Chapter One Hundred and Seventy Eight – 178"What do you mean, I am not allowed to train with Zara?" Vess demanded.
Darius Reed, Hand of the Duke and her personal minder, didn't bother to stop. He plodded onward toward their own training area Reed had secured hours before. "It is forbidden."
"You cannot be serious," Vess said. She hurried after him, careful to avoid the Untempered that wove in and out of the pathway. "My father would not turn down a chance at strength. And my mother clearly did not."
She may have been imagining it, but Vess thought she saw Darius' cheek twitch. An opening.
"Seek out Zara, then. She will tell you what she intends. But know this: no matter what your decision is, Hand, I will not be swayed." Vess planted her feet and ignored the butterflies in her stomach. "Not by you or my father."
Darius inclined his head at exactly the right angle to indicate acknowledgement without subservience. "Your core is only just coming along properly. I'll not have you put in harms way by some witch. I would speak with her and discover exactly what this training entails."
Without warning, the Hand pivoted and headed toward the main warehouse. Clamping down on the nervous trembling in her middle, Vess followed.
The impromptu courtyard teemed with Untempered citizens, a veritable sea of the displaced. Each of them bore a similar haggard expression, one that tore at her heart to see. These were people who had lost much in the span of a day, many of whom carried all that they owned on their backs. While the Hand moved through like a ship through a choppy sea, Vess lingered behind, offering small comforts to those she could see. A helping hand to stabilize a cart full of stone, a word of encouragement, even something as simple as a sympathetic smile worked their particular magic.
It helped, of course, that she had a Skill for it.
Diplomacy is level 32!
The Skill was meant for hashing out trade agreements and settling disputes, but she could make use of it here. It granted her bonuses to favorable interactions with allies, and a subsequent lesser bonus to interactions with those deemed her opposition. It was a Social Skill, or what many among the peerage referred to as a "soft Skill." Soft Skills were both in high demand as they were quite useful at high levels, but frowned upon as well; rare was the soft Skill that could turn the tide of a battle, after all. It was far from Mind control or anything like it, but such Skills leveraged the System in an unknown way, allowing her to present more favorably to others. Not to mention, it was far more useful the first time it was used on an individual than any subsequent uses, especially at its current level.
Still, Vess' passage through the crowd left a number of eased burdens and lingering smiles in her wake. She would consider that a success.
She made it through the main buildings doors only a minute or two behind the Hand. Vess had heard it referred to as the Training Hall by the Untempered, and they weren't entirely wrong. The entire place was filled with sandy fighting pits, inscribed combat mannequins, and the impressive bulk of the Gauntlet. The fighting pits were unremarkable, simple sand between raised walls, and the mannequins were far less advanced than even the common Clay Golems the Eyrie once boasted in their elite training grounds. But the Gauntlet was something else entirely. According to Evie, the heavily enchanted construct had been "borrowed" from the Guild by a wayward trainer. The Dwarf had intended to return it...but then things had gone sideways.
An understatement, to be sure.
When Vess had towed Evie out of the Domain, things had been bleak. The city center had collapsed into a warren of treacherously shifting rubble and gutted facades. Finding a path through the carnage had been difficult, let alone navigating to the warehouse Evie had described in the few minutes she retained consciousness. Dozens of Revenants stood in their way, with only Vess' spear between them an annihilation. But she was her mother's daughter, and though she was not yet a Dragoon, she channeled their Spirit and resolve. Over the course of three hours, Vess had slaughtered her way across the city, relying on stealth where she could but never shrinking from required carnage.
Haarwatch appeared to be transformed into a wilderness of death and monstrosities. The living were few and far between, often only screams in the distance, too far to find let alone help. Vess had made the brutal but necessary decision to prioritize her own Health, and that of her friend. She owed Evie much for lingering in the Domain so that Vess could land that strike against the Ravager King. Nevertheless, seeing the mass of refugees and their grim faces now made her heart clench in regret.
"Regret is the hallmark of the ruler, small one," her father once said. "The trick is figuring out how to ensure it's cause cannot take root again."
Power. Levels and Skills and advancing through the Tiers were the answer to nearly all of the Continent's brutalities. Conquering the Domain had rewarded that in spades. She had gained ten entire levels from those final fights, and numerous Skill increases. She'd even netted herself a Title:
Against the Tide (Epic)!
You foolishly set yourself against the oncoming tide. Yet you have persevered! Or, at least you didn't die. +5% END, VIT
It was a little...condescending, which was odd. None of her previous Titles were ever worded as such, but who was she to gainsay the System? Especially when it gifted them such bountiful rewards. Percentage bonuses to Endurance and Vitality were among the greatest of gifts for anyone, mage or warrior. Health and Stamina were always needed, as to run out of one was to be either dead, or soon to be dead.
Moreover, Vess had also managed to Temper her Body into Journeyman once they had reached camp; a lucky break, that, as Darius had found her with the selection of curated Essence Draughts he'd secured months ago.
Body:
(J) Wings of Vitra
Mind:
(A) Risen Spear
Spirit:
(A) Everburn
The increase in power was not insignificant, and the effect upon her three Body Skills was astounding. She'd Tempered Spear of Tribulations (Legendary), Dragon's Descent (Rare), and Dragoon's Footwork (Epic). It had been a toss up between Dragon's Descent and Pierce the Sky, but ultimately Vess had wanted to end the battles she fought. End them decisively and with conviction. Her new Body was built upon the bones of her Pristine Might Body, adding explosive power to her limbs and specifically to her legs. With her newly Tempered Body, her ability to leap and maneuver was greatly enhanced, the true hallmark of the Dragoons.
She'd been infused with a bottomless energy since then, while the Hand put her through her paces. They'd still be training now, had he not got wind of Zara's proposed Chanter lessons. Vess shook her head in annoyance, watching as Darius led both Cal and Zara away into another room while talking in that maddeningly slow manner of his; likely berating them for having the gall to teach the Heir of Pax'Vrell anything.
"Stupid man," she sighed, not for the first time. The Hand was strong, well into Adept Tier, and he frightened her on many levels, but Vess found being told what to do had grown thoroughly stale. It was a crutch she no longer needed; she just had to convince Darius...and her father.
Turning from that particularly impossible thought, Vess regarded the Gauntlet again. It was impressive, though not as advanced as some of the better scripted equipment the Guild owned. Used to own, she corrected herself. It is all crushed in the rubble now.
Racing and dodging through the course now was a familiar figure in tattered tunic and trousers, crackling with hints of lightning. Felix flipped over a low beam, reorienting on a vertical surface for an instant before rebounding onto a taller beam that kept swinging toward the next section. He barely seemed to be breathing hard.
"Close your mouth, you're getting drool on the floor."
Vess yelped in surprise, turning to find Evie's face level with her own. And upside down. She looked up and saw the irrepressible girl was half wrapped in a flowering vine that extended all the way up to the ceiling.
"Evie!" Vess admonished. "What are you doing?"
"Just watching a noble lady go all gooey for our friend," Evie jabbed back, her wide grin full of mischief. "C'mon. The view is better up here."
The little monster spun her body and climbed back up the vine fast, like a Mana Vole zipping along a tree. Torn between annoyance and amusement, Vess gathered herself and leaped. She rose rapidly, nearly passing Evie before grabbing hold of the vine and hauling herself up the rest of the way. Even still, Evie was sitting atop the thick wooden rafter well before Vess clambered up over the edge.
"That's a bit of a climb," Vess said, though she barely felt out of breath at all. Her Journeyman Body certainly helped. "Why are you up here?"
"I come up here a lot, especially when I need to think," Evie said, gesturing down below, toward the room Darius and Cal had entered. "Cal said I couldn't stick around and listen to Felix's debriefing. Said I 'needed my rest' and to 'stay out of trouble for once in my life.' Twin's teeth! It's like she doesn't even know me!"
Vess let out a soft, tinkling laugh. "I'm sure she knows exactly who she's dealing with; you think she can't sense you up here?"
"You didn't," Evie countered.
"I'm not a Perception focused treasure hunter, either," Vess pointed out. "Did you get to hear what he said? Felix?"
"Oh yeah, most of it," Evie drummed her fingers along the four foot wide beam, idly kicking her legs below. "Nothing special really. This is the show."
Vess turned and watched as Felix wove between whirling blades, his shirt taking the brunt of the damage as the edged weapons sliced at him. Pieces of his tunic flew free and Vess blushed and looked away. "Ahem. Is this really what you've been doing?"
"Eh, more or less. I thought about trainin' but, honestly, I'm bone tired," Evie leaned back on her hands, still kicking her legs out into the thin air.
"I can understand that. How're you feeling?"
"Good enough, I suppose. Portia fussed with me about as much as Cal did, sticking me with all her contraptions and salves." Evie tapped her hip, hidden under her loose linen blouse and trousers. It was rare for Evie to forgo her leathers, but Vess supposed nearly losing her legs was one of those times. "They had to scrap my armor. A real shame. I'd just gotten it broken in."
"Do you have a new set?" Vess asked, her eyes drawn again down to Felix's lithe shape. "I might be able to get something of mine tailored--"
"Nah, we got a new pair of smiths here, apparently. The Coldfire Forge set up shop yesterday. I'm sure I can get somethin' from them." Evie shrugged. "Why're you here anyway? I thought your Handyman was putting you through your paces." Evie waggled her eyebrows at her.