Chapter 163: Unsavory
Dissecting a scithian body is, perhaps, among the more disturbing things I’ve ever done.
To other people. I don’t particularly mind.
Luckily, Richard offers to help me. How truly kind of her. Maybe Jess would have been better at this, given [Dissect], but I think it might have been too far for her. But, frankly, it’s the guard’s fault. If he didn’t want me to take a look at his bones, he shouldn’t have carved runes into them.
Now I just have to wonder. Is it a skill mutation? From an epitaph? Is that how his mantle manifested? Did he enchant them with internal mana manipulation? He didn’t seem that skilled. Sure, he was strong, and swift, but more in a martial way, rather than in a magical one.
So, Richard and I set to work.
[Respitia the Pure gazes upon you in horror. She calls you a disgrace to all healers, and insinuates that your regard for life is so low you might as well kill yourself.]
I look at the message, and then promptly ignore it. I know that Respitia knows where I am. Even though I’m currently in a black box, I have no delusions about whether that stops the Eyes. No, it’s a cover to make it so she can’t tell anyone about what I’m doing. This is purely to convince the tower that no one without extreme sight abilities should know.
So, it does protect me. It protects me, because if Respitia just sends her high-levellers, the tower will get upset. It’s the same reason Flamando hasn’t found me. Flametouched knows where I am, but cannot tell their avatar.
“Don’t eat that,” I chide Richard, and she quickly drops the arm of the guard again, giving me a sheepish expression. Her chelicerae poke into her lips, but she nods all the same.
“Alright. I would like to eat him after, though,” she says, calmly.
[Crying out in horror, Respitia the Pure recoils.]
I tilt my head. “Why?”
“My class. Eater. I can get stronger if I eat strong things,” she says, then slowly licks her lips, six eyes blinking at me as two of her arms trace his skin. “And he looks strong.”
“Fair enough,” I say with a shrug. “You can have everything that doesn’t have runes on it. Leave the bones intact. Maybe once Amelie comes up she can reuse them.”
[You hear a distant scream of disgust.]
[The Fleshsmith turns an Eye on you, regarding your curiosity with faint approval.]
I tilt my head at the notification as I strip more flesh from bone, looking at it with interest. Another Eye watching me, though this one seems to be more on my side. Actually, should I be concerned about that? All the Eyes that are on my side seem to be creepy or weirdos. Which is strange, because I’m clearly a completely reasonable person.
With a shake of my head, I decide to disregard the morality of the people watching me. There’s no way that my “audience” is indicative of the kind of person I am. Probably. Surely.
[The Deceptive Manipulator praises your gaslighting skills.]
Once more, I ignore the message, prying the man’s femur free and letting Kuro slither across the bone to clean it up. Richard regards the gluttonous shadow with a small amount of jealousy. I look between them. “If you two start fighting over this guy, I’ll get annoyed,” I tell them quietly.
Instantly, both of them turn to each other, and in small glances and gestures, have a conversation I cannot parse. But, by the end, it seems decided. Richard will get any bigger chunks, and Kuro gets to do any cleanup jobs and keep the floor free of blood.
Shaking my head, I focus on the pale-yellow bone in front of me. I slowly press my finger against the runes, tracing them. They’re cold and dry, absorbing the moisture on my skin. But the runes are very, very interesting.
With my knowledge of imbuement, I can abstract my own skills into runes, somewhat. But these are more advanced than that, they must be from a stronger healing skill. In fact, I’m almost certain they’re from a heart epitaph. Which means I want to steal them even more.
Already, my healing skill is strengthening every time I pick apart a new one. I’ve learned from so many lovely teachers, some more voluntary than others. The Tower, who I stole from. Philia, the Darkbreaker, who I killed. Ezekiel, who I murdered. This guard, who I butchered...
Really, if Respitia was any less set on killing me, I’d think she’s trying to feed me insights on healing.
[Your audacity has reduced Respitia the Pure to groaning in frustration.]
I smile at the message. Even the Eyes can still be teased, then. What silly critters they are.
Tearing off another bone from the flesh that it still clings to, I trace those runes, too. I remember them all, making sure to note them down in [Annexation]. The skill is stronger than its components - allowing me to not just store things in a kind of mental pinwall, but also letting me learn from them faster.
It’s supercharged my pattern recognition, basically. Which means that when I come upon a pattern on the bones that looks a lot like the healing marks I designed for application in my own body, I instantly notice.
[Annexation 2 > 3]
With careful study, I compare. Once more, I learn, I steal, and I grow.
A day passes like that, until we’ve fully disassembled the entire skeleton. Richard seems content, and I feel mana flowing off her as her body changes from the power she’s absorbing. She grows dense, stronger. As for me? I learn more about healing, of course.
[Biological Restoration 25 > 27]
And as faint white-gold crawls underneath my skin… I feel just a little bit more of my arm beginning to regrow. Absent-mindedly, I scratch at the spot, smiling faintly. “Soon, Sylves,” I whisper. “Soon.”
- - -
Raven doesn’t take the defeat well. They tell me to bring them even more items, and they offer to pay even more. But I let them prepare their vendetta. They’re paying me enough for it, after all. And if we do kill them, we’ll need some other way to get tokens. Bribing the guard is hard without connections.
Comparatively, we hear nothing from Bloodline. It’s perfectly quiet. No pokes at the borders of our territories, no trouble caused to any of us, just silence. Almost unsettlingly so.
Not that I’d have called things boring. After all, just two days after our little feud, someone approaches me. It’s a zoof. “Yuki,” they whisper conspiratorially. “There’s-”
“Who are you?” I ask, tilting my head.
“I- I guess I didn’t introduce myself last time. I’m Bofoy. Lars, the human who threw fireballs around in here, hurt me.” They pause, then lean even closer, whispering. “You healed me with that item of yours.”
For a moment, I tilt my head, then I remember. “Right, right,” I nod.
They give me an awkward smile through the thick fur. “So, there’s some info you might be interested in. Respitia has found a healer on the fourth floor - he’s being carted up soon. Tomorrow, I’ve heard. Human, a child.”
I frown. “Anyone with him?”
“An old lady,” the zoof provides helpfully.
My frown deepens, because I know who they mean. “Jean,” I say quietly. He got caught by Respitia. I sigh, softly. How am I gonna get him out of this one?
Chapter 164: Setup
“I need your help,” I say honestly. “I have useful information, but I’ll need your help.”
Raven tilts their head. A small hum of amusement hovers between us. They steeple their long fingers and regard me with curiosity. “Speak, Yuki,” they say calmly. “We’re friends after all.”
There is absolutely no way we’re friends. We’re using each other at best, and they know it. But they can’t resist the social stuff, so it’s fine. I forgive Raven for being an annoying moron, and speak. “Tomorrow, Respitia will bring a young human healer up from the fourth floor.”
That piques Raven’s interest even more. “Really now,” they hum. “A healer. And this interests you how?”
“The boy and I worked together before,” I say with a small shrug. “I would prefer that he be free.”
“So you went to ask your good friend Raven to free him,” they hum happily. “But, Yuki. Getting a healer out under Respitia’s clutches can really earn me the ire of Erodyl, downpour’s monarch. So, what’s in it for me?”
The question comes calmly, and yet it bothers me. “A healer,” I tell them first. “You can recruit a talented healer. Since you’re at war…”
“I need resources, yes,” Raven hums, leaning back and toying with the feathers that make up their giant mantle. “But this operation, by itself, isn’t worth it. If it succeeds, and only if, then it’ll still be months for it to pay off.”
Sighing softly, I nod. I knew this would happen. So, with slow motions, I take out a spear. Not that of the guard I killed - that would be stupid - but a normal spear that I bought and then enchanted. Raven’s eyes instantly glitter.
Of course, the enchantments are hidden. [Obfuscated]. But it’s so dense with mana that more of the ethereal fluid rolls off it than usual. Far more. I spent all day on it, after all, so it’s a strong enchantment. I even integrated tiny little core-constructs to help mana flow through it better.
[Job up! Core Controller 4 > 5]
“Oh, this is beautiful,” Raven hums, turning it over in their hands. I know Raven uses spears, sometimes, because they’re a coward. They like holding anyone at range, and it’s a very elegant spear. “Why, Yuki… this is a good start…”
“Stab someone,” I say quietly.
Raven tilts their head, then nods, gesturing one of their little birdies over. A scithian, tall and handsome, but older. “Your hand,” Raven says.
Obediently, the man nods and holds it out. In a swift motion, Raven brings the spear down on it, leaving a small cut. But a moment later, the mana within the man starts to shake slightly - a small sheen of crystal appearing in the wound.
“Oh my,” Raven whispers. Their solidified mana coats the gash. It dissipates quickly, but as the mana returns to its regular state, it messes with the man’s control. “Oh my,” they repeat.
Now, the looks I get are hungrier than before. My value has just risen sharply. “It took me a month to make,” I lie, putting on my best pained grimace, which helps some of the attention dissipate. Raven twirls the weapon happily.
“Mhm, so you did,” they hum slowly, appearing chuffed. “Well then, Yuki.” With a spin of the spear, they smack its butt into the ground and rise from their chair. “Fine, fine. We’ll help you out. Since you’ve been so generous.”
I nod, then get up and leave. “Tomorrow, they’ll come through the front gates. We want to catch them outside, probably. You have ways to smuggle people in, yes?”
Raven chuckles. “That I do, that I do.”
“Good. See you then.” And with that, I walk off.
Truly, I am glad that Raven didn’t notice the spear would explode if overcharged. Because, well, that’d have been hard to explain. But I don’t dare smile yet. Not until Jean is safe.
- - -
Thatch looks pale as he greets me back at the inn. He’s listlessly poking a piece of toast with a fork. I pull out a chair and sit down, and he forces a smile. “Heya, Snow,” he greets me.
I tilt my head. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” Thatch says, and his smile widens just a bit. “I’m alright. Just feeling a little tired. This management business has been troublesome. I’ve been establishing connections, trying to get some farmers into our territory.”
“Farmers?” I ask, curious.
Smiling faintly, he nods. “Food is tricky up here. The fourth floor has to deal with the rot, and does glass houses. But here, there simply is very little space for farms. So, most of the soil is made by hand, and druids and beast tamers work together to make food. There’s a lot of stacked farms along the city walls, and some imports via airship.”
“Right,” I say.
“And that food is expensive,” Thatch explains, leaning forward, finding some energy to have a bite as he talks. Being an extrovert is truly powerful. “So, since we want supplies so people can reasonably eat…”
I smile as he waits for me to finish it. “You’ve been recruiting people,” I say.
Thatch grins and nods. “And making space. Excavation efforts have started into the underbelly of the island. We’re using the stones we dig up to repair some of the houses. It’s slow going, but we’re making progress.”
“This has been mostly you and Inu, then?” I ask calmly.
For a moment his eyes widen, and he looks like he’s about to ask how I figured it out, then pauses. Smiling sheepishly, he scratches the back of his head. “Yeah,” he says. “Opal has been helping too, though!”
“Ever the hero,” I nod along. Then I scan Thatch up and down. He’s eaten half the toast. I smile softly. “Thatch. If it gets too much, ask.”
The smile on his face fades into something more melancholic. Silence hangs there for a moment, but then he nods. “Okay,” he says.
I pat him on the shoulder, which makes him smile a little more. Then, I get up from the table, and head to our room. “Now, if you’ll excuse me,” I say with a smirk, “I have a child to save.”
Thatch snickers for a moment, then realizes I wasn’t at all kidding as he stares after me. “Hey… wait a second! What do you mean a kid to save?!”
By the time I hear the scraping of the chair, I’m halfway up the staircase and start running, spreading my [Observation] wide and looking for Sylves. I’ll need her help for this little operation. Hopefully, we can hide it from Raven.
Chapter 165: Rescue Operation - Start!
“Yeah, of course I’ll help,” Sylves says without hesitation. “Just tell me what you need, Snow.”
I smile at the ease with which my friend agrees, and nod. Slowly, word by word, I tell her the plan… and her role.
“Oooh, that’s devilish,” she says with a grin. “I love it.”
- - -
“I need a favour,” I tell Anna.
Finding her wasn’t too hard. When I walked across our territory, the girl spotted me not too long after, coming out from an alleyway and dropping her stealth. “You levelled,” I told her, and she smiled and nodded, before dragging me to their new place.
Trey is playing in the corner as I sit across from her. Well, playing might be the wrong word. He’s practicing inscribing runes with a perfectly metal stylus, scraping the stones - apparently inspired by what my little enchanted orb does for him.
Anna stares at me seriously, hearing my tone. Her silver hair glitters in the moonlight. “Alright,” she says quietly. “What do you need?”
“There’s a kid I wanna help,” I say. “A healer.”
The words hit her like a bomb, and her eyes widen. “A healer,” she whispers. “Recently caught? Being brought up?”
I nod.
Anna’s face tightens with pain. The lines of it harden, and if she wasn’t able to help me before, she certainly seemed willing to do so now. “What do you need me to do?” she asks.
“You need to keep him safe when he gets ambushed in the city,” I say simply. “Stay away from the fighting. Just take his hand and bring him onto this island. Our headquarters, your house, somewhere I can find him. Tell him Snow sent you.”
She nods grimly. “Alright,” Anna says. “Where?”
“Follow the explosions,” I say with a small smile.
Nodding slowly, she agrees, and we part again. Even as Trey tries to ask me to stay, I shake my head. “Sorry, Trey. I need to work.”
The kid stares at me, wide-eyed. “Will you visit?” he asks.
“We’ll see,” I say noncommittally. Then, I head out.
- - -
The next day comes, and then evening falls. Raven and I wait outside with a few choice members of Aviary. Dove, a small, lanky scithian, nursing two holes that Sylves’ arrows put through the lithe man, who has a few knives of mine hovering around him, and Owl, the tallest zoof I’ve ever seen with white wings from behind her back, cloaking us in stealth.
For a long while, the four of us wait - until, eventually, the ascendancy gate flashes. A handful of guards walk out, with Jean and his grandmother, Isabelle, and someone pushes the bristly old lady along.
Indignation burns in my stomach, and I suddenly understand why I was offered defiance as an authority. It’s disgusting to see someone made to serve. Jean looks to the ground, unhappy. At the very least, he’s not in chains. They are meant to treat their healers well, after all.
Respitia has a monopoly on healing. Now I see why, if this is how she gets healers up. Judging by the faint mana he emits, Jean isn’t even a suitable level for this yet. Hecc, I don’t even know if he has a mantle. He might be below 50.
“That him?” Raven asks in a whisper, and I nod in reply.
Instantly, the sumeen tenses. They lean forward, watching more closely, and I see Owl flare her wings around us, the cloaking growing stronger. We hide out of sight, just watching. The guards are arrogant, almost casual, as they drag Jean along. There’s just two of them. A woman and a man, both above 100.
I draw in a long, deep breath. “You’re calm,” Dove whispers, his eyes boring into me.
“Scared to death,” I deadpan in reply. “So much I’m too afraid to shake.”
That earns me a hum from Raven. I can see the feathers on the back of their cloak lift up and bristle. They hold the spear I gave them, and stare ahead. We wait for a moment, then two, seeing if anyone else comes up. We wait, until the guards move past a pile of rubble from outside the walls, until they’re caught in the labyrinth of poorly maintained roads that lead from the ascension gate to the city proper.
And then we strike. Saying “we” is generous, I suppose. Raven darts out, and a flock of birds instantly lifts from the roofs of surrounding rubble. Owl beats her wings and disappears from my senses, and Dove takes aim down his arms.
In one breath, daggers and dark feathers are flying at the guards. They turn instantly, grimacing as their authorities rise up, linking with the city, and turning crushing. But they aren’t crushing enough.
Owl’s wings deflect a part of that pressure, and Raven’s authority presses against them like barbed wire. There’s a dome wrapped around us as Dove fires off more of the enchanted knives. One of the guards swings a sword and his arm turns liquid, slashing at Raven, while the woman sinks into the shadow, avoiding a brief moment where I see Owl, wielding an enormous axe.
Dove gestures me forward, and with swift steps, I run out. “Jean!” I call, and the boy’s eyes snap to me, then go wide. I see his lips move, silently. Isabelle stares in a mixture of surprise, anger and relief as I run in.
The shadows underneath me shift. The guard comes up to try and stop me, but a flock of birds descends to stop her. Owl silently appears from the sky a moment later. Raven lands a gash on the male guard, and then, I reach Jean.
Instantly, I grab his hand. “Let’s go,” I hiss urgently.
Isabelle frowns. “Talk first!” she demands.
Then Raven smacks her in the head with the butt of the spear, lugging her on their shoulder. “Move, Yuki!” they hum, their voice full of thrill as they sprint off in a blur of feathers.
Jean looks at me, scared, for just a moment… then he smiles. “We talked,” he says. “I trust you.”
So we run.
Then, Respitia’s own authority descends, and the protective dome around us shatters.