203. Advanced work: Wiremu

There was some resistance to accessing the Advance Class books. The Royal Decree pushed through, but I think some of the Masters were not happy. I had to endure a tirade from one dwarven master, who clearly and thoroughly listed my unworthiness to have access to her area of speciality, and she was off to complain to the King. She was a Spiritual herb specialist, and she was so right. Out of interest, I looked at the Advanced Classes in Herbology. There were two, and I could not understand either of them.

The book on the Slave Taskmaster that Ruku brought back with him was there. I skimmed it to check it was the same, and it was. There was a study of slaves carried out about two hundred years ago. They used some experiments that I would have killed them for. I checked the author, and it was written in the Empire. They tried many things, but the overall goal seemed to be to try to increase the Mental Agility of the slaves while keeping the other mental attributes down. If they could increase the Mental Agility attribute, they would have a more creative workforce and one that could learn new skills quicker. This was a big hindrance to using slaves. They struggled to learn new skills. There was some success with alchemical potions, but the cost of the potions was prohibitive.

I checked the other books there, and all of them were written in the Empire except one thin one. A Kirghiz Mental Health Specialist wrote this on how to care for people with the Slave Class who came to the Kingdom. It was written about a hundred and fifty years ago, and the principles for slave owners and helping slaves live a life as normal as possible were still operating today. There were several copies of this book, and the custodian said it was required reading for all Mental Health experts today.

In all the readings, the only way to remove the Slave Class was the Ritual by a Journeyman Slave Taskmaster. There was no explanation of why it required a Journeyman-level Slave Taskmaster.

I moved my reading to other Advanced Classes. After all, they may need removing as well. Every advanced class book started with a warning that this class could not be removed. I didn’t believe it. If the Slave class can be removed, then so can these classes. That didn’t mean it would be easy or cheap, but there must be a way.

There was an Advance Class that tempted me. It was called Mineral Extraction, and it focussed on using smelting and other techniques to break down rock into its separate elements. It also enabled you to imbue those elements with Spiritual Energy. This includes different mineral elements as well as metal elements. The downside to the class was it made any other Blacksmithing and Stone Masonry specialisation unavailable. Do you want enhanced pure silicon? Gold? Iron? Silver? With my Granite and lava Affinities, I could produce pure metals that were already enhanced. I couldn’t do much with them, but I could pump out materials. Pure gold horseshoes, then I am your man. Or I would be if I had the class. I would be locked away and used to produce materials.

To get the Class, I would need Mineral Lore at Journeyman, Metal Lore at Apprentice, and a Smithing and a Stone Work Basic Class, which I have. Then I would need a Journeyman Level Smith and Stone Mason to perform a ritual. They could be separate people. The ritual involved also needed different pure spiritual materials, three minerals and three metals.

I compared this ritual with the Slave taskmaster ritual, which was totally different. No surprise there. I went through the other advanced Class books and copied down every ritual I could find. They all required a Journeyman Level Practitioner to run the ritual. Why? What does the ritual actually do?

The ritual for testing affinities in Monster Cores and people focussed and moved Spiritual energy that could then be sensed. How are these rituals moving spiritual energy to make a class? Wait up! Back up a bit. Spiritual Energy is creating a class. Are all classes created by Spiritual Energy? How would I find out? Specialised classes come with Skills? Are Skills also from Spiritual Energy? Skills use different energy when you activate them, but are they created from this raw Spiritual Energy before it is divided into the nine attributes? How would I find out?

Specialised Classes come with a skill, and not always the same skill. Two people specialising in the same class could get different skills. Why? To specialise, you must have your basic class at the Journeyman level. Is this linked to the reason you need a Journeyman level practitioner for the Advanced Class ritual? It seems likely. There must be a reason or a connection I am still missing.

A cough interrupted me. “Excuse me, Lady Dianne,” Susie, the small attendant, approached hesitantly, “you have an important visitor”. I was in a private chamber where I could read the restricted Lore material alone. I was not supposed to be disturbed. I had also acquired the “Lady” title as I was the sister to the Countess Auditor. It wasn’t public yet, but I was now also a Knight of the Auditor, which seems a pointless title to me. Ruku has found it a useful title in noble circles.

“Very well, I am done for the day anyway. Please keep these books available for my next session as I haven’t finished with them. Thanks, Susie.”

“Yes, my Lady.”

I am not sure I will ever get used to being called that. I packed my notes into my bag. Tāoke slithered up my back and onto my shoulder while the assistant tidied the table. He comes with me more often now that Težka is back in town. Nobody has seen him on my shoulder. His Camouflage is now Master Level. In the Lore society, people are all Mental Attributes, and you can slip all sorts of things past them.

I followed the attendant out and back up to the ground floor. I checked My Roleplay, and Decieve Skills were fully active, with me in the role of Dianne. It could only be a Lore Master or a high-ranking noble with the influence to disturb me.

I entered the public area of the Lore Society and saw the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I automatically started to move toward her to introduce myself. Roleplay and Decieve were Journeyman level and reminded me of my disguise, but they seemed to be fighting something. Then the woman turned, and her smile lit up my whole world. I reached out my hand in greeting, and suddenly her smile faltered, and she took a step back. I wanted her to smile again.

Then I heard a hiss by my ear, and I looked, and Tāoke was not in Camouflage but in a coil on my shoulder, with his head raised, ready to strike. His fangs were wide open with poison sizzling on them. I came to my senses and realised this must be Harriot. That is an insidious Skill.

I dropped my hand and bolstered my Mental Strength as I said coldly, “I consider it to be an attack when somebody uses a skill on me without my knowledge.”

I know I do that a lot myself, using Skills on people without their knowledge. Especially Skills like Hunters Mark. Yes, it is an attack; if I am discovered, I expect to be attacked. Let’s see what she does when she is discovered.

She composed herself very quickly and hit me with a bright smile. This time I got a notice of Mental Resistance 1 on my Status Sheet. She attacked me again.

I drew a knife so fast she didn’t even see it, and I sliced her face from her eye to her chin. It wasn’t deep, but it bled and would be ugly for a week or so, depending on the skill of her healer.

She recoiled and raised a hand to her bleeding face. “You cut me!” she exclaimed in disbelief.

Time to try out this title. “You attacked a Knight of the Auditor twice. The second time was after being warned that I considered it to be an attack. You are lucky you are not dead. I am a registered assassin.” Tāoke was back in camouflage and changed shoulders.

She was speechless. I don’t think she had ever been physically attacked before, and it had really thrown her off her script. I still held the knife. The attendant had backed away wide-eyed in fear and was cowering by the door to the society entrance. I guess it is not a normal thing to happen in the Lore Society either.

“I… I’ll… have you brought before the King and executed.” she stammered.

“So I should just kill you now, then,” I said calmly.

She looked frantically around for her guards but must have told them to wait outside while she seduced me. Who would expect violence in the Lore Society? She was alone with an assassin. She really hadn’t thought it through.

Her Mental Agility was kicking back in as she pulled herself together. A smile started and then stopped as I put the knife near her other cheek.

“I apologise, Dianne. It is only a skill that smooths the way for me,” she lied.

“You are also not aware that I have a Truth Sensing Skill. It comes in very handy in interrogations.”

She was speechless again, now realising I would sense her lies. “I …ah… I apologise once again. I will take my leave.” She gave me a brief bow and practically ran out the door into the street.

I followed her with Thermal Sensing and Hearing Aid. She wouldn’t talk in the street, threw a shawl over her head to cover the wound, and scurried off with her two guards trailing her, worried about an attack.

I guess there were a number of better ways to have handled that, but I am not a noble and violence is in character for Dianne. And for me. What’s done is done. There will be consequences. I made the knife disappear.

I turned to the attendant, the only witness to the event. I gave her a smile, “I am sorry you had to see that. Were you aware she has a mental Skill, so people find her attractive?” Susie shook her head. “It is so vain,” I said, ignoring the fact that Veneer was working hard to make me look more attractive right now. I continued, “Nobles don’t like people to see them shammed. I think you might need to take a holiday for a few weeks.”

“I don’t have anywhere to go, my lady, and I,” her voice dropped in shame, “I can’t afford to not work here.”

“Do you have any relatives in Kirghiz?”

“No, my Lady.”

Well, goblin shit. She is a nice enough kid, if a bit timid. She seemed bright enough, and I could tell she was excited to be assigned to work with me. That might be just because it was regular work for her. I don’t want her to disappear just because I put a noble in their place in front of her.

“Come and have a cup of tea with me in the Teashop here and tell me about yourself.”

“Yes, my lady. I understand Lady Harriot will not be pleased that I saw what you did, and her supporters can get over-enthusiastic.”

We went to the nearest shop, and I ordered tea and a snack.

Surprisingly it was Susie that spoke first. “I really like working at the Lore Society, my Lady.”

“OK, first rule. Stop it with the “My Lady” crap. My name is Dianne, and I am a fighter, not a noble.”

“Yes, my…” she gulped. “Yes, Dianne.”

“What do you like about working there? I know it is not the pay.”

“I like learning, my … Dianne. I like reading.”

“How long have you been there?”

“Just over two years”

“Would you consider doing another job for a while?”

“I guess so, but there is a lot of competition for assistant places in the Lore Society. I probably won’t get a job there again.” She sounded really disappointed as well as resigned.

“Over two years in that place, ah? You must know a lot.” She nodded. “What have you been learning lately?”

Her face flushed red, and she didn’t answer.

Then it dawned on me, “You’ve been reading the restricted books after I leave, haven’t you?”

She hid her face in shame. “Please don’t tell.”

“Ha! I am not angry with you, Susie. Good on you, I say. It is probably your only chance.”

She nodded her head in agreement but was still hesitant to look at me.

We now had a shared secret that would engender trust over time.

“You know what I need? I need a research assistant. You can take secondary jobs while employed by the Lore Society, can’t you?”

“Yes.”

“What other duties do you have there?”

“I have been relieved of other duties to be on call for you.”

“Excellent. It sounds very likely you will get paid twice for doing the same work. I will need a more active assistant, though.” Her head was nodding, and she was starting to look excited again. “You will need to stick with me for protection for a while, and we need to get you into new accommodation till this blows over. I have a friend who is living in East Marin who could do with a flatmate. She gets bored easily. She is also a very private person, and you will have to keep it a secret where you are living and who you are living with.” She nodded. “You will be protected while at home, but will need to be escorted when out for a while? OK?” She nodded again.

We passed her small attic, collected some of her belongings, and headed to East Marin. I hope Modrica likes her new flatmate. I hope Susie isn’t starstruck with Modrica coming back from the dead. I hope she likes bears.