Chương 12: What is Loot good For?

Tiya's eyes gleamed as she moved over next to the blanket with their spoils laid out on it. Deuce had refused to pack anything up for some reason, which she supposed she was going to learn about now. -The first thing is that you should have made Five. Do like I told you for the One a Day discipline. Push that mental lever in your head and take a step forward.

- Tiya blinked as Deuce sat down across from her, his silver eyes still riveting in the brownie-equivalent form he was using, actually completely recognizable. She balled up her fists, clenching them hard as she squeezed her eyes shut, and pictured a big lever on the ground in front of her.

"I want my Melee Level!" she shouted, and visualized shoving it forward. She was actually extremely startled when her mental image suddenly became something like a gear in her mind, the lever rolling over and away from her… and something changed in her mind. She blinked uncertainly, looking at nothing and finding that lever was still there in her head, even as she felt a rush of something running through her mind and body which she couldn't quite picture. -Now the Soak point.

- It was like another Lever popped up next to the blackish one in her head, and she went over to it and jerked it forward, finding it rotated into the ground like a gear, too, just like the last one. Again, something intangible about her grew, but she didn't know what. -And your Health point for your Human Level. - And there was a red lever there, sitting next to the blue one. She mentally walked over and pushed it, amazed as she felt that crinkling in her bones of something happening.

"It really is like magic, just like you said," she blurted out, amazed as she looked at her hands. -We didn't really have the extra Karma for you to spend on this stuff before, but that Shadow should be enough for you to finally maximize what you can. More if we keep doing things like this, of course, which we really do need to get you to Seven. -"That's where the extra years come in," she nodded agreement.

"And you said I can take the step and become Forsaken, and resistant to magic and things like that?" He nodded somberly, then looked at their loot haul. -Now, for the spoils. We aren't going to be hauling this stuff around, it's heavy and showy and obviously some form of tomb loot just waiting for a tax assessor or law enforcer to stumble over and take away from us. -So, the first thing to do is for you to remove what you think we'll need for pocket money as we go along.

Keep in mind that we can earn more along the way. You will need to get used to the fact that a great deal of money is going to flow through our hands, and we're not going to be keeping much of it for any reason other than making stuff that we can take with us as we travel. - Then he reached out and took up two rings, one silver, one of gold, that were scattered among the coins and rough jewelry. His expression was very satisfied as he lifted them up, then inspected them and their make and adorning gemstones.

The gold one seemed to have some green garnets set into it, nothing too fancy or large, while the silver one was inset with carefully carved slices of obsidian. Tiya watched him closely.

"Those look important?" she asked him. -They are where most of the coin is going. I am going to make us a Sustaining Ring each. Do you know what they are? - She shook her head.

"Not much magic surviving up north, and what is there is hoarded by the nobles and the wealthy merchant clans or priestesses. There was a magic Axe handed down in the family to the oldest sons, been in the family for generations, but it was a Clan treasure," she told him. -You've probably heard of Binging Stones, however? - he /asked, his expression still serious. Her face twisted slightly.

"Binging Stones, yes. They are a toy for the rich and wasteful, allowing them to eat a month's worth of food in one sitting, then not eat for another month. The gluttonous use them to eat enough food for a whole family and more at feasts, out-eating and drinking anyone, then go home and not have to put up with plainer fare for some time. It helps them from growing too soft and fat, I've heard." Deuce nodded to her. -Sustaining Rings do all that, but are superior in all ways.

They will actually supply all your needs for food and water, so you won't be hungry, and won't need to eat, drink, and will urinate only if you eat for show or something. You will have energy as if you just woke up in the morning, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and furthermore, you will only need to sleep two hours a night to get the benefit of eight hours of sleep. - Tiya considered all of that, her blue eyes a little wide as she processed what the Ring could do.

"Will it affect my nursing?" was the first word out of her lips. -Yes, you still need to eat to be able to nurse, - he admitted. -But if you fought all day, it would have no effect on the amount you can produce, so you will be able to eat a lot less. I, of course, still have to eat in order to be able to grow… and regardless of what I look like now, milk is the best thing for me to have for at least the first six months, and a year would probably be best.

- If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Which was totally to be expected. But not having to sleep that much and going to the bathroom less was going to be great!

"It will take most of this?" Tiya asked, looking at the pile of coins and jewelry, none of which she could readily appraise beyond their weight. -We're going to start the process of Enchanting your axe. Did you Name it yet? - her brownie of a son asked her calmly." Bull!" she declared promptly. The axe was a man's weapon, better used with their height and strength and weight. Women's weapons were usually considered the short sword, spear, or daggers, depending on build.

-You probably earned it enough Karma to advance it one stage. Cede a day of Karma to Bull, that it may grow with you, - he /instructed her. She pulled the finely-made battle-axe out, and balanced it on her scarred hands. It was a full half-moon cutting arc of metal, made for shearing through leathers and mail, then the meat and bone below. It had a short spike atop it for thrusting if needed, and the back of it was a hammer for crunching skulls, bone, and helmets if required.

"For the lives you have taken, may your Name grow with your deeds, Bull!" she said sincerely to the axe that had been hers since it was issued to her after gaining her sergeant's rank. It seemed to glimmer in her hands, but nothing happened. She looked at Deuce, who just nodded. -Now we Burn all this gold down to empower these Rings and your Axe. By nightfall, you should have a magic Weapon, Mother! - Tiya was astounded that it was all that easy.

"Could I have started this a long time ago?" she asked seriously, wondering if this magic was restricted to being near her fated son. -No. This is basic warrior's magic, as old as Levels and Soak and enhanced abilities, - he /replied very seriously. -Why you don't know of it is likely just one more part of what was taken from mortals with the gods being barred. After all, it takes Levels to make magical items, and without Naming Karma, males would be restricted to only the most basic magical tools.

Since they have the Levels, only women would be able to make and claim the more powerful tools. - She nodded once.

"The Amazons always seemed to have magical gear. You could tell by how pristine it stayed, even over months of marching and campaigning, and the fact the armor was so comfortable they never bothered to take it off! - -That was more likely because Amazons gain Damage Reduction with Levels, and the chaffing of armor wasn't enough to irritate their skin, - he /corrected her. -You'll get a measure of that if we can make you some decent armor.

- She looked down at her well-worn and faithfully oiled leathers, with studded circles driven in to reinforce the chest and waist.

"This is not adequate?" she had to ask, tapping the chestpiece. -No. It's good for what it is, but it's not even master's work, not even eligible for mortals to work magic into, - he /said, shaking his head. -Likewise, you've just an average shield, too, can't do anything with that, either. -"That's why you had me load up all the scraps of metal and the supplies we could use!" she suddenly realized. -Yes. I'm going to help you make some better Gear. Once we've done that, we can start the process of upgrades.

Even if we can't make the highest Quality, we can make something that's good enough to accumulate a lot into, and transfer the power later. For instance, at some point you'll want an adamantine axe, and you'll have to move the Weapon Spirit of Bull to a new home. - She had heard talk of such weapons, things that could carve steel like it was paper, chewing through armor and shields like threshing wheat. Such a weapon in her hands would definitely be useful!

"What else do I have to do?" she asked calmly. -The Shadow was worth a lot of Karma. We have to see how Deep we can have you go, - Deuce answered. -My mother is going to be a total badass by the time we are through! - he /declared with a tiny raised fist. Tiya whooped softly, raising her own hands in enthusiastic support of that idea. He'd already shown her so much, and by his words, there was so much more to learn!

"Go, Deuce, go!" she cheered quietly, and they both started to laugh aloud, his brownie form sounding extremely cute. -Do you remember what I told you about becoming a Five Melee? - he /asked her seriously. She nodded quickly, having committed the basics of advancing as a Melee to memory. It was strange to think of such things that way, but as she went over them, she realized it was just a way of organizing organically-grown skills of the moment into an easy way to understand things.

Once it was laid out, the 'advance schema' was almost unsettlingly accurate in how it summed up her combat abilities.

"Five was the level of School Defense. Select Defense, then assign Skills and bonus Feats as allowed," she recited.

"A Primos or Forsaken Melee Fighter gets an extra Bonus Feat any time they are awarded a bonus Feat… which makes them the very best Melee Fighters!" she recalled faithfully. -Yes. You are fighting Sword and Board, and your fighting style is about toughness and athleticism, not finesse. Your School Defense is Mettle, select it now. - Lo, there was another lever in that field in her head. She walked over in her mind and pushed it forward.

She felt like she was tapping into something, a benefit flowing from those who she had always admired for their determination and drive.

"What does this Mettle effect do?" she asked Deuce quickly. -It's a defensive technique designed to minimize the effect of hostile magicks upon the mind and body, - he /explained instantly. -Instead of having after-effects or residual damage, you throw them off completely. It's very effective against dark magic and poisons, in particular. -