Chương 182: 6. I'm Sensing a Pattern

As promised, the Degala tribe takes us in as guests. We—along with all of our companions—are granted accommodation without anything asked in return. Jira and Remi both assure us that we are welcome to stay as long as we like, and that the mess we left behind us on the imperial mainland means that it's unlikely that anybody will have the time and resources to spare coming after us here. It's almost uncanny to realize that maybe for the first time since... ever?

As far back as we can remember, anyway—which is only a few months—there is no great danger hanging over our head. No immediate desperate need to address. Sure there were moments of respite back in Stebaari, but even then it was a fragile thing and there was always something demanding our focus. Now, for once, we are actually under no pressure at all. That doesn't mean there's nothing going on, though.

Talla is pretty quickly drawn into the awkward position of speaking on behalf of both her family and for the now headless order of rangers, Fargo has whatever history lies between him and Remi simmering away, and whatever started in Stebaari doesn't go on pause just because we left. But none of it has to involve us unless we dip our fingers in on purpose. We are, at last, for lack of a better word, free. Now what? It's a question that ripples through us all as we gather in Evelyn's dream sanctuary.

Her new skills let her project us into reality—or maybe pull a projection of reality into her dream, we're not quite clear on that—but for now it's simpler to hang out in the fancy little courtyard she and River conjure up. Already we've started making pieces of it our own. Maggie muses about ways to expand it in some permanent fashion, even as she envisions a huge tower to loom over the courtyard.

"Please don't," Eve groans.

"It'll spoil the view."

"Not if we do a bit of dream fuckery it won't," Maggie replies airily.

"Though looming is half the point of a good tower." Violet, for her part is more reserved. She secures a sandy corner of the courtyard to serve as both a practice yard and whiteboard, where her meticulous notes are plastered far less meticulously across a giant canvas. Thanks to Evie's new skills, the difficulty of reading dream-writing is bypassed by projecting the real versions into the dream. It's even possible to modify them in a permanent fashion with a clever little combination of skills.

First, [Dream Walking] lets Evelyn project the original notes into the dream, then we can make any changes we want, and use [Remember the Way] to perfectly copy them back into the originals. It's a little tedious, so only Violet bothers to maintain the physical copies. Maggie thinks we can use [Remember the Way] while dreaming to perfectly copy a modified projection from one dream to another, but last time we tried that we woke up with a migraine and had to ask Talla for an extra tincture.

"It worked, didn't it?" Maggie complains.

"Once Eve gets some more Will, it should be reliable." We've more or less gotten used to the odd way that our thoughts blend together in these dream meetings. Since we're not relying on a spell to do it anymore, it's become a regular occurrence. Not every night, since that feels like it would be infringing on Evelyn and Reverie's time, but often enough to grow accustomed.

"I don't see the point in risking magical strain just because you're too lazy to write things down," Violet argues.

"It's about operational security, obviously," Maggie blatantly lies. Yeah, she's definitely just too lazy to write things down, and there's no hiding it when we're all blended together like this. Allie sighs. She finds it as boring as the rest of us, but if it's between migraines and a few minutes of copying notes, it's not a hard choice. Her corner of the courtyard is dominated by a buffet table with a spread of delights including anything we can imagine.

Quite literally—its contents change based on whatever we want from it, though even perfectly recalled projections aren't quite as satisfying as the real thing. The food isn't an outlet for hedonistic pleasure—or at least, not just that. [As Good as Real] lets us actually benefit somewhat from the food we eat in dreams, though Talla was quick to remind us that artificial satiation provides energy and nothing else. We need real food to provide actual nutrition.

"It's just too bad the drinks don't do anything," Allie grumbles.

"Is a little dream-buzz too much to ask for?"

"Yes," the rest of us chorus.

"Spoilsports..." She grabs herself a everflowing glass of stingroot wine anyway—the stuff is growing on her—and joins the rest of us in the middle, where there would be a gazebo if the weather in our dream sanctuary wasn't always perfect. Instead, it's just a soft blanket laid out on the grass with fluffy cushions for seating, kind of like a picnic.

"So now what?" Allie repeats the notion from earlier. All of us feel it. That creeping anxiety that makes us want to move. That part of us that's still in survival mode, that never quite left the convergence point, urging us onward. Onward to what, though?

"I don't see the problem," Maggie says with a shrug.

"We're safe here, and the tribe doesn't ask anything of us. We can just take our time to relax and work on our classes."

"It doesn't really work like that," Violet points out.

"We need to achieve to advance. Resting on our laurels doesn't get us anywhere. Since we left Stebaari, how much have any of us leveled?" Allie raises a hand.

"I'm one level away from mastering [Linguist] and I expect to finish it once I'm conversational in the People's Tongue." That would be the serpentfolk language that Msshi has been helpfully teaching us. It's a devilishly complex language, and actually speaking it is pretty much a lost cause, but Allie's determined to at least learn to understand it.

"I've only earned one level in [Dreamwalker]," Evelyn admits.

"I don't think it's meant to be used the way we have been. Perhaps I can try taking River out to explore the wetlands once the waters recede a bit more." We did try using her class to explore while we were out at sea, but the projection has a limited range and everyone but River and Maggie struggle to cross water in dreams. Allie and Vi jolt awake if we enter water, Evelyn can't swim, and only the other two have the knack for flying in dreams.

"Oh, speaking of which—River, have you made any progress?" Allie asks.

"Come to think of it, I don't even know what class you picked." If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Reverie drifts aimlessly in the air above them, hair and dress casually ignoring gravity even as she slowly spins upside down and puts a finger to her lips in thought.

"Hmm, I haven't picked one," she admits. Okay, well maybe not all of us are quite so anxious.

"Something that raises Power would be ideal," Violet muses.

"According to my notes, it's by far our weakest attribute by number of associated classes, at only one."

"Our best one, to be fair," Allison points out.

"And most Power related classes focus on physical activity," Evie adds, gesturing at River's idly hovering form.

"Not exactly her area of expertise."

"We can train it for her," Vi argues.

"She doesn't need to actively use the class. She never fronts anyway, so no matter what she picks it'll be on us to actually advance the levels. I just don't want to waste the slot."

"I'm happy to take anything if you choose for me," River suggests.

"I only picked the ones I did because I flowed into them." Translation—she picked classes that matched what she was already doing, but now that she's idle, she doesn't care.

"Do we even have any classes that raise Power available?" Maggie asks.

"Aside from Vi twiddling her spear, we haven't really been working out much since we left the dungeon."

"Did you have to say it like that?" Allie groans.

"And you should know, since you're the one who earned the last one." [Tier 0 Swimmer]* For some, water is an obstacle, for you it is just another path to travel. Skill - Buoyancy: You float more easily in water. Attribute bonus: Power. Advancement: Swim.

"Oh right, haha!" Maggie cackles.

"There are also the ones that we earned in the convergence point," Violet adds. [Tier 0 Climber]* There are many ways to ascend. In your case, it's quite literal. Skill - Strong Grip: Dramatically increased Power when keeping your grip. Attribute bonus: Power. Advancement: Climb. And... [Tier 0 Runner]* Whether you're trying to get away or catch up, you practice the oldest technique of those in a hurry. Skill - Marathon: Dramatically increased Resilience when running. Attribute bonus: Power. Advancement: Run.

"I'm sensing a pattern," Allie notes sardonically.

"Tier zero classes are usually pretty basic," Evelyn says.

"But the Power focused ones are especially straightforward."

"They are," Vi agrees.

"And we've since earned a couple more, though I couldn't tell you when or why." [Tier 0 Armswoman]* One who has taken an interest in practicing the use of arms and armor. Skill - Weapons Free: Increased Power while wielding a weapon and Resilience while wearing armor. Attribute bonus: Power. Advancement: Use weapons and armor. [Tier 0 Brawler]* Either you find combat, or combat finds you. Willing or otherwise, you have developed a deft hand in acts of violence. Skill - Scrappy: Increased Resilience while fighting.

Attribute bonus: Power. Advancement: Fight.

"That's a lot of options," Allie muses.

"I think we can rule out [Brawler] and [Climber]. They're both kind of weak and narrow." Violet shudders at the embarrassing memory of the ill-fated attempt at rock climbing that earned us that class.

"Agreed. Though given how often we end up in fights, I don't think [Brawler] is as narrow as you think, it's still very weak even for a tier zero class."" [Swimmer] seems like it would be the most immediately useful," Evelyn remarks.

"Given our current environs. I wouldn't mind learning how, either."

"That's one of the advantages of our gross flat feet," Maggie cheerfully interjects.

"We're awesome swimmers." Even the Degala's stronger swimmers are a little clumsy in the water, we've noticed. Hooves aren't good at moving water, and their feet aren't as flexible as ours, so they're very top-heavy as swimmers.

"Of the other options, [Runner] is broadly useful, and [Armswoman] has significant overlap with what I've already been doing," Violet concludes.

"I say we cut [Runner]," Maggie says.

"It's the obvious weak link, and it doesn't really combine nicely with any of our other classes."

"What other classes?" Allie asks.

"There's just my [Linguist] class that I'm already planning to merge with [Teacher] and uh... [Instigator], which I'm a little leery of. Do we even need another tier zero class? We've kinda been randomly mastering a whole bunch of them, and I've lost track." Violet adjusts her glasses and summons a clipboard into her hands.

"I haven't. Give me a moment to review." Of course she hasn't. If we can trust anybody to meticulously keep track of every little detail about our classes and levels, it's Violet.

"By my count, we've mastered or are currently training enough classes to eventually combine into a five-star class, with one tier zero to spare—not counting whatever Reverie takes." Allie whistles appreciatively. That's a lot more precise than she was expecting.

"Besides," Evelyn adds, "there's no reason not to take another one. We'll have plenty of time to figure out how to work [Instigator] and our new class into our life later on." Maggie blinks." [Instigator]? Really? I thought you'd be with Allie on scrapping that one." She shrugs.

"We've already mastered it, haven't we? No sense letting it go to waste, and it's as good a starting point as any for a socially focused class."

"Eve corruption arc..." Maggie whispers. Evelyn scoffs and rolls her eyes.

"You haven't mentioned how much progress you've made, have you Magdalena?"

"Bow before me, mortals," Mags declares with a smug grin.

"For I am already halfway finished with [Monster Trainer]!"

"Tsk," Evie pouts, chagrined.

"Well, I suppose you must have reaped some benefit from all those candles you've been swallowing. I have no idea how you do that without gagging."

"Ask Allie," Maggie answers without missing a beat. Allison, very pointedly not thinking about the answer to that question, clears her throat and attempts to distract us all by changing the subject.

"So, [Swimmer] or [Armswoman]?" she asks.

"I'm not really attached to either, but we are currently living in a village made of boats, so my vote is for swimming."

"Short-sighted, in my opinion," Maggie argues.

"The weapon class is a more natural fit for Vi's ranger thing. If we're voting, then I say [Armswoman]."

"I'm more partial to [Swimmer]," Evie weighs in.

"For once, I agree with Maggie," Violet sighs." [Armswoman] does seem like a fairly natural fit for our build." Maggie snorts and whispers "Nerd" under her breath, but as it quickly becomes obvious that we've arrived at a tie, all eyes fall on Reverie, who until now has been content to let the rest of us discuss it amongst ourselves.

"Oh, am I the tiebreaker?" she bemoans.

"How inconvenient."

"River, if you vote with me I'll let you help design my dream tower," Maggie offers.

"You were going to do that anyway," Revi points out, "but I accept your bribe. [Armswoman] it is." As if to punctuate her declaration, a little helmet appears on her head, hilariously mismatched to her flowing nightie, with a feather sticking out of the top. She salutes us lazily, then rolls over in midair and goes to sleep.