The crowd broke up and people hurried in different directions. Grigor glanced at Devin, then turned as a woman with two young girls following her hurried out of a nearby building towards him.

  Casey touched Devin’s shoulder. “How’d I do?” she said. She sounded nervous.

  “Are you kidding? I’ve seen Presidential candidates with less poise.”

  “What’s a Presidential candidate?” she said.

  He shook his head. “Maybe later. We should … what’s that?”

  A glowing ‘A’ appeared above Casey’s head. At the same moment, she closed her eyes and crossed her palms in front of her.

  Devin focused on the A, and a text alert popped up.

  Achievement Unlocked! Silver Tongue – Casey convinced a group of citizens to risk their lives and families on a forlorn hope. You’ve got ‘it,’ kid! Whatever ‘it’ is.

  Reward: Casey gained the Boost ‘Silver Tongued.’ Provides a permanent +1 bonus to Social. This bonus will scale with your levels.

  “Nice!” Devin said as Casey’s eyes popped open.

  “Rainford has blessed me with … wait, do you know already?”

  Devin wanted to kick himself. He’d just highlighted what his interface could do in the middle of town, where everyone could see. He could feel Milo’s eyes on him.

  “Uh … yeah. My, um … instincts told me. I wasn’t spying on you or anything.”

  “It’s fine, Devin. I’m surprised, that’s all.” She shook her head. “I shouldn’t be. I knew Rainford had sent you, so of course he’ll allow you to see his blessings.”

  It took him a second to decide how to respond to that.

  “You can trust me,” he said.

  Her lips twitched up. “I know.”

  Achievement Unlocked! I Fought the Law – You assaulted a government building and escaped.

  Reward: All Primary Attributes +1.

  The whole party has earned this reward!

  (Casey is an apex Copper level enhanced. Attribute increases will be held until you reach Silver level.)

  Achievement Unlocked! More Bees with Honey – You talked your way past a pitchfork-wielding mob of ‘innocent’ citizens instead of slaughtering them.

  Reward: All Primary Attributes +1, All Secondary Attributes +1.

  The whole party has earned this reward!

  (Casey is an apex Copper-level enhanced. Attribute increases will be held until you reach Silver level.)

  Devin – Wait. Casey, you’re apex level? How do we get you to Silver?

  Casey – We can’t. Not right now, anyway.

  Devin – What? Why not?

  Casey – It’s complicated.

  Devin – How did I know you were going to say that? Well, at least the Boost is nice. And they go up every level?

  Milo – Yes. Attribute-increasing Boosts are powerful, and they’re only available at Copper and Silver levels. Priestess Casey now has two Boosts that increase her Social Attribute.

  A thought hit Devin, and he frowned.

  Devin invited Milo to a Private Chat.

  Milo accepted.

  Devin – You told me that people here are innumerate.

  Milo – Correct.

  Devin – So explain how enhanced people understand all these numbers?

  Milo – I told you not to think too hard about the interface details, Devin. What you’re seeing and hearing isn’t what everyone else sees and hears. Other people can receive the same information you do but it’s in a different form. Priestess Casey experiences enhancement as a devout follower of a benevolent deity. A farmer who was enhanced would understand their Attributes in terms of nature and seasons. The data is the same, but it’s transmitted differently.

  Devin – The media always influences the messaging, though.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Milo – Is this really what you want to do, Devin? Debate the philosophy of communication with me?

  Devin – No. It’s not.

  Milo – Just try not to think too hard about how everything works. It’ll make your life easier.

  Devin – How the hell do you expect me not to think too hard about how the new world I got thrown into works?

  Milo – I don’t know. How much time do you spend thinking about how gravity works?

  Devin – Hm. Point taken.

  Grigor approached them with a bundle of food in one hand and a blacksmith’s hammer in the other. “What’s the plan?” he said.

  “We’re heading southeast,” Devin said.

  Grigor frowned. “You’re not coming with us?”

  “We’ve got something we have to take care of,” Devin said. “It won’t take long, and it’ll hopefully draw pursuit. That’s all I can tell you for now.”

  “I hope you’re not planning to leave us hanging in the wind,” Grigor said.

  “We won’t,” Casey said.

  “Good. Getting this mob of civilians all the way across the country this time of year is going to be nearly impossible even without soldiers nipping at our heels.”

  “Civilians,” Devin said. “That’s an interesting choice of words for a blacksmith. Were you in the army?”

  Grigor gave him a look and held out the large bundle.

  “I figure if you’re going to help us, you’ll need to eat,” he said. “My sister Genevive packed this for you.”

  Devin took the bundle. It was two canteens of water, and a pack stuffed full of dried meat and fruits.

  “I can’t take this,” Devin said. “You might need it.”

  Grigor shrugged. “If you don’t come back, all the food in the kingdom won’t save us.” He held out the hammer. “This is my spare. It’s got some wear, but it’s still good.”

  “Are you sure?” Devin said. “I already have these.” He patted the short sword and dagger on his belt.

  “Take it anyway,” Grigor said. “I’ll have to leave it here otherwise. You never know when you’ll need a sturdy hammer.”

  Small Hammer (Tool/Weapon, Uncommon)

  This is a finely made blacksmith’s hammer. Attacks with it will be made based on – you guessed it - your ‘Improvise Weapon’ ability!

  Devin raised an eyebrow. “This is awesome. Thank you.”

  “Thank the Priestess, youngster,” Grigor said. He nodded at Casey. “She’s the one who convinced everyone.” He glanced at Devin’s outfit. “I’d loan you some clothes, but I don’t think they’d fit. You may want to find a mudhole to roll in and tone things down.”

  Devin blinked. Grigor gave Casey a look, then walked away.

  Devin looked down at his clothes. “Is it really that bad?” he said.

  “It’s not bad,” Casey said. He kept looking where her eyes should be to see if she was making fun of him, but she had no facial expressions to read.

  Devin turned to Milo. His body language held enough mockery for both of them.

  “It's worse than bad,” Milo said. “You look like a barbarian playing dress up.”

  Devin groaned.

  They didn’t waste any time getting out of town. As soon as they were out of sight of the crowd, they stopped to check on their supplies and make a plan.

  “Is there any chance these people are going to make it?” Devin said in a low voice.

  “Please elaborate,” Milo said.

  “Well, I assume some of those guards went to get help. When will the army get here?”

  Milo studied him for a moment, then turned around to look out over the town. Devin swore he saw a violet light flickering in Milo’s eyes.

  “No guards escaped,” Milo said. “However, several townspeople are agents for the Patriarch, and some of them escaped. They’ll reach the nearest garrison tomorrow morning. It will take the Patriarch’s forces at least a few days to gather a response, but when they do, they're likely to send overwhelming forces. There are several locations from which they can send mounted forces. Even if they make good time, there’s no way the refugees can outrun men on horseback. Minus any measures on our part, the townspeople will be rounded up within a week.”

  “What happens then?” Devin said.

  “That depends on their orders,” Milo said. “I suspect the Patriarch will want them taken alive so he can kill them horribly and publicly to make an example.”

  “We can’t let that happen,” Devin said. “I told Grigor we'd save them.”

  “Agreed,” Milo said. “However, keep in mind the Patriarch will be far more interested in catching you than these townspeople. The force he sends after us will be by far more powerful. If we travel with them in an attempt to protect them, all we’ll do is bring down even more pursuit.”

  Devin nodded. He had many more questions, the most pressing of which was why they were going to back to the farm, but all Milo knew was that’s where Kwaku’s Compass said they should go. Devin still didn’t know who Kwaku was or why he should trust his compass, but neither Milo nor Casey seemed bothered by the idea of following a path on a magic map, and since he was new to all this, he figured he should trust their experience.

  As they walked out of Horgoff, Devin dug deeper into the fight in the clinic. The ability ‘Improvise Weapon’ ability had come up several times, and he wanted to know more.

  ‘Improvise Weapon’ (Intuition, Creativity, Deftness, Might and Agility).

  Using an improvised weapon comes with massive penalties for most people. For you, though, the penalties are only vexing. Or maybe pesky.

  Devin’s whistled and shared the information with Milo.

  “That’s a lot of Attributes,” he said. “Maybe I should use more improvised weapons.”

  “A good idea,” Milo said. “Just remember not to get too cute and get killed because you tried to fight a dangerous creature with a rock or a boot.”

  “I don’t understand why I can use swords and daggers, but a freaking hammer is an improvised weapon. Or an axe – my dad made me chop a forest of firewood when I was a kid.”

  “You used an axe as a tool, not a weapon,” Milo said. “Trust me, there’s a difference. As for the sword and dagger, they’re part of your class. It’s how this works.”

  Devin shrugged. He’d strapped the food onto his back but had nowhere to put his hammer. Casey handed him a small, pink vial. “Try this,” she said. “It’s an adhesion potion. Pour it on the handle, stick it to your belt and it’ll stay put for a day.”

  Devin tipped the potion over the hammer. It flowed out straight onto the handle and collected in an even layer. He poked it. It was sort of like touching wet clay, but it didn’t come off our stick to his fingers.

  He touched the handle to his belt. He flinched when he let go, expecting the hammer to fall on his foot.

  It stayed. He pulled it off. It was sort of like pulling a magnet off a fridge. He put it back, and it stuck again.

  Devin jumped in place. The hammer swung a little but stayed on his belt. He grinned and wiped what had gotten on his fingers onto the front of his shirt. The ruffle turned into a wad of cloth.

  “Better than superglue,” he said. “Do you have any more?”

  “Yes,” Casey said. “I have three more vials, and I can make more. It’s an easy recipe.”

  Devin spent a moment getting all his supplies situated so they wouldn’t rattle around when he walked. The weight was nothing to his enhanced strength, but he still only had so many places to put things.

  He looked at Casey. “I know you’re probably worn out, but we need to get going,” he said.

  “I’m fine,” she said.

  “Good,” he said. “Let me know if you need a break. We can stop to eat after a few …” He stopped and blinked. “Uh. How do you eat?”

  “With an alchemical unguent,” Casey said. “I rub it on my skin. It provides hydration and nourishment.”

  “You have some?” Devin said.

  “Yes,” Casey said.

  “How much?”

  She looked away.

  “Tell me.”

  “I have two vials.”

  “Ah.” Devin nodded. “The ones you took from the Enforcer. How long will they last?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Casey said. “It’ll have to be enough because we can’t get any more. Only Convokers can create it.”

  “What’s a Convoker? Some kind of mage?”

  “Let’s walk and talk,” Casey said. She started towards the road.

  “Wait!” Devin said.

  Milo walked past him, stopping to look at where the glue had ruined Devin’s shirt. He sniffed.

  “Barbarian,” he said.