One of the benefits of my style of flight was that I didn’t need to worry about falling. I wasn’t reliant on maintaining lift and conducting myself according to the laws of physics—well, the laws of physics that normally applied to people.
With Gravity, I could stay perpetually afloat in the air. Or at least until my body could no longer channel mana.
Which wasn’t as much of a concern now that I had gulped down that mana potion.
The only issue I had was that I couldn’t fully control Flare’s directionality. My flight over the cavern zone was kind of scuffed, and I was just glad I wasn’t struggling against other people seeing from below.
They were far too preoccupied with the goings-on at the Roaring Claws’ hideout.
I was better than before, though. It was less an issue of my control over Concentration, as I found out while flying, and more the fact that Concentration wasn’t working as fast as would have been ideal. I was instead performing jerky stop-starts. Yes, I was absolutely going to need a new Affix that would help.
Well, wonder of wonders, it was like fate itself heard my wish.
[ Rank Up!
Your Agility Attribute has risen by two Ranks.
Your Power and Spirit Attributes have risen by one Rank.
Your Gravity Aspect has risen by two Ranks.
Your Sacrifice, Ritual, Illumination, and Flare Aspects have risen by one Rank.
Your Path of Burning Starlight has risen by one Rank.
Agility: Silver V
Spirit: Silver IV
Power: Silver VI
Gravity: Silver VI
Ritual: Iron VII
Flare: Iron VIII
Illumination: Iron VI
Sacrifice: Silver VI
Path of Burning Starlight: Silver V ]
[ Affix Unlocked!
You have acquired a new Affix for your Flare Aspect.
Affix: Capacity ]
All the rank ups were obviously delicious, although the fact my Fervour and my Path of the Acolyte hadn’t grown wasn’t as fun. What was exciting, though, was the new Affix for Flare.
I wanted to consider it more, but right then, I had to pay attention to where I was going. The ceiling was sloping downwards rapidly. I’d reach my destination soon.
It was only after I managed to guide myself to a more secluded spot that I could finally pause and take a breather. My heart was still thudding a little too hard for comfort and I wanted to let the excitent of the last hour or so pass through . To that end, I took a little ti to wait until the people nearby had moved on to check out the commotion. That gave a little ti to look at my new Affix.
Capacity. Weirdly, it made think of electricity and not heat, but then, maybe I needed to consider the literal definition of the term just like how the Weave did. Wait no, now I rembered the actual terminology. In electricity, it was capacitance. Slightly different term, I supposed.
I tested it then and there. Concentration gathered so nearby heat, including from my own body, which left a tiny bit cold, and then I focused on Capacity to store the gathered energy to unleash into a Flare later. It worked. There was a small pocket of warmth floating next to , about the size and shape of my fist, glowing a very soft orange.
Normally, when I stopped concentrating on, well, Concentration, the effect ended. As soon as I took away my focus from the Affix, all the gathered heat would imdiately Flare out.
Not so now. With Capacity in the mix, I didn’t even need to focus on anything. The heat orb just floated there, ready to be tapped into. Although, I figured it wasn’t a permanent thing, and it would burst into a Flare at so point. I’d need to test the ti limit.
I wanted to experint with Capacity’s capabilities more, but I needed to move. There was an opening now, and I could sneak away to our eting spot and hopefully find Khagnio there, assuming he had survived.
I… wasn’t sure what I was going to say to the others if sothing happened to Khagnio and we never t up. When I examined my own feelings as I made my way through the tunnels, I realized I would be sad if he died. He wasn’t a perfect goody two-shoes. No one was. But we had fought together, had cleared a dungeon as a team, and that had forged a bond of sorts. I didn’t want him to suffer. Well, not too much.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringent.
About a minute later, I realized that I was Ross Moreland. Which ant that I was hopelessly lost.
“This is useless, Khagnio,” I muttered as I took out the chicken scratch map. “Sacrifice it is.”
I found a nook between two locked up stalls where I wouldn’t be observed. Then I held out the map and Sacrificed it.
Apparently, my earlier mutterings had happened close enough that I didn’t need another switch.
[ Sacrifice
You have Sacrificed 1 [Minor] Map. Windfall bonus activated.
Reward: Inherent knowledge of locality depicted on the [Minor] Map now unerringly guides all navigation. ]
Sohow, it had worked, even if a part of hadn’t exactly been sure it would. I had to blink at the information filling my head, while also ignoring the sharp sting that accompanied the new info.
New knowledge filling my brain was always an extrely uncanny feeling. But it was made worse this ti because I knew that even with the map more or less morized, I was still liable to get lost. The Weave, apparently, recognized that. I didn’t actually have to use my newfound knowledge.
Not when there was a strange tugging sensation that guided on the path I was supposed to be following.
It felt like a magnetic pull, which grew weaker or stronger depending on whether I was taking the right path or not. This was pretty neat. An invisible tether to tug along to where I was supposed to go. I might need to end up getting more maps to help with my terrible sense of direction.
As I headed out, I found myself following a few people. They had apparently visited the site of the commotion and were now returning.
“Heard the Claws got taken out by just two rivals,” a thin, scarred Rakshasa was saying.
“No way,” said a Scalekin who was thankfully not dressed in those artfully ripped clothes the Claws were fond of. “This is the Claws we’re talking about.”
“So what? I heard they got struck by Riptide.”
“Fucking Pits, that’s impossible. They’re all gone!”
“Yes, well, I heard they recruited a powerful new guy.”
“Well… it is Riptide…”
I tried not to laugh even though I was keeping a good distance. It was curious, though. Riptide…
The eting spot was an unassuming location very close to that entry tunnel we had used through the Rat Catcher’s Guild. My fears were all allayed when I found Khagnio there, waiting impatiently for .
“You took your sweet ti, mageling,” he accused. “Next ti, why don’t you tell before you decide to take a tour around town.”
I ignored his belligerence since I was just glad to see he was alive. Not fine. Not with those wounds and the way a good fifth of him was either scorched or actively burning. But he was alive. That was all that was important. “You’re looking a little… fiery.”
Khagnio’s snort was more a hiss. “No thanks to you. Co on, let’s get out of here. The Claws are pissed.”
“Pissed because they think soone from Riptide tore up their base and stole their precious treasure?”
He gave a weird look, like he was judging in a new light. “Pissed ‘cause we left their base entirely in shambles. Where’d you hear that na?”
I explained how. “Why are you hiding sothing like that, Khagnio? Who is Riptide?”
The Scalekin looked up, like he was finally deciding to pay attention to faith and pray. Then he gave the most resigned look I had ever seen on a serpentine face. “I’ll explain on the way back. Let’s get out of here.”
We moved on. I looked back before I entered the tunnel that would lead back to the Rat Catcher’s Guild ladder. There had been no sign at all of Zoltan, but that wasn’t surprising. Ring Zero had turned out to be a pretty big place, and I wasn’t even sure if he would be here for long stretches of ti anyway.
Khagnio was true to his word. As we left, he explained that Riptide was his old gang.
“I thought you said you were part of the Roaring Claws,” I said.
“I was. When I was a naïve snakelet. I didn’t know how bad it was, had no idea things could be better.” Khagnio sighed. “But I got my ass handed to enough tis, saw enough people die, that I realized I wasn’t going to make it in the Claws. That’s when I left.”
Of course, undercity gangs didn’t allow mbers to get up and leave just like that. The Claws ca after Khagnio. If they failed to bring him back alive, they’d just use his corpse as bait in the dungeon.
Thankfully, Riptide found him first, and when the Claws ca to collect what they believed was theirs to own, they just got eviscerated.
“Those crooks were right,” Khagnio said despondently. “There’s not much left of Riptide. Even back then when they took in, Riptide was just a small family. Not much bigger than the standard adventuring party.” He snorted. “They used to assure that they were always like that. Sohow, I always found that hard to believe.”
“How many of you were there?”
“Four to six of us over the years. Never been any more than that.” He paused, considering as we reached the ladder. “Now that I think about it, maybe the old fart would accept you as an honorary mber, mageling.”
I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a mber, honorary or otherwise, of an undercity gang. “Old fart?”
Khagnio laughed a little, briefly explaining what Riptide was like and what his experiences were with them. He really was fond of his little group, and it sohow reminded of my ti at the cult and the people I had surrounded myself with. It was a nice revelation. I was glad Khagnio had that sort of support system.
Nobody at the Rat Catcher’s Guild gave us second looks or anything, not even the Ogre outside. Maybe we had exited too fast. Or maybe they hadn’t yet received word of any commotions down there.
Or if they had, then it was just business as usual for Ring Zero.
“Just lay low for a while, alright mageling?” Khagnio said. “A few days until things cool down.”
I frowned. “I can’t lay low. I’ve got shit to do.”
“Suit yourself. Just don’t bla if they find you and co after your little cult.”
“Maybe I’ll ask your Riptide friends to back up.”
I was joking, but Khagnio was apparently serious about it.
“I’ll ask them,” he said. He made a face. “Of course, once the old fart hears about it, he’ll co leaping to save you if you’re ever in trouble, the disgusting little goody two shoes he is.”
Despite Khagnio’s warning, he assured that things shouldn’t escalate too much. One of the reasons Zairgon Council turned a blind eye to the illicit activities in Ring Zero was because the leaders of the undercity ensured undercity activities remained below grounds. It was only dire cases that made them act out, and this shouldn’t qualify.
Plus, having seen what they were capable of, I wasn’t particularly worried. Sure, I might not have been able to beat Shagor, but he wasn’t overwhelmingly stronger than .
I handed him the treasure before we parted. “Is it important?” I asked.
Khagnio accepted almost reverently. “Hmm, the old fart wanted it for reasons that I’m not privy to. I’m not even certain what it’s supposed to be.”
“Well, it looks like the most disgusting necklace ever.”
Khagnio bared his fangs in a grin as he opened the case. “That it is. He did say it was a statent.”
Huh, that didn’t sound like it had a great deal of value on its own, despite the way it had been guarded. “I can’t believe that whole thing went without a hitch, mostly.” I stared at Khagnio a little accusingly. “You never said he might pop out from inside the tower.”
“Well, forgive for not having read all of the Claws’ minds.” Khagnio regarded with an appraising look. “But that’s right, you should have more faith in yourself. You handled the whole thing pretty well. Like I said, old fart might be impressed enough to drag you into Riptide.”
“I’ve got enough faith in myself, thank you.”
Khagnio had gained a very critical look in his eyes. “Mageling, you’re forgetting sothing.”
I smiled. It was strangely nice to be back in actual Zairgon. The sky might be sunless, but I preferred the boundlessness it offered compared to the constantly hanging ceiling of rocks within dungeons and the undercity. “I thought you were going to offer it to of your own free will, Khagnio.”
Khagnio raised his hands to the heavens long-sufferingly, then handed a tiny bundle of cloth. I took it and almost dropped it.
“Is this…?” I hesitated, so didn’t get to finish my question.
He grinned at with all his fangs. “That’s the finger of Desjarlith. He’s the Pits-cursed idiot who attacked you, going by the description you gave . So I got you your little nto to use your crazy Sacrifice powers on.”
“Uh…” I pocketed the grisly spoils of war inside my dinsional storage bag. “Thanks.”
It was almost ti to leave. We would be parting ways where the road split, one direction heading to Ring Two, while the other descended to Ring Four.
“You know…” Khagnio said as we were about to part. “You’d make a good mber of Riptide.”
“You’d also make an excellent addition to the Cult of the Sun,” I said.
He cussed out before finally taking his leave. Still, I weirdly experienced a greater sense of camaraderie than I had ever felt with Khagnio. It wasn’t a bad feeling.
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