There is nothing more aggravating than being maxed out on vim, I thought as I watched my pair of Hounds completely ignore the freshly killed giant spider lying in front of them. With the possible exception of being maxed out on vim and still not have enough to Shape-up.

My Hounds were both rank I Shapes. They cost me ten vim each to Shape, and now each of them currently held forty. At one hundred, I’d be able to Shape-up them to Wolves, which were significantly more powerful. Unfortunately, any vim poured into a maxed out Shape would dissipate within minutes if unused, and my Hounds were both maxed now.

I could, of course, go back to town and pay the Forrester family for access to their Hound Pattern. I’d be able to Unshape my maxed out Hounds to regain the vim, and then use it to Shape more of them. With my two maxed out Hounds, I’d have enough to Shape eight new ones, or I could Shape six and restore my own vim, which I had to use for the original Shaping. If, of course, I could afford the price.

I couldn’t afford the price. The Forresters charge for each Shaping, and paying for my two Hounds already cost most of the gold I made scavenging the safer parts of these ruins. That’s why I was here now, after all. Trying to use my Hounds to clear out more of the ruins so I could scavenge more old-world artefacts to sell.

I’ve been down here for almost a week, and my Hounds killed at least fifty giant spiders before they filled up. And I’ve only found a few of the oddly shaped old-world coins so far. Not nearly enough to pay for more than one Shaping, and I’d need at least two to make it even barely worth Unshaping a Hound, since I’d be able to house the remaining twenty vim in my own body.

I shook my head and ordered the Hounds to keep going. Thoughts about my glut of vim and lack of the gold I’d need to use it were best saved for when I was safely back in town. There were more dangers in the Old-world ruins than just giant spiders. Especially ruins that were never explored before, and I was pretty sure I was the only one who knew about this particular location. It would be overrun with scavengers if people knew about it. Probably even have an official exploration team lead by the Forresters, since unexplored ruins were the only place there was even a chance at finding new Patterns.

A yelp brought me out of my rumbling in time to see a spear made of blue crystal launch out of a small, easily missed hole in the wall and skewer one of my Hounds, causing the Shaped animal to dissipate.

“Shatter it!” I cursed both the old-worlders who built the trap and myself. If I’d been paying attention, I would have seen the trap before my Hounds triggered it. I’ve been exploring Old-world ruins since I was old enough to remember, and I’ve gotten very good at sniffing out their tricks. I ordered the remaining Hound into a small chamber we’ve passed before that last spider battle, set it to guard the only entrance and settled down to wait. Shapes are impossible to actually destroy, and my Hound would reform within up to an hour, but my inattention had cost me that hour, and it left me vulnerable to the spiders and whatever else lived here. Hounds are pack animals, and two of them fighting together are a lot more than twice as strong as a solo Shape.

I sat down with my back to the wall opposite the door and took out a small paper-wrapped package from my backpack. My supply of beef jerky and hard cheese had been steadily dwindling over the week I’ve spent away from town, and won’t last for longer than one more. Which means I had about three more days to explore before I’d have to start on my way back. I’d be able to extend the stay if I could find something edible here, but unless I wanted to try some giant spider and lichen soup, it seemed I was out of luck. At least there was enough water here and there for me to fill my waterskin. I took a bite of my not very appetizing lunch, and couldn’t help consider that maybe my dream of being a Shaper was better off remaining just that. The gold I paid just for shaping my starting pair of Hounds was enough to buy me a decent apprenticeship in any of a dozen different professions, from cobbler to swordsman. I could have been in the apprentice halls of a guild right now, eating warm porridge and drinking hot tea instead of the barely chewable jerky and mineral-tasting water I had on me. This was the reason all of the Shapers in the area were from the Forrester family. It was just too expensive for anyone who didn’t have free access to at least one Pattern. Mostly, you’d see established professionals with one or two Shapes to help them in their chosen craft, like a hunter having a couple of Hounds or Wolves to help his hunts, or a weaver with a Spider to provide high quality spider silk.

Motes of grey light started to gather in front of me, swirling around and around and growing steadily in number, and I found it impossible to tear my eyes away from the sight of my Hound reforming. It took five more minutes for the Hound to fully solidify, and I stowed my remaining food away and stood up, shaking the dust that clung to my pants. The sight of the reforming Hound shook the doubts from my mind, reminding me that I’ve always wanted to be a Shaper, and that barring a stroke of insane luck, my only path towards that goal was going to be long and arduous.

“Let’s go, Jack,” I urged myself out loud, just for the sake of hearing a human voice. “The treasure isn’t going to scavenge itself.”