Bert grinned and sat back in his chair, and with the small exception of his Dawn's Bond, he began to lay out his Powers in full. The fire crackled and Adam nodded with appreciation as each Ability and Passive was revealed. He didn't seem happy that Bert had neglected the metal side of his Attributes, but he didn't hurl any insults his way so it must not have surprised him.

  "A solid set of powers, and some beneficial Techniques," Adam said, once Bert was done. "You must be bloody hard to put down. I'll have to stop pulling my blows."

  "That's right. So what do I need to get stronger?" Bert asked, cutting to the point of the talk.

  "We'll get you another Technique. Something to condition your body, one that can increase the toughness of your organs, skin and bones," Adam said.

  "Why? It all mends quickly," Bert asked. "Shouldn't I learn another brawling style?"

  "No, splitting your focus like that this early in your training only weakens you and makes it harder to progress your main style," Adam said. "Try reaching Expert in the Arte Pugilist before adding more brawling Techniques. As for your other point, breaking your body over and over is inefficient. All that Stamina, Vital Energy and Bloodwell mana is wasted when you recover, and would be better served by a tougher physique. Reducing the strain on your reservoirs and your body."

  Bert nodded, the theory sounded correct. "What about a Beastmastery Technique?"

  "If you could find one, then sure, but you won't find one in Rain City," Adam started with certainty.

  "Why's that?" Bert asked.

  "'She' has them all," Adam said

  "Oh," Bert replied. The man was talking about the Nightshark and Fritz had mentioned that Adam bore a black fang just as they did. It made sense that she'd horde all the good stuff about beasts.

  "You should also be applying your corrosive spray and your snail's acid to yourself. Get that resistance high enough that you could fight knee-deep in the stuff," Adam said, continuing his suggestions. "We'll also work on your physique and flexibility. I know a tumbler, they'll teach you some acrobatics. As I want you to be able to move well when being thrown into the air or across the ground."

  "That's a long list, anything else?" Bert asked.

  "Hmm? Well, yes, but we can get to that later," Adam said. "Let's talk about Advanced Attributes. Close your eyes and concentrate."

  Bert followed the man's order.

  "Can you sense your Vitality?"

  Bert looked inward, feeling at the constant dull roar of the energies that rushed through him. It was a mess of bountiful excitement, boundless eagerness and indiscriminate passions. He sorted through the sensations, finding the one he associated with Vitality. It rippled over his skin and muscles, and boiled in his blood. It wasn't hot, just raucous.

  "I can feel it."

  "How does it feel?"

  "Bubbly, boiling, all over my body."

  "Is it thick or thin?"

  "Thick."

  "Mhm, and are those scars all over your arms recent or old?"

  "Bit of both," Bert boasted.

  "Right, onto Momentum," Adam said.

  That one was harder to feel but it was there all the same, it was like he was inside a ball made of stone. It wanted him to move, it was a boulder set to roll down a hillside. He could push at any moment and he knew it would add to his own force. He explained as much to the tutor.

  He heard the man scratching away with his quill.

  "Bloodwell?"

  Again Bert searched the energies and found the pounding power of bloodwell pulsing around his sanctum.

  "Thudding like a heartbeat," Bert said.

  "Alright, that's the last of them, correct?"

  "Apart from my Synchronicity," Bert said.

  "The Bond Attribute, correct? Well, I know very little about that one I'm afraid. It's rare even outside of Rain City," Adam said.

  "A shame," Bert replied.

  "Indeed, all I know is that if you align points into it your beast gets stronger. I'm not sure how it works further than that," Adam said, before clearing his throat and continuing. "So it seems like you're a very intellectual man."

  "I'm glad someone finally noticed," Bert professed, though he didn't exactly know what the man was talking about.

  Adam nodded and went into an explanation about Variances and Patterns that Bert mostly understood. It was something to do with the different kinds of Advanced Attributes, or how they manifested. All Bert's own were on the more material or 'intellectual' side.

  "Troll's Vitality, Boulder's Momentum and Beating Bloodwell," Adam recounted for him.

  "Is that good?"

  "It's neither good nor bad, but certain exercises and Patterns are better for certain variants," Adam explained.

  "Right," Bert said. He didn't know what to think, but if Fritz trusted the man to be their tutor that was good enough for him. That, and the man was clearly strong.

  "Aiming for a Strain at all?"

  "You can do that?"

  "There are certain things you can do to increase your odds, tonics and foods, certain Techniques and actions in a Spire and, of course, the necessary Attribute requirements. It's not guaranteed, abyss, it's not even likely. And even if you do everything right, you may still not be offered the strain you want, but a slim chance is better than no chance."

  Bert nodded, dreaming of what strange changes his body could go through. Maybe he could become a giant-kin and laud his height and size over the others. Or maybe an elf, he bet he'd look good with long pointed ears.

  "But maybe we're getting ahead of ourselves, you're still in Rain City and the Spires here are less than optimal to be offered anything other than Merfolk," Adam said. "Still, these are things you should be thinking about, in the long term, I mean."

  "Alright," Bert said.

  "Alright," Adam repeated, making a few more notes with his quill. "We're all done, get me the next one and then run thirty laps."

  "That's a lot more laps than you gave me before," Bert argued.

  "I didn't know the extent of your recovery then. With your Powers, you can be pushed harder and for longer."

  "True as the rain," Bert agreed with a wink.

  Adam ignored the interruption. "You can carry the pack of training weapons too, now that I think of it."

  Bert grumbled a curse which caused the man to frown. "What was that?"

  "I said, yes Sir," Bert said.

  Adam smiled and waved him away.

  Bert stood, took his leave and when in the dining room peered over each of the waiting faces. Lauren was restless, tapping one slender finger on the table. George was going over his tiles, and Cal looked a little sick. Only Rosie seemed happy to see him. She grinned and he grinned back, her smile was strange, but it was appealing, much like those scales.

  He decided to spend some more time with her later in the day, if he had any stamina left after his training. If not he would just use his Amulet of Repose. He was finding the wonderful Treasure's restorative powers incredibly useful, even if it was eating into his gold a little.

  "Rosie, you're next," Bert said, gesturing to the door.

  ---

  Rosie walked into the lounge, it was warm.

  Sir Needle asked her to sit, so she did. He was old and his hair and beard were a bit scraggly, but he was good-looking, and he had a lot of muscles.

  The tutor asked her about her Powers and she told him all he wanted to know. He wasn't mean about it this time, just serious.

  He sat there for a moment, thinking and scratching out words. She couldn't quite read them, they weren't the same as the ones in her Sanctum. These ones looked flatter and meant very little to her.

  "What are you writing?" She asked.

  "Recommendations. Some exercises, some diets and a list of the Techniques you should look for," the tutor said.

  "Oh," Rosie said. "Can't you just tell me?"

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  "It'll be easier this way, you'll have a record so you won't forget any advice," Sir Needle said.

  Rosie felt nervous, she scratched the scales just below her gills.

  "What's wrong?" He asked.

  "I can't read," Rosie admitted.

  Sir Needle looked up from the paper. She expected disgust, but saw only understanding, he nodded.

  "We'll have to get a scribe in to teach you how to read and write then. It will be difficult, but having a Sanctum helps even when learning from scratch. I didn't truly learn until after my fourth Spire, though I wish I had earlier."

  "Nah, that's okay. I've gotten this far without it," Rosie said. "And I can still read the important stuff. Like Techniques and my Spire sheet."

  "No, it's not okay," the tutor said, his voice slipping from kind to stern. "It's an invaluable skill. Not all the world's knowledge is stored in Techniques and sometimes the lessons of history can teach us things far more valuable."

  Rosie shuffled uncomfortably. "What if I'm too dumb?"

  "You're not," Sir Needle said. "Like anything it's all practise. You just have to do it."

  She could see in his eyes that he believed what he said. Her own eyes stung.

  "Better get two scribes, Cal can't read as well and I'm not sure about George either," Rosie said.

  "I should have asked before, too used to teaching noble brats I suppose. How about Bert?" Sir Needle asked.

  "Yeah, he knows his glyphs, he's real smart," Rosie said. "Pretends he isn't."

  "That's the gutters. You stand out too much for the wrong reasons and you pay for it in blood and sometimes more," Sir Needle said.

  Rosie nodded. The man was right about that, often she was thankful she was ugly when she heard about what could happen to the pretty girls or boys.

  "Still, you'll only need the one scribe, you'll be literate before you can say 'What does that mean?'" He said.

  "What does that mean?" Rosie asked.

  "Maybe not," the man chuckled.

  It was another joke then, but it didn't seem to be poking fun at her so she smiled.

  "Right, so to summarise you're a moderately mobile Durability Defender. Puncture for some offence, Piercing Shriek for taunting your foes. Interpose for saving your allies and a slew of Passives and Traits that made you and your scales tougher," Sir Needle said, reading from his list. "Now to test your Advanced Attributes, close your eyes."

  She did.

  "First let's try your Awareness," he said. "What does it feel like? Do you see numbers in your head or do you get odd feelings?"

  All she could see in her mind was darkness, and she tried to recall getting any 'odd feelings'. There were times she felt in her gut something bad or good was going to happen and then it did. Like when she had played cards she could almost tell which hands were strong as soon as she touched the cards.

  "The second," Rosie said decisively.

  "Alright, anything else you've noticed with Awareness?"

  "Not really, don't really feel it much."

  "Let's move on to Durability then. Can you sense it?"

  "What is it meant to feel like?" Rosie asked.

  "Concentrate on your body, is there an energy, a hardness that doesn't come from your scales. Or maybe it runs over you like a second skin."

  Rosie frowned, trying to find the hardness. Minutes passed but the man pestered her no further, simply waiting for an answer. She was getting more and more angry with herself as time went on. She knew she was too dumb for this.

  Then she felt it, a spot deep inside her that was incredibly tough. It was lower than her Sanctum but higher than her belly button, heavy as lead and hard as steel. It was connected to her entire body by an invisible power and she knew that it shared her burdens. If she suffered, it suffered. They suffered together.

  Just like her and Cal. Or her and the team.

  Even if she could feel it clearly now, she struggled to tell Sir Needle about it in good words. She probably sounded like an idiot. He didn't chide her. In fact, he was silent and she could hear him scribbling something furiously.

  Rosie opened one eye and peered at what he was writing. It was nonsense to her and she told herself off.

  You can't read dumb arse.

  "Interesting," the man finally said. "Last onto your Essence of Water."

  "Okay," she agreed.

  "Try and find that cool, flowing energy within you, it should be far easier to detect as it swirls around your Sanctum."

  He was right it was easy to find, but the cool energy wasn't flowing, and it barely rippled when she tried to make it swirl as her tutor said it would.

  "It doesn't want to move," she said.

  "Ah, Essence of Water with the Stillness variant," Sir Needle said. "Not exactly uncommon, but far less common than the Roiling Sea or Rushing River Variants."

  Rosie didn't really know what he was talking about, but as he wasn't explaining further it meant he'd teach her later.

  "An intuitive Awareness, Deep Durability and Essence of Water with Stillness. All in all, you're unskilled and blunt, but hard as nails," he summarised.

  "That's right. I'm tough. And I also got that brawling Technique," Rosie added.

  "The same one as Bert?"

  "Yeah, he taught me," Rosie said, remembering all the fun they had rolling around and wrestling. She'd have to go find him after training.

  "Anything else?"

  The words broke Rosie out of her memories.

  "Uh, I tried to learn the other one but it was too hard," Rosie admitted.

  "From what I know it wouldn't be good for you anyway," Sir Needle said. "The Arte Pugilist isn't exactly ideal either, you might have to replace it at some point. Also, we'll find you something to toughen your body further, you can share that with Bert. Then another Technique for your weapons of choice. You favour dual wielding?"

  "Yes, I have a pick and an axe," Rosie said proudly.

  "I think I know a fairly common Technique for such weapons," he said nodding and noting.

  "Not gonna make me use a shield?" Rosie asked.

  "I will drill the basics of shieldwork into you, but I will leave it to you to decide what you'll carry into battle. Though I plan to train you hard in the use of all common weapons. All of you will be proficient with the most armaments when I'm done with you."

  "Even Lauren?" Rosie asked, smiling at the thought of the stuck-up bitch all muddy and messy from the martial tutoring.

  "Yes, even her," Sir Needle said.

  She smiled wider.

  "You'll also need armour. Heavy Armour," he added.

  "Like George's?" Rosie asked.

  "Yes, you should commission some right away. You'll want to be practising in it as soon as may be. For now, we'll just have to tie weights to you," the tutor said.

  "Won't the armour be expensive?" She asked.

  "It will be, depending on the material, but you'll be trusting your life to it so get something decent," Sir Needle warned.

  "Okay," Rosie said, seeing the man's point. "Is that all?"

  "Yes, run along, go get the next," Sir Needle said. "Then do twelve laps."

  "Alright," Rosie said. She turned then she stopped and added, "Thanks for being nice."

  "This is merely a reprieve. Tomorrow, when your training really begins, I'll be crueller than the king of faeries if only half as handsome."

  "I don't like faerie stories," Rosie said.

  "Neither do I," Sir Needle agreed.

  Rosie turned and left.

  "Cal, you're next!" She yelled into the open door of the dining room before jogging out into the yard and joining Bert and Fritz as they ran.

  ---

  Cal was nervous, his heart felt like it was in his throat, and when Rosie called out that he was next, he nearly jumped out of his chair. He instead gulped, he didn't want to embarrass himself in front of Lauren.

  She sighed in exasperation tapping one painted nail on the wood with steadily increasing strength.

  "Lauren, could you please stop that?" George asked.

  "Stop what?"

  "The tapping."

  "Oh, my apologies. I didn't know I was doing that," Lauren said, ceasing the motion. "Cass, I require a distraction, bring me the book from my bedside."

  The pretty maid nodded and rushed to complete the order, she neatly passed by Cal as he made his way to the door.

  "She moved like you cracked a whip," George observed.

  "She did," Lauren said smiling gently. "I was sceptical at first, but she's a hard worker and I like her dedication."

  "She's a great help when making breakfast," Cal added from the doorway.

  Lauren looked to him, seemingly annoyed, "Cal, could you please hurry? The sooner he's done with you the sooner we're all done and we can stop waiting around."

  "Yes... uh... sorry. I'm on it," Cal said.

  He turned and made his way to the lounge.

  Sir Needle greeted him with a curt nod and a motion at the chair in front of him, sparing no time with pleasantries. Cal was afraid that the man would continue with the insults and cruel comments, but instead, the man merely asked about his Abilities. Cal answered as best he could, and felt his answers were lacking, but again their tutor wrote whatever he was writing on that sheet of paper before him.

  After he finished his last questions Adam leant back in his chair, stared at the ceiling and sucked his teeth.

  Worry was building within Cal. Was something wrong with his answers? Had he messed up by choosing as he did?

  "Is everything okay, Sir?"

  "Your powers are useful, I'm just wondering what to do with you. Your path isn't quite as paved as the rest of the team and there are many things you could focus on to increase your strength and skill. Really, it comes down to what you want to do and how you want to fight. Do you want to fight? With your personal pack many a team would take you on just for the extra storage, even if you couldn't contribute much to battle."

  Cal considered the question deeply. It was one he'd been asking himself recently. In the safety of his new home, more and more he felt that he no longer desired to leave it for unknown dangers. He was just getting comfortable and now Fritz wanted him to train his arse off so he could Climb the next, more deadly Spire. Just how far could he go, just how far would he let himself be pushed?

  He sunk into his chair and recalled all those moments of terror within the Mer Spire. Beasts were fearsome and he'd had enough close calls with claws, teeth or talons to last him a lifetime. Then he remembered the victories, the elation, the odd and various sights he'd seen and the new monster meats and magical fruits he'd tasted. Then he could see the team in his mind's eye. Their shared smiles and welcome laughter, friends and something more. Soon he found his trepidation blown away, replaced with a remote fervour and a sense of strangely steely loyalty.

  "I want to fight," he said, surer than he'd felt in some time.

  "Good!" Sir Needle said. "A Support with some bravery and a backbone. What a sight!"

  Cal was surprised at the man's exclamation, but he smiled to match the man all the same.

  "You might just be the rarest of the lot," Sir Needle said. "And that's saying something considering the company you keep. One oddity after another."

  Cal beamed.

  "Still, let's get onto your Advanced Attributes, close your eyes and concentrate on your body and the energies within."

  "Okay," Cal said. He closed his eyes.

  "Let's start with Momentum," Sir Needle said. "Can you feel it?"

  Cal could feel it, it sat on his shoulders, and it made his body lighter and his burdens less burdensome. It was like the weight of the world didn't press down on him as hard as it should.

  Cal explained the sensation as well as he could.

  "Good," the tutor replied. "Now Speed."

  That one was just as easy, it was slippery and lived on his skin. He had felt it helped him slide through winds and rain, and over the stone with ease. Again, he told Sir Needle of the feeling.

  "Alright," he said. "Last, your space mana, Spacewell?"

  "Spatial Potentia," Cal corrected.

  "A bit like Arcane then," Sir Needle said to himself.

  Cal tried to touch it and found he couldn't, it was both there and not there, all around and nowhere to be felt. It was frustrating, but he persisted. Eventually, the tutor told him to stop.

  Cal sighed heavily and opened his eyes expecting reproach. He found none. Just a frown and a keen interest on Sir Needle's face.

  "Sorry," Cal said anyway.

  "No matter, I know nothing of this particular Attribute in the first place. I was just interested in what it was like," he replied with a kind smile. "So it looks like you have Weightless Momentum and Slippery Speed. Quite a combination."

  "Is it?" Cal asked eagerly.

  "Oh yes, you'll be hard to catch indeed. And both are on the intellectual, external, side of the spectrum which will make them more compatible if you wish to lace their energies together in a Pattern."

  "What?"

  "Nevermind that now, we'll get into it later," the tutor said. "I'm a little tired of explaining it to each of you in turn so I'll give you all the lecture at another time."

  "And lastly, Techniques," he continued. "I heard you're learning to cook with a Technique book you discovered?"

  "Yeah, we found a bunch of them. This one was in a chest, not the sinking library," Cal said.

  "Sinking library?" The tutor asked, his eyebrows raising. "An Archive deep under the sea?"

  Cal nodded, now unsure if he should have been more tight-lipped. But Sir Needle was their tutor, Fritz trusted him, how bad could a small slip up really be?

  A grin stretched onto Sir Needle's face. "Oh, the king is going to be furious."

  The man laughed, pulling a hip flask from his belt and taking a deep swig. He then tried to hand it to Cal, who refused. He laughed again, taking another gulp before putting the strong spirits away.

  "Ah, that's put me in a great mood," he said heartily. "What a tasty bit of news."

  "What did we do?" Cal asked feeling a dread build in his chest. "Are we going to be in trouble with the king?"

  "Oh, no. No trouble," Sir Needle said. "Well, maybe some trouble if you start shouting about it or start selling a suspicious number of strange and rare Techniques. But if you keep your heads down it should be fine."

  He chuckled further, then when he saw Cal's face he began laughing again. Seemingly this sinking library stuff was the funniest thing he'd heard in months.

  "You lot really are something," Sir Needle added once his mirth was under control.

  "Are you going to tell me what the trouble is?" Cal asked.

  "Later, I'll tell you all of what you've accidentally stumbled into when I address you all," the man said, smirking.

  "Alright," Cal said, shuffling uncomfortably.

  "Right, we'll get you a toughening Technique as well, maybe an armour one too, to keep you safe," Sir Needle said.

  "What about throwing or flail fighting styles?" Cal asked.

  "With your Guided Toss Ability, there would be little benefit to a throwing Technique. Though I know of one that would work well with flails and maces, and Momentum."

  "That sounds good," Cal said.

  "It does. I think I have a clear picture of your strengths now. You can go get the next of your team."

  "Which one?"

  "The girl," Sir Needle said with a small frown.

  "You don't like her?"

  "A tutor shouldn't speak ill of his students, but you're right I like her the least," he allowed.

  "Why?"

  "She's the type who gets by on their looks and charm," Sir Needle said. "Lazy and indulgent."

  "No, she's not," Cal argued. "She may be beautiful, but she's just as brave as any of us. I've seen it."

  "I didn't say anything about bravery," the man replied blandly. "Just effort."

  Cal couldn't refute that the woman wouldn't work if she deemed the job too hard or dirty. But she was one of them, and fought the raider and every beast without flinching or shirking. He was about to protest further when the man waved him away.

  "Go on, go get her. It's good that you're loyal, but she can defend her own honour."

  Cal nodded sharply, his opinion of the man falling. He stood and made his way to the dining room.

  "Lauren. He wants you next."