Chapter Ninety Five - 095A few minutes later, the four of them were all assembled in the empty room. Felix had used his Voracious Eye on all of them as they came in, something he had neglected to do when he arrived. Evie was level 23, while Harn and Cal were level 39 and 42 respectively. His his new senses and Skill, Felix could even tell that both Harn and Cal were beyond their Second Formation while Evie was just shy of her First. However, he couldn't tell whether she was missing her Mind, Spirit, or Body. Voracious Eye was extremely strong, though, so he had hopes it would grow as he leveled it further.
Almost without him noticing it, Felix had begun to pace. Evie, Harn, and Cal all watched him for a bit before Evie belted out a laugh. "C'mon, Felix. Out with it. What's going on?"
Felix forced himself to stop and unclench his fists. His knuckles were starting to hurt. He took a steadying breath and looked at Cal. "Is there some way to ward this room against eavesdroppers or anything?"
Cal frowned. "I trust this crew with my life."
"With my life too?" Felix asked.
Cal looked at Harn, who shrugged. The man pulled a number of blue orbs from a pouch at his waist, a familiar artifact Felix hadn't seen in a while.
"Wardstones, huh? I thought you borrowed those from the Guild?" Felix grinned and Harn smiled right back.
"Got lost in the Foglands, the report said. Who am I ta argue?"
When the wardstones activated they bathed the small room in the cool glow of water Mana...well, to Felix anyway. He wasn't sure how prevalent that Skill was yet. That had to change.
It's why you're doing this. Keep it up.
"I have not been fully truthful with all of you before. I mentioned to Harn and others that I had been in the Foglands for a few weeks when we met, and that is absolutely true. What I left out is before that I was not exactly...here."
Evie gave him a blank look, while Cal and Harn frowned slightly.
"I was...jeez, this was easier with Magda. I told her this too, by the way. Ok," Felix took a breath. "Where I'm from, levels and Skills and magic don't exist. I'm not from the Continent. From what Magda told me, I'm an Unbound."
Felix expected shouting, but instead the silence was deafening. Evie had gone wide eyed, while Cal was pale. Harn, however, started laughing.
"Haha! Of course!" He slapped the table, putting a dent in the hardwood. "That makes so much more sense! Blind gods, no wonder yer so damn strong!"
Harn's reaction broke the floodgates, and soon both Evie and Cal were rattling off questions so fast that Felix had to ask them to slow it down.
"Mags knew? When?" Cal leaned forward, her face somewhere between earnest and solemn.
"Yeah, Magda knew. I told her while we were in the Labyrinth." Felix grinned at the the memory. "She reacted a lot like you, Harn."
The warrior smiled back and scratched his cheek, as did Cal. "Yeah, she would've. You drove her nuts, ya know? She never could tell what yer deal was."
Felix grimaced. "She mentioned that too. I feel bad for lying about it, but honestly I didn't know the first thing about this place when I arrived. When I met you all, I knew enough to worry what my Race or...'foreigner' status would mean."
"Your Race?" Evie perked up. "You're not Human?"
"Oh, right. No I'm not. It got...long story, but it changed when I arrived here." He paused before barreling through. "To Nym."
That got even more of a reaction, with Harn gritting his teeth and Cal folding her arms. Evie, however, had the best response.
"You mean those star guys? From the tower walls?" Felix smiled and nodded at her and Evie shrugged. "Nice choice."
"I didn't exactly make that choice. Like I said, long story. I was...assigned my Race, though I did get to choose my Born Trait. Keen Mind, like I told you once before Harn. Perfect recall for up to a month back. That's come in handy more times than I can count." Felix tipped his head and considered. "No wait, I could count, but that would be annoying."
Cal shifted in her chair her face grave. "This is a problem, Felix. The Nym are feared for many reasons, but those who even know the name are few. They're a Lost Race, which means Ruin scoured them from the world Ages ago."
"Ruin. I've heard that mentioned a lot." Felix frowned. "It's some sort of force? A monster? How does it extinguish entire Races?"
"No one knows, but we do know that anything deemed Lost is lost in true," Cal sighed, half frustrated half exasperated. "I wish I knew more. I've run into so many issues treasure hunting that I'd kill for an answer, Felix."
She shook her head. "But my point is, the Nym are Lost. Knowledge of them is pretty small. But the Unbound? The Unbound are myths and bogeymen, demons from the old religions. Even the Pathless talks about them. Everyone's been told an Unbound story when they were kids. They are feared and reviled, almost across the board."
Felix thought he followed. "So you're saying I'm screwed if people find out?"
Cal nodded. "That's what I'm saying. Is there any way to tell?"
"Not that I know of," Felix shrugged. "My Status doesn't even mention it. I only know the term because of Magda and Evie here." Evie shot him a confused look. "You mentioned it in that cellar after we met. Briefly."
"Can we see your Status?" Cal asked.
"Hey now, Callie. That's not right." Harn growled at the woman. "You don't just ask ta see a man's Status. You don't have ta show us nothin', Felix."
"He does if he doesn't want to be blind-sided by an Inquisitor. Or do you not recall who is in this city right now?" Cal looked at all of them in turn. "Those ranked Inquisitor or higher have some Perception Skills that are Rare or even Epic. Others can do stuff even I don't know about. The moment you run into one of them Felix, you could be identified and ambushed. An Unbound? They'd tear apart the city to find you."
Felix blanched and his heart beat a little harder. A sense of smug satisfaction drifted from his Bastion, but he quenched it with an internal growl. A trilling song pushed against his mind, and Felix calmed a bit. Thanks Pit.
"I encountered the Inquisition when I got into the city. They were being dicks so I uh," Felix scratched his eyebrow and didn't quite meet their gazes. "I may have knocked one of them out."
"Yyero's backside."
"Shit."
"Good," muttered Evie. "Blind fools can get what they deserve."
Harn placed a comforting hand on Evie's shoulder. She flashed the older man a smile before sitting up again. "So they know who you are?"
"Not so much. Apparently the Acolyte at the gate didn't Analyze me before I uh, slipped past her. Been avoiding their patrols ever since."
"That's good. Brainless beginning, but I'd rather be lucky than smart any day of the week." Cal huffed a breath and slapped her knees. "So. You willing to show us your Status?"
Felix thought it over a moment, but realized he had little to hide from these three. In fact, doing so would get in the way of his plans. "Sure."
He pulled it up and pushed it toward the three of them, willing it to remain unchanged. A blue window appeared before each of their faces, and Evie gasped.
"Siva's lily white ass! What the--how?"
Name:
Felix Nevarre
Level:
26