117, 1/2

Relaxed in his heavy black armor, Quilatalap stood in front of two dozen Shades, while an image of the Armory hung in the air behind him, looking like a land of black bubbles. He put a hand on some papers behind his podium, and began, “The Armory serves as the testing ground for petitioners to gain artifacts that will help them in their own particular parts of the world. The Clergy makes most of those artifacts, and shelters many more. Everyone here who wished to be informed when their items went out, has been, but now is the time for an unveiling of every item that has been won.

“To that end, we have this presentation.

“This is a display of strategic assets gone out into the world.

“It is a display of power by the Clergy, for the Clergy. This is a mixer for all involved, so that plots can be strung together after this presentation, if people so choose.

“So. Before we get into the meat of the matter: Anyone have any pressing desire to display their own artifacts and associated stories? There’s always at least one of you.”

Three hands went up in the audience.

“Alright then.” Quilatalap flicked his eyes across the gathered Shades, and said, “Forin Leofield, Shade of Enlightenment. Stardust, Shade of the Edge. Toymaker, Shade of Diversion.” He shuffled some papers around on the podium, pulling three slips of paper out of the whole and moving them to the front. Erick never saw the papers before he started shuffling them. Quilatalap said, “There we go. We’ll do you three, soon enough. But first, some numbers.” Behind Quilatalap, the viewing screen shifted. Names and numbers appeared and then moved off to the side, as he spoke, “This year, like many others, the majority of petitioners came from these various lands, of which I will only separate from their continent if their country of origin has more than 10 million people. City States will only be listed in the case of a winner.

“The Greensoil Republic. 28 losing teams, 5 choosing to go on past the first death, 26 permanent deaths. 5 winning teams. 7 survivors, 21 deaths. An abnormally large ratio of winners to losers this year, and quite a lot of post-adventure murder and infighting. We’re going to see a lot of that, this year.

“The Wasteland Kingdoms. 35 losing teams, 15 choosing to continue, 97 permanent dead. There was but a single winning team. That team of twelve had been in there for two months, only passing their final Artifact Trial after Shadow’s Feast had already begun. They won. You all know what they won, but we’ll go over that later. There were ten of them alive at the time of their win, but four of them killed the other six after they won. Those four will be on the stage later.

“Assorted lands of Glaquin. 71 losing teams, 6 choosing to continue. 38 permanent deaths. 4 winning teams, 20 survivors, 3 deaths. Orcol team, orcol team, assorted Crystal Forest team, assorted Sovereign Cities team.

“Assorted lands of Nelboor. 190 losing teams, 42 choosing to continue. 218 permanent deaths. Not a single winner from Nelboor this year. Quite odd. They usually get at least one artifact, and some war always erupts over there because of it. Not this year.

“Eidolon, of Nergal. 1 winner. Not a team. A singular winner. A human girl of 17. Very odd, but very capable person, there.”

Small laughs murmured from the crowd of Shades, along with one soft, ‘Really?’ There was a response of ‘Oh yeah, it was—’ but Quilatalap glared at the offender, and the offender went silent.

Quilatalap calmly said, “No spoilers,” then went on, “Nergal, both archipelago and continental, 37 losing teams and 19 losing teams, respectively. 4 and zero willing to continue. 7 permanent dead. Zero winners.”

“Quintlan.” Quilatalap smiled. “3 winning teams, 15 survivors. No losers. No deaths.”

“What!” more than one person exclaimed.

“Favoritism!” someone called out.

“Blatant favoritism!” added another.

Quilatalap smiled, then faked a frown. “I can’t help it if they raise them better over there.” He spoke over all resulting rejoinders, saying, “Moving right along.

“Assorted islands and underwaters, including Oceanside, Stone Reef, Deadtide, and all of those. 29 losing teams, 19 continuing. 109 permanent deaths. Zero winning teams.

“Stratagold, Underworld. Zero losing teams. 4 winning teams. 19 survivors. 1 permanent death.

“Assorted Underworld. 289 losing teams. 4 choosing to continue. 21 permanent deaths. No winners.

“And that’s it for the Artifact Challengers of the Armory. Total teams: 715 teams, for a total of 3,672 people.

“As for the lesser numbers: We have the Easy, Medium, and Hard courses of the Armory Challenge. These stand at roughly 28,000 people, 11,000 people, and 6,000 people, respectively. Winning rates hold steady at 70%, 38%, and 7%. But no one cares about those deeper numbers, so there will be no total breakdown. For those who care: the average prizes won were 50-Stat items, or some Stat Fruits, which turned out to be really popular once they were available. Once they were available, they were chosen 95% of the time, for a total of almost 8000 Stat Fruits given out, with Intelligence coming out far and away more chosen than any of the other options. Roughly 60% of choices went for Intelligence, followed by Constitution for 20%, Dexterity for 15%, and Charisma for 5%.”

Quilatalap turned to the board, which listed everything behind him, and waved a hand, brushing away the numbers for the losing teams, leaving only the winners. Those winner-numbers reorganized to take up the whole screen.

Erick felt a profound sense of oddness. He, himself, had just killed a man. And now, here he was, listening to death-numbers like this was a board meeting and not a horror show. He wiped away some wet thing on his face as he pretended nothing was wrong.

Queen leaned over, whispering, “Are you okay?”

Quilatalap whipped his head toward Erick, his deep black eyes searching for problems.

Erick pulled himself together and said, “I’m fine.”

Queen sat back in her chair, shrugging.

Quilatalap nodded, slowly, then went back to the board, continuing, “A total of 18 artifact winning teams this year. 2.5% win-rate. That’s rather low compared to the Artifact Trial win-rate in previous years. My observations conclude this is due to a number of interrelated factors, including the Converter Angel and the Breach Demon, as well as the introduction of Particle Magic to the world, and the general smartening of the various Ancients around the world, due to the decrease in the generalized discombobulation of Melemizargo. For instance, this year’s Unicorn Hunt over in the Sovereign Cities was particularly brutal, with the Ancient Unicorn there doing a lot more than in previous years. All that doesn’t even touch upon the existence of the Ballooning Spider Horde, though the death rates for that event was considerably lower than previous balloonings.

“Champion Yetta’s successful incursion ended up enticing a lot of people to come to Kendrithyst who should never have come here.

“All of these factors acted in concert to cause people to search for ways out of those messes, and for a lot of them, it meant coming to Kendrithyst well before they were ready.

“But one happening stood out from all the rest.

“Candlepoint’s existence was frightening for a lot of nations out there, but once it was proven that Candlepoint was exactly what it said it was, that lesser experience with the Clergy gave a lot of adventurers the courage to try their hand at Kendrithyst.”

Erick felt his skin go cold.

Quilatalap continued, “I say now, with eyes open and time passed, that I feel there was not enough distancing from Kendrithyst and Candlepoint. The people who came from Candlepoint to here were NOT prepared for the true trials of Kendrithyst, and the Armory numbers show it. But even outside of the Armory, more than once, a team either wandered into the Swamp, or into the North River, or got stuck to the walls, or any other of fool places to be, where they then died to overwhelming power or vicious chance. I know some of you even saved those people, only for them to run away and into more danger, and get themselves killed.”

Far behind Erick someone spoke up, “They got what they deserved!”

A few agreements echoed around the pavilion.

Quilatalap continued, undaunted, “Whatever the case, Candlepoint is no longer under Clergy control. People will go there and then come here, expecting to walk through these ruby-purple halls and pick up treasure just sitting on the ground. They won’t expect to be tried for their deficiencies, and found wanting.”

Bulgan, standing on the edge of the pavilion, called out, “Not our problem! Complain about Candlepoint to Erick, if anyone.”

Erick felt his sight narrow, as his heart thumped hard.

“Now is not a time for discussion. Now is a time for facts and neutral perspective.” Quilatalap said, “That said, we continue:

“Many of the people who came to the Armory were reaching beyond their means in order to either save themselves or to prepare for the oncoming strife, or just because they thought they could. The Wasteland is firmly in the first category. Nelboor, in particular, is very guilty of the second. Many of the people this year fell somewhere in the third category, which we had much too much of.

“We’ve seen this before in other years of grand upheavals, and we’ll see it again.”

Erick felt like he was going to be sick.

“And now, for the artifacts and the winners.” Quilatalap continued, “Let us start with a contribution from Forin Leofield, Shade of Enlightenment.” Quilatalap gestured to the viewing screen behind him. A black book appeared. It had thick, metal covers, with white opal-like gems running up the binding. Some people in the crowd instantly boo’d.

Fallopolis turned around and muttered at the man, “Honestly.”

Leofield, an otherwise unremarkable human-looking man, just smiled wider.

The Librarian, who was near the back, said, “I like those!”

“You always like those Books of Knowledge,” said another.

Quilatalap’s voice broke over the crowd, “A Book of Knowledge. A common artifact, but one readily taken by many, since everyone knows that they are safe artifacts to hold and use. Leofield submits a Book of Knowledge every time the original is won, and there’s usually one won every other year.

“He also has other artifacts for winning, but those remain ensconced in the Armory, waiting for the right person to come along.

“Made with solid adamantine covers and with pages of the thinnest paper, the mostly-indestructible Book of Knowledge copies every nearby book within its pages. When the Book is not in this black, true form, it mimics the form of any book it has copied, and then hides in bookshelves, looking like a completely normal tome.

“When a user cuts themselves on the pages, they bind the book to them. Thereafter, when the user channels mana into the book, the book reveals its true form.

“In its true form, every book it has ever copied is shown on the pages.

“The Book of Knowledge is a multi-functional artifact with search, organizational, and other functionalities.” With a slight profundity, Quilatalap added, “And additional functions unlock when the user has a Greater Elemental Body.”

The bored crowd sat a bit straighter.

Leofield smiled wide, cheering for himself as he said, “That’s right!”

Fallopolis turned to the man, narrowing her eyes. And then the rest of the crowd, except Erick, all seemed to understand that something special had happened.

The Librarian, shocked, asked, “Finally?”

“Damn straight!” Leofield said, “Finally got it! Ask me later if you want one, ha ha!”

Quilatalap spoke over the crowd, “In the presence of a user with a Greater Elemental Body, the Book of Knowledge gains sentience, and is able to tailor the user’s reading experience to all such books that would best benefit them. It will help create a Domain. It will begin to highlight the various misinformations perpetuated by the Arcanaeum Consortium. It will eventually gain a small ability to move on its own, in the form of a [Spectral Butler].

“This year, the Book of Advanced Knowledge went to an orcol team from Wyrmrest. The book has been in the hands of an accomplished mage for six months. He was the leader of their team, and though he began with [Greater Stone Body], he has since added [Greater Water Body] to his skills, while not only joining the Cult of Melemizargo, but also rising in ranks from Follower to Leader. His team has experienced similar benefits.”

There were a few professional claps around the gathering, and a few excited claps. Leofield repeated his offer of Books of Knowledge for anyone who wanted one. Erick heard no takers, but he didn’t doubt there would be a few. The Librarian, for sure, wanted one.

Erick felt a little sick, again.

Quilatalap continued his presentation, “And now we have Stardust, Shade of the Edge, and her Void Star.”

Stardust was a female snake shifter who sat one table over from Erick. She was pale and bald, but tiny white scales ran up the sides of her neck, dappling her face and her head, while also running out of the sleeves of her loose, black dress. As her name was called out she sat taller, and smiled.

Quilatalap offhandedly gestured at the screen behind him. A dark glass orb appeared, with what looked to be an eclipse in the center. Quilatalap said, “I have been asked to say that Void Stars are extremely easy to make. Stardust has had a breakthrough on an old project, and can make one of these a day, if she wanted. They are true artifacts, too. They do not break with ten thousand uses.”

Stardust smiled wider. There were a few small, professional claps.

Quilatalap continued, “When at least 850 mana is channeled into the Void Star, one [Void Star] is produced. If not directed to a target, the [Void Star] will attempt to kill the user. But otherwise, these energetic, ethereal summons, will rapidly move to any target within sight, slipping through most intervening barriers, in an attempt to reach that target’s center. Upon reaching its destination, the [Void Star] detonates in a [Void Blast], of medium size. Simple. Effective.

“And the entire team that won it is already dead from misuse and infighting.”

Stardust paled.

Then the giggles began. Fallopolis began chuckling, then cackling. It wasn’t long before a few Shades were howling with laughter.

“You told me those people won eight months ago! How am I just hearing about this now?” Stardust sat straighter, attempting to speak over the laughter, “Were they fools?! Or was this treachery?!”

Fallopolis ceased laughing, like the sudden stop at the end of a long fall. She glared her hateful white eyes at Stardust, and said, “They won. And then they died to what they won. That’s not right, Stardust.”

All laughter ceased, as eyes turned on the snake shifter woman.

Fallopolis continued, “Were they not aware of this fault? Or did you not tell Quilatalap?”

With a cocky sort of calm, Stardust said, “I told him. It was on the placard I wrote up. The winners knew what they were getting into.” She asked Quilatalap, “Didn’t they?”

“They knew. But they were a team from the Greensoil Republic, with ties to nobility. I suspect treachery of some sort, but I cannot confirm at all. And you would have known if you had asked.” Quilatalap said, “The artifact itself is still in play, and in the hands of a young noble of Greensoil, now.”

“A noble?!” Fallopolis instantly stated, “I vote for a Reclamation.”

Leofield said, “Deny.” He added, “They fucked up. It’s out there, now.”

Fallopolis eyed the man. Leofield just smiled. Stardust almost began to speak—

But Quilatalap shorted any more discussion, saying, “MOVING right along.” The screen behind him became an image of a spherical-ish die, with a short spike on every corner. It was silver, but otherwise unremarkable, save for the brighter parts of the metal that seemed abnormally shiny, and the shadows were deeper than they had any right to be. “We have Toymaker’s Breaking Die.” Quilatalap smiled. “For once, it’s not a murder machine. It’s an unusual little piece of fun.”

Through Ophiel’s eyes, Erick eyed Toymaker, who sat two tables back. He was a dark purple incani man with much of his horns, nails, and hair, an even darker purple, while his outfit was one of a comfortable black almost-sweater and almost-sweatpants. Erick knew of Toymaker, thanks to Killzone.

The Shade of Diversion was heavily active near the western wall of Ar’Kendrithyst, with much of his creations populating that side of the city. The Shade never showed himself, but his killer golems often resembled children’s toys, up until they released their inner swords or warhammers or such, and then you had a bunch of stuffed rabbits and frogs and puppet knights, all ready to kill. No teddy bears, though; Veird didn’t have that particular cultural phenomenon.

Toymaker smiled as Quilatalap kept speaking.

“This artifact would be easy to mass produce, too, as are most artifacts made by Toymaker.” Quilatalap said, “The Breaking Die is usable once per day, with a reset time of a day. When it is used, the Breaking Die is able to grant the user a single step along the Elemental Body skill that most complements their nature.”

Some people in the crowd gasped.

Fallopolis turned around. “Really?!”

Toymaker grinned. “Really. I’ve let three of them go in the Sovereign Cities already. Pure havoc.” He added, “The good kind!”

Quilatalap spoke before the crowd could ask any questions, “When rolled, the Breaking Die grants a step along the Elemental Body most in tune with the user. It will only stop working for that person when they have a full Elemental Body of any sort. With any luck and personal balance at all, a person could end up with a full suite of nascent skills, though that part about stopping at a full Elemental Body is more conjecture than proven fact.”

Toymaker spoke up, “The problem is that gaining a Body makes the die always roll that way!”

Quilatalap nodded, then continued, “The larger benefit of this item, is, of course, that the gain of any Elemental Body Skill automatically unlocks the Script usage for the recipient, without the need for crafting any elemental essences into armor, first.

“A hidden benefit appears when not used for ten days, and then used by any young person who has not yet Matriculated. For such a user, the Breaking Die will grant a beginner skill in all six Elemental Bodies at once, and then fall into a stupor for 10 days; unusable.”

The crowd tried to speak to Toymaker. The proud man just kept his eyes on Quilatalap; joy radiating from him like a palpable force.

Quilatalap continued, “A further hidden benefit appears if not used for 1 month. If not used for 1 month, the Breaking Die gains temporary sentience and will attempt to escape all bonds in order to find a child for whom to grant its boon. Toymaker. As we agreed, you can say the rest. Small speech only, and make it fast.”

The audience turned to the man.

The Toymaker stood, regarded the crowd, and said, “The original Breaking Die went to the Sovereign Cities team. And then I found them, and gave them three more. In Melemizargo’s name, they have already started to build a rebellion to overthrow their controlling overlords. None of them are true believers, and they likely won’t get very far —they never do— but it’s been seven months and some of them are still alive, and fighting!” He smiled. “Over a hundred people have been freed from the tyranny of Rozeta’s Registrars, and more are freed every day.”

Professional and enthusiastic claps all around. Toymaker bowed a few times, giving thanks, while a few people requested him to make more.

And then Tania Webwalker stepped out onto the stage, across from Quilatalap. A fist-sized white spider sat perched on her shoulder. The crowd stopped. Toymaker turned, and regarded the Champion of Melemizargo.

Tania said, “A good artifact. Simple. Necessary. Well made. I want a thousand. Rip out whatever functionality you need to rip out to make a working artifact of base needs. Complete this task, and you will be awarded commensurately.”

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Toymaker, still standing, looked suddenly mad. He started, “That’s impo—” He paused. He forced his anger away, and asked, “What do you consider base?”

“The options for elements beyond Shadow are unecessary. Everything else is fine.”

Toymaker sighed, and with exasperation in his voice, said, “It only works because it is balanced, Tania. I have never gotten the shadow-only one to work. If I had, I would have debuted that version a hundred years ago, and the world would be a very different place.” He glanced toward Erick, saying, “This one only works because I stole his lights in that dungeon he made. That was the missing piece—”

Erick whipped around. “You WHAT!”

Toymaker pulled a frown at him, saying, “Ooh. Like you were the only one I stole from. Get over it.” He added, “If it makes you feel better, that light dungeon in Nelboor was trash compared to what you made.”

Fallopolis said, “I agree with Erick’s anger. Give him twenty of these Breaker Dice, and fulfill your obligation to him, first.”

Erick stared at Fallopolis, unable to come up with a counter to her suggestion, for there were too many places to start, and it would take way too long, and he’d lose anyway, and—

Quilatalap glared at everyone as he loudly tapped his papers on his podium.

Tania rolled her face toward the man, then turned back to Toymaker. “We’ll talk more later.” She snapped a finger toward the side of the pavilion, where a few butlers stood. “I want a table up front.” She turned toward the table where Erick sat, then pointed not two meters to his left, saying to the butlers, “There.”

There was an awkward reorganization. Tania and Bulgan sat down at a small table only two meters from Erick.