The Way Ahead

Edwin contentedly flopped onto his bed, his bag sitting in the corner of the room. The mattress wasn’t the softest he’d ever slept on, but it was comparable to the sort he encountered in the Curicnan shrines he usually spent the night on and thus felt like a cloud at the moment.

He was so socially drained, he just wanted to lay here for the rest of the night. He’d found the Golden Grain without too many difficulties, albeit with a few wrong turns which had lengthened the trip considerably, but between his talking with Rizzali and the loud bottom floor of his inn, to say nothing of the crowds of people he’d had to navigate on his way to his temporary home, he was exhausted. Even if he hadn’t had to individually interact with them, that many people still wore him out by sheer proximity, and as it turned out, being almost completely alone for a full year didn’t help in that regard.

In the end, he’d worked out a decent deal with the innkeeper- a Feather of Wealth, a class name which tickled Memory, though he couldn’t remember why- paying one ager (silver) per four nights, with an upfront cost of two ager, giving him just a week before he’d need to pay more. He wouldn’t be refunded any if he left early, which he felt was a decent compromise from the initial offer of one ager for three days, one ager upfront and with refunds.

His room was one of a dozen like it on the second (of three) floors, a solid not-maple door set into nedar walls and floors, which gave the entire building a vague, pleasantly woody scent. It was also much cleaner and neater than he had anticipated, with all of the woodwork interlocking so perfectly he couldn’t even tell where one board ended and the other began.

His door was kept shut by a brass lock and a key which also opened the chest set at the foot of his bed. The key itself was of an unusual construction, a double-sided shape that reminded Edwin of a battleaxe, only connected to the primary keyshaft at the end. There were terms for all of those words, he knew, but for all that Memory was tickling him, he couldn’t remember what those terms were. Ah well, they’d probably come to him eventually if it ever mattered.

There was a single window set into the top of the stone wall opposite the door, and peering through it (using the ceiling as a tether for Flight so he could keep laying down) showed Edwin a lovely view of the back of the inn, in a winding alley filled with junk. Well, at least the room smelt nice and cut off almost all noise from the outside- at least one of those effects originated from a Skill embedded in the walls, and Edwin presumed it was the sound-blocking one. Handy.

His Skillful Assessment also informed him that the room was expanded through Efficient Space, a gentle ‘tug’ of light pulling the walls away from him. It looked distinct yet similar to his own Improbable Arsenal, which took the form of a grid of scaffolding whose dimensions didn’t line up properly if studied. It had given him a headache last time he studied it too closely, so he similarly didn’t peer too heavily at Efficient Space’s structure either.

Level Up!

Skillful Assessment Level 15 → 16

A faint murmur of the conversation downstairs, which probably translated to a burst of uproarious laughter, reminded Edwin he wasn’t alone. It prompted him to drift out of bed to the door, locking it. As he clicked it shut, a Skill took hold, briefly washing out from the lock and across the entire door and wall. Interesting.

While he was up, he figured he ought to unpack slightly, and transferred a lot of his loose possessions, such as the potions and tools tied to the outside of his bag into the provided chest. It too was enlarged through Efficient Space, though not to the same extent as his room, and so accepted everything he had with ease.

Edwin chuckled as he realized one of his exterior potions was missing. It must have either dropped off at some point, or more likely was swiped by some enterprising thief hoping it was really valuable.

Well, the joke was on them. It was just a glowleaf indicator potion stored in an Apparatus bottle. If Edwin was able to remotely dismiss his creations, he would have done so just then, but he sadly didn’t have that ability… yet.

Oh, that reminded him. He conjured an Apparatus construct within the keyway for his room lock, fixing it in place so it’d have to be broken if anyone wanted to try and get in. He, naturally, could remove it with a mere touch.

Hmm.

He also transferred most of his valuables from his backpack into the chest. If he were to be in a city with pickpockets, he probably shouldn’t keep it all directly on him, now shouldn’t he? They might not be directly supernatural for the most part, but it only took one. Granted, inside the chest might not be the optimal location either, so Edwin also split off some of his coins into a few nooks and crannies in his room, creating Apparatus containers to hold them in place and leaving Almanac notes as to where they all were. Perfect.

Level Up!

Sapper’s Apparatus Level 26 → 27

Did he have anything else he needed to do? Hmm. Inion knew it might be a day or two before he was able to get her into the city, so no rush there. Tara was apparently out of town on a mission and who knows when she’d be back. He should try and get a cart of some form to carry his stuff around in, and get ingredients for cooking. Possibly a proper cauldron, too. Or maybe he could use Apparatus for a cauldron? Or would it shatter like glass? He’d need to give it a try. Oh, what about-

Edwin’s stomach rumbled, and he groaned. Ugh. Why did his body need to be so needy? He could go literal months without food and be alright, yet he still got hungry three times per day. He could ignore it and it’d go away soon enough, just like he had at lunch, but he was trying to develop better habits, so…

Edwin pulled himself out of bed, double-checked he had his coin pouch and that it was secured to his belt by Apparatus and let himself out, locking the door behind him and replacing his block in the keyway. He would have used multiple separate Apparatus conjurations, but standing awkwardly in the hallway for a single minute was long enough.

Venturing back downstairs brought the noise back into full bore. It was mid-afternoon, so the room was relatively empty, but the handful of individuals carousing amidst the tables were loud enough for a large room. If he looked really hard, he could even see the hints of passive skills at work. Shouting or something similar, if he were to guess, and the workers must not have been able to turn it off.

He sighed. Best he get this over with.

Pulling himself a chair at the bar, he ordered dinner from the innkeeper for his last few ves- he’d need to get some change at some point. The avior passed the message along to the back, and within a few minutes, a wooden bowl of some kind of stew made its way back to him alongside a wooden tankard of water and a small loaf of bread. The wood just felt weird on his lips, so Edwin spent a couple minutes creating himself a proper glass and a spoon, an action which he realized post-completion drew way more attention from the innkeeper than he would have liked.

Fortunately, the avior didn’t ask about what he was doing, and Edwin gulped down his water in peace.

Level Up!

Fresh Air Level 7→8

…Well that was unexpected. He thought it only applied to breathing, but did it also purify water he drank? Or maybe it was from breathing normally, and it leveling right as he took a drink of water was just a coincidence?

Whatever. Time to ‘enjoy’ a bit of food. He really needed to figure out how to…

Huh.

It actually tasted good! Better than what he could make, even! It made sense that there would be cooks that made really good food thanks to Skills, and they’d certainly be higher-level than his Elixir. That meant he could actually enjoy food that other people made! This was fantastic!

He nearly scarfed down it all in less than a minute before he caught himself and made himself actually enjoy what he was eating. He was about halfway through savoring his meal when the door slammed open, drawing his attention to the far wall.

Three armed guards stepped through the very open door, and the din of the room fell silent as the avior among them- a Senior Skyguard- stepped forward, eyes locked on Edwin, “You are the Adventurer Edwin,” they commanded. “Come with us. Governor Shash’falara demands your presence.”

Edwin sighed. Guess I should have eaten quickly after all.