Ryan crouched to examine the concentric circles of runes etched into the dusty warehouse floor. His earlier activities had kicked up enough of the dust that it flooded his nose and he had to hold in a sneeze. Around him stood Brady, Kara, and Lancer, also looking at the runes.

Ryan had spent many months studying Rune Script while living with Mags. He’d thought he’d reached a decent level of ability, at least in reading them, but the runes in front of him defied his ability to decipher. Familiar runes popped out at him in various places, but they connected in weird and unexpected ways and in a flowery style, making it harder to figure out. He sighed.

“Vitality farming. I’ve never heard of it. What is vitality used for?” Ryan asked.

Brady and Lancer gave Ryan a skeptical look while Kara remained indifferent. Ryan guessed that it fell into the bucket of ‘common knowledge things you should just know.’

“Don’t look at me like that! Just pretend I don’t know anything please,” Ryan said.

“Vitality is used for lots of stuff, like tooth whitening cream.” Brady flashed his too-bright smile. “Also, healing items like crackers, cookies, potions, and whatever other random food someone thought to use.”

“It’s used in those healing disks? If these guys are farming it, where does it usually come from?” Ryan felt a little nauseous at the thought that he had been healed at the expense of people like those piled nearby.

“Much of it comes from arrays set up using Rune Script that passively collect it. Some of it is collected from beasts. A large portion of it comes from regular people selling it to brokers, although they can’t do it too often, it’s very taxing as you can see. In a city this size, though, buying and selling vitality for potions and consumables is big business, lots of coin involved. The more Awakened and Guilders running around, the bigger the business. The vitality extracted from this many people in a city like this is worth a fortune. Well, a fortune to the average guy, anyway. That’s not all they were up to though; there are crates full of other contraband out there. They were also smuggling.”

“So this gang was basically raking in free money, is what you’re saying,” Ryan said. “Just suck the juice out of them for as long as they could and then dump the bodies. And avoiding taxes too, I guess.”

“Pretty much. I’ve heard about operations like this taking hundreds of people out in far flung rural areas, devastating the population. The Guilds crack down hard when they find them. No mercy. No survivors.” Brady said, his face uncharacteristically grim.

The sound of a multitude of footsteps roused everybody out of their musings. Ryan shot to his feet and faced the distant entrance of the warehouse, only to see a large group of town guards flood in.

“I’ll take care of these guys, let’s wrap it up here and get the victims back to town and sort them out. I’ve got a date tonight that I can’t be late for.” Brady strutted off toward the newcomers, ostensibly to coordinate their efforts.

“Lancer, have a thorough look around and see if you can find anything interesting,” Kara said. “Ryan, help me with the two surviving thugs.”

Joy had vanished, but Ryan suspected he was perched on a rooftop somewhere keeping watch in his eagle form. He helped Kara manhandle the two survivors to the front of the warehouse where the town Administration’s guards trussed them up into contorted positions with reinforced rope and bindings.

“I didn’t see the leader here, or at least the guy I thought was him. He was the one I fought in the alley last night. I wonder why these guys stayed behind.” Ryan rubbed the back of his neck, massaging away the stress.

“They were probably stragglers. They put up a fight, but I don’t think they knew why they were fighting. They were likely away when you mixed it up with their friends yesterday and didn’t get back in time to hear the news.”

Ryan and Kara examined the two survivors together. Survive was the correct term. Brutalized was more accurate. One had a face that was unrecognizable and the other had a lump on his head the size of a baseball and a proportional concussion. Ryan had been the one to fight both of them; those taken care of by Kara had met their end swiftly.

“We should just kill them. I hate taking prisoners. Takes too much thought and effort,” Kara said.

“That seems… excessive.” Ryan wanted to say unreasonable and over the top, but his recent revelation tempered his response as he considered her words. She seemed so callous, but it was born out of the need for practicality. “We need them alive. They need to tell us where their friends went. Do some investigating. After that, do whatever, I guess.”

Kara grunted, noncommittal. “I could go for something to eat right about now. Let’s hurry this up and get back.”

Ryan stood by as Brady, Kara, and Lancer coordinated the move of the victims back to the Guild house. He lacked experience dealing with the city Administration, so he observed as much as he could while staying out of the way.

Eventually, the guards cleared and cordoned off the warehouse. Brady called it a day, and Ryan followed the group back to the Guild’s manor. Escorting wagons full of the seemingly dead bodies of the victims through the city caused a stir amongst the townsfolk, and word spread ahead of them. Gawkers lined the streets, and hawkers took advantage of the increased foot traffic to reel in more customers. Ryan could only imagine what the rumor mill would look like the next day.

###

Ryan stood by as those around him continued working to situate the unconscious victims of the gang in the Hallow Song barracks. Helping to carry them to beds and making sure they would wake up comfortable was the extent of his expertise. Those more experienced than him would take care of the rest, and the city Administration had sent plenty of people.

Casey had flown out of the room at the first sign of their return and immediately identified her parents. She sat by their beds, unmoving, with her hands in contact with them, as if they would disappear without her constant monitoring.

There were twenty victims. All of them appeared to be refugees from the events unfolding in the countryside. The kidnappers had taken advantage of the chaos and uncertainty and banked on nobody being able to identify the refugees as missing, since many had died to the shadowmen and wolves already.

Ryan choked back on a sudden upwelling of emotion that tried to burst up through his chest. Earth had been so insular. Bad things happened, sure, but there was always a veneer of normalcy and a layer of insulation between regular people and the horrible events going on in the world that made everything distant and impersonal. There was no such thing in this world. It lay all the horror and terrible happenings out before you on grim display, bombarding you with sights and sounds… and smells.

Casey sat hunched over as Ryan approached. He tapped her on the shoulder, trying to get her attention.

“I’m going to find somewhere to relax for a bit, out of the way. Come find me if you need anything.”

Ryan started to walk away, but Casey leapt to her feet and arrested his movement with a fierce hug. She squeezed harder than a girl her size should have been able to. Ryan returned her hug and patted her on the back soothingly.

Casey released him, looked him in the eye, and smiled and nodded. It was a facade, of course. Ryan spotted the hidden tears and the forced calm of her expression. She was barely holding it together. The temptation to stay crept up on him, but he had nothing to offer her that she didn’t already have with the people surrounding them, so he gave her an encouraging look and took his leave.

He made his way out of the barracks into the hallways leading to manor entrance, dodging the organized chaos the whole way. Afternoon sunlight struck his face, blinding him for a moment. It seemed like the events of the early morning happened days ago, but it was only early afternoon at the latest.

Ryan had said he wanted to relax, but there was still too much nervous energy coursing through him. Instead of finding a cozy place, he turned toward the obstacles on the other side of the giant courtyard.

The agility course sat empty, waiting for another attempt. It tempted him, but it didn’t feel right. Further along, another simpler course appeared that looked like a series of strength and endurance trials. Ryan walked over to look, quirking his eyebrow at the agility course as walked by, making sure it knew he was coming for it soon.

The strength obstacle course was more complex than it appeared at first glance. A set of ropes with attached handles snaked their way through various hoops at different levels, forcing the body to assume awkward positions to thread the ropes through them. Pulleys held the ropes in place, which in turn connected to heavy weights. When the participant met the first challenge, a new set of ropes and heavier weights awaited, with more complex contortions required. There looked to be ten levels of difficulty.

Ryan removed his cloak and set it off to the side. He rolled up his sleeves and grabbed the grips to the first trial. Pushing with his arms and back, he stepped forward and threaded the rope through the various hoops without too much trouble. The first trial didn’t present much of a challenge, but Ryan felt good as he worked his muscles a little.

From his early morning testing he knew that his strength was noticeably greater than it had been, even after all the spear training he’d done over the last couple of years. The weighted pulley system confirmed it. Ryan could feel the difference, not just in power, but in endurance.

Progressing to the second challenge, Ryan lost focus and just let his body act on its own, letting his mind drift as he worked out the stress and anxiety that had built up throughout the day.

Before he knew it, he started the third challenge. Shaking arms and legs increased the difficulty of positioning his body, but he slowly made progress through the obstacle, before losing his grip just before completion. The weights slammed to the ground behind him, kicking up dust and shaking the surrounding contraption.

He shook out his arms and legs, letting the blood flow restart, and walked back toward the start, where he noticed Kara casually leaning and watching. The afternoon sun beat down on him as he approached Kara, and sweat dripped down his face and neck. He picked up his cloak and used it to wipe away the moisture.

“You could make it into the fourth challenge with a little more practice at it, you know.” Kara said.

Ryan sighed and nodded. “It was my first attempt, so I’m sure I’ll have plenty of opportunity. I assume, since you’re Bronze, that you can make it through in a snap?”

“Yes, but even as Iron I could complete it easily. My Affinity is Strength, after all.”

“Strength? That seems… abstract.” Off balance from the unexpected revelation, Ryan went quiet, thinking about what Strength as an Affinity even meant. Strength of body? Like muscle strength? Knowing a little more about abilities, having seen a few, it could mean anything.

“Strength, with a lesser affinity, what some would call a sub-Affinity, for Feats.” She didn’t elaborate further.

“Feats? Like feats of courage?”

“Yes, and you are correct. It is abstract. I grow more powerful, stronger, the more adversity there is, and the more I feel like I will achieve something great or overcome a challenge. Strength, courage, skill… many call it a hero’s curse, but I’m no hero as you can probably tell. This sometimes makes things more difficult than they need to be.”

Ryan turned that nugget over in his thoughts. He’d suspected that there was a sub-Affinity. Flicker had said as much when he mentioned that Ryan’s abilities had the flavor of Dimension, but it hadn’t come up again. Based on what Kara said, he felt a little bad for her. For her lesser Affinity to be effective, she would always need to be pushing the boundaries of what she was capable of, otherwise she wouldn’t be able to fight using her full capability. She would always have to ride the edge of danger.

He thought that he was holding a lot of stress, but he couldn’t imagine what it would be like for her. Then again, she had seemed relaxed and in control during the raid of the warehouse, so maybe she was content to not push the limits.

“Why are you telling me this? Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate it, but…” He trailed off, and gestured at the air vaguely, unable to finish the sentence without seeming rude for questioning her motives.

“There is something else I wanted to talk to you about first, which is related.” Kara said. “You aren’t suited to the spear. You are too willing to engage the enemy up close, and while that wouldn’t be too much of a problem if you were a master, you are not, so it will become problematic for you. The spear is a standoff weapon. Yes, it’s best to change weapons now, while you haven’t had decades to form terrible habits.”

At a loss for words, Ryan let her statement hang in the air for a moment, trying to formulate a response. He couldn’t disagree with her. The skills gained in a short time, only a couple of years, would not put him in the top ranks of spear wielders, but recent evidence suggested that he wasn’t incapable.

“Let’s say that I’m even willing to switch weapons, I spent two years training to use the spear, I’d have to spend that long with something else, maybe longer, just to get back to where I am right now. Is it really worth it?”

“Yes, it’s worth it, and no, you wouldn’t have to spend that long training. Perhaps you didn’t have the option before, but you do now, or will soon. You can buy a proficiency rune that will put you at about the same level, maybe better.”

“Wait, WHAT? What the hell is a proficiency rune?”

Kara smirked. “I figured you wouldn’t know. You seem to not know a lot of common things. Some call them skill stones. Knowledge is harvested, or sacrificed, to power a ritual to store that knowledge using Rune Script. The repository is something durable, like a stone or a gem. Using the rune will allow you to gain the knowledge stored within.”

Ryan held his head in his hands, dazed by the implications of such a thing. He’d spent years learning how to use the spear, putting in work every day, getting his ass beat by Mags. Yet, someone can just walk up to a skill stone and learn the same thing almost instantly. It seemed like such a waste. It was a cheat. If such things existed, why hadn’t Mags said anything about it?

“So I just wasted all that time learning. There must be a catch. Why doesn’t everyone use them to learn everything?” The stress that Ryan had worked out of his neck and shoulders returned.

“You did not waste that effort. You’ve conditioned your body and mind and primed yourself to learn physical skills. However, skill stones are very expensive as they have a limited amount of uses. Most cannot even afford to use the most common of stones. Even if they could, it is likely that they already have the skill, so it would not be worth it, but for you this is the perfect use case. Lucky for you, the Guild has many common weapons skill stones available.”

“Fine. In your opinion, what would be better for me than a spear?” Ryan huffed out a breath, trying to reign his emotions in.

“Short sword and buckler. You would make a great skirmisher. Those shield abilities and your mobility will make you a great hit and run fighter.”