Chapter Thirty-Five

  Despite the rough night. Harmony awoke with a renewed desire to advan the face of destru, and to Ambrosia sitting on the side of her bed.

  “I was singing my throat raw st night, while you were gettiers from the queen?” Ambrosia waved about the treacherous letter. The card inside was half stig out of the purple envelope because that was exactly how far Harmony had gotten.

  “Wait!” Harmony cried as Ambrosia pulled it the rest of the way out.

  Ambrosia tinued anyway and read aloud. “I aowledge you, Lady Harmony White.

  While Adric is at residence, you may present yourself to any tuard and they will escort you to him. A runner will fetch you wheime is o present yourself with him for the Charter. Sighe Queen.” Ambrosia stopped with no big surprise. “Rather ber from the queen. No threats of doom or offers of friendship.”

  That was a ber. If [Recall] wasn’t so visceral about what happe night. There might have been doubt, maybe\ marking it as a bad dream. Even now the excess authority that spilled over was making her skills fir up, and she could only feel more ing. Outside the obvious solution of leveling to aodate it, there was that skill slot to fill.

  “I’ll take bnd over either of those.“ o worry Ambrosia about st night. There was a slight ce that it was an act. Wouldn’t ahy noble love a personal aowledgment from the queen?

  “I suppose we do have enough tasks on our ptes. The five aff members wouldn’t be enough if we had to eain her.“

  If Harmony never saw the woman in person, it would probably be for the best. “Speaking of tasks. I’d like to hear what we’ve got for skill stoions. I’d feel more stable having one in hand.”

  “Oh? Oh!” She didn’t miss that hint, yet ignored her call to wait with the letter. “Are you feeling alright?”

  “I’m not going to break right now, but I feel I o be as plete as possible soon. Have you gotten any news about acquiring ohat might work?”

  “I have a list going. Breakfast will be shortly. I’ll have a plete anization of what’s avaible after that.”

  “Your little birds are still gatheriers?”

  “You only told me you wahis yesterday. I should have known because of your levels, but you don’t know how many balls I’ve been juggling. I saw your face at the aff. They really will help things work smoother. You’ll see.”

  “Fihis has been hard on us all. I’d be lost without you and Bates. Shall we go B]back to being the dy and her maid?”

  Ambrosia flipped over to her professional role. “Lady White. How would you like to be dressed for breakfast this m?”

  The answer was dressed for war. Well, not really. But appeasing all of her skills helped keep them calmer. Night was the outfit for that. Protective, striking, and fashionable in a way no other outfit could produce.

  After filling up on biscuits and gravy, it was a sel of Bates, Max, and Ambrosia over tea to discuss skill stone “shopping”. Shopping was only loosely oable.

  “What do you mean we 't afford most stones?” Harmony burst out at the news. The chest of gold they'd received as a gift wasn't that long ago.

  “It’s a drought out there and we’re looking to buy water.” Max entated.

  “I’m sure Gothheim would lend you gold outside his gifts, but he’s also ered most skill stones before the rush started. Maybe sider the gift from him a debt paid because no doubt your information inspired him.” Bates added.

  “So, what do I have avaible?” Harmony asked.

  Ambrosia pulled out her list. “The dirty dozeill avaible and cheap. [Arm], [Scream], [Dig], [Sp], [Spit], [Dim Sight], [Wet], [Swim], [Scrape], [Warm], [Feed], and [Fall].”

  The dirty dozen were a colle of on and unon skill stones nobody wanted. [Feed] was rare, but again nobody wa. Their effects were disappointing, and even more w they were hard to advaer you evolved. She’d experienced both [Warm] and [Feed], both her mother had used. Not needing to eat a meal wasn’t the same as not being hungry.

  “I know yood at making the most out of skills others avoid,” Ambrosia added hopefully.

  Her friends clearly had more faith ihan she did. There was a reason she had those spots avaible when Tyler offered up skills. Oh, she sidered mixing [Warm] and [Wet] so she'd Always have a moist Towelette to uests. Or a damp cloth to scrub With.

  The Dig Boys took [Dig], of all the dirty dozen that had the most growth options and they had tactics that would work if most of a team had it. Sometimes you needed a bigger hole.

  “I'm not that good. What else?”

  Nontraditional sources. Ears To the ground. Friends and favors. Which resulted in aremely random colle of options and requirements. Gohl, The Flow’s drummer had [Echolocation] but didn’t want to make noise for extra sehere is a fan group, more heavily located in Hazeldown, and that would require time to get more options. However, the Naewauld chapter president had found [Dazzle].

  The guild had two quests that offered skill stones as rewards. One was to find a lost cat, and yes she’d checked to make sure the i was before she and Hyath arrived iy. While Hyath's nose might be up for the job, having the apex predator hunt you down would probably end in a merry chase, assuming something else hadn’t permaly made it go missing long before. The other was, well, she didn’t have time for it.

  “No quests reements that will take up more than an evening to plete. I don’t feel like I have enough time as it is. I don’t o add a side quest to what is already on my pte.”

  That eliminated about half of the options. Not that all of the offers were unreasowo Gyms offered endorsement deals where she’d o show up to three matches, schmooze, and show support. [Power Through] and [Inspire] weren’t terrible options. But again, time.

  Delve that queen. If Harmony didn't feel like a glow stone on its way to dimming out there might be days to find a better match. That left seven options, [Echolocation], [Dazzle] through the band. The abbess, feeling bad, has offered [Chaos Seed]. Chaos despite having a pce with the temples, was not kindly looked at. It could also do wild things to a person's path of growth.

  For the low price of an ih interview one of the premiere news rags, The Naewauld Times offered [I]. Rot and weeds if that wasn’t the most tempting so far. It had gone unused iimes resources because no one was quite sure what it did. Heart was often stamina-based but ink was non-bat or scribe-like. Her love of books inspired the desire more than any practical reason.

  Less desirable [Feint]. [Body E], and [Killer Instinct] rounded out the lot. As though making herself twenty pert bigger would make her anything but a slightly different category of small.

  “Are you sure we shouldn’t nudge a certain Lord?” Ambrosia asked.

  “I know his colle. He doesn’t go for anything useful. He’d never pick up [Danger Sense] or anything with known qualities. He likes the unique where you don’t know what yetting. He’d probably find something like, [Recall] ran through her memories of ing his colle, [Apocalypse Awareness] or [Royal Road Wanderer].”

  “He once bragged about having [Love Sense],” Max added.

  Harmony and Ambrosia both shuddered at that one.

  “I'm open to suggestions about what I choose.” If someone could vince her away from choosing the risky [I] it wouldn't be the worst thing.

  Max opened his mouth with a flicted look, then closed it as he shifted into a stoid proud one. [Chivalry] in a.

  Harmony couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at that.

  “Lady White, an honorable exge could be made. Your dedicated knight requests a boon.” Maxwell’s hands spped over his mouth as he flushed a pink almost as bright as his beard, leaving him all one color. That clearly hadn’t been what he’d hoped for when he used his social skill.

  “What do you mean?” Harmony asked. His oath of hoy hadn’t fred up like this in a while. And she didn’t tweak it as he was helping willingly and fully enough such a leaver would be rude, but that didn’t leave out asking.

  “Oath forsaken css! I heard it and thought…then of course my oath kicks in.” He lets out a long sigh. “I have a [Keen Iigative Awareness] stone For my progression. I'd trade it for [Chaos Seed] if you want.”

  “How would that help Harm and Why would you want a chaos skill?” Ambrosia asked with a hint of disgust.

  “I don't want to be a knight, or even a scribe. It's not my path. Do I look like either of those things? My family, well, that skill is key to a glorious knight-scribe path. Having chaos in my skills is the best way to break out of that.”

  “And [Keen Iigative Awareness] will help her how?” Ambrosia pressed.

  “Keen makes it special, family paid a premium for that adjective. And I know it might not sound it...” Maxwell’s tone switched to the b drone of a lecture heard a thousand times. ” It's better than [Spot Weakness], with preparation you'll outdo [Battle Tactics] and it will always let you know how to make your oppo's bad day worse. Gramps never shut up about it.”

  “So, you want to trade me your family's prized skill stone for a random one from Violet?” Harmony asked, not even using a skill to keep a straight face.

  “Yes!”

  Tess, who'd been serving the group tea. Fumbled her tray at the excited excmation, breaking two floral teacups. Her metal spider was already on the job of pig up the pieces.

  Would it be a tossup between [I] and [Keen Iigative Awareness]? Max's oath prevented him from lying. If [Spot Weakness] or [Battle Tactics] she'd take them. And if there was ohing Harmony could rete to it was rebelling against the expectations of your parents.

  Harmony raised her teacup high. “I think this might be the exact kind of chaos Abbess Violet might enjoy. A toast to new paths.”