Rune Seeker

Around ten hours after they’d arrived in the Asylum, Hiral sat at the bench in the workroom, Death Knell floating in the air in front of him. The sword he’d gotten from the wild dungeon, The Lost Necropolis of Ur’Thul, was about the best lighting he could get with the majority of the power in the Asylumseemingly broken. Even most of the roots had apparently been killed by whatever disaster had caused so much damage to the place. Still, the steady blue light from the sword—from a small infusion of solar energy—was more than enough to work with.

“Are you actually using the Death Knight Boss’s sword as a lamp?” Seeyela asked, wandering into the workroom with one of Nivian’s packed sandwiches in her hand. She dropped a second sandwich down on the workbench for Hiral, but her eyes were on what he’d been working on.

“Seemed like my best option,” Hiral said, making a small motion with his finger. Death Knell gently floated to the side, ensuring Seeyela wouldn’t bump into its razor-sharp edge.

“Are you keeping it in the air with a rune or something?” she asked, watching the sword hover lazily to stop a few inches further away from her.

Hiral thumbed over his shoulder to the crystal ring floating behind his back. “A feature of the Arsenal of Amin Thett ability. Any of the weapons I pull out of there float nearby until I concentrate enough to pull them into my hand.”

A small gesture with the pointer finger of his right hand, and Death Knell floated a few inches to the side in time with his movement.

“Did you just move the death sword with your finger?” Seeyela asked, watching the weapon.

In response, Hiral lifted his finger up and down, up and down, up and down, the sword following exactly, as if it were nodding.

“Seems pretty responsive,” she said.

“The Gloves of Ur’Thul improve my ability to control it. I think maybe because one of his clones could throw bones around…”

Hiral trailed off as he thought about the Boss he’d fought in the Lost Necropolis of Ur’Thul. Whenever he recalled the encounter, his mind almost always went back to how he’d nearly killed himself when he’d jumped into the Blood Aura. But, the way the lich’s clone had controlled all those bones…

“Interesting feature,” Seeyela said, bringing Hiral back to the present as she took another bite out of the sandwich. Some kind of mainly veggie mix, from the looks of things, while the other on the table had slices of meat in it. Yummy. Seeyela pointed at the sword and crystal, then asked, “And what’s this you’re working on? I expected you to be nose-deep in that book Odi gave you.”

“I was very tempted to dig the book out and see what it had to say,” Hiral said at the same time he carefully wrapped another piece of crystal around the sword’s metal blade with his Mold Crystal ability. Then, pinching the edge between his finger and thumb—along with another application of the ability—he ran his grip down the blade, sharpening it as he went.

“And yet you’re not reading,” Seeyela said.

Checking the edge once more, Hiral sat back and looked at Seena’s older sister. “We’re halfway through level nineteen, right? Once we hit twenty, we’ll be eligible for Rank evolutions.” Seeyela nodded. “And… Dr. Benza said we can only get advanced classes in D-, B-, and S-Ranks. As much as I want to expand my runic library, I don’t think they’ll lead me to an advanced class if they haven’t already.

“You’re probably already pretty close to getting yours…” he added, trailing off.

“I think I am,” she affirmed. “I feel like I’m right on the edge and just need one more small push. A couple fights on the way to the jump point should do it. I mean, I could be totally wrong on this, but that’s how it feels. I talked to Seena a lot about her advanced class, and she said she felt the same thing leading up to it. Like a word on the tip of your tongue.”

“I don’t have that,” Hiral said.

“But you think this will do it?” Seeyela asked.

“I’m hoping so,” Hiral said. “The flavor text of this ring says the person who made it, Amin Thett, was a Runic Armsmith. That’s got to be an advanced class, right? I’m a Runic Artificer, so that sounds like a logical evolution. Somebody who makes weapons…”

“And you’re making a weapon,” Seeyela said, pointing towards the sword while taking another bite from her sandwich.

“Maybe… modifying,” Hiral said. “I got the base sword I’m using from one of the wights I fought back in the city. They were D-Rank, and the weapon seems to do some kind of extra necrotic damage to anything it hits.”

“I remember Wule talking about that energy being difficult to heal,” Seeyela said.

“Exactly, and I figured if I could build a weapon or two… maybe I’d get an advanced class option,” Hiral said.

“Any luck?”

“Not yet, though I think I’m almost finished with this. I’ve wrapped it in crystal to make it more durable, without giving up the necrotic energy component, and added Runes of Separation and Increase to make it sharper. Had a lot of trouble with the Separation part, actually, like the rune was too powerful for the weapon. Turns out making the rune less perfect lowers the functionality, so I just kind of wrote it messy.” Hiral chuckled. “Not as sharp as I was hoping, but it’ll do.”

“What’s left?” Seeyela said, seeming to actually be interested in what he was doing.

“I’d thought about trying to add something like the Gravity or Energy runes to it, too, like the Emperor’s Greatsword, but I don’t think they’ll take,” Hiral said. “Too powerful, and I’m probably not up to making an S-Rank item on my first try. Instead, I’m going to add one more conditional and activatable Rune of Increase on the hilt of the weapon, then connect it to the necrotic energy. To try and increase that damage component of it, you know?”

“Makes sense,” Seeyela said. “What Rank do you think it will be?”

“The base weapon was D-Rank, so I’m hoping I don’t drop the Rank—that would be embarrassing. At least D-Rank, then, and maybe even C-Rank if I do a good enough job. It’s definitely an upgrade… if I don’t break it.”

“And you think it’ll get you an advanced class?”

“Maybe? I don’t know what else to try. The PIMP gave us this crystal I’m using for a reason. This could be it.”

“Okay,” she said slowly, like she was thinking about things. After a few seconds, she asked, “Do you want an advanced class focused on making weapons?”

Hiral opened his mouth to answer the question, but then he actually stopped to consider that answer. “I… don’t know,” he said honestly. “It would be handy to be able to build weapons or armor—or things like this ring—for the party. I’m sure it would pay off in the long run…”

“But?”

“But… it’s not what I spent my whole life training for. Yes, I enjoyed putting this sword together like this—it’s like it was a puzzle—but if I wanted that for the rest of my life, I would’ve been an Academic. Well, tried to be. Who knows if I could’ve passed that test. Anyway, I do enjoy it, but up on the islands I wanted be a Shaper because I wanted to… I dunno… push my limits. It was a different kind of rush, and I’ve felt the same thing down here in the dungeons.

“Those life-or-death moments where you know it’s all on the line, and the only thing you can count on is your skill. Or your party,” he amended. “But, mainly your skill.”

“I get what you’re saying,” Seeyela said. “It’s the same thing with us—me, Seena, and Yanily. I was kind of in it for the adventure, that idea of traveling to new places on the surface. Yanily is more like you; he gets a thrill from the fight. Seena… I think her goal changed a bit along the way. She was always the calm, level-headed one, but since we… Since we started losing people… Well, since then, she’s been more focused on being powerful enough to not lose anybody else.”

“Or burn cities to the ground,” Hiral said with a chuckle.

“Just an added bonus, if you ask her,” Seeyela agreed with a light laugh. “I don’t know if she knew she wanted the kind of abilities she has now, but deep down… I think she did. Or, maybe she needed them…”

“And the PIMP gave them to her,” Hiral said, finishing the woman’s line of thinking.

“Exactly,” Seeyela said.

“You’re saying that if I don’t really want to be a Runic Armsmith, I won’t get that advanced class.”

“I don’t know, but look what happened to Nivian and Wule. They also got advanced classes they needed. I wish they’d gotten classes that would’ve let them come with us, but it’s better than some of the alternatives.”

Hiral nodded while drumming his fingers along the blade of the weapon he was working on. Something about what Seeyela was saying felt right. It was true—he didn’t see himself hiding back in some workroom building weapons for others. When he closed his eyes and imagined what he’d be doing, it was out there with the party. On the front line. Fighting. Striving. Growing.

“Damn,” he finally said helplessly.

“I could also be totally wrong,” she said with a laugh. “So, finish this off. You never know with the PIMP.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty close anyway,” Hiral said, looking at the hilt where he planned to inscribe the last few runes. “Thanks for talking to me about this.”

“No problem,” Seeyela said. “I may’ve kind of misjudged you when we first met—sorry about that, by the way—but we’ve been in the same party now for a while. Like Seena said, we’re pretty much family. We’ve been through…”

“Stuff,” Hiral finished for her, and she looked a little surprised he apparently knew what she was going to say. “Seena said the same thing,” he admitted.

“That girl is always trying to copy me,” Seeyela said.

“Technically, since she said it first, it’s you who’s copying…” Hiral trailed off as Seeyela’s eyes narrowed, and her hand went to casually rest on the hilt of one of her Fangs of the Lady. “Uh, I mean, yeah, she really loves to imitate her big sister. The one she absolutely loves, adores, and wants to be like when she grows up. Kind of creepy sometimes, how much she…”

“Just, stop… Worse than Yanily,” she grumbled. “Either way, she’s right. We’ve been through stuff, so I’m happy to talk things out with you if you need.”

“Thanks, Seeyela. When you first joined us back in the last Asylum, I wasn’t sure how things would work.”

“How come?”

“Uh…” Hiral hesitated.

“Just say it,” Seeyela said in her big-sister-ain’t-got-time-for-nonsense voice.

“I didn’t know if you’d be able to take orders from Seena,” Hiral said in a rush, eyes going to Seeyela’s hand near her dagger. “I know you were the raid leader or whatever it was called, but then you let Seena be the party leader without even questioning it. I was sure there was going to be tension. What happened?”

Instead of taking offense to the question, she actually sat down on the opposite side of the bench and let out a long… sigh? There were a lot of emotions playing across her face, and none of them were what he’d expected when he’d spoken.

“You don’t have to talk about it, if you don’t want to,” Hiral said, adding more quietly, “but I’m here to listen.”

At the second part, she looked up and met his eyes, then forced a smile. “The simple answer is because I’m a coward.”

“What!? You’re not…” He trailed off as she held up a hand for him to stop.

“I am. Look, after you, Seena, and the others rescued my party from the Shapers, I tried to take charge again. Tried to convince myself it wasn’t my fault they’d captured us in the first place…”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Hiral said. “They had B-Rank Shapers with them.”

Seeyela just shook her head. “I was the leader. What happened to us was my fault, even if it was unavoidable. Yeah, I can tell by the look on your face you don’t agree. If you ever find yourself in the role, though, you’ll get it.”

Hiral couldn’t really respond to it, so he gave a shrug. “You did a good job after that…” he said, but even as the words left his mouth, he knew it was a mistake. Pain flashed clearly across the woman’s face, and he didn’t need a high Atn to spot it.

“No, I didn’t,” she said. “Four of my friends died under my leadership. Four people I grew up with, who came to my daughter’s birthday parties, who I expected to see grow old and have kids of their own. They trusted me to get them through—trusted me with their lives—and I let them down.”

“You didn’t…”

“I did. It doesn’t matter if it was the Enemy or some stupid Troblin in a dungeon… I shouldn’t have let them die. I should’ve been… better. After that, and then Cal deciding to stay by herself in the Asylum instead of coming out with us… Well, when Seena offered to take over making the decisions, how could I say no? All I’d done up to that point was get people killed.

“I couldn’t have that on my shoulders anymore. What if… What if my leadership cost me Seena too?” Hiral didn’t have an answer to the question. Before he could come up with something to say, Seeyela shook her head and continued. “No, that’s not fair to Seena. Yes, I wanted to run away from having to make the choices, but I also knew she could handle it. Better than I could, even. And, she has. She’s been amazing. Decisive. Strong.”

“She blames herself for Wule and Nivian,” Hiral said quietly.

“Of course she does,” Seeyela said, but there was no fault in her voice. “Like I said, burden of leadership. She did everything right. Made the best choices. She doesn’t see it now, and maybe she won’t see it for a few years, but this is a pretty good outcome compared to some of the other things that could’ve happened.”

“Same thing could be said for you getting the rest of us to the first Asylum,” Hiral said. “Yes, we lost friends, but we didn’t lose everybody. I’m sure that doesn’t make it any easier for you, but you deserve some credit for getting the rest of us there safely.”

Seeyela held Hiral’s gaze for several long seconds as she seemed to consider his words, then finally forced another smile. “Maybe. Though it might take me a few years to accept that.”

“I’ll keep reminding you as often as you need it,” Hiral said, and Seeyela reached out to give his hand a squeeze.

“Thanks,” she said, giving one more squeeze before taking her hand back. “Ah, I almost forgot… I actually came out here to tell you something.”

“Not to bring me lunch?” Hiral asked, glancing at the sandwich.

“Consider that a bonus.”

“What did you want to tell me?” he asked.

“Seena wants us all to gather up,” Seeyela said.

“Something on her mind?”

“You could say that. She wants us to run one more dungeon before we go to Fallen Reach.”