Interlude: Attaboy

“Someone has entered your room. Now would be a good time to return to your outer self,” said Dijian.

“That’s fine,” replied Attaboy. He was a bit frustrated and ready to quit for the moment anyway. He had spent a subjective eternity staring at the strange creatures that were apparently living inside his head, trying to get them to respond to his will. Dijian, the voice in his head, had tried to be helpful but his way of talking confused Attaboy terribly, with too many big words and instructions that made no sense. How was he supposed to imagine what having a sixth finger felt like?

So it was with some relief that Attaboy left the strange glowing mass that Dijian said was his brain and returned to his incredibly boring, comfortably tangible, cell. He expected he would see the old woman delivering his food, but to his surprise, someone new had come into his room.

“Hello,” said the hairless man in the white coat. “It’s time we had a talk.”

Chapter 19: Points

When Lilijoy logged back into the Inside, she found herself in the Head of School’s grove. The first light of dawn was filtering through the canopy, and as she gazed around at the damp acorn-covered ground, she had the strange feeling that it had been years since her visit with the strange face in the water. I guess it’s only been about fourteen hours though.

A sweet-voiced thrush called from the branches above and peaceful belonging swept over her, rather than the fearful anxiety she had expected. The site of her mind’s trauma carried no negative emotions.

There was also no sign of the Head of School. Lilijoy’s emotions were a bit more mixed on that count. She felt almost embarrassed to be so… small. Her physical stature had never really bothered her, but the feeling of her mental insignificance compared to the vast being she had encountered through the trees was humbling. She wondered what her, or its, story was.

“Hey Three Bites, aren’t you supposed to be meeting me at the pond right now?”

Rosemallow’s voice caused her to start. How could someone so large approach her without being noticed?

“Not that I mind meeting you here. Eskallia and I go way back to when she was just Eskallia Everbough, before all the tree stuff.” She considered her words. “Or at least the extra tree stuff. She was an elf after all.”

“How did you know I was here? And are you talking about Head Treetouched?” Lilijoy asked.

“We trainers have our ways. And yes, the esteemed Head of School wasn’t always a bunch of trees. She was a powerful water mage and one of my good friends.”

“But she’s so… huge.” Lilijoy winced. “I mean, her mind is a thousand times bigger than mine. Is that what all the subsets are like, beneath what the Outsiders see? Are we that tiny compared to what is really going on here?”

She almost wondered if the Outsiders were something like toys to the subsets, but didn’t really want to hear the answer to that.

“Some are, some aren’t. Our minds can grow, ebb and flow. Our boundaries are… looser than yours. If we want them to be. It’s part of each person’s path, to decide how our experiences shape us. Eskallia’s path turned to growth, for reasons that aren’t mine to tell.”

“What about you?”

“Hah! Three Bites, that’s getting a little personal. I like the struggle, just leave it at that.” She clapped her hands together. “Enough talk. We’re going off the grounds to get you some real combat experience today.”

With that, she picked Lilijoy up, took two running steps and jumped. Lilijoy’s stomach lurched, and then dropped. The first leap took them to the edge of the rooftop, a low wall. Rosemallow planted both feet as they landed, and Lilijoy could feel the power of her trainer's muscles contracting and then exploding upward into the sky, hundreds of feet up and out from the top of the towering structure. Then the wind began to rush past her ears as they fell, down and down, gathering speed as the green fields far below rushed up at them. Her insides floated up to her throat, and then slammed back down as Rosemallow’s powerful landing crushed the earth. Instantly, they were in a cloud of swirling dirt and dust formed by the impact.

“Time to run. Keep up if you can!” Rosemallow yelled, tossing Lilijoy to the side.

They ran for miles, across fields and down forest paths. Along the way, Lilijoy learned about balancing her Flash use with Mana Gathering, and a bit more about Endurance and Vitality. The first time she ran out of Mana, Rosemallow had circled back to where Lilijoy was running at a greatly reduced speed and jogged beside her.

“Out of Flash already? Remember that all the magical traits use Mana to some extent. You’ve got to keep an eye on the blue. If that bar is shrinking, it means you’ve exceeded your gathering abilities. Since your gathering will go down when you’re distracted, like when you are exerting yourself or fighting, you can’t count on being at your full potential. Watch that mana bar, and adjust until it’s steady. Same goes for Vitality. It will help your endurance, but it uses Mana.”

“Shouldn’t there be a stamina bar or something?” Lilijoy had done some research on the origins of the Inside and its progenitor, DayNight Universe.

“What, you can’t tell when you’re tired? You need a bar to tell you that?”

Lilijoy didn’t have a response for that. She jogged along until her Mana was full again, and then gradually increased her Flash use until Mana began to dip. As long as she kept some focus to gather mana from the environment around her, she could use more than half her potential speed, which was still pretty good.

After an hour or so, the path they were following emerged from a brush forest into an overgrown field. In the distance, Lilijoy could see a small hamlet of ten or fifteen thatched buildings.

“Welcome to the Corrupted Village of Mittleburg,” said Rosemallow. “Before the fun begins, we need to do some housekeeping for your character sheet that I’ve been putting off. As you’ve probably realized, levels don’t necessarily mean all that much. They’re a measure of your advancement, rather than the advancement itself.”

“I’ve wondered about that,” said Lilijoy. “Why bother having levels when it’s really all about the points? Is it just so everyone can compare?”

Even that didn’t seem right. One person could put all their points into crafting skills, like Mr. Sennit, while another at the same level could have put all their points into Power. There was really no comparison.

“So, the thing is,” said Rosemallow, “you can only raise stats and skills a certain amount every level. Or rather, you can raise them as much as you want, but it will cost you dearly.”

Lilijoy must have had a blank expression on her face, because she continued. “For example, you have ninety normal free points at the moment, leaving aside the twenty bonus points you got from Reality Bender. Lets say that you only wanted to raise your Power stat. Power’s raising cost starts at two free points per stat point. So you might be thinking you could raise it by forty-five points so you could kick your old trainer around the block a time or two.” She grinned down at Lilijoy.

“Master Rosemallow I...”

“Shut it, kid. As I was saying, it would seem that way. But the two per one is just the starting cost. The first point of Power costs two, then the next costs three, then five, and so forth. Here...” She handed Lilijoy another one of the magic pieces of parchment she seemed to be able to create on demand. It simply read...

1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34

“You recognize the pattern?” she asked.

Even if she hadn’t, Lilijoy’s system was up to the task. “It’s called the Fibonacci sequence. Each number is the sum of the previous two.”

“You Outsiders sure like to name things after yourselves. We call it the Golden sequence. It’s at the core of most everything Inside, so expect to see it everywhere now that you know to look. The point is, you could use eighty-six free points and only raise your Power by seven points. Which would be really stupid. Or you could raise it once every level for seven levels and only spend fourteen free points.”

“So, it resets every level.”

“Exactly. And that’s why levels matter. Every time you level up, you can spend your points again at the starting value. Some stats have a starting point at two, some at one, some at three or even five.”

“What about skills?”

“A little different, but same idea. Each level of skill cost is derived from the Golden sequence. Unlike traits, you can only raise the Magi portion of the skill by one tier each time you level up, no matter how many points you have. Which is just as well. Magi skills are just that, skills. Even if you have raised the Magi portion up to the sixth tier, Illuminated, it doesn’t mean you will be able to make use of it or integrate it to the natural skill. That takes training and practice.”

Lilijoy thought of Mr. Sennit. This explained why he was quite limited in the magic he could apply to his craft, despite his lofty rating. She resolved to go help him the next chance she had.

“So now what? Do I finally get to spend some free points?”

“Pull up your character sheet. Make sure to find the Free Points Spending version.”

She did as her trainer asked.

Name: Emily Level: 9

Defender of the Young

Dark Lady of the Thorns

Blessed of Nandi

Free Points: 110* (90 + 20 Direct)

Natural Traits

STR: 22

END: 58

SPD: 57

KA: 152

Magical Traits (Starting Raise Cost)

POW: 11 (2)

INV: 34 (1)

VIT: 13 (2)

FLASH: 35 (2)

MW: 94 (1 per 5)

MG: 10%/100 Sec. (5)

Elemental Affinities/Immunities

Fire: 33 (2)

Earth: 58 (1)

Water: 30 (2)

Air: 28 (3)

Charm

Sentients: 29 (3)

Plants: 66 (1)

Animals: 62 (2)

Abilities (Raise Cost)

Scan II (3)

Echolocation IV (8)

Infrared Vision III (5)

Low Light Vision II (3)

Two Minds One Self (-)

Skills (VP) *Raise Cost

Nature: Animals: Enhanced Journeyman (25) *8

Nature: Plants: Augmented Journeyman (15) *5

Manipulation: Augmented Apprentice (9) *5

Climbing: Upgraded Apprentice (6) *3

Deception: Upgraded Apprentice (6) *3

Stealth: Upgraded Initiate (4) *3

Weapons: Blade: Short: Upgraded Initiate (4) *3

Meditation: Natural Journeyman (5) *2

Unarmed Combat: Natural Apprentice (3) *2

Acrobatics: Natural Apprentice (3) *2

Medical/Healing: Natural Apprentice (3) *2

Gliding/Flight: Natural Novice (1) *2

Weapons: Blunt: Club: Natural Novice (1) *2

Disguise: Natural Novice (1) *2

Dance: Natural Novice (1) *2

Hand Weaving: Natural Novice (1) *2

She noted that it conveniently showed the free points she would need to spend to raise each trait, skill and ability by one notch. The choices were overwhelming.

“It’s a lot, huh?” said her trainer. “And you don’t even have a source yet. Just wait until you have magic in the mix.”

Lilijoy was still looking over the sheet. There were many skills she hadn’t known about. And one of her stats had changed.

“Rosemallow, is it normal for stats to change without spending points, like, a lot?

“No. I mean, it’s not unheard of, especially for someone fresh off the Trial like yourself.”

She squinted her third eye, which was doing its glowing star pupil trick. “Huh. Your Charm: Plants has gone up about twenty points. That’s all kinds of wrong. Good, of course. If I didn’t have your sheet locked down good and proper…”

“You have my sheet locked down? What does that mean?”

“Did I say that?”

“Yes, Master Rosemallow.” Sometimes Lilijoy couldn’t tell if her trainer’s eccentricities were genuine or an act.

“Well, if you’re going to nag me about it all day, I might as well tell you.”

Lilijoy looked up at her blankly.

“Fine!” Rosemallow seemed to be having a conversation with a completely different Lilijoy in her head. “Beyond my training methods, I have a few unique abilities over my student’s character sheets. Only a few of my students even know about it, and I like to keep it that way. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“I can freeze your sheet, keep you from doing anything to it. You probably figured that out. Quite a few of my students do, usually when they disobey me and try to add points.” She looked at Lilijoy suspiciously. “However, I can also lock experience down. I rarely need to, but sometimes a student comes along who’s a veritable experience machine. Do you know why that is?”

Lilijoy didn’t venture a guess.

“I’ll tell you why. It’s because you had none in the first place! I don’t know if it’s a glitch or deliberate, but for a very small group of Outsiders, you come here and it’s like you never did anything or had an original thought in your life. Do you remember what the key elements of earning Experience are?”

“Novelty, challenge, suffering, inspiration and discovery,” she replied by rote.

“Exactly. The whole system is designed to stimulate the collection of powerful emotional, intellectual and aesthetic experiences. It’s not based on what you do. It’s based on what you think, feel and perceive. If someone who has never seen a tree or a cow comes Inside and sees one, they receive experience. Not much, I’m sure, but it all adds up.”

“I’d never seen a real tree, or a cow, up close before I came in. Actually, I still haven’t seen a cow in person. Unless Nandi counts somehow.”

Rosemallow threw her hands in the air. “There! That’s just what I’m talking about. You cheat!”

“Wait. What?” Lilijoy felt defensive. “I don’t cheat!” she exclaimed.

“Fine. It’s not cheating on purpose. But it’s broken, is what I’m saying. Now, here’s the thing. Usually, when someone comes in knowing absolutely nothing, you know what they do?”

“Get lots of experience?”

“No! They die. Over and over. Because they don’t know anything.”

“But I thought dying didn’t have any penalties in the Garden.”

“Ha! That’s where you’re wrong. It’s a hidden penalty. Dying, outside of the Academy, wipes out a ton of recent experience without you ever knowing you had it. The reason no one catches on is because dying also gives you experience. It’s the very definition of something that involves novelty, suffering and discovery. It wouldn’t surprise me if some Outies don’t get most of their experience from it. Of course, they get less each time they die, but it still keeps them from being total zeros.”

“What about Insiders? They start out knowing nothing at all, so they must get tons of experience points growing up.”

“I can see why you’d think that. But Insiders don’t earn experience points before they are tempered. That’s when the system starts treating them like a real person. All your Insider colleagues at the Academy are tempered. That’s why they are there; they had some amazingly exciting, traumatic and heroic experience that pushed them over the edge, made them self aware. That’s when they start earning points, not before.”

“So what did you do to my sheet?”

“Nothing permanent. I just kept you from leveling for a while. When I noticed you hit level nine just from observing Betty, I put the kibosh on it so that you wouldn’t lose the leveling opportunities.”

“But couldn’t you have just explained this to me then?”

“Don’t push it, Three Bites. I have my reasons. You still have all the experience, it just can’t get to you. I’ll release it bit by bit, so we can level up right.” Her third eye whirled and a huge toothy grin filled her face. “You see, I cheat too.”

***

Someone was disturbing Magpie’s sleep. Of course, this was nothing new. During her training, she was often awoken at any hour and made to perform some task or other; picking locks, tumbling routines, and so forth. It was all part of Uncle’s regimen, and anything was fair game.

The reason that notions of slow murder were filling her mind was that she had thought that, just once, she might actually get a full night’s sleep without being disturbed, that she might, and she was familiar with the concept from reading books and watching shows, even sleep in.

But it was not to be. A high-pitched voice was drilling through the door to her chamber. She was too bleary to register the content, just the grating sound that rose and fell without end. It was cheerful and excited, and she wanted to kill it. If she had a pillow, she would have tried wrapping it around her head and hoping the world would leave her alone just a little longer, but she had fallen asleep on her stone cot without any such amenities after dragging herself back to her room in the early hours of the morning with the express though that she would be safe from the usual routine on the Outside.

She hauled herself up and ventured forth from the room, unsure exactly what she would do when she met the source of all the racket.

“Jess, It’s just not fair. I’m having such a great time, and my trainer, even if she is a little scary, is so awesome, and then I had my first flying class, and even though everyone else was Avian, I could almost keep up. And…” The girl broke off her rambling as Magpie emerged, but only for the briefest of moments.

“Oh! Hello, you must be Magpie. I’ve heard so much about you, but not really, just what Lily knows, which isn’t much. Oh!” She pulled herself up and spread out her arms. “Greetings, I am Petauran Bentbough Panadan Skria the Fierce Sky Rider. Please call me Skria.”

Magpie stared at her through crusty eyes. “Magpie. Not Maggie.”

Skria looked back for a moment, and then burst back into chatter. “Jessila, she’s like you!” She looked up at the large cowhide covered girl next to her. “See! She doesn’t like talking either.” Jessila shrugged, her blue eyes fixed on Magpie, almost challenging.

“What?” Magpie asked, a bit harsher than she intended. It was way too early for this crap. Jessila gestured to Magpie’s hair and then her own tangled braids. It looked to Magpie that she had somehow piled about three normal persons' hair on her head and then skewered it with as many dowels and bones as she could fit.

“She likes your hair,” said Skria. “At least I think that’s what she means.”

Jessila made a vague grunting sound and turned away.

“Anyway,” Skria continued. “Would you like some fruit?”

***

Magpie headed down the hall, on a mission. She wasn’t exactly sure what it was though. Maybe it was to avoid her trainer at all cost. Maybe it was to find her inconveniently missing roommate. Or maybe it was to find something, anything, to get rid of the foul taste in her mouth from squirrel-girl’s evil fruit.

She knew she should have stayed in the room and buttered up Skria and Jessila, maybe used them as a way to find out things about Lily that she might be more willing to share with Insiders than a fellow Outsider. Her heart just wasn’t in it though. After the fruit episode, she had hastily made an excuse and fled...no, left the room. Only after making sure that neither of them had seen Lily recently though. As she walked, she idly fingered her new necklace, thinking of going to Water Magic class early in the day.

The previous day’s class, after the embarrassing episode that earned her the necklace, had been just as good as the Air Magic class. Sisitus. No. Professor Sisitus had helped her with the Shaped class, and also taught her the Meditation Skill. She wasn’t very good at it, as every time she closed her eyes and focused on her breathing some part of her itched, or she realized she was sitting funny. It was odd, because if she was on a job, she could hold herself completely still for hours, but somehow that mindset didn’t work the same. Meditation was more about presence than absence, it seemed to her.

The meditation had come about because of the visualization exercises for working on her Shaped class. In the Air class, Anselm had mentioned something about choosing a shape and envisioning its ‘shapeness’, which hadn’t done much for her. Professor Sisitus instead had her visualizing all the round objects she could think of.

“No other shape makes any sense at the beginning.” he had said. “Only a sphere looks the same from all angles. Much easier.”

When it turned out that she was remarkably… not good at visualizing, he started her on the visualization exercises that led to the meditation skill. He had also encouraged her to try to imagine holding a ball, which was much easier for some reason.

“Don’t worry about abstract qualities. Just be as clear and concrete as you can manage. What does it weigh? How big is it, does it have a texture and so forth? That’s all. Do this at least three times a day but stop as soon as you find your mind wandering, or you will be practicing a lack of focus. Since most of us already have the ‘spacing out’ skill well in hand, no need to integrate it into your magic work.”

It was startling to Magpie just how much magic was about learning to use her imagination purposefully. She had somehow thought it would be a lot of memorizing incantations and movements, but it was much more internal. That was a challenge for her.

Towards the end of the class, she had cast her Water Breathing spell several times and watched as her tiny blue bar rapidly shrank. That had been a rude awakening, both that her Mana Well was far below average, and her Gathering stat was also pretty low. She had avoided discussing it with the professor, afraid that it would come to the attention of the class.

When she ran the numbers, she realized she wouldn’t even be able to cast her Charge Bolt at full strength, because she simply didn’t have the Mana. On top of that, it would take her a full three minutes to gather enough mana to cast it twice. Pathetic.

Luckily, she had a simple fix for her problem. She hadn’t spent any free points yet. Her trainer had told her not to make any changes for the first week, but Magpie was inclined to ignore her. After all, they were her points, not Buzzard’s and not Uncle’s either.

She pulled up the appropriate sheet as she made her way down the hall.

There it was. Mana Well at twenty-five, Gathering at five percent. It would be a long road and many points to catch up to anyone with remotely decent scores in those two traits. And those were points that could otherwise be spent in her areas of strength. Her skills alone would take two hundred points if she wanted the important ones at the Expert rank, never mind other Traits.

At least my Flash is already high enough, she thought. Flash above twenty was considered mostly useless, as even augmented reflexes couldn’t keep up with the greatly accelerated physical movements. It took years of training to make use of anything much higher than that. But she would need to raise her INV and VIT scores, and probably her People Charm, which wasn’t cheap. Oh, and her abilities of course.

Screw it.

Before she could second-guess herself, she put a point into her Mana Well, raising it by five, and two points into Gathering, raising it to six percent. She took a deep breath, then confirmed her choices.

Immediately a wave of anxiety spread over her. Her stomach tightened and her shoulders hunched. She had to repress the urge to look behind her for hidden observers. It’s only three points, she reassured herself.

After another moment, though, she began to feel something else, something new. She had done something for herself, and only for herself. It felt… dangerous. Good. Alive.

What if I always felt like this?