He looked to his left, concentrating as the now-familiar dim rectangle appeared.

At the bottom, he noted that the set of multicolored pegs were now down to two. He took a closer look this time at the trio of horizontal bars in green, blue, and yellow. The blue and green bars were down slightly, while the yellow was untouched.

That in turn was followed by two pairs of words.

LOOK OUTWARD LOOK INWARD

Once more, he touched Look Outward. The screen expanded with a ripple.

No Subject. Turn Automatic Sight Off? YES / NO

He touched the word No, and the words were to be replaced with the original set of symbols and the words Look Inward. He touched that and was rewarded with his specific information once more.

Name: Caleb Ledger Level: Six Class: TBD / Wizard Base Alignment: IN FLUX Individual-Specific Specialty: XP Edge (20) Wizardly Sub-Specialties: Weathermancy, Craft with Iron Existing Buff / Debuffs: Abilities Reduced 11% by hunger, trauma Potential Buff / Debuffs: TBD Unspent XP 200

He leaned back a bit, rubbing his head where it still ached and chewed things over.

“All right,” he said quietly. “Look Outward must be the ability to see other people’s statistics. Look Inward is for my own stats. The multicolored pegs are the number of times I get respawned, reborn or whatever it’s called in this place. And the colored bars…”

Caleb snapped his fingers. Best as he could tell, two of the bars were down around a tenth. Since his stats said he was down by that much, the blue and green bars related to his energy or physical state. The yellow one was still a mystery, though.

He looked at the next item that had changed: his Level.

Taking revenge on Kane was worth my while, he thought. But now I have two hundred points of my ‘experience’ to lose. If I die, I’ll be reborn outside of this dungeon. But it’s a damn awful way out, regardless. And I’ll still be stuck on this island.

That brought him to the Alignment reading. The words In Flux winked softly off and on. He pondered that a moment before coming to his conclusion.

“Maybe this shows I’m conflicted about what I’ve done,” he mused aloud. “Or…perhaps this system uses a kind of moral compass. Murder’s an evil act, no question. But taking out a piece of filth like Malum Kane must’ve had something redeeming about it.”

Next, he looked at the words XP Edge (20)

XP was probably short for Experience Points. But he had no idea what Edge was, or why the number 20 was highlighted in gold at the end. Caleb considered; since the text came in a box that looked like a computer screen, maybe it had similar functionality.

He reached out, making the chains on his fetters clink, and tapped the line of text. The words blinked as if he’d used a mouse or a touchpad to click on it. But nothing happened. The next line read Wizardly Sub-Specialties: Weathermancy, Craft with Iron.

He didn’t expect anything to happen, but he touched the word Weathermancy.

This time, a second screen winked to life atop the first.

The bench creaked as he straightened up, intrigued. He put a finger to the second screen and found that he could move it around in mid-air, so it didn’t block his view of the first one. A touch of two fingers and a pinching motion shrank the screen, while spreading the two fingers apart enlarged it, making the text easier to read.

“Just like a touch screen,” he remarked. “Nice. At least I’ll never have to squint.”

The second page began with a short paragraph of text.

Weathermancy: This is a broad field of magic that allows a wizard to influence local weather conditions. It is useful both at land and at sea, though innate conditions such as ambient temperature or humidity will affect the power of the spell. (5)

“Now we’re talking,” Caleb said. “Never thought I’d believe in magic. But getting resurrected a couple of times changes a person’s mind. If I can throw lightning bolts or something, I’ll bust out of here, no problem.”

His sudden flare of enthusiasm fizzled out as soon as he read the next lines.

Spells available for individuals ranked up through Level Six:

Call Up Mist

Move Fog

Thicken Clouds

Wind Cast, Minor

Wind Shift, Minor

“That’s it?” he said, unbelieving. “Considering what I need right now, that’s just crap.”

He went back to the first screen and stared at Craft with Iron.

I don’t see how that’s going to help, he thought despairingly. Unless I have a smelter in my back pocket, how am I going to make anything out of iron in here?

Still, he tapped the words and a third screen popped up atop the other two.

Craft With Iron: This field of magic that allows a wizard to innately sense and influence small bits of metal. Extremely useful in resetting compasses, locating spare nails, or repairing navigational tools. (3)

“Useful in locating spare nails,” Caleb groaned. “Oh, this gets better and better.”

Spells available for individuals ranked up through Level Six:

Magnetize Needle

Locate Metal Shard

Hold Metal Shard

Mend Forge Crack, Minor

Extend Forge Crack, Minor

“Well,” he sighed, “unless I spot a key I can steal from someone, maybe there’s something I can use here. I’ve nothing to lose by trying this ‘magic’ out.”

Immediately, two more screens popped up.

Novice-Level Quest: Find food and drink: PARTIALLY COMPLETE. Beginner's-Level Quest: Attempt to blend in with the local Jaladrian society. FAILED. New Beginner’s-Level Quest Attempt to cast magic for the first time. New Adventurer's-Level Quest Attempt to escape Deephold Keep.

Lir and Danu’s Helpful Hints:

We recommend you find food and drink before your skills degrade any further. Give up on blending in with the locals. You kind of suck at that. Magic can be your most useful skill. Practice, practice, practice! Be aware that attempts to escape prison usually result in death. We recommend that you avoid dying.

“Thanks a lot,” Caleb grumbled, as he swiped the screens to one side. “‘We recommend that you avoid dying.’ You two are about as helpful as the ‘do not drink’ label on a bottle of drain cleaner.”

He got up and went over to his cell door. A quick rub with a finger and he came away with a gritty red layer on his fingertip. Definitely iron, with a healthy coating of rust.

Without knowing what else to do, he extended a hand towards the bars.

“Extend Forge Crack, Minor,” he solemnly intoned.

Nothing happened.

He tried several other techniques. Speaking commandingly. Softly. Pleading. He touched the bars, gripped them, even kicked at them in frustration.

Caleb let out a couple of especially choice curses. He went back to sit on the end of his cell’s bench and looked back at his stat sheet again. He noticed that his Class listing was split between TBD and Wizard Base.

He considered. TBD meant ‘To Be Determined’ in his world’s lingo. When he touched the letters, again there was a blink, as if he’d used a mouse or a touchpad to click on it. Nothing else happened.

But he did get a little more out of Wizard Base when he clicked on it. A new screen popped up, giving him a little more to go on. Very little, as it turned out.

Wizard Base: The best-known practitioners of the arcane arts. Wizards approach godliness in their power to envision their immediate futures, then turn their visions into reality. Soul Travelers with a Wizard Base shall develop their fields of specialty as they gain knowledge by the spells they learn to cast. (50)

Once again, nothing happened as he tapped the (50). He clenched his fists in frustration, his knuckles turning white. How was he supposed to use the defining trait of his class if he couldn’t use his own spells?

Caleb let out a breath as he forced himself to stop.

I’m sure as hell not getting out of here if I lose my cool. Think, dammit!

Then it hit him. He read one line of the text out loud.

“Wizards approach godliness in their power to envision their immediate futures, then turn their visions into reality.” He let out a breath. “Could it be that easy? No hocus-pocus, wands, anything?”

Caleb closed his eyes and thought of the first of the spells that he’d pulled up: Call Up Mist. He imagined the hallway just outside his cell. The slick moistness of the stones evaporating into a cloud of vapor. Vapor that hung and swirled in the air.

He opened his eyes and let out a gasp.

A cloud of mist hung just a hand’s breadth outside the bars. It wasn’t large, no more than the size of a small person, and it fell apart into nothingness as he broke his concentration. But he hadn’t imagined it.

He’d cast his first magic spell. As if to emphasize the point, a new screen blinked into existence to inform him of that fact.

New Beginner’s-Level Quest Attempt to cast magic for the first time: COMPLETE. New Beginner's-Level Quest Cast magic to materially alter an outcome.

Suddenly, the sound of approaching footsteps came from the hallway outside. A multitude of clinking chains and gasps as the prisoners in the other cells shrank away. Finally, three figures came to stand outside his cell.

He’d run out of time.