PreCursive

  With a grunt, I finished climbing the outer wall of Addersfield. Swiftly, I scaled the log at the top and dropped down to the forest floor beh me.

  After our m talk, Grey and I had waited for Azarus to wake up before discussing our new idea with him. That idea being, I should make a nighttime trip in order to rendezvous with Sylvia and ask for her assistan learning some basic stealth and infiltration. Maybe pick up the skills for them in the process.

  This wasn’t as crazy as it sounded.

  Turns out, the Addersfield guard retty reliant on the usage of the wards in order to tratruders and escapees. They only bothered to keep se the front gate and the bae, with no patrols along the walls at all. The wards automatically tracked everyone who entered aed the town. Hell, from what Azarus had told me once he , you couldn’t even physically ehe town unless you were keyed into the wards that Grey was so i on breaking. Apparently, visitors, merts, and even all the townspeople were assigned little charms that acted as passkeys for entering the town. He’d shown me his, a little regur wooden tri with some runes on it.

  But acc to Grey, our sve colrs had the same passkey entment built into them. Otherwise, no sve would be able to bor for their ‘master’ ihe walls. When I’d expressed incredulity at this apparent security fw, Azarus had shrugged and told me that the trol ste was better for keeping track of sves that tried to escape. I didn’t have to worry about being tracked just outside the walls though, as the ste didn’t give pinpoint accurate location data for each colr. It only acted as a sort of homing bea for them.

  Azarus had agreed that our pn had merit and fed a quick pair of climbing cws for me. I'd actually asked him why I even hem, when I had a skill ade for sg surfaces like Thrapple. Grey had interjected at that point, and told me it was better to learual skill of climbing, if I wao learn proper infiltration teiques. Whatever, I was down. Afterward, we’d just waited for the sun to set in order to outfit me for the expedition. Azarus had found some bck clothes in the back of his closet that surprisingly fit me. They’d also den me down with the same potions and dagger that I had taken with me into Magnus’s test hunt.

  After that, it had been an easy matter for me to cut through the forest near Azarus’s house with my Thorn Cloak active. Even if I didn’t o, I was still careful not to make muoise though on my trip to the outer walls. I didn’t want to tempt fate. Ohere, I’d taken out the steel climbing cws Azarus had made for me and easily scaled the Addersfield wall.

  Looking back up, I resisted the urge to whistle. I’d just dropped maybe thirty feet without feeling any sort of strain. Having a Status retty damn useful.

  Rising to my full height, I took a quick look around. I’d dropped into a se that hadn’t been cleared, it seemed. There was nothing else but trees around me. Problem was, I couldn’t see the hill that Sylvia had told me she was camped out on from this position. I’d have to find a break in the rowth in order to signal her.

  I set off.

  It didn’t take me long to find a suitable signaling point. Maybe ten mi the most. Stopping in a small forest clearing, I reached into the pouch that Grey had outfitted me with and drew a small mirror. Lifting it, I tried to ahe mirror to catch the light of the full moon we were having tonight and a to the hill I could make out. Shit, I hope I wasn’t screwing this up. It’s not like I’d ever tried to mirrnal someone before.

  I nearly had a heart attack when a voice spoke up from behind me.

  “No need for that.”

  Barely stifling a scream, I spun around in a panic, fumbling for the dagger sheathed at my belt. A firm hand cmped down on it before I could. Following the arm to its source, I found a familiar leather-cd figure.

  “Be calm,” Sylvia said to me, soothingly. “It is only I. Apologies for startling you.”

  “Shit, Sylvia.” I gasped, panting slightly from the adrenaline rush. “Where did you e from? How did you find me?”

  Syliva stepped back, letting go of my hand. “I was iing the walls. I hadn’t done so yet and thus made the decision to do so before I left. Movement along the walls drew my attention, and I came to iigate and thus led me to you. More importantly, what are you doing out here?” She asked curiously, movement behind her mask implying a raised brow.

  I finished calming down, gng around in the process. “Yeah, about that. Is it safe to talk here?”

  “It is,” Sylva replied without even looking. “There are no guards outside the walls tonight, and there are no monsters anywhere near our position.”

  I took a breath before nodding. I had no idea how much higher level than me she was. I’m guessing her senses were far better than my own. “So, you know our whole pn on how to escape, right?” At her nod, I tinued. “Well, Grey brought up that I still o learn some basic stealth and infiltration if I’m going to break into the manor, and-”

  Sylvia y rambling. “And he suggested that I should teach you before I leave. Perhaps just enough so you earealth skill?” She said with a thoughtful nod. “Yes, that sounds like Father. Very well, I agree.”

  I stared at her in slight disbelief. “What, just like that?”

  “Indeed.” She said, uurbed. “It’s no great burden. However, this isn’t the ideal pce for sustru. I would suggest you follow me to my camp, but you ck the speed to make the journey before night’s end. I will carry you, and there will I train you.”

  “Wait, wha-” I barely mao get out before Sylvia scooped me up in a princess carry in a blur of speed. As she started running at speeds that far outstripped my own, I covered my face with my right hand in embarrassment.

  I could never let Azarus know about this.

  ………………………………………

  Perhaps fifteen minutes of running ter on behalf of Sylvia, we reached her campsite. Thankfully, she set me down as soon as we reached it. As I self-sciously straightened my clothes, I cast an eye around the location.

  It really wasn’t much.

  Located o a small grouping of trees on top of a low hill, it looked to me like it was just a tent. The tent itself was set up out of the way eyes, easily cealed by the foliage it was surrounded by. I didn’t see anything else that indicated her presen the area. There wasn’t a campfire or anything to cook food, or even for warmth ht. Which made sense, I suppose. You didly want to give away your position when you were spying, after all. I was knocked out of my iion by something being thrown into my chest. Catg it, I looked down at what it was.

  It looked like a mass of human skin.

  Yelping, I dropped the seeming flesh ball at my feet and stared at it, horrified. Hearing a short, silvery ugh I look up to find Sylvia chug at me with a hand over her masked mouth.

  “You have nothing to fear.” She said to me, still chug. “I assure you, it’s not what you think. Please, i it more closely.”

  Givihe side eye, I heless did as she said. I gingerly reached doicked up the fleshy mass between my thumb and index finger, causing it to unfurl. Furrowing my brow in fusion, I used my other hand to stretch it out.

  It…kind of looked like a mask? It seemed to be o least. It was a thih of peared to be skin, cut in the shape of a face. It even had holes for the eyes, nostrils, and mouth. It seemed kind of featureless though.

  “Fat.” I heard Sylvia say. Snapping out my iion, I shot Sylvia a startled, wounded look.

  “Excuse me?” I asked, offended. I wasn’t fat, thank you very much. If nothing else, the food on Vereden had agreed with me and I’d lost what little extra weight I’d had.

  “That, is a fat. Or rather, a Facial Alteration Tool.” Sylvia answered, audibly amused. “It’s an are struct used for spy craft. They allow you to manipute the shape of your facial features once applied. I was issued a number of them for my expeditioe their general uselessness for one of my kind. You may take my stock with you when you leave.”

  Oh.

  I felt my cheeks heat up slightly in embarrassment, before shaking it off. I held the…FAT up to the moon in order to allow the light to stream through it. Now that I had a better look at it, I could tell that it wasn’t real skin. The light revealed there weren’t any veins inside of the mask.

  “Did…did the guy who hese things choose the name on purpose? You know, for the a?” I asked, curious despite myself.

  “I wouldn’t know.” Sylvia shrugged. “They were ied before my time. In any case, while I have no use for them, I do know how to activate them. I will teach you how, and then I’ll begin instrug you on basic stealth and infiltration tactics.”

  I lowered the FAT and her. “All right the’s get started.”

  ………………………………………

  Sylvia taught me what she could over the ing hours. I wasn’t used to telling time by moonlight, but Sylvia told me we’d been practig for around three hours.

  She was…a demanding tutor.

  Between the lectures oh tactics, Sylvia had me running drills. We started out with what was essentially hide and seek, and varied it up with other things. Trap setting aion, body nguage demonstrations, acrobatics practices…

  It was a lot to pato one night, but we managed.

  I colpsed with a groan, ba the hill that Sylvia’s camp was set on. Sylvia had decred that it was time to take a break before finishing, and who was I tue with her? Rolling onto my back, I gazed up at the sky, physically exhausted in a way that I hadn’t been for a while. With a small chuckle, Sylvia gracefully sat dowo me on my right.

  Mentally, I pulled up my Status. Time to see if any of this had been worth it.

  haniel Eugene HartTitles:N/ALevel:19Age:24 SolRace:Human (Precursor)Affinity:TerrestrialCsses:Thornbde Acolyte (Superior)Professioherial Meldih:240/240Stamina:100/100Vitality:28Strength:10Spirit:10Dexterity:46Perception:46Intelligence:64Wisdom:64Free Points:0Options:[Talent Page], [Skill Page], [Profession Page]Mentally seleg the Talent page, I pulled it up.

  Racial TalentsGeneral TalentsCss TalentsHidden Amidst the Spheres: Veils your StatusSpear Proficy Lvl. 3 The Stilnt Bde: Strike the rootAg Lvl. 4 Dream of the Infinite: Allows unshackled Aetherial growthStealth Proficy Lvl. 2 Language Adaptation: Allows uanding and unication with all discovered species There it was. I’d gotteealth talent. Hell, I’ve even gotten a sed level in it, somehow. I let out a sigh of relief.

  Sylvia must have heard me, because he turned her head to face me. “Hmm?”

  I was startled, despite myself. That’s right, most people needed a reflective surface to check their surface.

  Wait.

  More than that, Sylvia still didn’t know anything about me. Especially the whole Precursor thing.

  “I…have a skill that lets me check my Status,” I said tentatively. Sylvia let out a slight sound of surprise, but I tinued before she could speak. “In fact, it’s a racial. You see, I’m actually…not a normal human. I’m a Precursor.”

  I saw Sylvia blink at that. We sat in silence for a moment before Sylvia broke it.

  “And that is…?” She asked curiously.

  I blinked back at her. She blinked back.

  “You…don’t know?” I asked, stunned. Immediately afterward, I felt like a massive fool. Of course not everyone would know about your super special race, you dumbass. Grey told you that Precursors were rare. Not everyone was obligated to pao you.

  “Ah, no,” Sylvia said, sounding embarrassed herself for the first time I’d know here. “Since I became aware, I’ve simply not had to time to pursue my studies the way I wished to. I…only had a few, short, peaceful years with my father before the Uprising began, and sihen I’ve been quite busy. I…apologize if your race is more only known.”

  Only a few years? But from what Grey had told me, the Uprising only begaly…

  I remembered then, what he’d told me about Sylvia’s people. The Sculpted, they were called. It had only been five years sihe first of them had bee fully sapient, which must have been her. He’d told me that he’d adopted the first of them to do so, which was also the first he’d successfully made. If that was true, despite her maturity and capability, Sylvia was actually only about five years old…

  I sat up with only a little difficulty. “No, I’m sorry. I was being insiderate. It’s actually not that only known, from what I uand. Let me tell you about it, starting with what Grey told me.”

  For the while, I told Sylvia about myself. About how I’d been transported here those months ago, and then ensved. How Grey and Azarus had saved me and then taught me. I told her about my home, and about recursors were supposed to be. I told her about my Precursor racial ‘powers’, and our quest to uand and unlock them. Sylvia absorbed my expnation easily. She didn’t make a sound, simply paying me rapt attention.

  Once I was finished, we sat in silence for a moment longer. I was tired myself, and I think Sylvia was abs everything.

  She broke the sileually. “I see.” She said quietly. Slowly, her hands drifted to her hand. Gradually, she began to undo a number of cleverly hidden csps strewn about her masks. One by one, her leather c began to fall away from her head, revealing more and mleaming silver skin. Unfastening the st of them, her mask fell away from her head pletely, unleashing a wave of gold that fell down her back.

  It was her hair. I think it was actual, spun gold. Long, if not for the metallic sheen to it, I would have mistaken it for real, keratin-based hair. When Sylvia turo face me, my breath caught in my throat.

  “Thank you for telling me.” She said softly, fully unmasked for the first time since I’d met her.

  She was beautiful.

  If…not slightly inhuman.

  Delicate, feminiures set into a perfectly oval face; I could see how it had been literally hand sculpted. Gem-like blue eyes, that might have actually been carved out of gemstones, quite literally glowed in the dark of the night. But it was her inhumaures that drew my eyes the most. It looked like it was structed out of dozens of thin ptes made out of a shining silver metal that articuted around and against themselves to create a human face. They perfectly mimicked the facial muscur groups that existed in a human one. As I watched, they shifted noiselessly and seamlessly with every minute ge in expression. But it somehow didn’t trigger an uny valley effe me. The gaps and seams iweehin ptes were so slight that it appeared more like she had facial tattoos. It was… a striking effect.

  As I watched her, I’m sure with my mouth agape, I saw her purse her lips. That knocked me out of my stupor. “I-I’m sorry.” I stuttered. “It’s just…I’ve never met one of your people before and you’re.” I groped for the word. “Geous.” I breathed.

  Uhe light of the full moon, I’d never seen anyone or anything so beautiful.