Discordant Note | TBATE

Chapter 60: A Teal Cloak

Toren Daen

"I hear you're the new ascender on the block," the stranger said as a greeting. "I remember my prelim. Did you run into any snags?" he asked, sending a knowing look toward the bandages around my chest.

I felt the fantom pinpricks of the carapace shards digging into my chest.

"I was expecting worse," I replied honestly. "I got off light, in my opinion," I said, tapping my chest.

The other man looked at me skeptically. "Most new ascenders hope not to be wounded at all on their prelims. It's a mark of pride if you make it out unscathed," the man said, a bit confused.

I looked down at my golden cider. I could just barely sense mana in the liquid, no doubt due to the special brew. "That's a bit foolish," I said, speaking my thoughts. "If you make it out of those ruins unscathed, you clearly didn't struggle enough." How much could a person grow without adversity? Not much.

"That's an interesting perspective," the stranger said. "Most would rather have an easy ascent, reaping the rewards instead of seeking to grow stronger."

I shrugged. "The Relictombs are a trial," I replied. "One designed to test your limits in more ways than one."

They were designed to bestow an insight into aether in each zone, hand-crafted by the reality-warping djinn to keep their knowledge alive. It had failed in that goal for millennia.

I wonder what kind of insight somebody could get from that horrible collage mimicking my old world? I wondered, staring at my drink. I felt tempted to take another sip, but I resisted the urge. What would the odds be that I could somehow gain insight into dimensional travel?

The stranger continued to look at me strangely. My mind, working at only sixty percent of its normal speed, realized something important. This so-called ascender hadn't given his name.

"This man has asked only questions," Lady Dawn said with suspicion. "Tread carefully. Your tongue may wag more than you wish."

I've got it, I said to my bond.

"I don't think I got your name, friend," I said, gesturing my cup toward the white-haired man. "I'm sure you heard mine earlier. Toren Daen, ascender extraordinaire," I said loftily.

That got a slight smirk from the man across from me. "Call me Nerves. I visit this bar sometimes when I get back from my ascents."

That was a very obvious alias. What mother would name their child Nerves? Sounded like a recipe for anxiety disorder.

"So you're an ascender, too, Nerves?" I asked, feeling my buzz beginning to drift away now that I'd stopped drinking. A mage's metabolism worked fast, and my partly assimilated body boosted that even higher. "How long have you been at it?"

"I have been delving for several years," Nerves replied, sparing a glance toward my unemptied mug. "Though my own prelim was quite the experience. The Relictombs is a strange place, unpredictable despite our Sovereigns' efforts."

I tilted my head. "I think the Sovereigns have made a decent bit of progress on conquering these ruins," I said, thinking of these first and second layers. An entire civilization acted on just these two levels, self-sustainable through resources cultivated here. "The death toll has gone down significantly with the introduction of simulets, and the fact that I can have a drink here speaks to how civilized it is."

Nerves leaned toward me slightly. The hustle and bustle of the tavern seemed to fall away as he focused on me with sharp intensity. "That's true," he acknowledged. "But as you said, the Relictombs are a trial. But do you think anybody has completed the trial?"