Chapter 42: Magitech Secrets

Subject: Mille Location: Maliscade - Blightbane Guild

Caim’s last sentence was the end of the meal. Alice left to meet up with her party, and it was finally time for Mille to return to work herself.

But she was still uneasy.

Cleansing the Blight from Maliscade.

Alice treated the declaration as a challenge. It was just a seeker’s oath to her. The kind of objective a person doesn’t really think they’ll legitimately achieve, but they exaggerate with some emotional words.

If that was all there was to it, it’d be a normal thing for a seeker to say.

Mille could read humans better than that. Caim’s eyes were calm and serious. He said his piece plainly and seriously. The fool genuinely believed he was capable of such a feat. If not now, then in the future.

Where did that confidence come from, I wonder?

Caim did look different after twelve contracts, but not that different. It was about the level of growth you’d expect, really. If you were to draw it out over a week, that is.

Now, Mille was watching him standing before the Initiate’s Contract Infoboard, planning his next step. She didn’t share in his confidence, but she did get the sense that his actions would have a sizable impact on the future of this Guild branch.

Already, people had forgotten Caim’s flashy initiation, but Mille preferred a conscientious seeker to a boisterous fool anyway.

I have to make sure he doesn’t skip steps. Eleven repeats of the same exact contract is a kind of methodical we rarely see, but he didn’t know how to read the pillars. I… don’t want him to die.

She nodded respectfully to one of her colleagues as they passed on either side of the hall’s main aisle.

Was Dekker overworked when he looked over Caim’s catalyst? Or, is it technology far beyond what we have here in Shroud? It’s at times like these when I wish I knew more about magic. Shroud is changing too fast for me to anticipate.

But that also meant seekers could use better tools, even if only Champions and above could actually afford to use them.

That slob Dekker was just another Guild employee, overworked and pulled in too many directions, but he wasn’t an idiot. Mille trusted his judgment.

She wished she could bring someone in to examine the bizarre, concealed metal lining down Caim’s back. But, again, that would draw too much attention.

Wasn’t there a story about how it was decided that The Martyr would shoulder the responsibility of the fracturing of the sacred whole? What was it... Did Furle tell one too many people, and then the last one was The Stranger’s agent?

Mille remembered pieces from those stories assigned as reading assignments back in school.

No, that wasn’t it. Furle shared the secret with a minor deity who wanted to help them make sense of the loss of Apex and her subsequent division into the six Hexaline deities.

The moral of the story was that, even if you didn’t know why you were supposed to share something sacred with an outsider, you must do so. The risks outweigh the gains. It was used to explain why the wall around Shroud was a necessity, why young minds should douse their curiosity with the enlightening stories of scripture.

I guess I can see the value of the message.

As she grew closer, Mille realized there was now a crowd of seekers and even Guild staff surrounding the Infoboards now. Caim was buried somewhere among them.

“New magitech? Wouldn’t the Guild tell us about something like this?” a seeker commented.

“It’s the same board, so I don’t think you could call it new. Only the spell’s changed,” another replied.

Mille picked up the pace and caught the eye of a Guild Defender, who immediately relaxed a little at the sight of a perceived authority figure. He shot her an insistent nod toward the Initiate Infoboard.

I don’t outrank you, she was tempted to complain. We don’t even work in the same division!

A battle for another day.

Just what did that child do now? Pulse… The moment I take my eyes off of him… I should just leash him and be done with it.

“Guild business, please let me through.”

Subject: Caim Location: Maliscade - Blightbane Guild

Caim swept his hands across the Infoboard, rapidly manipulating the symbols in a trance. There was such a wealth of information and functionality locked away, and he’d discovered it purely by accident.

It’s because I started thinking like I did back then. Sinking back into that mindset brought back the muscle memory. The Infoboard has an intuitive interface, so it was only a matter of time before something like this happened.

Why hadn’t he seen anyone else use a board like this? Maybe he just wasn’t paying attention or maybe…

Caim stopped, wondering if he’d done something forbidden. It was only then that Mille managed to snare his attention.

“Tampering with Guild property is a crime. What are you doing?” she whispered. “Everyone saw your magic.”

The room around them was silent, but she projected her voice so that it was muffled by their bodies huddled against the Infoboard’s smooth dark surface.

When did all these people get here?

“I haven’t done anything,” he attempted to explain. “What do you mean, tampering? Are we not allowed to use these features?”

He had trouble keeping his volume in check, and a Guild Defender stepped closer to explain that he and the others gathered around didn’t know the boards could be used in this way.

It didn’t make sense.

“Could you maybe explain what you’re doing? That would help,” The friendly guard suggested.

His tone implied there was a chance Caim wouldn’t be punished. Actually… Why should he be?!

“Uh… Yeah, sure. So, I was just using the thing like normal and then discovered the filter window.”

They didn’t understand, so he tried to explain.

“It lets you select what contracts you want to look at, narrowing down the list. It behaves a little differently than the stuff I’m used to, but it helps that there isn’t as much to select from on the Initiate Contract Board by default.”

Caim tapped his fingers to open the window and then set the selection criteria to narrow by festerfont. He explained what he was doing as he went. Then, he confirmed the change and the list’s display updated.

Now, only contracts in Riventread showed up. The Defender nodded along with the demonstration, but Mille was startled.

“Wait. Make them appear again.”

He followed her request, returning to what he decided to call the “configuration menu.”

“So many choices… We weren’t taught how to use this. Make it like it was before. Use it normally while I speak to my superior.”

Caim reverted the Infoboard by removing the filter. She didn’t seem unhappy with the quick reversal, but she wasn’t overjoyed to be so out of the loop.

Dejected, he selected a fresh contract in silence. It was in Riventread but was not a Carapaser cull. Instead, he would be targeting Krusts.

Subject: Caim Location: Maliscade - Blightbane Guild

“You’re really taking a Krust contract?” someone behind Caim asked.

He hadn’t selected Krusts by random. They were in the seeker handbook’s bestiary. In no uncertain terms, the summary below the sketch stated that these creatures were troublesome. But he had a new secret that would help him.

“Yeah, I thought I’d try my hand at something new. I’m still starting out, so-”

Caim turned to respond to the stranger and found that the woman’s face was stiff and drained of color. She wasn’t looking at Caim, but at another man who’d just entered their vicinity. She hesitated to speak, eventually opting to remain silent.

The man’s appearance wasn’t particularly frightening from Caim’s perspective, but he was adorned in some admittedly strange armor. A jumble of bulky red metal links, covering the body from head to toe.

It was not the kind of thing a seeker would wear, even a sturdy Vanguard. It also couldn’t compare to the flashy armor of the Enforcers guarding the city, nor the heroic raiments of the Guild Defenders.

It was difficult to describe, but the metalwork had a rugged, savage appeal to it. The entire front of the man’s helm jutted out aggressively. Perhaps he was an infamous seeker after all?

The stranger gestured inconspicuously to “shush” the seeker. She swallowed, nodded gently, and retreated to an empty table on the side of the Guild Hall.

Could this be one of those Greys? Gwen told me that I wouldn’t be targeted so long as I didn’t draw their attention or fall for one of their schemes. I’m really not sure, though...

Caim returned his attention to Mille, who had just arrived with another woman in tow. Mille had called her a superior, but the way the faron clerk confidently strode out front made that power distinction questionable at best.

“I’m still surprised you didn’t know the boards can be used this way,” he laughed.

I just really want to continue experimenting, even more so now that I’ve been told to stop.

“Please listen before speaking. You will answer only the questions you are asked. Understand?” Mille demanded.

Caim nodded.

“My name is Marian, and I am the Administration Division’s Communications Overseer. It is a pleasure to meet you in person, Caim. I remember not long ago when your initiation caused quite a stir around here. I didn’t see it myself, but I hope you’ll continue to quell the Blight here in Maliscade.”

Marian had short brown hair and hazel eyes. Her uniform was like Mille’s, but the line pattern decorations on her sleeve showed her elevated rank.

After introducing herself, she went on to ask Caim some basic questions, including how he came upon this “feature”.

He answered honestly. It did feel intuitive. The magic was arranged in predictable patterns. That was it.

“If it was intuitive, you wouldn’t be the first to discover this,” Mille interjected after a lull. “It may be intuitive to you, but this is serious.”

I don’t know. It feels natural, the inviting feeling of a tool designed with the user’s experience in mind.

“Just because no one in Maliscade has used an Infoboard in this way, it does not mean other Guild branches are equally cut off from information about the tech. Central Command in Veilas, for example. The capital must know more,” Marian suggested.

Mille nodded along, deep in thought.

“I don’t understand… why is this such a bad thing?”

“It isn’t, really. But it is complicated. These infoboards arrived the day after the city was built. They were blank before contracts were first stored in them. Only our staff has access to the programming terminals. Get it?”

Caim did get it. If it was mundane technology, it would not be so complicated. Magitech was more tricky. Mille already told him that, with magic, you never really knew what was “in there”.

“You mean that, because the people who programmed the infoboards didn’t know, it’s different. They are worried about what else these things can do.”

Mille held her hand out and flipped it over, seeming to indicate he hadn’t yet reached a deeper conclusion.

“Being a mage, you should be able to guess another worry,” she gently prodded.

Caim contemplated but arrived at no conclusion.

Mille lowered her voice so that only the three of them could hear.

“A spell that you don’t understand. Technology, guiding the spell in useful directions, but not negating the need for a living caster to manipulate it from time to time… This functionality was generated by the spell itself, not the mage. That user is an unwitting part of the process, as is the Guild that employs them. The spell manifested the caster’s intentions. What else did it access in their mind?”

“Am I in trouble?” he bluntly asked.

The Communications Overseer didn’t seem to agree with the severity of this incident. Instead, she gave Caim an unexpected proposal.

“No, but I’m afraid you’ve been roped into an assignment, Initiate Caim,” she stated with a cheery smile. “You can’t hide your discovery from the Guild, so we would ask that you spend some time each day in front of the spare Infoboard secured in the restricted section. Is that acceptable?”

Caim could tell that Mille was torn about this, but Marian was bubbly and relaxed.

“You want me to see what else I can find?”

“And to document those discoveries. It would be a paid job. Though, it would be easier on us if you could accept a form of payment other than coin.”

“Honestly, I’d do it for free.”

“That’s… We have to compensate you somehow.”

Caim didn’t exactly have much, so some payment would be helpful, but the Guild had been so kind to him so far. Would it really be so bad to return the kindness? But… he also needed coin to buy a weapon. Anything that would offset his costs would help.

But Caim genuinely was motivated to improve the functioning of the Maliscade Guild, if only a little. This was going to be his home for some time still.

“I think the Guild could benefit from using the Infoboards more efficiently. Everyone works so hard, but we could really do incredible things if we only had more tools and know-how.”

“If that’s the case, what would you say to moving into one of our singles undergoing renovation? It would be better if you could find a party, but you have no intention of doing that at this time, do you...”

Silently, Mille was listening to this conversation, beaming happy green light mixed with subtle flecks of violet. She approved.

Caim was already living for free in the Guild bunkhouse, but this was also a very tempting offer of compensation. If he lived alone in an apartment, he’d have more privacy to explore his abilities. He’d probably sleep better too.

Mille had obviously already privately spoken to Marian about him, but he didn’t know what explanation she’d been given. Certainly not the true reason a party would be a problem, which were fears that strangers might discover his secrets.

He planned on getting stronger until he could fight on equal footing with Alice.

“I would be happy to take the job,” Caim declared.

Just then, a stranger put a hand on Caim’s shoulder, approaching from behind, and he jolted upright.

“I pass by on my way through the city, and I find something curious going on here.”

His friendly green eyes reminded Caim of someone.

Is it? No, there’s no way he could be here...

“Your talk of intuition got me thinking. I find that upbringing greatly influences how we perceive the world around us,” the blonde-haired man shared.

It’s been so long, I’m not sure I’d be able to recognize him anymore.

“Just what was your upbringing?” The stranger asked.

This was a dangerous question, but Caim already had the answer prepared. He shared his fictional backstory, time in a remote magic academy. Though not verbatim, this was the script Mille had made him practice.

Oddly, Mille didn’t butt in. She just stood there and listened to the conversation. She wasn’t smiling anymore. Her conduits were neutral silver.

“I’m not a seeker myself, but I respect the profession. I must apologize for being surprised to find someone like you here.”

“Someone like me?”

“You, my friend, are confined to your festerfonts.” The man gently pointed at Caim’s head. “But, in here, you’re unrestrained. That’s the feeling I get from you.”

Caim was a little confused as to this stranger’s train of thought, but it wasn’t like he was wrong. He probably wasn’t completely right, either.

“You may see it that way, but the Blight is dangerous. From a broad perspective, we might miss the chance to secure our future.”

Facing the slightly taller human, Caim couldn't decide how to look at him. He was a handsome, well-dressed, and outwardly non-threatening individual.

In Maliscade, it wasn’t common for the average person to wear a dress shirt unless they were working somewhere fancy. Such as Ashera’s Attire’s, for example, the armor and clothing store Mille had taken him to once before.

This stranger’s uniform did look “protective”, but it wasn’t armor. It bore delicate stitching that only a specialized machine could produce. Even the image-conscious Blightbane Guild didn’t go to this length. It reminded him of the man he met in the Tether Transit cabin.

Caim was normally oblivious to these matters, but even he saw what set this attire apart. Actually, learning to tell people’s roles and communities based on attire was something he was trying his best to learn because it seemed like an incredibly important skill in a foreign land.

Catching Caim staring, the man took the opportunity to introduce himself.

"I'm Latice. This is a blessed meeting."

A guy like this had to have more than one name.

Caim politely returned the greeting. One-sided religious beliefs aside, this Latice fellow really was pleasant to talk to. No one was interrupting their conversation, and Caim wanted to know more about him.

“Do you spend a lot of time thinking about the future?”

Caim shrugged.

“You really were passionate back there. Isn’t it a little odd for an Initiate to be this invested and speak about matters that affect your entire Guild?”

“I admit, I am horrendously inexperienced. I hope to change that. Until then, I can only speak for myself.”

Suddenly, Caim heard heavy boots shifting behind him. He turned and saw another metal-armored stranger behind him.

“Pay them no mind,” Latice sighed dismissively. “Let’s get back to our conversation. Maliscade is a Bastion city, meaning you can’t ignore the high walls so close to your borders. What are your thoughts about the world beyond those walls?”

Why wasn’t anyone else joining in on this conversation?

“I- I don’t think it is my place to think about those things...”

Latice chuckled, leaned forward, and crossed his fingers.

“The people around you weren’t told about some of the lesser-known features of the Infoboards, and they’ve been using them for years without incident. I say that’s because they look solely to the Blight for their mysteries. What makes you different?”

Again, Caim just shrugged, but he did so uneasily. He saw a third metal-armored stranger enter his view when the crowd of seekers to his left parted.

Something was wrong.

“Is the world outside our walls not a part of this future in your head? Is it not important?” Latice whispered. “I should think it would be, Caim. Generally speaking, we find that the people who think about these contentious topics do not discriminate based on the subject.”

Caim’s throat felt dry, and his heartbeat hastened.

Who is “we”?

“I’m sorry, I don’t follow.”

“I’m only answering your curiosity with my own.”

“Hexknight,” the stranger to Caim’s left spoke up. “We are on a schedule. What is your determination?”

The friendly smile on Latice’s face darkened. He looked at the floor and locks of ever-so-slightly curled blond hair tumbled down to obscure his eyes.

This was a Hexaline Knight, an astoundingly powerful person in both status and combat ability, if Mille and Gwen’s words were to be believed.

That look was painfully reminiscent of the one he hoped he’d never see again. He started out as a seeker largely because he didn’t want to deal with things like this so soon.

Staring at that anguished, conflicted expression on Latice’s face, Caim was momentarily detached. He mourned the loss of an old, dear friend. Then, Latice’s answer brought him back to reality.

“To be honest, I’m not sure what to do. I really only wanted to have a conversation, but I guess there’s just no helping it.”

The Hexknight looked up with intimidating determination. He pounded a fist to his chest, echoing the *thump* through the eerily-silent Guild Hall.

“Welders! Prove yourselves to the Paragon! Test them as true Knights of Expedition would.”

At once, the metal-armored strangers thumped their gauntlets to their chests and “activated” their armor. That was the only word Caim could use to describe the sight of orange light oozing out of the metalwork.

The time for exchanging pleasant words was over.