Chapter 35: In Bed with Insurgents (Patreon)

Despite my earlier nap, I slept like the dead.

Too much had happened yesterday, and I’d been both emotionally wrung out and physically exhausted when I’d gone to bed.

In spite of this, I still awoke in the morning with a searing pain behind my eyes. It’ll pass, I told myself. Sitting up, I looked around the room I hadn’t cared enough to inspect the previous night. It was homey and small, but with plenty of storage space. Unusually, there was a mirror too. Quality glass was not something one ran into every day—even outside the poor quarter.

Taking a deep breath, I strode to the mirror. I hadn’t gotten a good look at myself for days and after all Maragret’s talk about my resemblance to my mother, I was curious about my appearance—not something I often wondered about.

I peered into the glass and found a gaunt-looking stranger staring back. My hair was a mess—not unexpected—but I barely recognized the pale visage that was the remainder of my reflection.

When had I stopped recognizing my own face?

I rubbed my hands across my cheeks. They’d grown sunken, highlighting my eyes. Leaning closer, I stared deeper. On first glance, my eyes looked an ordinary brown. After a closer looker, most would describe them as amber. But what no one ever noticed were the flecks of gold.

They swam lazily in my orbs, still as fascinating as the first time I’d noticed them. What am I? I wondered. I’d long taken to believing it was the Game that made me different.

Now, I was not so sure.

“Morning,” a cheerful voice said.

“Morning, Ada,” I replied, if less cheerfully.

“What are we doing today?” A pause. “Not staring at ourselves, I hope?”

Smiling, I backed away from the mirror. “No, definitely not. Let’s go find Odenna.”

Exiting the room, I returned to the sitting room. Odenna was already there, and Margaret was sitting in the exact same spot we’d left her in last night.

“Good morning!” the brown-haired woman greeted. “Feeling better?”

“Much,” I lied, seating myself from across her. “Is there any news?”

“Urfak hasn’t returned yet,” Odenna said, not looking up from the book she was reading. We’d not spoken much—at all, really—since I’d disobeyed her explicit instructions last night.

The old elf, I gathered, was still cross at me for speaking up. Too bad for her, I thought grumpily.

“We’ll know more when he gets back,” Maragret added.

Sighing, I sat back. More delays, I despaired.

Noticing my expression, Maragret gestured to the heavily laden table. “Go on, eat. Please.”

Inclining my head in thanks, I did just that. “What is this place anywhere?” I asked, munching through an apple. “I know it’s a safe house, but exactly does that mean?”

“The manor is shielded,” Maragret replied. “Not directly and not obviously. Consider it more of a magical disguise to distract and confuse. If you question most who pass by the manor, they will not even recall seeing it.”

I nodded, impressed. “And the shield is enough to fool players?”

“It is good enough to fool even Arinna,” Maragret said with a grin.

I raised one eyebrow skeptically. “That’s a bold claim.”

“And an untested one, too,” Odenna chipped in. She threw the other woman a stern look. “Don’t go giving the girl ideas.”

Maragret raised her hands, palms out. “You’re right. If Arinna—or one of her envoys for that matter—ever came looking for this place, I’m sure they’d find it. But most players won’t. The shield’s that good.”

This time Odenna didn’t dispute her words.

“I see,” I remarked, chewing meditatively on my apple.

“This is not our only safe house either,” Maragret went on. “We have others scattered across the city. They all serve as places for Insurgence members to shelter in, to rest, eat, and enjoy a moment of peace.”

The resistance certainly seemed well funded. Still, I couldn’t help wondering about Maragret’s openness. I was sure she didn’t speak this frankly to every ‘friend’ a resistance member dragged in. But I was not about to turn aside an opportunity to learn more.

“What about the dead drops?” I asked. “What are they?”

“It’s how we communicate,” Maragret replied. “No resistance member will willingly reveal their identity, even to a fellow insurgent, unless it becomes strictly necessary. The dead drops are how we keep in touch while still maintaining operational secrecy. It also minimizes the risk of anything being traced back to the safe houses.”

“Huh,” I said. “Interesting.” Grabbing a small bun, I slathered butter on it. “And who provides all this food? You could feed an army with this.”

Margaret laughed. “Not every safe house is this well stocked, believe me. Odenna brought you to one of the better ones.” Her amusement faded. “But there are many around the city who are grateful to us. They help as needed.”

Finishing my food, I leaned back from the table. “Now, what?”

Odenna grunted. “We wait.”

I glared at her. That we had to wait was obvious, but that didn’t mean we had to sit around and do nothing.

“Unfortunately, I’m going to have to leave you two alone for the time being,” Maragret said, rising to her feet. “There are some errands I must run in the city, but you are most welcome to look around while you wait for Urfak.”

We said our goodbyes quickly, after which I found myself alone once more with Odenna.

“So,” I began, “how long do you think it will be before Urfak returns?”

The elf did not look up from her book. “It will take as long as takes.”

“Then… should we talk?”

Odenna looked up. “No,” she replied curtly before promptly burying her head in her book again.

Rolling my eyes, I rose to my feet and looked around. There were no bookshelves for me to peruse, and no one else to speak to. And speaking to Odenna would take more effort than I was willing to put up with at this point.

But nor was there any reason for me to confine myself to the safe house. No one had expressly forbidden me from leaving. Returning to my room for a moment, I retrieved my backpack and slipped silently through the sitting room and past Odenna.

But just as I reached the back door, the elf called out, “Where are you going?”

“For a walk,” I replied shortly. “I will be back soon.” Before she could respond, I exited the manor house and closed the door behind me.

✵ ✵ ✵

It was not long past dawn, and the streets were quiet. Shoving my hands in my pockets, I picked a direction at random and started walking.

I had no destination in mind, nor did I know this part of the city well. With nothing to occupy my mind, my thoughts naturally drifted to Soren and… Alon.

This won’t do, I thought.

I hadn’t ventured into the city to be alone with my thoughts, but to distract myself from those very same thoughts. Dashing away angry tears, I crossed the street and hurried toward a shop that looked like it might be open.

Sadly, it wasn’t.

I looked around and sighed, realizing I’d not properly thought through my little venture. Arguing with Odenna would have been better than this.

“What about revisiting the alchemist?” Adalinda asked abruptly.

“Go to Tommin’s?” I asked in surprise.

“Why not? You have some money now, don’t you?”

I did.

Rubbing my chin, I consider Adalinda’s suggestion. Not only would revisiting the alchemist keep me busy, I could also see to better equipping myself. There had been a few other items in Tommin’s shop that had caught my eye but for which I’d no money to procure at the time.

I jingled my purse. That was less of a problem now.

“Visiting Tommin is a great idea, Ada,” I said. “Let’s go.” Turning around, I oriented myself. While I did not know this part of the city well, I was far from lost, and I set off without hesitation.

It took me thirty minutes of brisk walking and closely scrutinizing of the names of every passing building and street to locate the gnome’s shop. Doing so kept me busy, though, so I had no cause for complaint.

Striding up to the shop’s main door, I knocked once, then stepped inside.

A smiling Tommin greeted me within. “Ah, it’s you. Welcome back, girl.”

“Hello, Tommin,” I said softly. “Are you open for the day?”

“Well, of course, I am!” the gnome exclaimed. “What do you need?”

I wandered through the aisles, breathing in the shop’s strange, but comforting, smells. “I’m not sure yet,” I murmured, feeling more at ease with myself than I’d been since… since…

Shaking my head, I returned my thoughts to the present. “To start with, I’d like to peruse your collection of spellbooks and ability tomes again,” I added more firmly.

“But of course. This way, please,” Tommin said, leading me to the relevant bookshelves. Leaving me to browse them in peace, he returned to his counter.

Strolling down the rows of shelves, I ran my fingers across the spines of the many books, looking for anything new, but mostly searching for something that had caught my eye the last time I’d been here.

It was not long before I found it.

The target is the basic ability tome: wisp of healing. Governing attribute: Faith. Tier: basic. Requirement: rank 2 summoning skill and rank 2 light magic skill.

Wisp of healing is a tier one spell that summons a light wisp that specializes in healing to your side. The called-creature’s level is determined by your summoning skill and the extent of its healing abilities by your light magic skill.

You can learn this ability, but Adalinda cannot.

“Ah, there you are,” I murmured, withdrawing the spellbook from the shelf.

It was the ability’s name that had first attracted my interest. Wisp of healing sounded like an unusual spell. Even I knew that most healing abilities sprang from the discipline of life magic, but yet, here was a summoning spell—linked to light magic and not life magic, no less—that offered something similar.

A light wisp minion that heals.

Of course, whether the light wisp was able to heal to the same extent a life magic spell could was open to debate. Still, any little bit of healing would do. I only hope I can afford it.

With spellbook in hand, I walked back to the counter. “How much for this?”

“Fifteen gold,” Tommin replied promptly.

“Ah, that’s a shame,” I said, laying down the book with exaggerated reluctance. “I’ll try one of the other shops. Maybe one of them—”

“How much can you offer?” the gnome interjected.

“Five gold,” I replied without blinking.

Tommin winced. “I’d be selling it to you at a loss at that price. Twelve gold.”

“Eight,” I countered.

“Ten,” he replied, “and before you say nine, that’s my final offer. I won’t sell it for less.”

I eyed the gnome for a moment, measuring his resolve. “Ten it is, then,” I said finally.

Smiling, Tommin stretched out his arm. “Deal.”

Mutely, I shook his hand, and we concluded the transaction.

You have lost 10 gold. Money remaining: 5 silver and 5 copper coins.

You have acquired the basic ability tome: wisp of healing.

“Will you need anything else?” Tommin asked.

I shook my head ruefully. I’d spent nearly all my money—an amount I considered a fortune in the not-too-distant past—on the book and had little else to spare. “No, thanks. But if you don’t mind, I’d like to read the book here.”

“By all means,” the gnome said expansively. “Go ahead.”

“Thanks,” I replied and, without further ado, opened the spellbook.

You have gained the basic spell: wisp of healing. This is a single cast ability that allows you to summon a wisp of healing.

Wisps are as varied as they are common in the Forever Kingdom. Small, ethereal creatures, they are almost devoid of intelligence. Still, they retain enough primitive understanding that spellcasters of all stripes find them useful, especially given that due to their spirit-like nature, they are immune to physical attacks.

Wisps of healing are a rare sub-species of the light wisp family. They are known for their ability to transform light into restorative energy and are usually found in the company of light mages who lack healing spells of their own.

Note, due to their inherent nature, light wisps always shine brightly while they remain alive. As it expends mana, a light wisp’s brightness will wane until such time as its light is expunged and death claims it.

Your summoned light wisp will remain to do your bidding indefinitely or until it performs the same number of heals as your light magic rank.

This spell has both somatic and verbal components. Its activation time is slow, it consumes mana and can be upgraded. You have 7 of 10 Magic ability slots remaining.

Sighing in satisfaction, I closed my eyes as new knowledge seeped into me. The new spell was everything I thought it would be, and at my current light magic rank, would let me heal twice per summoned wisp.

The only downside I could see was the creature’s brightness. There would be no disguising its presence.

“Happy?” Tommin asked.

“Happy,” I agreed. There was just one more thing to do. Turning my focus inwards, I invested my and Adalinda’s available attribute points.

Your Magic has increased to rank 15. Other modifiers: +2 from items.

Adalinda’s Strength has increased to rank 14.

Done with my player progression, I waved farewell to Tommin and exited the shop.