Lyria

It had already been three days since we arrived in Thrask and last saw Thorn and the others. I had given them all a comm card, and despite checking my personal space regularly for new messages, I had nothing. Somehow, the escaped slaves had vanished and left no trace.

Brynn and I agreed to take shifts watching the common room on the off chance that we caught sight of one of the escaped slaves or possibly overheard a piece of useful information about where they could be.

We had both taken brief scouting trips around the city as well. Brynn checked the docks every day to see if it looked like slaver ships were being loaded and sent off. I checked the lift regularly for any sign of captured slaves being sent to the surface. We even asked about where the slaves for the tournament were being held and tried to find a way to get a look at them, but had no luck on that front.

Tomorrow, we had decided to go visit the docks and see if we could find the tomte named Massian Rahma who was known for helping slaves get transport. It felt like a long shot, but he might be able to at least tell us where to start looking.

For now, there wasn't much more to do but wait and hope our plan bore fruit tomorrow.

I rubbed my eyes and leaned forward on the common room table. I was exhausted and especially tired of the man who came every day, got drunk, and sang at the top of his lungs until he passed out. He was currently on what had to be the 100th verse of an old tomte sailing song. I didn't need to know the proper words to know he was butchering it.

Tired or not, I practiced the mana exercise Brynn showed me. He wanted to teach me to broaden my mana reserves and increase my regenerative ability, and he was taking it very seriously. I hated to admit it, but I enjoyed when he tried to train me.

He was patient, intense, and deeply curious. But unfortunately, he was also brilliant with his abilities. It seems to come naturally to him, and it sometimes made it hard for him to explain how he did things. To him, most of it was instinctual or so easy he didn't even seem to know how to dumb it down enough for me to start. For example, he said I was supposed to "reach out" and attempt to pull mana from the air into my core. If I was doing it right, the sensation would supposedly feel like I was being stretched out or burned throughout my "channels."

But I couldn't "reach" with my mana. I couldn't even feel anything like a "core" at my center like he suggested. I had no idea what my channels were or where to find them. He might as well tell me to stretch my third arm or open an extra set of ears.

As far as I could tell, Brynn had some extra sensitivity to mana itself that went beyond mastery of his own abilities. He appeared to use that sensitivity to do things like improve his mana recovery, expand his stores, and maybe even advance to Iron.

My Soulbound abilities seemed limited to mastery of my own abilities for one particular class. When I was using my new Shield skills, I didn't need to think or do anything except will it to work. So I may have gained instincts to make me exceptional with one corestone class, but Brynn had instincts on how to use mana itself in ways that went far beyond anything I'd ever heard of.

None of my supposed Soulbound abilities helped me in the slightest when it came to Brynn's little meditation ritual. Mostly, I was just sitting in the common room and scowling as I tried and failed to pull mana into myself. Yesterday, my frustration reached a boiling point and I actually pulled out Minara's comm card and made contact. I asked if she could meet me in hopes that a member of the Radiant Order would know something useful about being Soulbound. Better yet, she might even know someone Soulbound I could talk to and learn more.

It was a few hours more of terrible singing, failed meditation practice, and boring food before I saw Minara step inside the common room. She wore her white and red-trimmed robe signifying her as a member of the Radiant Order, one of the most prestigious groups of heart class users in all the territories. She and I had bonded during the journey through the Black Wood, and I was surprised by how relieved I felt to see her.

We exchanged a slightly awkward greeting, as we hadn't exactly spent much time together before parting ways, and it already felt as though I had been through so much since the last time we spoke. Being traveling companions with one of The Nine had a way of making me forget how unusual my circumstances were. It hadn't been long since I last saw Minara, and yet I'd made years of progress in terms of leveling and improving my equipment. Meanwhile, she probably hadn't progressed at all. Minara sat across from me at the table and we sipped our drinks as we broke the ice, gradually easing back into a friendly rapport.

Minara had brown hair, and relatively unremarkable features except for a very pleasant smile and soft brown eyes.

We talked of various small things and eventually shifted into a topic that appeared to interest Minara a great deal. She was hearing rumors of some new fast-rising adventurer who was causing ripples across the kingdom.

"And nobody knows who she is?" I asked.

"Nothing concrete yet," she said. "They say it's a woman from the outer rings and she's as hard to pin down as a ghost. She moves from town to town, never staying long. And reports say she healed a Forsaken."

I narrowed my eyes. "But that's not possible?"

"Right," Minara said. "Whatever her class is, the Radiant Order wishes to learn more. Can you imagine if this woman could help us pave a path to cure the Forsaken of their corrupted mana affliction? Could we then safely use their class corestones to learn more abilities and techniques? The questions are endless, and I assure you, the Radiant Cathedral has been buzzing with theories and speculation since these rumors began. The fact that I'm even allowed to speak to you of it shows how desperate the order is. We have been instructed to find information at any cost."

"I see… That's certainly unusual," I whispered. My mind, of course, went straight to Brynn. He wasn't Forsaken, but he had been touched by dark mana in Beastden. If Forsaken could be cured, could he? But I didn't even know if he wanted to be cured. Last I heard him talk of it, he was feeling good about his ability to use the dark mana sparingly and happy with how well it fed his bed when he slept. The damn man was determined to turn it into some kind of boon. Of course he was.

"I imagine it's only a matter of time before I'm sent back into the field to search for this woman. Frankly, I hope it's soon. I would love to meet her myself. To pick her brain."

We talked on the subject a little while longer before I finally pivoted to what I asked her here to talk about in the first place. "Do you know anything about Soulbound individuals?" I asked.

Minara raised her brows, then set down her drink with a nod. "Yes, why?"

I shifted in my seat, considering how much to say. "Let's say I know somebody who is showing signs of being Souldbound."

Minara's eyes narrowed. "Is it Brynn? Because it would explain a great deal, yes… I'm surprised I didn't see it sooner."

"What can you tell me?" I asked, cutting her off and letting her believe it was Brynn for now.

Minara's eyes shifted into focus. "It's incredibly rare. These days, new Soulbound are either hiding their nature, or it has become even more rare. We haven't had a confirmed case in decades. It's a shame, though. Soulbound individuals tend to be incredibly valuable and leave a lasting impact on magic use for everyone they teach."

"Really? How so?"

"Soulbound individuals find brand new methods and techniques for activating abilities. What's intuitive to them is essentially critical, missing technology for the rest of us. Many of the fundamental knowledge we all hold about abilities and classes originally came from the Soulbound."

"I've never heard that."

"Yes… well, it's not exactly a Radiant Order secret. Anyone with the privilege of a library could find out as much for themselves."

"Are there any Soulbound within the Radiant Order?"

"Perhaps in the old days. But today? No. Most of the rumors of Soulbound teachers and individuals are found to be false when investigated."

"It can be proven?" I asked. "How?"

"I'm not trained in the testing methods, but I have read of them. Each Soulbound individual tends to discover some sort of unique technique. For instance, one of… well," Minara blushed. "I'm afraid I can't go into specifics, but there is a very difficult but very useful technique taught to all initiates of The Radiant Order. It's said this insight was discovered by a Soulbound thousands of years ago. I'm sure the original Soulbound could perform the technique with more precision and skill than us, but we're still able to benefit from the knowledge."

"So the test is making sure they can do something like this?"

"Essentially, though these unique techniques are more a symptom of the condition, rather than the whole of the condition."

"So you're saying that's just one aspect of it? What else is there?"

"Those details have not been as well documented, or they've been omitted from most of the histories. But you—" Minara paused, then tilted her head. "So do you really believe Brynn could be Soulbound? Because if—"

I smiled and shook my head quickly. "No, right. You're right. I guess I was just looking for a way to explain some of the things he can do."

Minara pursed her lips, nodding as if she understood but was disappointed all the same.

We talked a little while longer before Minara said she needed to get back to the Order. I wished her luck on the hunt for the mysterious woman and she promised to keep in touch.

Stolen novel; please report.

I sat for a few minutes by myself again, then decided to risk leaving my post to check on Brynn. Usually, he got caught up in whatever he was doing and didn't show up on our agreed upon time, anyway. When it wasn't his turn to watch, he was either roaming the city and gathering new objects, potions, or small bags of money earned from gambling on Vice. That, or he was in his personal space doing something that made him emerge covered in sweat and needing a visit to the washroom.

I left my spot with slight reluctance. Technically, we were watching for any sign of Thorn and the others. Realistically, I thought what we were doing was more like delaying the inevitable realization that they were not going to suddenly appear. Something bad had happened, and we were going to have to figure out what it was before we could even hope to help them.

I walked down the hall leading to the personal space door, waited on a paranoid looking tomte to enter his own space, and then stuck my key in the lock and turned it.

The guild hall smelled like fresh wood when I stepped inside. I saw why when I looked to my left. The pile of wood scraps, boards, and logs neatly arranged there had grown again. Brynn was trying to get that first task on the bulletin board completed all on his own. As far as I could tell, this growing pile of wood was where most of his Vice winnings were going.

There was also a tray and some plates that had been cleaned of every last crumb piled and waiting by the door—probably Hoot or Brynn's latest meal waiting to be taken away.

I saw the huge owl dusting Brynn's trophies at the far end of the hall. There was a wooden pair of wings Brynn earned for ascending to Iron without a token, which still puzzled me. That sort of thing was supposed to require a master mentor, and it was apparently incredibly dangerous, even with supervision. Brynn had simply done it on impulse when I left him alone in the dungeon heart chamber for an hour.

It seemed Brynn had finally gone against Hoot's advice and moved the bug trophy out to the main guild hall room as well. It looked like a carapax insect mounted on a wooden plate and hung to the left of his wings. To the right, there was huge white parchment framed in an elaborate and decorative wooden border hanging like a painting. Except the "painting" was just a fancy scrawl of inked words.

[Guild Master's Trophy (Rare)] Displays various statistics and information about the guild. Mounting this trophy within your guild hall will apply the following boons at all times.

[Guild Master's Sense] Notifies the guild master when a member has entered the hall.

[Guild Master's Will] Allows individuals to be removed from the guild hall at the guild master's will.

Brynn had been very excited about the "Guildmaster's Will" part and bugged me until I agreed to let him test it out on me.

It definitely worked and left me feeling like I was going to vomit. An invisible hand had yanked me backward, straight through the door, and planted me back in the tavern outside the personal space door in a blink.

The trophy also listed things like the number of guild members currently enlisted in the guild, the number of guild tasks we had completed, and had several blank categories that were apparently waiting to be filled, like "guild feats" and "guild boons."

I paused, remembered I had definitely not wiped my feet, and gave them a gentle stamping out where I stood. Once I had cleared off most of the gunk, I headed for Brynn's personal space door. Hoot swiveled his head toward me as I crossed the hall. "You do realize wiping your feet within the guild hall defeats the purpose, do you not?"

"Sorry, Hoot. I'm working on it. Is Brynn in there?" I asked, pointing to his personal space door.

"I believe the Dimensional Guild Master is training."

"Of course he is," I said, knocking a few times on his door.

A couple moments later, it swung open to reveal Brynn, who was sweating and out of breath. He had his shirt off and his skin was covered in beads of sweat that ran down his body to dampen the waistband of his dark pants. Seeing me, he pulled his head back in slight surprise. "I thought my boon was screwed up when it said you entered the hall. Why aren't you in the common room?"

"Sorry," I said, unsure of where I was supposed to rest my eyes. He wasn't wearing his helmet, which meant this annoyingly handsome face was just… there. He also wasn't wearing a shirt, which made looking at his chest or stomach feel inappropriate and weird. I settled for staring at a point just a few inches above his head and hoping he wouldn't notice. "I was thinking maybe it's time we admit we're not accomplishing anything by sitting out there."

Brynn licked his lips and sighed. "Yeah. I know. If they could access their personal space, they would've messaged you through the comm cards you gave them. And if they could access their personal spaces, why wouldn't they check in with us in the common room?"

"So you don't think we're giving up on waiting too soon?"

Brynn shook his head. "I don't think that's the best use of our time. We're meeting Massian Rahma tomorrow. If he doesn't give us something useful to work towards, we can reevaluate. Until then, we prepare, we train, and we keep our eyes and ears open."

"Prepare for what?"

"Whatever's next. I've been thinking about this tournament. I stopped by the Aspirant's Guild yesterday and met with the people there. I'm going back tomorrow night to spar with one of their trainers. If I do well, I'll earn a spot in the training program for this year's tournament. And if I do well there, I'll get to participate. You could join, too."

"The tournament is incredibly dangerous, Brynn," I said seriously. "People die."

"Wasn't going into the infested ruins dangerous? The Black Wood? Beastden? It's always going to be dangerous. That's how we're going to keep getting stronger. And until I see some evidence to suggest otherwise, I think that's exactly what we need to be focused on. Getting stronger."

I nodded slowly, unable to help grinning as I finally noticed the scene behind him.

His once broom-closet-like personal space had been expanded to the size of a small bedroom. The Cursed Bedroll of Endless Days was creepily sitting in one corner, somehow giving me the impression it was watching me. A Forge Echo of Brynn's Silver Scream Bow was floating to the left and drawing back to fire at a wooden target dummy, which was shaped like a human torso and covered in scratches, divots, scorch marks, and… other fluids… The flooring also looked nicer than I remembered, and Brynn had hung up a few paintings, one of which appeared to be a bug-like creature reclining on a couch in what I was terrified to say could be called a seductive pose.

Oh, Brynn…

"Getting yourself a weird sexy bug painting have something to do with getting stronger?"

Brynn gave a boyish smile as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I thought it was funny."

"What even is all this stuff?" I asked. "And what happened to Caterpriest? He looks… different."

"This isn't Caterpriest," Brynn said, smiling and moving aside to gesture like a proud father. There was a beetle standing on two legs in the corner of the room. It was maybe two feet tall and held a giant shield made of chitin in both hands. The bug was somehow even less impressive looking than Caterpriest. This one was beetle-like with a rounded back and hunched posture. It seemed to have a face where its stomach should be, with a large protrusion of shell above its face. It held the shield with spindly arms and stood on rigid legs.

"This," he said, "is Shieldy Guy."

I sputtered with surprised laughter. "Seriously?"

"Okay, yeah. I'm working on the name. I just started experimenting with the other classes for my Awaken Mana ability. It wasn't as easy to think of a fitting name for him as it was for Caterpriest. Blocky Beetle? Grub Guard? See? None of them really have that much of a ring to them."

"Hm, yeah. You could also just… not give it a weird name? Or call him something normal."

"That's not an option," Brynn said seriously. "You think I'm just going to call him Greg or something? That would be weird. He's a magical beetle with a shield. I'm not calling him Greg…" Brynn paused, eyes narrowed. "Actually… I do kind of like Greg. Should I call him Greg?"

"I'm not having this conversation," I said flatly.

"Suit yourself." Brynn had his back turned now as he used a wet towel to wipe and dry himself off. He set it down and picked up his shirt, mercifully pulling it back on and then picking up his Iron Adventurer's Guild Badge and pinning it to his shirt. Normally, the badge was hidden beneath his coat.

I scrunched my forehead and leaned closer. "What is all that?" I asked, taking a look at the badge.

Brynn smiled. "This… is my embellished to hell and back badge. Please, take your time. Enjoy. Ask questions if you like."

The whole thing was maybe the size of my palm and made of shining iron in the shape of a shield. The border around his shield was metal twisted into a woven braid and polished to be even shinier than the matte base of the badge. In the center of the badge, a huge letter "C" was raised up in clear lettering. Above that, there was a golden cave symbol with an "S" over it. To the right of that, there was what looked like the sun covered by the ice planet Igris in a partial eclipse. That also had an "S" over it.

"Does that mean you're 'C' rank? I thought 'D' came next after 'F'?"

"Yeah," Brynn said. "Apparently, clearing a dungeon heart chamber solo and killing an Eclipsed solo and then the massacre of rat things and the giant rat summoner were worth a lot of points. I skipped right over 'D' rank."

"Solo?" I asked. "Last time I checked, we were all there."

He hold up his palms innocently, but smiled. "Not my call, Lyria. You'd have to talk to the dimensional weirdos who decide this stuff."

"So what did you tell them at the guild?" I asked, feeling slightly worried. At a glance, I got the impression Brynn had maybe gone into excruciating detail about everything we did in Beastden to cover his badge in all those embellishments.

"Nothing," he said. "They have this thing called a Scrying Box. You put your badge on top, stick your hand in, and the rest just happens." He gave the badge a quick look, smiling to himself. "It's so awesome, but probably conspicuous. Poppy—that older lady we met before Beastden—kept saying she was surprised I didn't want to go around bragging and trying to use those embellishments to get girls in my bed."

"Did you?" I asked.

He laughed. "No. First of all, you've seen my bed. They'd be infected with bed bugs and then haunted to death. Second, I can't really go around waving this badge where people can see it. Not without getting asked questions I don't want to answer."

"How'd you handle Poppy? Wasn't she curious?"

He hesitated. "I mean… there was some skepticism at first. But it was fine. Poppy is discreet."

Something in his face made me believe there was more he wasn't saying, but I let it slide.

"What about you? Why have you still not gone and updated your badge? You might have reached 'D' or 'C' rank in the guild by now."

"Believe it or not, it wasn't on top of my priority list."

"Huh," Brynn said. "Well, when you do, you'll also probably get your cloak. Check it out." Brynn dug in a bag and pulled out a green cloak trimmed with a gold border. "No stats or anything, but it's cool, right? 'D' rank gets just a green cloak. 'C' rank gets you the gold border. I saw a lady I'm pretty sure was 'A' rank, and that cloak had little green metal scales sewn into it. It looked amazing."

"And all of this is about getting stronger, like you said, right?"

Brynn cleared his throat. "We're still people. Happy people make better use of the time they spend on task. If I have nice, tasteful bug paintings, good friends," he said, gesturing to Shieldy Guy, who didn't appear to be moving at all, "and fun little tokens and gizmos, then I'm happy. When I'm happy, I train better. So, yeah. This stuff makes me stronger. In spirit," he added with a little less confidence.

I smiled, but rolled my eyes. "Okay, Mr. Strong Spirit. I'm going to go run a few errands of my own. Tomorrow, we'll go together to see Massian. And I guess after that, I can watch you get your ass kicked by some trainer in the Aspirant's Guild?"

"You're going to watch my match?" he asked, voice hopeful.

"Yes. I've heard the Aspirants are a formidable bunch. I've seen entirely too much of you coasting to victory lately. I'd very much enjoy watching you get put in your place."

"I hope I do. If someone can kick my ass, it means they'll be able to teach me a lot."

"That's…" I sighed. "It would be more fun if you were cocksure and said you were going to win, no matter what."

"Oh, I'm going to win," Brynn said. "Eventually. If this trainer kicks my ass, it's only going to motivate me to find a way to kick his ass in return as soon as possible. Lose the battle, win the war. That kind of thing."

Shieldy Guy shuddered and a small handful of round, dark pellets pattered to the ground behind him. He began wandering around the room in a slow, side-to-side waddle.

"Oh my God," I whispered. "Is that what I think it is?"

Brynn glanced at the mess. "I'm working on potty training him. But… yeah. I don't know why they do that. They're magic and they don't eat. Do me a favor and don't tell Hoot, okay? I've just been sneaking the pellets out when this happens."

"And doing what with them…" I asked slowly.

Brynn looked slightly embarrassed again. "I put them in this bag," he said, gesturing to a filthy bag. "And then I just kind of… roll them down the cliff outside the tavern."

"You just… roll them? To where?"

"Well, I think they end up in the river. As long as they bounce far enough to clear the docks."

I shook my head slowly at him. Three days without supervision, and the former god was making magical beetle droppings rain down on the poor folks in the docks. Wonderful.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear any of that," I said, backing toward the door. "I'll see you tomorrow for our visit to Massian."

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