by A F Kay
“And three times that many babysitters,” Bliz said. Looking up, he continued. “And it looks like you’re getting at least one of the Guardians.”
Big D nodded. “Just to camp. Then it’s returning here.”
Ruwen looked up and spotted one of the oblong eggs of death floating high above them. The Guardian flew so high, he couldn’t hear its low hum of impending death. He shivered as the memory of his skin melting in front of the library skittered across his thoughts.
“Let’s go organize that mess down there,” Big D said. She turned to Wip and Qip. “Keep an eye on him.”
The two men grunted as Big D headed for the appahs.
Bliz put his arm out, and Ruwen gripped it. “Remember to add the delay when you unload.”
Ruwen nodded. “Thanks, Bliz. I appreciate your help, and I’m looking forward to the Dizzy Judge.”
“Don’t forget to practice your bandball. You don’t want to get embarrassed by an old man like me on your first visit.”
Ruwen smiled. “I’ll practice.”
Bliz released Ruwen’s arm and walked back the way they’d come. Ruwen felt his anxiety increase at the thought of being alone and responsible for the vast number of items he carried.
Wip and Qip stepped up beside Ruwen, one on each side. It made Ruwen feel better that he wasn’t alone. Taking a deep breath, he strode toward Big D, who had already placed the Mages on the appahs.
This trip would be fine. Maybe Ruwen would even have some fun. And when he got back to Deepwell, he would unwind at the Dizzy Judge for a night and then leave the city to look for his parents. Maybe Hamma would join him at the Dizzy Judge. Yeah, everything would be okay.
Chapter 9
They jogged for ten hours, only stopping to eat, and to swap the low Energy and Endurance Classes on the appahs, cycling the tired onto the beasts. Big D had told him they were going to a place called Kan’s Crossing, a glade near the local dungeon and not far from the closest mining operation. The Ascendants were going to be visiting both sites, so Big D had wanted to be located near them.
As they traveled, the farms had given way to pine forest, and the air had cooled significantly. They had left the main road two hours ago and followed a well-worn dirt path straight into the mountains. The sun was only a fist away from dropping behind the craggy peaks when they reached a clearing almost a mile across. A stream ran down the center of it, the sound of water over rocks soothing, and the remains of hundreds of campfires could be seen. The breeze carried the smell of pine and Ruwen took a deep breath of the fresh air.
“Follow me,” Big D said.
The main group had fallen behind, or maybe Big D had sped up to get here first, but there were very few people around them, and Ruwen felt a little exposed. Wip and Qip stood quietly just behind him, but he kept thinking about the ambush this morning and how fast the crossbow bolts had traveled. He looked up to see if the Guardian had stayed with them, but he couldn’t see it.
“It’s still there,” Big D said, seeing Ruwen looking up. “It’s just in the clouds. It will go back to Deepwell once camp is set up. We need to hurry and get everything unloaded before the masses get here.”
Ruwen nodded and followed Big D. She moved to the right, about halfway between the stream and the trees.
“Observers go here,” Big D said.
Ruwen took a deep breath, and Wip and Qip stood back a little as they followed Ruwen. Observers were grid location sixteen through twenty, and they had the fewest things. Ruwen didn’t know if that was because the Observer instructors wanted their Ascendants to carry their own gear, or if Observers just traveled light in general. Probably some of both.
Ruwen concentrated and opened his Void Band with his mind instead of his hand. He expanded it away from himself until it looked like an oval. Remembering Bliz’s voice, he brought up the Observers’ Inventory locations and added a three second delay.
As soon as the first item dropped out, three crates filled with arrows, Ruwen strode forward. Five steps later, a large black bag fell to the ground. He quit paying attention to what came out and concentrated on not tripping over the unfamiliar terrain. Less than two minutes later, the Observer grids were empty.
“I love traveling with Observers, they are so self-sufficient,” Big D said. “Let’s give the Classes some space from each other.”
Big D walked another twenty paces and then stopped and pointed at the ground. “Order.”
Order consumed rows twenty-six through thirty. The Observers had only used twenty-four slots, but Order had used sixty-three. Nothing compared to the Mages, who had used up almost their entire allotment of grids at one hundred twenty-one.
Ruwen repeated the process, and just over three minutes later, the Order Class gear made a straight line parallel to the stream. Big D walked off another buffer and then pointed and said, “Merchants.”
The Merchants had almost as many items as the Mages, and it took Ruwen over five minutes to retrieve it all from his Inventory. Big D nodded in satisfaction and then pointed one last time on this side of the stream. “Mages.”
Six minutes later, Ruwen had almost reached the end of the clearing when the items stopped falling out.
“That is a lot of stuff for five Mages,” Ruwen said.
“Mages are very high maintenance. I expect to hear the most complaining from them,” Big D said.
She turned and looked at where they’d entered the clearing as the sounds of the main party reached them. They would be here soon.
“Let’s finish this,” Big D said and sprinted toward the stream.
The small woman was swift, and Ruwen wondered if she’d invested points in Dash as he tried to catch her. When she reached the stream, she jumped the ten-foot distance with ease. Ruwen, awash in Energy, channeled four Energy per second into Leap as he reached the stream. Soaring over the stream, he realized he’d just used an Observer Class spell. He panicked as he wondered how he’d explain this to the observant pit boss.
Ruwen, distracted by his mistake, landed ten feet past the stream. He hit the ground hard, and the wind left his lungs. A five flashed on his Health bar. Rolling over, he pushed himself to his feet and raised his hands over his head. He’d had the wind knocked out of him enough by bullies to know the quickest way to recover.
Wip and Qip laughed as they came up beside him and Big D smiled.
“You have to be careful casting Jump,” Big D said.
Ruwen was confused for a moment and then quickly cycled through the list of Worker spells in his head. Jump was a level four Worker spell that looked similar to the Observer spell Leap. Jump used Mana, and Leap used Energy, but they both increased the distance by twenty percent at the spell’s first level.
Ruwen’s lungs filled with air, and he nodded. Ruwen’s ability Fabricate made him appear to only be a level two Worker. Big D either had forgotten Jump was a level four spell or had ignored the fact for some reason. He had to be more careful about what spells he used.
Big D pointed and said, “Fighters.”
Ruwen finished three minutes later, and he could see the main party had arrived.
“I’m going to go get the other Classes settled. You unload the Worker gear and then wait for me,” Big D said.
Ruwen nodded, and Big D immediately dashed away.
The Worker gear also contained all the food and much of the shelter for the other Classes, and it took almost six minutes to unload. Big D had organized the incoming groups of Ascendants and their caretakers, and they flowed outward to their designated sections. The quiet of the clearing was shattered by the noise of setting up camp.
Ruwen stood there, Wip and Qip quietly beside him, and watched as the older Workers helped all the other Classes get their tents set up in an organized fashion. The Fighters and Observers didn’t need any help, but the Merchants, Mages, and Order Classes didn’t seem to know where to begin.
An older Worker named Vejil approached Ruwen leading a group of twenty new Workers. He
stopped in front of Ruwen and held out his arm.
“You must be Ruwen,” Vejil said.
Ruwen realized his settings were still private, and he needed to keep them that way.
“Yes, that’s me. Well met, Vejil,” Ruwen said as he grasped the man’s forearm.
Vejil held Ruwen’s arm and turned to face the group of Ascendants. “Look at everything in this clearing.” Vejil waited while they looked around. “Ruwen carried it all.”
Vejil let go of Ruwen’s arm but grabbed his left hand and held it up. “Do you see this black band on his wrist?” The Ascendants all nodded. “It’s a Death’s Grip.” Muttering erupted, and Vejil spoke over their voices. “It means he’s one of the best of us. They’re always the smartest person in the room unless you’re in a bar,” Vejil said and then paused, “in which case, they’re usually the dumbest.”
The Ascendants all laughed, and Ruwen smiled.
Vejil let go of Ruwen’s hand. “Never, ever, play a drinking game with them called Blind Bandit if you have to work the next day.”
They Ascendants all laughed again.
Vejil turned to Ruwen and gave him a small bow. “Thank you, Ruwen, for carrying all these supplies. We only had to carry our own gear, and it made the journey pleasant.”
The group of Ascendants thanked Ruwen as well, their voices overlapping, and Ruwen’s cheeks grew warm.
“Now, who knows the proper tent formation for a group of one hundred?” Vejil asked as he continued down the row of items Ruwen had left.
The efficiency of the older Workers impressed Ruwen as they rapidly set up hundreds of tents, cut firewood, and took care of the appahs. They also quickly constructed four bridges that were then spaced evenly down the stream. The mountain peaks had hidden half the sun when Big D returned for Ruwen.
“Come on, I’ll take you to your tent,” Big D said.
Big D walked to a tent near the center of the clearing, but thirty feet from the stream. Ruwen’s right wrist grew cold as the Black Eye ability triggered. Someone with the mark of the Black Pyramid was close, which meant Sift must be in this tent.
Across the water were the Order and Merchant camps, and the Fighter camp began a stone’s throw away on this side. The Ascendant’s tents were all the same: brown eight by eight by sixteen feet cubes. The instructors and other adults had tents that varied in shape and color, and these tents made up the outside border.
“Tonight, the adults are taking care of everything. Tomorrow the lessons start. Walk to the nearest fire in about thirty minutes for something to eat. I’ll fetch you at seven tomorrow morning. Oh, and I had your friends placed close to you, so you weren’t so isolated.”
“Thanks, Big D,” Ruwen said.
Big D pointed at the tent next to Ruwen’s. “Wip and Qip, you guys are in there. If you guys could stagger your watch, that would be great.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Wip said.
Big D faced Ruwen. “Good job today.”
The Pit Boss’s praise felt like being wrapped in a warm blanket. Her Charisma must be insanely high to affect him like that. He watched her stride back into the center of the Worker camp for a few seconds and then he entered his tent.
“Hey! Did you see the snow on those peaks?” Sift said as he jumped off his cot.
“Hi, Sift, how was your run?”
“Do you think we’ll go up there? If the group doesn’t, can we sneak up there?”
“Oh, me? My day was great. I carried several thousand pounds of equipment and then walked around, pooping it out like some kind of chicken with diarrhea.”
Sift laughed. “That would be a great team name for the Step tournament: Chicken Diarrhea.”
Ruwen laughed and sat on the other cot. The only other pieces of furniture in the tent were two small tables. The one near Sift had a travel memoir lying on it.
“We’re high enough that it might snow a little at night,” Ruwen said.
Sift’s eyes grew large. “Are you serious? I’m going to sleep outside.”
“Knock, knock,” Hamma said from outside.
“Come in,” Ruwen said as he stood.
Hamma pushed the heavy cloth to the side and entered. “They put me in a tent next to you guys. Big D requested me from the Order contingent. She said she wanted a healer near you in case something happened.”
“Yeah, she told the Fighter instructors she wanted a Fighter near Ruwen at all times. They really got puffed up about that. She insisted on me, though, even though they wanted someone else.”
“That was nice of her,” Ruwen said.
“Do you want to come with us to see the snow?” Sift asked Hamma.
Hamma stared at Sift for a few seconds. “You mean climbing up a mountain peak? Are you kidding?”
Ruwen sat back down, and Hamma sat next to him.
“It’s on my list,” Sift said.
“Your list?” Hamma asked.
“Of things to see,” Sift said.
“I thought you were his cousin from a mountain village. Why would snow be something you’ve never seen?” Hamma asked.
Sift grimaced. “Ahhh…”
“Obviously he’s not from here,” Ruwen said, “or there, or…just give me a little more time to figure out how to unpack all this. I’ll explain everything soon. I promise.”
“Okay,” Hamma said. “But he must come from really far away if he’s never seen snow.”
Ruwen rubbed his forehead. Far away was an understatement. Sift had been living on a completely different world. Ugh, this was going to be impossible to explain in pieces. He really needed to tell Hamma almost everything. But he needed to talk to Ky before he did that.
Chapter 10
Sift, Hamma, and Ruwen had eaten together, and then Hamma had returned to her tent. It had been a long day for most of the Ascendants since few of them were used to such extended physical activity.
Sift laid on his cot, a shaker on his chest providing light, and read a book on things to see in Uru’s lands. Ruwen had laid down as well. He needed to allocate his level four and five spells. This was the first break he’d gotten since Ky had told him he could use them how he wished.
For reaching level four, since it was an even level, he had received two Worker spell points and two Observer spell points. Level five, an odd level, had given him another one of each, so he had six total to spend.
All his current spells were level one, and he could increase their level up to five. He glanced through the spells he’d already taken, just looking at the descriptions.
Spell: Scrub
Effect: Use Energy to break down and remove stains and odor.
Spell: Campfire
Effect: Create small magical campfire. Adds 5% to Energy, Mana, and Health Regeneration to all within 3 yards.
Spell: Retrieve
Effect: Retrieve items less than 10 lbs. that are within 30 ft. of your location.
Spell: Find Trap
Effect: Increase chance of finding traps by 10% per minute.
Spell: Leap
Effect: Increase the distance leaped by 20%.
Spell: Distract
Effect: Create a noise at the location of the Observer's focus.
Spell: Bleed
Effect: Your next blow will cause the target to bleed for 2 times weapon damage.
Spell: Backstab
Effect: Triple weapon damage when the target is struck from behind. Effect stacks with other modifiers.
Spell: Uru’s Touch
Effect: Synchronize your current state with Uru when outside the domain of Uru’s Blessing.
The last spell had been earned from completing a quest Uru had given Ruwen. He still couldn’t cast it because the Health, Mana, and Energy requirements were too high.
Ruwen closed his Spells tab and sat up. He wanted to remove the Worker and Observer textbooks from his Void Band and look at the available spells. It was dumb to leave so many spell points unspent when he needed every advantage he could get.
/> Shadows raced chaotically around the tent as Sift sat up, and the shaker rolled down to his waist. “We need to train.”
Ruwen looked over at Sift. “What?”
Sift sat on the edge of his cot and placed his book inside his Dimensional Belt. “You are dangerously weak, and we need to fix that.”
“Going outside at night might be dangerous for me, and I’m not sure I should be seen learning the Clan’s forms.”
“I agree with both of those statements.”
Ruwen looked around the tent. “You want to train in here?”
Sift slowly shook his head.
“Then where would we –”
Ruwen suddenly understood exactly where Sift meant to train.
Blapy.
“Are you serious?” Ruwen whispered.
Sift leaned forward. “Think about it. It’s actually safer.”
Was Sift right? Wip and Qip were taking turns watching his tent, but they couldn’t be everywhere, and there were powerful enemies after Ruwen that the bodyguards wouldn’t be able to stop anyway. Assuming they could even see the attackers. Not only that, the time compression of four hours inside Blapy to every one here meant he would have over a full day to train and sleep inside the Black Pyramid.
“You’re right,” Ruwen admitted.
“I always am.”
Ruwen tilted his head and narrowed his eyes.
“Well, mostly. Usually. Sometimes,” Sift said. “Let’s go.”
Ruwen looked around the tent. “Where do we make the door?”
“The floor maybe,” Sift said.
“But what if someone walks on it and messes up the gate runes? Remember what Ky said? Who knows where we would end up. And how would that even work coming back? We walk through a door upright and come out here, horizontal? Would we just fall back through the doorway?”
