246 (II)

  Backstory [II]

  And the deep sorrow and buried anger in her words triggered Sage of the Enkindled Heart once more.

  Sage of the Enkindled Heart: She's not a blind dog of the Inquisition; she isn't a perfect servant of the Ascendants or the Republic. She's here because she has personal grudges. She's reacting to a great many things. She went after Blackedge mainly to settle a score with Roland. From her words, and if she's being truthful, we have an angle, a means of potentially revealing a certain truth to her, one that may see her turned against the masters of the Republic.

  Sage of the Enkindled Heart 110 > 112

  It was risky, but Shiv felt there was a chance he might be able to… Well, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with the Giantsbane. He still held a grudge for what she did to his poor ass. But beyond his personal desires, they needed more people on their side. Veronica wasn't Shiv's ally. No, she was playing her own game, and the only counter against her was Udraal. Shiv didn't want to think about Udraal and his fucked-up schemes to resurrect his mother and the Great One.

  With larger threats and uglier problems looming on the horizon, the Deathless took Jessica's words into account. He didn't need an infinite number of enemies. He needed to be able to focus. He needed some other Legends, some support structure to aid him in giving him a modicum of sanity back.

  The System demanded strife, but he was determined to fight the System. He didn't want to just be a violent tool of violence, an engine of destruction. If that was the fate of a Legend, then he was going to defy that fate.

  It was going to hurt him. It was going to maul him. But for the first time, Shiv realized how a monster like Udraal could come to be.

  Philosophy 32 > 35

  "Legend Jessica?" Shiv asked.

  She hummed.

  "You think about doing something differently?"

  The Giantsbane blinked. "What do you mean by differently? You got some suggestions for me, Adept?" Her words bordered on the edge of a taunt, but she was genuinely listening.

  "Yeah, so, it seems like you're just reacting to a lot of stuff. So you don't really know what you want to do. You sound, I don't know, lost to me."

  Jessica breathed out. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I guess I am lost. The problem with that, kid, is that most people can see it. You're not a genius for figuring that out, sorry. I know I'm lost, I just don't have a solution for it. Being lost is a little bit like being sick. A lot of times, people know why they're sick. They just can't treat it. They can't treat it because the symptoms are known, but a cure is not. The body is complicated, and so is life. Hells, life's more complicated."

  "I'm not saying it isn't, I'm just saying that if you want to make things different, maybe you need to tackle some of your problems head-on. Like this... what did you call him? The Deathless guy?"

  Jessica raised an eyebrow. “What do you want me to do about him? You want me to keep tracking him? No good at that. I'm not an Investigator or a Diviner. I'm just great at swinging a sword, parrying attacks, being real small, and counting."

  "Counting?" Shiv repeated.

  "Oh, yeah, I'm really good with numbers. I can do math off the top of my head like no one's business. In fact, if my whole mercenary swordswoman thing went wrong during my mercenary career, I would have become the company accountant. Could have done it too, you know? I'm still Master-Tier in my number crunching. Got real good along the way, even with all the time I spent fighting and killing people."

  "Huh, that's pretty interesting. Not really good at anything yet."

  "Bullshit," Jessica replied, wagging a finger. "You saved a bunch of people just now. Don't think I hadn't noticed."

  Shiv went very still.

  "Oh, don't try to hide it, kid. You're better at Biomancy than anyone in that room suspects. I saw how you just happened to notice a few of those seeds lodged inside of them. Like it was blind luck. You have something going there. But don’t worry. I won’t pry. I’ll let you keep your secrets.”

  "And you weren't going to help them if you noticed all that?" Shiv asked. It was unwise, but a flare of frustration was rising in him again. Jessica had been here the whole time and known about the issue. And she hadn't intervened.

  She shrugged. "Look, my Awareness isn't too bad, but I'm no Biomancer, and my skill doesn't let me find the sickness that's affecting them. If I try to intervene, I'll just be causing a mess. Nothing useful there for me to do there. I just stay out of the way of the experts. Like you. Speaking of, you're good at Psychology too, because it feels like you're digging a little bit into me right now."

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  "I mean, I'm just trying to help," Shiv said reluctantly. He'd played the role of the overwhelmed student well, he thought, but Jessica continued side-eyeing him. Her suspicions were growing.

  Acting 21 > 23

  Shiv continued pushing. "It just seems to me that you have some unfinished stuff with this Deathless guy, and you don't think he's entirely a bad guy. So, maybe you could talk with him and figure out what happened to your family or something. If there's a chance that you can solve this without bloodshed, I think you should take it."

  She snorted. "The innocence of a kid. It's… Well, I can't say it's nice or anything. It'll get you killed in this world. You should lose it as soon as possible. But it's something, alright. You know, I would talk to the guy if he weren't going after my family. I would talk to the guy if the Inquisition didn't want him so dead and the Ascendancy didn't have a price on his head. I would even talk to the guy because I don't really give a shit about getting all those Legendary skills from killing him." She paused. "Hells, I would enjoy ten more Legendary skills. That would make my life a lot easier."

  "Maybe just paint a larger target on your back," Shiv shot back.

  Jessica paused. “Fuck. You might be right. Shit.”

  "Yeah," Shiv continued, "because think about the Deathless right now. He doesn't even have ten Legendary skills, but he's valuable. Right? He has something special that makes people hunt him. If you got ten more Legendary Skills, wouldn't you just get even more strife drawn to you? You wouldn't have any time for your family or even yourself because the entire world would be coming after you. Just armies and assassins and—"

  "Okay, okay," Jessica cut in, covering her ears. "I don't want to hear it. Too much strife. I swear you're trying to give me white hairs. You know how much effort I put into keeping myself looking youthful?" She pointed at her immaculate face.

  Shiv didn't respond by saying that even Master-Tier Pathbearers barely visibly aged after centuries, assuming they didn't neglect their physical skills. He had a feeling she might get offended at that. "Alright, alright. I'm just saying that there might be things you're missing. Things that you don't fully get."

  "Probably. But the Deathless isn't trustworthy either. No, he's got his own interests. Just because the people you're fighting with are lying to you doesn't mean that the people you're fighting against are truthful or good."

  Shiv considered her logic before replying with his own counter. "Yeah, I get what you're saying, but sometimes two lies don't match up either. Maybe between them, that's where the truth can be found."

  And for whatever reason, that statement pushed his Deception over the edge. A new skill evolved inside him, a new power blossomed within his very being, and he struggled not to shake and reveal the metamorphosis happening within his soul.

  Jessica sighed and simply looked at the door. "Yeah, well, even if that's all true, I don't think it matters. If he wants to talk, he can come on by and find me at the Lusty Eunuch. Hah, maybe he's listening right now. Except with the city hunting for him and Harlock sweeping the academy for his ass, I don't think I'll be seeing him until he's inside another Rubix Cell, or we end up crossing blades once more."

  The Legendary swordswoman smacked her lips together. “He'll probably have his ass fused together or something next time to stop me from giving him the old ‘tunnel runner special.’”

  Shiv almost shuddered. “You have a name for that?”

  She ignored him. “What I did to him was pretty traumatizing. What he doesn't know, though, is that I can get into his asshole through his belly button too. So, yeah, let's just say I'm gonna try to rip his ass completely next time. If he didn't have people with him, I would have taken him alive."

  Shiv would have seethed internally at Jessica if the bulk of his focus wasn't on his Deception Skill evolving.

  Deception 49 > 51 (Skill Evolution Reached)

  And before the two could continue their conversation, the door to the break room was thrown open, and Hero-Biomancer Javelina stood in the doorframe, flanked by her shapeshifting hog.

  "Javelina." Jessica stood up first.

  "No, you wait," Javelina shot back, silencing the Legend. "I want to speak with him first. You can wait outside."

  Jessica nearly sputtered, but then it became a laugh. "Okay, you know what? Fine. I'll let you boss me around tonight."

  "I'll boss you around whenever I want inside my own hospital. Now, out."

  Jessica, to her credit, didn't put up much of a fight. She simply picked up her helmet, then sauntered out and wiggled her fingers at Shiv. "Good talking with you, kid. Try not to die or get kidnapped by any other cancerous monsters."

  "Do my best," Shiv replied. "Hope your day gets less shitty?"

  The Legend laughed once more and slipped past the Hero-Biomancer. But Javelina's eyes never settled on Jessica, not even when the Legend whispered something to her. Instead, she was glaring at Shiv like a hawk, and the Deathless felt a new weight building inside of him. He had gotten through one dangerous conversation, and so followed another.

  “Hero-Biomancer,” Shiv began, rising from his seat.

  “Who are you?” Javelina asked immediately. “Don’t bother lying to me. I will know. I can taste a lie. I have the skill to do so. You’re not just some random, poor kid from up north—so don’t bother trying to sell me on that. No one just happens to notice a few mithril seeds out of luck—luck that seems to have rubbed off on my entire ward. Everyone’s finding shrapnel now. My residents are getting inspired, and my patients are a little too clear-headed about their symptoms. I want a few things: Start with who you are, get to how you just did that, and finally, if you’re connected to that vampire—and why I shouldn’t just hand you over to the Inquisition for questioning.”

  “Is there no end to the threats pursuing us?” Tulveg almost whined.

  “Welcome to our lives,” Adam replied. “Your life too, now that you're with us.”

  Their life was indeed full of uncomfortable conversations. But at least Shiv was better at lying now.

  Skill Evolution: Deception (Initiate) > Gardener of Doubt (Adept)

  Gardener of Doubt 51 (Adept)