The color of wintertime is in our imagination.

Pre-Fall quote

“So, the plan is to strike once, for maximum potential earnings,” Peter noted.

“And then we leave. The weather’s looking warmer than usual, and the roads aren’t as bad as they were in February. If, as everyone says, most ruins got salvaged early, then either we try the large ruins south, or we strike for the unknown,” Johanna replied.

“The Fallen Hill.”

“Sounds like the best prospect to me. Assuming the ruins spotted up top are big enough, no one’s ever scavenged there, plus there’s enough Mana around that you can expect to find lots of well-preserved stuff. We need money for once we arrive in Independence.”

“So, we get there, fill the bags, sell, and then move,” Peter said.

“Your itinerary along the Missouri sounds safe. There are enough small towns that, in the event of a late winter blizzard, we can get to safety before things get too bad. With magical fire, it’s easier to manage. The risk is worth it.”

It was Laura who finished.

“And now, you want to recruit Petra.”

“We’re headed east to get parchments of power, but we need more people with Talents. That’s the other point. She’s already empowered to a degree,” Johanna said.

“An adept with low power and a single talent.”

Laura caught Johanna’s frown.

“Simply enumerating what can go wrong.”

“According to Elena – and the Mage compendium confirms the story – there was at least one occurrence of an adept becoming a full sorcerer somehow. So, it should be doable.”

“If parchments can be used to further empower someone.”

“If they can’t… shouldn’t we figure out this as soon as possible?” Johanna asked, before adding, “Besides, once Catherine got her first Talent, and whatever Shaper means, she had no difficulty picking the additional ones for her. So… do we, or do we not?”

“You’re the boss, Jo. And maybe we can get her to pay for some of the expedition.”

Johanna blinked, before shaking her head.

“I’m more worried about how to convince her without saying too much until we have parchments. She might not be swayed easily.”

“Heading out soon?” Petra Veldhuis asked as Johanna took her customary seat at the bar.

“How can you tell?”

“The weather. Those southerners are getting ready. I’ll give them one, maybe two weeks and if the weather holds, they’ll be gone. It looks like one of those years where March is good.”

“We’ve plotted our way. There is a big stretch, but once you get to the Missouri, we should be good into the central states.”

“Where are you going?”

“Ultimately… we’re heading to the east coast.”

Petra whistled.

“I know you talked about that scavenging, and how it gives good money if you have big ruins. But… isn’t that a bit dangerous?”

“Probably. We’re not heading straight there anyway. We need preparations. And more people.”

Petra’s eyebrow rose slightly.

“Is that where you offer me a job?”

Johanna startled.

“Am I so obvious?”

“You’ve been probing about my job satisfaction and similar stuff for almost three months now. Never bet a bartender won’t pick what you’re interested in.”

She laughed.

“Salvaging ruins sounds fun, although I have no idea what I’d be good for with you. Want someone to cool your drinks? I don’t think that’s useful in scavenging Ancient goods. I mean, I’m not a hulking mass of muscle to haul loot like your husband.”

“No. But we’re betting we can turn that ‘trick’ of yours into something way more useful later.”

It was Petra’s turn to frown.

“I can’t imagine how.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to. That’s part of what preparations we’ll need before the east coast. But if you’re interested, then… as soon as we find some Ancient books, I can show you why. But yes, until then, it’s a bet. Do you want to stay bartending in Zahl… or try something new? Use your cold ability for more than drinks, one day?”

“Just like that?”

“If you want to test yourself… we’re going to head for some scavenging soon. I’d like to have more money just in case, so we’re going to do a full expedition before we leave. You can come with us, and see how it works. It’s not complicated work, just sorting through Ancient goods to find what seems good to sell. You also need a strong back. Or build one if you don’t have one yet.”

“Trial run, then? And you’re looking for Ancient books? I mean, okay, ancient stuff sells for more than modern… but paper’s heavy. Do they sell for that much?”

“It’s not for selling. If we find some… then I can show you why we think you can be useful, more than you think. So, maybe we’ll get lucky with this trial run.”

“What’s important about being Ancient books? I mean, besides being old, they do look pretty normal. Edvin’s old childhood book didn’t look bizarre, except maybe a bit yellow for its paper.”

“You have one?” Johanna startled.

“One of the handfuls of things I kept from him. It’s some silly poems collection, supposedly the greatest Ancient poets and authors. Edvin didn’t like the book, but it was given to him by his mother to read to be better at his letters, so he treasured it anyway.”

Johanna hesitated briefly.

“Look. If you want to join us, then I can show you.”

“You make it seems like it’s a big and major secret. Like, well, some grand book epic.”

“It is a secret, yes. It’s up to you. Just… well, we’ve learned since. If I show it to you, your life will change. Forever.”

“Sounds totally ominous.”

Johanna stood up.

“I don’t need an answer right now.”

They all sat at the table. Johanna looked the young woman in the eye, hoping she was right… and it would work.

Besides, the Skeleton wanted that to happen.

“You have your Ancient original book?”

“Yes,” Petra said, sliding it in front of her.

It looked genuinely ancient, not a modern re-backed original like the ones from Catherine. But when Johanna moved, she raised her other hand in warning.

“But I’m not letting it go. Not unless you tell me what it’s really about.”

“It’s fine. Just… beware.”

“Beware of what?”

She put her hand over the woman’s, reaching for the book cover.

Lines of uncanny blue rose through their hands over the Ancient tome, swirling in strange ways. Petra’s eyes grew wider.

Johanna stared at the unnatural paper that dropped over her hand.

It was different. Still four corners, like what she’d expected as the first parchment made for someone. But with one, or maybe two striking differences.

The Level mention she’d expected, the one she thought might raise Petra from adept to true Talented, was missing. Instead, one of the corners was labeled Frostbite, with a heavy dark ink bar across the curved word. She raised her gaze, looking at the woman, who was staring at the paper with an expression of absolute disbelief.

“It was cold. I’m good with some cold, but that… what happened?”

“It is about magical Talents. We know… we think they come from the Ancients. And by using their works, their Ancient Books, we can create those sheets of paper… we call them parchments of power. They can be used to bestow Talents on people. To you,” Johanna said.

She winced at how corny it sounded. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t true.

“This one should fit you. But I think… it will remove your ability first.”

“My ability? You mean the ice touch you showed me?”

“Frostbite, it looks like it’s called. It is barely useable, you said so.”

“But, it’s mine. It’s a Talent, as you said… Can someone even lose a Talent?”

“Usually, people don’t lose them, but it’s happened. The parchment here will grant you another, more powerful. Earthbind. Based on the name, I think… I had it. Before it went away, to be replaced by a fire-based power.”

Petra looked at Johanna, surprised.

“You had that? Wait, you’re a sorceress?”

“Well, yes.”

“You said you weren’t…”

“I just said I was interested in Talents, not that I didn’t have any. So, Earthbind? It will freeze anyone in its tracks. That spell is thought to be an earth-element type, and that matches Earth Shaper as something you should have.”

“Okay, so if I want to get that, I just… I just do what?”

“Take it. And accept it.”

Johanna watched as the blue lines started to swirl slowly, tracing the scroll’s inked lines. Petra was hesitating, she saw.

She was going to encourage her when the scroll started to flash-burn, and vanished, leaving no trace.

“How does it work?”

Before Johanna could answer, Petra raised her finger.

“Oh, my god. You were right. I can’t feel it. I can’t feel the cool anymore.”

“Looks like you just lost your job,” Peter said. “Welcome to the team.”

“As for the Earthbind, you just look at someone… and wish them not to move,” Johanna said, remembering her own experience. “It somehow works.”

“Even on you? But how would I know?”

“Just… turn it on and off. We call it, and you’ll know it’s real.”

Petra immediately set her eyes on Tom, frowning. He laughed and started walking back and forth until he stopped abruptly.

“Locked. Unlocked,” he immediately said as he resumed moving.

After a few tries, Petra said “Feels empty. Like when I’m done with cooling.”

“Your reserves were not big. They will be much larger… but you need to wait. I need to wait an entire night to recover mine when I fully expend myself.”

“So, you’re a powerful sorceress? Of course, you are, if you can grant that. All of you?”

“Laura and I, we have magics. Tom and Peter are Heroes instead, with physical prowess-based Talents… although sometimes, it borders on magic. Speaking of which, Tom?”

Petra looked at him, as he took the book from Johanna, and more lines started to twist above the tome.

Moore had little difficulty deciphering the context. He did not need every detail, but the four had decided to induct that specialization-less sorceress-slash-bartender. He was not sure why, he did not know the details of Johanna’s thinking, but he would trust her to pick the right person since she now knew what he could do.

The question was: what to do for Veldhuis now that he could look at her descriptor? After all, he still lacked any way to ask.

The first thing that struck him was that the Frostbite skill was all wrong. With only 13, the young woman didn’t have nearly enough starting Empathy to fuel any serious water/ice/mist-based specialization. She could get away with that spell since it required only Authority, but the rest of the choices would require a large investment in the stat.

Which brought him to the real question. His guess what that had to have a starting 16 Authority, even if she was a mere hundred XP from leveling it, thanks to the meager but relentless grinding of her unspecialized skill. But a base Agility at 17 meant she was much better placed for an Explorer-based spec. Just because she’d picked a magical skill at random did not mean she had to be a “sorceress”.

Despite the name, Explorer was pretty much physical combat. In particular, he was convinced the name and Perception’s baseline Sentinel designation were swapped somehow. All three of the level 5 variants of the baseline he could see revolved around blades, pikes, and similar implements of battle, with different emphasis on additional aspects. And besides, he did not have access to the Agility/Authority variant, as neither Tom nor Peter had any significant Authority. Using Johanna would be the cheapest way to unlock it and check what it did specifically, but he had no interesting Agility fire skill for her at the next level. He wasn’t looking to spend anyone’s XP here but trying to earn some for himself.

What to do, what to do…

Ultimately, familiar ways called out for him. She started as a minor sorceress, after all.

So… Earth Shaper it was going to be. Outdoor survival, sword in hand, was out. Support and defensive sorcery were in. Thankfully, the ice spell was low-tiered and thus cheap to remove since it couldn’t be improved, ever.

Authority (for cheap, to 17). Earth Shaper specialization. Drop useless Frostbite skill (thankfully again, for cheap XP). Add… Add Earthbind.

Sorry, Johanna. It’s back but not for you. I know better now.

The real problem was that the volume – Poets & Inspirations, what a pompous title – was not a huge one, and he didn’t see Ms. Veldhuis having brought another. Which meant squeezing the most of it.

Strength and Dexterity-based skills would have to wait.

The book was ravaged, just like the two previous books Johanna and the team had converted. There were about five pages left, and Johanna didn’t need to hand it to Laura to check. Without more materials, they would have to settle for that.

The two sheets that had popped were basic ones, simply labeled ManaSight and Tremor. Tremor, Johanna had no idea what it was in the mage compendium. She would have to figure out if something evoked tremors. Mana Sight, she could hazard a guess, which was immediately confirmed after Petra picked the scroll. The bartender – former bartender – could see the plumes of mana twisting over Laura’s artifact gloves, meaning she now had the same ability as her.

Petra Janneke Veldhuis

Female human, 25 years, 10 months

Earth Shaper

Level: 5 (8000 XP needed)

1/115 mana (+16 per hour)

2 unallocated skill points

XP: 3313

STR: 15

AUT: 17 (2000 XP needed)

Tremor (39)

AGI: 17 (980 XP needed)

Earthbind (39)

PER: 16 (2000 XP needed)

Mana Sight (37)

DEX: 14

EMP: 13

+3.9 Strength for skill checks

39% more stability

Detect mana flows & pools of 27.0 size or greater

“Congratulations. You’re an archmage now.”

“Archmage?”

“Someone with three sorcerous abilities. Earthbind, Tremor, Mana Sight.”

“Wow.”

“Let’s say that last year… last year, there was one single archmage in the entire continent.”

“You’re one, right?”

“In a way, me and Laura, we’re an entirely different kind of thing, I think. But Catherine… Countess Rocastle is the fourth archmage of the Union of States. And you’re now the fifth.”

Then Johanna laughed.

“I think this title will need some revision soon, though.”