Chương 78: Arc 2 - Chapter 20

When looking over his offerings Fritz was immediately disappointed by the Abilities on display. Lacerate again, and a water-based strike and some, admittedly interesting, Boon Ability? They just didn't feel right, nor did he think they would help him be a more capable Scout. Though just in case one might have some hidden uses or synergies he decided to take a look at them one at a time, assessing the benefits of each.

The first of the abilities, and the most interesting by far, Word of Courage seemed to be an Enhancer Ability. He didn't know exactly what increasing 'Resolve' did but it could hardly be a detriment. The Ability's second effect, that dispelled fear, an emotion that could make or break a fight, was powerful indeed. Or would be, if his Defender wasn't already a fearless madman. It would still be of some use on the others of his team and was a great fit for a captain or back-liner.

Unfortunately, he was a Scout and one focused on stealth not command so he moved on to the second choice. The next in line was Lacerate. Again. He knew he should blame his fighting style, Quicksilver's edge and his Technique but it really felt like the Spires were messing with him at this point. He already had a Strike Ability and he didn't really want or need another. Sure it could be useful, especially with the obvious synergy it had with his sword and bone dagger.

And it would be nice to use both Gloom Blade and Lacerate together, stacking, or eventually fusing, them if he got the chance. What kind of fearsome Ability would that combination produce? But then again he felt that his Dusksong had little connection to the Blade or Blood Alignments. He wouldn't be able to use it for Lacerate, which would inevitably slow him down and drain him heavily in fights. Much like before he got his Magic Attribute.

He didn't want to go back to resting after every little fight or needing to be carried to safety by Bert every time he exerted his Abilities. With a sigh, he considered the last and least attractive Ability: Water Strike. What was there to say about this one? It was another strike, this one even worse than Lacerate in his opinion. With all the same downsides and none of the potential upsides. It didn't match any of his Alignments nor did it benefit from his Techniques.

He didn't have Essence of Water so it would be another drain on his Stamina. All in all it was a terrible choice so he ignored it completely. Comparing the two choices left made Fritz sag in his Sanctum. Neither of the Abilities really called out to him, being both unsuitable for his Role and boring to his soul. He smiled, perking up immediately as he remembered that these weren't his only choices. His Golden Seed and the Ability within had called to him before. Now he could finally choose it.

He flew from his Sanctum and surreptitiously looked around the echoing temple that was the Well room. Fritz found the team discussing, or rather debating, the qualities and uses of the Abilities they'd been offered. He left them to it as he sneakily raided his pack, opening his shaving kit then pulling out his cunningly hidden Seed. He popped open the hollowed-out soap bar and touched a finger to the Golden seed. He felt it resonate with his Sanctum and the Power within.

Again he felt himself pulled into his centre and found himself standing under the dripping branches of his willow. Have to find a way to be more accurate with my landings, wouldn't mind appearing in the pavilion every once in a while, h e chided himself. Though it wasn't like the rain was cold or uncomfortable he was just somewhat sick of it. He shook his head, warding off the water dripping into his eyes and the distractions pulling at his mind.

He went over his offerings again, focusing on the new golden glyphs pouring into his mind from the Seed. He noticed he was still holding the glowing object while in his Sanctum, having brought it with him without even trying. And there, within the shining Seed, was the new, or perhaps old, choice he had stored in the Seed at the Precipice of the Sunken Spire.

Lethargy Feeling tired? Getting slow? Take a rest, let it go. You curse a living creature; draining its Stamina over time and reducing its Stamina Recovery. Alignment: Curse. Cost: Two. Duration: Five minutes. Refresh: None.

It called to him just as it did when it was first offered, perhaps even more so as he knew somehow that this Ability Aligned perfectly with Dusksong, just as his Illusory Shadow did. While this Power didn't kill or wound an opponent, it could definitely incapacitate them, rendering his prey unconscious if their Stamina dropped too low. A way to harm his foes without killing them or leaving a lasting injury. Something he had been dearly wishing for, especially after his most recent revenge.

No more would he have to kill just to survive. Or so he hoped. There was no comparison to be made against the other two offerings, this was the Ability Fritz wanted, no, needed. Without hesitation he chose Lethargy. The Seed emitted a pulse of gold that swam through the rain and into his willow, the branches drooped slightly as if relaxing or letting go of some great burden. It gave off the strange appearance of dozing and seemed to be entreating Fritz to join it.

Beseeching him to sleep under its lazily waving branches and their almost hypnotic, subtle movements. To let the whispers of its purple-stained leaves lull him to an eternal rest. Then the sensation was gone and his head cleared even as he was halfway through a yawn. He felt the new Ability settle into his chest and he sighed in relief. Even though he knew the Seed would work, there was always that doubt, always that fear, that something would go wrong at the last second.

It hadn't and now he had the Power to prove it. Now there was just the allocation of his Attributes. He didn't ponder long as he had been planning what to do with them for a while. The idea was to get his Strength up so he could swing his sword properly and not feel the effects of his moonsilvered bones. However, now that he knew that it would only be a twenty percent increase in his base strength if he used all six of his points, he reconsidered his plan. He shook his head.

Strength was needed and it was lagging behind. Once he didn't feel so slow and heavy he could worry about other Attributes. Should he split them up? He might as well test it. There were no downsides after all. He aligned three of his Attributes to Strength and felt his muscles swell and stiffen. His body pulsed with power for a moment then the feeling ebbed away, sinking into his flesh. His willow groaned and its roots grew, digging deeper into the mud and grass.

With a thought, he was flying out of his Sanctum, then was glancing around at his team who were thankfully ignoring him. With a false yawn and true stretch, Fritz stood slowly. There was a noticeable improvement to his movements. For one, there was less of a strain on his legs, back and shoulders. For two, he could barely feel the heaviness of his bones. Unfortunately, there was still some slight resistance, a certain sluggish sensation and still that incessant ache in his joints.

With another sigh, he sat again and pulled out his guidebook chapter then pretended to read it, letting himself fall straight back into his Sanctum. He contemplated what to do, but was eventually set on aligning his next three Attributes into Strength, just so he didn't have to worry about the strains and aches anymore. Once that was done then he could think on what to do from there, maybe some more Dusksong to power his Abilities? Or perhaps he could shore up his currently inadequate Focus and Memory?

Or maybe even increase one of his other Advanced Attributes like Control or Grace for their odd but useful benefits? Fritz nodded, ceased his planning, and aligned his last three Attributes into Strength. Again his muscles surged with Power and with one last thought he called upon his Spire Sheet. The silvery glyphs appeared and he perused them for the changes he had just wrought.

Spire Readout Name: Francis Hightide Level: 12 Path: Spy Strain: Human Sigil: Sunken Spire, Gold Award Attributes Strength: 9 Agility: 9 Endurance: 9 Perception: 18 Focus: 9 Memory: 9 Advanced Attributes Awareness: 18 Control: 9 Dusksong: 6 Grace: 6 Activated 3/3 Stone Pit Gouge the stone, shift the ground, instant craters, holes abound.

Gloom Strike Weapon writhes, in shadow's grace, deliver foes, to night's embrace.

Lethargy Feeling tired? Getting slow? Take a rest, let it go.

Passive 2/3 Trap Sense Pits and wire, falls and fire, discover danger, before it's dire.

Danger Sense Behind the boulder, up in the tree, lurking threats, can't hide from me.

Trait 2/3 Door Sense Beyond the portal, behind the door, a brutal death or distant shore?

Cloak of Dusk Wrap yourself in twilight's cover, what's one shadow from another?

Path 1/3 Illusory Shadow - Evolution 1/3 Fake darkness, mocking light? Pseudo shadows, subdue sight.

Technique 2/3 Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

The Observations (Novice) Whittle away, scatter survive, poor prevail, covertly thrive.

Arte Pugilist (Novice) Strike, Slip, Punch, Kick, Dive, Skip, Grab, Flip.

Strain 0/3 Three out of three Active Abilities, next his Passives would be full. And past that threshold: Evolutions. Then at the end of this Spire his last Trait and the Awards would be... awarded. Fritz could hardly wait. Though he did wonder when he would be offered a Strain. He did know it was rare to get one, or at least the knowledge of how to get one was kept secret.

The most common in Rain City was the Merfolk Strain and while he didn't particularly want to become all scaly and wet he wouldn't mind all the benefits it could bring. Like being able to breathe underwater or the increased strength and acclimation to the cold depths of the sea. It may not suit his Path, but more power was more power, and Fritz could never have enough.

With a slight shake of the head, he prepared to leave his Sanctum, giving his ever-growing willow a fond pat in farewell before finding himself back in the temple.

"Are you ignoring me?" Lauren hissed as he came too. She was standing over him and must have been talking to him earlier. According to the furious look she wore he hadn't replied.

"Ah. Must have entered some kind of reading trance," Fritz said with a smile he hoped looked apologetic.

"You know how it is, you just get so engrossed in a book you can't look away or hear a thing." She glared but slowly got a hold on her apparent anger. Until, once she had mastered herself, Lauren shuffled and glanced away.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean." She stood there, looming over him, for some moment as if collecting her thoughts and planning what to say. Fritz let her find her words, smiling up at her.

"I have thought through the events of the last Floor. And have come to realise that you may have saved my life," Lauren said. Fritz nodded, prompting her to go on. Her brow furrowed, probably from the anger and embarrassment he could see swirling off of her.

"However undignified, savage, your methods were. You did save me from the burning tower. And my first words to you were not proper ones of grateful gratitude. They weren't even kind. For that I apologise," She said seriously.

"I graciously accept your apology, though you need not make it. Insults to my honour and virtue mean little to me and I was a brute through and through," Fritz said. Her frown retreated and a small smile lit her face.

"Though know this, Lauren. Dignity and honour mean nothing in a Spire," Fritz warned, locking his eyes to hers.

"It's life or death here. These deadly perils have no room for propriety or politeness. Only will and Power matter." Her eyes stared into his and she nodded slowly, hopefully taking his words to heart rather than just attempting to mollify him. He supposed that only time would tell. The silence between them stretched and she seemed to realise she was just standing there and staring at him.

"You should go help the others," Lauren said quickly, breaking her eyes away from his.

"The team needs help?" Fritz asked.

"Yes. Carter and Rosie seem to be stuck between choices," Lauren supplied.

"How about you?" Fritz asked.

"I'm fine," Lauren said, her face a mask of suppressed emotions. Disappointment chief among them. Even after her apology Fritz knew well enough to leave that stone unturned, there was definitely a poisonous eel under there. And he didn't much want to be bitten. He'd leave that to Bert.

"Well, I'll go offer my sage advice," Fritz said standing smoothly. He marvelled at how easy it was to rise to his feet and at how light his limbs felt. Fritz had to stop himself from sprinting, contenting himself with a short jog instead to test out his new Strength. I should've done this sooner. He hadn't realised just how much his bones were weighing him down. How much he'd missed being able to move without the constant added effort of lugging about a bunch of metal below his flesh.

Fritz grinned as he came to a quick stop after circling the statue the long way around. He looked over the faces of the assembled team as they sat and talked. It seemed that there was only Rosie's choice left as the team watched her expectantly and her face was scrunched in thought.

"What were you offered?" Fritz asked, joining the group.

"They're all passives but I got: Scaled Skin, Wavestrider and Animal Affinity: Fish," Rosie said grumpily.

"I can guess what Scaled Skin does but what of the others?" Fritz asked, finding her bad mood entirely warranted. Those Abilities didn't exactly sound appealing.

"Wavestrider lets me move through water easier and the affinity one makes it so fish don't attack me. Doesn't make them do what I want, or like me, like a charm. Guess they'll just leave me alone and ignore me. Like everyone else." Rosie said.

"You could always just hold off on the choice like Lauren," Fritz said. Rosie looked up at that, meeting his eyes.

"I can?"

"Sure. Don't see why not," Fritz offered.

"Same goes for all of you. Although things only get more dangerous the higher you climb and I can't promise to keep you all safe."

"You should take the scaly skin. Can't do much harm to your looks," Carter said with a teasing grin.

"He's right," Bert said without malice.

"Merfolk have scales and many of them are beautiful."

"I dunno. They always looked so slimy to me," Rosie hedged.

"That's part of the fun," Bert responded with a lecherous grin. That got a laugh from the team. Even Fritz smiled, though he was thinking about the breathtaking Merfolk he'd seen while in the harbour. He wondered where she was. He wondered who she was. Lauren walked to the group with disgust writ plain on her features, obviously having heard Bert's comment.

"Fritz, didn't you want to climb at least another Floor today?" She asked impatiently.

"Ah that's true," He said.

"I should go search those Doors. See what I can see." With that, he left to see what he could see from the Doors. He found himself standing opposite them when he felt something... amiss. There weren't just three Doors. There were four. The three normal ones stood together right in front of him while another lay somewhere behind him, to his right near one of the thick red pillars. Fritz grinned. It was his lucky day, his team's lucky day. A Hidden door. He was as surprised as he was elated.

Hadn't his father told him that Hidden Doors were only located between Wells, not in a Well room just like this? Was his father wrong? Or had Fritz merely misremembered? It didn't matter right now, but the thought occurred to him that he had possibly missed other Hidden Doors by heedlessly believing everything he thought he knew. He sighed, deciding he'd remedy that fault later, and he would keep search the Well rooms more thoroughly from now on.

He banished his speculation of what may have been and returned his mind to his present goal. He had to contrive a way to inspect the Door without giving away his Door Sense.

"Bert!" Fritz called out.

"Be right there!" He called back before saying one final thing to the team and jogging up. He glanced between Fritz and the Doors.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing wrong," Fritz said, then lowered his voice to a whisper.

"Hidden Door by the pillar. Distract the crew for a moment will you." Bert nodded seriously, then ran back to the group and started talking animatedly, telling some tall tale about their adventures in the Spire. Fritz silently slipped closer to the painted pillar, making a conscious effort to use his Cloak of Dusk in the dark of its shadow once he had reached it. Feeling along the rough wood, searching for the Door's arch his fingers caught upon a warm spot.

He followed the heat, nearly burning his fingers on an edge of hot, hidden stone. The Door was there, covered by some kind of illusion. Fritz stared hard at the pillar and saw the slight heat haze it emitted and smelt the faint odour of rotting eggs. He waved his hand through the light trick and it bent and rippled at his touch like he was smearing the paint on a still-wet easel. The illusion reasserted itself as soon as he stopped interfering with it, becoming again the painted red pillar.

It was indistinguishable from the others save for that heat haze that one had to be looking for to see. Knowing he had limited time before his presence was missed, Fritz reached out his Door Sense through the searing arch. Impressions poured into his mind, he stood in a natural path on a mountain of glossy black stone. A river of fire ran under his feet. A strange lizard with clacking obsidian scales and a singular horn, skittered on stumpy legs with its long, curved talons scratching against the dark rock.

It fled into a crater by the path's side, glaring over the lip with eyes like red hot coals. Fritz was sweating when he pulled himself from his vision of the floor beyond. Dangerous, he thought. But not a death trap. What kind of Abilities would the team be offered if they went through that fiery Floor? Fritz knew Lauren would jump at the chance to try this Door, as it seemed to break the common conventions of the Mer Spire by being distinctly more fire-aligned than water-aligned. Or so it seemed.

Hidden doors tended to do that, offering rare opportunities to get Treasures or Abilities that were odd or unlikely. Or even completely unique as the one that transported him, somehow, into the world of faeries had been. He wondered if taking this Door was worth it. Would it be too suspicious for a group of leveless to come out with both Golden Climbs and some fire-aligned Abilities?

Fritz worried for some moments before pulling himself back to the real and right now, banishing the thoughts of a terrible future that hadn't come to pass. Yet. He reasoned he should check out the other Doors before he made a decision anyway. Maybe they won't want to take this Door. Maybe they will go for something more safe, more boring he lamented.

In his heart he hoped they would be filled with the same bold avarice and boundless ambition he was when he thought of the rare riches in the fiery Floor beyond the Hidden Door. Peering around the pillar and stealthily making his way back into the open air before the three 'normal' Doors, Fritz inwardly sighed in relief. There was neither a call of alarm nor a clamour of questions about his whereabouts for the last minute or three.

He doffed his Cloak of Dusk and took his time pretending to compare the Doors to the 'chapter' in his hand. Acting as if nothing was amiss, nothing being schemed and definitely no plans to trick his team into a decidedly more dangerous Door. Scanning the first Door on his left, as was his habit, he found it to be a plane of glass or more likely still waters. It was cold, it was wet, and it was dull. Some kind of underwater maze of slick stone caves, filled only with seaweed and curious brown fish.

He had water-breathing potions so this floor was likely to be a breeze unless it took them more than six hours or rather two doses of the potion each. With as much derision as he could muster he placed that Door on the bottom of his very short list of two. Fritz turned to the middle Door. This one was covered in some kind of bright green moss and smelled of cool damp dust. It reminded Fritz of the abandoned estates in the drowned district, though it seemed even older than those derelict dwellings.

He let his Door sense pull him into an impression of the ruins of an underwater city, ancient white stone bricks coated by a creeping moss. Again there was barely a hint of danger from this floor, with nothing in the way of monsters. Another maze or perhaps it was a puzzle floor? He mused. More interesting than the last one at least. The third and final of the normal Doors was quite narrow, more an uneven crack in dark stone than a real archway.

There was definitely water beyond and the stairs themselves seemed to be made of a slanting ramp of bleached sand, which on closer inspection was revealed to be fish bones. With only a small grimace Fritz felt out again with his Sense and was rewarded with the vision of a deep, dark trench far, far under the waves. The trench wasn't just dark, no it was more like the lightless Abyss, the blackest hole from which demons and other more terrible monsters crawled.

He could feel no demons, though how would he know if he had? There was, however, a terrible looming pressure both from the depth and from some terrible, tentacled monster. Closer to a malformed miscreation than the squid whose form it parodied. A luminescent eye, as wide as his forearm, round and silver-blue winked into existence before him. Fritz fell on his backside, startled out from his Sense trance.

He rapidly reconsidered his stance on wanting to take a dangerous Door, deciding there was a definite difference between risk and ruin. And this door fell on the end of ruin. You couldn't hope to outrun such a creature in its hunting grounds and you couldn't hide from it either, it would already know all the nooks and crannies of its lair and would scoop you up and eat you with ease.

"You okay?" George asked, startling Fritz a second time. He looked around from where he sat to see his team giving him worried or apprehensive looks. Fritz smiled wide to assuage their fears and suspicions but it may have just made him look like a maniac.

"Fine, just tripped," Fritz said.

"Tripped on what," Rosie asked bluntly as she searched the floorboards.

"My own feet. Got too caught up in this chapter," Fritz said defensively, waving the sheaf of papers at the group. Bert grinned, letting Fritz stew in his feigned embarrassment that was starting to turn all too real under their disappointed stares. His friend didn't let him suffer for long though, bursting through the slightly awkward silence with a pertinent question, "Anything about these Doors in it?"

"Yes, my good friend," Fritz said, meaning it. This time.

"I have concluded that each of these are likely underwater floors." Then as the group's stares turned on the Doors instead of Fritz he went through some vague guesses about each, making sure that his observations seemed as plausible as possible. As though he had gotten his hints through just his normal senses and Awareness, rather than some rare and coveted Ability. Like Door Sense.

Fritz felt he had to connive some way to convince them to choose the more dangerous Hidden Door rather than the underwater city or maze of caves. So he subtly played up the dangers of being underwater while bemoaning how bad the Paths offered would be if they kept being overly cautious. While he did so he wove some hand signals and code words into his explanations. Ones that he and Bert had worked out and expanded upon through their long, moderately successful, careers as thieves.

Bert got the message and surreptitiously made his way to the pillar containing the Hidden Door and lazily stretched out a hand as if to lean on it.

"Yeowch," He cried as he touched the Door's arch through the illusion. The team spun on the sudden shout of pain and Fritz suppressed a smirk as he got to his feet and ran to his friend's side in false fear.

"What's wrong?" Fritz called out as he reached Bert's side. He gave him a wink that was returned mischievously.

"This pillar!" Bert called out as if offended by its very existence.

"It burnt me!"

"Hey! Do you see that?" Carter asked as he came closer.

"See what?" Fritz asked, actually mildly surprised.

"It's like the wobbles over a fire," Carter said.

"Oh. Yes, I see that. Good eye Carter, I'm surprised I missed it," Fritz said affably, clapping the man on his shoulder. Too hard it seemed as the man winced and there was a loud thud.

"It's called a heat haze," He continued hurriedly before Carter could question the new strength that Fritz had forgotten to control properly. Taking the lead again Fritz strode closer to the Door and ran his hand through the illusion.

"It seems we are in luck, Great luck," Fritz proclaimed.

"A Door! A Hidden Door! And one that is decidedly hot." The team stood still, staring on in shock.

"Maybe fire-aligned creatures and materials lie within?" Fritz posited, breaking their stupors. Lauren's eyes sparkled and her frosty demeanour suddenly thawed as she stepped closer to investigate the Door herself.

"Another Door?" Rosie whined.

"I thought there was only meant to be three."

"Hidden Doors. They break convention," Lauren espoused eagerly.

"They're random, rare and full of... well... rarities."

"I propose we go through this Door," she said waving a hand across the heat haze.

"I agree, it looks fun!" Bert said raising a hand in a vote.

"I'm with Bert, think of all the rare Treasures!" Fritz exclaimed, stoking the team's greed. George looked on thoughtfully, running a hand over his scale-cloak as if considering its use in the heat. He nodded once, while the siblings looked at each other doubtfully.

"Isn't it going to be more dangerous, cause it's so rare and all?" Rosie asked.

"Not necessarily," Fritz lied. Then when she glared at him suspiciously he relented.

"Sure it might be more dangerous than the other Doors. Save the one with all the bones, I have a bad feeling about that one. But it's a Hidden Door! Can you really pass up such a fortunate encounter? Do you really want be offered weak Abilities because you choose the safest Door again?" She frowned and looked to her brother again who still seemed unsure.

"Please," Lauren entreated Carter, her striking features forming a small sad pout that would move any man's heart. The expression was somewhat amateurish compared to the seductive expertise Fritz had seen from Vee, so he remained untempted. Carter had no such defence. He gulped audibly, shuffled awkwardly and finally nodded his assent. The fool, Fritz thought. That blatant manipulation would never work on me. Lauren's pout was suddenly replaced with a bright smile and she turned and met Fritz's eyes.

Warmth spread over his chest and up his neck. Maybe, he amended. With the last holdout, Rosie, sighing and agreeing, they began to pack up and get ready.

"Where are the eels?" Fritz asked, noticing the bucket that used to house them was now filled with fish guts.

"Either in jars or sacks," Bert said.

"We sorted them out while you napped. Caught about thirty of them."

"Get much venom?" Fritz asked.

"It was difficult. Most of them suffocated before we could milk them. But we have eleven vials," Bert explained. Fritz nodded along.

"Please don't say you milked them," Carter said, grimacing.

"Sound's wrong. Unnatural."

"Ain't nothing wrong with a little eel-milking," Bert declared.

"It's perfectly natural." There were some chuckles there was some disgust, but mostly they finished the last of their preparations and met before the pillar. Fritz stood before the shrouded Door and looked back on all the eager anxious smiles then strode through. Though this floor was likely to be more dangerous than the safe ones, he knew he had made the right choice to push them towards taking this Door. What was a little heat anyway?