by Jay Boyce
He stared at her. “Do you really not have a pocket watch?” She shook her head, and he sighed in exasperation. “Nevermind then. I’ll tell Eric you don’t have one tomorrow.”
“Okay.” She responded in a quiet voice.
He smiled and shook his head. “Anyway, I figured you might still be back here, so I came to take you home as well. You shouldn’t be walking by yourself this late.”
She blinked, then grinned and poked him in the side. “Awwww, such a gentleman! I didn’t know you cared!” He was so totally on Team Jade now.
He laughed a little involuntarily at the poke, dodging to the side a little too late. He glared at her ruefully and quipped, “Hey, it’s not my fault they can’t close the library until you leave. Your reputation precedes you, and Joseph didn’t want to disturb you. He probably would’ve stayed all night if I hadn’t stopped by on my way back.”
“Pfft, excuses, excuses. Let’s go!” She grabbed her emptied bag, then glanced at the corner where she’d moved the little couch table and displayed her phoenix. “Will that be okay here?”
Lucas sighed. “Of course. This room has been designated yours for now…besides, I think anyone who opens the door would be scared half to death by the light anyways. It’ll be fine until tomorrow.”
“Okay.” She smiled, then latched onto his arm, grinning as she pulled him out the door. She began to hum ‘we’re off to see the wizard’ under her breath to quell her nervousness at going back into the now exceedingly dark library. Lucas seemed to take pity on her, creating a bright light in his free hand as he escorted her out.
He stopped at the front desk, where a boy who looked to be 1-2 years older than her was tidying things up. He smiled and introduced her. “Joseph, this is Jade. You’ll probably be seeing her a lot. She’s the one in room 15. It’s empty now, by the way. Just ignore the light…” He paused, glancing sternly down at her as he continued, “She lit it up like it was noonday in there somehow.”
She sighed, defending herself. “I don’t like the dark, okay!?” Smiling at Joseph, she confided, “It’s nice to meet you. Sorry for keeping you so late, I didn’t realize what time it was.” He looked a little different than the guys she’d seen so far. Almost scrawny in comparison to everyone else, he was definitely the kind of kid who was used to hiding in the corner. He had a flop of messy brown hair that covered one of his hazel eyes and contrasted with his ashen skin.
He smiled shyly and stammered softly, “I-it’s okay. It’s n-nice to m-meet you.” Poor thing, what had he heard to make him that nervous around her!? Well, whatever. Lucas pulled her away as she was waving cheerfully at him.
The streets outside were much quieter now, missing the constant burble of voices. The few people on the streets kept to themselves, giving them and their glowing magic a wide berth. She was leaning more heavily on him than she had anticipated, and she couldn’t help but yawn continuously as she absently noted the guard patrol passing them.
Lucas caught her on her umpteenth yawn and shook his head. “You look like you’ve exhausted your magic.”
She considered him thoughtfully, then nodded. “Probably. I pretty much used everything I had over and over again, basically draining myself as soon as I felt a little better.” She shook her head, shrugging. “Now I know.” Not that it would stop her, most likely. As they were approaching The Glass Phoenix, she pulled him over to the storefront window to admire her handiwork. She loved the way the sculptures glowed from within, fascinated by their beauty, even if she was the one who had lit them up in the first place. There hadn’t been much glass stuff at the hospital aside from test tubes and monitoring areas. It was too easy to break and hurt someone who was already weak. Therefore, it had all been utterly functional and completely lacking in any beauty, unlike these.
“How did you get the different colors?” Lucas paused, asking quietly. He hadn’t inspected her phoenix for very long, so she wasn’t surprised that he didn’t notice that the light was colored and that it hadn’t been just the glass reflecting the color.
She grinned. “Well, I just pictured the different wavelengths. It’s not so hard. The various lengths determine the color, so I just pictured the energy at a higher or lower frequency. There’s only so much variation on the visible spectrum.” He was ogling her like an alien again, and she sighed. “Science. I could do it because I understand the theory of light, because my world has studied it extensively and drawn pretty pictures that explain it. Get me a pen and paper tomorrow, and I’ll try to draw it out for you...”
“What’s a pen? Is it like a quill?” She sighed and hung her head. “Yes, it’s like a quill. Sort of. When I figure out how to reproduce them, I’ll give you one and be your favorite person forever.” He laughed softly, pulling her unwillingly away from the display. She felt she could probably stare at the crystalline shapes forever. His smile was nice too though, much better than the scowl he’d originally sported.
When they got to The Green Dragon, he let go of her, opening the door. “Good night, Jade. Get some sleep.”
She nodded absently and yawned, smiling sleepily as she responded. “Yup. Sweet dreams to you too.” She stumbled a little now that he was no longer supporting her as she entered the room, the door closing behind her.
Raphael and a few other people that should be students were playing cards on one of the tables in the common room. She smiled sleepily at them, giving a little wave when Raphael glanced over. He excused himself temporarily, coming over to her. “Did you have a good time at the library?”
She smiled tiredly. “Yup, but I think it’s time to sleep now. I think I overexerted myself a little.”
“Overexerted yourself? While reading?” He sounded a little skeptical and incredulous.
She shook her head. “No, that was easy enough. I was practicing my magic too.” He nodded as if this made sense...because it totally did.
“Did you eat while you were out?” He probed gently, seeming to realize she was only half paying attention to him as she shuffled slowly towards the stairs with him at her side.
“I had a big lunch and ate a bunch of stuff from the bakery for dinner, so I’m okay right now. But can you have Jessica or Kaylee leave me some easily accessible food? I’m most likely going to need another midnight snack again.” She was hoping it wasn’t too much effort for them. She didn’t want to have to go rummaging around when she was starving.
He nodded. “I’ll let them know. I’ll have them put it in a coolbox where you were eating last night.”
She smiled gratefully. “Thanks, I appreciate that.” With that, he nodded, bidding her goodnight. She somehow made her way up the stairs, using the restroom before she changed and collapsed in bed. She had the presence of mind to go through her notifications before she passed out completely. She randomly picked the ones that made sense to her tired mind, only paying close attention to a few of them.
You have touched Jarom Sanford, Siphon activated. Assessing stats and experience...
Choose a stat to siphon: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Magic, Charisma, or Luck.
Choose a skill to siphon: Hammer, Heavy Armor, Mental Fortitude, Perception, or Perseverance.
You have touched Stephen Kane, Siphon activated. Assessing stats and experience...
Choose a stat to siphon: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Magic, Charisma, or Luck.
Choose a skill to siphon: Dark Magic, Deception, Perception, Small Blades, or Stealth.
You have touched Damian Bardak, Siphon activated. Assessing stats and experience...
Choose a stat to siphon: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Magic, Charisma, or Luck.
Choose a skill to siphon: Appraise, Glasscraft, Haggle, Heat Resistance, or Modeling.
He’s a rogue… That was her last thought before she mentally clicked her choices and once more welcomed the now familiar sharp pain before slipping into sweet oblivion.
Chapter Sixteen – Analysis
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Day Three
As anticipated, she woke up in the middle of the night. Well, sort of. She was guessing it was probably more like 4-5AM given the lightening of the sky she glimpsed out the window. This time, however, she didn’t wake anyone up. Maybe it was because her walking had almost normalized, maybe it was because she had gained the ability to stealth, even if only a little. Or it could simply be that they were expecting her to get up, and thus didn’t come out to find the robber. She wasn’t quite sure. All she knew was that no one was staring at her scarfing her food down for once, and it was rather nice.
The coolbox Raph had spoken of turned out to be something like a mix between a cooler and a fridge. She could tell there was ice magic, which apparently was just a subcategory of water magic, which was keeping it cold. She figured they’d based the amount on what she’d eaten in front of them before because it seemed just about right.
Smiling happily, she’d tucked the coolbox under the table and snuck back to her room for another nap. The sun would be up in a few hours, and there was still so much to do!
When the sound of people moving around finally woke her up again, she smiled, stretched, and just laid on her bed, enjoying the fact that she could do so without having to worry about pulling any wires or needles out. She could get up and go pee, eat, walk, whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. She didn’t have to call anyone to help her with every little thing. It was liberating, and she still could barely believe it was real.
With a smile, she pulled up her profile, wanting to see what she’d managed to Siphon during the night.
Name: Jade Winward
Age: 18
Strength: 9.27
Dexterity: 10.05
Constitution: 9.23
Intelligence: 16.58
Magic: 12.24
Charisma: 10.39
Luck: 14.21
Special Abilities: Siphon
Skills: Acrobatics, Appraisal, Archery, Athletics, Blood Magic, Bluff, Dark Magic, Deception, Diplomacy, Dodge, Eating, Haggle, Healing Magic, Heat Resistance, Information Gathering, Insight, Intimidate, Light Armor, Light Magic, Mathematics, Mental Fortitude, Metal Magic, Modeling, Navigation, Perception, Perseverance, Persuasion, Running, Sense Motive, Singing, Sleight of Hand, Small Blades, Speed Reading, Stealth, Unarmed Combat, Walking, Water Magic, Wind Magic
Acrobatics
Beginner 4
65%
Appraisal
Beginner 7
67%
Archery
Beginner 4
28%
Athletics
Intermediate 1
85%
Blood Magic
Beginner 3
60%
Bluff
Intermediate 1
23%
Dark Magic
Beginner 3
7%
Deception
Beginner 8
66%
Diplomacy
Beginner 10
74%
Dodge
Beginner 4
10%
Eating
Beginner 8
70%
Haggle
Beginner 10
6%
Healing Magic
Beginner 9
72%
Heat Resistance
Beginner 2
20%
Information Gathering
Intermediate 6
70%
Insight
Beginner 9
37%
Intimidate
Beginner 5
86%
Light Armor
Beginner 2
50%
Light Magic
Intermediate 4
51%
Mathematics
Beginner 5
62%
Mental Fortitude
Intermediate 1
5%
Metal Magic
Beginner 4
65%
Modeling
Beginner 4
63%
Navigation
Beginner 6
77%
Perception
Intermediate 2
70%
Perseverance
Intermediate 1
13%
Persuasion
Beginner 10
52%
Running
Beginner 3
40%
Sense Motive
Beginner 8
96%
Singing
Beginner 3
0%
Sleight of Hand
Beginner 9
30%
Small Blades
Beginner 2
60%
Speed Reading
Intermediate 6
48%
Stealth
Beginner 4
25%
Unarmed Combat
Beginner 3
34%
Walking
Intermediate 4
24%
Water Magic
Beginner 9
24%
Wind Magic
Beginner 5
22%
She stared blankly at the ceiling. This wasn’t right, was it? She hadn’t checked anything since yesterday morning, and granted, she’d siphoned more than yesterday too. But still. She had nine intermediates now, and she’d only siphoned athletics, perception, and perseverance, but only one person each for the last two. Athletics she’d procured from four people, but she didn’t think that would have been enough to bump her up past the beginner levels. She had figured it’d be more like the archery level.
I wonder if me climbing all over the room to light up the ceiling was the cause? She pondered. It was the only logical explanation in her mind. Blood magic had even gone up, and she hadn’t touched it yesterday. It and water really were connected. She wasn’t going to tell anyone that, though. At least not if she could help it. In her reading yesterday, she’d figured out that though it didn’t carry the stigma of being evil, a lot of the blood mages had, in fact, turned evil. She wasn’t about to create a little army of blood mages that someone could subvert for their own nefarious purposes.
Mental fortitude and perseverance… She’d gotten those to intermediate pretty much alone, and she figured it was probably because she was draining her hypothetical mana and stamina bars over and over again yesterday. Or was it just one bar? Maybe those were a hidden stat? It would have been nice to see the numbers, but she had to give up on it. That sick feeling when she overextended herself would have to be enough, as long as she didn’t accidentally kill herself in the process.
She grinned as she hopped up from the bed at last. She’d achieved half of her first goal, at least! 2/4 of her deadweight stats were finally up to basic normal human status! Giggling, she twirled in the sunlight coming through the window, surprised when she didn’t trip and fall on her butt.
She laughed, singing at the top of her lungs. “Cause I'm on top of the world, 'ey! I'm on top of the world, 'ey! Waiting on this for a while now, paying my dues to the dirt!” She jumped on her bed to try and bounce, but there was no spring, so she just sank in and fell. She lay there, giggling happily as an acapella chorus of Peters went through her head.
There was a short knock at the door, and she heard Kaylee’s voice coming through. “Jade, are you okay?”
Grinning, she hopped out of bed again and ran to the door, unlocking it to throw it open as she crowed cheerfully, “I am fantastic! How’re you doing today?”
Kaylee looked really confused as she gazed at her. “I’m...well?” She was just staring, and Jade was smiling innocently. Finally, she shook her head as if to chase away whatever thoughts she’d been having and explained, “We’re about to close up breakfast if you want some.”
“Ahhhh, no, wait for me! I’ll be down in two minutes, I swear!” She closed the door on Kaylee hurriedly, turning around to go and change as she heard Kaylee laugh at h
er through the door and walk away.
She wanted to freshen up before she changed, but apparently she’d wasted too much time staring at and analyzing her stats, so she’d lost that opportunity. Changing her clothes as quickly as she could, she stopped for only a moment to do a little happy jig when she changed her shirt. The mosquito bites had grown again! She wasn’t sure which stat was making a difference, or if it was a combination. All she cared about was that they grew! She could look like a normal girl for once!
Fully changed, she began her descent downstairs, grinning like a madwoman. The common room was more filled than she’d seen it since she arrived. Around twenty different people who were around what she associated as ‘college age’ were sitting at various tables around the room. She waved at Kaylee, who upon noticing her, waved back and immediately departed for the kitchen, hopefully to grab her food.
She studied the students briefly, trying to size them up. There were a few loners sitting on the edges who looked a little nervous. They were probably the talent recruits. She guessed that the students grouped up together were the nobility kids who had already split into cliques. Did they call them cliques? Factions, maybe?
She had a choice to make, because there were three main groups to choose from.
The first consisted of five people, and if she recalled correctly, she’d already siphoned one of them her first day here. Steven, she thought. He was surrounded by one more muscular guy, a skinnier guy, a pretty brunette girl, and a chubbier blonde girl.
Group two had the other two she’d siphoned, Chloe and Travis. There was another black haired girl and another musclehead. She immediately dismissed that group, since there were only two fresh options to siphon and they were more paired off.
