Tristan

"It's actually good to learn about that trap now," Sophie was saying as she scratched under Sneakers' neck. "Now we can prepare for it."

They were sitting in a booth along one of the outer walls of a sparsely crowded restaurant in Surdenholm. The place was only a short walk from the inn Billy had found for them, and he'd declared that this restaurant was the best in town. Tristan, as always, was excited to try out good food at a new place. He and Billy were sharing one side of the booth, since they'd finally chosen to tell the driver of their goals in hopes that adding another person to their brainstorming session would improve the result. Sophie was sitting on the other with Sneakers perched on her shoulder--and pages and pages of handwritten notes spread out around her.

"I guess that's one way to look at it," Tristan responded. "It was such a strong lock, though. I'm not sure how we'd break it. Only my lower leg was stuck, but I basically couldn't move at all. It felt like I'd been caught in a vice."

Sneakers tilted his head and made a quiet sound that seemed to show his own concern.

Sophie looked up briefly. "Maybe we won't have to break it. You said that as soon as you were past the threshold of the door, all that pressure was gone, right?"

Tristan nodded.

"Then it might just have been a really strong but narrow area effect. It reminds me of... Hmmm." She started moving papers around, clearly looking for something, but before she found it, she looked up again and asked, "When you were stuck, did you still hear them talking or moving around inside?"

It was a really good question, and Tristan was kind of upset at himself for not thinking about that earlier. It wouldn't have made sense to freeze the whole interior, as they wouldn't have been able to catch anyone. So, they must have still been able to move. But did I hear that? It bothered him that he couldn't be sure. His memories were all buried beneath the moment's feelings of excitement and fear. Still, he was pretty sure he had heard other sounds, too.

"I'm pretty sure they were still moving around," he said.

"OK, that's good. And do you think it was both of them still moving, or was it only Timetwister?"

Another interesting question. Tristan thought back to when he'd heard the call, which had definitely come from Charlotte, and what had immediately followed. Though it had all felt like background noise, he did think he'd heard multiple footsteps. "It was both of them."

"Even better," Sophie said, pushing a few pages out of the way and pulling others in front of her. "Sounds more and more like it could have been a heavily-modified, narrow-space [Temporal Lock]." She tapped one of the pages. "The good news is that it's a fairly lengthy ritual to set up. It's expensive, too, and once it's been triggered, you have to go through the whole long process again to reset it."

"How long would that take?" Tristan asked.

"Does a time mage care about that?" Billy quipped.

"Probably more than anyone," Sophie answered as she traced a couple lines of text with one finger. "Anyway, depending on how she's upgraded it, it could be as little as an hour, but that's highly unlikely. The guides said repeatedly that most people don't do that set of upgrades. It's more common to focus on adding extra flexibility in the trigger or trap itself. From your description, I'll bet that's what Timetwister did, too."

Billy rubbed his temples. "I still can't believe you're really going after a time mage."

"She's on my list," Tristan said quietly. "It's a Path quest. And she's on it... because she helped kill the Brightshield."

Billy placed his palms down on the table. "I'm sorry, did you just say you're trying to go after someone who killed Hesden blessed Brightshield?"

"It wasn't just her," Tristan explained. "She had help."

"And that makes it better? What if they decide to avenge her? Or worse, they come to help?!"

Tristan swallowed. There was more to it now. More explanation, and information that he needed to at least tell Sophie. He approached it delicately.

"We can't back down now," he began, "because there was also something I overheard. It was about a plan they were--or maybe still are--involved in. And we can't let them succeed. I think... gods above. They talked about killing an entire village of tier 1s and 2s."

Billy whistled. "Well that's not a terrifying thing to hear."

Sophie narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "But... That hardly makes sense! Why would they do that?"

"I didn't really stay long enough to hear more. They were practically on top of me by that point."

"I don't blame you. Tier 4s are scary," Billy said. "Man, how do I always get roped into driving for people doing insane things?"

"You do work for Jamal," Tristan pointed out.

"That's fair," Billy replied. "But gods above and among us, a tier 4 time mage..."

"One thing we've learned is that tier gaps aren't entirely insurmountable," Sophie said with her most reassuring voice. "It's really not that bad."

"It sounds bad," the driver shot back. "A blessed time mage! Tier 4! When you're both still only tier 2!"

Tristan tried to keep his voice as calm as possible. "We know it won't be easy. That's why we've already spent a lot of time preparing. This isn't our first time tracking down a higher tier target."

Billy blinked. "Wait, how many have you--?"

"Two," Tristan answered quickly, including Shadow in the count despite the circumstances of their encounter.

"Besides," Sophie picked up and continued, "think of how cool it'll be to say that you helped us achieve this goal! I'd imagine there will be a more-than-fair reward from Jamal for helping his favorite student, too, am I right?"

"His only student," Billy corrected, "but you're not wrong."

On Sophie's shoulder, Sneakers made a sound that caused Sophie to nod, though Tristan still couldn't quite make out his meaning.

"Exactly, Sneakers," Sophie said, beginning to translate. "He said that what you need to do, Billy, is just trust in our process. We were already successful, and we're only getting better as we keep at it."

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

With that, at least, Tristan had to agree. He'd been foolish, impulsive, and lucky with Shadow. He'd learned several lessons there that had helped him with Venom. Even then, he'd learned more lessons that they were already applying to Timetwister. Sure, he'd been surprised by her trap, but that hadn't fully shaken his confidence. And while he could hope that would be the last big surprise they'd face--he expected it wouldn't be.

"Think of it this way," Sophie continued. "We just learned about one of our target's high-level defenses without being seen! We basically got really good intel at no cost!"

"But what if she's more on-guard now?" the driver asked.

"That is a very real possibility," Sophie admitted. "Whether she's alerted or not, though, she won't know that we're the ones coming for her, or even how many might be involved, so she won't be able to plan for any of our capabilities. We just have to make sure that we keep that element of surprise. We could also take a few more days to surveil her and set up a few more preparations."

Tristan didn't mind that idea, but he also had to voice the counterpoint. "Alternatively, what if we try and hit her sooner, so that she doesn't have time to take more countermeasures if she'd even considered them?"

Sophie nodded. "That's not a bad point, either."

Tristan tried to read the page Sophie was looking at, but it was hard to do upside down. "So, with what we know now, what can we do to come at her safely but quickly? That trap, for example, can we just avoid it? If we can't, is it something we can dispel?"

"Possibly," Sophie answered, "but I'm not even sure we'll need to. With as strong as you're saying the effect is, and since it seemed to have been thought-activated, I'm betting it's really precise and only on the doors. Avoidance is our best bet. Since [Temporal Lock] traps aren't the kind of things you can move, once we're past them, we shouldn't have to worry about them."

Tristan nodded. "That is good to know. If you're right and it was [Temporal Lock], of course."

"Yeah, well, there's always the possibility I'm wrong," Sophie admitted, "but I really don't see what else it could have been."

"Unless she made something up herself," Billy said.

Tristan was admittedly a bit shocked by the driver's unexpected insight. "Could she?" he asked, looking at Sophie.

"Well, yes, obviously..."

Tristan turned back to the driver. "Wow, I didn't even think--! Good insight, Billy."

Billy sat up straighter. "I appreciate that. I know I'm 'just a driver', but I have heard a lot. You'd be surprised how many of my passengers have talked openly about things like this. It's like they don't think I have ears, or that I might not know things because I'm not out adventuring all the time. They just get in a taxi, and start spilling all sorts of stuff. In fact, I once heard Jamal and Cleo talking about unique, original skills. It's apparently not all that uncommon for really top tier folk to have at least one skill that's original to them."

Sophie tapped her fingers on her lips. "If it is something she made herself, then there's no real way for us to know its capabilities."

Tristan sighed. "So there will always be some surprises involved? Probably just better to prepare for it as though it's something we can know, then, and scramble to deal with other complications--if we have to--in the moment."

"While I would rather not have 'scramble' as part of our official plan, I do agree with your overall assessment," Sophie said.

"Then is there anything else we can do to deal with it if it is a [Temporal Lock]?" Tristan asked.

"Short of having a [Potion of Absolute Time] running? I don't think so. Just avoid any doorways she tries to lead you through."

Tristan leaned in and whispered, "Do you have one of those potions available? I've never even heard of them before."

Sophie let out a big guffaw. "Gods, Tristan, I wish! While a [Potion of Absolute Time] would likely absolutely neuter most time mages, they're also tier 5 rare drops. Tier 4 if you're excessively lucky. And there are reportedly only a few alchemists in the whole realm that can craft them."

Tristan leaned back, a bit dejected. "Ah, dang. Still, good to know."

"Let's go over some of the other skills we can expect her to have, as well as those shields," Sophie said, pulling a few more pages to the front.

They spent all the time before their food arrived listing out the most common time mage healer skills. As the waiter brought over their plates, Sophie quickly tidied up her papers to make room, and the conversation became more sparse, giving each of them the opportunity to enjoy their food, but it never fully stopped. In between mouthfuls, they'd discuss the finer points of the Slowed and Hastened statuses, how to recognize them, and how they might deal with them. They went over how Tristan could use his [Blanketing Silence] to greatest effect--which mostly boiled down to using it immediately before his opening strike in order to stop as many reactive skills as possible--while also covering what that would mean for Sophie and her astrals.

It was an interesting pairing of tactics and cuisine, made all the better because of how truly enjoyable the food was. Tristan would never think twice about trusting Billy's recommendations again. In fact, while they were in between finishing their main dishes and the arrival of dessert, Tristan decided to speak up about it.

"This place is great, Billy! Thanks for bringing us!"

The driver beamed. "You're very welcome. I found it the last time I was here, and I couldn't wait to come back. I'm just glad you both like it, too "

Sophie smiled after dabbing her mouth delicately with her napkin. "I really appreciate that your taste in food seems to align so closely with ours."

"It helps that you both have good taste!" the driver said with a laugh. "That's not always the case."

"Don't I know it," Sophie said, nearly growling. "My parents..." But she stopped herself before saying more.

"What are they like?" Tristan asked, hoping she wouldn't mind if he pried just a bit.

"Well for one thing, they're all about propriety, and affluence. If a thing costs more than another, it must be better--and so becomes what they desire." Sophie's mouth curled downward into a disapproving frown. "My mother, for example, would never be caught dead in a place like this." Suddenly she affected a voice that sounded both shrill and nasal as she said, "'Too pedestrian.'"

Billy whistled. "I knew a guy who drove for a couple like that. He tried to get me an interview, too. Glad I got in with Jamal instead."

Sophie kept up the impression as she said, "'An Adrielle must ever be mindful of appearances, as perception may strengthen or weaken our perceived authority.'"

Tristan chuckled nervously. "That sounds like something Aaric Longbloom might say."

It had been a while since Tristan had thought about the frost mage, and it gave him pause. How was the {Ice Prodigy} doing now? He kind of hoped it was well. He wanted a rematch, to test himself against someone who had bested him before, and currently only Aaric Longbloom and Shadow could claim that right. And the {Ooze Progenitor}, he remembered with a shudder that he ended by clenching his jaw. I should go back there after I hit tier 3. For Jaques.

The conversation around him hadn't stopped, though, and he'd apparently missed some back and forth between Billy and Sophie.

"That's so funny, Billy! It's such a small realm at times! I don't think I've told you yet, Tristan, but my mother was a Longbloom before she married my father. Then she took his name, of course, as it has the greater standing."

Tristan was shocked. "What? No! That's... So you're related to Aaric?" For some reason, that was the thing that bothered him most.

Sophie had no problem answering it though. "Yeah, apparently. He's bound to be one of my cousins, though possibly once or twice removed. We've never met. I get the feeling my mother isn't as proud of her old name as her new."

Tristan still wasn't sure how he felt about the connected-family news, though he resolved not to let his dislike of the Longblooms affect how he thought about Sophie. "I guess all that wealth makes even more sense then," he said.

"And her attitude," Billy said with a laugh. "I can't believe we've all been blessed enough to know the Longblooms."

Sophie laughed along. "Indeed. A toast to overcoming the challenges of station."

Billy raised his glass. "What she said."

Tristan also chuckled along and raised his glass. "And here's to making our own names known, and not relying on the ones we've been given!"

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.