The Fool's Freedom

After Walter came back a bit later, carrying a few enchanted boxes he claimed could preserve things, Alan decided to venture out. He had neglected exploring the Sanctuary, not that he would now. He had a certain place in mind.

He also wondered how many strange and fun classes were around, and also how many people hid their true abilities. While the few groups who had power on the surface seemed to be doing well, it was a matter of time before things devolved. Alan expected a lot of violence with time.

Emerson’s murder spree aside, he even passed by a few fights while walking the streets. Most were simple, between people with only beginner skills and no classes. There was one scrap he stopped to watch. It was a show and a half, and as he watched a man and a woman throw earth and water at each other. The use of skills was clumsy and slow, but dangerous as all magic seemed to be.

Finally, the Earth mage won and his group cheered. Alan wanted to see what the item was, but he didn’t want to bring any unnecessary attention to himself. He still felt like Dusty had cheated him by betting on the shitty lighter.

The Sanctuary was quickly turning into a settlement. Many of the ruins were sporting wooden doors and furniture now.

Some people were even adding additions out of stone and wood to their chosen quarters, and few even had decorations up. The ruins that had stories or even roofs were now connected with a complicated web of wooden bridges and ropes. A variety of actually useful products were popping up left and right. The place was rounding up to look like a proper settlement.

Alan hated to do it, but credit was due where credit was due and humanity was showing up for this one. For now.

He had a purpose now though, and he found the building he was searching for quite easy. It was located close to the shimmering barrier, right at the end of Sanctuary. It stood out like a castle in the gutter. A circular concrete ruin that was somehow morphing into a tower, as the owner appeared to be building up with whatever means he found, creating a monstrosity of architecture. Steps led to a wide entrance that had once been narrower, judging by the remaining debris around it.

There was also a small unfinished wooden building next to the tower. It looked fresh and smoke billowed from a few chimnies.

What had drawn Alan most was the possibility of an enchantment carrying Emerson’s skill. A [Cleanse] was a game changer. Feeling clean in the post-apocalypse was almost an unfair advantage against anything that didn’t share the same luxury.

There were quite a few [Enchanters], but one was standing out as no gang had managed to force him to join them. Or so Walter had told him.

A guard in mismatched armor sat at the front of the monstrous building, lazily stretched out on a chair. There was quite an impressive sword laid next to him that stood out as something System made. Alan could hear hammering from inside of the building and his interest only grew.

The guard eyed Alan and stood out, revealing both his massive size, and how weirdly put together his armor was.

“Yo –, I mean, hello. Welcome to the Enchanter’s Bane. What can we do you in for?”

Enchanter’s Bane? Alan stopped a short distance away and eyed the guard, “I hope you won’t be doing me in anytime soon, thank you very much. I am here to check the best enchanter in town.”

The guard smiled and scratched his head, “Ye, we are! I mean, you’ve come to the right place. You with any of the gangs? The Future, the Bandits, the Sane Rabbits, the Rascals, or the Cowboys? Maybe one of the smaller ones? Can’t keep track.”

“Me neither, man. And the Sane Rabbits? Are you sure that’s what they are named?”

The man grew a serious look and nodded, “Yes, that’s what I asked too. Who would be ‘fraid of a sane rabbit? I mean, an insane rabbit sounds scarier. Although, I would pick a different animal too if they asked me.”

“Who knows? Maybe in a world that is driving everyone insane those who keep their sanity are the most dangerous of the bunch?”

The gears turned in the large man’s head, and he once again nodded vigorously, “Makes sense, makes sense. What’s your name? Everyone calls me Tullis.”

“Alan.”

Alan felt like a kid again as the man’s hand enveloped his. He was probably bigger than Emerson.

“You stay here all day?” Alan asked.

“Oh no, me and the boys take turns to go out and level. Got to keep strong, boss doesn’t like us slacking. Plus, it’s fun.”

“Smart boss you have.”

Tullis grimaced, “Yeah. Too smart.”

“Well, nice meeting you, Tullis. I will go and meet your boss now if that is alright?”

“Yeh, go ahead. You are a nice fella’. Come chat again.”

“Sure thing.”

Alan walked in with a smile, having enjoyed the chat with the intimidating guard. The inside was much like the outside – a mess. There were whole tree trunks right next to the entrance, possibly the reason it had been widened. On the far end, Alan saw another passage that led to the side building – a forge, judging by the sounds coming from it.

He carefully jumped over some wooden planks and what looked to be raw ore, and approached the only person he saw. There was a stocky old man with a mustache leaning with one hand on a massive counter that still had some bark. He was frowning at a square piece of metal with deeply etched grooves.

“Hello –” the man’s hand shot up, cutting Alan off.

His gaze never left the metal. Just as Alan was starting to get impatient the man moved and stabbed at the square with a strange-looking glowing awl. Despite the abrupt movement, the awl moved with precision and certainty, cutting through the metal with ease.

There were sparks and explosions of sharp sizzling sound. Alan boosted his legs and jumped far back, cursing as he tripped on a piece of wood and fell on another. Thankfully all the damage was some pain in his backside.

Smoke enveloped the man on the counter. Alan heard distant cursing, before the square piece of metal flew to one side, landing on a pile of similar-looking ones.

There was coughing before the smoke started rapidly dissipating. It revealed the old man holding a small leather pouch that was sucking in all the smoke. Alan watched the process with fascination as he did with every new piece of flashy magic he encountered.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” the man said. There was a strange accent there, and Alan felt [Tongue of the four corners] working at the back of his head. The man was on the older side with a healthy tan, and cleanly shaven, making Alan aware of his stubble. He wore a crude leather apron and simple clothes like the ones Alan had seen on everyone. Ashlyn had promised to get him a set.

“What happened?” Alan asked.

“Enchantment got fucked,” the man's eyes rose to meet Alan’s. There was an instant change in his demeanor, “Apologies, honored customer, my name’s Muge, what can I do for you?” While he spoke, the man moved with agility very far from what Alan expected from someone of that age. He jumped the counter and rushed to help Alan stand up.

Alan almost stumbled again when a flash of light covered him and he was suddenly clean again.

“Name’s Alan, Mr. Muge. Thanks. I heard you are the best so I decided to check out the rumors. I am also interested in having an item capable of [Cleanse], I see you even have the skill so I will count myself lucky.”

“That is in the realm of possibility. A permanent enchantment is still out of the question, but I can provide you with a temporary one. It is like the [Spark] lighters you see everywhere, only much harder to make and more expensive.”

“The lighters are finite?”

“Of course.”

I should have slit Dusty’s throat.

Alan composed himself, “Well, what do you want for a temporary cleansing… item? How many uses does such a thing hold?”

“Every item comes out different, unfortunately. I have three of these ready to sell, and each might only work three or ten times, even more. Enchanting is still in its early days and I can assure you, I am the best in this place.” There was unwavering confidence in the last words Muge said.

Alan nodded, “What is the price, Mr. Muge?”

Muge’s smile stretched reminding Alan of a predator, before returning to a polite one, as if the change hadn’t been.

“The price, Mr. Alan, is everyone’s question. We have no money and no universal system. So the question is, what can you offer as the price?”

Damn, this guy is scary.

Alan considered. All he had were his few enchanted items and the cleansed echidna crystal. With reluctance, shadows crawled from his forearm and brought out the crystal. It was not enough for another [Ritual: Enchanted Bones], and he was sure he would get more in the future. A decent trade altogether.

The old man stared at Alan’s hand for a while, before turning to the crystal.

“Oh, I have not seen one this big. This is not from a wailer, is it?” Muge’s eyes lit up and he reached to take it.

Alan allowed him and watched the man examine the crystal. His fingers slowly examined each corner.

“It is from an Echidna,” Alan said, then added, “Those things with the human masks.”

Muge’s eyes shot up and he looked at Alan as if seeing him for the first time, “That is their name, huh? You killed one of them?” His voice was deeper now, on the verge of shaking.

“Me and my friend, yes. It was a close one.”

Muge took a deep breath, then set the crystal on the counter and offered his hand. Alan reluctantly took it, wondering what this was about. The old man was hefty and strong, and there was strength in the hand that Alan hadn’t felt before.

“Mr. Alan, I, Muge, am honored to hold your hand. Those monsters took someone very dear to me, and I have sworn to do my best to eradicate them. Alas, the System offered me a class I could not refuse. It will be a while before my combat capabilities will shine.”

Alan didn’t know what to say and chuckled awkwardly, “You are making me feel embarrassed, Mr. Muge. I hate these creatures too, and I don’t doubt that given the chance many would hunt them down and destroy them.”

There was a nod as the old man let go of Alan’s hand and reached behind the counter, taking a crude wooden box. He revealed three small wooden cylinders carved with various symbols and runes resting inside.

“We have found some raw ore around the ruins, and we are trying to use it instead as it is very easy to work with. We have had no success with storing the advanced skills. [Spark], [Light Orb], and [Cleanse Water] are easy to work with. We even managed to create an item that can give the user [Tracking] for an hour. It has only one use though.

This wood is the best medium we have found so far, and believe me, I started my research and attempts almost the very first day of the integration.

These three hold the advanced [Cleanse]. Please choose one, and take it free of charge as a sign of my respect, and my gratitude.”

Alan's eyebrows rose, “Mr. Muge, please, I didn’t –”

“Mr. Alan, I believe you will achieve great things if you manage to stay alive long enough. We are just starting to explore this new world, and you are not a simple one. This is but a small price to ensure that you will think of me first the next time you run into something interesting. It is my gratitude, but also an investment. Trust me, at seventy years old, I am a good judge of people.”

Seventy?!

Alan nodded and took one of the wooden charms, carefully examining the carved piece of wood. It didn’t strike him as magical, but neither did his boots.

“If you don’t mind me asking Mr. Alan, is what you are using an enchanted item or a skill? I apologize if my question offends you.”

“Oh, no worries. The bones of my left forearm are enchanted by the usage of a skill and through a fortuitous encounter I managed to further augment them. I cannot share more.”

Mr. Muge’s eyes shone like two lighthouses as he considered the implication. “This proves so much of my theories! Yes! Thank you, Mr. Alan. Thank you!” the man was almost jumping for joy, showing yet another facet of his personality. He took out what appeared to be a notebook, and started jotting down with… his finger.

Another enchanted item?

“Well, thank you Mr. Muge. I will be going now,” Alan said, deciding to leave the man to his musings.

“Wait! I still want this crystal, and I can offer you something else. You use daggers, yes? Not a very popular weapon, but I won’t question your choice, Mr. Alan.” The old man started rummaging behind the counter and finally took out a simple steel dagger. It was rough around the edges and quite ugly, but well-made.

Alan smiled. He had no idea how to fight using his daggers, but it seemed to be working out so far. A good enchantment could boost his [Shadow Slashes] as they could now carry the extra effect.

“This one might not look the best, but we are prioritizing quality over looks. I assure you my colleague is an amazing [Blacksmith]. The handle is of the same wood as the [Cleanse] charm, and the size allowed for better enchantment. You see, if we make a charm too big the enchantment doesn’t work. But a bigger carving makes the enchantment last longer. While if it’s too small it’s more fragile but easier to create. It is a problem we are working on.”

Alan took the dagger and examined it. It felt good in his hand despite the thinner handle.

“It holds [Imbue Fire], basically lighting your weapon on magical fire. I am not sure how that affects combat or if it will be useful to you.”

Useful? Alan grinned. His [Shadow Slash] just got a bit deadlier.