(Second Book Complete!) Runeblade: A Delving & Skill Merging LitRPG

Leaving the artificer’s shop Kaius made his way through Deadacre with Porkchop glued close to his side. It was interesting to watch how the general populace of the wider city’s reaction to them had changed now that they were not fully suited up in their armour.

He supposed even if his travelling clothes were reinforced with thick leather, they were much closer to standard hunting gear than true protective armaments. Regardless, while plenty of people still openly stared at them, it was with far more curiosity than wariness now.

Internally, Kaius thought that it was Porkchop doing the heavy lifting. Without his barding on display, his coat was revealed in all its gleaming density. He caught sight of more than one child step towards his brother with wide eyes full of delight, only to be snatched back by aghast parents a moment later. More than a few women too.

“What are you smiling about?” Porkchop asked, as he watched a young lady stare at his brother with open want.

Kaius martialed a straight face. “I’ve just watched about fifteen people in the last few blocks who looked like they’d sell their left leg if it meant they got a chance to pet you.”

“What?” Porkchop asked, looking over the moving crowds with curiosity. “Why?”

“Your fur.” he explained, still struggling not to laugh like a mad man in the middle of the street.

“Oh, that makes sense. It is very healthy.” Porkchop said plainly, though Kaius could feel the wave of satisfaction emanating across their bond. It was nearly enough to make him crack.

Shaking his head, he led them onwards, snaking their way towards the caravaneer’s association. They kept to the main streets, the wide arterial pathways that were flooded with carts and foot traffic, even if it was a more winding route. Undoubtedly the smaller roads would be more direct, but even if he knew the basics of the city, he was in no way as familiar with navigating its labyrinth as a local.

Turning a corner, Kaius spotted someone familiar looming head and shoulders out of the crowd, platinum hair shining like a beacon in the summer sun.

Kaius elbowed his brother lightly. “I think that’s Ianmus! He didn’t manage to get a caravan after all, or at least not yet.”

“Let’s hope he’s not just waiting for passage then.” Porkchop replied.

A moment later, Ianmus spotted them from down the street. He raised his hand in a friendly wave, making his way through the thrum of bodies to approach them as his pack thumped against his back.

“I think we might be in luck. He looks a little too hurried for a simple hello.” Kaius mused, smiling as he led the way down the street.

“Kaius!” Ianmus called as soon as he was within normal speaking distance. “I was just coming to ask after you.” The magi gave Porkchop a subtle nod of acknowledgement.

Stepping in, he gave the man a clap on the back. “Ianmus, it’s good to see you. How goes securing your passage to the Dukedoms?” he asked.

“We thought you might have left already.” Porkchop added.

A pained smile crossed Ianmus’s face, the mage stepping off to the side of the street to less impede the flow of traffic.

“Not…great. The association was flooded, and caravans were completely booked for months. They doubled the guard positions on each one, but I didn’t have the levels to secure a working trip.” he explained.

Kaius schooled his expression, trying to keep the victorious joy that flooded his chest from showing on his face.

“Ahhh, that’s a shame. I was worried that might happen.” Kaius said with a sympathetic shake of his head. “How about I treat you to lunch? I actually have something I wanted to ask you about, and we passed an eatery earlier that looked pleasant enough.”

Ianmus’s face brightened, even as he had to rapidly press himself against the stone wall of the building they stood under to avoid a sudden rush of people.

“That sounds great, actually. I had something I wanted to ask you as well. Where did you have in mind?” the magi asked, schooling his expression quickly into a remarkable mask of calm and friendly interest.

That piqued his interest. Afterall, he’d gotten the measure of the man on their journey together, and he didn’t seem the type that would beg after coin.

“A place back in the delver’s quarter.” he pointed over his shoulder. “Not too far from here, shall we?” he asked, keeping his thoughts to himself. He’d find out either way soon enough.

“Let’s!” Ianmus said, falling into step with him as they turned to make their way back down the street.

A groan of relief slipped from Porkchop’s mouth, startling a few nearby residents, though they quickly calmed when Porkchop showed complete disinterest in them. His brother’s gaze was razor focused on their path ahead.

“Thank the Matriarchs, I’m starving.”

….

Seated at an exterior table at the edge of the eatery’s space so that Porkchop could join them, Kaius smiled at the waiter who handed him an earthen plate with a heaping sandwich on top of it. He’d spotted someone eating one on their way from the artificer, and the heaping pile of meat, relish, and salad had been more than enough to clinch the deal for him.

He’d even managed to get them to give Porkchop one of his own, though he got the feeling it was an only moderately unusual request considering where the eatery was located.

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The waiter smiled back, the faintest hint of pink spreading across her pale cheeks before she hurried back into the store.

Taking a quick bite of his meal, Kaius chased it with a sip of his beer before he turned his attention back to Ianmus.

“So, look, I thought I would just cut to the chase.” Ianmus said cautiously, taking a break from his own sandwich. “Ever since we separated a couple of days ago, I haven’t been able to get that fight with the irontusk out of my head, and the thought just kept churning when I found out I wouldn’t be able to leave Deadacre for some time.”

Kaius’s stomach sank. The man was rattled, he had to be. Of course he would be, how could he have been so stupid? No sane man wanted to fight something twice his level and twenty times his size. No way the man would join him now.

“It was too much?” he asked after giving himself a moment to get a handle on his disappointment.

“No,” Ianmus said with thrumming fire, leaning closer and putting his hands on the table. “It was…exhilarating. The rush! The growth! I studied the Song much in the colleges, but I always thought that I was one of the many who only felt it lightly. But now? I feel useless, restless at the very idea of rushing off to the Dukedoms and wasting away behind reinforced walls.” he continued, his voice taking on a desperate, almost pleading, quality.

Kaius sat back, shocked at the turn of events. Even Porkchop, as focused as he was on slicing his sandwich into manageable chunks with his claws, looked up.

Ianmus’s eyes flicked between the two of him, his eyes widening slightly with a hint of desperation. He held his hands up placatingly.

“Listen. I know I am weaker, that I won’t face the same danger as the two of you, and that you are probably reasonably worried about me slowing you down. However, I’m a great back line, probably one of the best you’ll find amongst our own level. Even amongst interspire competitions, I came first in all my year group, and with solar affinity I’m well positioned for restorative and invigorating magics, let alone that I have decent free casting capabilities.” The words spilled out of Ianmus’s mouth in a torrent, a blur of justifications that continued without pause.

Then Kaius raised his hands, and he trailed off with a paling of his cheeks.

“I imagine your next words would be that we can already trust you?” Kaius asked, raising one brow.

Ianmus gave him a short nod, a small frown gracing his face.

“Yeah, we were on our way to ask you to join us.” Porkchop said, beating him to the punch in saving the half-elf from his distress.

Ianmus’s transformation was miraculous, his face nigh-on becoming radiant as his spine straightened. “You were? Truly?”

“Yep.” Kaius answered. “But, and this is relatively significant, only if it is a long term thing.”

It was something that he and Porkchop had decided on the night before. Traveling with the man was one thing, but actually working together? It wouldn’t take a sharp mind like Ianmus’s long to pick apart more of their secrets, including potentially dangerous ones. With a long term partnership, however, it was likely that the man would inevitably end up bound by the same chains that held him.

Honours, for one. Even if he had to bludgeon the man into it, it would all but enforce Ianmus’s silence on his own strength. Without a doubt they would find more, especially if they kept punching upwards. That, and the first tier was only the start of a very long road. If Ianmus accrued his own feats, the mans lacking strength would soon become less of an issue. That said, his and Porkchop’s leads were probably far too great for that gap to ever close fully, even if it mattered less with Ianmus being part of the back line.

Though, he would still keep the existence of Honours a secret until that point. That, and everything else.

Ianmus watched him closely, eyes narrowed with wary curiosity. “Why? Not that I am particularly against that requirement, unless our relationship completely breaks down.”

“Secrets, some of which you will inevitably be burdened with yourself.” he said with a shrug.

Ianmus paused for a moment. “Okay.”

Looking up from his sandwich, Porkchop tilted his head at the magi. “That was fast, no questions at all?”

Kaius nodded in agreement. “I expected…a little more suspicion than that, if i am honest.”

“I can use my brain, Kaius.” he said, leaning forwards before his tone lowered conspiratorially. “You are too strong, you have secrets other than the ones I have pieced together, and I will eat my boot if those two things are not linked.”

The magi took a breath, leaning back before his voice returned to normal volume.

“Look. I have thought on this thoroughly for two days. Already things are breaking down, and we are only just reaching a month since the phase change. It’s only getting worse from here. If I don’t do something now, if I keep my head firmly in the sand, then I will be left behind. I need this.” he finished.

Kaius nodded, he could respect that, and frankly having reached that position was only a testament to the fact that Ianmus was no fool. The simple volume of people moving through the Guild in the last few days said that it was one that many were coming to.

“Great, though I have one last thing I must share before you commit yourself to this course.” Kaius said. He leaned forwards, Ianmus joining him as his voice lowered. “I have a blood debt that must be paid. Not now, far too dangerous. But once I am in the second tier, I mean to begin my investigations. It will mean tangling with a group of both power and influence, and if you join, you will almost certainly end up caught up in it.”

Ianmus’s lips pursed as he thought on it. “I assume this is one of the secrets?”

Kaius nodded.

“How significant is the debt?” he asked, searching Kaius’s face.

“The most severe.” Kaius replied, voice flat.

“I see. And would you assist me with my own endeavours, even if they became as…complex?” Ianmus asked in response.

“I would.”

“Then I will assist, if I am able. I think you will find that widespread chaos has a tendency to reveal light on many hidden things, and leave many cracks to disappear into.” the magi replied, watching him closely.

Kaius breathed a sigh of relief, genuinely pleased that the half-elf had agreed to his terms. He offered the man his hand. “To a team.”

“To a team.” Ianmus replied, shaking his hand firmly.

Kaius smiled warmly at his newest ally, Porkchop echoing his sentiment with a throaty chuff.

“Let us finish our meal, and then we’ll need to get you signed up at the guild. I might be able to get you in with just an interview.”

Receiving a nod from the mage, Kaius picked up his sandwich and dove in for another large bite. Salty meat and tart relish flooded his mouth. Delicious.