(I) Dagger
Chapter 13 of "Path of the Deathless" begins unfolding events: -9 (I)DaggerâHello,â Shiv said, eyeing the stone dagger in his hand curiously. This was the... Continue reading!
-9 (I)
Dagger
âHello,â Shiv said, eyeing the stone dagger in his hand curiously. This was the second time that day he found himself talking to what he assumed to be an inanimate object. The presence he felt with the dagger earlier stirred, as if whatever was inside could sense him. âCan you hear me?âheir tone careful and measured. The speaker pronounced each syllable with such fine focus that they reminded Shiv of the orators that came to speak and debate in Blackedgeâs public forums. He would have liked to hear those speakers in more detail, but he had to do it in shadows or from afar. People left when he approached.
Shiv gave the fallen Umbral a final look and shook his head. He didnât see a point in lying. âShe died. So did the others. A high vampire attacked us. I wasâŚâ Shiv kept his part in the story vague. âI was lost when they found me, and they were about to lead me out. I did what I could to help them survive the attack, but the high vampire wasâŚâ
the speaker finished with a weary sigh.
âYeah,â Shiv answered. âBut me and Nomos managed to finish the felling bastard off before the fight was done. I crushed his heart in front of him. The Umbrals didnât die easy deaths.â
The speaker snorted at that.
Of everything he expected the dagger to say, this wasnât it. The words werenât cruel, but they were casually cold and grimly accepting of the world's depravities. âI think the way we die still matters. It shows who we are in the end. Sometimes, thatâs the only thing the world canât take from us.â
The dagger let out a laugh.
âOverman?â
âIâm not really much of a philosopher. Never found all those words interesting. Itâs like saying a lot but meaning very little to me sometimes. The words sounded pretty, though.â
Once more, the blade chuckled.
This might be the most well-spoken dagger Shiv ever held. Well, it was also the only speaking dagger he ever held, so that technically also made it the well-spoken. But still, it felt like there was a scholar trapped somewhere in the blade. âIâm Shiv,â the Deathless began. âThatâs my name.â
âItâs something I picked for myself. I wonât answer to anything else.â
Shiv didnât know any stories about any Valor Thann, but he nodded along. Then he stopped, feeling rather silly. The blade could hear him, but it didnât have eyes. It probably couldnât see him⌠Could it? âYeah. Predicament might be right. But, uh⌠I took a bad fall before getting lost down here, and my memory isnât what it is was.
âFell about a day ago. And no, Iâm mostly fine.â
Shiv pressed his lips together. Well, he a Biomancer now, just nowhere near a skilled one. He warred internally over letting the blade know about his new skill, but he guessed that it couldn't do much harm. âI am a Biomancer. Just⌠very recent. Itâs a new skill.â
And Shiv was. He smiled slightly at the dagger. âThanks. You know, youâre one of the nicer people Iâve talked to in the past day or so. Itâs kind of strange that youâre a knife.â
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Now Shiv was curious. âHow does someone get caged in a knife?â
That was understandable for Shiv. It was surprising how easy and enjoyable a conversation with someone was when they werenât screaming for you to get away from them, shouting at you to cook faster, or sneering at you for being born wrong. Apparently, there were still polite people left in the world. âAlright. Well. Itâs been fine to meet you, Valor, but I think we need to get moving.â
A feeling of haste filled Shiv. He looked down at Nomosâs body and winced. âDoesnât feel too right to just leave the Umbrals here. I donât think I can burn them eitherââ
Valor almost yelled.
Shiv paused. Most people who died at Blackedge were cremated and cast to the winds. That was supposed to be a great honor, signifying freedom. âReally?â
The Deathless winced. His lack of knowledge was getting in the way of things. The more he spoke to Valor, the more he revealed what he didnât know. âIâyeah, sorry. Thanks for stopping me from⌠heresy.â
âNo. Sorry. I just got Bioâwait.â Shiv looked to Nomosâs spear lying nearby. Its tip was still glowing. âI can try to use Nomosâs spear. That channeled frost earlier, but I donât know if it can still do magic without Nomos.â
A pause came from inside the dagger. There was no rancor in Valorâs voice, but he did sound rather surprised Shiv didnât know this.
A faint flush of embarrassment came over Shiv. âYeah, youâre going to have to help me out here with this. The whole magic thing is new to me.â He paused. âSo is being a Pathbearer, to be honest.â
âI got a lot of Toughness. And the little bit of Biomancy helped too.â
There was a tinge of doubt in Valorâs voice, but the man within the dagger moved on.
Shiv nodded. âAlright. Got it.â
He picked Nomos up and placed her in a corner. He put the other three fallen Umbrals beside her. Shiv felt a bit bad about Utti, though. âHey, Valor, one of the Umbrals got⌠by the high vampire. Is that going to be a problem?â
The Deathless proceeded with his task. The first thing he took from the Umbrals was their equipment rigs. He strapped three different belts lined with containers, pouches, and empty quivers over himself. He found a half-finished Potion of Regeneration inside oneâor at least one that glowed the same way. They also carried strange skeletal keys, an assortment of camping equipment, utility knives, and bits of rough-looking jerky. It was a paltry haul on the utility side, and Shiv wondered if they were lacking supplies.
Valor suddenly said.
Shiv paused. âYeah. Didnât even hear him and the lesser vampires until they were right in front of us.â
Something inside Shiv dropped a bit. Diviners could do that? Broken Moon, there was a lot he didnât knowâdamn Roland Arrow for keeping him restrained all his life. Shiv wondered how much he could have known if he had just been allowed the information most people had while he was growing up. He paused at that thought. He considered the bestiaryâs details on the high vampire, and frowned. Maybe most people didnât know that much either.
For all that was written about the vampireâs foul blood magic, what he faced was Biomancyâthe skill he got from surviving the effects over and over again was Biomancy.
Shiv wondered.Could be both by this point. He knew the Republic lied about plenty of thingsâlike how there were no homeless in its kingdom. Shiv definitely didnât have a home for a good few years. He got very good at learning which alleys had dumpsters filled with the freshest food, and which ones blunted the wind the most during winter.
Shiv collected the brooches and managed to find a revolving metal-ringed mechanism holding a shifting pointer at its core. The needle pointed away from him and toward a wall, and Shiv assumed this to be the compass Nomos was talking about. Useful, but he still didnât know what he was walking into or who he was supposed to take this to. Broken Moon, he had a lot to learn.
Now, for the best part of the lootingâthe He left Nomosâs spear for last, and went over what the others had first. Uttiâs bow had shattered in half when she burst, unfortunately, so that was useless. He managed to find three of her daggers and examined their quality. He was astonished to find that they were made from some kind of glowing blue crystal, and the edges were sharp enough to sink clean through rock. It still felt a bit brittle, though. Best be careful when using these in combat.
He found a shortsword on the Umbral he couldnât tell was male or female, but it seemed like a pretty typical shortsword. Not bad. Well-made even. Steel from the feeling. A shortsword was better than having no sword. Shiv faintly recalled the Umbral having a longsword as well, but couldnât find it for the life of him. The last Umbral beside Nomos had a mace. Shiv let out a grunt of surprised effort when he tried to pick it up.
Equipment Obtained:
Tier: Initiate
Condition: Severely Damaged
Composition: Moonsteel
Enchantments > Mass-Storing
It felt like he was carrying something that weighed as much as the angler beast from earlier in his hands. Shiv took an awkward step as he trudged about. That Umbralâs Physicality must have been pretty high for an Initiate to swing this. Shiv thought he might be able to fling this about, but it mostly just slowed him. It was also kind of bent and cracked all over. It was a shame, but he left it with the Umbral.
Movement was life, stillness was death. And Shiv intended to make his enemies work to kill him, even if dying was to his benefit.
Finally, there was Nomosâs spear, and as he picked it up, he felt a surge of coldness rush up his hands.
Equipment Obtained:
Tier: Adept
Condition: Damaged
Composition: Nightglass
Enchantments > Cryomancy 30