另类小说人亚洲小说

Chapter 31

Bearer of the Blue Flame

The smith turned me to face his forge. “I will heat the forge, and you must step in exactly when the flames turn white. Too soon, and you will burn away to nothing. Too late, and the same.”

“I understand.” I said. I understood that he was a lying conniving bastard, is what I understood. Walking into a path of flames? Who does that?

Well, I was about to. I’ll not name all the colors that forge passed through, but I stepped into the white.

Those who have kissed the Cosmic will know what I experienced; for those who have not, I could say that there was a perfect bell-tone of silence, accompanied by a cooling warmth, and that my feet were firmly planted on nothing. Gibberish, to those who know it not. A feeble attempt to put words to the wordless for those who have.

.....

But I could not stay there, and I merely passed through. Likewise, I passed through the barren blackness that all who leave that place must endure.

And I came to a cave, lit with a blue flame. A tall, wide man of ebony skin poked his metal spear into the flame, withdrawing it only at intervals, to keep the flame from touching his skin.

“Are you whom I am here to see?” I asked.

He shook his head, indicated the flames themselves.

And they did not speak, those flames. They were Primal beyond words, the Blue Flames of Kuma. Flames not of death and destruction, but of life and renewal.

I held forth my hand, but dared not to touch them. Their power would overwhelm me, washing away all that was me and leaving behind only the Blue Flame.

But there was a balance to be struck, and oh the wisdom I would have if I could but put that to words!

On the plus side, Primal Forces somehow don’t count as deities or gods, so I didn’t need to go back to honor my promises.

[You have attuned to the primal fires of the Blue Flames of Kuma. 50 Shaman XP earned. After divisor, 2 XP have been awarded.

Faith cultivation method opened! Rank 0, 50 XP earned. After divisor, 2 XP have been awarded.

50 Mystic Research XP earned. After divisor, 2 XP have been awarded.

50 Spirit Pact XP earned. After divisor, 2 XP have been awarded.

Cosmic class Bearer of the Blue Flame, perquisites not met, class remains locked at level zero. You are 21/100 of the way to unlocking this class.]

And so, the moment that would have transformed the life of another was, for me, reduced to a mild feeling of accomplishment.

And ... how had I gotten one fifth of the way toward unlocking that class? Holy Flame, what other classes were I close to unlocking?

[Psionic class Telepath, 62/100 XP to unlock.

Occult class Lifeshaper, 55/100 XP to unlock.

Scientific class Naturalist, 34/100 XP to unlock.]

As usual, my System had found a way to create more questions than answers.

I made the mistake of scratching the tip of my nose. The pain woke me almost instantly.

#

There was a weight on my back, pressing into the raw flesh of my right shoulder. I almost threw it off, and then recognized the scent of Kismet.

What was SHE doing HERE? And why was she using my shoulder as a pillow? Laughing gods of chaos, just make it stop!

I did no such thing. She was peaceful, and Black Snake lay between us radiating HAPPY.

Other than the periodic LIGHT ME ON FIRE AND END THIS HELL moments, I was also content. I was filled with a sensation I hadn’t felt since the funeral of Eihtfuhr, even if it was washed away with every JUST TAKE HER SOUL, I CAN’T BEAR THIS time she moved her head.

I listened for any trace of Nastyman, hearing nothing other than multiple patients breathing, occasionally moaning, the periodic rustle of covers as someone turned over in their bed, and the faint pounding of my own heart.

I reached out for a mouthful of straw, and found nothing. What time of day was it? I guessed night, since everyone seemed to be asleep.

When I found myself unable to sleep, and not because of Kismet’s unfortunate choice of pillow, I decided to think on the issue of repaying my biomass debt. If I did nothing but forage, cook, and eat, I should be able to pay the whole thing off.

Depending upon guild earnings, I should be able to supplement that with meals.

So why did I feel uneasy about that?

I couldn’t keep my System up, every wave of pain disrupted my concentration.

I should have been happy; other than needing time to heal, and being in debt – twice, what else could possibly be wrong that would cause such feelings?

I must have tried for hours before people began waking; I pulled Black Snake’s home-box from my inventory, but she seemed to prefer snuggling under the pillow, so I replaced it.

Eventually, even Kismet OH I WAS WRONG IT CAN GET WORSE was awake.

“Morning, Rhishi. They tell me you can’t talk yet, so don’t try. I’ve got work today; there’s a trading caravan going north, and I get to make sure the night watchmen have fresh torches.”

Wait, Kismet – alone – with people who might be like Helados? For that matter, Helados himself was back in service rotation.

“It’s easy work, Rhishi. So just be safe, okay? I’ve got a charm that’s supposed to keep Nastyman in check, so I’ll be good for a few days. I’ll be back soon, with tales of the north!”

She was gone then, leaving me with a growing feeling of dread.

But some blessed soul had put a thin slice of butter and salt in my morning oatmeal. My daily biomass maintenance was ... too low.

[Rhishisikk

Level 5 Magical Beast, Protean (lesser Titanspawn)]

Wait, my level was LOWER?

#

A quick check of my stats confirmed I hadn’t lost or lowered any of them. Nor any of my classes, abilities, powers, spells, skills...

What was I missing?

[Maternal Biomass Loan Reserve: 4333/2500 used, 44 biomass per day interest (1%). This loan is in RECLAMATION status, and may not be borrowed against. Until fully repaid, half of all biomass consumed will automatically go toward repayment. When repaid, this loan will be removed from your System.]

Oh, my. The power I could no longer use had been worth nearly half my levels. I mean, I had no complaints; I had used it all at once and would, in time, benefit greatly from using it.

That length of time was around six months. The vast improvements I had scheduled just didn’t happen overnight.

Gods, the itching!

Cosimo came to me shortly after breakfast. “I am told you can hear now. Tap once if you understand me.”

TAP

“Excellent. Reynald shall want to talk to you later today.”

That’s nice; how many taps do I use for I want more food? Cripes, I would take an extra gold piece worth of food or so, if I could.

Because, the idea of eating two bales of hay a day? Boring.

I smelled them before I heard them, Nithya and her cronies.

“I don’t think we should be here.” Said one of the boys.

“We have to be here! How much trouble are we in if he rats on us?”

“I – I guess...”

“Come on. A few quick strokes, and his head pops off.”

“Hey, what are you kids doing there?” demanded Oxom.

“We were just going to visit-” Nithya began.

Her cohorts ran for it. She cursed, spat, and joined them.

“That’s what I thought.” Oxom said. “Damn kids. Ought to just muzzle ’em like horses.”

Well, okay. The Rejects were going to kill me rather than let me speak with Reynald. So whatever they’d told him it wasn’t the truth.

I needed to sit down and –

Someone I didn’t recognized plopped down a hay bale by my bed. I slashed the twine with my claws and began stuffing hay into my mouth, barely pausing to chew.

“Right. Well, you’re feeling better.” He said, backing away from my bed and leaving.

Sandru came by to remove my bandages, flip back my eyelids (whatever was growing in my sockets registered this as painful), and check on my other injuries. “Well, you look like ground steak.” He said.

TAP, I felt like ground steak.

He then jabbed some ointment or other that felt like a mix of stinging nettle and poison ivy into my exposed skin. “This will take longer if you scratch.”

TAP

“So you will not be insolent and scratch?”

.....

TAP

He sounded surprised. “You promise, no scratching?”

TAP, I’d gone through to much too risk scratching my healing away.

“I remain skeptical, but we shall see.” And then he was off to the next bed.

#

By the time Reynald showed up, the hay bale was gone, and I was longing for dinner.

I heard the scooting of a chair, and then “You can understand me?”

TAP

“Is your name Cosimo?”

TAP-TAP. That was from one of the centaur stories, I wasn’t sure if Reynald would catch it.

“What happened to you was more than I intended. Do you believe that?”

Well, what DID I believe?

TAP

“Excellent. You’ll be happy to know that Kismet is a member in good standing again. Only for so long as she stays away from you. You understand?”

TAP-TAP, what did our friendship have anything to do with her service to the guild? How were these not separate things?

“Pity. I understand that your fellows were playing a game that got out of hand?”

TAP-TAP, no they most definitely were not.

“Were you a willing participant?”

TAP-TAP, what HAD they told him? That I’d proposed skinning myself alive?

“I thought as much. Who was the instigator?” He listed them until he got to Nythia.

“I see. And how harshly should I penalize her?”

I scratched my fingers across the surface of the bedframe. I just – didn’t KNOW.

“Will you recover enough to talk?”

TAP

“Within the week?”

TAP-TAP

“Do you trust my judgment in this matter?”

TAP-TAP

He laughed. “Honesty. It’s such a weakness. Well, let me be honest with you. I don’t need your permission; I am master of this guild. I will pronounce my judgement, and you will abide. Yes?”

TAP

“Excellent. Heal well, and quickly. I trust you want to return to work and earn back the coins you are costing the guild?”

TAP

“Sandru tells me your eyes are growing back, if slowly. When you are able to work, there is work. You can at least roll a barrel of hot sand?”

SCRATCH, I wasn’t sure if I could, or even if I should. I did know I wasn’t risking my healing for it.

“What does that mean?”

It was Sandru who replied. “His skin isn’t even fully grown back. I cannot recommend work details or even letting him bunk outside the infirmary at this time.”

“Show me.”

Sandru dutifully undid the bandages. “Notice the different color and texture of the skin, the dark brown color of the scales.”

“I don’t need a biology lesson, Sandru. How long?”

“Two weeks, at the rate he’s going. It’s quite remarkable.”

“And we could enhance that rate with healing potions?”

“We don’t even need the magic. I think just feeding him more will speed the process up.”

“Is that true, you little monster? You’ll heal faster with just food?”

TAP

“How much can he take at once?”

TAP-TAP-TAP, once for each of three stomach slots.

“Sandru?”

“I think it’s safe to double the amount of hay delivered to him, and I concur that he should be able to ingest a triple ration of food.”

“Fine, just keep track of how much he eats and of what. He’s paying the guild back.”

“If we live to see that day.”

“Let me worry about how he pays the guild back.”

If I’d any clue of the hell he had in mind, I’d have just kept my mute mouth shut.

#