The scribe looked thoughtful for a time, before he brought out two spell books from behind the counter.

"I would recommend Ice Lance and Acid splash. Ice Lance has decent range and completes late. Acid Splash is short range, very fast, and is one of the few open Sphere spells that can be maintained. It is expensive to cast, but if you have a sword in your face that is not your main concern, now is it?"

He chuckled at his own attempt at humor, as he brought out yet another volume.

"Minor Shield is the best defensive spell there is in the open Sphere, which does not say much as it is hardly worth the coin to be honest. When complete, it only absorbs a total of five damage."

He raised a hand, holding up all five fingers as if to clarify this point.

"Minor Shield does not really protect you against anything. You are far better off increasing your Constitution, or better yet, don't get hurt in the first place! The spell is rather inexpensive to use though, so there is that."

I was not too impressed with his reasoning; taking less damage was surely an improvement, even if the reduction was small. The thing that had me curious though, was the part he had only glossed over without any explanation.

"What do you mean by complete?"

The Scribe stared at me as if I had asked what color the sky was, before he started guffawing loudly.

"Did you think spells kept getting better and better indefinitely? Foolish child, of course not! There is only so much focus or depth that you can put into a structure before there is nothing left to improve! I have been told casting spells is a bit like fencing; any fool who can lift a sword can chop at someone, but with skill you can strike the heart!" He made a completely ridiculous motion, no doubt meant to simulate a stab.

"So it is with improving your casting! You can use more and more finesse with your Mana, but once you are striking the heart there is nothing more you can do, other than get a bigger weapon!" He grinned widely, and it took effort to not roll my eyes at him. His analogy was terrible, understandable, but terrible.

"How do you know when a spell is complete then?"

"The Order will tell you when you ask for your spells, of course!"

I was not at the point where I felt I could take anything the Scribe said as the unvarnished truth, but I hoped he was not completely inaccurate.

"Now, you can have the two offensive spells for three golds combined, a steal for sure! If you really want the Minor Shield, that is another gold and three silver." He patted the spell book of Minor Shield with a forlorn expression, as if sad at its fate. The theatrics were honestly starting to be annoying.

"I will take all three. But I think three and a half gold should be more than enough."

"Done!" He smiled widely, obviously he had overstated the price even more than I had expected. I took my small and petty revenge by paying him as much as possible in copper.

After a moment of consideration, I thought to use the fact I had put the Scribe in such a good mood by asking more questions.

"By the way, do you have any suggestions as to where I might find suitable items for Imbuing, something lightweight and easy to carry?"

The Scribe once more looked at me as if I lacked all sense, but answered with a shrug.

"I suppose you could check with any blacksmith, jeweler or glassblower. They all have knickknacks and leftovers from whatever else they craft."

I thanked him and headed out, after I packed the slim volumes in my flimsy bag. I noted with some disgust that the shirt I had changed out of after the ritual now smelled rather bad. I also needed a better bag.

Once outside I started winding my way around, looking for any of the shops the Scribe had suggested.

**

It was mid-afternoon, rather warm, and I had now spent most of my coin. I was down to two gold, two silver, and three copper. But I had gotten a very nice leather satchel, and literally hundreds of beads of various kinds, filling a considerable amount of the aforementioned satchel and making it heavy to carry.

I had no idea if I had overspent or not, which made me slightly nervous at having used up so much of what I felt had been a fortune. I had visited several blacksmiths, jewelers, and glassblowers and gathered a good amount of different materials for enchanting. I not only wanted to get experience out of this, my hope was also to advance my only skill; I suspected I needed several kinds of materials for that.

I took a turn onto a narrow street that should eventually lead me back to Merchant's Lane, when something pricked the skin at my side, just inside my open coat, and I froze. A man stepped out of a shadow that was by far too small to contain him, showing an obvious use of an Ability. I had not seen anything of him, until I felt something sharp and cold against my side.

He was not exactly unkempt; his clothes were decent and clean, but he smelled of stale sweat, and his eyes were bloodshot and slightly yellow in their color.

Another poke from the dagger he held at my side put a stop to my study, and I gasped slightly at the pain. Without speaking he reached for my coin purse with his free hand. He wore a cruel smirk on his face, showing teeth that were starting to go yellow but also had flecks of black here and there on them.

I gritted my teeth. How dare he!? After all it had taken to get here! I started out with a class I never even heard of, got chased by Charles and almost got killed. I burned Jab to a crisp, ended up collared and sent to a slave pen; got stuck with an imp, jumped through a portal and into a swamp. I got chased by a creature I had never even heard of either, and then killed it in a cave, frightened out of my wits! I found out that my mind had been messed with, who knows how badly! Then I trudged all the way back with a deranged imp in tow; I finally got rid of the creature in a ritual and ended up losing a whole bunch of Attributes, as I did not buy into the whole idea of a happy family. Now, here was this disgusting piece of human filth thinking he could poke at me with a dagger!

I looked up at him, my eyes meeting his, as a rage beyond what I had ever felt before came over me.

Words that meant nothing to me rolled off my tongue, harsh and guttural. I felt blood trickle down my side as I kept speaking. The man moved the knife, to put it against my throat and said s...

Mother stepped out from behind the would-be robber, a small smile on her lips as she drew a long nailed finger down his cheek. He turned to face her, and his hand holding the dagger fell to his side, as he stared slack-jawed.

"You have been a bad boy, I need to teach you better."

Her voice was smooth and languid; it was a voice that drew you in and made you want to listen.

Her hand trailed down the man's cheek as she leaned closer to him, whispering in his ear, and he started nodding as he now stared out into the empty air.

Mother's hand came to rest at his neck and she drew unhurried circles on his skin with a finger, before she leaned her head against his with a sigh.

Her long nails cut across his throat, causing blood to spray out over her face and neck. She held the man as his knees buckled and followed him to the ground, all the while patting his head with a blood coated hand.

"There, there, that was not so bad, was it?" I shuddered at words I had heard so many times before, as I watched the mans glassy eyes stare vacantly out into space.

Mother raised a bloodied hand to her lips and started licking, as she rose in a smooth and graceful motion, her face made into a macabre mask by the blood.

Her night-black eyes met mine.

"Have you been a good girl, Ewynne?"

I took a shaky breath as the world came back jarringly, cold tingles rushing up and down my spine.

The man who tried to rob me was slowly slumping to the ground, until he finally landed on his back in a graceless sprawl. His eyes were open wide, blood running as tears out the sides.

You have been victorious! You have slain an enemy weaker than you! You gain 86 Experience!

I closed my eyes for a moment and breathed slowly to steady myself. Seeing mother again, especially this way, was very unsettling. I now felt certain that had I not been the stronger mind, I would be the one on the ground. Aberrant Mind was frightening and it was painfully obvious that someone would be on the receiving end of the damage it did. It was also unsettling that I had not really chosen to use the Ability.

With swift motions I patted the man down, took his meager coin and the dagger before walking off. Perhaps the Merchants' Quarter was not so foreign to me after all.

**

Back in my new home it was peaceful and quiet. I did not see or hear the old woman, the door to the house had been locked and so I had used my key to get in.

Feeling a bit hungry, I peeked into the kitchen to look for something to eat. I found some fruit and a few slices of bread on the kitchen table and took them. An uncomfortable sensation, a mix of fear and shame, made me leave some coppers behind. After all, it would be rather obvious that I was the culprit, but I was not about to put the food back.

I dressed my wound as best I could in the upstairs bathroom and grumbled over the cut in my blouse. Out of necessity I washed the dirty shirt, as I realized I needed to both repair and clean the blouse before it could be worn again, something I had limited skill at. It was a small blessing that the man had put the knife against my side inside the coat, so while there was blood to clean off it, the coat was otherwise undamaged.

I realized that I probably had to get more clothes, something that would eat away at the few coin I had left. I glared at a small amount of blood on my pants, before trying to clean that off too, with limited success.

Having done what I could for my wound and hung my shirt, coat, and pants to dry; I sat down on my bed. I focused on what the Order had for me, beginning with the Racial Trait.

Improved Focus

Aberrant Path

There was no helpful information here. I thought I knew what Improved Focus would do, so I picked that, Aberrant Path did not even sound appealing. While I was curious about what it did, I was not about to experiment on myself at this point.

You have advanced your racial Trait: Mental Focus.

You have gained 2 Wisdom, 2 Willpower, 2 Intelligence.

I grinned at the outcome, it was actually quite good. Two levels worth of Attributes and no downside I could see. I decided to spend my unallocated Attributes on Wisdom, both for the Mana and getting closer to a branch. It would probably also help me manage the effects of my other Attributes better.

Finally I turned to the Trait I could choose.

Paranoia

You are not paranoid, they really are out to get you.

Effect: +4 Willpower, +2 Endurance, -3 Wisdom

Paranoid Negotiator

There are always plots within plots within plans, everyone is several steps ahead of you. But you try to keep up.

Effect: +2 Intelligence, +2 Willpower, +1 Charisma, -2 Wisdom

Forced Calm

Things really are as bad as they seem. But you have learned how to cope.

Effect: +3 Willpower, -1 Wisdom

Hardened Heart

You have seen the suffering of others, and walked away from it.

Effect: +5 Willpower, -1 Perfection

Survival of the putrid

You have wallowed in filth and have become more resistant to disease.

Effect: Immunity to natural disease.

Blank Mind

Your mind has suffered trauma and you have learned strange things from your experiences.

Effect: -2 Willpower, -2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom, +9 Perfection.

I hung my head for a time as my shoulders slumped, before I let out a sigh and took in my options and thought on how they had come to be. It took effort to remember what had happened after I met the imp, and before I got the trait Mind Fortress, but it was possible. With a feat of focus that made my temples throb, I recalled thinking that I disliked the names and the associations of the Traits that had been offered me back in the swamp. I still very much did, but then choosing Discoverer because of that, was simply ridiculous.

As I had noted at the edge of that field, what now seemed so very long ago: it was not until Twisting Minds had faded, that I could consider killing the imp without spikes of pain to my head. While I had never truly gotten any confirmation that my choices in the swamp was a part of the imp's attempts to weaken or kill me, I truly believed it was. Though I could be mistaken. After all, if it could make me pick Discoverer, why did it let me take Mind Fortress? Was I in fact just making up excuses for myself?

It was possible that when it came to Mind Fortress I was more focused on outcome, giving little mental leverage; my disgust with Survival of the Putrid and Hardened Heart though, might have given plenty to work with. It could also be that the obnoxious little vermin was too far away to influence me at that later time. I did not know though and probably never would.

While I had never consciously made the decision, I had put this whole thing out of my mind, as something I could not affect or change and would just have to live with. Yet here it was again, to frustrate. While it was an unwanted reminder of things I rather not dwell on, I made my choice of a Trait.

Survival of the putrid

You have wallowed in filth and have become more resistant to disease.

Effect: Immunity to natural disease.

Status.

Ewynne

Age: 18

Level: 8

Experience: 500/3000

Race: Aberration

Class: Enchantress

Strength: 4

Dexterity: 10

Agility: 8

Constitution: 10

Endurance: 8

Intelligence: 22

Wisdom: 16

Willpower: 24

Perfection: 14

Charisma: 12

Health: 56/100

Mana: 583/620 (13/minute)

Stamina: 80/80 (18/minute)

Unallocated Attributes: 0

Having completed that, I brought out the spell books I had bought, and used them, one by one.

Light

Creates a moderate light source. Spell structure maintained by 8 Willpower, 7 Intelligence.

Duration: 10 minutes per Attribute exceeding structure requirement.

Cost: 50 Mana

Cast Time: 5s, Intentional

Range: Touch

Upkeep: N/A

Ice Lance

Throws a sharp lance of ice at a target. Spell structure maintained by 10 Willpower, 11 Intelligence.

Damage: 2 times Willpower and Intelligence, excluding structure requirement.

Cost: 225 Mana

Cast Time: 3s, Intentional

Range: 4 meters

Upkeep: N/A

Acid Splash

Conjures a small splash of acid in front of the caster. Spell structure maintained by 13 Willpower, 12 Wisdom.

Damage per second: 0.5 times Willpower and Wisdom, excluding structure requirement.

Cost: 275 Mana

Cast Time: 1s, Intentional

Range: 1 meter

Upkeep: 75 Mana per second

Minor Shield

Conjures a translucent shield around the caster, absorbing incoming damage before dissipating. Spell structure maintained by 10 Wisdom.

Shield: 0.4 times Wisdom, excluding structure requirement.

Duration: 2 minutes per Wisdom exceeding structure requirement.

Cost: 125 Mana

Cast Time: 2s, Intentional

Range: N/A

Upkeep: N/A

Finally, I sat there with Minor Heal in my hands. I was both excited and worried. Could I learn a Cleric spell? It was the idea that Cleric spells had a structure that made me take the chance, despite the cost, hoping I could Enchant it.

I tried to use the spell book.

Do you wish to learn the spell: Minor Heal?