Harmony still couldn’t bring herself to carry the bloody weapon out in the open, so she scrounged up the last of her pocket change to purchase a case she hoped it wouldn’t escape or destroy. In advance, she treated the leather inside with a coating of her blood and sealed it with [Mend] and [Manipulate Dead]. Then hauled it off to the most trying test. If Osmark was right, even Flint wouldn’t find it too unusual, though mentioning the pillar of The Academy’s name had given away that she was a student. Not that it was the only reason she’d wiped the artificer’s mind. He had said Flint probably wouldn’t want the tool.
There were only two more weeks of focusing on necromantic practices, and then she wouldn’t be the man’s favorite student, unless she had a knack for all the forbidden classes. She had been offered the demonic devourer after evolution. No, if she did impress him, it would be her talent for following precise orders.
“A second case, Student White?” He asked as she entered, as she usually did, early.
“I brought a tool, a body extension, with spirit knife properties, severing intent, with a personal level of reality.” It was mostly repeating the words Osmark had given her with brief descriptions, as he’d been more interested in Night. It was also the intent of violence, but who needed to focus on that detail? It wasn’t like she was completely ignorant of these terms; spirit knives were used at the morgue, but those were butcher’s tools to this scalpel.
“Well, don’t leave me waiting in anticipation. Your work has been good enough, I’ll allow it. Body extensions have a lot of exceptions, but most people produce them on the spot.”
Harmony flipped the latches on her case. The padding, even treated, looked worn and cracked after only holding the blood sickle for hours. It created the appearance of this being an ancient case for the tool, rather than something she worked on this morning.
The pillar of the school immediately started using his inspection-type skills on it. “Family, bloodline heirloom? I can’t tell its age. May I?” With a nod from Harmony, he tried to lift it and grunted when it didn’t budge. “Anchored instance for the user or bloodline. That is a very aggressive severing intent. I would have thought to have run into this in my travels.”
“It was retrieved for me recently.” Had to watch for those lie-detecting skills.
“I suppose news of you reaching a tertiary ranking must be big. Not every family hits the chosen nine. If you want to maintain that status, every tool matters.” Flint paused, pondering, as if this tool tipped some kind of scale in his mind. “Is it okay if I’m forward, White?”
Is he wooing her? No, there had been zero social cues that any skills had been picked up. “Go ahead.”
“I know it is early in your development. You haven’t even quickened and leveled since evolving. But I’d like for you to consider joining one of my teams in a year or two for some hunts. We could always use more forbidden hunters, and it will give you those options when you evolve. I know Hexio Curie hasn’t dismissed you or any of her other students this year yet, which is odd, but I want you to know there are other patrons interested in your talents, and not just because you’re in the nine.“
Ashes and marrow, at least she could count on the materials instructor not recruiting her. “I’m shocked and honored. I will remember this.” Harmony responded politically.
A flash of irritation sparked through Hyacinth as he waited near the shadows, ready to assist in the transfer to Material Manipulation when the time came. Harmony didn’t need to guess why.
“Student Bloom, you're here early,” Flint commented.
Harmony had an impulse to snap her sickle’s case shut. It’s not that she knew anything specific, but the oddness of her resident associate’s soul unnerved her enough that she went slightly out of her way to avoid the woman. And she’d seen things like unfathomable influences in Rose, a sprouted chaos sapling with a spirit living in it inside Max, and Jessica merged in Tyler, never mind Xera’s changes. Those aspects belonged to them either through bonds or skills. Maybe not unfathomable, but those were subtle. Becca’s floating bits and skill pieces were boldly foreign, like they didn’t belong there, and her soul could tell, creating a dissonance. The most similar thing she’d seen was when Saccerate was inside Adric temporarily.
Hyacinth was always glad to alert her when her frackling Marshmallow was nearby or to teleport her away.
“I was hoping to catch Harmony.”
Well, that was the worst answer, and Harmony let her hand touch the handle of the tool. She removed it from the box, but only to ensure that no visible decay continued to the inside coating. It immediately reacted to her nervousness, suggesting violence. That was probably the reason why the surrounding material, even if it was her blood sealed into it, had broken down so much, but when that call came from an extension of yourself, it was hard to ignore. You just had to redirect it.
“What did Adric do now?” She knew her pet was visiting the woman and moved her irritation that way.
“Nothing, he’s been the sweetest…” Then she caught sight of what Harmony was holding. “What is that!”
“A tool. I was finalizing getting permission from Flint to use it for class.” The curious part was all the odd skills inside Becca shifted as far back in her body’s container as they could get. That couldn’t be comfortable. Waving the sickle to the side a little showed it was a direct reaction to the weapon.
Becca shuffled a few steps back. Her assigned table was at the rear of the class. “Um..I’m not feeling.”
Harmony turned to the instructor and walked to his desk. “You seem interested in my family’s sickle. May I leave it with you while I talk to my friend?”
“Of course.” He answered eagerly, and this time he did touch the blade, only to flinch back and stick the cut finger in his mouth, his eyes lighting up with more interest.
As loath as she was to place a weapon of necromantic origins on Flint’s desk, he seemed to think it was ancient, and this would be a true test of it not giving her away. Whatever it was doing to Becca seemed more risky, and as fun as a magic wand she could wave to keep the dorm guardsman out of her room, it wasn’t a true solution. At least Adric hadn't gotten her pregnant.
Becca was breathing heavily at her desk with Marshmallow looking as concerned as a four-eyed, tentacled bird could, as it stroked her with one of its many inky appendages.
“What is the problem I can help you with?” Harmony asked, trying to move straight to the point with class starting soon, and to avoid small talk.
“Um. How did you know?”
“I’m an eraser. It is kind of our specialty.” That and she’d already ruled out Adric.
“Yes. That’s why I’ve been trying to see you. Well, one of the reasons. I think one of the residents in our Hunter’s Dorm might be practicing forbidden arts, and I was hoping to enlist your help. Perhaps you could show up to one of our social events and keep your eyes and ears open. I’ve noticed you’ve yet to attend, and everyone is curious about the Tertiary choosing to stay in our dorm.” Becca’s pep was finally starting to return by the end of her pitch.
Which felt less like a pitch to get her to help find a naughty person breaking the rules, and more like an extra excuse and reason to attend one of the social events Harmony had avoided. She’d claimed to be too busy despite them happening a few paces away from where she slept. And she was, most of the time, and learned enough about when they happened to be out and away. Becca asking while in Defense Against the Forbidden Arts was the trap, saying no might show she’s not serious about hunting, and it would be shocking if Flint’s ears couldn’t reach every corner of the room.
She would have been better off waving the sickle like a magic wand and having Becca bend over in pain.
Fracklings suck. Hyacinth complained through [Familiar Bond], picking up on her annoyance.
“And when is the next event?”
“Tonight. It’s game night! Adric said it was one of your few not-busy nights.”
Adric needs to start telling her that every night is a busy night. Or keep his pillow talk to less talking and more stamina. “I’ll be there.”
“You may retrieve this now, Student White.” Flint interrupted, his hand sporting six small cuts, as the rest of the students filed in.
Harmony fumed a little at her desk and tried not to think of ways to test its range on Becca’s internal issues.
Flint's wounds were all healed by the time the case of supplies for the class unlocked at the instructor's command. Inside each was a skull, a carving knife, some Hazeldown coal, and instructions. “In today’s class, you will make the dead speak.”
No wonder the Instructor was willing to allow the tool. Not that she couldn’t have found ways to use this with either of the other projects; it was perfect for carving the lines in the skull. It also wouldn't merely rub the coal into the engravings. [Disintegrate] powdered the coal, [Dust] to force it into the crevices clean and controlled, and [Mend] to fuse it there, all those abilities only applied her maid/eraser professional skills, allowing her to avoid the necromancer side of her while working on the instructions. In the previous attempts, she followed directions manually. It wasn’t that Flint disallowed skills, but putting yourself into performing the necromantic ritual put yourself at risk, so as long as you were clean with your usage, you were fine.
Not like she was worried about that kind of corruption. Odds were she’d be what added oomph to the spell. As long as the barmaid wasn’t the next forbidden class practiced with, and somehow had crossover with a basic maid, she would be fine.
This kind of speaking with the dead turned out not to be communing with the general afterlife but the literal owners of these bones. Their memories had been ingrained in their skulls as they evolved and grew older, when the weight of a person's existence was applied to them in a permanent way.
It was totally different from the generic spirit entity they’d summoned last class. It reminded Harm of how Bea had gained some of the memories of its host. Perhaps more could be unlocked, though, would someone really want a parasitic spirit fully believing it is the person whose body it inhabited?
If the skulls had any personality, this might be more unethical than it already was. The end results were varying successes of collections of information that spat out information when asked. Except for Gurrm's skull, his repeated, ”Hold door,” for any question. What was your name? “Hold door.” What was your class? “Hold door.” What was your profession? “Hold door.” He failed the assignment. Flint commented that even if he had more than a decade to do it in, he wouldn’t be able to carve a proper one to completion.
Harmony’s skull answered every question. “I was Knight Captain of the Firelight and the Golden Philanthropist, Barret Goren. I died in the battle of Vaustridge against Midnight Empire Irregulars. Their lack of a formal army made tactics against them difficult. You never knew when they’d give up peacefully to the sword or resist. Mothers usually fought when they…” Flint put his hand over the skull, silencing it.
“I did give you the oldest one, expecting the most impressive results. It is rare to get an accounting of one of the warriors who fought against the Midnight Empire, even if the source is distasteful. I know you have a class soon after this. You’re always so rushed. This will get delivered to the proper scribe to transcribe a history.”
Yet another thing she couldn’t keep. “I’d be interested in a copy when they’re done.”
Flint gave her a smile and tried to add some warmth to a face that wasn’t used to having much. “You join my hunting teams in a year or two, and I’ll see about having it done. They do get access to restricted information like that, as it is needed for those hunts.”
Harmony could fake a smile with the best in the world. [Poise and Bearing] sparkled. “It’ll be on the top of my mind. I appreciate the early dismissal.”
First Becca and then the skull, at least in Material Manipulation, she’ll get to destroy stuff. Maybe she could now hack stuff to bits. She wouldn’t even need to use [Stride Before the Fall] today, either. One had to look at and appreciate those small favors.
“Today, in material manipulation, we will be taking a break from repetition to focus on everyone’s favorite subject. Math, and applying it to construction and deconstruction. We’ll start with Margay’s equation.”
Would it be too late to take that sickle and turn it on herself?