Chapter 3-78: Let’s Take a Ride

Prepping to go didn’t take all that much real effort, as I didn’t have a whole lot to take, and Master Fred basically lived on the move. A few texts to the First Light, and they promised to have someone here to live in the house for as long as needed.

I boxed up all the extra clothes and things respectfully but quickly, Prestidigitation being ideal for such things. Master Fred indicated how much I could bring along for a change of clothes for different situations, but a Combat Mage’s uniform, once I removed the extra belts with their dangerous loads, was actually fairly stylish if worn appropriately, and the white-trimmed black style certainly flattered me.

The list of stuff I wanted actually took a little longer, because that list was not small. I did not expect a great deal of it to materialize, and that was fine. My Ring and Staff were going to slowly and continually improve, and were the greatest sinks of this. But there was just a whole lotta other stuff needed to shore up defenses and special situations that were meant to be accumulated over time.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, more than a few pieces of equipment were completely unknown to Master Fred, which meant they obviously couldn’t be made.

It also meant details of their construction were definitely worth something. And since I’d managed to pick up Create Wondrous Item, things like a Swarmkiller Clasp could be detailed out for others to make.

The main thing was that they had to have the appropriate spells available, and I couldn’t properly teach a spell or effect until I was a Five. So annoying...

So, it was often a request for Energized materials, or appropriately Crafted raw materials.

Things like a usable Masspack, a lotus-style Disk with a weight limit of at least a ton, a Compressible Alchemy Lab kit, and similar stuff. Also, I could ask for specific metals and gemstones I could Energize myself to specific Low Magic effects.

They don’t know what Noqual was. Force E-Iron was generally found in meteorites. They were astounded when I described it and its characteristics, because they had some on hand and had no idea how to use it.

Describing the process of forging it and using it in various applications was worth a couple goldweight all by itself. Armed with that knowledge, Heavenbound Hall could start gathering up samples of the stuff to use.

I was sure just casually explaining what a mysterious metal was, could do, and how to make it to that erased any hesitation they had about loaning me items or goods.

When I hit Five, I was going to be plenty Deep, and the world was going to change.

They wanted to know what I intended to make with all the gold they were going to send my way. I delineated the Bracers and Amulet I intended to make, and probably dropped their jaws that such was even possible.

Of course, I couldn’t actually make most of that at this point, but time was a thing.

They agreed to have my basic requests ready for me by the time I got to Detroit in the end. I think they were privately salivating to see whatever information they could get out of me, and hoping I would just stay there and feed them data.

Unfortunately for them, you didn’t get Naming Karma by standing around, and I wasn’t going to wait around months just so I could finally power up Clavus and Einz the normal way. It didn’t take much to exceed the limits of my current six Ranks in Spellcraft, after all...

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Whizzing down the shadowy turnpike towards Pittsburgh, I reflected that a multi-Pact Warlock hanging with me was basically a license to print Karma, especially one with a floating City Pact. He would literally never run out of things to do, and I gave him definite instruction to insure we got Naming Karma every day.

While we could easily get to Detroit in a day, there was no chance something wasn’t going to want the Senior Warlock riding by to do a little something for it.

Sure enough, he turned off the Turnpike, Ward-riding smoothly up over the rail, and came down smoothly on a parallel road.

Smirking to myself, I asked, “What’s up?”

PLAGUE OUTBREAK ON THE SOUTH END OF THE CITY.

I thought that over. Heavenbound were damage healers, potentially, but not disease healers. “Something spreading disease?” I inquired, thinking of the many possible vectors. So much shit out there could spread disease.

One part of my wish list was a jewel I could enchant up to a Phylactery of Health for just that reason... especially with undead around.

CITY SAYS THERE’S AN ALIEN UNDEAD HERE.

Well, that got my interest. Unfortunately, there were literally dozens of undead who could spread disease, since they were anything but susceptible to disease themselves. Anything from ghouls to huecuvas to mummies to gaki...

“Does the city have a location?” I asked.

GENERAL. Sleipner was still moving, of course. He wasn’t Primary to a City, so he didn’t have the link with the city that would allow more zeroing, and the city probably didn’t have a Citybound advanced enough to do the same.

“Which disease?”

He couldn’t answer that, so he popped up his Vaccine, dialed the local hospital, and handed it to me.

“Hello, this is Mercy Hospital, Olanna speaking. How may I help you?”

“Good morning, this is Traveler. I’m currently with a Citybound Warlock. We’ve been notified by Pittsburgh of a disease being spread by an unnatural creature and are hunting for it. In the interest of identifying it, could you tell me what disease is being spread?”

“Oh. Oh. Wait, Traveler? From The Human Tongue?!”

“I can hear that you’ve watched it,” I smiled.

“Yes! Oh, right... it’s plague, the bubonic plague.”

Whiiiiirrrrr, click. That did narrow things down... “Olanna, can you confirm if the victims have rat bites?”

Her voice dropped. “I haven’t heard of any, Traveler.”

“Thank you, Olanna. That should be enough for us to find the culprit!”

“A pleasure to help, Traveler! Go get ‘em!”

“I very much intend to!” I handed his phone back to him, he turned it right side over again, I just sighed, and he put it away.

YOU HAVE A TYPE?, he asked.

“Taking into account they are not natives... we’re looking for a Vylstrigoi, or a Shuyi-gaki. A shuyi-gaki is ratlike and spreads the plague through them. The city would probably notice the increased rat activity, and so would the local wererat clans, if there are some around here.”

THERE ARE, he verified instantly.

“So, we’re looking at a vylstrigoi, which is a corrupt nosferatu-bloodline vampire that spreads disease just with its aura.”

SLEIPNER CAN HEAL US IF WE ARE INFECTED, Master Fred wrote calmly, which was a big relief. Big black pus sores would slow me down, and I had things to do.

“Vylstrigoi are tomb-bound. One popping up here should be literally impossible unless it established a tomb for itself and died here. I’m thinking a servant of Skulos looking to become undead. A tomb in this day and age would be pretty well hidden.”

He considered that for a few moments. THE ONES TO ASK WOULD BE THE GHOULS. THERE IS A GHOUL SAGE IN CHARGE OF THE PAUPER’S END, BY NAME OF GILLCRUKX. He punched his phone a few more times, and handed it to me again. I was amused despite myself.

“Pauper’s End, how may I help you?” a sibilant voice picked up on the other end, in English.

“,” I replied in Necrus, and earned a startled pause from the other end. “Now,” I added for emphasis.

“<One moment!>,” the being answered, also in Necrus, and there was a hum and click.

“<This is Gillcrukx>,” an urbane, yet hollow voice on the other end answered on speaker phone. “How may I be of assistance to the Heavenbound?” I had to smile at the sneer.

“<Greetings to the Sage Gillcrukx, Ghoul Lord of Pittsburgh>,” I replied calmly. “<Your reputation for upholding your contracts precedes you, wise Sage. There has been a development from an unexpected quarter that may upset your dominion...>”

“<Well, well, a Heavenbound who is polite. What a novel thing!>” came back a near purr and hiss. “<You speak the tongue of the dead well, my lady.>”

“”

“”

“<Counseling Sage, the plague is being spread by a vylstrigoi. I do not think I have to tell you what that will do to the reputation of the ghouls when it is caught.>”

There was a sibilant hiss from the other end. Ghouls didn’t need to breathe, even Leng ghouls, so it was purely an affection. “<And you seek my help in finding this interloper in my domain, Lady Shroudborn?>”

“<It was ask you, or ask the vampires, Wise Sage. I determined that you were the one with more to lose, and far more likely to know someone with interest in magic and disease and a great interest in undeath, who died very recently.>”

There was a long thirty seconds of silence on the other end of the phone. “<You will keep word of this from the media?>” he asked on the other end.

“<In the interests of not starting up a torch-carrying brigade, I have no interest in revealing this, and the Heavenbound with me, Master Fred, doesn’t talk idly, Your Eminence.>” Said person smiled slightly at the words.

“<The Silent Warlock is here? In Pittsburgh?>” Oh, was his tone incredibly wary now...

“<He is right here listening, Sagacious Gillcrukx>,” I confirmed.

“<If not discreetly, then I trust the matter will be over quickly>,” came the sigh from the other end. “<As a matter of some personal interest, a certain Mortimius Kethettar of my acquaintance has not been in contact with me over matters of mutual interest for some time, and he has an old home in the south of the city. You may wish to start your investigations there.>”

“<Thank you for your help, Learned Gillcrukx, I’m sure that this will give everyone except it some peace of mind, and we can resolve this before there are any negative effects on your domain.>”

“<You are most thoughtful to call me first, Lady Shroudborn. Do be careful, although I should love to see one of your blood end up on my table.>”

I laughed politely. “”