Blue Core

Shayma’s parents had told her about the fantastical sights of the Great Dungeons and the powerful mana springs, where the world was more Affinity than reality. Caves of liquid light and towers of song and salt, creatures that consumed anger or fled from happiness. Wildwood wasn’t as strange as all that, but it was still a sight.

A tree trunk the size of a mountain floated above a broad river valley, huge chunks of earth held in the spreading roots, while rising higher and higher, brushing the very sky, the rest of the tree spread itself over the forest below. The river’s source was the tree itself, golden-green tinted waterfalls dripping off the roots into lakes below. Each lake had a slightly different shade, and different colors of tree and flower crowded in around them, dappling the valley in greens and amber. The huge verdant crown of the monster tree cast less of a shadow than it should have, seeming to provide its own light.

Nor was the tree the only oversized thing. Around that crown shapes hovered in the air, birds and insects the size of houses circling the spreading limbs. Small specks flitted about the trunk lower down, either Classers or more reasonably sized monsters

“Wow.”

“Yeah.”

“Just, wow.”

“It’s amazing!”

“Now I just feel all drab and boring. Why can’t I have floating trees?”

“Maybe I can get some while I’m here?” She suggested.

“Please!”

She laughed. Blue didn’t much care about the things merchants or kings did, but he did really like options for his own aesthetics. She wasn’t even sure it was vanity, since he didn’t even show off most of himself to the people who lived there. It was just one of those eccentricities that made him seem...well, she wouldn’t go so far as to say human, but less like a force of nature.

Annit still eyed her oddly when she spoke to Blue, but somewhat less so than before. Which was still better than cringing with fear, at least with people she didn’t have anything against. Yes, Annit was a little snappy but given that they’d crossed paths with at least three sets of mana-infused beasts, all of which seemed absolutely fixated on Shayma, she had reason.

The Retreat itself was half-visible behind the fortress wall sweeping around to encompass the entrance to the river valley, the tips of buildings and a few towers poking out above the wall. Even as she watched, a team set out from one of those towers toward the actual Tree, two of them flying unassisted, and another four on a pair of winged lions. Though there were a number of high-level Classers in Iniri’s retinue, she’d never been able to see them acting like that since they’d had to hide themselves from the mage-kings.

This close to the Retreat, it seemed that most of the dangerous monsters had been culled. Aside from red-throated, humming flowers and gnarled trees that moved of their own accord, it was almost as quiet as the wilderness around Blue. “From here on in, we’re under the authority of the Retreat,” Annit told her. “So no infighting, theft, any of that. Not that I expect you’d try, but just so you know. Everyone else knows too, and there’s some really high-level Classers to enforce it. So you’re safe from poaching or bullying within the Retreat at least.”

“I appreciate that.” Actually, she was probably the only level one in the whole place. Of course, if that was an issue she could artificially inflate her level with [Illusory Presence] but that was asking for its own sort of trouble. Especially if people figured out she could fake her Status. Even with Blue’s backing that could get ugly.

She slipped back into [Ghost Step] to follow Annit through the remaining distance between them and the entrance to the Retreat. Despite the fact that [Ghost Step] was, to her, an absurd ability, the fact that she could only just keep up with Annit showed how much of a gulf there was between her level and Skill ranks and people who’d earned their second tier legitimately. A few weeks worth of practice and one or two encounters didn’t do much to make up for the years of experience people like Annit had, no matter what her Skills were.

Both of them returned to more normal movement as they approached the gate of Wildwood Retreat. It was oversized, to account for whatever exotic beasts Classers might bring along, but the guards looked normal. In fact, to judge from their attire they were [Shield Soldiers] just like Dyen, and one of them waved at Annit as they approached.

“Another fortune-seeker from Khiral?” He asked, lifting his eyebrows at Shayma.

“No, this one’s actually important.” Annit waved at Shayma, who bowed before producing the royal seal.

“My name is Shayma Ell, and I am a messenger from Queen Iniri. I wish to speak to Sir Monat, if he is still in charge.”

The guard whistled. “Yeah, that’s important, but it’s not my call to make. Let me get you logged on the Status sigil, ma’am. Annit, will you take her to the Captain?”

She made a face. “If I must.”

“I’d appreciate it…”

“Fine, fine.” Annit shrugged. “Get her processed through then, and let’s get it over with.”

“Miss Shayma, just over here.” The guard beckoned her to an alcove set in the wall between the inner and outer gates, where there was indeed a Status sigil placed in a pedestal that constantly fed it magic.

“ID checks, huh? Makes sense, especially since a bunch of people are from out-of-kingdom. I wonder what it takes to get yourself banned?”

“Let’s not find out,” Shayma muttered, putting her hand on the Sigil stone. She suppressed her real race, keeping herself as a “fox-kin demihuman,” but otherwise let the real Status show.

“Level fucking one? What? Patron or not, I wouldn’t have taken you here if I’d known you were that low-level!” Annit’s scowl was thunderous.

“Look at the Skills though,” the guard suggested. “That’s not a tier-one Class, with those skills. What’s going on?”

“Just blame it all on me. That should shut them up.”

Shayma rolled her eyes, but it was good advice, and probably what she would have done anyway. “I’m also a representative of a Power. All that is his influence.” She waved at the Status screen. Although Blue had told her about some of her Skills leveling up, and she could even tell the difference, it was still nice to see higher numbers next to [Ghost Step] and [Phantom Pocket].

“Right, definitely take her to the Captain.” The guard looked a little spooked. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

“And you, sir,” Shayma said politely before following Annit inside the Retreat proper.

Everyone looked like proper adventurers, most of them kitted out in armor and bearing weapons, which was far from what Iniri’s cities looked like. It was predominantly swords and shield, staffs and spears, and a sprinkling of bows, daggers, and maces. But here and there were more exotic weapons, like whips or massive mauls or sharpened discs Blue identified as chakrams. Some people carried nothing at all, but Blue whispered in her ear that most of these people had really scary sounding Classes and the weapons themselves weren’t obvious.

The streets were well-kept, and lined almost exclusively with shops and crafthouses. Whether parties were heading to the woods below or the tree itself, Wildwood catered to their needs by supplying food, materials, equipment, healing, and of course entertainment. Shayma spotted three separate pubs on the short walk from the gate, each one proclaiming to have more delicious ale than the last. Though, given that they probably used high-magic ingredients from Wildwood to brew it, they probably had a reason for boasting. The building they were headed toward was squat and thick-walled, standing out from the colorful signs by its sheer drabness and the helmet sigil of a guardhouse.

Shayma could tell exactly why Annit didn’t want to deal with the Captain the moment the pair of them stepped into the room. The man had a natural sneer, and maybe even a natural leer. He was probably handsome enough, but Blue had rather altered her perspective on that sort of thing. “Well?” He said, somehow managing to put the exact right intonation into the single word to imply they were wasting his time and really shouldn’t have come in the first place.

“Jonas sent us,” Annit said shortly, flipping a hand in Shayma’s direction. She took the cue, stepping forward and offering him a bow as Blue muttered the man’s Status in her head. Goral Granson, Level 52 [Bulwark of Tempered Steel]. A tier three class by the look of it, probably an upgrade from [Shield Soldier].

“My name is Shayma Ell, and I’m a messenger from Queen Iniri,” she repeated, producing the seal. “I wish to speak to Sir Monat.”

Goral leaned forward enough to touch the seal, verifying its authenticity, then straightened up. The sneer vanished, but the leer didn’t. “Of course! I will escort you to the Grandmaster myself!”

“I don’t trust this guy. Maybe if you bring Annit with you he won’t flirt so much I get annoyed. Besides, once you deliver the message maybe we can see Keri.”

“Thank you,” Shayma gave Goral a smile and then looked over at Annit. “My Patron would like you to come, too. We can conclude our business once I deliver my message.”

Annit’s eyes widened, taking it for an order and nodding. “Yes, of course.”

“The invitation isn’t extended to you,” Goral said dismissively. “As Shayma is the Queen’s messenger, of course she can, but -”

“Her Patron is a Power,” Annit said, interrupting Goral with apparent relish. “I’m not going to argue with him. If you want to, I won’t stop you.”

“That seems unlikely…” Goral frowned at Shayma, and she shrugged.

“He’s the one who is protecting Queen Iniri against Vok Nal,” she said, exaggerating only slightly. “If Blue wants her to come, she comes.”

“Hmph. Fine. I will let the Grandmaster decide.” He eyed them. “I assume neither of you have flight? Then I’ll have Lockert bring us.”

Lockert turned out to be a long, rainbow-colored ribbon that dove down from the sky once Goral puffed on a rune-carved whistle. “What?” It demanded, in a gruff, grumpy voice that did not fit the tiny, multi-eyed head of the floating beast at all.

“Uhh, this guy’s actually human. Level 44, but his Class says “Overridden: Wind Beast.” Kinda creepy.”

Shayma merely nodded. Up close, Lockert’s body undulated slowly, rippling along the color-striped length, not quite touching the ground, no more than a thumb thick but wider than she was tall, and half as long as the street, to boot.

“We need to take these two to the Grandmaster’s place,” Goral said, and Lockert sighed loudly, then flew in a circle about them. She could see the wind Affinity, but couldn’t feel the air do more than move slightly before both she and Annit were lifted off of the ground, abruptly soaring into the sky. Goral was left behind, the breeze blowing away a curse as Lockert snickered.

“You don’t like him either, huh?” Annit ventured.

“He knew me before I got turned into this and he still treats me like a brainless beast,” Lockert said, still grumpy and gruff. “And he knows the stupid whistle hurts my ears.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Shayma said politely, trying to ignore the tilting horizon as Lockert’s Affinity pulled them along. “Do you have to obey him?”

“Eh, mostly. Cost of being protected by the Retreat. Otherwise the Classers might mistake me for a beast and...well, not like I can use any of my Skills anymore!”

“What happened to you?” Annit, bless her, asked the question Shayma was too polite to.

“Old story. Made a mistake trying to overload on mana so I could evolve my Class.” The mana-rich food and drink often served in Wildwood and similar places gave people a little extra edge in trying to break through in evolving Classes or Skills, since such things required stretching yourself to your limit. But some people went beyond normal, moderate consumption and actually hoarded Affinity mana in an attempt to boost themselves even further.

Sources did something similar, making it easier to use your Skills and, it was said, tempering your Class in the direction of the Affinity of the source you used. Given that [Seeker] didn’t actually have an Affinity, she hadn’t paid too much attention to how that worked. Now that she had [Illusion] she probably should, though she’d never heard of an illusion Affinity source.

“I jumped in a wind Affinity pool,” Lockert added, and she and Annit shared a look. That was an incredibly dumb thing to do. How’d he even find a pure Affinity mana pool?

Neither of them had time to ask before they touched down on solid ground. Lockert had brought them to the top of one of the towers, which had been turned into a miniature garden. Half-sized trees and flowering plants grew wild, crowding over a paved walkway that led toward a log cabin. Lockert himself shot away as soon as they were deposited on a small paved circle, leaving them to their own devices.

“Have you ever been here before?”

Annit shook her head. “I’ve never had the honor of meeting the Grandmaster.”

“He’s on the front porch of the cabin. He’s whittling.” Blue, of course, had been paying attention and could see things she couldn’t. “Just follow the path and you’ll make it there. As far as I can tell there aren’t any other people up here. Sort of weird to have a log cabin in the middle of a city, but I guess rich people get to be eccentric.”

“Well, Blue says it’s just this way, so…” Shayma followed the path. Annit came behind, looking almost as nervous as she had when she’d realized Blue actually was a Power.

Really, the man sitting on the porch of the cabin when it came into view didn’t look like he was some sort of terrifying high-level Classer. He was just an elderly man with fraying hair wearing a pair of rumpled shorts, sitting in a chair and working a piece of wood with a knife. Not that most elderly men had muscles that rippled with each flick of the knife, nor a piercing gaze that seemed to assess her with a casual glance.

“Thul Monat, level seventy-seven! He’s a ‘Grandmaster of the Fist,’ which sounds like a hell of a Class, let me tell you.”

A fourth-tier Class, by the sound of it. Though with that level, she’d expect nothing less.

“What are you youngsters doing up here?” He asked, his voice gravelly but kind, exactly the sort of tone she’d expect from her favorite grandfather.

Shayma produced the seal for the third time, repeating her lines as she held it out. This time she followed her verbal message with the actual missive, ribboned and sealed, producing it from [Phantom Pocket]. “I don’t know the full contents of the message, but I do know she wants high-level Classers. Even if they aren’t her subjects, she’s willing to reward them for coming to her aid.”

“It warms my heart to hear she’s still alive.” Monat said, taking the missive. “And fighting back! She’s just like her dad. I fought under his command back during the days of the Black Pirate King, you know…” He stopped and chuckled. “But don’t let me get started. This old man will talk your ears off. Instead, let me ask you a question.” The kindly demeanor faded slightly, revealing an edge of steel. “What exactly are you, girl? There’s more than a whiff of dungeon about you, but here you stand before me with the Queen’s message.”

“Ah…” She should have guessed that a high level Classer would be able to tell she wasn’t quite a normal fox-kin. “I’m Blue’s emissary, too. He’s a Power, and a Dungeon.”

“I’ve never heard of him.” Monat mused. “But you’ve got entirely too much strange about you for it to be a complete bluff. So what does Blue want from us?”

“I don’t want anything. Oh, except maybe some floating tree seeds if they’ve got ‘em. But we can buy those if they exist. I don’t want anything as a Power or whatever.”

“He doesn’t have any business here himself. He’ll just be providing the teleportation, through me.”

“I see.” The Grandmaster pursed his lips in thought. “Well, I will need to keep an eye on you anyway, for replies and, as you say, any teleportation that may be needed. Where are you staying?”

“Haven’t gotten that far yet,” Shayma said. “But Blue does have business with Annit, and given she knows the city and we don’t, I’ll leave it up to her.”

Monat’s gaze shifted to Annit. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing, young Miss Annit?” His voice had an edge to it, though whether he was trying to warn Shayma, Blue, or Annit she wasn’t sure.

“Yes, sir.” Annit was subdued. “I haven’t agreed to anything yet.”

Monat nodded and turned his attention back to Shayma. “I’ll send Lockert to get you when I have something to report. Until then...enjoy the Retreat!”