Chương 8

Fritz sat and closed his eyes, then he relaxed. He pulled his attention away from his aching body and the sensations of the room t hinking at the tiny star in the centre of his chest. F ocus ing on its cool light, paradoxically freezing and warm, pulsing in time with his heart. H e had that radiant energy in his mind fully.

S hutting all else out, he could feel its subtle pull, he let that soft invisible tide pull him in gradually and then that tide turned into a current, then a torrent, racing ever quicker to the source of his power. He could feel the cold energy bathing him, filling his senses blinding him with its incandescence then all was still, the torrent and light gone. Fritz could hear the sound of rain on water, branches and leaves. He opened his eyes, a place he knew intimately yet not at all.

It resembled his mother's garden where he had played in his whole youth. But it wasn't that garden, the pale white lilies, the violet water hyacinths and those bright blue irises. They were all gone, just like in reality. What lay around Fritz was a muddy yard around thirty yards from end to end encircled by a thorny hedge wall. The soil had been dug up in places leaving puddles and pools strewn about haphazardly, they and the pond that used to host lilies rippled as they were struck by the falling rain.

Thankfully, two things remained of that garden he loved so much. In the centre of this ruined place, Fritz saw the Sapphire Willow that was the heart of the garden. It had changed from those blissful, carefree days of his youth. Gone was its enormous height of easily a hundred feet, and its gnarled bark was now smooth and flowering sapphire leaves had fled. In its diminished, youthful state it was barely twice Fritz's height.

That's not the only thing that had changed about the willow though, its growth pattern was odd, its roots and branches seemed to have grown like metal wire wrapped in on itself in a great spiralling circular pattern. It was strange but it felt taut and strong, like a spring waiting to be released. Nestled between the roots and overlooking the lily-less pond there was the small wooden pavilion of white and blue, his mother's house colours, and where he used to sit and read under the willow's great branches.

He walked into the pavilion and out of the drizzling rain. There were the shattered chairs, the broken tables and the countless cut, torn and burnt books. Fritz clenched his fist in frustration, the devastation the Guild enforcers wrought to his home was brought back to the forefront of his mind. The wind roared into a gale and the rain pounded down in a torrent. Fritz pushed away at the past, struggling and shoving a way the hurt and pain. This isn't real, it's just a dream.

With effort he calmed himself, the wind died down and the rain slowed to a drizzle again. He walked out from the pavilion's protective roof and towards the tree, instinctively he knew the tree was his, it was Him, his Power, and his Soul. He placed a hand on its strange twisting wood, and felt, probing for any sense of enlightenment, any hint on how to control his Power. H e could feel it, the luminescence he had taken from the water, it was changed, now it resembled his own light.

He tried to access it, and in his mind, three choices appeared, it was like reading and it was also like being spoken to at the same time, it was an idea pressed into his mind.

Activated Ability Choose One Gloom Strike Weapon writhes, in shadow's grace, deliver foes, to night's embrace. Your strike becomes harder to track, deals extra damage and dulls the senses on impact. Alignment: Shadow. Cost: One. Duration: Strike: Three seconds, Affliction: Nine seconds. Refresh: None.

You killed a 'Blight Hound" with a single strike. Influenced by Spire.

Second Wind Pushing through, tired and weak, rise again, reach the peak. Re covers two third s of total stamina. Alignment: Life. Cost: None. Duration: Nine seconds. Refresh: Twelve hours.

You pushed through your limits and overcame your exhaustion to save a friend.

Stone Pit Gouge the stone, shift the ground, instant craters, holes abound. Dig a small hole in dirt or stone. Alignment: Stone. Cost: One. Duration: None. Refresh: None.

You pushed a 'Blight Hound' into a pit, ensuring its demise. Influenced by Spire. Influenced by Sanctum.

Attributes Gained +21 Unaligned Fritz reflected on his choices, even before coming into a Spire he had thought about what route to take and what path to tread. He always saw himself as a sort of scout or maybe even a non-sanctioned G uide if he was really honest. It was unlikely he'd be able to unlock the Guide exclusive escape or defensive Abilities, so he'd have to muddle his path a little with some Striker, Enhancer or Controller Abilities.

Such was usually the case for commoners, not everyone could be the pure form of their Team Role without a lot of advice and knowledge to help shape their path. Such knowledge Fritz knew held a hefty price in both position and coin. This first Ability could be his foundation, however on reviewing the choices pressed upon his mind he found them lacking a certain quality or ubiquity he would expect from a foundation ability to build his entire path upon.

Gloom strike was a straight-up Striker ability with a little utility in its more stealthy applications, he seriously considered it, he also liked the aesthetic value of such an Ability. S hadow' s grace, bet that would look menacing. Fritz sighed. H e wasn't really the menacing type and the Gloom Strike really didn't add much to his fighting repertoire.

Sure more damage on impact would be great but so far his fish blade hadn't met any significant resistance and what was the point of dulling the senses if the enemy was likely to be severely wounded or dying anyway? Second Wind also didn't appeal to Fritz, he didn't want to be stuck in a slugfest or any sort of extended battle. With his general strategy and strengths he wanted to hit hard and fast then run if the enemy rallied or put up resistance. Honourable battles and stand-up duels were a fool's game after all.

No, second wind while useful he couldn't justify his first Activated Ability on stamina recovery. If it were health then maybe he would take it, but even then probably not. He didn't want to be put in the role of a Defender. It would have to be this last choice then, the one influenced by both the Spire and his Sanctum. His Sanctum's influence was obvious all those holes strewn about in the muddy yard still sat heavy in his mind. The Spire's influence was less apparent, maybe it's stone aligned?

Stone Pit also gave him something the others didn't, utility; it was something that wasn't just an improvement on something he could already do. Gloom Strike was just a stronger attack and Second Wind, while useful, could be eventually replicated by resting or maybe potions if any were found as Spire T reasures. Stone Pit though, was something new and useful. Depending on how small a 'small hole' was he could think of a number of uses already.

He could already tell it was going to be the trickiest to get use out of in a fight, but tricky was his middle name or would have been if he had one. It could add a new dimension to his fighting style as well as have other out of combat uses. Fritz sighed, pining over Gloom strike again. It seemed so fearsome and strong to boot.

"Maybe in another life or on another choice I could have chosen you," he said mournfully. Instead, he chose Stone Pit. His Sanctum spun, or was it the willow that was the heart of his sanctum spinning, or was it himself? A branch of the willow glowed and changed taking on an appearance that was glossy and grey like a smooth river stone. Now for the unassigned attributes, he thought as the vertigo ceased.

"What are the choices?" He prodded at the tree, "And what do they do?" The Willow responded, in ideas and flashes of concepts. Strength: Increases raw physical power and lifting capacity. Agility: Increases coordination and quickness. Endurance: Increases total stamina and stamina re covery. Perception: Increases the distance and detail of the senses. Focus: Increases the rate of information absorption, retention and analysis. Memory: Increases storage, clarity and fidelity of recollections.

Fritz went over the descriptions and deliberated for some time. T hinking of his future path, on the sort of climber he wanted to be. Did he want to increase his strength crush his foes before him with a weighty maul or throw boulders at people? Nah that was more Greg's style, plus if he went that way he probably should have selected Gloom Strike or Second Wind. The allure of agility taunted Fritz, he could become a skilled duellist or knife fighter, dodge attacks and riposte with cunning counters.

He noted it as a high priority Attribute, the best way to avoid being hurt was to avoid being hit after all. Endurance was tricky, he definitely wanted some, as stamina would come in handy both in and out of a fight, not to mention his new Stone Pit Ability would be draining on his stamina too. Another high priority. He had also read it did interact with over-all health, something about an exhausted body being a dead body, but he couldn't quite remember anything solid.

Still, it was an important Attribute, not something anyone should skimp on. Perception was going to be his main Attribute, it was the one that scouts and guides favoured and would help him spot trouble before he walked into it. It also might help find the rare Secret Rooms or Hidden Doors. Focus and memory were useful to a scout as well, being able to memorise a landscape or a monster's appearance and do it quickly could be invaluable. So many options so few Attributes.

Fritz assigned his Attributes, feeling he would play to his strengths and follow his desire to be a scout. He decided to put nine of his points in perception, for the rest of the Attributes he put three points in, save strength, he could leave that to Greg. A burning sensation hit him as he assigned the attributes, the light was burning him, freezing him from the inside out, his willow grew another foot taller and its roots sunk deeper into the ravaged and wounded soil.

The rain stopped for an instant, hanging still in the air, everything went quiet as the Power changed him. The pain stopped and the overwhelming sensation of that energy was gone. The rain continued its incessant drizzle as Fritz recovered his senses, slowly he came back to himself. Let's try out this 'Spire Readout' then, Fritz thought. Radiant glyphic text appeared and hung suspended in front of him, it was in no language he knew but he could read and comprehend them easily.

The glyphs sparkled and shined in his vision as he read the strange words in the even stranger format.

Spire Readout Name: Francis Hightide Level: 1 Path: --- Strain: Human Attributes Strength: 0 Agility: 3 Endurance: 3 Perception: 9 Focus: 3 Memory: 3 Advanced Attributes Activated 1/3 Stone Pit Gouge the stone, shift the ground, instant craters, holes abound.

Passive 0/3 Trait 0/3 Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Path 0/3 Technique 0/3 Strain 0/3 Fritz looked at his 'Spire Sheet' feeling a little overwhelmed with all the categories and numbers. He knew of them of course but seeing it all lined up like that neatly showed how far he still had to go. Not that this first step wasn't valuable, he reminded himself, now he had magic and improved Attributes. Now all there was, was to go back to reality and test his new Power.

He dismissed the 'Spire Sheet' by thinking go away and it responded by fading away into the air, disappearing entirely.

He looked around at his Sanctum one last time, sighed, then willed his return to the real world. After a brief feeling of vertigo and a heaviness, he was back in the green marble Well Room. The first change Fritz noticed was that his body felt like he was wearing a slightly too heavy coat that bore down onto his chest and then outwards onto his limbs. That heaviness sank in beneath his skin and suffused his body.

He quickly got used to the weight, but it added an odd solid feeling to his movements, which came easier than ever. T he cuts and scrapes he had taken had be en soothed and his calf wound was sealed with a bright pink patch of thin skin. However, he could still feel the deep ache of the cut, it seemed it had only been patched not fully mended. Not a full restoration then, gotta be careful of that.

The next thing he found was that his eyesight was better, he could pick out details more easily, and from further away, he could see cuts and bruises on the women that he hadn't noticed before as well as a certain raggedness to their clothing. Their short tan trousers and yellowed sleeveless shirts were torn and stained in places. They were sitting pretty far away from him but now he could pick out the ladies' details, perks of perception he supposed.

The redhead he knew was Veronica, her pretty face was plastered with a grim expression. The dark skinned woman with her charcoal hair in a long braid was Lynn her usually fierce burgundy eyes were dimmed with fatigue and her brow furrowed in consternation. The last Fritz didn't know from her face, she was also pretty like the other two. She had raven black hair with a green streak that framed her face, small bottle green eyes and slight features were cast in a determined mask.

They were standing and having a low, intense conversation with Sid by the side of the pool. Sid seemed to be slightly scowling and trying to convince the women of something. Much to Fritz's surprise, he could just make out what they were saying.

"I understand your concern Sid, and you've always done right by us. But continuing on to get a P ath is suicide. Lynn almost had her arm taken off and Naomi almost drowned before we even got here. And Janet died. We're done, we are just going to rest up a while then leave," V eronica said quietly. J ust as it looked like Naomi was going to speak up she cut her off with a frustrated sigh.

"I know you want to go on Naomi, but we don't have weapons or armour or a plan to get through another floor like that."

"What if you come with Fritz and Bert's crew?" Sid interjected.

"Even if they let us I'm not convinced we'd live through the next floor let alone the third. We're leaving and that's final, Sid. Now leave us be, we'll need our rest to swim out again. We need to survive," Veronica told Sid brooking no more argument from him as he angrily wound and unwound his scarf around his hand and wrist.

"Fine, survive then," Sid spat, turning away and walking back to the crew. Sid's eyes met Fritz's and he walked towards Fritz. What does he want with me? Am I about to be strangled again? Fritz wondered as the agitated man approached. Sid sat down opposite Fritz and glared at him, not all in anger he realised, as there was worry writ on his face too. After a moment of holding Fritz's inquisitive stare, Sid spoke, "Can you help me convince Veronica, Naomi and Lynn to climb to the third floor?"

"They sounded pretty resolute. And I'm not one to force someone to do something that they don't want to do," Fritz replied honestly.

"Plus why should I drag them along with us, they have their first level, they'll survive."

"Wait you heard us talking?" Sid glanced at him askance but continued speaking anyway.

"Assigned Attributes to Perception did you?" He added narrowing his gaze on Fritz, correctly guessing how he had overheard them.

"Well, that doesn't matter right now," He continued before Fritz could interrupt.

"I owe those girls- no women a lot, they're like sisters to me. If you had a sister what would you do? Would you let them stop at the first level?" Fritz growled, then stopped himself as Sid looked startled by the noise, he didn't know, and he was right I would never let my sister stop here if I had the choice. The first level, while much better than a leveless, is nothing like having a Path. H is scuffle with Nic had shown him that much.

"Fine. I'll talk to them, but I can't promise results. I'm not great at convincing people, even if it is the right thing for them to do," Fritz said wearily, suppressing his frustration. Sid rolled their eyes at that.

"You'll get your way and you know it, you're a fast talker, a charmer and a bloody handsome menace. You even- no never mind, just do what you can. Please," Sid ended lamely with an embarrassed half-smile on his face. Fritz sat there a little shocked at his declaration, was that how Sid saw him? He'd have to ask Bert for a second opinion.

"I'll do my best, give me a moment to run it by the crew though," Fritz agreed soberly. Fritz stood and motioned for the crew to gather, everyone else seemed to be out of their Sanctums and talking, it seemed many of them were weighing up their Ability options and discussing what to take. That made him feel a little guilty that he just went ahead and chose his Abilities and assignments without discussing it with anyone, especially with Bert.

He walked over and Bert interrupted the conversation to motion Fritz over and to ask him, "Well, Fritz, what were you offered?"

"I uh, I've already chosen," Fritz answered sheepishly.

"Silver triad to me then," Toby smiled, obviously he had won some kind of bet.

"I told you no. No one would take that bet," Jane exclaimed, whilst sewing up a bit of Toby's damaged trouser leg.

"Did you take something flashy? The Fritz Strike? The Gloomy Stab?" Greg asked enthusiastically.

"Cause I already got that covered, I got something called 'Bonebreaking Bash' and I think you can tell what that does," he added proudly with that stupid ugly grin on his face.

"Oh and let me guess you put all your Attributes into strength, like the dumb squid for brains you are?" Fritz replied annoyed at how close one of Greg's guesses for his Abilities were.

"Not all of them, only twelve, the other six went into endurance, and the last three into agility," Greg said a little defensively, but then his smile resurfaced as Fritz grunted in approval.

"Fair enough," Fritz continued, "How about the rest of you? Who's chosen and who hasn't?"

"I've chosen my ability already but I need help with the Attributes," Jane piped up joyously.

"Oh, what did you pick? Must have been good if you're smiling in this deathtrap of a Spire," Fritz asked intrigued.

"I got Sew Wounds, it's said it was a minor heal that also allows me to stop bleeding wounds," Jane responded beaming, her plain face looked pretty with that deeply pleased smile on her face. Fritz was delighted both for her and his crew, a healing ability, those were rare enough as it is, but for a first ability, what luck!

"Wow," Fritz said with a low whistle from Sid, who had also joined in the impromptu team meeting.

"Usually you gotta climb a lot of levels and bring and use healing remedies before you get any healing."

"Well, she did do the second one, cleaned up both Fritz then me. Plus she's always had a healer's heart. In a jar. Right next to where she keeps all the stolen jewellery," Toby joked hugging Jane to him with one arm. She didn't resist, instead, she thudded into him with a small shoulder barge, almost knocking him over. Toby joking, Jane happy, what was the world coming to? This spire may really be our path to change, Fritz thought both baffled and excited.

"Toby, what did you get?" Bert asked before Fritz could come out of his thoughts.

"I got a choice between; Shadow Meld, Lacerate, and Endure," Toby answered smirking his almost black eyes twinkling.

"Shadow M eld would let me do what those blight hounds did with those shadows, but only so long as I'm still. Lacerate lets my attack cut deeper and cause more bleeding than normal. And last and probably least; Endure which increases stamina recovery and reduces the pain you feel," Toby ended his list.

"Hmm I got Concussive Blow, Sturdy Block and R eckless C harge," Bert told the group.

"They do about what you' d expect. Concussive blow makes it easier to stun or daze an enemy on hit, Sturdy B lock blocks blo w s sturdily, not much use without a shield I would think. And R eckless C harge get s you in contact with an enemy, while also increasing S trength but reducing Agility," Bert shrugged with a thoughtful look that had replaced the usually wild look in his amber eyes as he finished explaining his choices. Fritz and the team turned to Sid who spoke up, "Uhhh.

I also just chose without thinking, sorry guys,""No problem here," Fritz said, grinning.

"Looks like at least half of us got too excited anyway, plus we don't have to run every decision by each other. It's more like we should figure out our Team Roles before we all go choosing the most fearsome seeming striker Abilities. So relax, no harm has been done," Fritz reassured the group, also discreetly letting himself off the hook. H uh maybe I am a fast talker, h e mused.

Sid nodded along with the rest and then replied "I got an elemental infusion Ability, Wind strike, I couldn't pass it up, it starts off by just adding speed to my projectiles or attacks but eventually it'll evolve into something special. I also put most of my A ttributes in A gility, with a couple in P erception, F ocus and E ndurance."" Evolve?" Greg asked, ignorance crashing across his features like the waves upon a particularly dull stone.

"Uhh h. W e don't have to worry about it now, but when your capacity is full you're given the option of evolving abilities; if you meet certain prerequisites, or gaining more Attributes. But as I said, we're a long way from that," Fritz announced hurriedly, hoping not to get sidetracked and also not really knowing much more than what he said anyway.

"Fritz, what did you take?" Bert pressed.

"I took an Ability called Stone Pit, it lets me dig holes instantly. Oh, and I put most of my points in P erception and scattered the rest evenly around my other stats, except S trength, I knew Greg would have us covered there," Fritz said, smirking at Greg.

"Digging holes?" Bert said flatly.

"Doesn't seem very Fritz-y," Jane rejoined in disappointment.

"Of course it's Fritz-y, he was always good at digging his own grave and now he's even better at it," Toby mocked letting out a disparaging chuckle. The rest of the group laughed uproariously at the jest. Fritz after pretending to sulk for a moment or two joined in the mirth, laughing along with the rest. They stood smiling at each other, before the reality of their situation set in again.

"So Fritz is a Scout, Jane is a Healer, Sid and Greg are Strikers," Bert said counting the group on his fingers.

"Should I take Sturdy Block and be the defender then?" He asked.

"No, I think concussive blow is the right move, a stunned monster can't attack after all, and we don't have a shield to really benefit from the block Ability," Fritz explained laying out his reasoning. Sid, the next most knowledgeable it seemed, nodded when Bert looked to him.

"And Toby?" Jane inquired softly.

"Lacerate, I think, a little more damage can never hurt. Shadow meld might be useful if you were climbing alone, but in a group, if one person is spotted the whole group is noticed. And as for endure, well it seems like a D efender Ability and I doubt Toby wants to go down that Path," Fritz said with a thoughtful look on his brow.

"Phew," Toby exclaimed wiping his dry forehead for dramatic effect.

"Glad you didn't make me pick endure just to get a D efender."

"Still only the first floor, you might still get lucky and get a defender ability yet. Especially if another monster wants to eat your leg," Fritz commented flippantly, much to the chagrin of the now scowling Toby.

"And as for Attributes, Toby you should get some Agility and then spread the rest around. Bert, you should probably get endurance then whatever else you want. Jane, Endurance is going to be important as you don't have a Magic Attribute yet and your Ability will cost stamina to use," Fritz summarised. The crew nodded along and then when Fritz had finished they descended into their Sanctums, leaving Sid and Fritz standing silently in the now quiet green marble room. They looked to each other awkwardly.