PreCursive

  Thankfully, the inside of the manor was just as tastefully decorated as the outside. I only had experieh manor decorations iyle of dwarven nobility, and this wasn’t anywhere hat. Rather than having gold everywhere, Grey’s pirate home seemed to be mostly wood ah tones. He had plenty of nautical embellishments dotting the wall, though.

  However, this pce didn’t seem very lived in. Everything was covered is, from the couches and chairs iting room he door, to the dining table we found. Those sheets were covered in dust, as well. I wonder why this pce didn’t have a stasis entment on it like the room iavern? As it is, those of us with of a fleshy persuasion were sneezing stantly just being indoors, while our Sculpted friends were unbothered. Fade abandoned me only a few minutes into our explorations, rag out the front door to the gardens outside. I didn’t bme him.

  Azarus and I got to work making at least one area livable, dusting the sitting room and opening a window. When we were done, I colpsed onto one of the couches with a sigh. Azarus had dohe same, only he had cimed one of the other couches in order to get some sleep. My dwarven friend had passed out nearly immediately and was sn not far from where I was sitting. Aurum had wandered off somewhere. I think he was still curious about the manor and was expl it a bit more.

  That left only Sylvia and I iting room. Well, the only scious ones, at least. I closed my eyes, a my head roll back to rest on the head of the couch. I retty tired. Not just physically, but emotionally as well. When I had woken up this m, before we’d even gotten to Marrowmist, I don’t know what I was expeg. But it certainly hadn't been...

  I sighed, my eyes still closed.

  I...almost didn't want to do what I was about to do. I didn't need any more firmation, but...

  I o check what I'd gained from my little...episode.

  I pulled up my Status with Hidden Amidst the Spheres.

  You have gained 4 levels!You are now level 44!Stealth Proficy has reached level 5!You have 40 u Virtue points.Would you like to review your Status?Y/NI sighed silently, but selected yes. I might as well get this over with. It was a familiar process now for me to allocate my Virtues the way I'd been doing, and it didn't take me long. When I was, I dully took a look at the finished product.

  haniel Eugene HartTitlesUnbound LiberatorLevel44Age24 SolRaceHuman (Precursor)

  Affinity TerrestrialCssesThornbde Acolyte (Unon)Professioherial Meldih540/540Stamina100/100Vitality 54Strength10Spirit10Dexterity96Perception 54Intelligence139Wisdom139Free Points 0Options[Talent Page], [Skill Page], [Profession Page]I was knocked out of my iion by feeling someo beside me on the couch. Crag an eye open, I saw that it was Sylvia.

  She had a ed look on her metallic face.

  Lightly, as if she was afraid I would sh out, she y a cool hand on my forearm. I twitched slightly, but didn’t move otherwise. “Nathan,” Sylvia said in a ed tone. “Are you…all right?”

  Fully opening my eyes, I turned away from her to stare off into space. I took a deep breath and held it for a moment, before letting it out slowly. “I don’t know,” I answered in a low tone.

  “I see,” Sylvia said quietly. “Why don’t you start from the beginning? ossessed you to assault that warehouse?”

  I tiaring out into spaot looking at her. I don’t know why I was so afraid of looking at her. It’s not like I articurly ied in the ship wheel on the far wall. Maybe…I just didn’t want to see the pity on her face.

  “One minute, I was fine,” I said slowly. “The , I saw Pete being dragged out of a room with a colr around his neck. I…it was like something immediately hardened inside me. The world narrowed, and I suddenly didn’t care about anything but the fact there was a sve in front of me.” I stopped for a moment, before haltingly speaking again. “I didn’t care about the mission. I didn’t care about Azarus. I don’t even think I cared about myself anymore. In my mind, it was like I was ba Addersfield, and Magnus was taunting me again.” I nearly snarled his ensing up at just the mention of my former ‘owner’.

  “Nathan…” I heard Sylvia say, thi her voice. “Look at me.”

  Relutly, I tore my eyes away from the wall to look at Sylvia. There wasn’t any pity on silver features. She just looked worried. Her hand drifted from my forearm to rest on top of my hand, while her other came around to cup the bottom of it. She met my eyes.

  “I don’t mean to lecture you,” Sylvia began soothingly. “But…you uand that this ot happen again, correct? You may have unusual abilities, but you’re still fairly low-leveled. What if the guards in that warehouse had been too much for you? I agine how that would have ended. I only found your location because of the hat woman made destroying that wall, and I ot promise I will always be there to assist.”

  I took another deep breath and nodded. “I know. They kind of were too mue,” I admitted quietly. “I’m pretty sure they were all strohan I was. I just…got the drop on them.” I was telling the truth here. I retty sure that all three of the noirate guards could have taken me in a straight fight, if I didn’t have any tricks up my sleeve. Thankfully, I had a few of those. But…

  I couldn’t depend on those always being enough to save me.

  We sat in silence for a moment before Sylvia spoke again. “I…ot prehend what you experienced, uhe yoke of svery. Unlike many of my brethren, I ared that fate from the moment I became aware. But…that does not mean you must bear this burden alone, Nathan. I am here, if you wish to speak of it.”

  I smiled at Sylvia, gazing into gemlike blue eyes, before shaking my head. “Not…yet. I don’t think I want to talk about…that. But thank you, I’ll keep that in mind.” I squeezed her hand, before f a smile on my face. “You’re surprisingly good at this. Was it Grey that taught you how to fort other people?” I couldn’t keep a note of doubt from creeping into my voice. Grey had his virtues, but I don’t think that emotional uanding was one of them.

  Sylvia obviously reized the ge in subject, but pyed along anyway. “Hmm, no. Father was not the oo teach me my…social graces, so to speak. Rather, it was one of the people that we seek to rescue from the prison. Lady Honoka.”

  I raised my eyebrows in i, hearing that name. “I never got an expnation about who that is, you know? Are you and Grey close to her?”

  Sylvia ughed slightly, with a peculiar look on her face. “Lady Honoka is an old…friend,” She said the word ‘friend’ in a slightly doubtful tone of voice. “Of Fathers. They have a very straionship. Regardless, she remains the sed in charge of the Academy, as well as the lead instructor of Cultivation. Father meanwhile heads up the Magecraft division.”

  “And…she taught you?”

  Sylvia nodded, smiling fondly. “Yes. I would say that I owe muy socialization to Lady Honoka. Father is somewhat…absentmi times. Not to say that he is ful of me or doesn’t care, no. More that he easily bee absorbed in his work, leading to long disappearances. versely, Lady Honoka’s door was always open to me. I spent a great deal of time with her,” Her face fell. “And now the Loyalists have locked her up in one of the harshest pces in the Kingdom. I didn’t even know. She hadn’t been captured before I left on my hunt for Father.”

  I reached over to y my other hand on top of hers this time, in a mirror of her from earlier. I met Sylvia’s eyes again. “She won’t be in there much longer, Sylvia. We’re nearly there.”

  Sylvia smiled slightly at my words. “Yes. We are, aren’t we,” She said softly.

  Suddenly, I heard the front door of the manor bang open. From the entryway of the manor, I heard Grey’s voice. “We’re here! Everyone, if you could meet us iting room!” He called out, unaware that most of us were already in there. His call must have been enough to wake up Azarus, because I heard him stop sn and groan. At the same time that Azarus was sitting up on his couch, Grey appeared in the doorway of the sitting room. He was trailed by Venix, and stopped in momentary surprise at everyone’s presehin. Actually, he was staring at both Sylvia and I. He raised an eyebrow our way, with a curious look on his aged features. Venix was unphased, and merely passed Grey to slowly lower his massive frame into one of the avaible chairs. It creaked audibly under his weight.

  All of a sudden, I remembered that Sylvia and I had essentially started holding hands during our versation. I flushed, gently prying my hand out of hers, to her curious gaze. I…don’t think she was aware of the subtext of a man and a woman holding hands, even if that woman was a sort of magical robot. Grey’s other eyebrow rose as well at me.

  I coughed into a closed fist. “So, uh, how did it go? Did Bel agree to transport us to Caer Drarrow?”

  While Grey was staring at me, Aurum appeared in the doorway as well, edging past my mentor with a quick smile. He shuffled into the room and sat in one of the unoccupied chairs. Curiously, Fade appeared as well, apparently drawn by Grey’s shout. He sauntered into the room and jumped up onto the couch I was sitting oling down at my side. I reflexively id a hand on his back.

  Grey blinked slowly at the se. “Well,” He said slowly. “Yes, she did. But not without some cessions.”

  Azarus yawned, stretg. It seemed like he had recovered from his drunkenness. “Yeah? What did she want?”

  Grey wandered in, and with a shooing motion to make room, sat o Azarus on his couch across from Sylvia and I. “For one, I had to promise her and her creosition in a shipping pany that I own to offset her exile. When the war is cluded, she is essentially to bee a w-abiding citizen. At least, for a time.”

  Sylvia hummed. “I am surprised that the Captain took su offer. She did not strike me as a…peaceable woman.”

  Grey smiled wryly at his daughter. “Oh, I assure you, she is not. However, she lost nearly the ey of her wealth to the aurian Prime. She ime to rebuild her fortunes, as well as her fleet. It’s far easier to do so with legitimate employment, especially in the likely post-war enviro. I imagi’s going to be a very…difficult time, to be a pirate.”

  “I’d think it would be easier, right?” I said, drawing Grey’s attention. “Wouldn’t the military, or the navy I guess, be occupied with mopping up whoever loses afterward?”

  “Ah, but there is a factor you’re not sidering, directly lio the existence of the auriahat attacked Isabel,” Grey said knowingly. “Iermath e-scale flicts such as this one, monsters are always stronger and appear more frequently. I believe that’s why this herd has appeared out of nearly thin air. They are only the start to the surge of motacks, and there hasn’t even been any pitched battles in months. Ohe war is cluded, the Kingdom will be dht ied with beasts. While it is true that both the Herztalian military and navy will be occupied, it’s because they’ll be busy with monsters. The seas will not be safe for a willing to battle them, which most pirates are not. Thus, piracy will also drop.”

  I him to show I uood. Meanwhile, Aurum spoke up in a fused tone. “aurian herd?”

  Grey turo face Aurum in surprise. “Ah, my apologies young Aurum. I fot for a moment that you did not apany us, and thus did not meet Captain Isabel,” He said in chagrin. He spent a few moments expining things to Aurum, while I gazed at the Sculpted out of the er of my eye. Yeah, probably for a damn good reason. The guy was made of solid fug gold, fod’s sake. He would have been grabbed off of the streets in a heartbeat in this pirate torobably melted down. Puy would have bee the new gilding on a ship faster than you could blink. “As it so happens, the aurians are involved in another of the cessions I had to make for Captain Isabel.”

  I sighed. “Let me guess. She wants us to take care of them.”

  Azarus snorted while Grey smiled at me wryly. “Are you perce a prophet as well, Nathan? You are correct. Part of Isabel’s demands for her assistanvolved culling the herd. She was quite unwilling to abandon vengeance for her lost ships and crew from their attack.”

  Venix spoke up for the first time. “It is likely we were going to enter this herd anyway,” He said ftly. “As the only ship leaving the port, these predators were iably going to attack.”

  “As you say,” Grey nodded. “I agreed to Isabel’s demand. As we speak, she’s rallying her remaining crer supplies for the expedition on my . Tomorrow m, we’ll be setting sail to hunt the herd. After that, onwards to Caer Drarrow,” At the look on everyone’s faces, Grey smirked at us. “Oh, it won’t be so bad. A herd of aurians will be good Aether for many of you. I imagihere will be plenty of levels to go around. Meanwhile, I’ll be dealing with the Prime myself. It’s likely beyond anyone else.”

  I guess I was going to see what exactly a ‘aurian’ retty soon.