The Emissary Bard (World Of Chains Book 3)

by Lars M.

  "Mmm-hm. Except hunters and knights do not learn their own spell type. Neither do warlocks. Do not be disheartened that you were unaware of this - a lot of non-magic users are. Knights receive spells according to the affinity with their chosen divinity, like clerics. Warlocks summon from the same path that demonologists do; the way they handle the summoned energy is different, but the path is not. Finally, hunters. Can you guess which path they use?"

  "Druids, probably? Closeness to nature, and all that..." I shrugged.

  "Good guess. The result remains, however. We have seven different magic paths. Now please perk up. Each of these seven paths is reflected in the population here on Aeion and beyond, according to the tenets and principles of that class."

  "I... could you explain that like I'm a six year old? A dense one. Who hates long words."

  The wrinkled woman threw back her head and laughed, a full-throated chortle. When she was done, her scarf was askew and her demeanor was filled with energy. "Oh, I've missed having a student. Even a dense one. What I mean is that every single creature imbued with life in and around Aeion belongs to one of these seven magic schools, according to their nature."

  Oh. I was beginning to see the picture. "Does that mean that..." I pointed a thumb back at myself, unsure how to frame the question.

  "Oh, yes. Were I to kill you here and now, I would find myself a nice set of items from which I could summon a handful of translucent sonic cores. Common ones, maybe an uncommon."

  "Wow. That's... I have so many questions. But most of them are probably unnecessary." I frowned, trying to focus on the important parts. "So how do you know which magic school each animal belongs to?"

  "You will need to know how the magic works, mostly. Once you have that down, you will typically be able to deduce it from the situation, location, or appearance. Let us start with your own path. Sonic magic is found in blind creatures and creatures with sonic-based spells and abilities."

  "Seems like there wouldn't be many of those. I mean, those Sonic Bats I met definitely fit the bill..."

  "Some people believe so. Those people also tend to forget how much lies beneath our feet." She stomped her dainty foot on the wooden floor, barely making a sound. "Once you go down far enough, sonic cores are among the majority."

  "Ah. Makes sense. Sorry. Please continue."

  "Nature magic. Green-colored cores. Druids, hunters, and wild animals. Where we are, these are the most common items you will find. Of course, once you leave the wilderness behind, things change. Then we have our sorcerer friends. Following the logic we have established, which creatures would you believe form part of the sorcerer's path?"

  "Hmmm - well, given that sorcerers play around with fireballs, ice spikes, and stuff like that, that'd be my guess. Monsters that are somehow touched by the elements. Like a frost golem or something."

  "Correct. It need not be an unnatural or crafted monster, however. Any animal that spends enough time in an elementally-laden area to make that element part of its nature will result in a multi-colored elemental core. A fire salamander, for instance, would be a good example. Even though they do not breathe fire, they have gained a certain immunity and affinity to the element."

  "Then we have the shamans and their tribal magic. This one covers all domesticated animals and monsters. Not individual monsters that have been broken and trained by a stubborn hunter. No, we are talking about... when the orc tribes domesticated the Renar Hawks for hunting, for instance. The brown color assuredly means 'earth' or some such."

  Connection made. "Oh. And monsters with some sort of group mentality, too."

  Shaking her head, she smiled at me. "Why am I not surprised? That story is one I would like to hear. For now, focus. Nature. Elements. Tribes. Sonic. These are the paths of magic that are native to Aeion. You can mix and match these and will rarely experience any backlash. Please note that I said 'rarely,' not 'never.' Some of the elements do clash with the other paths. The heritage items, however, are a different matter altogether."

  Thinking out loud, I mulled, "That means the paths of... demonology, summoners and clerics? Because...d’oh. Obviously, because they're not native to Aeion. That's the 'heritage' part of it too, right? Because they come from somewhere else, they handle differently?"

  Mrs. Bertinga gave me the kind of smile I associated with my grandma after helping her with some menial task. It was... strangely pleasing. "Exactly. Not only are these cores rarer and harder to find, they also behave differently. Where the others do not alter the nature of the item itself, these cores do. Please only ever use one heritage core in the creation of an item. You do not want to test the alternative."

  "Promise."

  "Now, the path of demonology stems from the summoning of magic energy through portals from our underworld. From what I hear, you are not unfamiliar with this concept. Needless to say, this includes all summoned demonic creatures, but also animals and monsters infected by demonic essence. Undead as well. Using this type of core grants your item a 'cursed' status, adding interesting negative effects to the item."

  I was going to have so much fun with my remaining demonic cores.

  ”Divine cores are the exact opposite in most effects. Revolving around the summoning of magical energy through the intervention of our deities, you can get them from clergy, angels, guardian creatures, and pretty much any animal, person, or creature who has been bestowed with a blessing from a deity. What else? Oh yes. For some reason, some of the gods have adopted animals as their spirit animals. These also drop divine cores - at the fear of angering the deity in question. You would do well to figure out which these are." She folded her hands before her. "Quick as you are, I am sure you can guess what the divine cores do?"

  "Let's see - If they're the opposite of demonic cores? That can only be some sort of 'blessed' effect, right?"

  "Not bad. Automatons hit harder or, more precisely, have added health or resistances. The same type of effects apply to grenades and traps. Oh, and the damage is changed to divine damage - not that it would matter in most cases." She frowned. "As for summoners, there is a reason I saved those for last. They are notoriously tight-lipped about their practices and will not discuss the planes from whence they summon their creations."

  "Really? Not even-"

  "No. Not even our own mayor, Autoria." Her glare spoke volumes about past attempts. "Truth be told, I believe they are sworn to keep the secret. To our advantage, we do not need to know about their heritage to learn about the effects and creatures. What we do know is that the effects of using a summoning Heritage core are annoying beyond belief." She frowned, clearly thinking about past crafting attempts. "The commonly held theory is that there are realms beyond number out there, each with their singular characteristics and rules, and that the summoners dip into all of them to end up with the result they require."

  "But what does that mean?"

  She shook her head in annoyance. "That the effects are random. A lot of Tinkerers have a phase where they attempt to figure out the hidden formula behind the effects you gain from summoning cores-"

  "Yourself included?"

  "There, now, Arcangelo. Antagonizing your teacher? Does that sound like a good idea?" She huffed. "Also, yes, I have. But to date, nobody has been able to learn anything about any hidden pattern."

  "Why use them, then? Are the benefits that good?" It didn’t add up.

  "Not always. Not even often. But there are a number of effects you can only gain from a summoning core. Flying, for instance. And sometimes you do receive a regular item, but with effects that are good enough to fly in the face of logic."

  "Flying..." I spent a moment imagining what it would be like to be able to fly. "Okay, you've sold me on them. So where do I find them? Besides from summoners and their creatures?"

  "They are hard to find. Besides the obvious, any magical constructs created by summoners tend to have summoning cores as well. Sometimes, you can stumble upon rifts where planar essence has seeped through into ou
r world, unleashing planar energy upon us."

  I shuddered at the thought of a portal like the one we'd just closed, creating random mutations upon everything. "What about deities? Is there a god of randomness?"

  "Hah. Bob, the God of Chaos? How twisted would that be? Sorry, Arcangelo, but there is no such thing." She tapped her nose. "I believe that is all the information you need to help you locate the types of cores you want. In addition to what I have already told you about safety and the like, please do bear in mind that the danger of our profession will only increase as you improve and start experimenting more. For now, keeping a healing potion close should be sufficient for you. Once you get to the point where you are able to combine three cores or more, the real fun starts. I will not go into detail this time around - only know that the possible missteps increase along with the possible number of combinations. Also, rest assured, I am more than ready for additional discussions once you make it that far."

  I smiled. "I really appreciate the help. It should make any future crafting so much less... random. Erm - one final question, though? Would it be alright for me to use your safe room for future crafting?"

  She nodded. "Solid thinking. I'll charge you for any collateral damage, of course."

  Chapter 17 – Off To See The Birdies

  What a horrible morning. I wasn’t even awake yet when Gillem slammed open my door and told me that the caravan was crossing the Jagged Rush. Apparently, they’d traveled through the night to have a full day’s rest in the village. I spent a short while packing everything I needed into my inventory before I trudged out the village exit, feet and heart weary.

  Goodbyes had been brief all around. I said farewell to everybody who counted in the limited time I had, but I didn't want to announce where I was off to - just in case somebody were to follow.

  Just an hour after waking up, I was sitting on a rock outside the town next to Atlas, gnawing on a trail ration – and soon Arack and Lyle joined me. We started off down the beaten path, following the caravan route west.

  Arack was admiring our surroundings with a wide smile on her face. I failed to see the reason for excitement. It was all tree, tree, shrub, inedible berry, mud, tree to me. I knew better than to comment, though. She was probably thrilled to be off on an adventure. Still, it was hard staying in a bad mood, with as merry as she was. As we trudged along the forest trail, dewdrops still lingering on the grass, she asked, "So, what are we facing? And what is it exactly we hope to achieve on this trip? Are we going to become best friends with the harpies or, like," her hands performed exaggerated stabbing motions, "lead them into an ambush and strongarm them?"

  Lyle burst into laughter. "Strongarm them? Great idea, Noodles-for-limbs."

  Arack sputtered in indignation and I laughed. "Serune only knows, Arack. I've tried to ask around the village what we're going into. The answer? Resounding silence. Everybody avoids the place. The only person who's bound to have some solid intel, Chertog, keeps his mouth sealed. According to him, whatever agreement they have with the Chroniclers includes not releasing any information on the damn place." I kicked a rock, watching it skip along the road. "So we have this. We know we're going to High Hold. We know where it's located. Roughly. We also know that the harpies are hostile and dangerous."

  "Danger and no way to prepare? Joy." Even with Lyle's dry commentary, it didn't sound like he hated the fact.

  "We do have one piece of good news." I smirked. "Yeah, with my status as a Chronicler, I'm probably safe. You guys are boned, though." Lyle's curse hit me at the same time as a clod of dirt pummeled my shoulder from the other side. I cackled and skipped ahead. "In all seriousness, though – we're going to approach with caution and stay alert once we get closer."

  "And our goal?"

  "Broker a deal between Grant's Crossing. Do our best to ensure that whichever way the village decides to expand isn't going to end in conflicts with the harpies. Get as good a deal as possible for the village."

  Arack stopped in the middle of the road. "That's all?"

  "Yup. Well, the fun's in the details, of course."

  "What details? Who decides those?"

  "We do, of course. What, you think that inviting Anathema to Grant's Crossing was part of the original plan? Somewhere, in the middle of everything, it seemed the right choice – and the Council, in their wisdom, decided to roll with it."

  "Wow. I think I need to sit down. So... you're saying that we can do what we want?"

  "As long as it's not against the spirit of our mission, and we think we can get away with it. That's exactly what I'm saying."

  "Ooooh." The gleam of avarice in Arack's eyes was snuffed out as Lyle cleared his throat loudly behind us.

  His voice was cold as he stared down both of us. "Are you perhaps forgetting something?"

  Damn. The knight. Protector of all that is righteous and boring. "Oh. My mistake. Yes, I'm forgetting that we need to... RUN, Arack! Escape the spoilsport!"

  It was silly. Childish, even. Anybody who watched us at that moment would've stood gaping in astonishment at the sight of a half-elf and kobold sprinting down the path, yelling "Onwards! Crime and adventure!" "You'll never catch us, lawman!" "Down with the system!" and other equally inspiring slogans. If that wasn't enough, the sight of Lyle as he became infected by the mood was one for the ages. He trudged after us as the epitome of all evil-quelling paladins, wicked mace in hand as he spouted even sillier catch phrases. "Stand still for Justice." "Repent, sinners, and die!" and the like. Atlas seemed confused, but was happy to bound along next to us, mirth streaming from him.

  A while later, Arack and I leaned against each other, breathing heavily, watching Lyle catch up to us. He wasn't even out of breath. Damn knights and their high-endurance builds. After a few mouthfuls of blessed fresh air, I managed. "Repent, sinners, and die? And?"

  His goofy grin seemed out of character with how serious he could get now and again, but it was all Lyle. "Yeah, well, just repenting always seemed like it was too easy a solution - know what I mean?"

  "Yeah. Sorry for what I've done... Now let me go do it again. Same time, next week?" We all shared a laugh and I took out my water skin to pass it around.

  Lyle took a deep swig and then looked at me, suddenly hesitant. A few curls of hair fell over his eye and he brushed them away. "You know, I was kind of serious. I mean, I don't mean to be all sanctimonious, but there is a limit to what I'll go along with."

  I tried to take it in stride. This conversation had been coming for a while now. "I know. Honestly, I don't believe it's going to be a problem, though. I don't just go around screwing over people without cause. Or steal, unless I really need to - and neither does Arack anymore, right?" The kobold just shrugged. Yeah, we were definitely going to see some sparks fly between those two. "Now, in my opinion, we don't need any set rules between us other than 'don't be an ass,’ and maybe ‘don't murder people.' Anything else, we can take the discussion as it comes. Does that sound fair to you?"

  "Mmm - sort of. I can agree to that. Mostly because I believe that, beneath the bluster and all, you're a good guy. What you've done for us so far tends to prove me right."

  "Wooow. That's, like, the sappiest thing I've ever heard. Do we need a group hug?" Arack's cheery voice broke the silence after Lyle's statement, and I was happy to take the out, laughing.

  "Oh, Pits no. Let's get going." I slapped Lyle on the arm. "Hey, you managed to turn that fly leg into a mace already? That's amazing. How's the result?"

  Within moments, he had lost me with a description revolving around optimal temperatures, brittleness, and the correlation between the two. The end result was nice, though - he'd managed to turn the long leg into a nightmarish thing with a curved neck and a two-headed half-moon shaped hook on the end . I wished he'd found the time to do something about the smell, however.

  Thinking back to my traveling days with Darya, I could see that they had been filled with constant discovery and tension. We had to find our own roles, both when
it came to division of work, and all that remained unsaid between us: my sordid past, whatever personal baggage she was carrying around, and the growing attraction between us. All this resulted in a very changeable mechanic, as we tried to learn each other and find routines that worked.

  The travels with Arack, Lyle, and Atlas? Completely different animal. We had no fixed rules or routines, but along the way, we each gravitated towards certain roles. Arack took charge of the scouting, along with Atlas as forward scout. Lyle did all the heavy lifting – chopping and gathering wood for campfires and our nightly shelters. Meanwhile, I wound up in charge of entertainment and one additional, uncommon role, as I ended taking care of all the adulting that needed handling. Mostly, it was just work assignments and ensuring that things got done. From time to time, however, I was forced to step in as the two very different personalities clashed. Fortunately, they were both happy, carefree people at heart, and our evenings, spent relaxing near the campfire, helped. I nudged both of my young companions to divulge a little about themselves. Soon, I could see Lyle slowly softening towards Arack, as he learned what she’d been subjected to as Anathema in Nerit.

  In the middle of an inane discussion regarding the best way to prepare potatoes (fried, obviously) a pop-up disturbed my zen and brought a smile to my lips. Apparently, I had been weighed and found just right.

  Congratulations. You have completed the quest:

  Let Your Fingers Do The Talking

  You have managed to reach an agreeable level of aptitude with Naevys Fenmarel. She will continue to teach you the skills necessary for communicating properly with your Animal Companion.

  Reward:

  You have received 300 experience points. Experience towards next level: 2195/5000

  We even learned a little. From trial and error and what we remembered from our respective tutors, we became more familiar with the flora of the Dawnlight Forest, and I managed to hit Apprentice in Local Lore: Dawnlight Forest. My conversations with Mrs. Bertinga had also helped with Magic Lore, and I could see how both would make my life easier in the future.