Advent of Eternity - Chapter 57 (Patreon)

“I don’t think I understand what you’re getting at,” Stix said. “You’re saying I should learn to be invisible without my skills?”

“Exactly,” Cyll said. “You won’t physically go invisible without magic, of course, but you stick out like a sore thumb. A real assassin should blend into the crowd so seamlessly that they’re impossible to spot. Assassins are charismatic. They are faceless. They’re your friend’s friend that you know of but have never really gotten to know, and they’re the last people you’d ever expect a dagger to come from. You, on the other hand, are striking. As soon as your magic is down, you draw attention. You can kill, but you don’t have the abilities to get there on your own without the Cap aiding you.”

Stix opened her mouth to reply. Then she slowly closed it as Cyll’s words processed.

“I’m not talking about when Knell used you as bait on purpose,” Cyll continued. “Really, you’ve done fine. But when you got blasted by the fire guy – and my flirting example – you didn’t fit in at all. They knew you were there, and they were watching you. That should never happen for an assassin.”

“I think I might be seeing what you’re getting at,” Stix admitted reluctantly. “But I wasn’t taught to be an assassin.”

“Don’t look at me,” Cyll said with a shrug. “I’m just talking. I can’t teach you, but the first step to fixing something is knowing there’s a problem.”

Stix nodded thoughtfully, and they drifted off into silence. It was another thirty minutes before their peace was finally over. Greb emerged from the back of the smithy, soaked in sweat. His face was pale and his hair matted down, but a weak grin was stretched across his features.

“Done and done,” Greb said, his words coming out strained. “Made it.”

Knell’s eyes opened and he pushed himself up with his staff. “And?”

“We were right. Thing has a mind of its own,” Greb said, setting the demon skull on the counter. It had formed into a shoulder guard and attached to a pauldron covered with heavy black feathers. One of the skull’s eyes twinkled, a shard of polished green gemstone glinting within it.

“It looks much heavier than it is,” Greb said. “You look like a lightweight, so I figured it would be best to avoid making this actual armor. Sure, it’ll take a hit, but its physical properties are pretty much all just appearance.”

“What does it do?” Knell asked, completely unbothered by the insult.

“That’s the curious bit,” Greb replied. “When I was making it, I wanted to try to give you some sort of magical shield. The skull rejected me completely, and I would have seriously broken it had I tried to do more. It’s… hungry.”

“How can a skull be hungry?” Stix asked. “It’s dead.”

Greb turned an eye on her. “Nothing is truly dead when you’re artificing, lass. Especially the strong materials.”

“To the point, please,” Knell said, tapping his leg impatiently.

“Bah. No sense for dramatic effect. You can think of this like a recycler,” Greb said. “It’s literally hungry. Put something into it and this thing will refine it, consuming the impurities and spitting it out.”

Knell’s eyes narrowed. “And how is that useful to me?”

Greb smirked, as if he’d predicted the question. “Worried I ruined your piece to make something worthless, eh? Well, take a closer look. I had to remove some portions of the skull to fit the Boon inside the eye as well as affix it to the pauldron properly, so I put those to use as well. A two-for-one special. That’s why it took me so long – I had to outsource a little bit of work.”

He set a flintlock on the table. It was made from equal parts cherry red wood and stark white bone. Jagged carvings covered the bone, giving it a savage appearance. In contrast, the wood was refined and elegant. If it weren’t for the bone, it would have looked perfect in the hands of a nobleman.

“It makes bullets,” Knell realized.

“There you go,” Greb said. “Gun’s fashioned after you. A friend already had the stock ready, and I did the bonework. I think it matches the owner quite well.”

“As do I,” Knell mused, picking the flintlock up and examining it. He’d never held one before, but something about the wood felt right in his hands. “It fits. What sort of material can the pauldron create?”

“No clue. Should be able to eat just about anything that isn’t magically reinforced too much,” Greb replied. “And I think it should keep some of the properties too. Lots of material with magical properties that would probably go fantastic in there.”

“Yes, I can imagine,” Knell said. He picked the artifact up and slung his arm through the strap, fastening it to his shoulder. It was a bit strange, but Greb had lived up to his word. It was light and didn’t impede his movements much, and Knell couldn’t deny he enjoyed the extra intimidation factor it lent him. “You’ve done well, provided this works as you say it does.”

“Bah. I’m a man of my word,” Greb said. “It works.”

“Then thank you,” Knell said, tucking the flintlock into his belt. “This isn’t a shield, but it might just have more uses than one. I’ll find protection elsewhere. You’ve done admirably.”

“You get any more Boons, swing by the smithy again. I’ll do you well.”

“If we’re in the area again, I’ll consider it,” Knell replied. “Let’s go.”

The three headed out of the store and back into the city outside. Knell’s hat had mostly kept his face in the shadows, so not many people had looked closely at his features before, but it was a different story now. No shortage of glances were cast their way as the three headed down the streets.

“So much for not calling attention to ourselves,” Cyll said with a chuckle.

“It was inevitable, unfortunately,” Knell said. “Even if I were just carrying it, people would watch. It’s too large to fit in my bag now.”

“So, what’s the next step?” Stix asked. “Is there something else we need in the town?”

“Clothes,” Knell replied. “We’ll be in many more fights soon, and I’d rather not be sailing around in rags. After that – we seek strength once more. There’s still time until Mount Bloodwater, and we won’t be wasting any of it.”

And so, they went shopping. It only took another hour or so for them to locate a tailor and get two outfits for each of them. They kept it simple, but Knell spent some extra coin on a blue and gold captain’s coat.