Magical Engineering [Progression Fantasy, LitRPG] (Book 3 Complete)

Alex

I examined the thief class first, as it was the one I was most unsure about having taken. There was some small part of me that still cried against the moral implications of having that as a name, but if it at all helped to save my son, morality be damned.

Path of the Yoink cemented in my brain that William's kidnapping had changed me on a fundamental level, and had done so quickly. While before I might have been willing to long think over the path, I doubt I'd ever have said yes to it. Now I could only read it and see the great potential in being able to take whatever I needed toward my cause.

Eagle Eye had a lot of potential as well. Would it help me to overcome what the jesters had done to me before? How had Dad ignored them? I knew he had faced them in the Arena at one point, but I wasn't entirely sure what he had done to escape their influence. That was another thing to discuss with Mel as I read through the scout class.

Multitalented explained what had Mel so excited. It was interesting that while the descriptions were exactly the same on both paths, the experience requirements were different. How exactly was experience requirements determined then? If the abilities were exactly the same, why would those numbers fluctuate? Wait, was experience even the same across the same class orbs?

The more I thought about all of this, the more I realized I had been wasting so much time on what I could have learned. I had been pregnant, and deeply enjoying being reasonably safe with my family again, and I had let myself slack far too much. I almost wished I had my mom's voice right now pushing me.

Path of the Land seemed a bit philosophical in its description, not that they all didn't, but it felt even more so than the others. I guessed it would focus more on my ability to fight or maybe just operate on different terrain. Considering how much of the unknown we were heading into, would it allow me to specialize in things like chaotic space? Was it possible to be a specialist in handling the complete unknown?

I hoped Path of the Map had more than just cartography within it. I had no time to spend mapping the locations I came to, and if I only gained benefits from doing so, it didn't seem as though it would be that useful in the immediate future. Then again, it was possible pairing it with Eagle Eye might produce something better,

While I hadn't played D&D since early college, I remembered enough to draw some comparisons between the ranger and scout classes. Actually, had there just been a scout class? Either way, it seemed very much that this focused heavily on understanding the geography better as a way to grow.

If I were understanding the implications of combining the four paths I had together, and that assumed the abilities underneath the paths went in directions I thought they did, I was starting to get a good idea on why Mel considered these the best options. If they actually grew to fit me, like he had suggested, and I had no reason to doubt they wouldn't, the result could easily be something useful during this chase. Fighting on alien soil and stealing back my child were both goals potentially made easier by them.

"When I looked at my mana orb, I gained two quests. Neither of them has rewards associated with them. Is that normal?" I asked Mel, finally closing out of the class menu.

"Yeah. Not all quests tell ya their rewards ahead of time. They all give one, though. Even if the reward seems odd or strange, they still give it. It's a pretty standard feature of quests. I'm guessing ya got two involving our current plans?" Mel asked after his explanation, his eyes seeming to narrow as they looked at me.

"Yes. One to rescue William and one to kill a hundred jesters. I plan to both," I replied, entirely serious. I wasn't sure I could even make a joke if I tried at the moment.

"Good. Hold that anger. Focus it. Yer gonna need it the further we go." Mel's eyes continued their odd appraisal of me as he spoke.

"One more question. How did Dad ignore the jesters when they attacked him?" I asked, needing that answer possibly more than any other for the future.

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"Thank Corey fer that. He was about ta do whatever those manipulative pieces of shit wanted when Corey attacked, breaking their hold on him. And yes, before ya ask, that means we all gotta make sure to shield ourselves from that. I'm already immune thanks ta my physiology, but the rest of ya, well, that's gonna be the first thing we work on once we're on the ship," Mel explained.

"I will need to learn that. I will never let one of those monsters in my head again." A renewed fury entered my voice as the memory hit me again, exposing that fresh emotional wound again.

"Alex, ya need ta try ta get some sleep. I know ya prolly won't get much, but ya gotta try anyway. We've done as much as we can tonight, so go try." It wasn't a question, not even an order. It was almost a plea. Mel was worried about me, and he was right to be so.

"I'll try," I answered, nodding to the floating cloud man before opening one of the untouched doors in the room. Inside was a bed barely the size of a twin. It didn't matter, though. I wasn't here for my own comfort. Lying down, I prepared myself for what would most likely be a night spent staring at the ceiling.

I had been wrong about the previous night. Eventually, sleep did find me. It would have been preferable had it not. The nightmares of William crying were not a reminder of my failure that I needed. The memory was plenty and unlikely to ever vanish.

The walk back to the gate network, as well as the brief time we spent in different worlds, passed in a haze. I knew it had taken seven gates to get us to our final destination, but the world around me as we stepped foot on each new place barely registered in my brain. This was very much something I'd need to work past. I couldn't let myself be so utterly ignorant of my surroundings.

Walking from the last gate, I attempted to put the desire into practice and found it a much easier thought than the reality of actually doing it. My mental state was worse than it had been yesterday, and from the glances of John and Maud, they could both tell as well. I forced myself to take a look around the city as we passed through it.

I almost did a double-take as I finally took in where we were. It wasn't so much a city as it was a collection of buildings surrounded by a giant wharf. This hadn't become entirely apparent until we were near the ships.

But that hadn't been the part that caused such a reaction in me. No, it was instead the fact that these docks had been built over a deep blackness, with no water anywhere in sight. The light that permeated the area was not from a star, as all the planets I had been to so far had shared. Instead, there was a series of long tears in the blackness that emitted something similar but not quite the same as the sunlight I was used to.

"This is amazing. Where even are we?" Maud asked loudly as one of the cats purred gently, perched on her shoulder.

"I told you yesterday, this is Last Safe Harbor, it's one of the few places connected to any of the wider Spiral gate networks that isn't directly attached to the Spiral itself. It ain't the only place to get to chaotic space, but it's one of the easier ways," Yorela answered

"All of the tears in the sky are different entrances to chaotic space that are held in place by some very powerful magic. And assuming nothing has changed since my time, the existence of this magic and this place is a big mystery," Sanquar added.

"It hasn't. Then again, with how few chaos explorers there are anymore, no one is really trying ta figure out the answer. But like Sanquar said, this place was found like this a long time ago, and it's been used as a hub for transport into chaotic space since," Mel explained.

"Yeah, it's Squidlen's favorite spot, and that looks like his ship over there!" Yorela shouted the last part, pointing to a giant craft floating in the sky.

I wasn't sure ship was the right word for it. It looked more like a dirigible than a boat. It was possible airship was another name for a dirigible, but I wasn't entirely sure. Outside of the Hindenburg disaster, I knew next to nothing about them. What was the balloon for? It didn't seem likely that it was full of hydrogen or helium.

I had missed any further conversation as I considered the ship, instead finding we had started walking at a rapid pace toward where Yorela had pointed. Taking several deep breaths, I worked to calm my raging thoughts. There was the real possibility I needed to help convince Yorela's friend to take us on board, and that meant being able to talk without breaking down.

There were dozens of workers moving crates down a large staircase that was connected to the side of a hatch on the airship. Near the base of the stairs stood several people, one of them with a clipboard that they kept scribbling on as every crate passed them. The people doing the unloading appeared entirely human. The ones with the paperwork, on the other hand, I could almost mistake for humans if it wasn't for their four legs.

Their top half resembled humans close enough, if not perhaps a bit too tall for the average. Each of them sported a red beard of varying lengths. Below the torso was where the similarities stopped. Their legs were positioned in a way that resembled the base of a chair, but from the way they were moving, they looked to have at least something like knees.

"Squiddy," Yorela said as we neared the four-legged group. She hadn't greeted him nearly the same way she had her last friend.

"Well, if it ain't a sight for sore eyes. Didn't think I'd ever see you gracing my presence again. You aren't here to kill me, are you?" The man with the longest beard asked as he turned toward us.

"Nah, I've mostly forgiven you for saving my life by this point. Need to discuss booking passage," Yorela replied.

"That might be the biggest surprise I've heard in years. What could possibly have you not only speaking to me again but also needing a lift? Wait, is this a conversation better had inside?" Squidlen asked, his head turning toward us. His eyes moved to each of us, resting briefly before moving to the next. Finally, after settling on the empty space near me, he shook his head and spoke again. "Yeah, it certainly is. Alright, come on."

"Appreciate the understanding," Yorela said, moving to follow the man as he started to climb the staircase.

He led us through the hatch at the top of the stairs into a giant cargo bay and then through several corridors, finally opening a large door at the end of one. He had started whistling something the moment we were aboard and only stopped once we reached that door. "Please find a seat," he said as he opened it.

Unlike the barren corridors, the room we walked into was well decorated with a thick carpet covering the floor. In the center of the room sat a large circular table with several smaller ones and strange-looking devices lining the walls. It looked like a cross between a casino and a conference room.

The door made a latching sound as it shut behind us, pulling me away from my examination of the room. "We need to hunt down a jester ship," Yorela said, the second we had heard the sound.

Squidlen burst into laughter, then stopped, seeming to realize there was no joke. "Damn, you're serious?" he said, his tone shifting from jovial to concerned.

"Jesters attacked a faction I've allied myself with and stole my friend's son," Yorela pointed to me as she said this. "We need to get her kid back and make sure they understand the consequences of their actions."

"And this, of course, means you are on a hard deadline and want me to set sail immediately?" he asked, his eyes turning to focus heavily on me.

I gave him a meek nod in return while Yorela answered more directly. "If we could have left yesterday, I'd have done that. Took us a day to find you, so we are already running behind. I'm not gonna lie and pretend that if you say no, we'll find someone else. You and I both know you're the only real chance that kid has. So are you willing to let an innocent baby die or not?"

"You know, I was thinking about retiring and everything. But no, here comes Yorela, somehow with her is Melhelm of the Halberd, Sanquar, a couple of humans, and a primal mana beast needing to hunt down a kidnapped baby." He raised his hands and scratched his beard after saying this. "I imagine I'll live to regret this, but if I do, that means I lived," he continued after the brief pause.

He reached into a pocket on the front of his coat, pulled out a small black stone, and set it on the table in front of us. It started to shift color, and once it reached a bright orange, he spoke again. "Get the cargo unloaded immediately. We're leaving port in ten minutes. If you aren't back on board, you're getting your ass left before."

"Thank you," I said, feeling another small bit of weight lift from my chest now. We had transport. That was forward momentum.

"Hey, which of the cats is a primal mana beast? I didn't think either was," Maud said, sounding confused.

"Neither of them, I was referring to that beast," Squidlen said as he pointed to the air near me. The moose shimmered into view.

"Shiny shiny shiny, so many shiny things. I collect the shiny things, and for a price, perhaps I could part with the shiny things. Or maybe I could trade the shiny things for more shiny things?"

Beware the Corvid Crone. Her trades are rarely what they appear. Many a lost traveler has found her shop desperate and willing to give anything for help. Those who have walked away, able to tell the tale, say it seemingly appeared from nowhere when their need was at its greatest.

In my own case, she offered me treasures and sights that I would not have believed her capable of fulfilling had I not heard the stories from other, more hapless patrons. I, having the benefit of purposely seeking her out, refused these deals. I knew the price she demanded. I neither wished to join her flock nor offer her part of my soul.

To my great luck, she found my visit entertaining. I fear I greatly underestimated her power, and should she not have enjoyed the distraction, I don't believe I would have walked free from it, insights or not. She is something that is beyond the Spiral itself, like many of the beings of chaotic space; her origins appear elsewhere.

Myths, Legends, or Truths: The Beings of Chaos by Johnny Flakes