I left Vasil behind to instruct the members of my Order to explore the town, map everything and figure out the best way to settle the place. Vitek took us further up the mountain. As we walked, Vitek sang some songs about freedom and one about a hangover. The man had a unique voice, and the way he looked at the world intrigued me. It’s like he somehow managed to put my thoughts and feelings into his songs, and he didn’t even know me. Well, except for the one about the hangover. I wasn’t much of a drinker. Have to stay sharp when everyone is trying to kill you.
After a while we came across some flowers. Vitek stopped and pointed. “Those are the ones you want. Zwotokapka. They only grow in these mountains. Can’t find them anywhere else in Silesia, or the world, for that matter.”
The flowers were purple, with golden dots scattered across the leaves. The entire flower was slightly translucent, from stem to petal. They were beautiful. Even from a few feet away I could smell them. The smell reminded me of a sweet mixture of vanilla and strawberries.
He sat down, pulled a flask from his belt and took a swig.
“That water?” I asked.
“Vodka,” he said with a smile.
“Do you really drink that much?”
He chuckled, deep and gravelly. “I drink the exact right amount. It looks like you could use a drink as well. Or six. You seem tense, stressed. That’s not good for you, you know.”
He offered me the flask, but I shook my head.
“I have to stay alert. Everyone and everything is trying to kill me. People depend on me. Maybe we can share a drink when this is all over. If there even is an end to all of this.”
“You need to relax. One sip of this and you will feel a sense of calm wash over your body. Take three and all gloom, sadness and worries will disappear. You may even find the poet inside of you awaken. Who knows what insights will reveal themselves.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You sure that’s vodka?”
“I’m certain. My neighbor made it.” He laughed.
“I thought you were always on the road.”
“Everyone’s my neighbor.”
I rolled my eyes and leaned back in the grass. I stared up at the clear sky, the sweet scent of the zwotokapka flowers drifting over me, and despite the smell being pleasant, I couldn’t enjoy it. I had a million things to do. I needed to upgrade my skills. I needed to secure Viswa. Figure out what the Church was planning. I needed to get stronger. Kasia was going to get a class soon as well, what would I have to do for that? How could I help her become the best version of herself? Had I done enough for Mēnē to notice her? Had she? The whole unfinished business with the cathedral was still there. Skelly, Kuba, Moryana. The doors. The vault. What about Phisto? My parents. What would they be doing? Were they even still alive? And then Menekrates. Would he still be thinking about me as often as I thought about him, or had he forgotten about me? Could I catch him by surprise? Probably not. He was probably fighting wars as I sat here in the grass. Expanding Asteria, getting stronger, while I was just sitting here, smelling flowers.
Something touched my hand, startling me. My head jerked to the side and saw Kasia smiling at me. I looked down. It was her hand.
“It’s alright, Hecate,” she said. “Look around. No one is trying to kill you here. Whatever you’re thinking about, it can wait. There’s nothing you can do from here. Just relax, like Vitek said. Look at the view. Can you smell how amazing these flowers smell? They’re incredible!”
Vitek gently patted the grass. “Feel the earth. Smell the flowers. Take off your boots. Try it.” He started humming a soft tune.
Hesitantly, I took off my boots and felt the grass with my bare feet. I laid down in the grass and let the sweet strawberry-vanilla scent wash over me. As I breathed in deep, it felt like I sank down into the earth. The scent of the zwotokapka flowers doubled in intensity and transformed from just a smell into a feeling. It felt like I was wrapped in a soft, warm, nice smelling blanket. My thoughts, which never stopped racing, faded away and for the first time in maybe ever, it felt like my head was clear. Everything was blissfully quiet.
“See?” Vitek whispered, his voice sounding like it was floating a million miles away.
I didn’t see, because my eyes were closed. But I felt. I didn’t answer. I just breathed in more of the delicious strawberry-vanilla air, letting the grass tickle my bare toes. I wasn’t running, I wasn’t fighting, I wasn’t even thinking. I was just there.
We stayed like that for what felt like hours, though it could have been minutes. My never-ending internal monologue had quieted down and I felt peaceful. My priorities hadn’t changed—I was still going to kill everyone. I was still going to help whoever I could. But the frantic, suffocating panic of how, when and what if had completely disappeared into the mountain grass.
When I finally blinked my eyes open, I felt invigorated. Lighter. Vitek had stopped humming, and Kasia was looking in the distance. Vitek gave me a faint smile and a slow, knowing nod.
“Alright,” I said. “I’m relaxed. My head is clear. Let’s upgrade some skills. I’m guessing [Disguise Self] has priority.”
“It’s the first thing people see,” Vitek said. “Everyone can see what you look like. Not everyone can see your class. If something is off about the way you look, it’s easier to notice.”
“Makes sense. So why this flower? Or flowers in general?”
“Why not? Flowers are of the earth. What else would you use, but things gathered from the earth? What could be more powerful than that?”
“Eh… Well…” I started. “I have used people’s hands. And weapons. The hands were on the ground when I found them, so they are technically also from the earth.”
Vitek burst out laughing. “People’s hands. That’s a first.”
“You’d be surprised how well it works. And if you think about it, it’s better for nature. I’m not destroying any flowers, I’m just taking pieces of people. Bad people. So that means less bad people in the world, and more flowers. Don’t ever tell me I’m not connected to the earth! I am basically its guardian!”
This made him laugh even harder. “Sure, Hecate. I applaud your efforts. In this case, however, I would suggest you use that flower.”
“You also said I could use the chaos seed.”
“That’s true. The chaos seed is guaranteed to be more potent, but since it’s a chaos seed, it could have side-effects. It’s not guaranteed, as not much with chaos is, but the odds are always there. And it may not affect you today, tomorrow, or even next year, but one day something might happen.”
“Is there any way to mitigate those risks?” I asked, frowning. If it was more potent, why wouldn’t I just use the chaos seed as long as I could reduce the odds of anything bad happening to me.
He scratched his beard and stared into the distance. After a couple of seconds he turned to me. “Chaos is what it is. It can be good or bad. It can be neutral. It can be nothing at all. I’m not versed in Chaos, or its magic. I see it like a more powerful version of Luck, but one that can also give you ill fortune. People who invest in it often seem to be able to tilt Chaos in their favor, but never 100% of the time. It’s a path to incredible power, that is true, but a dangerous and unpredictable one.”
“I’m surprised you’re not fully invested into Chaos already,” Bogumir said.
“I actually only have the 1 base point in it,” I replied. “I know, it’s unbelievable with all the things that keep happening.”
Vitek glanced up, then back at me. “Hmm. Either way, it’s your choice. The flower is the safest option. It will work.”
“Just not as good as the chaos seed.”
He shrugged. “Both will keep you safe from most. The flower should keep you safe from at least level 50 Truth-Seers.”
“And the seed?”
“That, and probably much more. It may also randomly stop working for no reason.” He shook his head. “It’s a chaos seed.”
I thought about what would be the smartest thing to do. Go the safe route and just use the flower? But then if I encountered someone above level 50 I might still get found out. It wouldn’t just be bards either. The Church probably had people with those capabilities with higher levels.
Then I remembered I had two upgrade slots per skill, thanks to the grace of Mēnē and Ambelios. Why would I have to choose? What was stopping me from simply using both? It would be stupid not to use both. That’s why they gave me two upgrade slots per skill, obviously. Only an idiot would use just one.
I turned to Vitek and grinned. “You know what? I think I’ll use both.”
His expression turned into one of utter confusion. “What?”