Draith
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Chapter 87 - In The Margins
🕑 Added 2025-04-28 14:00:19 +0000 UTCIt didn't take long to coax Neta into stripping more bones.
I simply set out the new ones, then settled into place along the wall with the door closed. It seemed to be enough to convince her that I was going to stay in the workshop with her. Was easy enough since I wanted to try the modified version of Memory Palace Keeper had given me. Copying the modified version over to my grimoire made me wince at the amount of silver dust it required.
Then I looked over to where Neta was happily stripping flesh from the monster bones. Knowing she was doing the hard part of making more dust helped curb that pain, at least a little. Besides, having a list of the spells Keeper could offer would prove worth it. Silver dust was a lot easier to come across than working jade shards. At least for the moment.
It only took me an hour to copy the modified spell, my familiarity with Memory Palace making it much easier. Soon as it was done, I slipped inside the new version.
The change to the shop was immediately apparent. Along the side of the room was a set of rough-framed wooden steps leading up to a door. A door that should've opened out to nothing. When I climbed up to it, it led out onto a patio. I chuckled as I stepped outside, running my hand along the wooden railing. I'd considered building a patio a couple times, though I'd never gotten around to more than a couple sketches on a napkin.
Guess that had been enough.
The patio was the same rough lumber that the steps had been made out of, though it had at least been stained. There was a table with four chairs set around it, upon which sat a black leather booklet with the words Spell Menu printed across the front in bold white letters. I slid into one of the chairs, flipping open the menu. Each spell was laid out similar to an actual dish. At the top of each box where the spell names, followed by a short description of their effects. Underneath, there were little circles with shapes inside them to indicate the order of the spell. It started with a solid dot, then worked its way up to a line, triangle, and continued to add sides until it got to a hexagon. Some spells had more than one of the symbols, which seemed to indicate how many of the relevant slots a spell required. Then, in the bottom right corner of each was a cost in basic jade shards.
Which I now knew could be supplemented by regular knowledge, as long as Keeper felt it was worth enough.
Should've guessed it’d accept rare lore, considering trading for knowledge was its whole shtick. Was pretty sure I had a bunch of early 90’s comic book packed away in the corner of my mind. Wondered if that was worth anything?
There were over fifty pages for just the spells that started with the letter A. As I flipped through the menu, I quickly realized something. Keeper had access to a lot of spells. Possibly more spells than the entirety of the Hundred Kingdoms.
A closer look revealed that several spells were simple modifications of other spells, simply saved under a different name. Even so… the amount of knowledge Keeper had on offer… I was glad it had chosen to stick the Spell Menu into a jade shard. It was less likely I'd have someone stumble across it. No wonder they'd attempted to take control. Especially if they'd known. I couldn't be the first one to have figured out just what the skeletal book hoarder held. After all, Keeper had to have acquired those spells from somewhere.
There were multiple ways I could handle it. For the short term, Keeper would be kept locked away. But as Keeper itself had said, locking knowledge away didn't do anyone any good.
Only four of the spells I could find were over fourth Order, but there were a surprisingly high number of fourth Order spells represented. There was only a single sixth order spell in the entire menu.
The description seemed to have been created by Keeper, though the detail was… lacking.
Ventinium Imperial Mandate - This absolutely decadent feast allows the caster to establish a Ventinium Imperial Mandate in an area they have infused with their aura. An especially ambitious omnivore might benefit from linking such Mandates together.
Two Hexagons. Price: 5000.
Other than the fact it was a dragon-souled level spell, I couldn’t see myself buying it anytime soon. Not only was Keeper asking five thousand shards worth of knowledge for it, I probably wouldn’t even be able to scribe it. On top of which, I had no idea what it actually did. I’d definitely be asking Keeper for clarification later.
In addition to the sixth order spell, there were three fifth Order spells. The sort of magic a Djinn-souled could cast, such as Perth’s father. Luckily, these had better descriptions.
Shard of the Elinder - Stave off being the banquet. Create a Shard of the Elinder to escape the troubles of the mortal coil. Upon death, you may deny others their due, causing your meat to wither while your soul escapes to a new vessel. One which will only blossom upon your souls arrival. Accept the frailty of flesh and cast Call of Elinder to escape at your own pace.
Two Pentagons. Price: 750.
It was… morbid, in a way. Looking up the second spell, it turned out to be a second order spell that simply triggered the ongoing effect. Which would cause the caster to literally kill themselves only to respawn at the shard.
Intense.
Prison - Most morsels taste best fresh. Lock a single target in an extradimensional prison. The imprisoned will be denied the only thing more precious than knowledge. Time. While the world passes them by, they shall remain as unaware as the moment they were trapped.
One Pentagon. Price: 500.
Huh. That could have all sorts of uses. Not just for locking people away either. A quick check didn’t reveal any lower tier versions of the spell that I might actually be able to cast soon, but I suspected I’d need to give the menu a proper look to be certain.
The final spell’s description was so long, I’d almost skipped over it, not realizing it was a spell. It took up an entire page all by itself.
Morgath’s Starforge - Never has the world been more in need of explorers. If you’re reading this, then know that the blasted Demon kept its word. Guess that means something.
The Pillars are failing. It’s already happened on the other worlds. They were never meant to withstand attacks from the inside, near as I can tell. There was never supposed to be monsters spawning on the insides either.
Guess some things have changed in the last hundred thousand years.
That’s right. The builders set our worlds in motion more than a hundred thousand years ago.
If you’re capable of casting fifth order spells and have any sort of metal or Earth affinity, you owe it to the world to buy this one off the blasted Demon. Not that I expect you to be able to afford it. At the very least, attempt to buy my journal.
This spell will let you Imbue Metals with the strength of a Starforge. If you have half a brain, you’ll understand how useful that is to get off-world. Something I expect will become much more popular in the days to come.
Morgath Starforge, dragon-souled ascendant.
One Pentagon. Price: 1000.
I read the page twice before setting the menu down. Was impressive what Morgath had effectively fit in the margins. I took a moment to appreciate the addition to the shop while letting my thoughts process. Looking out from the rooftop patio was… nice. It also made me realize I was still sleeping in the old galleon where Grivis had set up. Should probably talk to Tamrie about scheduling time to build my personal residence.
My lip quirked into a bit of a smile. She'd insisted that I keep four hours clear each day for personal projects, and I couldn't really see anything more personal than building my own home.
The smile fell quickly. Morgath Starforge. That was the dragon-souled who’d proved there were other planets. He’d also built Starholds to escape the surface. Nexxa had told me that. For whatever reason, Perth had never had those lessons.
Was he right about the Pillars failing? If so, why didn’t anyone know about it?
Or… did they?
Suddenly, I was feeling a lot better about being so far from the Front. That said, I had no intention of running away to the stars. Not now that I had people relying on me for protection.
I’d check with Keeper, see if it I could afford this journal Morgath had mentioned. Then… well, then we’d see.
Couldn’t quite convince myself to continue wasting time flipping through the menu. I actually felt less certain about what to trade Keeper next. There were simply too many options. I'd have to consult with the others to figure it out. And probably talk to Calbern and Inertia about the Pillars.
Both of which I wrote down immediately upon exiting Memory Palace.
A quick visit to Keeper confirmed it was still ‘digesting’ the last trade, so I set to work setting up the grinder that Xoth had provided in exchange for another few pounds of dust a couple days earlier. It was a barely enchanted device for turning refined materials into silver dust. The Captain had a similar device, though the one Xoth had provided didn’t require as much supervision.
Not much didn’t mean none, however.
Normally, it wouldn't be worth properly refining materials before turning them into dust, as it only increased the yield by about ten percent, and refined materials were often worth more besides. But Neta seemed to enjoy refining bones, we needed dust for so many enchantments, and I figured it was a win-win situation. I tried teaching Neta how to use the grinder, since it didn't even take mana to activate. She kept coming up to me for scritches instead, even as her tendrils continued to strip the bones clean.
Accepting that I'd have to be responsible for at least that much, I set to work on refining several more organs while letting Neta work.
The day passed quickly, and it was only as Neta stopped working and slid into my robe that I realized I'd likely missed dinner. I still hadn't made any Spellkeys to grant anyone access to the workshop, so no one had been able to collect me. And the window that would've normally allowed me to see outside was the same one I'd experimented on and sealed over. The only light in the workshop was artificial.
When I emerged, I discovered it was indeed evening.
I found a rather displeased assistant and apprentice waiting for me. Their mirrored expressions and crossed arms were so adorable, it made me chuckle.
That chuckle earned me a pair of glares that made a tingle crawl up my back.
"Ah, master Perth, good," Calbern said, stepping forward with a plate of wrapped mat roots. "When you didn't emerge for dinner, I took the liberty of arranging a late night snack."
"Thank you, Calbern," I said, accepting the plate as I looked towards Tamrie. "Good news, we finished a hundred pounds of dust." Tamrie's expression softened somewhat at that, which was good. Still needed to appease Bevel though. Fortunately, she was surprisingly easy to bribe. "Late lessons and an extra chapter?"
"Three extra chapters," Bevel said, her eyes narrowing. "And you take me with you tomorrow."
"Deal," I said, sticking out my hand. While Bevel accepted it, I looked up to Tamrie. "Oh, and remind me tomorrow that I want to start working on a new house. Something in Mount Aeternia, I think, somewhere for all of us. I- ow." I glanced down at where Bevel was clutching my arm, her grip having grown tight enough I would've thought Inertia had clamped onto me.
"Don't forget Mr Kandle," Bevel said, her gaze piercing.
"I won't. In fact, I wanted to get your input," I replied.
"Good. Lesson time," Bevel said, tugging at my arm without letting go.
I simply smiled, letting her lead me away while balancing the tray of root wraps Calbern had prepared for me.
Comments
Jouni Osmala
If largest price is 5000 shards in the spell list and debt is so large that Keeper feels its weight as a real burden then that knowledge about earth was probably worth quite a lot. I'm thinking limiting factor now is availability of dust and time for scribing more spells. Interesting to know how large the debt of the keeper is.
Jason Hardman
Cute. I imagine Inertia would be Very interested in that Jounal. Assuming there's connection between Star forged and Forge born, which I think makes sense. Thinking about the knowledge keeper and his incessant trades of knowledge for knowledge, I realise there's got to be some other way to generate trade points. As it currently stands he's always going to end up locking away more knowledge than he offers. Most knowledge is built on other knowledge before it, but a repository that fails to give the base knowledge to build upon is doomed to failure. Maybe it offers greater trade for input than the cost of equivalent output, but it seems to hoard more than offer.
