Chapter 42: A Clutch In a Hutch

Scarlet could see the Historian grinning at her from the entrance to the small private dining room they’d agreed to meet at the day before.

“Is it not a wonderful day?” He asked as she approached with Tareth.

“Good morning,” Scarlet replied with a slight incline of her head. Her eyes drifted to the open door where a plethora of delicious smelling foods were neatly organised. A disappearing copper tail told her there were servants somewhere that had set it up.

Her slight distraction however couldn’t compare to decades of mastery in ‘reading-the-room-fu’, so despite obviously concealing his aura, Scarlet could tell that something had the Historian agitated.

It appeared Tareth felt the same way because he slipped closer to his master.

“Is everything okay?” Tareth asked, clearly sensing his mood. The Historian peered with uncomfortable intensity at Scarlet for a while, then glanced at the cane, then he shook his head

“It is nothing. Nothing!” He nodded once, decisively, though the glint in his eyes didn’t dim. Gaze meeting Scarlet’s he grinned once again. “Come on then, we’ve no time to waste,” he said, and was turning away before Scarlet had fully processed the words. Considering her stats, it was obvious he was in a hurry.

With a final glance at the spread of food she hoped would at least be eaten by the staff, Scarlet resigned herself to some of the field rations she’d packed away. Turning to follow the small procession, she found herself nose to forehead with the shorter person. To his credit, he’d seemed to realise what was going on himself.

“Tier 0,” his whole foxlike face was screaming pity. “You still require sustenance,” the Historian said with a slow shake of the head.

Her thoughts ground to a halt, because what did that even mean? Why wouldn’t she require sustenance?

“Of course, I require sustenance,” she said. Then slowly, “do you not?” At her question the Historian shrugged.

“It is no secret, the higher the tier, the less the body requires to maintain. Even my Tier 2 disciple only requires occasional meals, and much reduced sleep. One of the many benefits of Advancement,” he said.

“Advancement,” she blurted before she could help herself. How many times had she seen that word when querying the Guide? Now there was a chance for clarification, she took it.

“System Advancement refers to the increase in Tier one achieves when they break through certain thresholds,” he said. “We can discuss the specifics later, for now though perhaps we should break your fast.” He stared with unconcealed impatience at the dining room.

“That’s fine. If we’re in a hurry, let’s go,” Scarlet said, mind mulling over the new information as she summoned forth a breakfast bar from her storage bag. The thing was so dense it had its own gravity.

While the two vulpians stared in abject horror at the brick she’d begun ingesting, Scarlet couldn’t help but think about the mouse-mix she wouldn’t need for another four days. At that thought, her attention naturally turned towards the silent bond inside her. She swore she could almost feel the little guy reconstituting. Shaking off the thoughts, she turned to the Historian again.

“Do you know what attunement is?” He asked as they walked.

“As a concept, or is there a deeper meaning?” she asked, before taking a delicate bite out of the cinderblock in her hand.

“I suppose that answers that question,” the Historian said, and Scarlet didn’t miss the ripple of unease that went through Tareth, nor the sharp look his master gave him before he continued. “You, little human, have managed half the impossible.”

“Half the impossible…” Scarlet said.

“Indeed, at some point last night you achieved a state of partial attunement.” Eyes darting around the sparsely populated tower corridor the Historian continued. “We are going to push you all the way.”

Scarlet slowed a little before speeding back up. There was a lot to unpack in that statement. So, they had been spying on her. Of all the things she’d thought to worry about, the two fox people being perverts had not been one of them

“You watched me bathe?” Scarlet asked, unable to keep her tone completely measured, and giving away her agitation.

“No, no. No such thing.” The Historian laughed, completely unbothered by Scarlet’s indignation. “I’ve no interest in your furless, fleshy bits.” He shook his head, and Scarlet’s tension eased slightly.

“Kindly explain,” she had a feeling she’d be saying this a lot.

“I would be unworthy of my title and tier if I hadn’t sensed that immense wave of energy that blasted out of you.” He shook his head. “You are beyond lucky that I am the only one in this tower who would be able to sense it.”

“So, we are working on this attunement then? What about stat saturation?”

“We will do both, of course.” He said, then paused and turned to face her. “Unless, don’t want to try for a full attunement at Tier 0. We will honour our contract.” Even his control couldn’t conceal the abject reluctance to say those words aloud.

“How much stronger would this attunement make me?”

“Exponentially,” he said.

“Is there anything after attunement?

The historian nodded. “Of course.”

When no more information was forthcoming, Scarlett simply sighed and looked towards Tareth. He was staring doggedly straight ahead, completely ignoring her. Yeah, that tracked.

“Well, perhaps you could explain where we’re going and what we’ll be doing?

“We will be observing, you will be entering the Pools of Alignment. Your physical stats are abysmal, and this will help correct that.

“How?” She asked, and the Historian just shook his head. The tensing of her jaw was her only visible indication of frustration. Since the System contracts hadn’t immolated him form the inside it was obvious the information he withheld wouldn’t actively harm her, or at least he firmly believed as much. She had no choice but to shrug and move forward, that was until she realized where they were.

It appeared to be a public portal hub.

She turned towards the Historian who was pointedly not looking at her, and sighed.

Portals.

The single individual in front of them in the queue turned and did a double take when they saw who was behind them. The young looking vulpian bowed so low, and so fast Scarlet was surprised they didn’t tip over.

“Venerable,” he said, not daring to look up as the elder vulpian passed as though this was a regular occurrence. The Historian strode forward, followed by Tareth. Finally, Scarlet made her way inside the chamber inclining her head to the prostrated vulpian as she did.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

<-…->

Welcome to The Pools of Alignment.

After a harrowing portal trip in which the only upside was her opportunity to once more look at some of the glowing enchantments, they were transported directly to a beautiful stone cavern. The chamber itself had high ceilings, and reminded her a bit of a public swimming pool, or recreation center in that there were changerooms and a check in area – that they completely bypassed thanks to the Historian – as well as a small seated area off to the side of each large pool That’s where the similarities ended.

The pools themselves appeared like hot springs, the water steaming and making the space very warm. Natural light filtered in from somewhere, gently illuminating the large chamber. Despite nearly a dozen people occupying various pools the space itself was unnaturally quiet.

“This is the Tier 1 chamber. The largest and most utilised. Silencing arrays have been laid around each pool,” he said, his gait not pausing as he continued down a carved stone hallway to another, smaller chamber. This one had only two pools. Its domed ceiling, and lack of windows meant the entire chamber was illuminated by warm glowing crystals that dotted the walls and walkway that wound around the two pools.

It would’ve been picturesque, if not for the vulpian already occupying the larger pool. He was in obvious discomfort and looked to be growling as he sat neck deep in the violet tinged water.

“This is the Tier 0 chamber.” The Historian spoke quietly leading her to the seating area near the smaller pool and touching a rune on the wall. Instantly all outside sound cut off. “The Pools are normally used before threshold advancement to bring a person’s development into better alignment.

“You are painfully lopsided, and while this might not be a problem for most normal Tier 0s you are a bit of a different case. You have a partial attunement. While it has boosted your growth, it has also begun molding your development in ways that shouldn’t be possible at your level.

“Normally, the Tier 0 pool works on a simple system of redistribution. The energy in the water interacts with the energy in your soul to redistribute your development.

“So, if STR was at 7, and VIT at 11 the energy in the pool would work to bring those both to 9?”

“Precisely! As you can expect, it is not the most pleasant experience.”