Arc 4

  [Trust]

  Wind swept through the floating city, carrying with it the smell of the ocean. As confusing as the streets of Tide Blessed were, one could always get a general sense of where they were. The Grand Anchor towered into the sky, stretching far higher than even the tallest buildings, even the newer metal and concrete ones in the upper district. At the very top of the Anchor stood the Diamond Palace, home of the city’s Delegate, a marble monolith of a building encrusted with gemstones. The massive mooring pole was visible no matter where you were, serving as a reliable landmark in addition to its duty to keep the island city in place.

  The Grand Anchor didn’t stop all the effects of the ocean, however. The city rose and fell, sometimes smooth and steady, and other times in great leaps and descents. The suspension of the rollers that connected the city’s frame to the anchor didn’t stop the city from being gently rocked from side to side in rough waters. The result was a constantly shifting floor, which newcomers often found sickening, while residents pridefully remarked they found it comforting and familiar.

  Senev found little in the city to be comfortable or familiar. Since childhood, she’d been kept inside, not even allowed to go to the cyclical festivals and fishing competitions. Despite this, she didn’t easily get lost. Part of her education had been memorizing maps of the city, along with important buildings and names. She knew the city better than almost anyone in Tide Blessed, yet she still felt like a stranger to these people.

  As she lay on a roof, Senev looked down at a small family of four. They were strangers too. The most painful kind of strangers. Two children: a boy in his early teens and a girl no older than nine. The father was a tall, burly man. A dockworker, no doubt. Short black hair, a rough face with a friendly smile, and hazel eyes. The mother was pretty. Her long brown hair, blue eyes, and round face gave her a youthful countenance, despite the small wrinkles around her eyes and forehead that betrayed her age.

  The happy family left the shop, never spotting the young woman who watched from the rooftop across the street. In a different life, Senev might have been down there with them. However, this wasn't a different life, and that dream had long since been educated out of her. She tore her eyes from the fleeting daydream and back to her target. The shop.

  Senev pulled out her sketchbook from her inventory. It appeared in her hand, and she flipped it open, scanning the hundreds of drawings that filled its pages. She settled on one: a drawing of an elegant woman, with long blonde hair and green eyes.

  [Render]

  Take on the visage of a person you’ve drawn.

  Focus Skill

  A subtle shimmer flashed across the world as Senev’s face shifted. It began drawing on her Spirit, but the skill was a part of her specialty, and Senev could easily maintain it all day and still have Spirit to spare. The requirement that her face had to change to someone she'd drawn was annoying, but it was still an incredible skill. It wasn't an illusion, but a true physical transformation. Illusions were nice too, though, and she planned to use them.

  [Mirage]

  Construct a mental illusion in an area.

  Channel Skill

  The air around Senev hummed lightly as she pushed the skill outward. She imagined the space around her looking empty, like she wasn’t even here. She imagined herself, with her new face, appearing around the corner of the shop below. A shadowy faint figure appeared, becoming more focused as Senev looked away. As the creator of the illusion, she could easily see through it. To everyone else, the shadowy figure would look just like her. That was the idea, at least.

  Senev looked down, then jumped off the building. She landed hard on the thick wood of the city’s platform, but her Jade body took the impact without complaint. None of the people in the crowd even glanced at her. A woman nearly walked right into her. She dodged the woman and a few more pedestrians on her way to the shadowy figure, which was leaning up against the front wall of the shop. Once she reached the figure, she aligned to it, leaning against the wall, arms folded, then dropped the Mirage. Nobody gave her a second look. She sighed in relief. She didn’t like relying on her Mirage skill much, since she couldn't see it how others did, it was impossible to be sure if it looked like she wanted.

  The interior of the shop surrounded her as Senev stepped inside. The warmth hugged her like a blanket, thick and comforting. The earthy, nutty smell of freshly baked breads filled her nose and made her mouth water. Rows of bread filled the small aisles, and more expensive pastries were lined behind glass at the counter. Behind that counter, a woman stood. A few people labored in the back, kneading dough and working the large brick oven whose heat and fire kept the ocean’s cold humidity at bay. Senev’s eyes swept over the bakery. She was the only customer here. Perfect.

  “Welcome,” the woman greeted. “What can we do for you?”

  “Hello,” Senev greeted in return, stepping up to the glass counter. “My little brother’s birthday is coming up, and I was thinking about getting him a cake. Do you take custom orders?”

  “Of course! What were you thinking?”

  Senev continued talking, but as she did, she reached out with her other specialty skill.

  [Duplicate]

  Create a spirit duplicate of yourself.

  Energy skill

  Energy: 30/30

  As Senev distracted the woman at the counter, a new her shimmered into being behind one of the aisles. Her mind split; a twinge of a headache spasmed through both her and the duplicate. She blinked and found herself in two places at once. She was still talking to the woman behind the counter about a birthday cake, but she was also standing behind the nearby aisle of breads. In the top corner of her sight, a semi-transparent energy counter kept track of the time she had left. With a single clone, she had half an hour. More than enough.

  Her duplicate self used her Render skill, her face shifting to another of the many faces she had memorized from her collection of drawings. The duplicate began picking up loaves of bread and stuffed them in her inventory.

  It should have been incredibly difficult to have a conversation while stealing, but Senev had practiced multitasking since she was a child, and the skill itself helped her compartmentalize her actions. Controlling two bodies and being in two places at once came naturally to her.

  The duplicate created a Mirage, obscuring itself as it left the store with its prize. It was only then that Senev realized it would have been a lot easier to just make a Mirage and grab the bread, without having to use any duplicates or distractions. She wasn’t very good at being a thief, it seemed. That made her feel slightly better about resorting to stealing.

  As the duplicate left the shop and hurried away as fast as it could without garnering suspicion, Senev exited the conversation.

  “That sounds fantastic. I’ll need to check with my brother, of course, to see what kind of cake he likes. Thank you.”

  Senev left the shop as the woman gave her an awkward farewell at the sudden departure. As Senev walked down the sidewalk to the docks, she shifted her attention to her duplicate self.

  Senev’s duplicate self ducked into an alley and shifted her Render to the face she’d been wearing the last few quarters: the face of a thin, long-faced, mousey girl with short black hair and dark brown eyes. She walked down the alley and came across a group of grungy-looking kids. The group perked up as she approached. She reached into her inventory and pulled out the breads and pastries and handed them out to the kids, who excitedly took the food with hurried thanks.

  The oldest kid fished in his pocket and handed her a couple bits. When she’d offered to get them food, they had insisted on paying her for her trouble. It was a useless amount of coin, but she still felt guilty taking money from the poor. Senev knew the gesture was really about the children’s sense of pride, so she took it anyway. She watched the kids run away with their prize fondly. When they were gone, the duplicate vanished.

  Senev continued down the wooden street. She kept an eye out for enforcers. A few were bound to have skills that would see through her illusions, and they’d have been given a description of her real appearance and told about her ability to alter her face. While her Renders were physically perfect, her face was more saturated with Spirit than the rest of her body when the skill was active, and a trained and forewarned Spirit Artist could notice the giveaway if they had the right skill.

  To avoid being caught, Senev kept a book with her and constantly kept her head down while pretending to read. She also wore pants and a t-shirt, like the working-class women often did. It wasn't a perfect solution, but so far it had been enough.

  Senev observed a ship unloading as she arrived at the docks. From its deck, a group of three stepped into the city. There was a boy wearing an eye patch and looking around the city with a wide eye and grin. A short, thin girl followed behind him, wearing a get-up not very different from Senev’s own. That was a bit odd. Most women who could afford to travel could usually afford proper feminine clothes. If it wasn’t already obvious the group were outsiders, the girl’s hair would have been a hint. Few families in Tide-blessed had such light blonde hair.

  Senev only gave those two a brief glance. Her attention was quickly focused on the young man in front of them. He was tall, with broad shoulders, and dressed in traditional Solidusk robes. The man had blonde hair as well, but it was darker than the girls, and cut short. His face had strong square features and wore a slight frown that was almost a scowl. His eyes seemed to take in every little detail, scanning the city not out of amazement or curiosity like the other two, but out of caution. It was like the man was ready to leap into action at a moment's notice. Even through the loose robes, Senev could see traces of his developed muscular arms when his robes pulled just right against his movements.

  Immediately Senev could tell this man was an adventurer. He wasn’t one of the small-job adventurers common in the city or the lazy, high-ranked adventurers who spent more time in training schools than doing actual adventuring. He was a real adventurer, one who lived traveling from city to city, putting his life on the line to protect those who needed him. A hero.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  She watched as the group left, feeling an aching in her chest. While familiar, the ache was rarely so strong. When he disappeared from view, Senev sighed and continued. She walked down the dock, heading down a narrow set of stairs to the city’s underbelly.

  Seawater constantly sprayed the city from below, making maintenance a full-time job for many. Dozens of teams of twenty or more worked every minute to upkeep the city’s frame and support network. These workers often spent quarters or orbits under the city, sleeping in small rooms and navigating winding halls that were suspended beneath the city. But the maintenance crews couldn’t be everywhere at once. They worked in sections, sweeping around the city about once every cycle.

  Most of the city's residents referred to it as the underbelly, but for some people, the suspended network was the closest thing they had to a home. On the opposite end of the city’s maintenance crew, the Bilge Warrens were a haven for the city’s lost members. The maze-like underbelly was filled with stoners, petty gangs, and people with nowhere else to go. People like Senev.

  The passageways swayed as she made her way across, the sound of the ocean below occasionally splashing misty water through the cracks between suspended floor panels. The smell of moldy wet wood was thick in the air.

  Senev passed a few rooms, a few occupied. The Bilge Warrens was a complex system, and getting to your territory often required passing through others. Nothing was permanent here. People constantly moved. One quarter a room would be empty, and the next a small group have claimed it, only to be gone by the next orbit. The stations were the only places with relative stability. Stations were the largest of rooms, often nearly the size of a city block. The underground population used the stations as hubs. There were over a dozen stations across the city, but only a few were occupied at any given time. When the maintenance team moved to a new station to begin work on another section of the city’s underbelly, the Bilge Warrens would move with them. Always stay out of sight and out of mind. That was the philosophy of those who joined the Warrens.

  After half an hour of navigating the Warrens, Senev arrived at one of the currently occupied stations. It was filled with tents, shacks, small fires, and shuffling figures. No one looked at her. She was just another ghost here. This was the first station she’d come across after running away, and she had claimed one of the nearby rooms as hers.

  Senev passed a man who was propped against a wall, staring down at the ground. He was thin and emaciated, and she hadn’t seen him move once in two days. Although she was aware that there was nothing she could do, she still wanted to help. For most people down here, the Warrens would be where they died. They’d either give up, go insane, or jump off one of the suspended platforms that didn’t have any walls.

  Senev reached into her inventory, grabbing one of the two loaves she had left. She broke it in half and left it by the man’s side, ignoring the sickening smell coming from him. He didn’t look up at her or so much as glance at the food. He kept on staring at the floor, his mind somewhere far away. She sighed and turned to leave.

  Senev nearly fell over as she bumped into a tall figure that had been standing behind her. She recovered and looked up to see a thin, pale man with long and greasy black hair, dark eyes, and a sharp nose.

  “Sorry,” she said, moving to step past the man. He put a hand out and stopped her.

  “Giving food away? Quite generous of you, but you should worry less about him and more about the people who matter.”

  Senev frowned. She didn’t like this guy’s tone, and she noticed a few other rough-looking men nearby, all with their eyes on her. There were half a dozen at least.

  “And who exactly are the ones who matter?” Senev asked, deciding to take the man’s bait.

  “The ones who keep this place running. This station belongs to the Sump Hounds. And I’m the one in charge. You can call me Scupper.”

  The pale man who called himself Scupper walked over to the half-loaf near the catatonic man and picked it up. He turned back to Senev and took a bite. As he chewed, he continued talking.

  “If you’re going to be giving gifts, you should settle your debts first. Setting up camp here isn’t free, you know. It takes a lot of work, managing my crew and keeping things nice and quiet down here.”

  Scupper stepped uncomfortably close. Senev took a step back.

  “I didn’t know there was a toll. I’ll get my things and leave.”

  Senev turned to go. The black-haired man grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him. He put an arm around her shoulder and leaned his face in so close to hers that she had to pull back to keep from touching him. When he spoke, she could feel his breath against her skin. It smelled like bread mixed with something foul and bitter.

  “Not so fast, girl. You’ve been here… what, an orbit? A little longer, right? Five quarters? Yeah, that’s it. That’s five quarters' rent you owe.”

  “And how much would that be?” Senev asked.

  “Probably more than you have. The late fees really add up. But for you, we could discuss some… other forms of payment.”

  Scupper's hand crept up from her shoulder to her cheek.

  Senev prepared one of her skills to escape the creep, but in that same moment a dull ringing noise echoed through the station, like a broken bell. A split second later, the air shimmered nearby, and a small round man appeared in a flash, his eyes wide with panic.

  “Enforcer! He’s in the Warrens, coming this way!”

  Scupper clearly considered the prospect of an enforcer approaching a more pressing matter than her. He shoved her away and rushed over to the small man, demanding answers.

  Senev landed on the ground, splinters breaking off as they failed to dig into her Jade skin. She got to her feet; she needed to get to her room. If an enforcer was coming, then she needed to stay out of sight. Seconds after she began moving, the chattering that had risen in the station broke into silence. She saw nearly everyone in the station turn to look at something. She followed their gaze to see a figure in a bright blue uniform walk into the station. In the rush of panic she had a fear-fueled spark of realization: she was a Spirit Artist. She didn’t need to run to hide.

  [Mirage]

  Construct a mental illusion in an area.

  Channel Skill

  Senev quickly threw up a purely visual illusion around herself, ducking close to the wall. The station went silent as the figure in blue slowly walked further into it. Every eye followed each step. Senev brought up her sleeve and breathed into it to muffle the sound of her panicked breathing.

  Senev knew the man. Many people had heard of him in the city, though fewer would recognize him. The uniformed man looked like he was in his mid-fifties, though his muscular frame and strong posture made it clear he was still far from hanging up the uniform. His skin was darker than most, an olive tan from decacyles spent on the water. A white close-cut beard surrounded his tight-lipped frown and rose into thick sideburns, which connected to his shoulder-length hair. His small, light blue eyes scanned the room, studying each face and driving momentary terror into every person they came across. This wasn’t just any enforcer; it was Larren Harnol, the Head enforcer of Tide-Blessed, a low Emerald.

  As Harnol grew closer, Scupper walked up to him, standing in his way. Scupper was a few inches taller, but was dwarfed by the other man’s presence.

  “There a problem, Sir?” Scupper asked, managing to make the respectful title seem like an insult. The greasy-haired gang leader was either incredibly brave or stupid.

  “That,” Harnol said, his deep voice smooth and calm, “is none of your concern. If there is a problem, it will be dealt with.”

  Harnol looked past Scupper, scanning more of the staring faces. His eyes passed Senev, then flickered back. For an instant she swore his eyes met hers, and her heart stopped. Then they moved on. After a few more seconds, he looked back to Scupper.

  “It’s technically illegal to loiter here, but we have bigger concerns than you. Make sure it stays that way.”

  Harnol turned and left the way he came. The whole station remained silent for a few minutes, then the first hushed whisper broke the spell, and the station erupted into chatter. No doubt gossip would spread about the strange visit. Everyone would have their theory about what had caught the attention of the city’s head of enforcement.

  Senev ran off, dispelling her Mirage as she did. She ducked into a small corridor and took the second left, first right, and the second left again.

  Her room was small and was missing a wall. The open side offered a view of the ocean below, the waves close enough to occasionally douse the room with a misty spray. Senev had picked the room because of the storage crate near the end. It was a good place for her to draw when the ocean was a bit calmer.

  A small stuffed dolphin was sitting atop the corner of the crate. In the Warrens, you had to leave something to mark a room as claimed, or you risked having someone else come in and take it for theirs. Most chose to use items that were relatively worthless but easily identifiable. She was still worried that someone would steal the stuffed animal, but she’d been told stealing claims left by someone carried harsh punishment in the Warrens. Whatever the punishment was, she didn't want to know. The people here had an edge to them, and she suspected it was best if she didn't know.

  Senev’s heart was still pounding from the sight of Harnol. He’d always been a kind man, but now every enforcer was her enemy. If they caught her, she’d go right back to the life she had run away from, which was no life at all. She’d rather jump into the ocean than go back.

  From her inventory, Senev pulled out a fishing rod. She was hungry and wanted more than just bread. Maybe she’d get lucky. The platform of her room swayed slightly as she took a seat on the edge of the open wall and cast out the line. Focusing on the waves below helped settle her nerves. Despite living around it all her life, she’d never had the chance to see the ocean up close before. While she waited for a fish to bite, she glanced over to the stuffed dolphin.

  “That was a close one, Eji. I thought it was over. They must be getting desperate if they’re looking down here. I thought it would take another orbit at least. But we’re safe for now, I think.”

  The dolphin didn’t reply, of course. Eji was just a stuffed animal, but she was a good listener.

  “A group of adventurers arrived today. I saw them coming in at the docks. I think they were adventurers, at least. One of them… he was incredible. Tall, blonde, and those eyes… It was like he was ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. He looked so intense. Dangerous, but in a way that makes you feel safe. You know what I mean? I wish I could have talked to him. I wonder what it’s like, traveling around the world, meeting new people, and helping those in need. It sounds incredible.”

  Senev’s thumb ran across the fishing rod, feeling the rough grain of the cheap rod’s wood.

  “I saw them today. Mom and Dad. I didn’t go looking for them, but I saw them. I have a little brother and sister now. I wanted to talk to them, just to hear their voices again. Even if I showed them my real face, do you think they would recognize me? Even if they did, I guess it wouldn’t matter. I know I can’t go back. There’s probably an enforcer keeping an eye on their house. Of course that’s where they’d look for me. But even if they weren’t, I don’t think I could go back.

  “Why not? Think about it, Eji. If I went back, what would happen? They might think I’m a stranger. When they find out, Dad would be angry I came back, and Mom would be disappointed. Or worse, they might hug me and tell me how much they missed me and how they’d been thinking about me every day, and I’d tell them I did the same. They’d cry, and I would, and we’d be so happy. But I wouldn’t be able to stay. I’d have to go back, sooner or later. I'd have to say goodbye again.”

  Senev wiped her eyes. She’d thought the well for her tears about her family had dried up long ago, but being so close now had reopened the old wound.

  “No matter what happens, it’s better for everyone if they never see me again. You know that. I know you miss them too, but we can’t go back. Ever.”

  She looked again at the old stuffed animal.

  “I know. We can’t keep this up long. They’ll catch us sooner or later. We can enjoy it while it lasts, though. This has been wonderful, hasn’t it? It’s almost like we’re on an adventure of our own.”

  Senev looked at her fishing line, following it down to the slowly churning waves below.

  “I really do wonder what it would be like to be a real adventurer. To run away with a hero, like in those books I used to read to you. Someone like the man I saw earlier. Do you think he’d help me if I told him everything and asked him to take me with him?”

  “I know it’s silly, Eji. You don’t have to tell me. It’s just a dream.”

  Senev sighed. She set her fishing pole to the side and leaned back, looking out at the horizon, where the blue ocean touched the purple edge of the sky. Her mind returned to that man in the station. What did he think about when he stared into space? What life was he trying to escape from in his mind? She’d never know, and no one would ever know hers.

  “But these past few orbits have been a dream, too, haven’t they? Let me just enjoy this while I can, alright?”