"[Something is going on in town. Something bad. Really... really bad.]"

 

 

 

 

Back in the room they were renting, Andrew lay on the bed wide awake and chatting with Miriam in their private language. He summoned forth his map from his extra-dimensional storage, "[Where's the next closest dungeon town? We need to move on.]"

 

Miriam lay on Andrew's pillow next to his head, "[You sure about that? Yeah, those guys look like trouble, but I think if we stay inside the walls, it'll be fine.]"

 

"[The hair on the back of my neck is standing up. Something is going on and if we stay, we're going to get caught up in it. I don't know what it is, but it's not safe here. Nobody has heard of an artificer? What the heck?]"

 

"[Uhhhh... One Guy, Andrew. You asked one guy.]"

 

"[I asked the bartender at the adventurer's guild hall. He should KNOW what an artificer is and where to find one. They are like the single BEST support class to have. No adventurer worth their salt doesn't know what an artificer is, or NOT have one on permanent retainer. Ideally, we want the alternate class Manasmith. Yeah, they can't fight for shit, but the loss of combat powers in exchange for the boosted crafting potential more than makes up for it. Well... for me. Anyone else, it would suck without my penalty levels.]"

 

"[What the difference?]"

 

"[Standard artificer has spells they can cast that are useful in combat. however, there is a cost limit to what you can craft. Really powerful magic items get expensive very quickly. That's one of the crafting limits. A normal person is limited to thousand silver per level. So, if you want to craft something that costs five thousand silver, you need to be fifth level. Sounds simple, right?]"

 

Miriam nodded, "[Yeah.]"

 

"[Well, that cost starts increasing exponentially when you combine powers that normally don't go together. Do you want a sword that increases your chance to hit and damage? Easy. Do you want it to include a luck bonus? You just quadrupled the cost. Magic items have an affinity for certain types of magic depending on what it is and if you need to wear it or hold it. The ones that you can put in your pocket and work? Double or even quadruple the cost. There are many combinations and the really useful ones become insanely expensive very quickly. Like, you need to be level forty to craft some of the items I want.]"

 

"[Damn.]"

 

"[An artificer can ignore most of those penalties, but only artificer levels count. He can craft something for five thousand silver per level. If you give up the spells and become a Manasmith, you can count levels from any other spell casting or psionic class to determine your maximums.]"

 

Miriam sat up, "[And since your penalty levels add to all your class abilities for every class...]"

 

He nodded, "[One level of Manasmith will allow me to make artifact-level magic items, and then it'll only be a matter of time and money to make the equipment we need.]"

 

"[Need.]" She shook her head and laid back down, "[I fear what you define as something we 'need'.]"

 

Andrew wasn't listening. The alarm spell he had cast upon entering the rented room had gone off, silently alerting him and giving him a chance to act. He glanced around and couldn't see anyone or any sign of entry, so he wasn't about to give them a chance to do anything. He just moved his head to the side to touch Miriam and called out a spell, "{Teleport Bomb}"

 

Teleport Bomb is a fairly simple spell. A variant on blink, you cast it and it causes everyone in the area of effect to have to resist the magic or be randomly teleported about forty feet. Andrew's preferred use was to target himself when inside a small room because it never teleported you inside another object, and the fast casting time made it uninterruptable. It moved you to a random open space. Given that he was lying down as he cast it, and he was in contact with his Familiar so she would teleport with him, there weren't many open spaces within forty feet for an L-shaped pair to teleport into.

 

As expected, he wound up on the roof.

 

He grabbed Miriam so she wouldn't slide away, "[We had an intruder. Turn us invisible]." He whispered as he followed up with a spell of his own, "{Levitate}" In short order they were invisible and flying straight up at a fairly steady rate, "[I'll hold onto your feet. Pull me away and keep quiet.]"

 

Fifteen minutes later, the spell finally wore off and they landed on a rooftop many blocks away, Miriam landed on his shoulder, "[I need a breather. You might have been floating, but it was a lot of effort to pull you along like that!]"

 

Andrew nodded and started moving along the roof, casting a single-use power as he got to the end of each roof in turn, "{Jump}" He'd land on another roof, then repeat the process, heading as far from the inn as possible in a straight line. He didn't stop until he reached near the wall surrounding Triplethorpe. He paused to hide in the shadow of a chimney, even though he was still invisible, "[Okay. I didn't see the intruder, but the alarm spell still went off. Did you notice anything?]"

 

Miriam whispered, "[No. I didn't see or hear anyone. How did they get in?]"

 

"[No idea, but the alarm spell doesn't just randomly go off unless someone with hostile intent enters the area of effect. So either they were very small or were invisible and silent, or very very VERY good at stealth, because YOU should have at least heard them enter.]" Andrew cursed softly as he lightly hit the back of his head against the chimney over and over, "[Well, nothing to be done about it. I wasn't planning on grinding this soon, but we needed to go gather a whole bunch of materials anyway. We'll just disappear into the wilderness for a few months. No need to take any chances.]"

 

Miriam appeared and tapped Andrew on the shoulder making him appear as well, "[Hold it. Don't you think you are overreacting? This could have been a simple burglary. I mean, I'm not saying that wasn't dangerous, but I thought we had a bunch of things you needed to shop for.]"

 

"[Can't spend money if you are dead. I get it if you want to enjoy some creature comforts, but that could have been about whatever freaked out that bartender, Behineh's crew, or just someone trying to kill me and kidnap you. I bet faeries go for a pretty penny on the slave market. I don't know or care. I'm not here to find adventure. I'm here to get powerful and you don't get powerful by taking unnecessary chances while you are weak. And make no mistake, I'm weak and I can't protect you as I am.]"

 

Miriam blinked, "[Protect me? I...]" She went quiet, then after some thought, they both turned invisible again, "[Sorry. I'm not used to thinking that way. I'm used to... you know what? Nevermind.]" She bonked her head against his temple, then climbed up under his hat, "[If you think it is best to vanish, then let's vanish. As long as we're together, that's what matters.]"

 

Andrew paused and allowed himself an invisible smile, "[Yeah... as long as we're together.]" He looked at the tall wall ahead of him, then back the way they came, He considered the course of action he was about to take, then turned his back on the town. With a run, he put extra power into his jump as he leaped into the air. He soared over the wall invisibly past one of the sentries and gently landed on the ground just on the other side of the moat surrounding Fort Triplethorpe. Without so much as a glance behind him, he muttered, "{Fleet Feet}"

 

 

 

Andrew took off running into the night.

 

---

 

"A fallen noble, you say?"

 

 

 

"Ei, that's the impression he gave me. He also seemed rather knowledgeable about rare classes. That's not something you just pick up without a solid education. However, he insisted he was from another kingdom. Perhaps that kind of info is just common where he hails from. He sure acted oddly enough to be from a foreign land." Max scratched his chin, "Although given the questions he asked, wouldn't surprise me if he had been from the inquisition... except..."

 

The shadowy figure he was chatting with sat at the end of the bar, never lifting his hood as he spoke, "Except?"

 

Max shook his head, "He was a little too obvious, you know? The inquisition is usually at least a tad bit subtle, not openly asking about chimera like that, or grafting as he put it."

 

The figure sat up a bit, "Wait. He used THAT word? Grafting?"

 

Max nodded, "Yeah. You know what he was talking about?"

 

The figure nodded, "Yeah... it's something aberrations do to slaves."

 

"Fuck me. They graft golems onto people?"

 

He narrowed his eyes, "What? No. They graft tentacles or brain-controlling creatures onto you. Wait... he said golem grafts?" He scratched his chin, "I... guess that might be possible. Did he say why?"

 

"Something about using it to replace a missing limb. He had all of his, maybe he had a friend who needed a new arm or leg?" Max looked thoughtful, "You know... if that was possible, I know a guy who stopped being an adventurer because he took an arrow to the knee. Is what he talked about possible?"

 

Before the man could respond, another cloaked individual appeared behind the first, "He got away."

 

The shadowy figure turned around to address his subordinate, "What happened?"

 

"I went in to check him out, but as soon as I stepped out of the shadows into his room, I was teleported into the basement. By the time I got back into his room, he was gone."

 

Max straightened up, "I think at this point, I'm no longer part of this conversation." He turned away.

 

The shadowy figure nodded, "Thanks for the tip, Max. I'll be in touch." Then turned back to his subordinate, "Contact everyone and have them search for the guy. I didn't want to spook him, so if possible, just reacquire him and keep your distance. I want to find out who he's working for... if anyone. There's a chance he's exactly what he says he is."

 

"So what's the goal, boss?"

 

"Not sure yet. Maybe we should just straight-up recruit him. Either way, he's no slouch if he was ready for you in shadow form."

 

 

 

 

The subordinate nodded, "If he's still in the city, we'll find him."