Triple Strength

73. Spiritual Energy: Tabitha

I scouted out the Pride’s wagons in the early evening. They had four small wagons, one of which was the Enchanter's work and storage area. They were a family group, as you would expect. Grandfather, a middle-aged couple with three adult children, one of whom was mated, with a litter of three toddlers scampering around. Yes, Catkin toddlers were cute but massive balls of energy. I was observing from a distance, so I couldn't tell which one was the enchanter. Probably there was an Enchanter and an Apprentice if Grandfather was right about the Journeyman level. The Father and two brothers were obviously the main security judging by their equipment. I was betting on the Mother being the Enchanter and the daughter the apprentice, but we will see tomorrow.

I decided I would bring Modrica to the meeting to give the appearance of security. Hopefully, this would raise me from a random lady in the street to a moderately successful merchant. I told Modrica to bring the Spiritually enhanced gloves with the knuckle studs, and we would also see what can be added to that.

I knew Catkin was not a physically big race. The tallest of them came up to my shoulders, and that was one of the brothers, the mated one, I thought. It barely looked like he came to Modrica’s waist. It was probably her chest, but all the others were shorter. I am not sure bringing Modrica was such a good idea, as the Pride was definitely nervous. I was greeted by the Grandfather flanked by the Father and Brother mentioned above.

“Come,” said the Grandfather, “We always start with a cup of tea. Come sit by the fire.”

We moved to the fire, and we were introduced to them. Tāttā was the Grandfather's name, but he was quite happy to be called Grandfather. His son was Appā, who was mated to Am'mā, and they had three children, Mutalil, who was mated to Anni and had three cubs. Mayakku was the daughter and the enchanter, according to my Spatial Awareness. The other son was Ilaiya, who wasn’t there. I was astonished that the daughter was the Enchanter and the Mother the apprentice. They must have invested very heavily in her training. We exchanged chit-chat, and I guess this was their way of assessing potential clients. Modrica just sat with her cup of tea, letting me carry the conversation. Nothing unusual there.

Eventually, they decided it was time for business, and I was invited into the Enchanters wagon with Mayakku and Am'mā. They waited for me to take the lead.

“I am looking for some specialised Enchanting, and I am not even sure if it is possible. Have you worked with Blacksteel before?” I started.

“I had the opportunity to enchant a Blacksteel broach when I was still training,” Mayakku replied.

I reached into my boot sheath and pulled out the Blacksteel Stiletto knife I acquired from the old Crime Lord, who was an idiot. Their eyes went wide, and they both took a sharp breath in surprise. Like Mother, like daughter, I suppose.

“I am looking to enchant this. What can you offer in enchantments?” I asked.

“May I?” Mayakku asked to pick up the knife. I nodded, and she spent some time examining it. I am assuming she had some specialised senses in play.

“I could put three, maybe four enchantments on here, depending on the complexity of the enchantment. Because we would be enchanting directly onto the Blacksteel, no additional Spiritual material is required. The Enchantments will also last a lot longer than usual. Basic durability and sharpness enchantments will probably last over a year before they need renewing. The energy in the enchantment will need to be refreshed regularly.”

“I can do Resistance Enchantments to increase your resistance to Heat or Cold etc. The energy will deplete depending on how often it is used. It would take me two or three sessions to fully charge an enchantment on Blacksteel so that the energy will last four or five times longer than on an ordinary knife.”

“Skill Enchantments?” I asked,

“I can do the common Skills. I can give a bonus to Small Blades. Stealth and Camouflage are the other two most requested for knives of this sort.” she replied.

“What about Natural Enchantments?” I asked.

“Being Catkin, I can add Toughened Hide, Quick Strike, Speed Boost, Ambush and Night Vision. Be aware that the less compatible you are to the skill, the more energy it will take from the enchantment.”

Night Vision was the natural Beastkin version of Darksight. It wasn’t as good as Darksight as it relied on enhancing the existing light and was useless in the pitch dark. However, it was a good secondary option for those who didn’t have Darksight, and it could be enchanted.

“Can you enchant a Return to Sheath option?” I asked,

“No, that is a Master Level Enchantment.”

“What about Self Repair?”

“No. Not on Blacksteel. I can enchant it on ordinary materials.” was the reply.

“Now we come to the tricky part,” I said, getting some puzzled looks. “Wait a moment. I need to check on Modrica.” My Spatial Awareness had picked up something I had to verify with my own eyes. I got up, opened the wagon door, and stepped out where I could see.

Modrica was still seated by the fire, but she had three Catkin kittens climbing all over her. She was smiling and playing with them. Their mother Anni was there as well as Appa and Mutalil, the father. When Modrica saw me looking, she gave me a sheepish grin. One of the kittens lost grip on her hair and rolled off her shoulder toward the fire, but Modrica caught them and tickled their stomach before letting them go, and they scrambled back up toward their siblings. I gave Modrica a big grin and a thumbs up before going back into the trailer. Mayakku and Am'mā had followed me and seen it.

When I sat down again, I said, “I very much hope we can come to a longer-term agreement. That is the first time I have seen Modrica playing with children and having fun. I would do much for my Sister.”

“Your sister? She is not your employee?” Am'mā asked.

“Modrica is nobody's employee, although we do pretend that is the case, sometimes, to give a certain impression.” I replied.

“Like today?” I nodded. “All impressions were re-made when you presented the knife.” Am'mā said.

I smiled. They hadn’t seen anything yet. “As I said, now we come to the difficult part.” They both looked bewildered. Until now, we’ve had a normal Enchanter to Client conversation. All be it over an unusual item.

“I want to talk about Spiritual Energy and to empower and recharge enchantments.” They looked confused as this was an exclusive Enchanter's ability and a major source of repeat business. “I have a Skill that can transfer Spiritual Energy, and I want to know if you can enchant something that I can refill.” I didn’t like talking about Nyx as a skill, but I didn't want to freak them out. Yet.

“That is most unusual,” Mayakku said. “Enchanters often change the Receive Energy rune to restrict who can recharge an enchantment. Good for repeat business, you know.” she said with a smile. “A standard rune will allow any enchanter with the skill to recharge it. To be able to charge it with a different skill…. “ her voice drifted off as she got lost in thought.

“May I see the Skill in action? '' she asked, reaching behind her for a short wooden plank marked with runes. “This is a simple rune sequence for training purposes. It has the basic Receive Energy rune,” she pointed to one end of the board. “I don’t expect it to be able to accept your energy, but it will enable me to see the differences.”

I put my hand over the end of the wood, and the shadow darkened as Nyx made her presence felt. I had Nyx transfer a small amount of energy to the rune. As expected, it dissipated into the surrounding area.

“Wait!” Mayakku said, looking intently at my hand and the rune. “Do it again, please.”

I had Nyx repeat the transfer, and this time whatever sensing Skills Mayakku had in play, and I suspect she had all of them working, she saw what was happening. She suddenly jerked back to the wagon wall as far as she could from me. Her hand trembled a bit, as did her voice when she said breathlessly, “That’s not a Skill.”

“Indeed.” I stated. Am'mā was looking very confused at us, particularly her daughter. I slipped two gold coins on the table and said, “This is why I am paying for discretion.” I did put a bit of Intimidating Aura behind the words. I waited for a few minutes for Mayakku to calm down.

“The question is, can you help me, or rather, as this is outside of any enchanter's expertise, are you willing to work with us to help make it happen?” I asked.

She took some time to think. I saw her gather up her courage, “Can I see it one more time?” she asked.

That was a good sign. I had Nyx do it again. She didn’t get so close this time but was observing very carefully. Am'mā was, too, but she obviously didn’t have the skills or levels to sense this.

“It is like raw Spiritual Energy. Not refined through the Enchanter’s Skill.” Her eyes widened. “It is like energy from a Monster Core or some Gems.”

“Can you enchant using Monster Cores or Gems?” I asked.

She shook her head, “I would need the Core Enchanting or Gem Enchanting Specialisations, and I have never had the opportunity.”

Those Skills are usually locked up tight in the Government and Trading houses. I doubted I would find such an enchanter. Still, we have a direction in which to go. I had a vision of a skill like Toughened Hide on the knife that Nyx empowered to be constantly on, just like having the original Skill. The enchantment would need to be renewed yearly, but that was a small thing. Nyx is my potential energy source.

It is going to take some work to upskill Mayakku. The questions are, do I think she has the potential and is she willing to work with Nyx? Her mind is puzzling over the problem, and she did identify the first issue, being the type of energy. I am sure she realises cracking this will boost her levels significantly, but it may take some time. It also looks like I might need to find some Monster Cores to help her learn Core Enchanting. That will be expensive unless I can convince Wiremu to go Monster Hunting.

I will need a better return on my investment than just the potential of continuous enchantments. First, let’s find out if she is willing to work with Nyx, and then we can negotiate a deal.

“You have some good senses and a sharp curious mind.” I said to Mayakku. “Is this something you want to work on?”

Mayakku looked up at me, eyes shining. Her mind was definitely engaged with the issue. “Yes, I would love to.” her eyes flickered to Am'mā.

“So you know it isn't me who you need to work with. It is Nyx, a Shadow Elemental.” I said. Am'mā’s eyes grew wide as she came to understand what was happening. “What I think I should do is leave you to discuss it. I would ask that you not discuss it outside this wagon.” I put the stiletto back in the boot sheath. “I am a co-owner of a small trading company called Elemental Traders,” At least they got the connection with the name. “We can also broker some materials for you at a reasonable fee if you give me a list.” Their eyes lit up. “If you take on this project, it could take months to solve, and Elemental Traders are going on the road after the auction. If you want in, we will need a long-term agreement.” I rose to my feet. I gave them the address of our cottage as that was the only office I had.

I stepped out of the wagon as a commotion was starting. It was the four thugs from the market. Grandfather Tāttā, Appā, Mutalil and the brother I had not met were facing them. He looked very young, still an early teen and not yet gained his first Class. His hair was standing up on the back of his neck, and he barely had control over his rage.

“We caught the cub sniffing around, old man. That's not good for his health.” The speaker was a very stocky dwarf, obviously leading the other two humans and one dwarf. The lead dwarf and a human both had a Brawler Class, which is quite a versatile fighting Class and quite easy to pick up. The other two had a Guard Class, which was a good class for thugs and Guards.

While there, I noted that Grandfather Tāttā had a Merchant Class with a Spiritual Goods specialisation. It would be good to have him work for me. Appā and Mutalil had both specialised their Guard Classes into Sentry, their main role in the Pride. The young one who had not yet gotten a class was undoubtedly being trained.

“We didn’t see you today at the market, old man. We kept your spot for you, but you never came. We will need compensation for keeping the spot open for you, though.” the dwarf said.

“You should ask before going to the effort of keeping a spot as it was unnecessary, and we don’t pay for unnecessary things.” Tāttā said.

That wiped the smile from the dwarf, “Everybody pays, old man. We wouldn’t want something nasty to happen to the cubs, now would we?”

I sensed Am'mā grab the gold coins I had left on the table and move toward the group, but I put up a hand to stop her. Modrica was getting involved.

Modrica stood up and moved up beside the Catkin. She loomed over everybody. I saw the Thugs reassessing their position. She rumbled two words, “No pay.”

“Who the hell are you? Everybody pays. You don’t mess with our organisation. We will roll over you without….” The dwarf had to stop as he suddenly had no breath. Modrica had punched him in the gut, followed by a cross to the jaw that threw him sideways, and he was out cold. She was obviously pulling her punches and had taken off her gloves.

“I mess with whoever I like.” She declared, looking at the three still standing. “You tell your boss Modrica the Merciless says no.”

I heard a mutter from the back of the Thugs, “Shit, the fighting pit legend.” They were already backing off, one of them grabbing the collar of the unconscious dwarf and dragging him.

Appā and Mutalil were carefully watching the thugs retreat, Tāttā was carefully reassessing Modrica, and the teenager looked at her with something like worship. I moved forward as the thugs disappeared down a side street.

“I don’t think you will have further trouble, but if you would like to relocate, I can rent you some space at the back of our cottage. It will be tight as an entertainment troupe is currently renting two wagons, but it is probably better than here.” I made the offer. Yes, I had ulterior motives.

“What is the rental?” Tāttā asked.

“I want to hire you as a purchasing agent till the end of the auction. The rental can come out of your cut.” I offered. His specialisation was worth it. “You will need to discuss it.” I nodded toward Mayakku. “I will leave you to do so. Modrica will probably hang around for a bit.” She nodded at that. I took my leave.

Their wagons rolled up to the cottage before dusk. We shuffled things around to make room for them. Tāttā would start work for me the next day. Wiremu wasn’t around, but I ensured they were introduced to Tāoke, so there was no misunderstanding. Zabavno made them welcome and eased them through the shock of meeting Tāoke by letting them know he was partial to eggs. That bloody snake is living a charmed life.

That weekend I finished performing with the Comedic Rhythm at one of the Gambling houses. Yes, they finally chose a name. I wasn’t that fussed about it, but it summed up their two main strengths, comedy and song. I saw Nijel and Axill waiting for me as we exited the house. Some of their goons were around in the shadows. Zabavno sensed the tense atmosphere. Actually, I think the elves might have been more sensitive there. Nijel was dressed in a full Shadow Lord outfit and Axill in full bodyguard mode. I figured the show was for the goon squad watchers. I told Zabavno and the group to wait by the door and went forward to meet them. I think they thought I was crazy.

I made sure my body language was full of respect. If this was a show, we needed to play our part. “Greetings to the esteemed Shadow Lord.” I tried not to let any sarcasm through, but it was hard.

“You have been interfering in our business.” Nijel replied.

“You are referring to the Enchanter?” I asked. He nodded. “You would never get them to work for you through debt and pressure. They had too much pride and would have fled and we both would have lost them.”

“Really?” he said in partial disbelief. “How did you get them onside then?”

“Curiosity. Give them a puzzle and a way to work for what they get.” I had gotten a level in Sentient Lore when I worked that out. I had my Adjuster and Coax skills working flat out here. “I’ll tell you what, we are here till after the Auction, so about another three weeks. I will broker some discounted enchanting for you in that time.”

“Material costs only.”

“First item, Material costs only, then 10% discount on retail.”

“50”

“Material Costs and 15% on enchanting costs. And that can be a standard discount for the Shadow Guild.”

He thought about it for a moment, then nodded, and we shook on it. He then pulled out a list and handed it to me, and Axill produced a small sack of items.

“That is probably three weeks of full-time enchanting right there,” I said. They just smiled. “I will let you know when the first items are ready using our old communication system and the cost. Payment on pickup.”

We shook again and parted ways. I went back to Zabavno and got some looks. I guess they weren’t used to watching street deals with Crime Bosses. I guess I was also carrying a sack of stolen goods.