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Nero Walker, Book 2 Ch.12 (44)
🕑 Added 2023-12-08 06:40:17 +0000 UTCThe Dorchester Hall of the Huntsmen was busier than usual. Every hunter and seeker in the area was taking advantage of the aftermath of the Noble War. Although technically, the source of the excitement were the fields of dead bodies left in the wake of the Populator’s purge. Yesterday, they had taken on an entire army of mercenaries and those who weren’t massacred were scattered into the surrounding wilds.
Ulric Linderman was looking at the postings as his fellow huntsmen were gently jostling each other for a peak at the request board. He thought that this would be a perfect opportunity to take his apprentices out into the field. He could have them collect gear, and get some experience, while minimizing the risks. As he was taking notes on the particulars of a gear collection quest, he received a ping from the last person he wanted to hear from.
With a sigh, he pushed his way toward the exit. The wide doors were packed with people from all over Dorchester, and it had taken him over an hour just to get to see the request board. The crowd made way for his 6’8’’ frame, and he strode through the week southerner’s like knife through butter. Ulric’s face was set in a rictus of anger, which definitely contributed to people getting out of his way.
After crossing the street, Ulric made it back to his rooms at the lodge. He noted that his apprentices stood up to greet him. With a wave of his hand, they immediately sat back down. They could tell he wasn’t in the mood. Stomping past them and into his private room, he locked the door, then enabled the privacy screen.
As he felt the ward go up, he activated his link.
“What do you want? I told you I’m unavailable for the next few years,”said Ulric.
Ulric could feel the amusement over the link. “You know the deal, orders are orders and all that,”said Chance.
They hadn’t spoken in over two years. Not since Ulric requested leave from active status in the Assassins Guild in order to train his new apprentices. Chance should have known that it would be years before they were ready to be inducted. Taking their history into account, Ulric knew that this ping would be nothing but trouble.
“Just say what you need to say. I’m busy,”said Ulric.
“A request was made in Hennings for a target in Dorchester, and you’re still listed as a local contact. Considering the details of the request, you’ll understand why you were chosen,”said Chance.
Intrigued, Ulric said, “Send over the details.”
Receiving the file, Ulric wasted no time and went through it.
Ulric couldn’t believe that the guild accepted this madness. Who in their right mind would be so stupid as to target a new noble? They are relying on a loophole. Technically it was a valid argument...probably. In any case,Ulric still thought the client was insane.
Returning his attention to Chance, Ulric said, “They are really offering a quarter of a million common valens for this? They have to know what the repercussions will be.”
Chance’s good cheer was obvious over the link. “Who cares? The very nature of the contract negates a ‘silence’ clause. What happens after the target is dead has nothing to do with us. As long as we follow the letter of the law and abide by the assassination accords, the guild will be safe. The question is, do you have someone that can do it? The requirements rule out almost all of our assets. You’re the only one in the area who has access to a piece that can play.”
Ulric took a minute to think. The target was an easy first kill for an apprentice. However, even in the best case scenario, he’d need new identities and a new city.
“No. The money is good, the target is good, but the aftermath is an unacceptable cost. I’d need to buy passage to another city, and an identity sweep for two apprentices and myself. The need to start over makes this cost too much,”said Ulric.
“Don’t worry about any of that. Full identity sweeps and travel in a protected convoy will be provided upon successful completion of the assignment. That’s in ADDITION to the quarter million valens. This needs to happen today. The window is closing,”replied Chance.
Ulric was surprised. How much was the guild getting paid for this? Shaking his head, he banished that line of thought. He didn’t need, or want, to know. Rubbing his chin, Ulric tried to think it through. It was a lot of money, and a solid plan.
Chance interrupted Ulric’s pondering by upping the payout. “Fine, we’ll go up to 300,000. No more. And it has to be today,”he said.
Ulric straightened to his full height. His hesitation was gone. The deal was too good to pass up.
“Alright. Consider the contract accepted. You’ll be hearing the good news in a few hours,”said Ulric.
Cutting the connection, Ulric dropped the privacy screen. Taking a breath, he read the file again to make sure he didn’t miss anything. Nodding to himself, he walked back into the common room.
His apprentices looked up as he walked in. Caleb was oiling his sword, and Rose was tightening her arrow heads. Seeing Ulric stop and cross his arms, they put down their gear and stood up at attention. Both looked ready, they obviously knew something was up. ‘Well, they were expecting a couple nights in the woods, not a contract,’he thought.
Ulric’s took some time to evaluate them. The contract could only go to one of them. They were both around 18, both level 8, both had been with him for years. Both were dedicated to the path of the hunter. It would be their differences that would determine his choice.
Caleb returned Ulric’s gaze with a smirk. His wiry, 5’6’’ frame made him an ideal assassin candidate. His black hair and tan complexion blended well with his black leather combat harness. As he preferred to fight with blades, he would be well suited for an arena match.
Rose was 5’7’’ and thicker. She was fit, and wore her brown leathers and cloak like she was meant to be in the wild. Her light brown hair was cut short, and her blue eyes sparkled in expectation. Although she could win in the arena, she preferred to kill from a distance.
Having made a decision, Ulric smiled and said, “Well, it looks like we have a job. Caleb, how do you feel about killing a new noble in a completely legal arena challenge?”
Rose looked to Caleb in surprise. Caleb’s smile took on a dangerous glint as he replied, “Legal? That means people will get to see how good I am, you think they’ll broadcast it under the arena banner?”
-----
Arch-Mage Jennings chuckled as he went to get a cup of coffee, he really enjoyed the banter between Nick and Nero. His trip to Dorchester was turning out to be quite amusing.
Nero saw what Jennings was doing and said, “Hey, can you grab me a cup while you’re up. Just black is fine.”
Smiling, Jennings poured Nero a cup of coffee. He was also enjoying the way Nero treated him. He hadn’t been treated as an equal in a long time. Even Arch-Mage Mathers held a certain respect for him, though they argued plenty. Nero though, he just respected him as a mage. There was no awe. Jennings hoped that wouldn’t change when Nero found out more about him.
“Here you go,” he said. Handing Nero the coffee, Jennings returned to his seat.
Watching Nero take a sip, he said, “So you want to know how to cast an essence shield. Why? You won’t need one for years.”
Nero gave Jennings a look like he was an idiot. “I’ve been here like 7 days and already was in a fight. A magic fight. I was lucky that I didn’t get myself killed. I’m not going to be one of those morons who doesn’t accept the world around him. I’m in danger, so I need to learn how to fight,” he said with conviction.
Jennings raised his eyebrows at Nero’s resolve. “As a new noble, you’re under the protection of the royals for the next 100 years. You’re not in danger.”
Nero just shook his head. “Let’s agree to disagree. Now, tell me how to cast a shield. Then we’ll move onto some combat spells.”
Chuckling Jennings said, “Fine, but I doubt it will help you. Follow me, we’ll need some space.”
Standing up, Jennings didn’t forget his coffee. He led Nero to a corner of the lab with some training dummies and isolated areas for spell testing.
Turning to Nero, he narrowed his eyes as he saw that Nero had taken his cup of coffee as well.
Deciding not to make an issue of Nero’s disregard for decorum, he said, “An essence shield is not a spell. It is using your psychic field to collect and cycle the ambient essence into a film to cover yourself. Everyone does it naturally as their psyche grows. However, mages have perfected it. While warriors rely on their essence infused bodies, and their essence fields; we mages solidify our fields into a shield. A well done essence shield is like a coat of armor. You can anchor spells to it, use it to fly, make teleportations instantaneous, and much more. It is a very advanced technique that requires years of practice. Condensing your psychic field is a matter of will and focus. Nero, are you listening?”
Nero was already playing with the ambient essence. Rather than looking Jennings in the eye, he was using his psychic field to examine the thin field of essence that always surrounded Jennings. With his increased stats, he got a much clearer picture of what it actual was. While Jennings was talking, Nero sipped his coffee by reflex as his mind worked on copying the arch-mage.
Realizing that Jennings had stopped talking, Nero looked up and said, “Yup. Mage-armor. Got it. Here, hold this a second.” Nero handed his coffee cup to the stunned arch-mage.
Jennings was so surprised at Nero’s behavior that he took the cup by reflex. As Nero stepped back, Jennings was about to start up one of his legendary rants. He could feel the amusement of the mage council in his head, and it was infuriating.
Before Jennings could say anything, he felt the essence around Nero begin to swirl. Snapping his mouth closed, he focused on what was happening.
Nero had his eyes closed, and was using his psychic field to grab all the essence within a few feet. Rather than pick a flow or type, he just mentally clasped a big fist. Around his body was already an area that interacted with essence, he assumed that was the beginnings of his essence field. Collapsing his mental fist, he held the essence in a clinch over the field. The two fields didn’t seem to want to interact. They were fighting each other.
With a frown, he opened his eyes and released his hold. Taking two steps forward, he walked right up to Jennings. The man just cocked his head with a smile.
“It’s not so simple. It’s amazing that you could even condense a field, you should be proud,” he said.
Nero gave him a deadpan look, and replied, “Just give me a sec.”
Nero turned the entirety of his psychic field to the study of Jenning’s shield. It was flowing over him at insane speeds. It was like looking at an essence waterfall, one that was flowing over the field Jennings body emitted. Though it looked like a film, it actually extended a couple inches off his body, it just stayed near him. Nero poked it with a psychic finger.
Jennings jumped a little, and said in annoyed tone, “What are you doing?”
Nero nodded to himself. He looked up at Jennings and said in a matter-of-fact tone, “Your explanation sucks. It’s not a film at all. You’re creating an area of ‘your’ essence. Your taking ownership of the area around your body. It gets weaker the farther away from your skin it is. It’s not a film, and calling it one is just wrong. Now be quiet for a second.”
Jennings couldn’t remember the last time someone had so ‘thoroughly’ told him that he was ‘wrong’. He’d been corrected, his conclusions questioned, his thought process challenged. But he was stupefied to the point of silence by being told so directly that he was ‘wrong’.
Nero stepped back to give himself some space. Once again, he reached out with his psychic field. Nero could sense the area was blanketed by Jennings consciousness, but the area wasn’t under his control. The arch-mage was just laying his presence and watching everything. Nero briefly considered how much Jennings was currently paying attention to, but he quickly banished the useless thought.
Nero reached out much further this time, and collected all the essence he could comfortably grab without straining his mind. Rather than squeezing, he just encircled the essence with his field and pushed it toward his body. As the essence around him compressed, he could see how his natural essence field interacted with it. There was no difference between the essence he collected, and the ambient essence in the air. He couldn’t feel a difference, aside from the fact that it was now ‘his’.
With a smile, Nero let the essence he’d collected move however it wanted. Slowly, he kept collapsing the field tighter and tighter. Soon he started to feel a pressure on his mind. It was the mental equivalent of holding your abs tight. It was uncomfortable, but he could deal with it. The collected essence was under pressure and was now cycling around his body like river rapids. Examining it, he checked Jennings. Although he was several feet away, he thought they looked the same.
Opening his eyes, he saw a stunned Jennings. Nero ignored his expression, and said, “So how is this like armor? It’s just like wrapping yourself in essence. I don’t see how that will stop a knife.”
Jennings had watched as Nero created a very respectable essence shield. His attention snapped to Nero standing there with a frown on his face, and his hands on his hips. Jennings muttered, “What was that?”
Nero rolled his eyes, “I just don’t see how doing this with essence will do anything. It’s just me claiming the essence around me, and compressing it.”
Jennings eyes narrowed, and he waved his hand. A spear of light several inches thick shot at Nero and struck him in the chest. Nero’s eyes widened as he was lifted off his feet and flew backward into the wall. Bouncing off, he landed on his hands and knees.
In order to demonstrate their new distance from each other, Jennings said loudly, “Without an essence shield, that would have gone right through you.”
Walking up to Nero, Jennings watched the boy patting his chest. With barely any effort, Nero rebuilt his shield like it was a reflex.
As Nero stood up, Jennings said to him, “It’s a thin film of essence that intercepts and absorbs things that you don’t want to touch you. Whether it’s a knife, an arrow, or a spell made from foreign essence. When you called it mage-armor, you weren’t wrong.”
Nero reached out and retrieved his coffee cup from Jennings hand. Taking a sip, he replied, “I’m calling it mage-armor. It’s not a film. Stop calling it that.”
Jennings pursed his lips in annoyance and hissed, “It is a film. That’s what it is described as, because that’s what it is.
Nero’s blank eyes met Jennings in a stare down. Without breaking eye contact, Nero took another sip of his coffee, and said, “Agree to disagree. But for the record, you’re wrong. Stand there in your wrongness and be wrong.
Jennings eyes widened, and he could feel cheering from the mage council. With a huff, he turned around and walked back to the center of the testing area. ‘Perhaps giving those bastards a way to monitor us was a mistake. That little shit is going to give them ideas,’he thought.
