John

  John did his best to ignore the pangs of worry he had about Maud. Logically, he knew she would be fine. He truly believed she could fight her way out of anything now if she really had to. Plus, she had the cats and the moose with her. That didn’t change the fact that he inherited his father’s anxiety.

  “So what kind of items are you looking for anyway?” one of the crew asked.

  John looked up from the shelf that he hadn’t even examined yet, his mind having been too focused on his wife. Branal had asked the question. He was the ship’s cook and the happiest person to have John aboard. Now the man wasn’t stuck cooking every single night.

  “Mostly different spices, though I’m willing to try any meats or vegetables that look safe,” John replied.

  Between himself, Alex, and Maud, they were currently the only humans on the ship, which had initially led to some strange dining experiences. Everything had been entirely edible, of course, but none of it had been familiar. He had at least expected some of the things Connie had asked him to make after learning Branal was a Dwarf, but it seemed the man hadn’t cooked for Dwarfs in a long time.

  “Ah, tired of my meals already?” Branal joked.

  “Not at all, I just figured that while we’re out here, I should start really building up my own stocks as best I can. Rabyn, my mentor on my classpath, told me it would be something I would need to do as I started to really work on my own. Plus, several of my abilities require me to come up with my own recipes to get stronger,” John explained.

  He pulled up his class, quickly taking a look at how many spices he had stored. He hoped to grab at least a few more while he was here.

  “Never personally seen a war chef class other than you, but I’m guessing you’ve got some interesting abilities there. Probably a lot of combat-enhancing recipes, eh?” Branal asked.

  “Kind of, the class is a bit strange. There are a lot of things I could push toward combat. But somehow, there’s just a lot that seems to work toward the art of cooking itself. I wonder how much of that is from Rabyn putting his own flair into what he taught me, though,” John replied.

  As much as Rabyn may claim to be a fighter, John knew the Orc differently. He understood Rabyn. He was a man thrust into a world he didn’t want to be in. Cooking was an act of peace. It was an art form designed to bring people together. Using it for war was a travesty, even if it might have been a necessary one at the moment.

  “Yeah, that’s how all the chef classes tend to go. We make our own magic, so we put a lot of ourselves into them. Maybe almost as much as the bards, but it’s hard to say.” Branal reached past John and grabbed several spices from a bottom shelf. “You’ll want all of these. They won’t be easy to come by outside of chaotic space, so they should be a great addition to your pantry.”

  “Thanks, I appreciate it. You know, if you’ve got some time, I’d love to learn a few of your own recipes,” John replied. That was another ability he was working on, and the sooner he unlocked it, the better.

  “Course, though you gotta show me some of what you’ve got too. I’m pretty curious about what the Humans of your world enjoy,” Branal replied.

  “Deal.” John smiled as he agreed to it. He was glad to finally be pushing forward in his class abilities again. He had been worried that only his weapon mana orb would get any use on this mission.

  Mel

  “And just where are you two off to in such a hurry?” a voice called out from behind Mel.

  This was just what he needed, some idiot pickpocket deciding he and Alex were easy Prey. They didn’t have time for it, but since he didn’t know if the man was alone or had people watching further down the street, it was best to deal with it here and now. He turned and saw a Vulterian standing behind him.

  “We got places ta be, so what do ya want?” Mel spat back, annoyed. The man was getting his full glare.

  “Not sure you wanna talk to me like that. Aren’t you Cloudforms all near to falling apart by now?” the man asked back. His beak had bent into an odd-looking grin.

  Mel’s anger almost vanished at how misinformed the idiot in front of them was. He had clearly been looking for some weak prey, and the poor moron thought he had found it. He wasn’t gonna have to work to find Squidlen’s trail again anyway. Sanquar was easy to follow, so he supposed he could take the time to teach an idiot a lesson.

  “So how many ya got working with ya? It ain’t just ya trying ta rob us like a fool, is it?” Mel roared his questions back at their would-be attacker.

  “Fine, you wanna do this the hard way?” their attacked asked, several cards appearing in his hand. “Catch!” All five flew from the man’s hand, hitting the ground around Mel and Alex.

  “Is this card magic? Are they going to do something?” Alex asked, looking at Mel.

  “Prolly, not really sure myself. What’s supposed ta happen here?” Mel looked at the man, confused. He had been expecting something at least.

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  “Dammit, he swore they were summon cards!” the man yelled, panic filling his voice.

  As Mel looked down at the cards, one of them started to shake. The picture of a blue blob that covered the face of the card vanished, and in a puff of white smoke, the creature reappeared on the ground below Mel.

  “Well, looks like one of ‘em was at least. Don’t think that’s gonna help ya much though,” Mel said, his anger finally giving way. He barely got the words out over his chuckles. The blob wasn’t even the size of a mouse. It was scooting around the ground, making baby cooing sounds.

  “Dammit, dammit, dammit. Stay back, just because those didn’t work doesn’t mean I can’t fight!” the Vulterian yelled. The fact that he was shaking, though, gave away just how scared he was.

  How old was this guy anyway? Mel hadn’t met too many of his kind, but he was starting to think he might just be a kid. He sighed. He couldn’t hurt a damn fool of a kid. “Alright, get yer ass over here. Yer coming with us fer now. And pick yer damn cards up before I forget I decided ta be nice.”

  With a complete look of defeat on his face, the Vulterian walked up to them and picked up his cards. “I wasn’t really gonna hurt you, it’s just I haven’t eaten in a while.”

  “Mel, do we really have time for this?” Alex asked.

  “Yes. I know yer hurting, but there’s always time fer this. What’s yer name, kid?” Mel asked, his voice growing gentler. He knew Alex would feel guilty for even asking the question later, so he wouldn’t hold it against her. He had done his own monstrous acts in search of his son.

  “Vrilk.”

  “Well, Vrilk yer gonna stick with us fer a bit. At least until I find some people. Now come on. I’ll make sure ya get some food before we’re done,” Mel said, watching the kid closely to make sure he didn’t try to run off as he floated down the path.

  At least following Sanquar’s mana signature was easy enough. No one else had a core that broken.

  Sanquar

  “This is dumb, even by your usual standards,” Dane said after Squidlen had explained what they needed.

  “Maybe, but if you’ve got another idea to get us out from under the nose of one of those monsters, I’m all ears,” Squidlen replied.

  “Oh, I didn’t say there was another solution. Just that this was the stupidest pile of shit you’ve ever dumped on my doorstep. And I still remember the time you were running from the Children.” Dane started rummaging through several small drawers as he spoke.

  Once he had let them inside, he had quickly led them through several more doors, ushering them past anyone else they saw and finally locking a door behind them once they reached the current room they were in. From the dust, Sanquar had a feeling they were the first people to set foot in the room in a while. Despite that, there was an odd magic about the place. He could feel it in the air. Whatever Dane kept in here was powerful.

  “The less said about that, the better if you please. Let’s focus on the current problem. Can you make his core work with card magic?” Squidlen took a long look at Sanquar after the question.

  “You’ve got a habit of asking for miracles like they’re the most basic favors in the world. First of all, even if I haven’t set foot in the Spiral in a couple of millennia, I’m fully aware of just who Sanquar is, and the fact that he’s alive, let alone on your ship, is just a bit off-putting. What the hell are you up to now?” Dane had pulled several dozen cards from the drawers, but hadn’t stopped his rummaging.

  “Would you believe this little detour wasn’t expected? I’m here as a favor to Yorela. We have a baby to rescue. Sanquar being part of this is either some grand coincidence or death playing a new prank on me. Do you honestly think I’d take a man into chaotic space if I had known he had any ties to a sapient black hole?” Squidlen asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Okay, fair point, but I didn’t this time, so can you help or not?”

  “Obviously, I can. What the hell do you think I’ve been doing over here this whole time? But you owe me big for this one. Real big. I’m talking monumental.” Dane dropped a stack of cards on the table Sanquar was sitting in front of before plopping down in his own large chair.

  “Just spit it out already. We ain’t got all day,” Squidlen replied.

  “I need to visit the Children. Don’t worry, not right now. But when you’re done with this whole mess, I’m gonna need you to get me out there,” Dane answered.

  “Dammit, why the hell do you want me to take you? For the matter, why do you even need to go?” For the first time since the conversation started, Squidlen actually sounded angry.

  “Got something I gotta do. Don’t worry about it. You good with the deal or not?” Dane asked, looking from Sanquar to Squidlen.

  “Squiddy, we don’t really have a choice here, so what’s the problem?” Yorela asked.

  “I hate dealing with the Children. It never goes well. But fine, if that’s the only way, yeah, I agree.”

  “Good. Then we can get this mess started.” Dane picked up the stack of cards again and started shuffling. He then placed the pile in front of Sanquar. “Cut the deck.”

  Carefully with his beak, Sanquar leaned forward and cut the deck nearly exactly in half. There had been far more magical energies coming from the cards than he had expected. It was like a star compared to everything else he had felt in the room. He still didn’t understand how that would be used to give a new magical source, but he was starting to believe it would.

  Dane picked the stack of cards back up, closed his large hands over them, somehow managing to enclose the deck entirely within them. For a brief moment, the fur on the back of his hands glowed bright blue before they parted, revealing the deck again.

  “Take the top card, Sanquar. And then place it face up on the table,” Dane instructed, holding out the deck to him in his palm.

  As his beak touched the card, he felt a surge of magical energy pass through. He flipped it over and dropped it on the table. On the face of the card was a bird with two swords. Each of the swords was floating next to the bird, one on either side.

  “What does it mean?” he asked,

  “The spectral sword. Interesting. Uh, this is probably going to hurt. Try not to pass out. It’s important to stay conscious for this.” As Dane said those words, the card flew from the table, slicing directly into Sanquar’s chest.

  He screamed in pain. There was no simple, magical disappearance or absorption of the card. It was slicing its way inside him, the edge as sharp as a razor. Blood was freely running through his feathers as he fought through the pain.

  “Dammit, Dane, this is why no one likes you! You’re killing him!” Yorela yelled, leaping to her feet.

  “Yorela! Don’t interrupt him. I know it looks bad, but he’s not dying!” Squidlen yelled back.

  Sanquar could feel the card’s magic as it started to seep into him through the wound. Squidlen was right. This had to happen. “I’ll be okay… Just let it finish…” he barely managed to get the words out through the haze of pain, but it was enough for Yorela to return to her chair.

  The card had entirely vanished beneath his feathers now. He could feel it wriggling near his core. Then he couldn’t feel his core at all anymore. Not the horrible brokenness he had held so long, not the barely functioning soul-core reaction, nothing, it was gone.

  Before that fear of having lost even more could truly hit him, he felt the energy of the card blaze to life. It had enveloped his core, forming a new top layer. The magical energy seeped back out through his wound, sealing the damage it had done. The feathers burned away as it worked, leaving two scars that resembled the swords on the cards, burnt deep into his chest.

  There was something there now. A pool of power that wasn’t hidden behind his cracked mana channels. But how did he access it? There had been no System message. There was nothing in his status about this.

  “How do I use this power?” Sanquar finally asked.

  “Ah, thought that was what the look was about. You’re all used to a nice, simple System interaction covering it. The System only plays nice with orb-based magic. You used to be able to get it to figure out other sources if you really worked at it, but you had to be in the Spiral for that. No idea if that even still works. Gonna just have to play with it

  “We can figure that part out later. Right now, the important thing is that it’s changed his magical source entirely, right?” Squidlen asked, eyeing Sanquar up and down again.

  “Yeah, you should be safe from that black hole. Though you ever heal that core of yours, and I’ve got no idea what’s gonna happen between the card magic and orb magic. You might wanna be real careful there if you ever head down the route,” Dane explained.

  “Thank you. I don’t entirely know what to say. Even though I don’t have the slightest idea how to use it yet, I can already tell I will be able to. Which is much more than I can say for the damaged part of me. I will forever be in your debt,” Sanquar said.

  Was it possible he’d even be able to fight alongside his friends to save William? The idea that he would no longer be a weight around all of their necks was a reassuring thought. For far too long, all he had done was bring danger to their lives.

  “Yeah, it wasn’t anything. Don’t worry, Squidlen’s gonna cover that tab. Plus, you got some friends out in the lobby. So let’s get going, before they try to wander and get lost. Don’t need them walking through the wrong door, might not find them again for years,” Dane replied, sounding embarrassed.

  Certain card magics function closer to the divination of fate. Through the use of an assembled deck, a trained expert is able to read the magical essence of another person and work that signature into their shuffle. Once that’s done, the person then gets to draw a card.

  The revealed card is forever tied to their fate. For better or worse, it becomes a part of them. This is one of the least understood branches of card magic, but it’s also one of the only ones that taps directly into the soul-core reaction at all similar to the way most people within the Spiral access magic.

  Magica Esoterica Volume 1: Deckbuilders by Averew

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