Chapter Thirty

Harmony cracked the man’s chest open and pinned the howling curse to his heart-skill with her sickle so it couldn’t escape. It couldn’t penetrate the instanced reality, so there was no risk of cross-contamination.

It felt very symbolic of admitting to Xera about her limited educational background. It had been almost as difficult to open up to Ambrosia after a particularly difficult week during those early months at Coodly Manor. But, like the curse in this man's chest, Xera’s opening up was tainted because she couldn’t yet be completely honest. 

[Final Silence] quieted the man’s screams because it was distracting her thoughts. Xera had been coming every night the last few days to give lessons. Elves were non-native or refugee people; they lived in the Tre-Quis dungeon city, contracted to provide a bridge between the dungeon and the delvers. They rarely left or interbred. But did that explain the odd internal structures?

Focusing on internal parts, [Claim] partially yanked on the man’s [Heavy Heart] skill, but there was no plucking out that skill with [Claim the Remains of Power] that was death. Heart skills were tied into the stamina system, which was physically linked to the body and heart, so removing one without the other caused system collapse. At least according to Curses! Curses! And More Curses! 

Not being able to openly admit she was a necromancer felt like a curse now more than ever. It would only get worse as time went on. Problems were not to be left festering. 

The man thrashed. This was an old infection, so Jasper’s temporal effects were limited. Dozens of needles joined the sickle. The twins had improved their technique so that when they hit the curse, it broke down the connection strand by strand.  Houte wrestled a rotting wolf in the corner and was unable to help. 

At this point in the “healing,” it was a mindless grind that required consistency more than thought as [Disintegrate] and [Renew Spirit] got to work. Harmony finished with the bones of a plan to solve her personal problems as [Mend] stitched the man up.

“Congratulations, you just saved the life of a serial murderer, and now he’s earned clemency.”  Hexologist Curie told the group of students. 

If you could call what remained of the man living. He was missing his left arm at the shoulder. Right leg at the hip. Left leg at the knee. An exceptionally nasty curse necessitated the removal of his right eye. Most of the damage required excising most if not all of the container, making healing exceptionally difficult, and that didn’t count the jars of skills Harmony plucked from the man writhed with curses. Curie was exceptionally excited about that ability, and was the main reason Harmony felt she kept the rest of the students as an aid to keep their victims alive longer for an extended collection.

The blood sickle added clean, efficient cuts that made this “victory” possible. 

The end of their third class, and no one looked to be on the Curie's chopping block.  Jasper managed not to puke in the corner this time. Everyone was exhausted by the effort. 

“I can squeeze out one more [mend] if you need a patch up?”  Harmony offered Houte. 

The boy might be an ass, but he’d put in the work to wrestle six manifestations, even trapping one for the Curie, earning praise and a glimmer of hope he might stay on longer than his usefulness to what was clearly the Student White show. 

“I’m no half-shtep. I’ll be fine in a sh-ower.” He answered with slurring due to his busted-up jaw.  

What a gnome nutter. He could have had relief now. 

Harmony walked away to the woman, stroking her jars like they were pets. “So, what happens to the man now, Hexio Curie?” 

“Oh, I don’t know. Someone will handle it. I think this is the first time anyone has lived. Congratulations, students!”  She turned and pointed at Houte. “You, repeat offender, go find someone in the admin who knows what to do with inmate B1329-0. He’ll probably need something to eat with protein after all that.”

Houte attempted their best limping salute before hobbling off to try to earn extra credit, missing that the instructor hadn’t even called them by their name. 

“Jasper. Next time, follow Harmony’s lead with the next patient and see how your skills work while your hand is physically inside of them. Jira, and Mira, you mentioned last class metal needles were not required for your skills, you must use different materials in the next class, bone would be nice, but get creative.” Jira and Mira paled at the almost necromantic suggestion. Not that the hexio noticed as she continued,  “You’re dismissed while I talk to Student White some more.”

Harmony held in her sigh. If the instructor had any social skills, she let them degrade, swapped them out, or mutated them to the point where she could only pitch a hard sell to Harmony.  “How was the sweet succor of saving a life considered unsavable?” 

It didn’t appeal much. She wasn’t a healer. Even looking at the incoherent mess she’d left on the slab was unappealing. There was a lot of work to be done to make it a full revival of the man's functionality. Skills to replace as well as body parts, and if he were dead, he’d be easier to work with if the killer aspect became problematic. Aesthetically, [Beautician] was appalled. 

“Feels incomplete. Couldn’t you have cured him more efficiently without us?”

Curie laughed. “But I would have learned a lot less. Nor would I have my prizes. [Absolute Purge] doesn’t leave traces, and even I couldn’t have managed that heart unless I decided to get messy.”

Now that the instructor mentioned the contained curses, this was the perfect time to ask. “What is that liquid you’re keeping the skills and curses in?”

“Think about your [Skill Transplant] ability? There are a lot of fluids just for skills, but they can’t hold curses; they’ll only keep them viable for so long. [Renew Spirit] will help. This is a fate-based oil sprayed by traps in the lower levels of the Tomb. Makes them harder to avoid. Too bad the solid chains on the final floor are unharvestable. I’ll lend you a jar.

As for the curses…”  Curie reached into the vessel that held the floating eyeball that contained the skill and curse that had been near instant death if she hadn’t removed it immediately upon the stasis field ending. The woman shoved the eye into her neck. It burst on her skin, the skill shattering, and the curse escaped into the hexio’s body. 

The malignant presence lasted for but a second before something more terrible from deeper waters reached out and snuffed it out. 

“Sometimes it takes a curse to hunt a curse. I’d tried that one before, so I knew it wouldn’t do, but you’ve left me with plenty of new ones to grow, feed, and work on to try in the future. What a lovely tool… one more evolution, maybe two, and you’ll be something I can use.”

The conversation ended before Curie finished talking, and to the instructor, the tool, Harmony, or the sickle, was all the same thing. Harmony preferred not to be drooled over as an object and took her gifted jar and headed out. 

She passed a very irritated member of campus security being escorted by Houte down the stairs on the way back up from the furnace area. The third year primus was looking a lot better, with only a slight hitch to his step instead of a limp as he walked.

Adric waited at the exit to The Gregory House, “You called?”

“Does the offer to meet with Tun-Knee at the beast-kin club still stand?”

She’d kept her distance from the tiger since their truce, easy since they both tended to be the most aloof on their little team, mostly interacting during practice sessions. Soon she’d be summoned back to Hazeldown, and there was a chance Tyler and Loap would be around. The beast-kin knew she was a necromancer, which was key. Outside of him, only Von Trell knew, and he leaned on, “that is outside of my role as your academic advisor.”

“I know he’ll be there tonight. I can let him know we’ll be there. There is a dress code.”

Adric wouldn’t have mentioned that unless none of their current outfits would fit. Harmony handed him the last of her coins. The idea of Gary and Don goofing off as she tried to beat more potion knowledge into them was unappealing, but this needed to be done. 

That was how she found herself dressed in multiple layers of clothing, until she felt more swaddled than dressed. It included magical underwear, a corset, a triple-layered dress, an overcoat, and several magical charms. For the comfort of all members of Tska Tu Rin, the requirements were not adapted for non-kin, as the underwear was meant as an extra seal against a woman who might be in heat. That was in addition to the anti-scent charm. [Final Silence] was able to mask sounds, so she didn’t need that one for beast-kin with sensitive hearing.  Magic, light, and temperature control were all covered.

Her pet at least looked comfortable, but she’d seen his closet when she’d raided it back in Naewauld. 

Hyacinth wiggled about the layers like it was a maze. “Stop it, that tickles.”

“Geep.” Managed to chirp through muffled layers. 

It was a short line, and they were the only humans in it. She half expected the iguana-man at the entrance to snap that her kind didn’t belong here, or at the very least, since beast-kin tended to default towards extremely proper and polite, suggest she might have the wrong location, and suggest a nice fur-less establishment. 

“As expected, miss White, but um, weren’t you shorter before? We’ll have to swap out seats for you.” The man said softly as he let them, whispering in their native language to two attendants as he did. The first, a cheetah, took off, presumably to swap the chairs, as the second, a mousy woman, escorted them deeper inside.

The club was crowded. Harmony hadn’t known so many Beast-Kin lived in Ricort, though many had to be students. They all spoke their native tongue, suppressed to a soft whisper by their charms, and while none of them were rude enough to stare. Harmony could count the casual glance or sniff her direction as more frequent than any random one; it was clear she was a focus of attention. What had Adric said, the first fur-less invited here in years, the itch between her shoulders, and [Keen Investigative Awareness] told her it was more than that. 

Tun-knee waited in a black jacket, charcoal vest, and red undershirt, his posture more predatory than he liked to show on campus. He set down his drink and bowed.  “Shin-ee White, it is an honor for you to accept my invitation.”

The constricting clothing disallowed her the chance to return any more than a nod.

“May I ask how many people here know my secret?”

Tun-Knee let out a low growl that cut through most of the sound-cancelling wards as it was more vibrational than auditory. A skill? It made Harmony feel hungry. 

Around her, many of the others in the room shifted in embarrassment, their body language matching what she’d learned about being in Loap’s presence during the games. 

“We can be very invested in ours when they compete, even adjacently. Particularly when it is a shin-ee royal bunny. The Watering Hole paid to show the scry, like many locations, once news came through. I’d say every beast-kin in Ricort, not that they’d betray your or Loap’s trust. I almost wonder why they didn't draft locally.”

“Then I could have come here and watched Tyler, Loap, and Len in the final round of the games?” With the secret out there, she let her control slip, and death crept into the accusation that she missed out on something valuable to her. The released strain sent a ripple of necromantic energy that she had to rein in, but not before it killed the fragile magical charms she’d bought for today. 

Tun-knee to his credit straightened his spine and stared her down. “That was not a distraction you needed. And questions would have been raised about the Tertiary coming here multiple times a day, unless you wished to fake a romantic relationship with me, and even then…”

[Cold Touch] and [Poise and Bearing] kept her from flushing with slight embarrassment, both at her recent reaction and that her teammate was right. “Acknowledged. The Games are over. You want the chance to educate me about what is best for Loap if she comes for my opinion. What I want is protection if news comes out about my forbidden class. My advisor has told me my kingdom will not provide them.”

Tun-Knee smiled and raised a claw and beckoned for assistance. “The most wonderful thing about tigers, other than tigers being wonderful things, is that we always come prepared.”