Chapter 21: Forging Friendships

Subject: Caim Location: Maliscade - Gate District

At Caim’s request, Mille was busy explaining Shroud’s currency system outside the Guild headquarters. She had shown him all but the most precious of the three coins in circulation, for reference. They came from a familiar-looking cloth pouch.

The way Mille explained this in earshot of the passersby was clever. She named the dominant metal each was smelted from, even complimenting the craftsmanship of whatever government manufacturing outfit was responsible for the work.

Caim barely needed to say a thing to keep up with his part in the surface conversation, directing the undercurrent of discourse in ways that would keep him informed about life in Shroud.

It seemed The Shrouded Theocracy still held tight to a monetary system backed by the material worth of what was being exchanged. Though, it appeared the nation also exerted some pressure to keep exchange rates from fluctuating too dramatically.

I’m no economist, but wouldn’t this hold a nation with the explosive growth of Shroud back?

If anything, passersby might be bored if they tried listening. Unless they possessed a supremely nationalistic passion for metallurgy, that is.

Having finished learning what he needed to while the two of them waited for Alice to arrive, Caim remembered something that had been bothering him.

“How much coin did you say the Guild offers to Initiates? This armor feels very expensive. On top of that, I have these other supplies.” He patted his hip pockets. “Not that I’m not grateful. I’m very grateful.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Mille replied, briefly projecting red.

“Are you angry with me?” he asked.

“No, not at all.”

This time, there was no red light glowing from the conduits around Mille’s eyes.

“I know the Guild is wealthy, but how can it afford to spend this much on each Initiate?” he wondered.

This time, he was trying to provoke a response.

“The Guild is not as affluent as you may think,” she began, pulsing red.

Mille stopped speaking. When she finally opened her mouth to try again, she was more composed, but also somehow tired and resigned.

“First, let me again emphasize that Alice is a good friend. Hopeless as she is, she came up with that story, and I ignored my better judgment to repeat it for her benefit, not yours.”

I knew it didn’t make sense! But I probably wouldn’t have caught on if I hadn’t seen Alice pass her that cloth pouch.

“I should have properly weighed the value of your conscience against my friend’s hard-earned coin. You are a stranger, and she is not wealthy. Alice’s wellbeing matters more to me. That is the reality. I incorrectly followed her request, thinking it was the best way to do right by my friend.”

“I agree with you,” Caim assured. “Not that I don’t appreciate what Alice tried to do for me… but the fact is that I really don’t know either of you.”

A solemn quiet overtook him.

“If I manage to survive… I will repay this loan. With interest, if I can afford it.”

Mille seemed to change her attitude. Her frustration at mishandling the situation tempered, but it didn’t vanish entirely. A series of glimmers shone through her conduits, an indiscernible pattern of many colors. They were each faint and short-lived.

Is this what a conflicted faron looks like when they lose their composure?

“I’ve been thinking this about you... You are well-read for someone with your background. You know what an interest loan is. Do you have any experience handling money?”

Does everyone here really believe the world beyond the barrier is full of savages?

“A question for another time. Here comes my… our... friend. Just remember that her generosity should be repaid. Generosity is multi-faceted, and you can harm someone by acting like she does. I try to look out for her, but there can be unpredictable consequences.”

That last sentence resonated with Caim. Generosity had kept him off the street when he found himself unable to go on. It had also kept him content with rotting away in that sheltered environment.

Vera had changed that. Or, she helped cause some of it. Many details remained hazy.

The vital fact remained that Vera had urged Caim to retake charge of his life, even if that meant people needed to die.

Subject: Caim Location: Maliscade - Gate District

Caim barely recognized Alice skipping over in her fresh set of armor. Newly scuffed by the grime of a recent excursion, that is.

“You got new armor,” he remarked when she reached the two of them.

She smiled and hopped a handful of times, spinning to show off. It wasn’t carefree twirling. While in motion, Alice’s arms were flexed and bent at right angles, hands balled into fists.

“And you wouldn’t believe how much more agile I am in this plate. You look fierce in your new armor,” Alice growled and pushed him playfully.

Caim laughed nervously. The seeker was stronger than she looked, and she didn’t look weak.

He thought Alice’s new armor looked like it was less protective than her last set, or what he imagined it looked like undamaged. Mille seemed to agree. The Guild Clerk stepped between them. She studied the armor with her eyes and with her hands, giving Alice the same treatment she had given Caim back in Ashera’s Attires.

She’s really serious when it comes to protection.

The armor was midnight black, but the metallic pieces were more reflective of early dawn light. The torso section only covered her chest, joined with pieces atop each shoulder, and one in front of the neck. Kneecaps and elbows were covered by small units of plate, linked for flexibility. The outer-facing lengths of her forearm were also covered by separate plates.

That was it. Everything underneath was a sleeveless bodysuit like the one Caim himself wore.

“Are you really sure that’s enough protection?” he asked.

Alice flashed a confident grin and performed the seeker salute, jostling Mille slightly during her investigation.

“Not bad,” Mille decided. “You took my advice about the fabric. But that doesn’t mean you can rush off and fight a malevolent blightbeast, now.”

“I only spent this much because you said you’d forget about that,” Alice whined.

Caim grinned and barely held back a chuckle.

“Unlike you, Alice fights as a ‘Midknight’ in a party,” Mille explained, ignoring her friend’s complaints. “You are a ‘Cloak’, meant to stay far from the enemy.”

“But why doesn’t she wear something like that?” Caim asked, pointing to one of the Guild’s guards.

Alice laughed and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Silly, silly Caim. I need to be flexible. I’m strong, but I just don’t have the muscles to haul around armor like that.”

“Guild Defenders are like ‘Vanguards’, if anything,” Mille explained. “Vanguards defend more than they attack.”

So that’s what those are called. Defenders aren’t seekers, they just protect the Guild. From people...

Mille had already described the basics of these foundational combat roles. Still, a cursory glance around at all the seekers gathering outside revealed that real combat was not so simple.

Even within a role, seekers would specialize to suit their strengths, glaring weaknesses, and their immediate needs. There was so much that Caim hoped he would learn to see as he accrued experience.

Alice flexed in her armor again, drawing an imaginary blade and miming combat. Even though she was just pretending, she was panting. Obviously, the seeker was already exhausted from the work she had just returned from.

“My party’s Vanguards keep the blightbeasts from focusing me. Don’t worry, though, I can handle myself. I also make sure our Cloak is safe in the back when I rotate. You never know when more blightbeasts will creep up on ya, and I’m quicker to rush to our Cloak’s defense than any of the others.”

When Alice was describing protecting her Cloak, she looked at Caim and smiled, as if to say: “and I’d do the same for you.”

“All you need to know right now is that you’re a Cloak. That is a backline role,” Mille clarified, “You are wearing protective armor because you will probably take on your first contract alone.”

The faron still didn’t look at him like Alice did, even considering that she was of a different species. Though she didn’t give off the same “heroic guardian” vibe as her friend, Mille was helping him in her own way.

Maybe she still doesn’t completely trust me?

“I will make sure you take on a manageable request, and I will carefully explain how to stay safe out there when it comes time for you to go. Don’t overwhelm yourself with unnecessary information, or you will lose what is important.”

Caim nodded along.

Mille pointed to Alice and waved her over. The two drew close to whisper about something. Caim took a few respectful steps back. Curious as he was, Mille’s occasional glances reminded him that the conversation wasn’t meant for him.

When they were done, Alice hopped over and thumped him on the back with her hand.

“I’m going to treat you to breakfast outside the Guild. While we eat, we are going to share some private words about your Initiation Ritual,” she whispered conspiratorially.

Caim looked back at Mille, but the clerk was already gone.

“She can’t be a part of this,” Alice explained. “Guild regulations say I can’t talk about it, either, but what if you heard a rumor from a random stranger?”

Subject: Mille Location: Maliscade - The Blightbane Guild

Mille paced around Dekker while he continued his work, practically sitting on the floor, like always. She wanted to be hard at work, too, but this was a matter she simply could not let go of.

“Do you realize that you’ve probably visited me more times in the last day and a half than you have in the past month?”

He was right. Was the slightly awkward researcher trying to hint at something?

“I apologize for bothering you. I’m not trying to exploit your skills… Once this is over with, I promise to find some way to compensate you.”

“My point is kind of more that I don’t feel like I’m being exploited. So long as you don’t keep saying things like that,” Dekker answered.

Some time passed.

“I think I understand,” she said.

Dekker placed his work files on the crate beside him and looked up at her.

“What’s my favorite color?” he probed.

“Huh?”

“Humor me,” he chuckled deeply.

“Fine, but it isn’t the easiest test. Normally, you’d tell people blue, but lately, you’ve been reflecting on how fluid preferences can be.”

Dekker snapped and pointed enthusiastically. He seemed to be fond of the “finger shot” gesture lately. Someone was rubbing off on him.

“Thanks, it’s just that I’ve been thinking of getting a friend of mine a gift. It would actually be a gift for myself, too. Matching inkwells. I was initially leaning toward Guild colors black and blue, but I think I’d actually like to get it in red and black instead. If I do it at all, that is. It’s kind of a silly gift.”

“No offense, but I disagree,” she shared.

“I’m not offended. Please, speak your mind.”

Mille did want to speak her mind. Ironically, analyzing Dekker’s problem might keep her from ruminating about her own situation. Her attachments to Alice made decisions difficult right now. Dekker’s friendship wasn’t complicated.

“You’re worried that it’s too sentimental, but you obviously have enough of a bond with this person to value them and that bond. I have experience with that kind of relationship, assuming that experience transfers to your situation. Even if the other person doesn’t like what you give them, they will appreciate the thought.”

Dekker listened intently to what Mille had to say. Her advice was helping, so she was motivated to continue.

“You chose both sets of colors because this is that friend you talked about before, right?” she asked rhetorically because Dekker had really only talked about one other person before. “I think they will like matching jewelry. He sounds like he would enjoy getting any kind of gift from you. You told me he was a compassionate person if a little closed off.”

The Intelligence Division employee gave a tired smile. The slight bags under his eyes seemed to soften.

Is he really so overworked that he couldn’t think clearly about this?

“Thank you. That actually helps a lot more than I expected it to. I was really only making small talk to prove to you that you already help me out, but I guess I was more worried about this stupid gift than I thought.”

“Is there something you aren’t telling me? Is it related to the plate I asked you to look into?”

Dekker waved away the suggestion.

“No, that thing either has the most sophisticated magical encryption mechanism concealing its true purpose, the tech a futuristic battlemage might use centuries from now, like from some fantasy story...”

“Or?” Mille asked, prodding him to go on.

“... Or it is a personal item chiseled from a rare but otherwise unremarkable mineral. The thing is dense, I’ll give it that, but I really don’t think it can be used to amplify or manipulate vira. It isn’t a reactive fuel source, either. If you think it came from a festerfont, I’ll let you take care of cataloging it as a newly discovered blightstone. Regardless, you can have it back.”

He didn’t answer the rest of the question, though. Has something else happened on the border? Or, is his fatigue related to news about the Blight?

“Thank you for looking into it for me. I appreciate your discretion. Sometimes, I can let my cautious nature get the best of me.”

“No problem. It is better than being too reckless. I may not have detected anything dangerous about it. If it came from a festerfont, I’d urge you to let someone look into it anyway. We’ve been studying the Blight and Blight related oddities for centuries, maybe longer, and we still know so little about the phenomenon. Every day, someone from the Guild finds something they can’t explain.”

Mille nodded in agreement.

“I prefer your attitude. So many merchant guilds are experimenting on blightsources in ‘creative’ ways, hoping to discover the next big technology,” Dekker mumbled. “I swear… one of these days, an entire city will sink into the darksprawl, all because some Pulse-forsaken tinkerers wanted to make some extra coin.”