Book 2. Chapter 17

Book 2. Chapter 17

Brin checked Marksi’s wound before he left the cave, but it didn’t look too bad. A scrape along his side, but it wasn’t too deep. He washed it out with clean water anyway, but that was all the doting Marksi would let him get away with.

Marksi hopped down to strut back and forth, proud of his new badge of courage. He marched on his stubby legs, long neck twisting around to see how his scratch interrupted the gleaming scales in the faint light.

“Yeah, it looks great. Very fierce. You look like a real [Warrior]!” said Brin.

Marksi nodded as if that was a given. He still had the little scar above his eye that he’d already had when they first met, the one that matched Brin’s own.

“We can’t stay down here. Hogg told us to get up top,” said Brin.

He didn’t leave right away, though. First he rooted around until he found a couple of sturdy sacks, which he filled all the way to bursting with stone. There was also a nice wooden bucket with a handle, and he filled that as well. Altogether it was probably two hundred pounds of stone, well within what he could carry.

At least that’s what he thought until he got to the tunnel. He’d forgotten how steep this thing was. Still, he wasn’t leaving without the rocks. He needed that glass. He was sick of working with little bits at a time. The slow pace had been good in the beginning when he’d needed lots of supervision to make sure he wouldn’t hurt himself or ruin his Ademir’s tools, but that time was past. When Brin stepped into the workshop with a month’s worth of materials, there was no way Ademir would tell him not to work after hours.

He huffed and puffed his way up the steep slope, careful to keep his feet from slipping. True, it would be smarter to just make two trips, but Hogg had told him to go up and not let anyone back down. This way, he was still technically doing what he was told.

Hopefully this would be a useless effort. Hopefully, they’d be able to get some more people down here to restart the mining and the town would be swimming with stone. But there was always the chance that Hogg would come back with an army on his heels and demand that they collapse the tunnel. Brin wasn’t going to risk it.

What was even the problem? Davi could knock out squats at this weight without breaking a sweat. Brin could at least do this much.

Step by heavy step, he made his way back up the slope and into Neptune’s workshop. He stepped outside and collapsed, letting his burden fall to the ground. He gulped in huge breaths of air, reveling in how fresh and clean it was. Compared to the stench in the cavern, this was paradise.

Above ground and safe as he’d ever be, he couldn’t resist another glance at his options. He’d gotten some Skill choices when they’d been ambushed.

Upgrade - Shape Glass Increased ability to transform glass. Increased ability to move glass. Improves mana efficiency. Upgrade - Heat Resistance

+50% increase to heat tolerance.

Summon Glass You can use your magic to call glass into being. This Skill grows with your understanding and experience working with glass.

Usually he didn’t choose a new Skill without consulting Hogg first, but this was probably an exception. They’d already decided that he’d pick it as soon as he got it and then evolve into [Illusionist].

It was crazy to him to think that today was the day that he’d be evolving into [Illusionist]. In all honesty, he liked making glass. It didn’t change his life goals; [Illusionist] was the better Class and the sooner he started learning how to use it the better. But the thought that he wouldn’t be able to gain any more levels by making glass with Ademir was bittersweet.

That wasn’t the whole story, though, he’d need to keep making glass by hand to keep [Shape Glass] and [Summon Glass] growing. His days making glass were far from over.

He selected [Summon Glass].

Nothing happened. It was good that nothing dramatic happened the way it had for [Memories of Glass]. He was supposed to be watching the mine, so he really shouldn’t go comatose right now, but shouldn’t something feel different?

He felt nothing, except residual nerves from the fight, the after-battle shakes.

He held out his hand, pulled on his magic, and concentrated on the thought of glass appearing there. Nothing happened.

Another thing didn’t happen: He didn’t get a notification alerting him about an optional Class change. Didn’t his inner-hims promise him that he’d get [Illusionist] at fifteen? The Illusionist had mentioned something about how he hadn’t earned it, but how could that be? He’d earned it at level one. Had he somehow unearned it?

The other option was that they were deliberately holding it back from him for some reason.

A short time later, an enormous mutant bull came charging across the fields. Brin had a moment of panic, thinking that Poco was here for him, but the bull planted himself firmly in front of the door to Neptune’s hut, taking a defensive posture. Right, he was making sure nothing came back up. Good thinking.

Marksi climbed up the bull’s leg and planted himself on Poco’s head, his tail wrapped around his neck to hold himself in place. He also stared at the entrance to Neptune’s mine with a look of determination. Marksi would protect them, too.

Bruna stepped around the tall fence around Neptune’s hole.

She stepped hesitantly, looking shamefaced. She should, considering how she’d just bolted and left Brin to die. Only, to be fair she’d left Brin with Hogg, which was the safest place a person could be, and he didn’t think [Witches] had much in the way of personal defense if their familiars weren’t around. He’d need to ask Hogg about that escape Skill, though.

He felt a little hurt that she’d run off on him, but he could sort that out later. He needed Bruna on his side. It wouldn’t be wise to let her think there was any bad blood between them.

He sighed in relief and said, “Oh, good, you’re alright! You had me worried. Good thinking about bringing Poco here. We don’t know what might come out of there. Hogg is investigating the cave, but he said not to let anyone in until he comes out. He’ll probably be gone awhile.”

“I also sent for the Prefit,” said Bruna.

“Smart,” said Brin.

He cut the first one down easily, and the third got tangled up with them before they hit the floor. The undead behind him wanted to keep running, and crashed into each other in a big zombie traffic jam. They tried to back up, but the mass was disorganized and slow. The Prefit jumped in and took a few more casualties with a few quick stabs.

The undead regrouped out of sight, and then returned. This time, they left gaps between each other and came at the Prefit one-by-one. And one-by-one, he cut them down. Brin couldn't really compare it to the likes of Galan, who'd fought dozens of these things at once, but the Prefit had no trouble. He was more than a match for their unnatural strength, but he also fought with a skill that they lacked. The few times they managed to block, they were able to stop his blade, but more often than not his sword would snake around their guard and sever their vitals, while taking no wounds in return.

In a way, it was watching a [Baker] or [Carpenter] or even Ademir work. A master of his craft, perfunctorily performing a task he'd done a hundred times before.

When the last undead turned to run, the Prefit didn't pursue, which Brin was glad for. He didn't know what he'd do if the big [Warrior] tried to disobey Hogg's orders. He knew he sure didn't want to tell the Prefit that 'this is Hogg town’. It just didn't seem like it would sound the same, coming from him.

After that, nothing came up from the cave, and no one went down. They waited for an hour like that, with the Prefit standing in front of the cave, Brin standing behind, and Bruna sitting on the grass nearby. After an hour, the Prefit told them they could leave. Bruna left immediately, but Brin insisted on staying behind. He would wait until Hogg returned.

He was tempted to leave to go find Chamylla. She might have insight into how he could start using his [Summon Glass] Skill. That's what the Language was for, after all. It helped give shape to magic, to replace the wild chaos and complexity with structure and reliability. Most Commoners didn't learn it, relying on Skills for the few things their magic was good for, but the really powerful people all did. At least, that's what Hogg and Chamylla claimed, and they would know.

Still, it felt disloyal to go do his own thing while Hogg was still underground. He should be here when he came back. As the minutes ticked by and no new dangers arrived, the Prefit broke the silence. "Tell me. Did you ever wish to receive the [Warrior] Class?"

Brin nodded, then realized the Prefit's back was still tuned. "Like most boys, I hoped I would get [Warrior]. Actually, I wanted [Mage], but decided I would be fine with [Warrior]."

Prefit Elmon laughed. "How practical. A nice back-up plan. You are correct, though. I think every little boy and most little girls dream of becoming a [Warrior]. Not many dream of [Mage], believe it or not, but I think that's because they've never really seen a [Mage]. They're the things of stories. [Warriors] aren't so uncommon. Everyone in Hammon's Bog has seen at least one [Warrior]."

"You," said Brin.

"Just so," the Prefit nodded. "But even without me, there are [Warrior's] in Oud's Bog, and a few come by with caravans now and again."

"Makes sense."

"[Warrior] is the standard combat Class. Everyone has seen one, and it's the standard, really. If you have a different Class and get it into your head to become an adventurer, that's the mark you'd set for yourself. Could I beat a [Warrior]? If so, then maybe I could really do it. What's your plan for killing a [Warrior] should you ever need to?"

"I'd run away," said Brin. "And then sneak around again and stab him in the back."

The Prefit snorted. "You see? That's the downside. Everyone has a plan for taking on a [Warrior]. A [Warrior] is a standard-bearer, but more than anything they're a target. If you met a bandit with the [Basketeer] Class, what would you do? You don't know. They must've done something very creative to make their Class combat-ready, so you have no idea what to expect. What if, say, you met a female [Warrior]? What can you assume about their build?"

Ah. So this was about Zilly. "I mean, I can't really say for sure without more information."

The Prefit answered his own question. "You would assume that she'll give up on overpowering everyone with Strength, and that instead she's put everything into Dexterity. You'll focus on tactics that decrease her movement and maneuverability."

"And that's exactly what Zilly did. She's a Bog Standard Dexterity-main [Warrior]." Brin finished. "They're going to see her coming from a mile away."

"Make no mistake, she's talented. A prodigy, even," said the Prefit. "But that's the baseline for the [Warrior] Class."

"They're going to eat her alive."

"I would prefer that didn't happen. She could do well here in Hammon's Bog. She could hunt in the forest and gain levels that way, perhaps not as quickly as out in the world, but much more dependably. A [Warrior] can live a slow and quiet life. It's a fantastic Class for a wife and mother. I would prefer she stayed."

"That's not really our choice, though," said Brin.

"No, but we can nudge her along. Your duel next week. I want you to win."

"Honestly, I wasn't even sure if I should go through with that. Zilly is my friend. You should find someone else."

"It's because you are her friend that you should do this. Zilly challenged you, and even if she hadn't I would've asked you. No one else can do what needs to be done, because it isn’t enough to simply win. I need you to obliterate her."

"She's a [Warrior] and I'm a [Glasser]. How are you sure I can even beat her at all?"

"You can." Normally Brin would find this vote of confidence flattering, but from the Prefit, it was sort of annoying. “Zilly is determined, skilled, and motivated, but she lacks... grit. She’s never been desperate before. When she fights, she fights as if she knows everything will be fine even if she loses. She lacks cunning. She doesn’t expect the unexpected because she trains against me.”

It killed him, but he knew the Prefit was right. "You're wrong," he said. "One loss isn't going to break her spirit."

"A loss against me, or Hogg, or someone else with forty years and thirty levels on her? No, of course not. But a loss to you? A Common Class, who's younger than her? It will shatter her. Not forever. But by the time she rebuilds her confidence she will be comfortable and happy and here."

Brin felt a lump in his throat. "I'll win. I'll make it look easy, too. But it's not going to turn out the way you think it is."

The Prefit shrugged. "Perhaps not. Just be sure to win. The last thing Zilly needs right now is another win."