Explorer of Edregon

Vin was surprised to be greeted by an unfamiliar face when he entered the town hall. And not just because he didn't recognize her, but by the black bracelets wrapped around her wrists as well. Unlike many of the former prisoners, the only indication that she'd lived a rough life before now was one small scar bisecting her right eyebrow.

"Hello there," the woman nodded, giving him a warm smile. "Welcome to the town hall. Normally, I would ask if you were here for a permit or some other matter, but seeing as it's you, I assume you're here for the council meeting?"

"Yes… Sorry, I don't actually know your name," Vin admitted sheepishly, still getting used to the whole 'being famous' thing.

"I'm Linda," she said as she shook his hand. "I'd always loved books when I was younger, so when I prayed at the shrine of rebirth, I chose Scribe as my new class. It hadn't been all that useful over in our own fragment, but the moment Myers learned of my class, she all but begged me to join her and help take some of the work off her plate."

"I don't doubt it," Vin chuckled, remembering just how swamped Myers had been with work when he last saw her. The poor woman had barely even had any time to progress her own crafter class, and the fact that she'd even managed to prestige at all with everything she was in charge of was a miracle. "I'm glad to see that your people and the Earthers look like they're getting along."

"I'm the one who files the reports, so I know there are minor scuffles here and there. But overall, things have been going well," Linda nodded. "My people are just happy to have finally escaped from living under constant threat of the Red Dawn, and your people were happy for the additional hands. From what I understand, the vast majority of your people ended up choosing combat classes when they first arrived on Edregon, while just about all of us who prayed at the shrine of rebirth instead went with crafter or support classes. We each fill the gaps that the other side needs."

"That is pretty convenient," Vin agreed. "Have any of the Earthers tried using the shrine of rebirth yet?"

"There are a handful that want to try, but Spur deemed it too dangerous to head over there above ground with the Red Dawn still at large. You're a bit early for the meeting, but I believe he's going to ask you to lead a few volunteers through the dungeon and let them try their luck with the shrine. Along with a few of my people that have been patiently waiting to head back and give thanks to our God."

"Makes sense. In that case, I suppose I'll grab a quick bite to eat and come back when it's time for the council meeting."

Waving goodbye to Linda, Vin wandered over to the mess hall. The large building was still standing for the moment, but it was far less crowded than it used to be. Vin had no doubt most people preferred eating in an actual sit down restaurant setting, and he decided he'd have to give one of those a shot down the line.

Though I still don't understand how those work without any form of standard currency… Or the assorted shops I saw… A question for the council, I suppose.

For now, he simply enjoyed being able to grab a plate of food without a few hundred eyes staring at him. While the lack of argument from the kitchen was almost jarring, Vin had to admit he largely preferred the calmer, quieter atmosphere of the new mess hall.

Part of him expected Weston and Becca to pop up and interrupt his lunch again, but the two of them didn't show in all the time it took him to finish off his meal. He was surprised to realize he was a little disappointed, as he'd grown to quite like the two of them and their antics.

Making a mental note to try and check in on them at some point and see how they were doing, Vin returned his tray to the front and squinted up at the sky. The lack of clocks made telling precise time rather difficult, but despite taking his time with lunch, he was pretty sure he still had a bit before the council meeting actually started.

While Vin stood there, staring up at the clouds and wondering what to do with himself, it seemed the universe had an answer for him, as he heard someone walking toward him. Looking back down, Vin's eyes widened as he found himself face to face with a sanctioned killer.

"Vin," Abby said, nodding politely as she stood at attention before him. Even now, despite her shiny new badge Spur had procured from somewhere, she reminded him of a guard standing at their post. Though rather than one waiting for someone to give them an order, she looked more as though she was the one looking around, ready to bark orders at a moment's notice.

"Hey, Abby," Vin nodded, curious how the town's new vice-captain of the guard was getting on. Abby had only been freed and in her new position for a few days, but based on appearances, she certainly looked like she knew what she was doing. "Glad to see you're doing alright. How's the new guard doing?"

"As you'd imagine, not everyone is a fan of our town suddenly having an actual police force," Abby said, her gaze slowly scanning the mess hall as they spoke, as if she suspected to find a criminal around every corner. "But more often than not it's those people that are the reason we need to exist in the first place."

"Fair enough, I suppose," Vin said, looking awkwardly at the woman he'd helped imprison in the first place. Sure, he'd voted to release her and give her the position as vice-captain of the guard, but he didn't know if that was even something she'd originally wanted. "If you don't mind, I need to go get ready for the council meeting."

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Actually," Abby said, barring his way with a raised arm. "I had one or two things I wanted to talk to you about, if you have a few minutes before the meeting. Mind following me?"

"Not at all," Vin muttered, following Abby as she led him to a location that he seemed to be growing more and more familiar with every time he returned home.

Like the rest of the town, the prison where he'd spoken with Kyle and then helped Myers conduct the investigation into his death had undergone a few alterations as well. There was now an entire separate building attached, which was clearly the new guard house based on the simple, silver star painted on a sign above the door.

"Witherson wanted to make sure future visitors that might not speak our language all that well could still identify the important buildings," Abby explained when she saw him eyeing up the sign. "She really seems to think this place is going to become some bustling hot spot of action."

No doubt Golrim is helping fan those flames, Vin thought as he followed Abby inside. The interior of the guard house was half barracks, half cubicle farm, with one lone office that Abby led him into. Seeing as the room hadn't existed a few days ago, it wasn't all that surprising that her office consisted of little more than a large desk and a few chairs. Motioning for him to take a seat, she launched right into it.

"Phil ended up telling me everything that went down," Abby explained, taking her own seat behind her desk. "How you specifically figured out I was the one that had killed Patty and Kyle, how Golrim argued for me to head the new force of guards, and how the council was split on the decision. I suppose I should start by thanking you for the vote of confidence."

"Golrim is pretty persuasive if you let him get going," Vin shrugged. "...you didn't call me in here because you're mad about the whole 'catching you' thing, right?"

"Far from it," Abby said, shaking her head. "Though that is one of the things I want to talk with you about. In the short time the guard has existed, other than the start of a rather flimsy drug operation, we've been lucky enough that the worst we've had to deal with have been some petty squabbles and a few minor instances of theft. Though I'm not so naive as to think we won't have more severe issues coming our way soon enough."

"Like another Patty?" Vin ventured.

"Among other things. At the moment, the only people who know about your False Life spell are the council, myself, and Golrim. Along with whomever else you may have told. In a world without access to DNA kits, I'm probably going to need to call on you and your spell to help with murder cases. At least until myself or some of the other guards gain some passives or Capstones to help."

"I guess I don't mind helping," Vin said slowly, wondering if that was actually true. If he were being honest with himself, as much as he loved magic, False Life was probably one of his least favorite spells. He knew he wasn't actually bringing people back from the dead or anything like that, but it was still rather eerie to speak with corpses. As it turned out, death magic was not his preferred affinity. Even so, he understood the importance of helping the new guard solve heinous crimes such as murder, so he'd just have to suck up his discomfort and do what he could when needed.

"Excellent. Normally, I'd give you one of our new badges to signify to others that you're a specialist working with the guard, but I'm pretty sure The Roamer can already pretty much go where he pleases."

Vin rolled his eyes at the nickname, but he couldn't argue the point. He hated the near-worship he seemed to get from some of the newer Earthers, but it was true that at this point the number of people that seemed comfortable having an actual discussion with him was growing slim.

At least he could always count on the likes of Frank and Spur to tell him he was being an idiot when it counted.

"You said False Life was only one of the things you wanted to talk about," Vin reminded her. "What else is there?"

"I wanted to ask about the feasibility of you creating artifacts for us," Abby said, leaning forward over her desk and fixing him with a determined look. "I only know of a few of your spells, but I'm well aware that you are capable of detecting living creatures. If there were some way for you to enchant our guard badges with the same ability, or others like it, that would be a huge boon."

"I've never made an artifact before," Vin admitted, thinking over his known spells and wondering how many of them would be of use to Abby and her guards. Even only looking at his tier 0 spells, as there was no way in hell he'd try making an artifact with anything stronger just yet, he was surprised to realize that a good chunk of them would probably be useful.

Sense Life would let them check areas for survivors or know if someone was sneaking up on them… Sense Death would help them find dead bodies… Sense Magic would be huge for finding people like Theodore that have illusion-based abilities they're capable of hiding within…

While he pondered the many uses of his tier 0 spells, Abby reached into her desk and pulled out three guard badges, each one a simple silver star. "I don't know what goes into crafting an artifact, but if you're willing to try, here are a few spares in case you destroy the first one. I doubt I have to tell you there will be problems if I learn you gave these out to other people."

"Don't worry, I'll keep them on me," Vin said, accepting the badges and dropping them into one of his pockets. "I'm not making any promises, but I'll do my best. It might be a while however, I've literally never done this before."

"I understand," Abby nodded. "Thank you for taking the time to speak with me. Like I said, I'll be in touch if we need you and your magic to help with any crimes."

Nodding his understanding, Vin left the vice-captain and the new guardhouse behind him, his mind still awhirl with all the potential artifacts he might be able to create. He'd thought about it before of course, but normally he'd spent his time imagining things he could create for himself. But artifacts for other people…

"Guess I should start making a Christmas list," Vin muttered, chuckling to himself as he made his way back to the town hall. His artifacts could wait for the moment.

First, he had to see how Terra was truly holding up.