Chapter 041 - A Little Grinding

Note from DerelictPresence: Made some updates to chapter 40, specifically the final conversation with Anna and Cat to make it more in character and just generally improve the chapter.

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Anna pressed her mouth to her palm and exhaled, squinting at the engraving in front of her. She’d spent nearly a day on the damn thing and it was beginning to give her a headache. She’d been tireless in her pursuit of her profession after stirring her bloodline and coming to what amounted to an actual relationship with Catherine. She knew the woman was hiding things, she could feel it like an itch at the back of her mind. Even so, she didn’t begrudge her that. Everyone had secrets and to be frank, until the secret became a problem it was really not her business.

That and I don’t really give a shit about backstories, she thought absently, tapping her finger on the counter. She grumbled and squinted at the lines she’d made on the plate. I’m just glad she gave me a break from morning drills to have a little more time with this. Doubt it’ll last long.

She checked her sketch one more time before reaching for the training stylus. She’d leaned on it a few times for fine detail work but part of her really wanted to see if she could make the final touches without it. Okay, Mana inlet set at the southern pole of the plate, then to a water rune with the distance modifier at three degrees. She frowned and grabbed the spectacles, flicking down the lenses and leaning forward. Perfect.

The distance modifier was not really its own rune, but rather a slight alteration to the rune it was effecting. Of course that meant one had to take it into consideration with all the other runes around it which just added to the complexity of spellcraft and engraving. I get that this style is more logical but man if it isn’t convoluted sometimes. She thought irritably before moving on to the next step. Now this is the hard part. The small series of runes half the size of the water rune were supposed to, in theory, take note of the amount of water within the affixed item.

I know I shouldn’t be messing with these runes yet, they’re in the advanced section of the textbook, she mused. I really want a hot shower though. She checked it again and again, looking back at the textbook before examining her engravings. As satisfied as she could be she moved on to the final two parts. Heat rune with its own modifier set, so glad that the textbook translated the temperature measurements because I have no idea what ‘Niv’s are.

She put her hand on the plate and concentrated. And now the second set of ‘if then’ runes. She frowned, insisting on that name rather than ‘gate’ runes since it had taken her way longer than she cared to admit to figure out what they did.

Her presence went into the plate. Her mind followed. She felt out the shape of the grooves, slowly working her way from one spot to another. She didn’t try to do it elegantly or engrave each looping shape one at a time. Instead, she applied the perspective of someone from Earth. She printed the engraving, one sweep at a time to make absolutely certain each portion was in the correct place. It was slower, but it had a better success rate as far as she’d seen.

She reached the top and focused harder. Concentrate… just a little more. Just gotta do the Mana out rune now…

<Quest Update!>
Craft at least 10 functional reusable Engravings (5/10)

<Your skill has Improved!>
Engraving (Mortal-Common-Low)
Use your will alone to engrave, carve, and alter the surface of an object with a small amount of mana. Utilizing knowledge from a magical proficiency can allow one to turn engravings into enchantments. Presence and Intelligence increase the efficiency of this skill. Your engraving is now slightly more accurate.

<Quest Update!>
Reach the Low grade of the Engraving skill (1/1)

She threw a fist into the air with a whoop and laughed. “Yes! I did it!” She groaned and slumped in her seat. “Fuck me that was hard.”

She reached out and grabbed the plate to examine it.

Rudimentary Hot Water Mechanism Plate (Mortal-Common)
This metal token has been engraved with a simple glyph mechanism that produces fresh water from mana to fill a container, afterward the water is heated. This enchantment draws ambient mana from the environment and releases it into the air around it. The conversion rate is sub-par but within safe levels of mana taint per gallon. Water generation and heating speed is: slow. This enchantment must be physically attached to the object, after it is attached this item can no longer be reassigned.

She grinned ear to ear. It may be the absolute shittiest hot water enchantment ever made, but damn I’m proud of it! She thought and hopped to her feet, swaying a little bit as she realized she’d been sitting for nearly twelve hours. Despite the urge to sit back down and take a breather she really wanted to get this thing going. She hurried up the steps and made her way through the precinct, finally finding the maintenance room. She threw the door open and pulled out a glowstone, traipsing over to the hot water heater. It was a tall metal cylinder with a pair of pipes attached to the top. One of them was utterly useless since it was the inlet but the other fed hot water to the entire building.

It’s too bad this building didn’t have its own reservoir. I would have done two plates instead so we could have hot and cold water. Oh well, she shrugged and found a good spot to attach the plate. The book suggested putting plates like this in an area exposed to air to allow the mana to disperse evenly rather than corrode surrounding materials. She slapped it right on top next to where the power normally went in.

Would you like to enchant: 120 Gallon Hot Water Heater? Yes / No

“Yes!”

The plate flared to life and she smelled ozone for a moment as the edges of the steel glowed and adhered themselves to the tank. A few heartbeats later, it stopped and she gaped as the sound of rushing water inside the tank reached her ears. She stepped back and ran her fingers through her hair, wide-eyed. There was theory and then there was practical application. Seeing an enchantment actually work was… incredible.

<Quest Update!>
Create a simple multi-step engraving and apply it to an object (1/1)

She wanted to hug the damn water heater but decided it would be best not to spend a lot of time right next to it. Instead, she hurried out into the hall, practically skipping as she pushed into the lobby and found Catherine ‘meditating’. Napping again, huh? She thought and cleared her throat. “Hey!”

The knight stirred and opened an eye. “No sign of attackers yet, My Lady.”

Anna rolled her eyes. “We got water. It’ll take a bit but it’ll be hot soon.”

Catherine’s eyes popped open. “You enchanted a- already?”

Anna smirked. “Am I becoming more worthy in your eyes?”

Her companion gave her a deadpan look before hopping to her feet and walking past her. “I need to see this,” she said quickly. Anna shoved her hands in her pockets and followed the knight until they reached the maintenance room. Catherine approached the tank, examined it, made a funny sound and then shook her head before turning to Anna. “I… am impressed.”

Anna crossed her arms and tilted her chin up. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

Catherine narrowed her eyes. “Do not test your luck, ma’am. Your ears are quite functional.”

Anna sighed and took the win for what it was. She had been doing a lot of struggling just to stay alive since the integration began, every win felt like dragging herself through mud and blood. This one felt a little different. She allowed herself to smile at Catherine only for a moment before turning away and clearing her throat. “Thanks. I needed that,” she said and made her way back out into the bull pen, apparently that’s what the office space she’d ruined fighting the first hound was called-she’d found the name on a map of the precinct she found in an office.

“You must be getting close to your profession,” Catherine said thoughtfully, joining her in the open space. “You have a quest for it, yes?”

Anna nodded. “Yeah. I’ve been focused on making that,” she thumbed back towards the hot water heater. “I made a few practice plates that counted towards my quest but I still need to make five more functional plates, learn another basic spell, pick up the ‘Deconstruction’ skill, and get it to low. I just got Engraving up to low.”

Catherine looked thoughtful and then reached into her own pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper. She handed to Anna and Anna unfolded it, looking it over. It was a spellform, very basic but it had runes she didn’t recognize. Or rather, versions of runes she didn’t recognize. Are there different versions of runes based on where you’re from? Oh joy, language barriers even in magic.

“That is magelight, the version I learned at the Academy. It is a bit more efficient than what you will find in an er…” Catherine hesitated, “...commoner’s textbook.”

Anna raised an eyebrow. “Commoner’s textbook?”

Catherine crossed her arms. “It is not what you think, my father was a merchant, nothing more.”

Anna folded the paper and started walking back to her workshop. Despite her earlier thoughts, she couldn’t help but actually be a little curious. Maybe I’m getting attached. Gross, she thought before speaking. “What did he sell?”

“Lumber, mostly. We also handled the retail of local produce,” Catherine said. “What about your mother?”

Since we’re both pretty sure what dear old dad does, Anna thought wryly. “She’s a professor,” she said. “Advanced Physics.”

Catherine went silent as they reached the top of the steps. Anna glanced her way and the woman crossed her arms, almost looking a little petulant. “Well, now I am far less impressed with your work.”

Anna’s eyes widened. “Excuse me?” Catherine’s lip twisted and the ghost of a smile appeared. Anna’s eyes widened even more. “Are you… are you messing with me? You have a sense of humor?”

Catherine’s expression fell and she turned away with a huff. “When you are done dropping off the spellform, come upstairs. I know you are excited to learn more but we need to take a new approach with your training and that means going outside for a time. Suit up.”

Anna scratched the back of her head and watched the woman go, she shook her head and went downstairs. Y’know, I don’t hate having someone around. I’ll never admit it to her face, obviously, but banter makes the apocalypse suck a whole lot less.

–

“I take it back!” she shouted into the roaring wind and snow.

“Take what back?” Catherine shouted back at her.

“Nevermind!” she grumbled and trudged through the snow. The storm had gotten really bad, but they were on a clock and Catherine’s plan wasn’t a bad one. She had a theory that the black structure that Anna had seen during her last run was actually where the skeletons were coming from. The chill wasn’t terrible, between her ring and her Temperature Tolerance Training ability she was relatively comfortable in that regard. It was kind of like a chilly winter morning. The problem was that the snow was about two feet deep and their only way of getting through was by foot.

She pushed her way through the snow regardless, her eyes fixed on the distant black shape. The sun was still high enough that they’d make it there with time to spare to at least look around before doubling back. There was not enough time to march in and smash everything, though. Disappointing, but Catherine insisted that reconnaissance was always the first step in situations like these. A point Anna didn’t want to argue. They were, by Anna’s estimation, about a mile away when Catherine held up a hand and lowered herself into the snow. 

Anna shuffled to her side and did the same. “What is it?”

Catherine frowned. “Movement.”

Anna glanced at her, “Duh there’s movement.”

Catherine pursed her lips and clarified. “Not the loping of barely sapient undead,” she said evenly. “There are people.”

Anna turned back to peer at the distant shape. From this range it was less a blob and more a collection of dark structures set on top of what looked like some sort of raised platform. The snow seemed to avoid it like the plague. She couldn’t see a single white spot on any of it, well, besides the few skeletons that were walking the perimeter. “There’s the guards, where are these… oh, I see them.”

Two figures that weren’t the bleached white of bone and actually had clothes and flesh walked from one building to another with their heads low as they passed a skeleton warrior in armor. Catherine’s hands pushed down into the snow and she let out a breath. “Definitely the Grand Necropolis. The architecture is unmistakable. I do not recognize the purpose of the buildings though. There are very few reasons they would keep the living around.”

Anna tilted her head. “Are we sure they’re alive?” she asked. “They could be zombies.”

Catherine nodded. “That is a possibility, you should check, then.”

Anna blinked. “Me?”

“Yes you, you have wraithsight,” she said bluntly. “Get close enough and you will be able to tell, yes?” She turned and held Anna’s gaze for a while and Anna got the distinct impression she was being put upon.

Anna returned her stare. “Is this for the sense of humor, crack?”

Catherine’s expression didn’t shift a millimeter. “I have no idea what you are talking about, My Lady. This is the optimal choice.”

Anna opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again and then let out a grudging sigh. She rose up to a half crouch and pulled her presence all the way in, muting it. She began to trudge forward through the snow, grumbling to herself the whole way. Much to her mild annoyance, it seemed to be the absolute right call to make. When she was close enough to be within general earshot and range of wraithsight, she got two pieces of information. The first was that the hunched figures did not have the eerie off-blue glow of undead in their life force. They were very much alive, the same coloration as the creatures in the dungeon.

The second was a brief exchange she overheard. The heavily armored skeletal warrior was saying something she couldn’t understand at first, until he began speaking to one of the members of the living.

“You have two hours to reach your quota, Slave,” the skeleton warrior rasped. “The garden must be refueled by tonight!”

“Y-yes!” it was the sound of an elderly man’s desperate wheeze before the hunched person hurried past.

Anna doubled back quickly and told Catherine what she saw. Instead of looking upset, she looked excited. “Are you sure they said garden?”

“Yeah, they said it needs to be recharged,” Anna said. “Why do you look happy?”

“Because that is a Bone Garden. Where undead are spawned, not made from corpses,” Catherine explained. “An endless supply of mindless undead as long as it is properly fueled.”

For a moment, Anna just stared at her, confused as to why she was so excited. Then it slowly sank in. She grinned. Looks like it's time for a little grinding.