It was just before dawn when I slipped into my room through the window, hastily discarding my bloodstained robes and donning a fresh blue one. I knew I needed to burn the evidence, but I couldn't risk being caught with any clothing resembling what I had worn during my mission. With my task complete, I left my room and headed towards Lyra's room. I knocked softly and received a groggy response from the other side.

Upon entering, I was greeted by the sight of a naked Lyra, which was not the worst thing in the world, but still. "Could you at least cover yourself, Lyra?" I requested, averting my eyes. Lyra chuckled sleepily, "You're the one in my room, you know. You can look now." When I saw that she had covered herself with the sheets, I turned to face her. "I need to burn these clothes, leave no trace," I explained to her.

Lyra raised an eyebrow inquisitively, "Why do you need to burn them?" Then her expression turned to one of alarm as she realized, "What did you do!?" I sat down on her bed and took a deep breath before explaining the situation to her. As I spoke, Lyra grew increasingly anxious, but ultimately relaxed when she realized that I had only acted in self-defense. "By the gods, David, I thought you had killed a guard or something. The guy attacked you; it shouldn't be a big deal. How did he find you, though?" I admitted that I had no idea, but the mysterious rune on the man's body was cause for concern.

Lyra nodded, "We need to tell Isabel."

I waited outside Lyra's room while she dressed, and we headed downstairs together for breakfast. We waited for Isabel to return, which she usually did after the first meal of the day. When she arrived, I explained everything that had happened. Instead of looking worried, Isabel became more and more excited.

"So you have them? The records!" she exclaimed.

"I do," I replied. "But what about that cloaked guy?"

Isabel waved off my concern. "Someone assaulted you at night, you had a fight, you won. What else is there?"

I gave her a small smile. "You are delightfully simple sometimes, Isabel. What of the rune on his forehead though?"

Isabel shrugged, ‘’might be important, might not be. I have heard of certain cults and such using runes in strange ways. Enhanced sight, eyesight or even rune slaves. It might be connected, but we don’t have any way to tell right now.’’

The next couple of hours were spent going through the arduous process of recounting every single person from the notebook. As I finished, my eyes were getting heavy.

"That is all of them, Isabel. Can I go to sleep now?" I asked.

Isabel nodded absentmindedly, already going through her notes. I sighed and stood up. Lyra, who had drifted off during our conversation, came over and put an arm around me.

"Let me help you, David," she said.

I thanked her and we went upstairs again. Lyra took me to my room, and I slumped onto the bed.

"Thanks, Lyra. Oh, by the way, could you bring me a potion?" I asked.

Lyra, who was about to go back downstairs, froze and turned. "You're hurt?"

"I think I've got a few ribs that are sore," I said.

Lyra scowled at me. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I figured there were more important things to talk about," I said with a shrug.

Lyra shook her head. "No! You need to tell us these things, gods, David!"

With that, she left and soon returned with a vial of purple liquid. I downed the concoction and felt the familiar rush of fire in my veins.

"Thanks," I said.

"You're welcome. Now get some rest. The initiation is in two days, and you're wounded again. You really need to be more careful," Lyra said.

I wanted to protest, but she was probably right. Besides, my eyelids felt as heavy as stones.

I woke up sometime later, and my ribs were hurting. But it was nothing I couldn't deal with, so I slowly sat up in bed. I had ignored the notifications earlier, so I quickly pulled them up, eager to get them out of the way.

 

 

I stared at the screen in disbelief, the results of training and a fight to the death was decidedly lackluster. ‘’What the hell is this?’’

I sighed in annoyance and went downstairs, no one was around so I was a bit unsure what to do, but I decided I might aswell get some food in me. Liza was as always there to provide, and I had a hearty meal of half a bird, not sure it was chicken or not, some vegetables, and a thick rich gravy. Had Liza had a temple of worship, I would freely have become a devout worshipper. Liza just smiled her motherly smile when I complimented her cooking, and I went about the plan I had concocted while I ate. I had gotten a bit of loot off the cloaky guy, so I might aswell go visit Ygda and have it identified.

Ygda’s shop was empty when I arrived, it was still light out but she looked a bit peeved when I entered. ‘’Evening lad, I was just about to close up..’’ I gave her my best roguiish smile, which had no apparent effect whatsoever. ‘’Evening Ygda, I was thinking if I could get you to identify a few items for me?’’ Ygda frowned but waved me over, ‘’I suppose.. Isabel did get store credit for those skins of yours, and you were apparently the main contributor to those.’’ I gave her a grin and places the items on the table.

Ydga looked them over and her eyes widened, ‘’now this is an interesting one, where did you get this?’’ she asked as she held up the cube. I shrugged nonchalantly, ‘’I had a run in with.. Let’s say someone who decided he no longer needed it.’’ Ygda’s eyes sharpened, ‘’did you rob someone for this boy, I am no fence!’’ I held up my hands, ‘’no such thing I assure you. He attacked me, and the fight ended in my favor so to speak.’’

Ygda kept staring for a few moment but then nodded, ‘’okay then, you don’t strike me as the murdering type anyway. This is a Cartographer's Cube, very rare, very valuable. It takes not one but 3 masters of their craft to make something like this, a tinkerer, an enchanter and a rune caster. Tinkerer’s are rare enough, but there are so many restriction on rune magic that master rune casters are almost non-existant.’’ I stared at the small cube in wonder, ‘’what does it do?’’ Ygda touched the cube and concentrated for a few moments, ‘’let me show you.’’ The runes on the cube lit with a gentle light, and I sensed it pulling something in, it was a strange feeling. Then Ygda picked it up, and held it over the desk, and a map of what I realised was the surrounding district appeared like a hologram. It was even a 3D model with all the layer, from basements to top floors.

It showed glowing dots here and there, and they were moving. ‘’This is amazing’’ I exclaimed! Ygda nodded just as much in awe as me, ‘’I have never seen one.. I have to agree, this is quite stunning.’’ We both stared at the projection for a while, before Ygda suddenly handed it back to me, and the projection cut out, ‘’I do not wish to buy this, I couldn’t afford it in any case.’’ I frowned, after seeing what it could do I had no desire to sell it anyways, but her demeanor was a little strange. ‘’What’s going on Ygda?’’

The woman appeared hesitant, but after a moment, she slumped her shoulders and spoke, "This item... Someone is bound to be looking for it, lad. I can't say how hard they are searching, but I suspect they wouldn't be happy to find it on my shelves. I don't want the trouble; it's not worth it." I nodded in understanding, "That's fine, Ygda. I'd like to keep it, in any case." The woman seemed relieved, and eager to change the subject, she gestured to the boots and said, "These are pretty amazing in their own right. Boots of the Unseen is their name, apparently."

I raised an eyebrow and asked, "Does the fact that they have a name have some significance?" Ygda shrugged, "Many items have names, lad. It's not that uncommon. Do you want to know what they can do, or are you going to interrupt with more questions?" I grinned and gestured for her to continue. She huffed and explained, "They have a layered enchantment, with two abilities interwoven. First, a simple one: silent step. They will muffle footsteps, even when running on gravel, for example. Useful for sneaky types, for sure." I wanted to interject a comment, but Ygda seemed to sense my intent and gave me a glance, so I decided not to.

"The second enchantment is more interesting. It's quite a thing, really. If you're unseen for a few seconds, you will be able to blink to a distant location within sight. Of course, it will drain your Ether a fair bit, but it's a useful tool in a tight situation, to be sure." I couldn't hold back my excitement this time, "Hell, yes! A teleport spell! I'm putting these on and never taking them off!" Ygda gave me a small smile, and when I reached for them, she slapped my hand and said, "Hold on, you damn rascal. Perhaps you should use that brain of yours, eh?" I rubbed my hand, surprised at the woman's strength, and asked, "What?"

Ygda sighed, "The cube is one thing. It can be hidden. But these boots are noticeable, very recognizable! Let me give them a bit of a makeover, for a price, of course." I frowned at her, feeling like she was pulling my leg, but annoyingly, she was probably right. "Fine, how long will it take?" Ygda considered the boots for a moment or two and then said, "Go have a drink somewhere and come back. I should be able to whip something up fairly quickly." I was impressed and agreed.

Finally, there was the ring and the dagger. The dagger was of good quality, but it wasn't magical, so I decided to sell it. However, the ring was interesting. Ygda looked it over and smiled, "Ah, this is a classic! I've seen this kind of ring before. It's been a while, though. Not many use them anymore, but they're quite useful in a pinch. This is called a Last Resort, and it really is just that. When activated in conjunction with an elemental spell, it will drain every bit of ether you have left and supercharge your spell. It can make for some real explosive results, but you'd better be sure that you can finish the fight with it, eh?" It was a pretty good item in my book, and I decided to keep it. I was going to give it to Lyra. She would probably be happy to have an extra ace up her sleeve.

I thanked Ygda as she started on my new boots, and I walked around the market for a while. There were plenty of interesting stalls, and I had a bit of coin to toss around. We had shared the profits from our trip, and my pouch was feeling a bit heavy in my reckoning, might wanna lighten it a bit I thought with a grin. I walked to a shop I had noticed before, it sold those fancy suits I had seen around town, and from the first day I had wanted one. I walked into the store and a distinguished looking man came to meet me, ‘’good evening good sir, how may Hobart’s fineries be of service today?’’

I gave the man a smile and gestured to a few mannequins, ‘’I would like a good suit, something that will fit with a pair of black boots.’’ The man bowed and led me through the shop, ‘’we have quite a selection to choose from, any preferences?’’ I studied the different styles and shrugged, ‘’I am no expert as you might have guessed, but I want something that looks stylish but in a relaxed way.’’ The man, Hobart I suspected, had a thoughtful expression.

He tapped his chin and looked around the shop, but then he smiled and nodded, ‘’I think I have something that might meet those criteria.’’ He went around the store collecting a few pieces, then he had me undress my robes in a small dressing room. He handed my a piece of clothing at a time, pants that were soft but with a sharp cut, a white shirt similar to the earth style, then a black vest with with grey swiling pattern sown into it, and finally a grey coat with silver buttons. I looked at myself in the mirror, and I was pretty pleased with the result. I was looking damn sharp if I said so myself, and I did! Hobart looked me up and down, and his eyes landed on my messy head of hair, ‘’dear me.. That won’t do.’’ I raised an eyebrow as he gestured for me to follow. I was brought to a chair like you might see in an old school barber shop, I hadn’t even noticed it was there in the corner of the shop.

Hobart had me undress, and in moments I was sitting in the chair with Hobart fussing with my hair. ‘’Um.. I didn’t come in here to..’’ Hobart interrupted me, ‘’I will not have you wear a suit of mine, only to ruin it with this mop of hair. Now, I think long hair suits the gentleman, but we will need to give it a proper shape.’’ He combed my hair back and used some item that sprayed a fine mist into it, then he began cutting and I just relaxed and let him do as he wished. It was probably not the worst idea to get a haircut, just a bit unexpected to have this guy do it without even asking.

Hobart was mumbling something to himself as he worked, and once he was satisfied he gestured to my beard, ‘’would you like to keep the beard sir?’’ I quite liked having one so I nodded, and he began trimming that too. After he was done I was given a mirror, and I was pretty pleased with the result. The beard was short and expertly trimmed, but with a bit of length that gave me a masculine look. The hair was pulled into a tail that reached to just where my shoulders began, and a few strands of hair hung down on each side to frame my face.

It was not a look I would have gone with on earth, but it had a very medieval aristocrat feel to it. I decided I like it well enough, ‘’thank you Hobart, that is a big improvement.’’ The man nodded and stood, ‘’if you would, let us get you dressed so we can see the final result.’’ I nodded and got dressed and finally my look was finished. I looked pretty damn good, the long coat wasn’t buttoned and flowed a bit, it gave a sort of rogueish nobleman look. ‘’You know your stuff Hobart!’’ I said with a smile, and the man inclined his head, ‘’I am pleased you are content sir.’’

I paid Hobart and thanked him again, promising to visit again, and I meant it. This shop was a little pricey for sure, but the service was top shelf. My current boots were pretty shabby, and ruined the look a bit, but that would be fixed as soon as I went back to Ygda.

As I entered Ygda's shop, she gaped at me in amazement. "Well, you cleaned up nicely didn't you lad! Is that Hobart's work?" I nodded and smiled. "It is indeed. He was pretty unhappy with my hair, so he sort of forced me into a chair and cut it for me." Ygda laughed and responded, "Aye, that sounds like Hobart. He is a good one, professional and skilled."

I was more interested in the boots standing on the counter. Ygda looked to be finished, and the result was pretty impressive. The boots still had the same color, but she had added new straps with silver lining, the strings were a lighter color, and a swirling design in silver had been inlaid into them. All in all, they looked a bit more flashy, but pretty damn cool all the same.

"Try them on lad," Ygda said with a pleased expression, and once I did, I was surprised they fit perfectly. "Lucky the man had the same size as me eh?" I grinned, but Ygda rolled her eyes. "No luck about it. I worked on them a bit for that. I remembered your measurements from the other day."

"I don't remember you measuring me," I raised an eyebrow. Ygda gave me a sly smile. "I have done this a long time lad, and you did strip down like it was a damn show, did you not?"

I grinned, "Suppose I did." Ygda nodded and returned to her seat behind the counter. "The price will be taken from your credit, yes?" I nodded, and Ygda hustled me out of the store. "Thanks for your business. Now get out, it is already past closing time."

I thanked her again and began my trip home. I noticed quite a few looks from passersby, most of them female. While I tried to ignore it, it was hard not to smile. I had never been what you would call popular, partly because I am not especially handsome, and secondly because I had always been kind of scruffy. Living on the street would do that to you, and things like pretty hair and expensive clothes had been pretty far down on the priority list.

I returned home after dark and found Isabel and Lyra already eating dinner. As I entered, they both gaped at me. Lyra whistled appreciatively and grinned, "Now look at you, David! Might have to give that seducing another go." I grinned back at her, "Perhaps this time it will be me doing the seducing, eh?" Lyra laughed, "You might be right."

Isabel shook her head in amusement and commented, "Gods, you two are getting along a bit too well. You do look good though, David. You needed a cleaning up." I thanked her and removed my coat before sitting down. Liza brought me a plate of food and gave me her usual smile. Lyra and I bantered as we ate, while Isabel read through papers, completely ignoring us.

As we finished eating, Liza took our plates and we enjoyed a cup of warm tea. Isabel spoke up, "So, David, have you considered strategies for your initiation?" I shrugged and replied, "A few, but I only know I have to fight some people. I don't know what else it entails."

Isabel nodded and explained, "There are two tests usually: one of the mind and one of the body. The body is the actual duels, of course, but the mind test can differ. For some, it is a series of complex problems, math or strategic for example. Others might go through the maze or some other problem-solving simulation."

I asked, "Is the task chosen at random?" Isabel shook her head and replied, "No, it is usually chosen depending on the initiate's abilities. Take someone like me. I had to choose strategies for certain combat situations, with different combinations of teams and terrain. Each situation had differing challenges that needed to be overcome, and it was a test to see whether I would be able to make good choices. Lyra's test was to show pinpoint control in her abilities. A series of tests that could only be completed with just the right amount of force or lack thereof. As a magus, Lyra is expected to stay in the backline while attacking enemies in front and among her allies. Pinpoint precision and complete control are necessary for that."

I nodded, but couldn't help but wonder about myself. Isabel seemed to guess my thoughts and continued, "As for you, David, I have given a brief rundown of your skills to the master. Your abilities are a mixed bag, but they lean towards the scouting side of things. In our team, your role will be fluid. You can hold your own in a physical confrontation, but you also excel in obfuscation, scouting, and changing the battlefield to our advantage. This makes you a central piece to our future strategies."

I blushed a little at the praise, and Isabel smiled, "This means it is not so straightforward, but if I had to guess, it would likely be the maze for you. Most people with a focus on stealth or scouting get that one." Lyra was nodding and clapped my shoulder, "You will be fine, David. The maze is filled with traps, but the main purpose is to find the quickest way out. Harlequin will likely make the test a joke for you."

I smiled and replied, "Perhaps you are right, but let's not get too overconfident." Isabel nodded and added, "That is the correct stance to take." Lyra rolled her eyes and exclaimed, "Don't be so damn serious, you two. You are more than qualified, David, so you better pass!"