Roguelock

by Red Culver

  "That's the human mind for you," I said in a passable imitation of Neera's deep voice, and Cerissa laughed.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Experience

  I WOKE UP on the rug at the Red Donkey, feeling surprisingly good. I prodded the spot where the guard's axe had gashed my side and found that it had already begun to scab over. Sure it was only one hit point, but I was glad to have it back.

  I sat up suddenly and saw an empty bed. Cerissa was gone.

  Where is she? I thought.

  Where's the amulet? Flik replied.

  I sprang up and rushed to the low table where Cerissa had laid the roguelock when we'd come laughing into our room the night before. It was gone, as was Cerissa's money pouch.

  She didn't even have the decency to leave a note, I thought morosely. I was an idiot. I had believed, really believed, that Cerissa and I were partners. Equals. I stomped around the room cursing vigorously. Had I really been so dumb as to think that I could just fall into the lap of a professional thief without her using me and tossing me away?

  I had really been looking forward to selling the roguelock. Actually, I was looking forward to spending the big pile of coins that an artifact like that should fetch. I had lied and bled for the thing, plus I was sick of being poor and eager to earn some experience points. It wasn't fair! Cerissa wasn't a Wayfarer— she wouldn't even get XP for the money. Why was she so hell-bent on stealing it, anyway?

  Something turned over in my mind: a name. A name that I'd seen etched in stone above the door of a mausoleum, then heard again from Cerissa's own lips at the party. She'd even gone and repeated it for emphasis.

  Montaigne. Montaigne! She was Cerissa Montaigne, daughter of a thief. She hadn't stolen the roguelock to sell it— she'd wanted a memento of her mother! And I went along with it all, lured by her promises of wealth.

  What an idiot. I'd been feeling so clever, too, after our heist had gone off so nicely. I'd even figured out, as I lay smiling on the rug the night before, how Mordred had known our amulet was a fake. The clue was something Cerissa had said when she'd first explained how roguelocks work: "Whoever wears the roguelock can move quick and quiet thanks to its magic." It was an enchanted item, like Cerissa's dagger. For a normal person, it might take days to realize that the magical enhancement to their thieving skills was missing. But a Wayfarer would need only a moment's glance to see that his stats hadn't changed.

  I sighed. I was alone, still broke, and probably about to be stuck with the bill by the innkeeper. I had screwed it up badly in Borealis, and I saw only one option left to me.

  I put on my shades. Come on, Flik, I said. Let's hit the road.

  The burning tree that was the Silver Ways shone before me. My dad was out there somewhere. Still thieving? In trouble? Dead? There was only one way to find out. Flik guided me to an onramp and I put a foot onto the chrome path that would carry me out of Borealis forever.

  "What in the Deceiver's name are you doing?" said Cerissa.

  I gaped at her as she stood at the door with two fat leather bags in her hands. My foot hung in the air, about to step onto the Silver Ways.

  "Don't go fadin' out on me, Alex McLeod!" She dropped the bags, which hit the floor with metallic clunks. I put my foot down and felt rug beneath it.

  "I thought you'd cheated me," I said. I flipped my shades up onto the top of my head.

  "What?" said Cerissa. "Why?"

  "I know the roguelock was your mom's," I said. "I understand if you don't want to sell it. It must be special to you now that she's gone."

  "Special?" She kicked one of the leather bags, which slumped over, clinking. "The only thing special about that bauble was how much I fenced it for. I hated my mother."

  I looked at the bags at her feet, then back up at her. That slow, devilish smile was creeping over her face again, and I knew I looked about the same.

  "How much did we get?"

  3,000 gold pieces each, and we spent it with astonishing speed. I loved the sight of neon letters burning into my vision as I handed over each coin, racking up one experience point after another. Sometimes I'd drop the money on the counter of a clothing shop or armorer in a bag, and my XP ticker would jump up all at once. It was glorious.

  The first thing I bought was two potions of healing. I never wanted to be so close to death again. Next was an enchanted short sword +1 from a snooty niflung smith just outside the city. The museum guards' chain armor had looked nice, so I bought a shirt of my own despite lacking the medium armor proficiency. The rest of my money drained away swiftly on food and drink, proper clothes, and all the many sights and wonders a big magical city like Gate could offer a rich tourist.

  Eventually I sat alone in a comfy chair in my own room in the Red Donkey. Cerissa and I had grown attached to the place despite its humble quality, and decided to stay, though I was through with sleeping on the floor. I had spent every last coin of my gold, and now I was ready to spend the XP.

  Okay, Flik, I thought, flipping my shades down over my eyes. Let's do this.

  Just ask and ye shall receive, said Flik.

  Was that a Biblical reference? I asked.

  A what?

  Never mind. Okay, first up. Medium armor proficiency. I need that AC. Cerissa and I had talked it over, and agreed that while I had a pretty sharp mind for making plans, she was a much better con artist than I was. She also had a knack for working locks, and her magic didn't hurt either. Meanwhile I'd demonstrated a certain killer instinct that we thought shouldn't go ignored.

  In other words: she was the face, I was the muscle. We'd both play mastermind on any future schemes.

  Done and done, boss, said Flik. I did feel a bit stronger all over, as though heavier armor wouldn't weigh me down. Perfect. Now to improve my fighting skill.

  +2 attack bonus, please. Flik complied, and I felt the knowledge of a few slick new fighting moves rush into my brain. With my Duelist ability, that would total a +3 as long as I had a weapon in each hand, and a +4 if I had my new magic sword. That would give me a better than 50/50 shot against anyone else in chain armor, which granted an armor class of 14. Not bad.

  I was already halfway through my 3,000 XP, but I still had work to do. Saving throws were clearly for life-or-death situations, and while I planned to try to avoid such things, I had a feeling I'd wind up rolling a few more saves on my adventures. I bumped Physical, Mental, and Evasion all up to +5, but left Luck at its starting value of +3. It turned out that Luck was mostly used when you were already about to die, and I intended never to get to that state.

  Seven-fifty left. Six hundred of it bought me up to 14 hit points. I was starting to feel pretty damn tough. The last hundred-fifty I spent to bring my Athletics skill up to a +3. I had wanted to bump up Knowledge, since I hated being in the dark about the world around me, but eventually I'd had to admit that I could rely on Cerissa and Flik for some things.

  "All done, Flik!" I said out loud. "Feels good, buddy. You ready for our next adventure?"

  "Who are you talkin' to?" asked Cerissa from the doorway.

  Shit.

  "Oh, uh, nobody! Myself. Just myself." I tried to laugh, but it sounded forced even to my ears.

  "Alex, are you hidin' something from me?"

  "Cerissa, I—"

  She cut me off with a raised hand. "Are you a Wayfarer?"

  My heart froze in my chest. "How do you know that word?"

  "There have been legends forever," she said, coming into the room. "Adventurers who can travel from world to world. The laws of reality don't apply to them." She crossed her arms. "More recently, I heard it from my mother. She had her suspicions about your dad and Mordred."

  "Cerissa, please don't be mad." I slid down off the bed and looked her straight in the eye. "I didn't know how to tell you. I didn't know if I could! I have so much to learn about Borealis..."

  She shook her head, and before I knew it she was laughing, loud and clear. "You stupid bastard! You unbelievable... mad? Mad? Are you ki
dding me? This is fantastic!"

  "It is?" I said thickly.

  "You can travel the multiverse and bend the rules of reality." She kissed me on the cheek. "Do you have any idea how much stuff we can steal?"