The Power of Ten

Chapter 5-125: A Little Project

“So, how’s the projects coming along?” I asked him. It had been almost two months since we’d parted ways, but I had his number, and Master Fred was happy to keep in touch with him.

“Hmm. Which one of the four?”

“Take them in order. I’m patient.”

“Nothing on either side of the Wall has actually noticed what we’ve been doing. Each night we pop them off is at least a thousand meters from the previous ones, and given the size of the Wall, we actually haven’t even been in the same area twice. My superiors think it’s a little strange the way I’m moving stations, but I just told them I’m testing a different kind of magic out for a wizardess, and the others don’t mind swapping with me for a night.”

“So, progress has been steady.”

“Yes,” he agreed soberly. “It’s unreal. In the past month, I’ve gained more Levels than I have for the rest of my entire life, and it’s only shooting for fifteen minutes a day. This is unbelievable, Lady Traveler.”josei

“Did the Infinite Ammo Cylinder I sent you help?” Given his Gun could Morph, it would just transform from a revolver cylinder into whatever kind of magazine was appropriate.

“It means I could keep Father Bower shooting a lot longer, but we all agreed that it is more important that we be able to keep shooting every day, rather than shooting longer and possibly being discovered,” he said firmly.

“Agreed. What kind of progress have you been making?”

“I confess to being amazed I had the Celestial Bloodline, just like you thought. I doubt I’ll ever get to Ten in it and my wings, but the minor spells are pretty handy. I admit I prefer the benefits of the Monk studies... I’ve been doing everything with the Sun and Zen stuff I can.”

“Tell me you took Cleric Levels,” I chided him.

“I took Cleric Levels,” he sighed, and I cheered him on from way over here. “I thought I’d be drawn to Harse, but it turns out I’m aligned more to the Holy Light of Aru. It was kind of surreal...”

“Aru is by far the most potent god against the undead, not Harse. Harse sends the dead on their way, but it is Aru who cleanses the undead from the world, and holds them from the living with His Light. You are finally cleansing the undead... that doesn’t surprise me at all. Mithar serves the Sun of Suns too, you know.”

“I do,” he agreed. The Good and Sun Domains were an incredibly powerful combination if you wanted to kill the undead. Pretty much all Paladin spells were Good, just for starters, and the Sun Domain effects dovetailed with Smites and all sorts of explosive Goodness.

“How’s your Eyes of Heaven?” I inquired.

“Three’s in all of them. First Mastery to get that high, with the Smites following. The idea that Invested Sun ki can power Paladin Smites still astonishes me...”

“Changed your Favored Class benefit out for innate energy resist, right?”

“One point each fire, cold, acid, lightning, thunder, as instructed. It’s nice not getting deafened by gunshots, and I’m never cold or hot on duty anymore. Just for convenience of life, it’s pretty nice.”

“One of the nicest perks of being a Paladin, really,” I agreed. “I mean, anyone could use gold and enough magic to do the same thing, but it’s built right in for you guys. How’s the Stat line for you?”

“I completed the base Stat Masteries, and I’ve Archer at Five. My Assay says Str/Dex/Con of 15, 16, and 14, and Int/Wis/Charisma of 10/12/17. I’ve Archer/6 ready to go all the time, but I’m trying to build up all the Classes that give the most Stat buffs before I hit it.”

It didn’t matter that he had a low Wisdom for the Cleric Class, as he was a Paladin, and already qualified to Cast via Charisma. He could advance the Cleric Matrix, and just fill the Slots with Paladin spells instead.

“Excellent news. And Father Bower?”

“He’s been getting a lot more accurate with his shooting,” the distant Paladin said cheerfully. “He’s even been talking about taking up trick shooting with his revolver. Taking the Masteries is good for him, and he’s also waiting on that Monk Level. He’s getting by with Zen and Sun Stuff like me... and no, he hasn’t told Helix he’s using the Heavenly Bloodline for Sorcery. He’s got just enough Charisma to make Four in multiple Classes, so they’ll be his fuel for Nogging. He and Helix have been getting into some old rhythm and blues stuff from before the Last War, and can get quite an audience while they are practicing.”

I nodded. The older Priest of Harse was going to find some of his Advancement Paths limited by his Vows and Alignment, just like a Paladin. Oddly enough, Bards could be Lawful Good, but Minstrels could not... and the only Bards who could were basically Heralds, Standard Bearers, or Messengers in their duties, definitely not Court Entertainers. They were more agents of a crown or government then wandering musicians, with loyalties to the land and its people, not just the forces of nature.

The Heavenly Bloodline was the alternate version of the Celestial Bloodline. It had a slightly different focus to it, but the main thing was that it operated off the Wisdom Stat, not the Charisma Stat. It was highly appropriate for faithful Clerics of the Good powers who wanted to dabble in some Mystic Theurgy, as their Divine magic would actually alter whatever their intrinsic Bloodline was to the Heavenly one for them.

Of course, if they fell from Good, they’d lose the Bloodline, too. However, getting the power of Good flowing in from multiple directions never hurt anyone...

“And how is our wonder boy? Is he taking this opportunity seriously?”

“Well, he ditched the staff, and is toting around a Windbow now. His preferred offense is snap-shooting incorps with Feints, and wrapping his windshots in his Lightning Reserve for extra kick. Oh, you will love this.” I lifted an eyebrow at his tone. “He found an alternate Monk path for a Chaotic Good person.”

My mind raced over the possibilities. I didn’t say it wasn’t possible, but it wasn’t going to be a true Monk class, per se. “He begged me to set up a phone call with Windgraf Kochtal two weeks ago. Was it since then?”

“Yes, it was.” The Paladin sounded impressed. “He’s being coy about it. What’s all that about?”

“He’s a Djinni-blood Sorcerer. There’s an arm of Dragon Hand Adepts called the Fists of the Djinn who use a style called the Cloud Soaring Art, pretty similar to the Wind Dragon, except they focus more on archery than fisticuffs. I imagine he’s doing a lot of breathing exercises, and running around a lot?”

“Even more than usual,” the Paladin confirmed.

“Their lightfoot techniques apply when flying, so he’s going to be much quicker than an average Caster once he gets back into the air. Huh. He must be using a variant Arcane Pool instead of a Ki Pool to do what he’s doing. Does his ki feel off to you?”

“It does, now that you mention it. Feels like his Bloodline,” Sir Pellier replied after a moment’s thought.

“Mechanically, he’s not using ki, he’s using an Arcane Pool, like a Magus. It’s probably something only a Genie-blood of his line can follow, which is fine. Has he hinted that he’ll be taking a trip to Detroit soon?”

“He said he wants to go meet the ancestor of his Bloodline, although I have my suspicions that is actually true,” Sir Pellier noted.

“No, he’s hinting that the Windgraf might make him a Stormbound Warlock.” Which wasn’t actually that bad a choice. As far as magic was concerned, they were kin. “He might even have a shot of being adopted into the Clan as a human relation. Djinn-blooded Sorcerers aren’t common... and he’s definitely got the young djinn attitude down.”

“Not having worked with genies, I’ll have to take your word for it. In short, Lady Traveler, Helix has actually surprised me with how seriously he’s taking this... and he’s already Nogged off his Minstrel Slots for his Intellect. It’s made him a lot more thoughtful then he used to be. His mouth is still talking before his brain, it’s just he’s actually thinking while it’s on autopilot, instead of daydreaming.”

“Well, that is a marked improvement...”

“How about yourself?”

“I completed my last Three at dusk last night. Tomorrow I take my Four, and set my Arcane Sage Sorceress as my Primary Class.”

“That is a big moment for anyone,” he encouraged me, seeing as how it basically determined the rest of anyone’s life.

“I would like to say it’s a big moment, but it’s basically just a stepping stone to Five. At Five, things get heavy.”

“Right, the Theurgic boost,” he nodded understanding. “That’s some powerful stuff, just on the face of it. That will take you right to Ten, right?”

“Ten Casting, yes. And at that time, I plan to go to Yellowstone and start an immediate assault team in the Firezone there. Would you like to come with Father Bower and Helix?”

He paused thoughtfully, for just a moment. “I don’t have a Weapon configuration for dealing with creatures of Fire,” he admitted.

“You still have a Slot to open on Lady Florentine, correct? Have you started on it?” I asked.

“Yes and no. I was debating what to put into it, leaning towards Zen Weapon...”

“The effect you want is Elemental Phasing, starting with Cold. You can use your Gun Spirit or a Magic Weapon Casting to change it to any other Element. The ability to do it between the Elements without a spell takes two Slots, but, you’re Powered; take advantage of it!”

“That does sound useful,” he agreed. “That will max her out at Five Slots, however.”

“So, you’ll have to start pumping her up as an Item Familiar. There will be a lot of fighting out there, Paladin. No conserving ammo at all. There will be rep counts up the kazoo, there will be vivic explosions, there will be Karma like you will not believe.

“Picture being on the Wall, and being able to open up and kill all night with optimized Gear against the spirits there. We are going to be working towards that point.

“Oh, and one way or another, there is going to be a lot of goldweight. Don’t be worrying about money to burn.”

“I’m not greedy, but that is music to anyone’s ears,” he admitted. “Alright, I can safely say for all three of us that we’re in, but we’ll have to arrange things through channels.”

“Excellent. I’ll formally put in a request through Heavenbound Hall that you be detached for special research duties in the Firezone. That should speed things right up.”

I could hear him smile on the far end. “That will indeed make things simpler. I’ll let them know the destination and enemies, and we can start making preparations. I’ll give Master Fred a call if there’s a bunch of questions.”

“Excellent. I’ll get back to you with details on where to meet up. Take care, Paladin.”

“You too, Lady Traveler.”

He hung up, and I handed the phone back to Master Fred...