17.9

Eve stared at the self-professed battlemage with incredulity. Grey Chime claimed to be on a mission of vengeance to repay the twisting of a Pact. He’d given her the titles of the two Daedric Princes, so she’d applied them to her memory. The Prince of Pride ruled Iceharbor, while the Prince of Destruction ruled the Deadlands. Pride and Destruction had always been at odds, according to Grey Chime. It was mainly because they competed in almost the same arena for similar soul types. Those who favored Pride also tended to favor Destruction, meaning it was a split in which one got more souls. The war was one of the resources as much as one of hatred for the opposing Prince.

“To be clear, you entered into a Pact with Pride. He twisted it, and you decided it was best to come here.” Eve said, looking at the idiot with an expression of ice. “Then you planned to negotiate with Destruction for another Pact dispelling your first one. Yet, you would still be under the thumb of a Prince?”

“Y-Yes?” Grey Chime said, looking slightly nervous.

Eve gave a blank look at the archmagi, that said in no uncertain terms, with her exquisite level of communication, that he was an idiot. The theory espoused was akin to ones used at casinos in every dimension. The idea that you would beat the house was a myth cloaked in fantasy and woven with greed.

“While I think you are setting yourself up for failure, that’s none of my concern,” Eve said. She wasn’t a hero to steer someone onto the right path of morality and justice. As long as the archmagi could provide a few answers, his choices to commit lengthy suicide were his own. “First, look this over and sign.”

Eve handed over one of her standard-looking contracts. It was one without frills dedicated to keeping information about her under wraps, at least to the uninformed. The battlemage gave a slow and careful read through every line before finally signing at the bottom. Eve sneered internally. No wonder the idiot could fail to make a solid Pact. He didn’t even check for hidden runes! With the contract out of the way, she moved them across the rooftops with Spatial Steps. Once they were halfway across the city, she returned to questioning him.

“So, where exactly are you from?” Eve asked. It was impressive that a human mortal had reached enough power to enter the Daedric Realms. From her own experience, there were two possibilities. Either the individual had a power level equal to hers and a skill with space that matched, or they cheated. A permanent Gate to the Daedric Realm would require only the ability to walk. Unlike the Door she had entered with, there was no need to stabilize space in transit. Gates were cheese of the highest order. They were also usually warded to a fare-thee-well, so there would be no way out of using it for her.

“I’m from the Spire. It’s a college dedicated to furthering magic used in battle.” Grey Chime said proudly.

Eve nodded at the words; it was as expected. If he hadn’t had any backing, the resources to create a Pact would have been practically impossible. The monetary requirements alone for attempt binding a Tier Seven entity were astronomical.

Even if the entity was willing to limit itself to make it cost less for their nefarious purposes.

“Do you know much about the Daedric Realms?” Eve asked. Nota had been poking her relentlessly about the subject. She had an understanding based on her knowledge, but it was rather incomplete. It wouldn’t hurt to bargain for more. She would rather not spend limited resources asking for information from Wilson. System information would be perfectly accurate but also costly.

Grey Chime seemed hesitant to answer before finally pulling a thick leather-bound book from the air in front of him. Witch’s Dust caught the split-second usage of a spatial skill. Eve silently commanded her loyal limb to hack into the storage space without changing her expression. It would require standing nearby the archmagi for quite some time, but the value of information could be priceless.

“I can loan this to you to learn from, but I’ll need a favor.” Grey Chime. His expression was firm, so Eve was curious about what he’d ask.

“As long as it isn’t too annoying, I can probably do it,” Eve said with a shrug. It wasn’t like she would need to do more than one favor once Witch’s Dust was done.

“Can I get an enchantment from you that will duplicate this ability to move around at will?” Grey Chime said. His expression was as if he'd seen the light of fate. Eve shrugged; she didn’t value something like that since her abilities were superior.

On the other hand, it might be quite a fantastic trick for those without it. Eve thought. The ability to teleport was one thing, but she did much more with what she had gained. Spatial Steps were a Class Enhancement. They were unhindered. It was in the wording. In essence, they were provided by the System. A perfectly calculated distribution of mana created the structure known as a Skill or Spell. They didn’t have the imperfections that marred most mortal-created constructs. A replication of a Class Enhancement is possible, but that would be priceless. No, something minor that reflects it will work.

“That can be arranged. I’ll need to peruse the book for a short time before I can ascertain the value, though.” Eve said after pondering for a moment.

A hesitant nod from Grey Chime gave consent, and she scanned the book entirely with Witch’s Dust. It took a few minutes because the book had enchantments. Eve flipped pages randomly, looking like she understood the esoteric gobbledegook inside. The enchantments looked like a bog-standard page increaser, encryption, a few runic diagrams, and a metric ton of battle spells.

“Good enough?” Grey Chime asked, looking like a mother watching her child be ravished.

“From what I can see, it’s worth it,” Eve said before pulling some Witch’s Dust liquid silver form into her hand discreetly. A few runes and mana manipulation later, the item was complete. It was a Ring of Spatial Shifting sparkling with a tiny runic script on the silver band.

Ring of Spatial Shifting

Users may shift space in a minor mimicry of the creator of this ring’s powers.

It wasn’t very wordy, but Eve knew it would provide a small fraction of what she could do. The most important feature was how it was unhindered. This meant that unless something powerful enough blocked it, there was no way to prevent the archmagi from escaping. She wasn’t about to duplicate the same level of perfection as her Class Enhancement. Eve also put a backdoor failsafe on the ring. Trust was earned, not loaned, after all.

Grey took the ring from her and examined it with his arcane senses. Apparently, from what she observed and heard him mutter, he could tell a portion of what the runes did, although she didn’t know how. Most likely, runes, or similar symbols, all shared a base form that could be checked. That would explain how Polyglot could work as well. It reduced languages to the base form of speech from which all languages came, like a mass solvent, which was then processed into whatever language was native to the listener. With runes, the same could be true.

As Eve finished scanning the information packet, Grey teleported about the rooftop like a child with a new toy. Under the auspices of aiding the Spire as an ally, she offered to assist Grey.

“I can only help you reach the Pod,” Eve said, using her acronymic shorthand for the Prince of Destruction. "If Pop interferes, I’ll bail and leave you to escape on your own.”

“You can call them Pride and Destruction instead,” Grey said to a withering stare from Eve.

“My nicknames, my choice,” Eve said with a sniff. Like hell, some archmagi from a phallic symbol training camp would tell her how to name Princes.

Moving through the now-alerted city using the rooftops became problematic as the skies darkened. It appeared the Pod was choosing quantity over quality when searching. Eve and Grey flickered into the back alley beneath them. Moving on the ground allowed them to get in with the crowd. Almost everyone was wearing a hood of some type. Grey blended in, disguising his form and sealing the human scent away.

Moving through the city was slow work without using Spatial Steps. It did have the added benefit of allowing Eve to use Eternal Memory in Grey’s book. At the same time, Witch’s Dust finally cracked the spatial container around the archmagi. It happened only a short distance from the Prince’s Palace. They might have been discovered if it hadn’t been for Eve quieting the fluctuations.

The palace guards were a group of thugs dressed in half-baked leather outfits. The leather hadn’t been tended in quite some time so avoiding them was easy. The scent of guards preceded their approach. Eve twisted light around the pair in a faux invisibility that took minimal effort.

“This is where we part ways, then,” Grey said when they finally reached the inner portion of the palace.

Eve handed over the book she’d been perusing and shrugged, “Good luck. You’re an idiot, but you’ve been a useful one.” She didn’t bother to say anything else. Spatial Steps moved her to the library they had drifted through in passing.

I can practically smell the betrayal smoking off Grey. Eve thought as she moved through the library, letting her Witch’s Dust billow outward. It hadn’t been hard to find the library since the books were bound and paged with human skin. The smell was rancid, enough to put even the hardiest mortal in disgust. Eve through Crystal Core just turned off her scent receptors. He has nothing to offer a Prince except the mysterious lady interfering in the Realm.

Eve shook her head. Her contracts were Wilson-approved for Divines at Tier Seven. An archmagi was nothing but a snack. Information flowed through the library, collated and organized by Nota into Eternal Memory. While she might never need a demonic porn collection, it was good to know there would always be a few on hand.

After moving through most of the library, Eve’s eyes lit up with a devious glow. She’d been searching for a way to get close to the Pod or the Pop. They were paranoid beyond all sanity, as was to be expected. Her recent library raid had revealed that the Prince of Destruction had a sweet tooth. Not for purified sugar concoctions, though. No, the Pod enjoyed a more demonic fare. Humans, elves, orcs, and a weird cat species called kaijiit were all on the menu of a Daedric Prince. Looking over the recipe book made Eve sneer. It was like something cooked up by a fourth grader who had partaken of too many mushrooms of the sparkly kind. She could upgrade this cuisine with her eyes closed.

Even better, as Eve thought further on the subject, it would be possible to slip Witch’s Dust in with the meal. She could get vital information on Daedra's top Tiers if configured correctly.

Even as Crystal Core was calculating her plans, a shudder went through her body. The contract signed by Grey Chime appeared hovering in the air before her before bursting into flames and disintegrating into ashes. An unearthly scream ripped through the palace before silence descended as Eve raised one eyebrow.

“Did he think he was signing toilet paper?” Eve muttered as she skimmed the cookbooks that had been found. Recipes fluttered through her mind like the pages of a cuisine specialty series.

After several hours accompanied by the sounds of guards scurrying back and forth, Eve was finished. She had perfected three recipes that would delight the palate of a Daedric royal. A pie, a steak, and a fillet were the easiest to modify. She was about to leave the library and infiltrate the household when Witch’s Dust became excited.

“Oh? A book on…time?” Eve said, looking at the ancient tome with her senses.

Opening the first page, she realized this was one of those mind-opening treasures. Something that blatantly blows away previous knowledge replacing it entirely.

Time is based on the Anomaly.

It has been this way since Existence.

It will be this way for Eternity.

There was a diagram that looked like nothing so much as pizza with a stone in the center. Eve ignored the obvious child’s scrawl, instead devouring the other information.

All clocks that tell time correctly are based on ACT. Anomaly Central Time. This is due to the energy emitted by the stone resonating through all realities. It is the most critical feature other than Space that the crystal produces.

Eve’s mind rapidly fired as Crystal Core extrapolated the information into digestible form.

There is a clock at the center of reality that gives perfect time. Eve thought. Wilson would know this, but the value is immense. I likely never had a shot of buying it from him.

Stumbling over something this momentous was exactly why Eve had taken a risk like this. Knowing a clock with a precise time, no matter the location, was a godsend. She had been willing to take a shot at escaping the Prison Plane with nothing but coordinates. Now though, she could ensure that her escape was even more precise. Eve would avoid so many problems with this information. The rest of the book was worthless, although she read it all to be sure.

A command from Witch’s Dust melted every book in the library into dust. Nota had scanned, formatted, and slotted everything into Eternal Memory. It was standard practice now, and the speed had increased immensely with Crystal Core.

Exiting the library, Eve used her abilities to move through the palace arriving at the kitchens. Surveying the enormous room, she found the head cook. The process of taking over a Daedric Prince’s kitchen was well documented, and Eve smiled as she moved to the first obstacle.

“You’ve been replaced,” Eve said, walking directly up to the Dremora in charge of the kitchen.

The thin demon turned whip-crack fast to look at her. The words were the closest to a formal challenge that could be issued. The cook could decide to fight, or they could decide to prove superiority with a dish. A glance at the Dremora explained clearly what he would choose.

“Make your best dish, worm. I will enjoy devouring you!” the head chef said with a sneer.

Eve smiled with a devilish glint as she pulled cookware to herself with Telekinesis.