s a bit of a long story. Researchers are core elements for the function of each of the Shifting Spires. Normally, we don’t come in contact with people... but someone was clever enough to find us, and made a pact with me! Or, original me, anyway.”