Chapter 67: Sacrifice Strength (Patreon)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/16_w0Zp7YubSSGKB7u2gKumlMcXBAyHlkIJnlC5Nb8_M/edit?usp=sharing

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“...and we spent the rest of the time just talking about life and random stuff. With the princess and her bodyguard standing over us like chaperones…” Cayden grunted, but then amended his statement. “Well, they weren’t really standing over us. They gave us space – but Tiana certainly seemed to think that someone was listening in.” While he didn’t feel particularly charitable towards the princess, neither did he want to misrepresent what happened. If Elise was to give good advice, then she needed an accurate accounting of what happened, regardless of how much Cayden wanted to embellish. “So, what do you think?”

Elise had been writing while Cayden talked, her pen darting across the pages of her soul notebook. Normally, Cayden might have been worried about writing down what Tiana had told him, but Elise’s soul notebook was about as secure as a written account could possibly be. He was much more worried about someone listening in on their conversation than he was about someone somehow accessing Elise’s skill, though he had done as much as he could to mitigate that possibility as well: they were in Elise’s dorm room with the windows drawn and speaking at a quiet whisper. The only way someone could know to listen in at this particular moment in this dorm would be if they had been tailing Cayden and listening to his conversations since he met with Tiana. And if that was the case, if Tiana’s jailers had the resources to send a hidden tail after Cayden over twenty-four hours after he had last spoken to his sister, then they were already so far above them that whatever plans they might make had no hope of succeeding.

Elise didn’t immediately respond, and Cayden waited patiently as she reread her notes, her pen tapping at the edge of her notebook.

“I’ve read about things like this a few times before. In history, I mean: a kingdom will create an order of completely loyal, powerful people, usually by choosing orphans and then isolating them further in a training compound, ensuring their loyalty is to the ones who trained them. This is the first time I’ve ever heard of it being limited to a specific race, though.” She shook her head. “Presumably, the princess was powerful enough and willing to break Tiana’s enforced isolation. Perhaps she thought doing so would make you more loyal to her. Perhaps she hopes Tiana will grow more loyal in thanks. Perhaps, after realizing that you already knew about the fateweaver compound, she thought this was the best way to placate you and prevent you from spreading the ‘secret.’” She shrugged. “Or perhaps it was none of those things, and she simply did it to repay the favor of you saving her life.”

Cayden shook his head. There was no way for him to guess what might have been motivating the princess’ actions. Cayden already wasn’t great at reading people, and the princess had one of the best poker faces he’d ever seen. But, while he didn’t want to blame Elise for the situation, there was something about her words that were sticking in his mind.

“You said you’ve read about things like this before?” he asked, and Elise nodded. “Why didn’t you see it before she joined? Why not warn her?” He tried to contain his emotions, but even so some of what he was feeling bled through into his voice. It wasn’t anger. He couldn’t be angry with Elise, as he knew any lack of warning on her part wouldn’t have been intentional. But rather, it was anguish – the pain of knowing it all could have been prevented.

“I’m sorry, I…I should have seen it,” the emotion in Elise’s voice mimicked Cayden’s, though to a lesser extent. “But history has never been a focus of mine, and I might not have even noticed the similar pattern if not for something I read a few days ago.” She waved away Cayden’s questioning look, indicating that it was of no importance. “But, even if I had known…I’m not sure if I would have warned her.”

Cayden opened his mouth in shock, but Elise continued before he could respond.

“At least I might not have in the way you’d have wanted. Because as bad as Tiana’s situation seems, the other orders I’ve read about haven’t been all bad. Some of them I’m not sure I could even find fault in at all. They would take in promising children in bad situations, those who would otherwise be without prospects, and give them a chance for a better life. What is a little loyalty in exchange for that? Even without any extra indoctrination, fanatical loyalty would be expected from those raised like that.”

“But Tiana had prospects! She wasn’t in a ‘bad situation,’” Cayden responded.

“Yes, because of you, and how hard you worked to ensure she was taken care of. And even with all that hard work, you didn’t have the connections to get Tiana a good apprenticeship.” She gave Cayden a look. “Remember, when she left, you were still working at Dryson’s, scraping together every coin that came your way. I’d wager that any other kid from your orphanage would leap at the opportunity that Tiana was given.”

At that, Cayden was forced into silence. He didn’t know how to respond. Was Tiana really in a better place now than she would’ve been otherwise? Was the compound actually a good thing?

He shook his head.

“That may’ve applied for other places like this, but not for Tiana. She’s been forced into taking a skill that lets her talk secretly with others, simply so she can avoid being eavesdropped on. That place can’t be good.”

“You’re right, of course. I’m not saying that the fateweaver compound is all good – I’m just saying that it might not be all bad, either. It might not be the worst thing in the world if Tiana stays and learns more about her fateweaver skills, at least for a little while.” Cayden wasn’t convinced, and Elise sighed. “Tiana was the one who suggested that you both wait out the situation, at least for the moment, right? At some point, you need to trust her judgment. She wouldn’t suggest that if things are as dire as you’re worried they are. And at some point, whoever’s in charge of that place is going to have to let up on Tiana’s restrictions if she’s going to be of any use to them.”

Cayden grimaced. “It just feels so wrong, though, to just do nothing.”

“Then don’t do nothing. You’re at the premier academy for training adventurers in the kingdom. If there’s ever a time and place for you to gain the power needed to free your sister, it’s here and now.”

Cayden looked at Elise, then nodded resolutely. “You’re right. And that’s the other thing I wanted to talk to you about – I need better skills.”

At the change in topic, Elise brightened. “I’ve been looking for some options that might combine into a tier-three skill – specifically with your [Interia] and [Resiliance] skills, or possibly even with [Mind is a Temple]. Honestly, I think [Resistance] is good enough for your mental protections, but if you’re still worried about it, there are some good possibilities for a mental defense tier-two skill from [Mind is a Temple], which would likely be able to combine well with [Resiliance]. [Resiliance] and [Inertia], on the other hand, I believe have the possibility of combining into a space-locking skill, given a suitable third tier-two skill. Some ones I’ve found are…”

Cayden held up a hand before Elise could build up too much more momentum. “Thanks for that. Seriously, thanks. But I think I need to go a different direction.” He looked down at his claws, clenching them into his fists. “My defense is good enough as it is. Right now, I’m falling too far behind in my offense. All I can do is swing with my claws or spear – I need a better way to attack.”

Elise stared at Cayden, her mouth open. She looked down at her notebook as if looking within her notes for the appropriate way to respond to the sudden request, and then looked back up at Cayden. “...are you sure? It’ll be much harder to find a way to combine an offensive skill with your current tier-two skills. And there’s no guarantee that the resulting tier-three skill will keep the offensive components.”

Cayden sighed. “That’s what I’m saying. I think I need to start over completely and build towards a tier-three offensive skill to go with [Resistance].”

Cayden stared down at his claws as silence fell between them. He felt bad about his request – Elise had spent so long searching for and experimenting with the different skills that were building towards his second tier-three skill, and he was planning on throwing all that work away. Yet he wouldn’t take back his words. A good defense wouldn’t be enough to ensure Tiana’s freedom. Not by itself, at least.

As if reading his thoughts, Elise finally spoke. “There are more ways to get offensive power than just through skills, you know. Specialization will always beat diversification – it’s why adventurers almost always delve with teams rather than alone. And you’re in the Delver’s Academy – why not find a teammate who you can trust to fill that role?”

Cayden didn’t respond, simply staring at his claws, resolute. Eventually, Elise continued with a sigh.

“Do you have any idea what direction you want your new skills to go in? Besides ‘offensive’?”

“Not yet. I was hoping you might have some advice.”

Elise shook her head. “I’ll have to do more research. Mostly I’ve been focused on defensive skills that’ll work well with [Resiliance]. Although…” She paused. “There is one skill I’ve been looking at that might help your offense. It isn’t as dedicated of an offensive skill as you might like, but it’ll add some diversity to your skillset that you’re currently lacking.”

Cayden perked up. “What skill is that?”

“I don’t know the name for sure, but the strength equivalent is called [Sacrifice Strength]. And I’m pretty sure the princess has the charisma equivalent, which implies that there’s an equivalent for all the stats.”

“How would you know what skills the princess has?”

“That’s what put me onto the skill in the first place. The [Compulsion] she cast on you and the terravias was crazy strong – way stronger than it should have been – which got me thinking. Depending on the flavor of her specific [Compulsion] skill, its strength is based on either charisma, magic power, or the amount of mana invested, or possibly a combination of all three. For it to be that strong, almost all of her stats would need to be invested in one or all of those, and she’d likely need several supporting skills that further boosted it as well.”

Cayden frowned as he thought back to that evening in the Lost Forest. “Wait, that doesn’t make sense though. When they were running, Valeria was the one pulling Marrianne along behind her. And Marrianne has an archer build, which usually relies on agility and dexterity. How could she have a higher dexterity than Marrianne while still casting such a strong [Compulsion]?”

“Exactly! Which is where her supposed skill comes in,” Elise flipped open her soul notebook and started reading. “‘[Sacrifice Strength]: Active skill. Sacrifice up to fifty percent of the user’s strength stat. Add half of the sacrificed strength to the stat of the user’s choice.’ The princess probably has the same skill, but for one of her other stats, which she was using to boost her agility while they were running from the terravias. From the way she looks, I’m guessing it’s charisma.” Elise snapped her notebook shut. “I wasn’t able to find a record of a similar skill for vitality, but I’m sure it exists.”

Cayden’s mind was awhirl with possibilities. It wasn’t the pure offensive skill that he was looking for, but it was certainly a step in the right direction, giving him much greater flexibility while still making use of his currently-lopsided stats.

“Do you know if the transfer only applies to the base stat, or if boosts from [Resiliance] and weapon skills could also be transferred? And how do I learn it?”

Elise shook her head. “I don’t know for either. Like I said, I don’t know much about the skill – I was planning on researching it more before bringing it up as a possibility. But maybe you can ask the princess about it?”

Hesitantly, Cayden nodded. It would be awkward, as directly asking someone about their skills without an invitation was taboo, and he assumed would be even more so when asking the princess. Yet with the princess being his only tie to his sister, he was already committed to deepening their relationship at least somewhat. On top of that, what was a small discussion about skills?

Cayden sighed. And when he’d first come to Valtane, he’d been so committed to staying out of politics…

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