Breaking Step, Draft 1, CH 60 (Patreon)

“Tibs, three squares diagonally on your right,” Don instructed, and Tibs moved.

“I think he’s got you,” Sto said.

Tibs didn’t see it. It wasn’t like he had a line on the Lord.

“It isn’t over yet,” he replied, sounding like she was gritting her teeth. Her sorcerer moved before the lord.

“Khumdar, forward, two. Feel free to blast the sorcerer out of the way and threaten the Lord.”

The cleric spun his staff before him as he moved and darkness trailed the tips.

“Ah. Like you think I haven’t—”

The tips scraped the floor in quick succession, sending a line of darkness with earth essence mixed in. The sorcerer’s crystal shield deflected the darkness, but the shard of earth chipped at it until it broke, then the sorcerer was sliced until it fell back.

“Your Lord is now in danger of death,” Don announced.

“That’s new,” Jackal stated.

“How did he get earth mixed in?” Ganny Demanded.

“How did you do that?” Tibs asked. “I thought only sorcerers could use more than one element, and only at higher ranks.” He looked at Don, who nodded, but didn’t seem surprised at what Khumdar has done.

“I shall point out that the guild is whom claims only sorcerers can do so,” The cleric said. “I shall also point out that I am a cleric of darkness; as such, I have access to a wealth of secrets even said guild can only wish it knew. And finally, I will say that—”

“You’re so full of it,” Jackal finished, grinning. “What I want to know is how you knew he’d be able to surprise the dungeon. It adapts from what we did last time.”

“Just because I kept my distances doesn’t mean I didn’t keep aware of how you’ve been training.” He grinned to Khumdar, “or who you’ve been cajoling into revealing secrets.”

“So that’s where you’ve been vanishing to?” Mez smirked.

The cleric stiffened. “I am not required to answer that.”

“So anyone can use more than one element?” Tibs asked.

“No,” Don replied. “The training to achieve the proper state of mind isn’t easy, and for those from other classes, is even harder. But that is something we should leave until we’ve won this game. It’s the dungeon’s turn, unless they are going to abdicate.”

Tibs looked at the Lord. Ganny hadn’t moved it, or either of her two pieces left. Then he understood. Neither of her two pieces could move to block Khumdar. The lord could only move one square. Two of those squares kept it within Khumdar’s line of attack. As the Tower, Jackal was in position to attack it in three other locations. Mez covered one, as did Tibs and Don.

Ganny had to decide which of them her Lord could win against. Unless she’d held a surprise back, it didn’t look good. She let out an exasperated huff, and the Lord crumbled.

“And that’s a win for us,” Don said.

“I really hate you,” Ganny spat.

“You wanted a challenge,” Sto said.

“He’s not a challenge. He keeps outsmarting me! Him and Quigly are no fun.”

“Quigly’s good at this?” Tibs asked, heading to the chest. 

“He did go to war with a king,” Jackal said.

“Which he lost,” Don said.

“But you don’t piss someone like that to the point they won’t kill you by just losing. You have to make them fight hard for it, and that takes a lot of strategy.”

“You and him should have a game,” Mez offered.

“I’m not sure that is a good idea,” Don replied. “I have not made the greatest of impression on the man.”

“Like that matters,” Jackal says. “You made the worst impression on us, and look where you are. I’m sure that if he beats you, it’ll make him feel better.”

Don snorted. “Like that would happen unless I let him win.” He paused. “You aren’t suggesting I let him win, are you?”

“Not suggesting anything.” Jackal joined Tibs as he opened the chest. “So, is this another chest to go down Don’s memories, or are we getting anything good this time.”

Tibs reached in and pulled the sword out. “I don’t know. I think enough people have wanted to plant a sword into him. This could be about that.”

Jackal looked in. “But I don’t think it would come with armor. Unless the dungeon’s worried, we still want to stab him.”

“Like you’d wait for me to give you tools if you felt like stabbing him,” Sto said.

“He’s going to need something if he wants to stab Don,” Tibs replied, taking out the pieces of leather armor. “Otherwise he’s just punching him.”

“Before whatever this conversation’s about goes any further,” Don said. “Can we confirm this is theoretical? I thought we had moved beyond this need to hurt me.”

Tibs grinned at the sorcerer. “Well, we’re still at the stage where you need to be hurt, since you’re still receiving training.”

* * * * *

“I want you to channel Lightning,” Don instructed, and Tibs froze.

“What?” he looked at the corridor. They’d just fought the group of Gnolls and people golems and there were no indications another fight was about to happen.

“You heard me.”

“Don, there’s nowhere for you to get out of range. Lightning travels far. This isn’t the right place.”

“This is the perfect place, Tibs. You can’t destroy anything.”

“You didn’t tell him what you did to the Ratling camp, did you?” Sto asked.

“I can damage the walls, Don.”

“But the dungeon can remake them. It’s not that easy for the city folk.”

“It’s not that easy for me either, Don,” Sto grumbled. “And it hurts.”

“It hurts Sto.”

“Then don’t hurt him. And also don’t hurt us.”

Tibs looked at the others, who’d taken a step back, except for Jackal. He hadn’t even stoned up.

“I trust Don,” the fighter said. “Hey, this isn’t the first time I’ve said it. I let him take the lead in the boar’s room.”

“Because he was the best chance we’d win,” Mez said. “Here, it’s just about Tibs training, and we know how that tends to go.”

Jackal shrugged. “Tibs’s not going to hurt us.”

“Hurt you,” Khumdar said. “We have yet to truly put to the test how much Tibs can resist the elements when it comes to our safety.”

“That’s what you’ve never understood,” Don said. “Tibs has never gained control as a result of resisting the elements. Each time, it came because he reached an understanding of what they are, and that he isn’t them. It’s happened in confrontational ways because Tibs didn’t have another method of keeping from being overwhelmed.”

“And you gave him that method?” Mez said. “That Oneness thing?”

“Khumdar, care to help?” Don asked.

“How you think I can—”

The sorcerer glared.

The cleric sighed. “Very well. Oneness does promote a way of thinking and living that can lead to someone to being more aware of how they fell at anytime. But,” he added, “I do not believe this has any bearing on what Tibs goes through. The Elements are not simply emotions, they are beings. We do not know the entirety of how channeling them affects Tibs.”

“You could have suggested that as something to try,” Mez said.

“Having said I do not believe it will help, I will add that simply because I am aware of the existence of the philosophy does not mean I am also aware of how it is taught. And I will ask how it is you believed I would know of its existence.”

“That I’d know, you mean. You mentioned you traveled through Arkidian. From my reading, they adopted Oneness as their main philosophy a few hundred years ago, and they’re militant about it. It’d be impossible to be in that kingdom and not hear about it.”

“Where’s Arkidian?” Jackal asked. “I don’t remember Khumdar talking about it.”

“I did not,” the cleric stated.

“You said you’d been in the city of Joersalun,” Don said.

“There cannot be but one city by that name.”

“I read about three,” the sorcerer said, “but you talked about attending the rites of the Shalhumon. That’s exclusive to Arkidian.”

“I doubt I said much about it, and it was enough for you to determine where I had been?” The sorcerer’s tone was suspicious.

“He isn’t lying,” Tibs said.

“I have no doubt. What I question is the need he may have had to research anything I have spoken about.”

“I read about them years ago. I used to spend my days in the library when I—” he swallowed, then let out a breath. “When my family could afford the entry fee.”

“I think that’s something you two can discuss later,” Jackal said. “We have a run to do, and we’re ahead of schedule only enough I’m willing to let Tibs train, not hold a discussion on if Don’s researching everything you say in an attempt to find out your secrets.”

Don snorted. “I have much better things to do with my time.”

“Jackal, it’s not safe,” Tibs said.

“What is? Like Don said, this is safer than doing it in town.”

“But I can hurt you.”

“Then it’s an incentive to be careful, right?”

Tibs looked at the others. Even with them having put distance between him, he’d expect protest.

“It’ll be fine, Tibs,” Don reassured him.

Tibs doubted it. But that was his fear talking. It might have some basis in past experiences, but it also was disproportionate to what ended up happening.

 He let go of Water, hesitated, then channeled Lightning.

There was so much to do! He had to reach the Lion room and the Dragon one. They had to clear the boss, and he had to figure out was way to get Tirania’s leader here so he could remove them and being the guild crumbling down. He had to look at the all those new runners the guild was sending to their death, and take care of—

Later.

He was being impatient.

No, Lightning needed to be everywhere at once. Do everything right now. It couldn’t stand still. He felt it through him, demanding that he move, that he run everywhere. He’d explode if he stayed still one second longer.

No, he wouldn’t.

That was Lighting.

He was Tibs.

Don was fucking right. He was going to be unbearable about it.

He had to tell him that. Make sure Don never found out. He should just explode to prove him wrong. Thank him for giving him control. He should… he should… he should…

He didn’t.

Tibs watched the needs and desires fly through him and around him. He plucked one—the Clerics were here. He had to find out if Clara was here, see how she was doing, had she been punished for helping him when Sebastian attacked and— he let it go.

Yeah, Don was never going to let him forget that this Oneness thing was his idea.

He opened his eyes.

His friend had stepped further away, even Jackal, and the floor was covered with a spiderweb of black lines with Tibs at its center. A new line appeared as lighting course from the floor to his body.

“Sorry about that.” He pulled the essence within him.

“Are you okay?” Jackal asked. 

A bolt escaped his attention as the question send his mind reeling with dozens of answers flooding it. He focussed on the now. On keeping the essence under his control, along with his emotions.

“It’s not as easy as you said, Don.”

“I didn’t—”

“But it is easier than not understanding what’s happening. It might be because Lightning is everything and everywhere at— no, that’s not right. It isn’t that, it wants to be that. And I’m doing it again. Letting it carry me away. But I can see it’s what’s happening. When Fire consumed me, I could only see it, not what I should do, or that there even was a me in there. Same with the other element. I want to more, to be there and there and there, right now. But I also know that it’s not me who wants that, but the element. It’s really weird, and it’s distracting. I don’t know how much help I’ll be while I’m channeling Lightning. I mean, this is helpful, but it still needs me to focus on everything I’m thinking, and I’m thinking a lot right now.”

“It’s okay,” Don said. “I’m not expecting you to do the rest of the run while channeling lightning. You can let go of it now.”

“But this feels good. I’m able to think about so much. I could do so much if I had this under— no, I wouldn’t. That’s Lighting talking. But at least I can tell. Which means I should let go of it.”

He did.

And immediately missed how much faster had been thinking.

Only he hadn’t.

No, he had, but it had been so jumbled that he hadn’t done any of what he’d thought.

“You were right,” he told Don. “This Oneness is making it easier.”

“I’m glad.” The sorcerer’s smile broadened. “How about we continue with the run?”

Tibs narrowed his eyes. “You want to brag, don’t you?”

“You have no idea how badly I want do brag,” Don admitted.

“Why don’t you?”

“Because it wouldn’t be right to brag about being right.”

Tibs narrowed his eyes even more. “You have met Jackal, right?”

“I was right!” Don burst out and did a little dance. “You doubted me, and I was right!”

“He is going to be unbearable now,” Jackal said.

Tibs shrugged. “No more than you are when you think you’re right.”

“I don’t think I’m right,” the fighter said with pride. “I know I’m right.”