Shade's First Rule
Page 35
“Do me a favor and stick them all in Fade,” Sift said.
Ruwen punched him in the shoulder and Sift laughed.
Sift wore his new Harvester outfit, and he’d changed the color to black. His Dimensional Belt was wrapped around his waist, and Io fit snugly in the hidden sheath on Sift’s right hip. Sift hadn’t stopped smiling since he’d left dinner. Ruwen wore his new protective underwear beneath his Worker garb along with his improved cloak. The staff he’d placed in his Void Band. The weapon would be too hard to explain. The Fastidious Blade, however, sat on his right hip, opposite his Worker’s Baton.
Ky continued. “I don’t have any advice yet on your spells. Once I have enough information about where Big D is taking us, and who else has arrived to kill you, I might have some thoughts.”
“Wait, how many people want to kill me?” Ruwen asked.
“Naktos’s servants already tried and at least two are still around. All the excitement in Deepwell will not go unnoticed by the other deities. The gods that border us will for sure send some spies to investigate. More distant gods will too. You mustn’t draw attention to yourself.”
Ruwen’s throat constricted, making it hard to swallow. “Okay.”
“So, keep a couple of spell points just in case. We need to keep leveling you, too, or you won’t survive long. We can talk about that after we’re on our way,” Ky said.
“You’re coming with us?” Sift asked.
Ky shrugged. “I’ll be watching for others who are watching. Don’t depend on me for help. At this point, it’s safer for you to die again than for me to reveal myself by aiding you.”
Ruwen’s stomach clenched.
Ky looked at Sift. “Same goes for you.”
“I can protect myself,” Sift said.
“You two are both idiots,” Ky said. “I meant don’t help Ruwen if he’s attacked. Follow his killers back to their nest. That way, we get them all.”
“What if it’s the blue beam thing from the Naktos Mage?” Ruwen asked. “Tremine said that would have trapped me, not killed me.”
“You got attacked by a Naktos Soul Mage?” Sift asked.
“You know what that is?” Ruwen asked.
“Both of you shut up. You can swap stories and do your hair later. But that is a valid point about the binding magic.” Ky faced Sift. “If it looks like anyone is channeling a spell on Ruwen, it’s okay to kill them.”
Ruwen had felt better about his trip with Big D knowing Ky and Sift would be there. But most of that optimism had just disappeared. They wanted to find everyone trying to kill him, not just a single Assassin, which made him happy. The cost, however, might be his life, which didn’t. His shoulders slumped.
“Did you dump all your Spirit?” Ky asked.
Ruwen opened his mouth to respond when he realized Ky had been talking to Sift.
“Yes,” Sift said.
“Remember to get rid of any Energy you sift right away. You’re not trained to mask it, and you’ll look like a beacon to anyone with Cultivation training. The last thing we want is attention.” Ky said.
Sift nodded.
Ky didn’t look at Ruwen, but he wondered if she’d been talking to him as well. Like Sift, Ruwen didn’t know how to mask his Spirit. If something happened to his birthmark-tattoo, he might be in trouble.
They entered the cavern where Sift had poisoned Ruwen. That felt like weeks ago, but it had been less than two days. Ruwen opened up his Profile and added two of his four attribute points to Dexterity. His Wisdom, with the Staff of Chimes bonus, was still only eleven. If he died, he would wake up with the Foolish debuff again. He didn’t want that, so he added one more to Wisdom.
That left one point. Ruwen knew the right thing to do was place it in Dexterity, but he’d already added two there. Leveling twice and not putting anything in Intelligence hurt. His Intelligence had been part of his identity for a long time, and seeing it lose ground to all the things he never cared about, like Strength and Stamina, made him sad. He just hadn’t come to grips with his new Class yet. Dreaming for years of becoming a Mage didn’t disappear overnight, so he added the last point to Intelligence.
The attribute points distributed, he looked through his Profile to see how far he’d come in the two days he’d been here.
General
Name: Ruwen Starfield
Race: Human
Age: 16
Class: Worker
Hidden Class: Root (Observer)
Level: 5
Class Rank: Novice
Cultivation Stage: 19
Cultivation Rank: Initiate
Deaths: 2
Diety: Goddess Uru
Experience: 1,692/15,000
Marks
Black Pyramid: Novice
Bamboo Viper Clan: Novice
Pools
Health: 155/155
Mana: 190/190
Energy: 273/273
Spirit: 352,164
Attributes
Strength: 13
Stamina: 13
Dexterity: 15
Intelligence: 19
Wisdom: 12
Charisma: 12
Ratings
Knowledge: 37
Armor Class: 82
Max Encumbrance: 195
Critical Chance %: 2.50%
Power Strike %: 2.60%
Haste %: 3.00%
Dodge %: 5.00%
Persuasion %: 6.90%
Resilience %: 14.50%
Endurance %: 2.60%
Cleverness %: 39.90%
Perception %: 32.40%
Resistances
Elemental Resistance %: 16.50%
Poison Resistance %: 16.50%
Acid Resistance %: 16.50%
Mind Resistance %: 16.50%
Order Resistance %: 16.50%
Chaos Resistance %: 12.50%
Disease Resistance %: 16.50%
Light Resistance %: 16.50%
Dark Resistance %: 14.50%
Regeneration
Health Regeneration per second: 1.31
Mana Regeneration per second: 1.48
Energy Regeneration per second: 3.73
He closed his Profile, happy with the progress he’d made. Removing the Observer textbook from his Void Band, he looked up the symbols for Fade and Fabricate. He memorized the symbols and then put the book away.
They turned down a familiar dim hallway, and Ruwen concentrated on the symbol for Fade, which was an eye that slowly faded until a third of it was barely visible. It took over ten seconds to feel a tension in his mind and then what felt like a pop. He opened his mouth wide to relieve the pressure on his ears and maximized the new notification.
Ping!
You have learned the Ability Fade
Ability: Fade
Level: 1
Class: Observer
Effect: Lower the perception of anyone viewing you by 20%, making it difficult for them to remember you.
Type: AoE
He repeated the process and incremented Fade to level two, which was easier, just like Hey You had been. He read the new notification and saw Fade now lowered the perception of others by 40%. Ruwen moved on to Fabricate. The symbol for Fabricate was all six Class symbols arranged in a circle. A minute later, his Fabricate was also level two. He looked at the final notification.
Ping!
You have learned the Ability Fabricate
Ability: Fabricate
Level: 2
Class: Observer
Effect: Alter the Name, Class, Subclass, and Attributes displayed to others.
Type: AoE
Knowing this Ability needed more input, he opened his Ability tab and focused on Fabricate. The six Class symbols appeared, and he concentrated on the clasped hands of the Worker. More options appeared, and he filled them in with a few thoughts.
At his current level of Fabricate, he could only pick a Class and Subclass. He would need Fabricate level three to choose a Specialization. When Ruwen finished, h
e looked like he should for one day after Ascendancy, a level two Worker.
They reached the end of the hallway, which was nothing but a flat wall, and Ky turned to Ruwen.
“We’ll use your chalk,” Ky said.
Ruwen removed the Portal Chalk from his Void Band.
“The rules are simple. Draw the correct five gate runes, or you’ll likely die. If you leave a portal behind, always double check the runes before using it to make sure it hasn’t been tampered with. Do you remember the sequence I drew in the library?”
Ruwen nodded.
“Good. Those gate runes will always bring you to the Blood Gate. Blapy will destroy this connection once we’ve passed. Go ahead.”
Ky stepped away, and Ruwen quickly drew a rectangle. Carefully, he drew the five runes he’d memorized when Ky had drawn them in the library, and then put his Portal Chalk away.
Ky studied them and then nodded. “Good.”
Sift shifted from foot to foot. “This seems like an unnecessary risk. Blapy opens a door for me when I’m feeding the Blood Moss. Wouldn’t that be safer?”
“Shade’s first rule: there is no safety,” Ky said.
“Shade’s first rule: risk is death’s currency,” Sift responded.
Ky nodded her head and placed a hand on Sift’s shoulder. “That is an excellent rule.” Then she shoved Sift hard, and the young man disappeared through the door.
“After you, kid,” Ky said.
Ruwen took a deep breath and stepped through the stone. As he exited the portal, he tripped over Sift, who lay sprawled in front of the door. The Blood Moss cushioned his fall and crept up his body. His wrist with the mark grew cold, and the Blood Moss retreated. Ky came through and carefully stepped over the two of them.
Ky spoke as the two of them got to their feet. “Portals are complicated. Do you remember the one we came through?”
Ruwen looked around and realized the doors were no longer in the same order. It took him half a minute to find the door with the gate runes he’d memorized just after he’d arrived. He pointed at it.
“Good. Now if someone discovered our library portal and destroyed it, the connection still exists, but the exit is now a little more…fluid,” Ky said.
“What does that mean?” Ruwen asked.
“It means we should come out near the original portal, but not always. I once stepped through a portal into the ocean a mile from shore. Which is why I now hate sharks,” Ky said.
Sift looked like he might be sick. “I can’t swim.”
Ruwen’s stomach turned. “I can’t either.” Other terrible scenarios occurred to him. “What if they move your door somehow?”
“That happens more than you’d think.” Ky started to count on her fingers. “I’ve stepped through into a prison cell, a blazing furnace, ambushes, a cliff face, a –”
Sift held up his hand. “I’m having second thoughts.”
“The portals are a powerful tool, and that means they carry risk. Just be prepared,” Ky said.
Ruwen remembered the six doors he’d found that were safe in the Blood Gate when he first arrived. “How many portals do you have open in here?”
“Excellent question. I use this room as a hub to travel quickly all over the continent,” Ky said.
Which didn’t answer Ruwen’s question. A thought occurred to him, and he opened his map. The room appeared along with its three hundred plus doors. Now, however, around thirty of them had labels. When he concentrated on the door to the library, which read Deepwell, Uru, the label expanded and gave him five gate runes and the description “library basement, west conference room.”
Powerful Mages could portal to different locations, but portals were rare, and their creation was time-consuming and expensive. To have a room like this was an incredible asset, and the list he’d been given had portals covering the entire continent. The thought of nearly instant travel to distant places was so mind-blowing that for a few seconds Ruwen couldn’t do anything but stare at his map.
Ky flicked him on the forehead. “Stop that.”
Ruwen stepped backward and rubbed his forehead. Behind Ky, he could see one of the blank doors.
“What are the doors without gate runes for?” Ruwen asked.
Ky rubbed her temples and did a poor job of keeping the irritation off her face. “They’re to handle new connections, like when we created one from the library. Also, some places are so dangerous you don’t want to risk a constant link. You’d use one of the blank doors to create a temporary portal. Blapy always keeps a few blank ones available.”
“Hundreds of doors in here lead to instant death, and you’re saying there are even more dangerous places?” Ruwen asked.
Ky nodded.
“Like where?” Ruwen asked.
She looked at the ceiling, muttered something about a muzzle, and then faced him. “Like one of the deities’ realms.”
“You can actually travel to a god’s home?” Ruwen asked.
“No, mortals can’t go there,” Ky said and then looked down at Sift’s waist where Io was sheathed. “Okay, once, but we were so quick it hardly counts. No, you can’t tell them. I swear between you, Tremine, and the kid, I’m going to swallow a hisser and end it.”
Ruwen started to ask another question, but Ky pointed a finger at him, her lips pressed together, and he snapped his mouth shut.
Something about the blank doors had caused his brain to itch. There was a connection he wasn’t seeing. He unfocused his eyes and let his brain go blank, allowing it to sort through his memories. The itching was replaced by a swirling cold and –
“Hey!” Ky said as she clapped her hands.
Ruwen jumped and then focused on Ky, his thoughts scattering. “Sorry.”
She lowered her hands. “You ready?” Ky asked, looking at Ruwen and then Sift.
Sift looked terrible and wiped the sweat off his forehead. “Maybe I should stay. Who is going to feed the Blood Moss or sweep the early levels? Blapy needs me.”
Ruwen didn’t know if Ky’s portal horror stories had gotten into Sift’s head or if the fear of leaving everything Sift had known had finally hit him. Either way, Ruwen felt sorry for his friend. Ruwen had only been here two days and already had mixed feelings about leaving. But to find his parents, he needed to return, and he wanted to make sure Hamma was okay.
“Hey, this is going to be fun. On the other side of that door is adventure and freedom and probably a warm welcome. It’s going to be okay,” Ruwen said.
“Probably not, actually,” Ky said.
Ruwen looked at Ky. “You’re not helping.”
Ky looked up at the ceiling for a second. “Fine.” She turned to Sift. “There is something you should know about Lylan…”
Then without finishing, she stepped through the portal to the library and was gone.
“What?” Sift almost screamed and jumped after Ky.
In the space of a heartbeat, Ruwen was alone.
“Hey,” Blapy said.
Ruwen yelped and jumped to the side.
“Wow, you are nervous,” Blapy said.
“You could really use some sort of announcement, like a gong or something.”
Blapy tilted her head. “That is not such a bad idea.” A gong sounded, and Ruwen covered his ears. The sound echoed in the room for a few seconds and then disappeared. His hearing still rang.
“A little loud,” Ruwen said.
“I’ll work on it. Anyway, my portal windows that replay memories got me to thinking.”
“That can’t be good.”
“Depends on your perspective. But I made this,” Blapy said and held up a thin silver ring with a grey pearl.
“What is it?” Ruwen asked.
“An experiment.”
“Again, that doesn’t sound good.”
Blapy shrugged. “It will either work or it won’t. But it shouldn’t harm her.”
“Harm who?” Ruwen said as he took the ring.
“Lylan,” Blapy sa
id and then disappeared.
Ruwen opened his notification and read the description.
Tring!
The Black Pyramid has gifted you…
Name: Moonstone Ring of Remembrance
Quality: Epic
Durability: 8 of 8
Weight: 0.12 lbs.
Effect (Passive): +2 Charisma
Effect (Triggered): When worn by Shade Lylan of the Black Pyramid, memories of her time there will be restored.
Restriction: User must bear the mark of the Black Pyramid
Description: Some memories are worth keeping.
Ruwen carefully placed the ring in his Void Band and then stepped through the stone portal.
Chapter 37
Ruwen stepped into the back of the tapestry, which he pushed to the side. His clock read 5:17 in the morning. He’d been gone only about ten hours. Glancing around the room, he didn’t see Hamma, and his shoulders slumped.
Sift stood to the side of Ruwen with a big grin.
“Lylan is coming,” Sift said.
“What?” Ruwen asked.
“Ky sent for her. She’ll be here in a few days,” Sift said excitedly.
“You probably won’t even see her. Also, she doesn’t remember you, so don’t do anything dumb,” Ky said.
“That is great, Sift,” Ruwen said, thinking about the ring in his inventory.
Ky faced the two of them. “If anyone asks, you slept at an inn near the east gate. Sift is your cousin from a mountain village, he’s new to Deepwell, and working as a servant. The less talking you do, the better. Keep stories simple, vague, and provide one specific detail to make it seem real. Ask me where I was last night.”
Ruwen and Sift looked at each other and then Ruwen spoke up. “Where were you last night?”
Ky spoke in a friendly voice that shocked Ruwen. “Oh, it was some dreadful place near East gate, and I barely slept a wink. The mattress must have been stuffed with rocks. Did you sleep well?”