Unbound

They were mostly silent as they made their way through the winding streets of the Dust Quarter. The roads were damaged and the buildings dilapidated, but that was par for the course; aside from a few smashed windows, the Dust had largely escaped the fall of the Eyrie and subsequent chaos.

Still, the chance of running into more Revenants was high. Felix let his Perception swell outward, relying on his Manasight and high stats for any early warnings; he was hoping he'd get at least a few more before they reached the warehouses, but it seemed that Yan had been accurate. The Revenants were rare over here, at least for now.

"How many Revenants have you been seeing, Yan?" Felix asked.

"Too many. Bout a hundred swarmed us when we were fightin' off the redcloaks yesterday, shortly before the Eyrie fell," Yan chuckled grimly. "It's funny. If it weren't for their attackin' us, we wouldn't have survived. Revenants fell on the Inquisition first."

Felix frowned as he remembered that, having viewed that event from within the liminal Void between Domain and the real world. Zara had told him a bit more about the redcloaks and their grab for power before the Domain fell. That had been their doing too, at least in part; they had thrown prisoners into the Domain to destabilized it, though it was the Guild that messed the place up first.

A little Maw blood and a whole Domain goes insane. What'll happen if the Revenants start turning more people? Could it happen? The Domain proved it was a real threat, but the circumstances of it were unlikely to be reproduced there in the city. Or so he hoped.

Yet another good reason to eat them all. Kill them all. Felix corrected himself. Kill them all.

The volunteers were ahead of him by at least twenty feet and whispering, but with his Perception it was impossible not to notice. Felix tried to give no indication he could hear them as they walked, instead focusing on their surroundings. Yet as the urban terrain proved less and less dangerous, he had little to distract himself.

"You think we failed?" Heva was asking.

"Failed?" Merks the Goblin said with a confused grunt. She was having a time hauling that shield, but she wasn't giving up or asking for help at all. "We did good, far as I'm concerned."

"We looked like rank amateurs," Stellis whispered. Felix could practically hear her blush of embarrassment. "When I joined the patrols I wanted to learn to fight, so I can keep my boys safe and fed. All I did here was get in the way."

"Ain't arguin' with you there," Merk agreed. "Ya better learn to watch where your goin'. Can't say next time the spellform won't melt your leg off."

"Really?"

There was a bit of glum silence. "...No. Someday, though. Just need someone to teach me."

"He can," Heva said.

"He can what?" Merk asked.

"His fists shattered the Revenants. He barely broke a sweat." The Hobgoblin's voice was filled with a measure of reverence that Felix felt supremely uncomfortable hearing. "He probably knows how to use those sigils of yours too."

"He's definitely strong for a Human," Stellis agreed. "But I put my money on the chorister with him. I've encountered her before and her power is not to be taken lightly."

Felix silently agreed. Maybe he had great stats for his level, but he wasn't even Journeyman yet. He had a long way to go until Master Tier.

Thankfully, that seemed to move the conversation away from him and firmly onto Zara: who was she? What could she do? Why was she here? The questions were battered back and forth endlessly, and Felix took the time to assess Yan's team.

Apart from the Orc woman Cade, the others were garbed in patchwork leather and scraps of metal, if they were lucky. The Human Stellis wore a dress and studded leather gambeson that hung down nearly to her knees. She was in her late twenties and had the doughy look of someone who had neither much Strength or Endurance. It was remarkable that she'd volunteered for this dangerous job. Or perhaps it said more about Cal's desperation that she was being put into a combat position at her level. Her only weapon seemed to be a dagger at her hip.

The Hobgoblin, Heva, was older than he first noticed, with a collection of fine wrinkles around her eyes and mouth. Too old, perhaps, to be fighting at all? She wore a simple jacket and trousers, well tailored but made from rough spun linen, but not a stitch of proper armor. She had a knife, same as Stellis, but clearly she had at least one fire based Mana Skill.

Merk's age was impossible to gauge, as he simply didn't know enough about Goblins to say; but she seemed in her twenties, relatively speaking, and possessed of a manic sort of energy. He noticed she had used sigils during the fight; he'd have to ask her about that. Merk just had her own shirt and trousers in addition to the wooden buckler and scripter's stylus.

Cade herself was easily in her thirties, with a number of scars on her dark green skin, and her dark hair was done up in short, thin dreadlocks. As he'd noticed before, she wore the most full kit of the group, and even then it was subpar at best. The shield was useless, though she held onto the bits she could recover for some reason. Aside from that, Cade had a wide-bladed and curved saber on a hip, something that looked far better than whatever amounted to standard issue. On her back was a large bastard sword, dinged and dented.

They must really be hurting for supplies if they sent out a patrol like this. Felix chewed his cheek in thought. Yan was equipped well, but it was the same equipment Felix had seen on the man only days ago. He hadn't seen their Skills in play, but Felix could feel a swirl of Mana around Stellis, Merk, and Heva; they were clearly mages of some sort, or at least leaning in that direction. Cade certainly appeared martial, with the weapons and Taunt Skill, but appearances could be deceiving. He sensed a sizeable amount of Mana swirling around her as well.

That was new, too. Felix had been able to perceive Mana for a while, but he'd never been able to sense it gathering around people. Except perhaps when Skills were activated, then the vapor would often condense enough for anyone to see it. A talented mage would be able to keep the vapor to a minimum; he'd never seen Atar release fire Mana vapor into the visible spectrum when he didn't need to, and the man slung spells all day. Regardless, his new sense of Mana was interesting. He'd have to ask Zara when he had a chance.

Faint noises a block ahead grabbed Felix's attention. He'd started moving forward before he realized the disappointing truth: there was no enemy ahead, they had only come to the camp. Felix let himself slow back down to a steady walk and ignored the questioning look Yan gave him.

The pressure inside him had been increasing with every step. Felix felt as if his eyes were vibrating. There was no sign of Revenants and he couldn't break away from the rest to go hunting...He had to address his notifications. Normally someone had a day to address their notifications before they'd go into effect automatically. In the case of Tiering up, that meant if he didn't have an Essence Draught prepared, he'd waste the Skill and simply gain a few stats instead of Tempering himself.

Yet as they drew closer, Felix could feel an uneasiness in the air. He started to feel irritable and scared before he realized that the emotions weren't his own. But they hung in the air, thick like a bad perfume or a song that was too loud to understand the words.

The camp was visible a minute later as they rounded the nearest bend, and the first thing Felix could see was a large, makeshift wall made of packed dirt, blocks of broken stone, and panels of rusted, corrugated metal. It was maybe twice his height, but it looked like a stiff breeze might do it in at any moment. Their street narrowed as it approached, the sides filled in with rubble and sharp debris so that there was only one angle to come up to the wall. Defenders dressed in ragged, patchwork armor walked the top of the wall, each of them at least armed with what looked like a good sword or spear. The uneasiness he felt in the air redoubled as they drew closer, and Felix recognized it for what it was: he was feeling their emotions, broadcast on the hidden channel only those who had unlocked their Affinity stat could perceive. These people were tired and terrified and sick of being both.

"Hold! Identify yourselves!" came a shout from atop the wall. Clearly inexperienced defenders bunched up together and watched them with wide eyes. Yan grinned and lifted his hand.

"Trendle!" Yan shouted at a large man atop the wall. "Patrol returning!"

"Yan?" The portly man squinted at them. The sun jabbed through the crevices in the city, a buttery morning light that did more to blind than illuminate. Trendle's eyes widened when they met Felix's own. "Ho hey! Yan brought em back! Get Cal down here! Tell her the Fiend has returned!"

A large hubbub began on the other side of the makeshift wall, and the gates were pulled open. Behind him, Felix could hear the others whisper furiously to each other.

Jesus Christ. Felix wished he had a hood or something to hide in. Pit you think you could hop out here and I'll hide in you? Pit snored on. Traitor.

The gates opened fully and their small group proceeded through into a sizable but chaotic staging ground. The warehouse where he had trained was there, but fairly distant. The dirt wall encompassed two other large warehouses in the area as well, the space within easily the size of two or three football fields if he had to guess. Most of the space had been street and overgrown, weedy lots. Now it was filled with makeshift housing, lean-tos, and ragged tents. People were absolutely everywhere, far more than he had expected, and just as he feared, the name of the Fiend started drawing a crowd.

"The Fiend..?"

"Where?"

"Is that him? The bald one?"

"That's Yan, the swordsman. It must be that boy..."

"The Fiend! He'll save us!"

"The Blue Eyed Fiend!"

Quite apart from being called a boy (something he'd resolved to get used to, as Tempering had resulted in a far more youthful appearance) Felix chafed at the gathering crowd. But when he saw them, truly saw them, he bit back any complaints. There were so many, all packed into that relatively small space. All Races were present, from Orcs and Goblins to Humans, Dwarves, and even one or two Elves. Dirty and terrified, the emotions he'd been sensing on the way here finally crested over and hit him. Except now those emotions were joined by the bright, feeble thread of anticipation.

Of...hope?

"Hi," Felix said to them. They'd pushed close, but none got any closer than a dozen feet from him. He didn't know what else to do before so many eyes. "I'm here to, um, to help."

An almost visible, stuttering wave of energy swept through those closest to him, their moods lifting and the songs in their hearts switching to a new tempo. It didn't reach everyone, but the change alone was startling.

Felix found Zara's eyes watching him, and a small smile played along her lips. He shrugged in response.

"Make way! Move it!"

"C'mon folks! She's got knives! So many knives!"

Through the crowd, Felix could see people getting pushed aside and jostled until they made way for three women. Cal was a little shorter than him with sandy blonde hair cut short and sensibly, all kitted out in studded leather armor and several impressive daggers. Behind her was Evie, one of his closest friends in this crazy world; she wasn't much taller than Cal, but was paler of skin and had longer hair tied back in a series of braids around the crown of her head. Beside her was Portia, another member of Cal's crew. A healer of sorts, if Felix remembered correctly (and he did), the woman immediately set about checking on Yan and the others.

While she was tall, easily as tall as Felix at five ten, Yan barely came up to her shoulder. "You idiot," she chastised. "You could've been killed. And then where would I be?"

"Bereft and inconsolable?"

"I'd be out running patrols like you fools! So the next time a monster comes to eat you, run!" She slapped him with a spell, literally jolted into his body like a dart. Felix watched it spread through the man's channels with Manasight as it repaired him somehow. Despite the slap, Yan was grinning wildly.

"Felix! Still not dead, huh?" Evie came up and gave him a tight hug, apparently not caring that her spiked chain dug into his shoulder and chest. At such a pressure it didn't even hurt, but it still cut a few more holes in his tunic. Evie noticed and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. Didn't think."

Felix rolled his eyes, but couldn't stop his smile. He'd been worried Evie and the others had been hurt when the Domain fell. "No worries. Where's everyone else? Harn? Atar and Alister? Vess?"

"All good, all good. We made it back in one piece, more or less," Evie gave a sudden, impish smile. "Vess is gonna be mad you asked about her last, though."

"She's here?" Felix asked. The pressure in his core twisted, hard enough that Felix couldn't keep the grimace from his face.

"Off with the Hand," Evie rolled her green eyes and tucked her long black hair behind her ear in annoyance. It had started to slip from those braids again. "Got here only two glasses ago and woke us both up. They've been locked up in the fancier warehouse ever since."

"There's a fancier one?"

"Enough chit chat," Cal barked, and fixed Felix with a frown. "We got a lot to do. First of which is you explaining everything that's been goin' on." She nodded to the side, and Felix followed her gaze. "Zara."

"Cal."

"You're back as well?" the ex-treasure hunter asked.

"For now."

Cal grunted in response, something Felix thought she might have learned from Harn. It was a definite Harn sound.

"Fiend!"

"Help us!"

"Let's get outta this madhouse," Cal said. "Now."

Heva watched the Fiend leave with the leadership at camp, and the crowd practically melted away from him. She read a familiar startled reverence in their eyes, but a few looked frustrated. Heva looked for her own in the crowd, but Mahria was likely back at the tent taking care of little Bhed. They'd both be overjoyed she was back...and had her chit in hand.

"Can't believe that was him!" Merk was nearly vibrating with excitement. She mimed a series of jabs in the air. "Did you see how he killed those Revenants?"

"I did not realize he was this Fiend you all speak of," Cade murmured, her eyes thoughtful. "He's only Apprentice Tier?"

"Gotta be top end of Apprentice. Gotta be. Right, Heva?" Merk nudged the Hobgoblin.

"Hm? Oh, yes. I'd think so," Heva said, and paused, looking toward the door he'd disappeared into. "Do you think he was sent?"

"By who?" Merk asked, not stopping in her pantomimed fight.

"You mean god sent," Stellis said in her quiet way. She was checking her gambeson for tears, but it seemed fine. "You believe the rumors, Heva? What the chorister of Vellus said?"

"I don't know what to believe," the Hobgoblin replied honestly. "But that man has saved my life three times now. It would be a fine thing if the rumors were true. If--it would be a fine thing."

Stellis agreed, following her gaze. Merk just shrugged and Cade tilted her dark head.

"I was not raised on the gods of these lands, but he was as fierce as any gashak upon the plains," she patted the curved sword at her hip, the one Heva had never seen her wield. She had no doubt the Orc was good with it, but she wondered why that was. "If he fights with us, then that is to the good of us all."

"Come on," Stellis said with a smile. "We've earn a food chit, let's cash in and get back to our families, yeah?"

"Alright, now that we're away from that circus, lay it out," Cal said, leading them to a series of familiar, rough hewn wooden benches. She sat with a weary sigh. "Harn and this one gave me their accounting of the Domain, but I need to hear it all."

Felix gave Evie a look and she shrugged. "Callie says I embellish too much."

Felix laughed, but it came out more strangled than usual. His gut clenched hard and he frowned. Zara narrowed her eyes.

"You've not much time, Felix," she said. He nodded and looked back to Cal.

"Can I get a raincheck on the debriefing?"

"What?"

"I need to take care of something first," Felix said, and Evie clapped him on the back.

"Why didn't ya say so! Latrines are dug in the back, hard to miss em," she grinned. "Just watch your step."

Rolling his eyes, Felix shrugged her off and turned to Cal and Zara. "I'm about to Tier up. Been holding it off all night."

"What, the whole way to Journeyman?"

"I don't--I don't think so, but it's a couple at least. I haven't checked," Felix said dryly.

"Noctis' tits, take the usual room. You just about ruined it before so it's still empty and gutted," Cal grunted as she stood back up.

"I've got a few questions before I go though," Felix winced as it felt like a spike was plunged into his side. He breathed through the savage sensation.

"Of course you do," Cal groaned and sat back down. "Can't it wait til you're not exploding with System stress?"

"Doubt it," Felix panted. "I need essences, anything you got. And I need advice."

Cal's expression sobered in an instant, and she only hesitated a moment before she nodded.

The room was warded by a double line of sigils, one he recognized from a book on basic sigaldry. It was deft work and showed a real competence for the craft, almost a perfect replica of the diagram that sat in his memory. It would suffice.

Felix walked into the center of the room and settled onto the ground. In the exact position he'd taken when he first attempted to sunder his Acrobatics Skill. Dark markings marred the floor, walls, and ceiling from the results of that particular course of action. That had been less than a week ago. He shook his head in disbelief, but another spear jabbed through his middle.

Time to start.

With shaking hands, Felix laid out a series of sealed jars. Each one was filled with a luminous liquid, almost phosphorant. In his Manasight, vapor trembled and swirled around each jar, though not nearly as much as they had around the last set he'd taken. Cal had only a few essences to hand which should haven't surprised him as much as it did. Yet the former treasure hunter had given all that she had to him, which was beyond generous.

Before him were eight jars, three Iron and four Bronze Essences, often used for ranking into Journeyman, and a single Silver Essence Draught. All of them were Common ranked, somehow distilled from common metals by Guilder alchemists. The Essence Draughts were needed to Temper his Aspects, his Body, Mind, and Spirit. Three for each Aspect, he'd choose Essences from the alchemical draughts and push his advancement that much closer to Journeyman.

Felix knew he had a few Skills that had Tiered up during his recent battles, namely Fire Within, Etheric Concordance, and Ravenous Tithe. It was exceedingly likely there were more waiting for him in his notifications.

I've enough for six. If it's more than that...then we'll have to see.

Cal and Harn had given him a lot of guidance on his Skills. They'd been surprised to find he'd had more Epic and Legendary Skills than before he'd entered the Domain, and dumbfounded to see his Transcendant Skill. That had been fun. But they confirmed what he'd worried at before, that the rarity of the Skill affected the quality of the Aspect being Tempered. Generally speaking, that meant most folk went on to Temper the highest rarity Skills they gained.

Of course, Felix was a special case. He not only had a variety of rarities, but a dumb amount of Skills. Most maintained fifteen or twenty Skills, nuturing them and ultimately focusing on only a few of them to the exclusion of all else. This, he was told, was to specialize and enhance their power. Felix was spread thin. Now, knowing more than ever before, he knew his course of action.

It was time to focus.

He opened his notifications.

You Have Gained 8 Levels!

You Are Now Level 42!

+16 to PER! +16 to VIT! +16 to END! +24 to INT! +32 to WIL! +32 to AGL! +40 to DEX!

You Have 61 Unused Stat Points!

Damn! Felix stared at the amount before his eyes, but was swept away by the crashing wave of colorless radiance, long held at bay.

Power crashed against his core, soaked utterly into his ring of flame. A long moment, then a wash of golden and blue-white fire spread outward in all directions. A tidal wave of potency, it surged against his revolving Skills, inundating them with power. One after another lit up in a blaze of glory.

One, two, three...Six, he counted. Six Skills burned brighter than the sun in his core space, filling it with an ethereal music that sawed at the edges of him. Lighting crackled around his core ring and thick tongues of flame leaped higher than ever before.

Fire Within is level 57!

Congratulations! You Have Reached Journeyman Tier with Fire Within!

You Gain:

+5 INE

+5 RES

+...

He wanted this one for his Spirit, without a doubt. Internal Mana control and greater access to his core space? No brainer. Felix reached out to the first draught.

Multiple Essence Sources Detected During Formation!

Felix looked down at the row of untouched Essence Draughts in front of him in confusion.

What?

Choose An Essence Mote!

What?