Amber

Walking with someone always seemed to have a feel to it. With her Dad, it was like walking with a personal hero. Heroic in every way, but without any isolation between them. Some people could make even the simple task of walking a difficult trial. Others would leave her forgetting that she was moving with a purpose. Moving on autopilot so absorbed in the moment that the rest of the world faded away.

Rose walked quietly in a loud way. Like he was yelling but didn't know how to make a sound. Amber gave him some time to find his voice, but they just clinked their way up the slope of the spire. Maybe it was her rapid cognition wearing away her patience, but Rose took too long.

"Alright, what's on your mind?" Amber asked.

"Hint filled me in on some of what is going on, but I just want to know about how to get home," Rose said.

"An' what'd she say?"

"I didn't ask," Rose sighed. "I'm not sure who or what to trust. 'Take territory and secure power' sounds like the convenient answer to control desperate people."

"Pft. No lairs to worry about yet. Well, maybe Grant. But this ain't from him. Even when we go back to Earth, it won't be like we left it," Watching him from the corner of her eye, she continued. "Trying to get back to somebody special?"

"Eh, yes, no. I want to get back to everyone important to me. During my transition, I had time to understand that it would take a while, if ever. But to step out and already have a lead on it just seems too good to be true," Rose said.

"Might be. We don't know how this gate works. Maybe just communication with Earth. I kinda jumped hard onto the idea of getting home when I first got here. Right up until I realized that most of those I care for will pop up here in the monster land," Amber gestured around. "So it ain't about getting back home anymore. Least not for me."

"You don't want it to happen to them?" Rose's eyes were glued to her hand.

Something about him pointing out her hand hurt. She was so unbelievably blessed to have a working hand, but all the gratitude she had, fell short of shoring up the damage.

"Yeah," Amber raised her new silk shirt enough to show off the grizzly scar where a glass hand stabbed her guts. "Or this."

They continued in silence the rest of the way to the Hub.

"Hold up, this is months of work," Rose looked over the stonework outside the Hub.

"Ask Hint," Amber set his duffel down. "Here's your burden. I got a message to deliver."

"Thanks," Rose called from behind her.

Swinging Harper's door open until the wood slammed against the bare stone wall, Amber couldn't help but grin as she jumped. The clatter of a spilled reagent brushed her grin with a touch of shame, but Amber just leaned into it.

Turning on her, Harper had a literal eye twitch. "Errrggg, I'm working here! Hint design a lock for this door. No, fine, keep doing what you're doing."

"I see this wasn't a great time," Amber drawled extra slowly. "What's got you so wound up?"

"Oh yeah, what could be the problem? Everything is going just swell with the tanning solution, three square meals a day, a house that grows to fit more people, purpose built solutions to each threat we encounter, research into the world altering Grand Array, and all the broken people getting mental and physical medicine. Whatever could be stressing?" Harper seemed to inflate as she worked herself into a frenzy of frazzled brown hair.

"Hey, you said you used to do art before the apocalypse. Would you do work for free?" Amber was pretty sure she already knew the answer.

"At first," Harper clattered lids onto containers. "What a mistake. Working for exposure or family that didn't get how much work goes into it."

"Same thing here," Amber nodded sagely. "Even if people are asking it of you, and I'm guessing nobody did, feel free to tell 'em no. Or trade some of your burdens away."

"Too much hard work going around to selfishly trade what I should be giving freely," Harper gave her a pointed look.

"Seems to me like you're compelled to give, rather than giving freely," Amber leaned in. "Why? What's compelling you?"

"Everyone! You and your missing hand, Ben and his missing sister, Stephanie and her missing mind, Mathew and his stupid plan," Harper heard the venom of her voice and visibly cringed away from it.

Give grace when you can, Amber repeated the words of her childhood.

"Speaking of Mathew, I'm looking for him. Where's he at?" Amber changed the conversation, locking her sudden anger away.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to blow up at you," Harper said. "And you didn't ask me to find a fix and—"

"Skip," Amber held her hand up as a stop sign. "We're all good. You need to take better care of you, but you already know that. Harper, you are a good person swimming in a pint of trouble, with a thimble boat. We all are. So don't sweat it."

"Thank you," Harper took a big enough breath that lifted her shoulders and putting some iron in her spine, she held her shoulders up. "Did you just skip me?"

"Wasn't it you who said it'd be funny if people did that in real life?" Amber asked.

"Funny as in wrong and heartless, not funny as in worth a laugh," Harper fought a smile of her own.

"Skip," Amber said. "So is this Mathew's old stupid plan or a new one. Cuz the old plan wasn't supposed to be smart, just the best of the worst."

After snorting, Harper answered, "I'm on board with the conquest plan. It's a way to save lives. But he's going off to do it alone now."

"No."

"Yeah. It's dangerous, so he wants to go alone. But not until he does some stupid training. He's literally getting his bones broken repeatedly just to level. So I'm trying to make us personal shields," Harper stepped back and showed Amber what she'd been working on.

The table was cluttered but what stood out to Amber was two panels of glass beast flesh sandwiching a blue material. Harper had mirror liquid, shield juice, and a high purity proto-vital gel front and center in her work space.

"Can't we use shield juice as is?" Amber said.

"Like sunscreen but not to protect us from forceful impacts," Harper replied.

"So you need to add force like we got in them spike nuts or whatever," Amber nodded.

"No. In theory, maybe, but I don't have any way to control that type of force. I was trying to add a life attunement, so maybe it could piggyback on health, but I don't have the skill for that." Harper frowned.

"Maybe the bio-forms will help with that, then?" Amber pointed to the glass flesh.

"I certainly hope not. I find the whole idea kinda creepy. This is my attempt at real alchemy. What I've been doing so far has been accidental and shallow. This is where real alchemy starts," Harper's eyes glowed with passion.

"And where I check out," Amber mock yawned. "But if you need something, let me know. And don't forget to take care of yourself."

Walking away, Amber felt like she'd done a good thing. Startling Harper for her own good. She went in there to find out where Mathew was and left without getting that answered, but Amber was not about to ruin the moment by skulking back in to ask again.

Plus, if they were breaking Mathew's bones, there was no way that was quiet. He probably wasn't even in the Hub now that she thought of it. All the same, it wouldn't hurt to check his room.

For a moment, she thought of activating her lucky title benefit; it would reset at sunrise anyway. But cheating to find him would just ruin the challenge.

Poking her freckled nose around the corner of Mathew's door, she almost missed them. Motion within another room drew her attention.

The closet was repurposed to an airlock of some sort. Stepping through it brought silence like Ben's magic. Part of her thought the effect could be used for torture.

On the other side of this sensory chamber, Mathew was in a room with a new arrival. At twenty feet around, the circular room framed what was going on clearly. Mathew stood in the center while a towheaded man stalked around him.

[Brad Haden Locke ~ Nomad crafter

Otherworld human

Class: Eflodoret level 3]

What's an Eflodoret? Amber thought to her skill.

[Eflodoret are the troupes of King Redelguard of ancient history. Comparable to the Myrmidons of Earth's history]

Picking a perk that let her ask free scan questions to receive extremely limited answers was already proving to be a good choice.

In the time Amber was absorbing the situation, Brad struck. He'd selected an almost hammer-like weapon? Tool? It terminated with two spikes reminding her of a Bar-B-Q fork. But something like that didn't belong on a hammer.

With an inhumanly fast swing, the implement provided simultaneous force in two places cracking one of Mathew's plates.

Pained air squeezed from Mathew like a deflating tire.

"Another skill level. Inflict pain," Brad's voice was made unreadable by the panting.

"What's that nine?" Mathew asked.

"Ten."

"You don't have to hold off on perk selection for my sake," Mathew gave a dark laugh. "I can handle plenty more than this."

After leaning in for a closer look at Mathew's armored shoulder, Brad turned to the rack of tools and stuttered when he saw Amber.

"Oh, hello there," Brad stuck his hand out to introduce himself. "Name's Brad. Nice to meet you."

"Sure," Amber turned to Mathew. "Is this what I think it is?"

A buzz across her scalp alerted her to Mathew's mind reading.

"Yeah, you got the gist of it. It's not quite that simple. Training bone regeneration also makes future repairs faster, more efficient, and leaves a stronger result," Mathew gestured to Brad. "He's got the skills to help forge me for the next fight."

"How'd he get to level three?" Amber asked.

"The first levels aren't too expensive, and he didn't have enough power to cause any damage or detect weaknesses without it," Mathew held her gaze. "It is my territory and my essence to spend how I choose."

"You won't hear no complaint from me on that one," All of a sudden, Amber felt like helping Harper. "I'll leave you guys to your alone time then. Oh, yeah, I came here to deliver a message from Clare. Said she wants to sign a treaty. She's inviting you to her throne room."

"When?" Mathew asked.

"'Anytime you knock,' whatever that means," Amber quoted.

"Thank you," Mathew nodded.

"Sure thing, General," Amber mock saluted and left.

The nerve of him. Amber blew past Brad without acknowledging him. Subjecting yourself to torture just to fight better is just another way to turn yourself into a weapon. Idiot.

Practicality said it was probably a good call, and he chose this himself, so who was she to judge. I'm the Freedom Zealot! Of course, I can judge... unless that's why I'm trying not to.

Not for the first time, Amber wondered how much her magic was controlling her. Never on Earth had she allowed a friend to hurt themself and just stood by. Was this hands-off version of her better?

Her contemplations lasted long enough to get to Harper's room again.

"Knock, knock," Amber spoke quietly to not startle Harper again. "I'm here to help. Just got done watching their 'training,' and I'd also like to make an alternative. It don't set right knowing someone is sacrificing so much for me."

"Hence the stress," Harper finished her adjustments before turning hazel eyes on Amber. "Changed your mind, huh?"

"I'm free to do that."

"So, what do you bring to the table? No offense, I don't need motivation." Harper had a sharpness about her.

"Don't you worry about that," Amber declared. "I can do anything!" How hard could it be?