Eighth Chapter of Royal climber

Chapter 8

City of Massachusetts

Kat found herself in a very large room. It was easily a couple of hundred yards across. The room reminded her of the descriptions of the ancient Greeks coliseum in Athens except there was no seating. The walls went all the way up several stories to meet the dome ceiling. The walls themselves were made up of huge brick blocks that reminded Kat of the pyramids in Egypt except these blocks fitted perfectly with each other.

Kat found herself at one end of the dome, and in the distance she saw a towering figure at the other end. She could tell even at this distance that the figure must be huge. The thing was also carrying a sword which it had resting on its shoulders. She was still examining it when it started to charge right at her.

Unable to keep a grin off her face she charged him right back. Her staff and new bow bounced up and down on her back, but she ignored the feeling as it wasn’t causing her any pain. The figure, she saw, was naked except for a loincloth. She had a vision of the little green people, and was glad she didn’t have to fight another naked opponent.

As the figure ran it raised his sword off his shoulder and kept it raised by his shoulder which told her he had at least some skill with the sword. Kat felt her excitement grow with that realization. As they closed she finally got a good look at its face and her grin widened.

“Cyclops.” She thought to herself happily. “I get to fight a cyclops just like Odysseus did! But instead of just blinding him and hiding under the sheep, I will kill him. For I’m not No-One, I am Kat!”

As Kat and the Cyclops closed in with each other, Kat saw him drop his sword point in an attempt to spear her with his sword. She tossed out two very overcharged musket balls of vitality that she had been building the entire she had been running, and felt them connect. She yanked her hands back, and saw that the Cyclops stumbled a bit. He quickly recovered and kept charging her.

She expected him to try and stab her with the sword, so she was taken completely off guard when he instead swung his sword horizontally at the last second. Then things got odd for Kat. Everything got slow. She was easily able to duck under the swing moving much faster than the Cyclops. He wasn’t moving in slow motion, not really, but it felt like he was much slower than he should be.

Passing by his lower legs, Kat really wished that she had some kind of knife or maybe a short sword. Unfortunately, she didn’t have anything sharp. She eyed the back of the Cyclops’ bare feet and really wished she could hamstring him.  It would, she told herself, be so easy to cut his tendons and lame him as she ran past him.

Changing directions once she was behind him, she ran to the right. The Cyclops recovered fairly fast and used his failed cut to spin around to face her. He brought his sword up still using the momentum of the failed attack and tried to bring it down on her head. He was so slow that she was able to dodge the overhand swing.

With no other weapons she had nothing to do but wait for him to attack again while she sucked at his vitality which was pouring into her like a waterfall and she was the pool underneath. She was dumping so much vitality into the ground that flowers started popping up all around her in a fairly wide circle. If the Cyclops noticed the flowers he didn’t show it. He recovered from his failed attack once more and tried to cut her in half at her waist again. She took a small hop to jump out of range and waited for him to recover.

It was, she thought as she dodge another attack, like playing tag with the other children in her old village. Except instead of using his hands that giant Cyclops was trying to use his sword. Kat didn’t know when she started to laugh, but she saw that it enraged her opponent. She ducked, stepped out of the way, spun, and one time stepped in closer to avoid all his attacks. It was the most fun she had in any fight in the Tower so far.

Then she noticed that the end was coming to her game. The vitality from the Cyclops started to slow, she had to yank one the ribbon connecting them together several times to keep it moving as fast as it had been at the start of the fight. The Cyclops started to slow down. She saw him panting with sweat starting to creep down his huge forehead.

Then he stumbled as he overswung. She stayed where she was as he tried to recover, but only stumbled and fell to one knee. He looked at her in confusion as she felt his vitality drop to a thin trickle no matter how much she yanked. His eye closed, and he let out a sigh before falling to his side as the trickle of vitality that was flowing to her stopped. She looked down at the legendary figure and nodded her head in respect.

“Good fight.” She told him.

A snap cracked throughout the coliseum and Kat looked up. An exit appeared in front of her, but instead of it being pitch black it was blue. She knew what that meant. Her father had spoken of the gate to Massacuttes many times. In his description it was always blue. She smiled and took a step towards the gate only to stop at the last moment to look back at the Cyclops’ sword. The monster’s weapons on the ninth floor, if it had one, was always worth something. She looked at the sword that was as long as she was tall and shrugging before going back.

It was very heavy, but with a grunt she lifted the hilt up into the air and put it on her shoulder. It didn’t glow like her magic bow did, so she assumed it wasn’t a magic sword. Still, it was made out of Tower metal, and she knew it had to be worth something. She decided to keep it. She knew she would need money once she was in the city. There were a few things she wanted before she continued on with her climb. Because she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she would continue. She hadn’t had this much fun in a long time.

Hunched over she started to drag the sword towards the floating blue exit. The sword made the same sound as someone dragging a piece of chalk wrongly over the chalkboard. Unable to do anything about it, she tried to lift the sword's edge off the ground but it was too heavy. With a sigh she continued on until she reached the exit. With a happy sign she took a step into the exit.

She spent a second and eternity in between floors then the Tower spoke to her without words. It told her that she had earned another power coin for killing the Cyclops so fast without taking any injury. It also asked if she wanted to continue with her climb or enter Massacuttes city. She asked to go to the city then as she felt the icy power close in on her she asked the Tower to add that power to her vitality.

She decided to keep adding to her vitality because it had worked out so well so far, and as of yet she hadn’t fought anything that her skill could steal vitality from. Her body attribute was growing piecemeal, but it was growing. Her magic hadn’t grown all that much, but her skill had added to it at least once so far and that gave her both mage sight and the ability to use magic tools. Or it would if she ever got one.

Her magic bow didn’t count, or at least she didn’t think it counted. Magic items like her bow were passive, allowing anyone with or without magic to use them. The only requirement was that the person who used it had to be a climber. She wasn’t sure if she was going to keep it or not, but if she did sell it she hoped to get more than a few notes for it.

One second she was between the floors, and the next she was standing on a pedicle. She was inside a room which made her frown. According to her father, and all his climber friends there were only thirteen gates inside Massachuttes city. None of them were, according to what they said, inside a building. Each gate had a statue beside it which told the climber where they were, but none of the stories spoke of a crown statue.

“Did I wander to another city?” She asked herself. All the lower Towers were connected so it was possible to get to another city from the tenth floor, but she hadn’t got to the tenth floor yet. So she was completely confused as she stared at the stone crown in front of her.

She was brought out of her compilation by a loud male cough. She looked to her left and found three people staring at her. There was a man in blue and gray of the Royal army standing in front of two other people. He wore a cooked hat of an officer, with gold side bars with gold fringe hanging down on his shoulders. His bicorn hat faced forward instead of sideways and it had the continental seal on the side to indicate his status as an Royal army of Boston officer. He also had a huge salt and pepper mustache that was curled up on either side of his mouth.

To his left and slightly behind him was a very pretty Woman holding an open book who was also dressed in army blue and grey uniform. Like the general she had a crooked hat on and it was also facing forwards instead of sideways. She also wore gold sidebars, but unlike the other officer she didn’t have gold fringe hanging off her sidebars. To his right was a young looking woman who was dressed in Tower armor. She was covered in all sorts of trinkets, from a ring on every finger to at least three necklaces around her neck. She also had a large backpack that many people in the Tower used on their climbs.

“Welcome to the Palace of the Royals in Massachusetts city. I am Duke Arnold, viceroy of Massachusetts. This is my squire, Lady shippen.” He told her, then completely ignoring the woman in Tower armor behind him asked, “What is your name, and current floor.”

She knew Duke Arnold. He was the King’s mother, Queen May’s most trusted general. He was also in charge of the Massachusetts city when there were no royals in residence. He was also over a hundred years old and if the rumors were true then he made it to the ninetieth floor before retiring. Her father spoke highly of the king's man.

“Katherine Kelly, this is my ninth floor, your lordship.” She told him, bobbing her head down in an awkward bow. She noticed that his gaze found all of her Tower granted stuff. She saw his eyes flicker to the sword she was still holding on her shoulders to her ear where her earring she had placed was then over her back to where her staff and bow were sticking up before finally going over her clothing.

The woman who the General hadn’t introduced gasped in surprise. The general ignored the woman, and turned to his squire who was scanning her book with a look of concentration on her face. The squire flipped the page backwards then flipped it again. By Kat’s count the female squire had flipped it five times before she stopped. She looked up with a frown on her face.

“Katherine Kelly entered the Tower for the first time five months and nineteen days ago. She is a probationary Army recruit.” Squire Shippen told the General. “No record of entering the city at this time.”

The general turned to look back at her with a kind smile on his face. “Five months. That’s a long time for your first ten set.” He commented. “I guess that's why the Tower granted you the rank of royal at such a low ten set.”

Kat blinked at what the general said. There were four Tower granted titles. It went from peasant where the lowest and weakest people fell. Then there were the commoners who most people fell into. Both her father and her uncle had fallen into that category before her father had raised his status with the Tower to Lord. He had done it two years before he had been granted his landship once he retired from the army to raise her. Even after he had been elevated to lord he still ran with his old commor ten man crew. She knew that it was mostly because of her uncle and his inability to raise his status to lord.

The last title the Tower granted was that of the Royals, and as far as Kat knew you have royal blood to get it. They could, like the old Queen, climb the Tower alone or command a group of Lords in a crew much like her father commanding a crew of commoners. She knew her parents, and she knew that they weren’t royal byblows, so she was confused as to why the General thought she was a royal. It must have shown on her face because the kindly older army officer with a small double chin spoke again.

“You need not have royal blood to be a Tower granted royal. You just have to have powerful skills and be very talented. From what you are wearing, you are both. Did you make your clothes or did a Tower resident make them for you?” He asked her.

“Tower residents, milord.” Kat mumbled. “They're called the Lashiners and look like walruses. If the Tower grants it, you may meet them on floors ending in four.”

“Oh, The Lashiner.” The general said his eyes widened with surprise. “Nice people, but are powerful enemies if you get on their wrong side. They are quite common in the higher Towers.” Kat was getting very uncomfortable talking to such a well known man so all she did was nod in response.

“Well, you are a probational army recruit, so you may still become a Tower guard if you wish, but I would think that would be a horrible waste of talent. What say you, do you wish to stay with the army? As a Tower granted royal you would immediately be inducted as an officer of course.” He said holding his hands in front himself.

“My father was an army man through and through.” She told the Duke. “I would like to continue with the tradition, if I may, milord.”

“Excellent!” The general said, his huge handlebar mustache wiggled with his excitement. “My first order to you is that you may take a few weeks vacation or climb the tower as high as you can. Whichever you wish. Once you are ready you may report back to me for your assignment. By the way, what room is yours?” He asked her.

WIthout thinking she replied. “First floor, third door down from the right.” Kat told him then blinked in surprise. A second ago she didn’t know she belonged in the palace, but now she had a picture of the door that was hers in her head like she had always known where it was. She even knew she should take the passage to her right and like it said, it was the third door down after that. To her surprise she also knew that her new room had a very nice view of the royal gardens which she knew the way to as well.

“The Tower must think you are very powerful to give you such a good room. I look forward to seeing you progress.” The General told her. “So are you going to climb or take some time off to enjoy with your family? Five months is a long time.” He reminded her.

“Climb if I may.” Kat said immediately. She didn’t want to talk about her family right at that moment.

“Is it okay if I wait a day or two until I can sell some of my gains? She asked, pointing over her shoulder at her bow. “Oh, I have my fathers knife waiting for me at the entrance of the tower. Can I go get it or have someone get it for me?”

“Yes, I’ll send someone to do that.” He told her, nodding. “I’ll have it delivered to your room. It may take a few days, so if you're gone I’ll slip it under your door. Take your time climbing and don’t worry if you want to keep going after you reach the nineteenth floor. The stronger you are, the stronger the Army will be. Just, once you reenter the city again you will have to report back with me. You will be locked in the Tower until I release you. Not that I think you would be so gosh as to avoid your responsibilities, but we will need to talk when you come back, you understand?”

“Yes, milord.” Kat said, bobbing her head again in an awkward bow once more.

‘Very good.” The General said then he turned to the unnamed woman standing behind him. “Lady Trumbul, since you are the only servant around, please see to Lady Kathrine’s business.”

“Yes milord, Duke.” The servant said, and curtised with an elegance that made Kat envy.

She knew immediately that the noble woman was not a Tower granted Lord, but a one on the outside by the way the Duke addressed her. If she had been a lord inside then she would be called lady plus both her first and last name. Since he only called her by her last name that meant that she had to either been granted the title of peasant or commoner by the Tower.

Tower granted titles were not hereditary so when someone addressed them they were always called by their first name. Nobles were called by their first and last names because their titles tended to be hereditary. Kat was not a noble because her father had been a commoner before he got his Tower granted title. A knighted lord didn’t have hereditary titles even if they were granted lands like her father had been. Their children were considered commoners until such time they got their own titles. The lands that her father had owned were given back to the king or rather the Earl that oversaw the land that her father had been granted.

“Lady Kathrine, please follow me.” Lady Trumbul asked in a strong voice.

“Oh, yes. Lead on, milady” Kat said in reply. She didn’t know what to call or act around her servant. She was a noble just not in the Tower. Neither her father nor her uncle ever explained any of that stuff to her. She only knew it was acceptable to call any noble outside the king and his immediate family milord or milady. The Royals were always called Your Majesties. Her father had always called the Viceroy his lordship, so she admitted to herself that might not know all the required titles to all the noble ranks.

“You may call me Emily when we are without company.” The noblewoman who was also a servant told her as if she was reading her mind. “May I call you, Katherine?”

“Kat is fine.” Kat told her as they walked down the wide hallway. She was still dragging the heavy sword behind her. At first she was worried she was destroying the floor, but it and the carpet over it seemed fine after the flat part of the sword passed over it.

The floor was covered in stone and had a very nice thick red carpet that Kat found her feet sinking into the thick weaving. The walls were stone as well, but they had pictures of people fighting monsters on them. The ceiling was domed like most of the ceilings she had seen so far in the Tower. Like everything else in the palace, it was also made up of stone.

As they turned the corner Kat saw the first door. It was wood, but a deep red colored wood. It was also highly polished. She wondered if Emily had to polish the doors even though she was a nobleman’s daughter. Kat counted the doors and found hers. She got an odd feeling of being home which she felt was very strange since she didn’t have a home anymore.

As she came up to the door she glanced at the wall opposite it and saw a painting. For a second she didn’t recognize it, and was turning away when she spun back around to get a better look at it. It was a painting of her. She was standing behind the Cyclops laughing. The Cyclops looked angry and in the painting was trying to pull his sword out of the stone it had buried in trying to slash her in half.

“You already have a painting? Of course you do.” Emily said from behind Kat. Kat turned around and saw an expression of envy on the noble's face. The woman's face quickly became blank again as soon as she realized that Kat was looking at her.

“If you would…?” Emily said after recovering her expression. She had her hand out pointing at the door.

“Of course.” Kat said and reached down and touched the doorknob only to jerk her hand back as a tingle of magic spread from the door to her hand. It faded almost immediately, but she was still wary of it.

“And you are a magi as well.” Emily said, her voice sounded tired.

“I’m sorry?” Kat said, getting a little annoyed. She wondered if she could dismiss the woman. If she was a normal servant she was sure she could, but a noblewoman who was also a servant, she wasn’t too sure.

“My apologies, you have been blessed by the Tower, and I am envious. Please forgive my unforgivable speech.” The noble servant said in an oddly formal tone of voice, and to Kat's surprise, churtisy to her. “May I enter. We have many things to discuss.”

Still not sure if she could dismiss the woman Kat only nodded before she reached out and touched the doorknob once more. This time there was no tingle. She opened the door and stepped inside. She froze just inside the room. Her new home was huge. The first room she had stepped into was a living room with four large glass windows that looked out at a garden below as well as the city itself. In the middle of the windows was a fireplace that was already lit with a merry fire crackling away.

She had a baise couch facing the fireplace with it’s back to the door along with several large and comfortable chairs on either side of it. Looking away from the fireplace she looked over to her right and saw a door that she knew, without anyone telling her, led to her bedroom. To her left were three doors. Again without being told she knew that the one closest to the fireplace was for her squire, if or when she got one. The other two were guest bedrooms.

“Your room is bigger than the Kings.” Emily said, sounding shocked. Kat looked at her and wondered how she knew how big the king’s rooms were. She then wondered who this woman knew how big the king's rooms were, acting the servant. The woman realized that Kat was looking at her and quickly closed the door and waved her hand at the couch.

“Your room may be bigger, but His magisties is on the third floor.” She told Kat, sounding like she was trying to apologize, but Kat didn’t know who she was apologizing to, her or the King.

Instead of sitting on the couch, Kat sat down on one of the long backed chairs. It was as comfortable as she thought it would be. Emily sat on the couch right by the edge closest to Kat after taking off her backpack. She looked around for a few seconds then looked back at Kat.

“There were a few things about your new station that I’m sure Duke Arnold would like for me to discuss with you. First you may not talk about your Tower granted title to anyone who does not already know. Right now, that is the King and his family along with the Duke and squire. And I guess me as well.” Emily said, putting her hands in her lap.

“A royal of the Tower is a state secret. You people tend to be the most powerful climbers in the kingdom. I’m not sure how many Tower royals there are, but there can’t be that many. I do know that most of the people who have reached the sixtieth floor start to gain the Tower granted title, royal. It’s not a sure thing, mind you. It’s just the earist that I've heard of anyone becoming a Royal of the Tower. You are the first Tower granted royal that I have ever met that is below that.” Emily told her.

“Being a royal of the Tower means that you will be quietly added to the Bostonian Earls roll as soon as the Duke gets the message out. You won’t have a landship, but you’ll still be able to vote at court at the next assembly. This is a hereditary title so your children will be forever known as Lord and Ladies of the court with your heir being an Earl.”

“There won’t be a ceremony as the King, like his Mother before him, likes to keep a new Tower royal a secret as much as they can.” Emily told her. “While it is not all that common that commoners like yourself are elevated to such a high station, it does happen more often than a new Tower royal appearing. At such a low ten set, people not in the know will be more likely to believe you are not a new Tower royal, just a person who has connections to get their station raised to such heights.”

“Now, as such there are a few requirements you must follow.” Emily told her. “In times of war, as an unlanded Bostonian Earl you are required to report for war with the royal army. If you had a landship, then you could just send the required amount of soldiers instead of yourself going. But you are not landed, so you will have to go instead. There are a few other things like taxes, but we can get to that later. For now I have a proposition for you. Please hear me out.”

“I have been living in the Tower now for two years. I know pretty much everyone there is to know in the city. I have been looking for a Tower royal to appear so that I may ask them for a squireship.” Emily told her. Kat frowned and tilted her head to the side not liking where this was going. “I have only one skill as I was unable to survive long enough to get a second one on the first floor, but that one skill is a powerful magi skill. Unfortunately, I don’t have the mana to cast a single spell just yet. I need someone to help me through at least three ten sets until I gain enough mana to be able to use my skill.”

“So why me?” Kat asked concerned.

“I am a Tower granted Peasant. I have gone out with several groups, but none of the groups have been able to clear the tenth floor. No one of importance will allow me into a crew anymore. You or any other Tower royal is my last resort. I can become a Squire and follow a Tower Royal no matter what floor they are on and still get the Tower rewards. Having a Tower royal like you with such a low ten set is a gift from the Maker. If you accept me as your squire I can follow you as you climb the floors and not lose any tower rewards associated with clearing a floor.” Emily told her, her voice lost its hauntyness and she leaned forward in her eagerness.

“Before you say anything, please let me continue.” Emily said, holding up her hands and talking fairly fast for a noble. “As a squire, I cannot gain any power coins. All coins will automatically go to you. You cannot even give me the coins as the Tower won’t let you. I cannot even trade for the coins in the city as long as I am a Squire. Second, I cannot claim any chests as mine. You may grant me what is inside, but the Tower will not allow me to take them from you. I will be also under a Tower forced agreement, and be unable to share your secrets for the rest of my life whether I remain in your service or not.”

“Why would you want to do that?” Kat asked, shocked. She saw so many ways to abuse the person who was in service as a squire. Especially a woman Squire.

“Two reasons. One, I am the daughter of an earl, and I am not his heir. Once I get elevated to get the Tower granted title, Lord, I can become one once more. Two …” Emily said, ticking off on her fingers, “...I did not climb the tower to not be able to use my skill. I estimate that I need thirty more floor clearing rewards to gain the minimum mana to use my skill. Once I do, I will become more powerful than you can imagine.”

Emily must have seen something in Kat’s face because she continued without letting Kat speak. “There are only two ways for a squire to leave their Royal service. Either the royal grants it or the squire wins a duel with their royal. I will not be able to injure you beyond your ability to heal, but in the duel you may kill me if you wish. I need this, and I’m willing to pay you anything for the chance to be your squire. Please accept me.”

“Why do you want to be an earl so badly?” Kat asked, frowning.

“I will tell you if you wish, but I ask that you do not. It has nothing to do with me being a squire with you and it will not affect your honor in the least.” Emily replied. Kat examined the woman’s face again. It had gone from eagerness to neutral where she had no idea what the other woman was thinking.

“No.” Kat said, shaking her head. “I cannot protect you while we are climbing. It would be too much.”

“I have many items that I have bought that help with that.” Emily quickly told her. “This cloak is from the thirty floor, it will grant me the ability to hide from most monsters on that floor and downwards. I also have the money to buy a new one once we have reached that floor. I have rings that give me tremendous strength so that I can carry this pack which is also enchanted to lighten the weight of anything that fits in it. I can be your mule, and carry all your rewards so they don’t get in the way of your fight. I have the money to buy things for you if you wish that will aid you in your climb. I have this necklace that you may have that will increase your healing ability so that you can heal faster.”

Kat watched as the other woman went over all of her trinkets and felt sad. What would, she wondered, make a noblewoman so desperate. She knew nobles bought the majority of stuff sold at the auction houses and stores, so what the woman was showing her was nothing she didn’t expect a noble to have. What was worrying to Kat was how a woman like her would put herself in such a compromising position. If she had been a man, would the noble woman still offer to be her squire? The problem was, the noble woman sounded desperate enough to do it.

“Well?” The woman asked, bringing Kat attention back to her.

“I need to think on it.” Kat hedged. She really didn’t want a squire, especially one so desperate who also couldn’t use her skill. She smiled and stood up walking towards the door. “Thank you for your help, but it’s been over a week since I last had something to eat.”

“Thank you for your consideration.” The lady said standing up. She walked towards the door and gave Kat a smile. “If you change your mind, all you have to do is summon me by my name. I’ll remain in the palace until you leave.”

“I’ll do so.” Kat said, opening the door. She didn’t get it half open with people starting shouting from the other side of the door.

“Lady Royal…!” Someone louder than the rest yelled out. Kat took a look out the door and saw a small crowd on the other side of the door all clamoring to get her attention. Then a man in an Army officer uniform started yelling.

“Shut it!” The lieutenant yelled out in a deep and powerful voice. “This isn’t any way to behave. If you wish to speak with Lady Katherine, then form a civilised line.”

“Thank you, Sir.” Kat said gratefully.

“No problem, Ma’am.” He said and gave her a salute. “Ma’am if you have the time, I would like to talk about the squire’s position….” Kat didn’t let him finish before slammed the door and leaned her forehead on it.

“This is going to be a common occurrence until you pick one.” Emily said from behind her.

“I don’t want a squire.” Kat said, irritated.

“That won’t matter to them.” Emily told her gently.

“How did they know?” Kat asked, looking at the noble woman. “I thought me being a Royal is supposed to be a secret.

“It is, but the Earls must have noticed your name being added to the rolls. There hasn’t been a debate scheduled, even if it was added late, for anyone's advancement so they had to guess that a new Tower royal has been discovered. Not many people will understand what that means, but the older families will. For the most part, those are the children and bastards of your fellow peers.” Emily said with a sad smile. “Power is everything in the world you have entered. Many nobles will have no problem sacrificing their children to gain a connection to you.”

“You too?” Kat asked, leaning against the door.

“My brother would certainly try, but I would caution you against such a thing. He is a right bastard.” The noble woman told her with a feice tone of voice. Kat smiled at the tone.

“Thank you for the information. Now please, I need some time alone.” Kat said and opened the door once more. The people started shouting again trying to get her attention, but she ignored it as Emily walked out of the room. Once she was gone, Kat closed the door again.

Kat stepped over the oversized sword as she went back to her seat. She took off her staff and bow before she started to strip down to her white clothes the Tower had given her. She draped the clothes that the lashiner gave her over the high backed chair frowning at her scent. Her clothing had kept it contained that she hadn’t smelled herself in a while, but now that it was off she found that she smelt awful.

Her understanding of her room included the fact that it had a water closet with an enchanted water tub. She knew it the moment she realized she needed a bath. She rushed into her new room, taking a second to take in how big her new bed was before she ran to the small door that was off to her left. Past the small door she found a tub. It was a white nicely polished wooden tub with three gems attached to the far side of it.

She knew without being told that the blue gem would summon cold water while the red one would summon hot water. When she was done, the yellow gem would both dry her off and remove the water from the tub. Feeling excited she turned the red gem and felt scalding hot water as it rose from the gem and fell into the tub like it was a fountain in a square somewhere. She then pulled the blue gem and cold water shot out of it and into the tub much like the hot water was doing. She swished her hand in the slowly rising water and noted it was a bit cold so she twisted the red gem a bit more and more water started to fly out of the gem. She waited a few moments then tested the water again and nodded to herself at the temperature.

It took a few minutes for the tub to fill to her liking. Once it was full she turned off the gems and stripping down completely she sat in the tub and lugurized in steaming water. Her only regret was that she didn’t have any soap nor a bath rag to wash with. It was fine though. She scrubbed weeks of dirt and grim from her body using her hands. She thought about using her shirt like she had before, but knew she was going to head out soon, and the last thing she wanted was to wear a wet white shirt.

When she was done, she twisted the yellow gem and with a hiss all the water in the tub turned into fog for a few moments until that too was gone. It took all the water off her body including the water in her hair and left her feeling nice and clean. Even the dirt at the bottom of the tub was gone. Satisfied she stood up and changed back into her self cleaning and self repairing clothes. She pulled a white stick from her shirt that was from her arm circle and put it in her mouth. She didn’t chew on it because she was still mostly full of vitality from her fight with the Cyclops, but she felt more comfortable with it in her mouth.

While she had been sitting in the tub she came up with things she needed to shop for. One of those things was soap. But that wasn’t the only thing she needed. She wanted to get something to eat and drink as well as pick up supplies she was going to need on her climb. She also needed money so the oversized sword had to go. Her bow also had to go. She was passable with the bow, but using it would mean she couldn’t use her main combat skill which drained vitality. She would be stupid to not use it as it saved her life many times on her climb.

Back in her living room she looked at her coat and pants. She wanted to wear them, but knew that they would stand out too much, and she already had too many people hunting to be her squire. She also knew many people in the lower ten set’s only wore their tower giving clothes. She hoped to be ignored while she was out shopping.

She did find her power coins on a small table that sat beside the fireplace. They were silver and as big as dinner plates. The moment Kat touched them they sunk into her hands like her hands were sponges and the coins water. She knew without anyone telling her that she could bring them back with a wave of her hands. Not wanting to carry something so big, valuable, and obvious, she left them along. It wasn’t like it hurt to carry them inside her body. In fact, if she didn’t know without knowing that they were there, she would have assumed them to be lost.

So she left her lashiner made clothes alone, and picked up her bow. She left her staff leaning on the chair because she wanted to keep it as a last resort food source. Plus, she didn’t know if anyone would buy wood from a low floor. She put the bow in the leather strap that she had gotten from her staff. It was a bit too big without the staff in it so she had to tie a loose knot in it so that her bow wouldn’t fall out. Then picking up her oversized sword, she made her way towards her front door hoping the people behind it had left.

To her relief they had. She still checked both ways, but there wasn’t any sign of them so she made her way towards the crown gate dragging her sword behind her. It was after she had turned the corner that she noticed she wasn’t alone. Lady Trumbul, Emily, was waiting by the gate with a small smile. Kat frowned at her, but didn’t stop as she made her way towards the gate.

“I know you wish to be alone, but I thought I would offer my services in finding you someone to buy your gains or maybe escort you to a few shops where you may find a few things that you wish to purchase.” Emily told her. “I assume you wish to sell your sword?”

“Yes.” Kat said, slightly annoyed.

“I know just the right place. I know it’s not a magical sword, so most shops won’t buy it. It is worth some notes just for the metal alone if you find the right blacksmith. And I know just the person who would love to get his hands on something like this.” Emily said as she moved to help lift the back end of the sword. To Kat’s disappointment, the noble woman easily picked it up and helped her to the gate.

“Fine.” Kat said annoyed, but wasn’t stupid enough to turn the noble woman down. After all she said she had been here for two years, so she had to know at least some of the right people.

“Mermaid gate.” Emily said, sounding happy as Kat walked into the floating blue gate.

Kat floated a second and all of eternity then found herself standing in front of a mermaid statue. It was more a fountain than a statue, but there was a mermaid in the center of the fountain spitting water out of her mouth. She stopped briefly as she looked at the statue.

It was famous for being by one of the gates. Her father and uncle talk a lot about the gate as it was in the craftsmen section in the east part of the city. It was close to the center of the city situated in between the noble quarter which encircled the palace, and the more well off commoner section. It was also one of the few places to find free water in the city.

“This way.” Emily's happy voice said from behind her.

Kat turned around and saw the noble woman pointing down a small tight street that was mostly deserted. Shrugging, Kat followed Emily’s direction. A few twists and turns, and Kat was completely lost. She blindly followed the noblewoman's direction and hoped she wasn’t leading her to somewhere unsavory. One moment they were in a maze of skinny streets that resembled alleyways than actual streets and the next they were on a main street in front of a huge smithy. Following Emily’s direction Kat walked right up to the smithy and stopped as one of the smiths stopped what he was doing and walked up to them.

“Oi, Lady Trumbul.” The smith said in a rather loud voice as he walked up to them. “You looking for Abe?”

“Yes, is he free?” The noble woman asked.

“Let me go find him.” The smith reply and without another word walked away. Kat looked back the the woman who just shrugged in reply. She motioned to put the sword down on teh ground and Kat did so gratefully. It was heavy.

“Lady Trumbul.” Another smith created them as he walked up. He was a tall thick man with a receding hairline, and a sharp jaw. He eyed the sword as he walked up and ignoring them pulled out a small hammer and gently tapped on the blade of the sword.

“Not magical.” He replied standing up again. Only then did he look at the noble woman. “I can give you a pound for it.”

“A pound?” The noblewoman cried out. “That is Tower steel. The metal alone is worth at least twenty notes.”

“Yeah, but I gotta melt it down before I can use it.” The smith replied, ignoring Kat.

“So what, takes an hour to do.” Emily replied. “Twenty notes. Nothing less.”

“Two notes.” The smith returned.

“Twelve notes, and not a pound less.”

“Ten.”

“Eleven.” Emily countered. “You will get twice that from whatever you build from it.”

“Fine, eleven notes.” The smith said, holding out his hand to shake, but Emily shook her head no.

“It’s not my sword.” She told the smith. “It’s my friend's sword.

The smith turned towards her and looked her up and down for a few seconds then held out his hand. “Eleven notes?”

“That sounds appropriate.” Kat replied with a smile and shook his hand. He had a crushing grip, but Kat had a lot of stolen strength and squeezed right back.

“You’re higher than you look.” He replied after releasing her hand.

“Maybe.” Kat said cautiously.

“I like this one, Emily.” The smith said with a wide smile on his face. He waved for them to follow him. “Just leave it there. I’ll get m’boys to bring it in.”

He led them to a small office with a desk where he pulled out a wooden chest. From it he pulled out eleven paper notes each one worth two pounds. Kat looked on surprise as he counted out the notes on her hand. She had never seen this much money before. She hadn't seen this much during tax time when her father had collected the King’s tax. She had thought five pounds was a lot. Now she was holding twenty-two pounds in her hand.

“Nice doing business yeah.” He said to her after he was done counting out the notes. “Hey you going to sell that bow to Jessie?”

“If he pays the right price, why?” Emily asked. Kat saw that she was looking at the large man with an interested expression on her face.

“Can I get you to deliver a package to him?” The smith asked. “If you’re going that way, of course.”

“Two pence.” Emily replied, holding out her hand.

“Money grubbing nobles.” The smith muttered but handed the coins over to the noblewoman before picking up a basket full of arrowheads and handing it to her.

Emily smiled and picked the basket up and then motioned for Kat to follow her. As she passed the oversized sword, Kat saw some younger looking smiths already trying to pick it up. She saw Emily ignore them and pass them. Kat did the same, but she did smile a bit at how much trouble they were having.

The noblewoman led her to a small bower stable. The shop was basically a long table full of things like glue and other stuff with a roof over it to protect it from the elements, and a cloth drap behind them. While it didn’t snow in the city, it did rain or at least that was what her father and uncle had told her a number of times. It was currently sunny out.

The table was full of people making arrows. Emily walked right up to the table and dropped the basket in front of the oldest looking bower. He looked inside and saw what was in it and nodded without speaking. He then went back to making more arrows.

“We have a bow that I thought you might like.” Emily told him. That made the man pause and look up.

Emily nodded to her and motioned for her to give it to the old man. Kat did as she asked and handed it to the man. He looked it over for a few seconds then shouted to someone behind the cloth drape. A younger version of the man came out.

“Abe, check this bow out and tell me how it feels.” The bower asked the man.

The young man took the bow and strung it up. He then pulled the string back and he smiled. “Magical.” He told them with a smile. “Wind aspected. Increased accuracy and distance.”

“Fifteen notes.” The bower said, turning around to them.

“Thirty.” Emily replied back.

“I’m busy, let's just split it and say Twenty-two.” The bower said to Emily.

“Twenty-three is a fair slip.” Emily replied.

“Fine twenty-three.” Grumbled the old man. “Abe get me my monkey. I should make you pay for it as you're the one I bought it for.”

As the younger man left and the older boyer turned to them. “You know you could have gotten more if you auctioned it off, right.” He told them.

“I knew your boy is heading out with a new crew tomorrow.” Emily replied. “Plus, you are not the only one who is busy. This is Lady Katherine and she has to headout in two days. It’s her bow.”

“I thank you then, Lady Katherine.” He told her, bowing his head. “I won't forget your generosity.”

“Think nothing of it.” Kat said feeling awkward. His son came back and handed her twenty-three notes. Kat left after hiding her notes in her hand. Emily had a kind smile on her face as walked a bit away from the bower shop.

“Well, not that you got a bit of money, where do you want to go?” Emily asked as they stopped in a quiet part of the street. “I know a bunch of places where you can get enchanted jewelry, but I must warn you, they can get very expensive.”

“I need to visit the Tower shop.” Kat told her.

“You have power coins, too?” Emily asked, sounding envious again. “Of course you do. You are the amazing Lady Katherine.”

Kat gave the noble woman a look, which made the noble woman look contrite. “Sorry, it’s this way.”

The Tower shop was on the other side of the city. They had to take the gate from the Mermaid fountain to the lion statue. From there they had to enter the nobles quarter. The shop was on Royal way. It was what King Jussup based his road on. The road encircled the palace of Royals. It was a small stone building that sat right next to the palace. It was the only shop both on the road and the only building that stood on the palace side of the street.

The shop stood empty, since the only currency that the shop would take was power coins, and the doors only opened to someone who had power coins on them. Kat waved her hand over the door and it opened on its own. Kat stepped inside, and found herself standing in a blue light with all sorts of objects surrounding her.

She knew as soon as she looked at something what it was and what it cost. The bow she looked at cost three power coins, and shot out lighting instead of arrows. The small stone was an alchemy skill stone. It would allow her to create magical clothing. It cost a single power coin and one of her skills that she already had. It was the last object she wanted. She loved both her skills, and there was no way she was giving one of them up.

She found what she was looking for and took four of them. It was a stone that permanently increased her vitality like the Tower reward did. As soon as she touched them she felt her vitality stomach expand until it was nearly half as large as it had been. With all of her coins spent she found herself outside the store standing next to Emily again.

“No weapon, then?” The noble woman asked.

“Don’t need it.” Kat replied, shrugging her shoulders.

“Right the staff.” Emily said, nodding.

“No, that’s food.” Kat told her, trying to hide her grin. The other woman looked at her seriously for a few seconds then she smiled.

“Almost got me there.” She said to Kat.

Kat said nothing but started sucking the stick in her mouth.

“Speaking of food, do you like fish stew. I know just the place.” Emily said, sounding excited. Kat just nodded in return as she tasted the raspberry flavored vitality in the stick.

The noblewoman brought her to a large restaurant where there was fish stew. It was just as good as she had said it would be. It was there that Kat learned that Emily was a talker. She started talking about her parents and the estate she grew up in. According to her, her family was one of the oldest Bostonian Earls in the kingdom and could trace their lineage all the way back to the old world. They also had the largest land grant in the kingdom, which covered several apple orchards and along with a few villages. She also spoke a lot about her parents, but had little to say about her brother. Kat got the feeling it was her brother that gave the noble woman a reason to chance becoming a squire.

Kat only gave one word answers or grunted at the appropriate time. It had been months since she had talked to anyone, and she felt out of practice. She never pictured talking to people a skill one had to practice. She felt awkward as Emily blithely went on with her side of the conversation.

The more that the noble woman talked the more Kat got to like her. She knew she did it on purpose, but couldn’t stop herself from liking the noble woman anyway. She also knew herself. If the noblewoman got in trouble then she would come to defend her which might cost her her life. It made her decision harder.

After eating they went to the shops that the noble woman said sold enchanted items. Emily got Kat to try on a few items, but they only gave her a little boost and she didn’t feel it was worth the price. The ones that did give her a big boost cost too much. In the end, and despirt the noble woman trying to convince her to buy a few things, she went home empty handed except for some nicknacks she needed for her new home. She bought some soap, and food that wouldn’t spoil if she was gone for a long time. Emily was smart enough not to offer to pay for them.

She knew she lost her mental debate when they reached the palace. She saw a bunch of people at the end of the hall waiting on her. She gave them a look and they stayed away. Well all except a handsome man who smiled at her as he walked in her direction. Kat gave him an annoyed look and opened the door. She motioned for Emily to enter before her then closed the door in the handsome guys face.

“Show me what you got again.” Kat said, sitting down in her high backed chair. She noted the the fire in the fireplace was still going strong. She wondered if she needed to add any wood to it or if it was magical like her tube.

“Really?” Emily asked happily.

“I can terminate it at any time, right?” Kat asked, crossing her legs and leaning into the heat from the fireplace.

“Only when we are in the city.” She told Kat.

“That’s fine. Show me.” Kat said feeling much older than the noble woman who had to be at least three years older than her.

The noble woman put her hood up on her cloak and disappeared. Kat closed her eyes and imagined her nose burning again. It started burning in real life and her stolen sense of smell returned. She took a deep sniff and only found a strong, but fading smell of the other woman. She dismissed her sense of smell and opened her eyes to look around.

“Does it hide your footprints?” Kat asked the seemingly empty room.

“Not my cloak, but I have boots that do.” Replied the disembodied voice of the noble woman.

“How do we do this?” Kat asked feeling tired.

“I have a squire stone at my home.” Emily said excitedly as she suddenly appeared on the other side of the room than where she had disappeared. “I’ll need to move in here anyway. If you let me, that is. I will lose my Tower given home the moment I become your squire.”

‘“That will be fine.” Kat said, waving her hand in front of her. “When you're ready, I’ll be in my room. Your room in through that door.”

“Thank you.” Emily said with the biggest smile on her face that Kat had ever seen anyone show before.

“We leave tomorrow. Be ready then.” Kat said as she got up and collected her clothes before heading to her room. She quickly closed it and draped her clothes over the folding screen that was on the far side of her bed. She took a second to close the curtains to her windows then climbed into her huge four posted bed. She was just closing her eyes when she realized that the door was always locked for everyone but her. Her and her squire, but Emily wasn’t her squire yet. With a sigh she got up and went back to the living room and laid down on the couch as she waited for the noble woman's return.