The Five-Ring Seal

Chapter 2: A Canticle of Beginnings

Bard woke up in the room he had rented the day before. Shaking the sleeplessness out of his eyes, he rose and walked over to the window. Throwing back the curtains, he surveyed the town. The sun had just finished creeping over the tops of the tallest buildings, providing the whole town with warmth and light. Looking down at the various byways and alleys, the events of the previous day came rushing back to him. Who was this Toliver guy? How did he find that warehouse? And how could he use that Art? Such questions, Bard decided, were best answered over a meal. Donning a pair of deer hide pants, followed by a red silken shirt, a pair of high-cuffed boots, and a white fur mantle, Bard left the room and walked to the commons. 

When Bard arrived, he noticed that the tavern was oddly empty, save for the barkeep. Sitting down at an empty table, Bard got his thoughts in order. 

"Yesterday, Ok. I was accosted by a strange individual, got kidnapped and almost died, but was saved by said individual. He was a mage, but also a swordsman, I think?"

Shaking his head, Bard rose again, this time to get some food. The Barkeep, seeing him approach, pulled a plate out from under the bar and filled it with sausages, scrambled eggs, fresh strawberries, and a slice of toast. Bard thanked the barkeep and took the plate. As he did, he heard a thunk at his table, followed by a clattering sound and a string of curses. Whipping around, he saw strawberries strewn across the floor. the seemed to be rolling away from a plate that had been dropped on the floor. Next to the plate was Toliver, clutching his knee and swearing. 

"Son of a-" he seethed. "Every damn time!"

Stiffening, Bard started to sneak his way to the door. Of all the people he did not want to see, Toliver was number two on the list, falling closely behind his parents. Slipping behind the wooden frame, Bard moved as fast as he could without dropping his food, as Toliver had just done. He eventually made it to his room. It was simple, with a bed on one side, a desk on the other, with a window separating the two. Placing his plate down on the table, he breathed a sigh of relief. Picking up his lute, Bard began to pluck a few notes. He started with a C, then up the octave to the next B, back down to a G#, and finishing with the same G. 

Taking a deep breath, Bard felt that he had to make a decision. He had been staying in Cullia for almost 4 months. His renown as a Bard had grown, and now weird things were happening to him. "At this rate, I should just pack up and leave." 

Gathering his things took very little time. Bard had been on the road for most of his life, so he had learned to travel light and fast. With all of his personal belongings in a Rucksack, Bard finally sat down to eat his, now cold, breakfast. After polishing it off, he hoisted his bag and lute over his shoulder, and made his way to the door. He opened it and was suddenly pushed backwards. 

"What the hell!' Bard shouted. "What's your problem with me?" 

Toliver, who was standing in the door, responded, "Are you leaving?"

Toliver was dressed as he was the day before with once key difference. He had added a single pauldron to his left shoulder, along with a set of armor along his arm reaching down to his wrist. Bard also noticed for the first time that Toliver's hair was brown and pulled back into a short ponytail. 

"Yes, I am. Let me through!" Bard sputtered.

"No. You aren't leaving without hearing what I have to say."

Sighing, Bard put his things down. It's simple, he figured. Listen to some incessant dribble for 10 minutes, and the go on his merry way. 

"What do you want?"

"I want to buy you"

".... Excuse me?"

"I mean hire! I want to hire you on as my personal Bard. I want you to like, follow me around and make songs about how great I am!"

Bard fell silent for a second before responding.

"That is one of the most self-centered, arrogant, classist, narcissistic, self-serving things I've ever heard. I don't know if you meant that insultingly, but I am insulted."

"What! Why!" Toliver exclaimed.

"Because it undermines everything that Bard's stand for!" Bard responded. "Besides, could you even afford my services? I'm not cheap by any stretch of the imagination."

Toliver balked at this statement. He obviously had not thought that far. "I could pay you in exposure?"

"Now that was just rude." Bard responded.

"I can't argue that. I wouldn't want to be paid in exposure either." Toliver sighed. "How about this. Instead of being my private Bard, you join my adventuring team on a 50% per commission rate. That way you would have a stable source of income, be will still be able to do your Bard-y things. I get you; you get to travel. Win-win, right?"

Bard though for a second. It really was a good offer. He had a chance to spread his music, and getting half of the rewards from quests accepted at the guild was better than most Bards could hope for. However, he would have to put up with Toliver. That also didn't sate his curiosity entirely.

"I'll accept, under one condition." he said. "You have to explain your Art to me." Toliver sharpened when Bard said this. "I won't travel with you if you don't tell me what your deal is."

"I told you yesterday! This magic is my own!"

"That's not good enough," Bard shot back. "You need to tell me everything, down to the last detail."

Toliver seemed torn. For a moment, Bard thought that he was going to walk out without telling him, until Toliver held out his hand. "I'm going to need a piece of paper."

Toliver took the paper and started drawing. As he did, Bard slowly started to recognize the drawing. It was the seal that had appeared in front of Toliver the day before. 

"So, how my magic works is through a series of rings. The innermost one is my archetype ring." Toliver explained. "It controls how I'm equipped. I have Magician, Gladiator, Ronin, and Barbarian. I'm in Magician mode now."

"Next, there's the magic ring. That controls the element of my attacks. I have Lightning, Fire, Wind, Ice, and Spirit. Just between you and me, Spirit is useless. It won't even cut!"

"Each of my archetypes match up. My magic has modes that it works best with. For example, Lightning works best with Gladiator. Spirit doesn't work well with anything, which just adds to it's uselessness."

"What about the outermost ring?" Bard asked.

"I honestly don't know" Toliver replied. "I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually. So, I've revealed my secrets to you. Can we go now?"

Bard took a second to decide. He still didn't have his deepest question answered, which was how Toliver could use sword Arts. However, Bard felt that in time, he would learn.

"Alright, I'll travel with you. Where are we headed?"