Astronomically Cold

I had also learned a lot, but I needed somewhere out of sight to practice. Goldie and Yoboc had a small backyard, half of which was an herb garden, but it was walled off and private. As long as I extended Solar Bloom over her herbs, Goldie was fine with it. Yoboc and Felix would sit and watch me be an idiot.

I wanted to work on my Transform Skill. I have basically ignored it since getting it to Journeyman Level. The last time I pushed it was when developing my human form. Initially, I just spent some time in my bear form getting used to it. I know I sleep in it most nights… well, maybe half the nights now I am with Kiri—but I don't move or fight in it.

When I was young, I used to hunt in bear form. I haven't done that since I left the Arctic. I did practice the Savage Wildfang move in my bear form, but always used my humanoid form when fighting. That is probably why it took so long to get my footing right.

I am not a wolf-kin. Wolves are fast and agile. I am a bear. We are large, slow, and solid. The thing the Claw did with his feet would not work for me. Bears can sprint, but it is not a strength that we rely on.

Wolves are small. I am large.

My humanoid form is more agile than my bear form—it always has been. Additionally, the ability to hold weapons was a significant advantage.

The face is the biggest thing for me. I transformed into a humanoid form, retaining my bear-like face. I was covered in fur.

The Claw kept his wolf snout, and my bear snout was definitely better when using my teeth. It was also better for my roars.

I spent a lot of time practising the change: from bear to Humanoid fur with bear face, to no fur, to human face, to add fur, to bear with human face. That was weird. Yoboc fell off his chair laughing.

I tried various combinations, speeding up the change because I was aware of the speed at which the Claw changed. Bear Claws were better for mauling, but humanoid hands had better dexterity.

Punching with claws was interesting. I risked breaking my fingers if I put my whole body behind the punch. It is an aggressive stab, but claws are better at ripping and tearing. It is a timing thing.

The Claw only used it once, and his hands came in at a different angle than I would have expected. They hit flesh, well, one hand hit flesh, and the other hit my leather vest and pierced through. It is an unexpected tactic that might be useful in a specific circumstance.

I was mostly focusing on the speed at which I could change parts of my body. I was nowhere near the Claw, but I was getting better. My Transform Skill was also starting to level again.

My Astral Class seemed tied to my Astral Skills, specifically Void, Gravity and Solar. I levelled solar skills in Goldie's herb garden. I practised moving with various gravity levels, and my Void Sensing and Frigid Void were also levelling. I also spent time on the roof filling in my Astral Map.

I soon levelled my Astrologist Class, and the sudden boost in my Spirituality was amazing—five points in one go! My Spiritual attributes were soon going to surpass my physical attributes. My Void Sensing got a lot more detailed, powered by my new Spiritual Perception.

I will soon have enough spirituality to learn Solar Flame, and hopefully, I will gain more control over Solar Flare.

With that in mind, I decided to invest my two spare attribute points into Physical Perception, bringing my total to 50. I chose Farsight. Looking at the night sky with even level 1 Farsight meant there were many, many more stars there than I had previously been able to see.

Farsight was going to level through the novice levels quickly, and combined with Clearsight, piercing the cloud layer, pushed Clearsight to Journeyman. All this, in turn, levelled my Astral Map.

Farsight is much more useful than just watching the stars. It helps me judge distances much more accurately, improve my Navigator Skill to Apprentice, level up my Map Skill, and improve my throwing skills.

Farsight confirms that the larger moon, Atarau, was closer than the smaller moon, Mahina, so the variation in gravity between the moons is not just due to size. We knew this from the fact that Mahina always was eclipsed by Atarau whenever they crossed, but now I could judge the relative size of the moons, accounting for the distance.

Atarau was the larger moon, but only slightly. I could also see details on the moons that I had never seen before. They were a light grey or rock colour, with no trees or vegetation that I could see. There were circles that I think were impact craters. Could there be another dead astral monster up there? It is possible. Maybe if I get my skills high enough, I could go and look.

This comparison with gravity strength, moon size and distance, and my Gravity Filter through my Cosmic Aura enabled me to develop another sensing skill: Gravity Sensing. I am not sure what this is useful for, as the only things I can sense at the moment are the Earth and the two moons. My Spiritual Perception is probably still too low. Gravity Sensing synced and updated my Astral map with the moon's orbits. I guess as I level it and gain more Spiritual Perception, it will become more useful.

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This proves what the Skill Trainer said to me about classes making it easier to learn skills related to them. He was talking about Field Medic, but this applies to all classes, including Astrologist.

I spent time practising my First Aid Skills in the Pit and with the Harmonic Order. Jinx and I didn't fight again. I spent time in the medic area, and she spent time at the bar and with the bookies making bets. Kiri was gathering information for herself, her mother, and the crime organisation, which I assume was the Shadow Busters. She would tell me different topics to listen for.

I pushed Blood Clot into the Journeyman level, and it could now stop moderate-sized wounds from bleeding almost instantly and larger wounds over a short amount of time. The blood clots now have the strength to stop arterial bleeds. Oh, yeah, and I can use them on monsters now, not that there are any around here.

I am getting frustrated sitting in this city waiting for these people and this contract to be completed. Makara is avoiding us. I am spending as much time as I can with Goldie and Yoboc, as I will be leaving after this. Goldie and Yoboc have been like parents to me.

I can hold my own now against most things, and that is with more than just my affinity. The Pit has proved that, and with Kiri nearby, it is even better. Once Felix and Pānihi are added, we should be almost unstoppable. I guess Kevin and Kahz might be hanging around as well, I don't know.

I look forward to leaving with Kiri once this deal is done. Something is going to go wrong. I can feel it.

Kiri was then summoned to the Duke's court for something she couldn't ignore. She dressed in her best leathers, and I wore my bodyguard uniform. It was not a full-state affair, but he had collected his nobles and representatives from other dukes. This was an announcement or something. I left Felix with Yoboc and Goldie, as he would be happier there. So would I, but I had to perform my duty.

Kiri entered the audience hall flanked by me and Pānihi. The nobles and representatives were a riot of colour in their costumes. Several dwarven nobles seemed to be competing for the most outlandish beard title.

Orc nobles wore less but were more military in their clothes. A couple were in armour.

The Humans were the minority, but seemed to be competing for the most impractical clothes they could in the brightest colours they could.

Kiri was by far the most reserved of the humans. Her attire fit in more with the Orcs.

Then I saw two high-ranking Army officers, people in full dress uniforms and notable decorations I had read about but never bothered to learn about.

"Lady Kiri Hunter of House Hrothgar and Pānihi," the doorman announced, and a number of the nobles looked. She was known, but she did not frequent noble gatherings.

As her bodyguard, I did not warrant an announcement, but I definitely stood out. I was wearing a formal House Hrothgar uniform, but I towered over everybody. I was in full Humanoid form, the same as when I arrived in the city. I had my war axe on my belt, which was a large weapon in a gathering like this, although it was not large on my belt.

Kiri had the Blacksteel knife prominently positioned on her belt. I assume she was making a statement, but I don't know what or to whom.

I looked around, but I didn't see anyone who was obviously from the Chelonian School. Their symbol was a turtle-shaped shell with an alchemy beaker in front of it. They were not due yet, but could have arrived early. We expected them any time in the next few weeks, but they were not at this gathering.

I looked, and there were no merchants, only nobles and military. I looked again. There were no foreign nobles or representatives, only the Kingdom's own.

Various bodyguards lined the walls as the nobles mixed and mingled. The Duke had not made an appearance yet.

Kiri nodded to me, and Pānihi and I moved to a wall to watch while she mixed and mingled. Pānihi lay at my feet and appeared to go to sleep. I was a little envious of her. I kept watch.

The nearest bodyguard to me was a dwarf, so our difference in height really stood out. She nodded to me, but it was an assessing look. If violence broke out, we could be allies or enemies.

Her uniform matched a local noble house, and she had a small mace on her belt. It was more of a non-lethal weapon than my axe, although I am sure she could be lethal with it. That is something my Guard Class was about, non-lethal subduing of opponents rather than outright killing them.

I had neglected that in my recent training. Pit fighting was lethal, but decapitating nobles was probably frowned upon, even if they started it. I did have my throwing knives with me.

My eyes roamed the room, looking for threats, while I kept an eye on Kiri with the other senses. My Journeyman Clearsight, combined with Farsight, to see through the stealth of the Duke's archers, who were watching from the upper levels.

My Void Sensing picked up two more highly stealthed individuals in the room. One didn't even register as a person, but I could tell something was there. It took many attempts and several minutes to pierce his stealth with Clearsight to confirm he was, in fact, a member of the Duke's guard. My eyes did not want to look there, and I kept looking elsewhere. If my Void Sensing didn't show the anomaly, I doubt I would have persisted.

He was very small for an orc, and I know he sensed me trying to break his stealth. I am not actually sure I broke his stealth; rather, he dropped one of his skills to let me through so I would stop trying. He nodded to me, and nobody seemed to see him but me. Then he faded again into an anomaly in my Void Senses. It did push my Void Sensing to Journeyman Level.

He was definitely the most stealthy person I had ever sensed. I am picking him as one of the Dukes' layers of protection. Maybe he was also a spy for the Duke. Wait. Just because he is wearing the Duke's uniform doesn't necessarily mean he works for the Duke.

I felt some mental probing, and Frigid Void reinforced my mind. My Mask Status Skill went up to Apprentice. This was the first time I had felt investigated like this, and the first time I was aware my status was investigated. Was it the stealth orc?

This was the heart of the Duke's territory, so getting an enemy agent in would be very difficult. However, I kept my senses on the anomaly regardless. The tendency not to look was still there. Did he have a mental aura-type skill to add to this stealth? It would make sense.

Then several horns blared out, capturing everybody's attention. The Duke walked out onto the raised dias and stood before his throne as the room bowed to him.

The Duke unrolled a parchment. "This is an official announcement from the Queen to all the kingdoms' nobles. I will read it, then fill in some of what I know for you, and set out Jern's response."